The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - September 2023 Group

[Mark Cooper]

SEPTEMBER 2023 RESOURCES
This section will be updated throughout the month with links to useful resources, as they are added to the thread.

Orientation Information for Time & Adherence:
The Behavioral Path to MWL Success
MWL 10-Point Checklist
MWL Program Guidelines
Calorie Density: How To Eat More, Weigh Less and Live Longer
MWL Recipes
Some of Jeff Novick's Quick and Easy Recipes
Jeff's Simple Recipes on Facebook
SNAP Meal Template

1- 28 oz Can No Salt Added Tomatoes (or broth for those who don't like tomatoes)
1- 14 oz Can No Salt Added Beans (which is about 1.5 - 2 cups)
1- 16 oz Bag Frozen Mixed Veggies (any type)
**optional - 1/2 cup Frozen Greens
1.5 to 2 cups of a *Cooked* Starch
~1 tbsp. Salt Free, Dried Seasoning/Spice

The Road to Success: Creating Healthy Habits
The Pleasure Trap: Dr. Doug Lisle at TedxFremont
How to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind with Dr. Doug Lisle
Dr. Doug Lisle on The Ego Trap
Dr. Doug Lisle: The Story of Willpower – What it Is & How it Works
Dr. Lisle's Three Top Tips for Dietary Success
Jeff Novick, RD - Nutrition & Health FAQ: Answers To The Most Asked Questions
A Review of the Rules & Guidelines for Reading Labels
Passive Overconsumption: The Unintended Intake of Excess Calories
Can You Really Eat As Much As You Want?
Why We Hit Plateaus and What We Can Do About Them
Top 10 Reasons for Lack of Success
Dining Out and Travel Food
Exercise, Health & You: How Much Is Enough?
Optimum BMI? / Optimal BMI - redux
Building Self-Efficacy
You Are Not Broken
wildgoose - How I determined my "goal weight"
Finding The Sweet Spot: Balancing Calorie Density, Nutrient Density & Satiety
Calorie Density & Satiety In Action
Is long time adherence really possible?
Amy's Giant List of Links to Dr. Lisle's Lectures

[Starflower]

September 1st

Happy September!

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES

2) Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for desert. YES

3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts.  This includes gourmet sugars and salts too.  If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. NO - two sugary drinks.

4) Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES

6) Eliminate any added oil. YES

7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. YES

8 ) Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). NO - two sugary drinks.

9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). NO - I missed one day when I wasn’t feeling well.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

It was a good week. I went to a county fair over the weekend. I got overheated and got a slushie both days. I needed the crushed ice, but I wish I’d thought to ask if they could do plain water instead of the flavored drink. On a better note, I got a funny reaction from the lady at the loaded potato stand. I had to repeat my order of a plain potato twice and she looked at me like I was crazy! I was able to get plain corn on the cob, too. Delicious! I noticed that the smells of deep fried and super sugary foods made me feel sick. It’s hard to believe I used to love that stuff. Yuck.

Wishing everyone a wonderful and successful week!

Happy birthday, Bambi!

[Rebecka22]

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. YES
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. YES
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. YES
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES

It was a good week. Back to work and lots of food provided, but I stuck to what I brought from home and fruit. This is definitely an exhausting time of year, but I am grateful for the health and energy this lifestyle gives me to still enjoy the busy times. I hope everyone has a great week. The weather has rapidly shifted here in the Pacific Northwest, so I guess fall is coming early. Happy September!

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Time & Adherence peeps,

Happy September!!!

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Frequently - increased from prior week. Missed a few dinners. Going for 100% for upcoming week.

2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
Yes. I am super boring here and ate everyday the same starch: oatmeal for breakfast, brown rice / corn / beans for lunch, potatoes for dinner. All with veggies and fruit. Those were different!!! Also, made a huge pot of split pea veggie soup today. I have missed it over the summer!

3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes. Reduced, not eliminated.

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes.

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes.

6 Eliminate any added oil.
Yes.

7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes, puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn, and dried fruit).
No. I had a close encounter with a couple of handfuls of pretzels that reside in my house. Have had a higher stress past few weeks at work and I caved to the dry and salties. Normally, I am able to avoid by: eating something else (like a potato), remembering my why, engaging in self-care (picking something from list). I feel pretty good about being able to be a full YES here next week. The pretzel eating didn’t really help anything and just made my feel a bit inept for making a choice that isn’t in alignment with my goals.

8 Don’t drink your calories especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Yes.

9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes. No starving and no stuffing.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
YES - 7 / 7 --- some great walking weather this week! Also, played pickleball 4 days this week.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Mark – sounds like you and your family enjoyed an amazing vacation! Thanks for sharing how you handled the food part of it – very helpful!
Bambi – Hope you have a wonderful birthday!
Starflower – Love how you navigated the fair! Funny that you got “a look” for plain baked potato… Like who ever heard of that??
Rebecka – Awesome thought on being grateful for health and energy this lifestyle provides!!! +1

A big hi to anyone that comes later!

Hope that everyone enjoys a fun and relaxing Labor Day weekend!

Cheers,
Stephanie

[Gimmelean]

Post for week ending 9/1/2023

Hello Everyone. September already!!

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes.

2). Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals.
Yes. I made bowls this week building a grain, a bean, a green, and a sauce. I used Wildgoose’s smashed bean go-to meal with collard greens. It’s easy to batch cook. Used brown basmati rice as a base and Aldi fat free sugar free salsa. I’m not loving greens at the moment but eating them “ prescriptively “.

3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts.  This includes gourmet sugars and salts too.  If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes!

4) Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish,)
Yes

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu,soy).
Yes

6) Eliminate any added oil.
Yes

7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air popped popcorn, and dried fruit.
Yes!

8 ) Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes.

9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full.   Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes.

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes!

Victories,Comments,Concerns,Questions:
While it’s been a long time coming, I have all yeses this week. The biggest effort was the time struggling in prior weeks to be here with your support. I’m not taking this for granted for a moment.

I remember asking for a baked potato in a restaurant a few years ago without butter or sour cream. The server said are you sure? A dry potato? A Malaysian restaurant server said, “ No Taste!” And made a face when I asked for steamed not fried vegetables and no sauce. Apparently, our food is usually brought with a serving of attitude. Just smugly enjoy being on the fringe. Who knows. We might even begin to influence our loved ones in the best possible ways by not giving in.
Looking forward to the long Labor Day weekend even with a new heat wave coming. Enjoy and see you next week!

[Mark Cooper]

The window for reporting this week's behavioral results has officially closed.

My replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[Mark Cooper]

BambiS - Wishing you a very Happy Birthday and many happy returns of the day! Do you have anything in particular planned to mark the occasion? Having adherent food prepped, ready and easy to access seems like a great strategy to employ for when things get extra busy. I hope your ongoing clearing and reorganization is going well!

Starflower - It seems like you had a really good week, with really useful practical experience! A plain baked potato and corn on the cob does sound delicious (funny looks or not ). Great work. Astute reflection that you might be able to get a "plain ice" slushie next time - I expect that would be pretty refreshing. I totally agree with you about feeling revolted by the smells of those deep-fried, oil and sugar laden fair foods; it does seem amazing that we used to happily consume that stuff, right? Have a wonderful week!

Rebecka22 - Congrats on an awesome week! I'm sure it wasn't always easy, but your efforts were clearly successful. Glad to know you are feeling vital and empowered enough to navigate and enjoy a busy, demanding time of year. Hopefully the fall weather will be enjoyable. Happy September!

VegSeekingFit - Nice work, Stephanie, and a really thoughtful, well-considered assessment! I'm one of those people whose meals are often "super boring," too; I eat the same thing for lunch almost every day: a big salad, followed by collard greens, California blend vegetables, green peas, sweet potato, and no-salt packaged tomatoes. I always figure, as long as it still tastes great to me, why mess with a good thing. I am happy to know you are feeling confident in your ability to confine your "close encounter" to that occasion and continue your consistent pattern of adherence. It is interesting the role increased stress and other depleting experiences can play in our choices and behaviors, right? I think your measured perspective, which seems fairly free from self-recrimination (which is awesome, btw), offers a useful and actionable framing of the situation. Enjoy the weekend!

Gimmelean - Huzzah! There is your 10/10! I think you are correct and canny in observing that this week's success is a product of your dedicated, iterative, and ongoing efforts over the prior weeks. I personally love collard greens, but perhaps that is an acquired taste. I also REALLY enjoy bok choy. I've definitely gotten a few raised eyebrows and requests for clarification when ordering steamed vegetables, plain potatoes, or plain brown rice, too. Your enjoyment of "being on the fringe" made me chuckle; I'm pretty content out in left field.

Who knows. We might even begin to influence our loved ones in the best possible ways by not giving in.

What a happy, hopeful thought! Enjoy your weekend and stay cool!

[Mark Cooper]

Cheers, everyone! Smashing start to September!

No particular links or articles of interest this week. Instead, I thought I would pose a few questions for discussion:

Do you find yourself leaning more on repetition and simplicity in your meals, or do you feel like you need more variety in recipes to be content and satisfied?

Do you tend to cycle through 5 or 6 reliable favorite recipes, or are you driven to frequently test out new discoveries?

Do you find comfort in familiar, enjoyable activities or do you crave new adventures?

What have you been enjoying lately? What foods, pastimes, social activities, or recreations have been sparking joy in you?

This summer, we discovered that Six Flags has a waterpark within a half-hour drive from our home. On a whim, we bought season passes for my daughter's birthday, and it has made for a really fun new family activity. We have had a great time visiting 4 or 5 times over the course of this summer, and I have really enjoyed having a healthy and lively activity that the whole family appreciates. Definitely a win.

Enjoy the weekend, and any celebrations if you are celebrating! Have an outstanding, successful week to come. Take care & be well!

[BambiS]

8-18


1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Most days


2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for desert
Some days


3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes, not an issue here

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes

6. Eliminate any added oil.
Yes


7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.yes

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes


9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself
Yes

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).some days

Victories, comments, concerns, questions good week, nothing eventful.

Thank you for the birthday wishes!
I think I’ve been busier since I’ve retired.

It’s been more clearing out this week again. It will probably be going on until the weather gets too cold. I did have instant pot soup ready and potatoes.

[Rebecka22]

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. YES
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. YES
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. YES
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES

It was a good week. Back to school time is always exhausting as is raising teenagers, but I’m thankful I am in a good routine and I have this amazing group to support me staying the course. In response to last week’s questions, I’m definitely one to appreciate routine and habits. I’ve been seeing a lot of posts recently about how consistency is not about motivation, but rather discipline and I find knowing what I need to do and how to do it really helps me keep that discipline in all areas. I sometimes like more elaborate meals, but definitely stick to the ones we know and like. I find joy in time with the people I love and in gratitude. Have a great week everyone.

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence,

Hope everyone had a great week!

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Frequently – about the same as last week – a few misses. I am looking to increase the percentage of preloads here.

2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
Yes. Same meals – still love them.

3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes. Reduced, not eliminated.

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes.

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes.

6 Eliminate any added oil.
Yes.

7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes, puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn, and dried fruit).
Yes. No stress eating dry and salties this week.

8 Don’t drink your calories especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Yes.

9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes - 7 / 7. I am super excited to compete in my first ever non-club pickleball tournament this Saturday. It is a round robin format and I am assigned to court 7 --- so feeling lucky! Ha! I leave really early in the morning – so am packing banana, grapes, and potatoes as I’ll be gone for at least 6 hours and don’t want to be hungry – they provide some snack bag that I will give to a hungry buddy.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Thanks, Mark for great comments last week – a lot of “food for thought”! Very cool that you continue to eat the same lunch that you love most days. I agree 100% that as long as it tastes great, why mess with a good thing! Also, I absolutely do have a tendency to make non-optimal choices when under stress (especially when it is on-going, sooner or later a poor choice may happen). I am trying to continue to build skills around positive self-talk and just moving on while trying to learn something from each experience. Additionally, I continue to work on mindfulness and reducing stress. I think that I have made progress in this space, but that there is always room to learn and improve.

Gimmelean, I loved your comment last week about smugly enjoying being on the fringe. YES!!!

Here are my comments to Mark’s bonus questions.

I go with simplicity and repetition for the most part with my meals (oatmeal, rice / corn / bean salad, potatoes, various crock pot soups). I love these meals which are quick to prepare, and I don’t feel like I need to venture much outside of them. Given that, if someone wants to cook me some different delicious MWL compliant food, I would be happy to sample it!

I do not feel the need to try new recipes (although occasionally, I do make the attempt). I do try different varieties of fruit and veggies (sometimes beans and whole grains).

I like a mix of familiar enjoyable activities and trying new things. For instance, I have only been playing pickleball since this March and I am hooked for life. I have done some semi-adventurous things in my life (i.e., parachuting, hot-air ballooning, a few trail running events) --- but also do like the comfort of familiar activities.

I value spending time with family and friends the most. Love to play various yard games in nice weather like badminton, bags, ladder ball. During COVID, we really started playing board games of all kinds and cards. We continue with this and it’s lots of fun! I am also happy curled up on the couch or on the deck if the weather is nice with a book. Foodwise, enjoying honeydew melon, pluots (mottled and black), corn on the cob, heirloom tomatoes, Yukon gold potatoes --- among other things.

Mark, enjoyed what you shared around your newfound fun family activity! We have a Six Flags nearby that has Hurricane Harbor water park inside the amusement park. When my son was younger, we had season passes for a few years. What an awesome way to spend time together.

Wishing everyone an excellent week soaking up the last days of amazing weather!

Best,
Stephanie  

[Starflower]

September 8th

Hi team!

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES

2) Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for desert. YES

3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts.  This includes gourmet sugars and salts too.  If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. NO - too much salt and sugar

4) Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). NO - some avocado and edamame

6) Eliminate any added oil. YES

7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. YES

8 ) Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). NO - some almond milk in coffee

9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). NO - none on the hottest days

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Do you find yourself leaning more on repetition and simplicity in your meals, or do you feel like you need more variety in recipes to be content and satisfied?

Do you tend to cycle through 5 or 6 reliable favorite recipes, or are you driven to frequently test out new discoveries?

Do you find comfort in familiar, enjoyable activities or do you crave new adventures?

What have you been enjoying lately? What foods, pastimes, social activities, or recreations have been sparking joy in you?

It was a difficult week. Heat, humidity, and lack of sleep led to some old comfort foods, just because they were easy to grab. I made some poor choices. I used Mark’s questions to come up with a plan to avoid poor choices in future. Perfect timing, Mark!

I love to keep things simple, with not too many choices. Trying new things is fun, but only added to traditional foods on special occasions, like holidays. My plan includes things like containers of mashed potatoes, peas, carrots and rice in the fridge so a healthy comfort food is readily available. Lately corn on the cob and watermelon have been my indulgences. I’m looking forward to soup season! I started playing my flute again, doing sudoku and recently tried miniature golf, which I enjoyed.

Wishing everyone a wonderful and successful week!

[Mark Cooper]

The window for reporting this week's behavioral results has officially closed.

My replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[Gimmelean]

Post for week ending 9/8/23

Hello Everyone.

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes.

2). Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals.
Yes.

3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts.  This includes gourmet sugars and salts too.  If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes

4) Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish,)
Yes

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu,soy).
Yes

6) Eliminate any added oil.
Yes

7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air popped popcorn, and dried fruit.
Yes

8 ) Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes.

9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full.   Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes.

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes

Victories,Comments,Concerns,Questions:

Do you find yourself leaning more on repetition and simplicity in your meals, or do you feel like you need more variety in recipes to be content and satisfied?
-When I’m busy, going on autopilot with easy things that require little thought, time, or effort are my go to’s. When I have time on my hands, I tend to seek out more adventure. My neighbors grew and gifted Thai okra, fuzzy squash, and winter melon. Good thing they all have a long shelf life because I’m really busy!

Do you tend to cycle through 5 or 6 reliable favorite recipes, or are you driven to frequently test out new discoveries?
- See above! We love trying new things but testing is contingent upon time available.

Do you find comfort in familiar, enjoyable activities or do you crave new adventures?

I crave structure but feel the need to push myself to step outside of my comfort zone to avoid becoming complacent. I do this at work too. I’ll volunteer to be a subject matter expert on a complex topic so that I have to fulfill that obligation to myself mainly.

What have you been enjoying lately? What foods, pastimes, social activities, or recreations have been sparking joy in you?

Spending time with family is what gives me the most joy. Everyone is so busy with work and life. It’s so important.

Our fig trees were completely covered with fruit especially early this year because of the heat and rain. I’m way overdoing it, but there is something wonderful about picking and eating figs right off the tree until I can’t eat any more. We love sharing them with our neighbors and have jars and jars of fig jam to give as gifts too.

We re-joined the Y. I love the group fitness classes and family swim.

Community choir is starting in a couple of weeks. This is the first year it’s resumed since March of 2020.

See you next week!

[Mark Cooper]

BambiS - It does seem like you have had a pretty busy retirement so far! I imagine it will feel pretty great when all that clearing out has been done, and you can enjoy a tidy, well-ordered space. Nice work staying prepared with soup and potatoes ready to go. How are you feeling about your progress? Are you satisfied with the results you are seeing? Anything you would like to change, work on, or build toward? Keep at it!

Rebecka22 - Another week of excellent adherence! Having a solid, well-tested routine to lean on helps with that, I'm sure. I think you make a really worthwhile point in observing the value and importance of knowing WHAT one needs to do and HOW to do it. Having those two boxes checked allows for one's focus to rest on execution rather than searching for solutions, right? Have an amazing week!

VegSeekingFit - Great work, Stephanie! I hope today's tournament was great fun for you.

I continue to work on mindfulness and reducing stress. I think that I have made progress in this space, but that there is always room to learn and improve.

I think that is a really useful perspective.

Given that, if someone wants to cook me some different delicious MWL compliant food, I would be happy to sample it!

LOL! Me, too! Much as you describe, I do really enjoy trying out new varieties of fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, and other starches. My personal inclination is usually to eat pretty simply, but I do end up making more involved dishes and trying out new recipes at suppertime, since that is usually a meal for my whole family. Your mention of board games was a welcome reminder of how fun that can be; I'll have to organize a game night with my family soon. I've really been enjoying corn on the cob and fresh tomatoes the past few weeks. YUM! Onward!

Starflower - Kudos to you for responding to this week's challenges by devising a solid action plan for supporting your adherence! I'm in agreement that having an ample supply of appealing, adherent foods ready and close at hand is a key support; put that excellent plan into action.

I started playing my flute again, doing sudoku and recently tried miniature golf, which I enjoyed.

Good for you, all sound like great fun!

Gimmelean - Solid week! I enjoyed reading your responses to my questions from last week. Having the knowledge, skill, experience, and habituated behaviors that allow for one's "autopilot" to take over when life gets hectic and time is in short supply is of tremendous benefit, right? Once you get around to it, I would be excited to hear your impressions of all that gifted produce - all are new foods to me.

I crave structure but feel the need to push myself to step outside of my comfort zone to avoid becoming complacent. I do this at work too. I’ll volunteer to be a subject matter expert on a complex topic so that I have to fulfill that obligation to myself mainly.

That seems like a really good way to consistently cultivate opportunities for mastery experiences. Your fig trees sound wonderful, for sure. Enjoy the Y and upcoming community choir!