Discussion Board

You know I used to believe that about winter too but last 2 years has showed me if I put my mind to being happy I won't get depressed and I can move on and have fun all winter as well.

I think there is a tendency for those of us in northern climates to comfort ouselves in winter - and food is the easiest comfort around! However, I guess if we comfort ourselves with foods like squash and potatoes, it likely won't cause any harm.
Living in Canada, I find myself becoming a little 'down' in the winter, although I cross country ski regularily and hike with our dogs. I think making an effort to get outside and get fresh air and exercise helps a lot.

Norm I grew up along the Arctic Circle and let me tell you, Seasonal Affective Disorder (getting clinical depression due to inadequate light) is very very real. Back in the day they just called it "Cabin Fever" but it's been documented since forever -- it happens often to northern peoples in the wintertime.

These days they treat it (for people who have electricity, not an option in some of the rural northern places) with light boxes: a bank of huge multi-spectrum florescent bulbs that you sit under for at least an hour every day. A lot of people self-treat just by putting a large (150 or 225 watt-equivalent) full-spectrum bulb somewhere that shines directly on them -- at their computer or their TV chair, or wherever they spend a lot of time in their house. Good full-spectrum bulbs can be very expensive and hard to find, but it's literally a life-saver for some people.

Today's Update.

I stayed pretty busy today. I did no walking but accomplished a lot outside in my shed. My wife baked a cake today. I didn't have any trouble saying no to it. Ate a boatload of soup though.
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I took my blood pressure yesterday. Will try to make that a weekly habit.

First reading: 136/76 pulse 53
2nd reading: 133/75 pulse 53

First reading is always right after sitting down at the booth after having walked around some. Yesterday I actually did all my shopping before sitting down at the blood pressure booth, so had been on my feet longer than usual, so I'm surprised the first reading was as low as it was. Usually it's in the 140-155 range right after having been on my feet, dropping down to the 130's after a few minutes of rest.
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I am pretty much over the cold I got last week. It was a very minor cold, not even worth mentioning, really, except to point out that it was so minor. I still am not feeling all that great. I miss the "normal" of a month or so ago... but this new "normal" is still better than what I've been used to for so long. I will keep doing what I'm doing, trying hard not to overdo things, and take comfort in the hope that as I lose more weight I'll surely feel better and better.

-Norm

I'm a little late to the party but congratulations on your milestone!

Donna

Party? I missed a party?

-Norm

Today's Update:

I ate too much soup yesterday!! My digestion let me know it!!
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Too cold to work outside so I decided to clean out my pantry today. I rounded up some items to take to the food bank. Two bottles of oil, a couple bags of white rice, 8 cans of spam. I also cleaned, seasoned, and put away all my cast iron which I simply don't use any more.
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I walked .3 mile today.

-Norm

About the only thing I use my cast iron pans for now is to make hash browns. I put the shredded potatoes and maybe 1/3 cup of water in the pan and let it cook on medium-low for 10-15 minutes, then turn and repeat. It gives the potatoes a great crust!

Fulenn

I've done most of my cooking over the past 20 years on cast iron, and continued using them even after giving up meat. As long as I was using some oil they did just fine. Even a little oil will keep a cast iron pan seasoned nicely. But now that I'm using no added oil.. and cooking mostly whole foods, I just don't use the cast iron any more. It's all precious to me so it won't be going far, but it has to give up it's room in my small kitchen for things I do use.

-Norm

Today's Update.

Normally I weigh myself every two weeks. I have a doctors appointment coming up in two weeks which would have thrown off my weigh schedule, so I decided the best time to readjust the schedule was today. So today it was. There is no great news to report. I lost 1.2 pounds since last week, way less than half of what has been my normal weight loss. I don't want to beat myself up over it but I do want to take an honest look at what's going on.

- Thanksgiving. Let's face, it I went off plan on Thanksgiving. I didn't blow it big time, but I did eat off plan foods and consumed way more calories than I needed to.

- Exercise. I have not been exercising like I had been. I'm trying to recover from overdoing it.

- Food intake after Thanksgiving. I've been eating a lot! All on plan foods, but still, a lot!

All in all, I have to say that this is probably the first Thanksgiving week that I didn't gain weight, and without any doubt, it is the first Thanksgiving week where I've lost weight. That is a fact worth celebrating, and it makes me happy. But I have to acknowledge that I know why my weight loss has decreased, and I know exactly what to do to bump it up again and am committed to doing just that.

For a while I was worried I was losing too much too fast and now I'm whining about losing too little!! I WILL find that happy medium!! I'm not sure why, but I think that happy medium for me should be 1% of my body weight every week, which right now should be 3.8 pounds a week. That is going to be my goal to shoot for.

-Norm

I'd say you did good since you lost weight during Thanksgiving week. After all, Thanksgiving week is likely to be your worst week of the year, or one of your worst weeks. But you came out of it weighing less than you came into it.

I read up thread about how you ate a boat load of soup. Keep it up. I think Jeff "Calorie Density" Novick would support you in your desire for soup, especially his patented longevity soup.

I agree with this. I seem to lose more weight when I make soup & consume it for lunch & dinner. Sometimes I add a potato or some rice to it, if I am really hungry but most of the time I just eat it as is & I lose more weight.

Norm, it is good to look at what you have been doing & acknowledging it. Doing what needs to be done to get on track. Good for you!! Even if you only lost 1.2 lbs. last week, it was TG, how many people do you know that lost weight during that holiday? So dont beat yourself up over a small loss, especially during TG!!

You're doing great.

Sunday Update:

I have not posted in a few days and thought I'd better. I am coming to terms with the fact that I just don't feel as good as I did a while ago and that a bit of rest wasn't going to fix it.

I am extremely thankful to my Creator for giving me a time of feeling that good for as long as he did. It is a glimpse of my future life if I keep doing what I'm doing.

It occurred to me yesterday that I have no right to whine about it! I mowed the front yard yesterday. All of it. With the bagger, and because the grass was wet it was more work and I had to empty the bag three times. I did all of this in one session without sitting down to rest. And I did it after walking a half mile beforehand and starting right in with the mowing. Let's compare that to mowing the grass this past spring. I never mowed the whole front yard in one day. I broke it up into two days. And the part I mowed I would break down into 4 or 5 sections and then mow, sit and rest, mow, sit and rest, etc. I ended up sitting far more than I mowed. But that's how I did it because if I pushed any harder than that I suffered for it.

Night and Day!! Even though I think I feel terrible, I am capable of so much more than I was earlier this year. So I will remember this and strive for gratitude.

So I am doing exactly as I would advise someone else in my position. Stay productive, and if not productive, busy. Keep at it with my way of eating. Don't retreat too far into myself. Which is why I'm posting, even though I don't feel like it.

My posting wont be every day till I'm through this funk, but rest assured, I have a plan to deal with it and am sticking to that plan. If I go too long without posting, by all means, send the dogs after me!

-Norm

Good for you Norm! What a difference - can you imagine the difference 6 months from now when you have lost so much more weight?! Take care.

Yup! that's what I'm looking forward to. Being able to do things in the spring that I haven't been able to do in years.... like go camping!

Sunday's weekly blood pressure measurements.

Right after walking around: 141/75 pulse rate 54
After resting a few minutes: 129/73 pulse rate 52

No meds.


-Norm