NOVEMBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

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Re: NOVEMBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Suey51 » Sat Nov 21, 2020 1:50 am

Hi everyone,

Lindsey - in England the rise in Covid cases seems to be slowing following recent additional restrictions and then lockdown 2.0 measures about ten days ago. Not as severe as first lockdown in March; schools and universities are still open, but all hospitality venues and non-essential shops, plus gyms are closed, and we can only socialise with one other person outside, not in home or garden. Here in Spain, there is a curfew between 10pm and 7am; only essential travel to other towns outside of those times (enforced with police roadblocks); non-essential businesses have to close at 6pm (inc. cafes etc), and mask wearing compulsory when outside your home, apart from when eating or drinking. We are staying in the property we own a share of so eating on-program is pretty easy. although I am more tempted to veer off-program here than at home. If restrictions ease, we may travel a little further afield, but happy for now doing our usual day-to-day activities. Since arriving we've been able to add some extra ones like outdoor pilates classes and playing padel (outdoors tennis/squash combo) and my husband is painting the downstairs bedroom. Oh, and we're both working on our Spanish so plenty to keep us busy in between sorting out the paperwork! Congrats on the weight loss and yay for having a haircut! Such a treat in the current times :)

Erin - good to hear your shoulder is improving. Thanks for sharing about your potatoes-only week, very interesting. Congrats on the weight loss!

My weight is about the same as last week. Diet is mostly good, but have been nibbling on some off-program items in the evening.

Best wishes, Sue x
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Re: NOVEMBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Suey51 » Sat Nov 21, 2020 11:27 am

PS Thanks Lindsey for sharing the video link, it was great!
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Re: NOVEMBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Plumerias » Mon Nov 23, 2020 7:39 pm

Oh, the color show continues here, as brilliant red Japanese maple leaves become ornaments, festively decorating low growing conifers. As trees become bare, it's easy to see how many of them host large volumes of mosses and lichens, some branches so heavy as to look like they're cloaked in green sweaters. It's interesting to see all these mosses, on horizontal surfaces, on vertical surfaces, rocks, sidewalks. They look so happy with all the rain, such beautiful greens. One yard has several Japanese maple varieties and abundant moss on the vertical portions of the terracing. Ah, lovely, red and green. Many took advantage of the pleasant weekend weather, as is evidenced by all the outdoor lights and other decorations. Christmas trees glow through living room windows. Can I be a cranky old lady here for just a wee minute...... can't we please celebrate Thanksgiving first? Despite restrictions, we still have plenty to be thankful for, just look at the local homeless population if you need reminders.

Sue, I look forward to the barley and root veggies dish, when you get around to it. How long will you be in Spain? Oregon is spiking again, so the governor is closing things back down. This county has the highest number of new cases daily. We are very careful.

Erin, your "we have all white" reminds me of growing up outside of Detroit. One Christmas Eve when I was a kid it was snowing. Now, in the Great Lakes area you get lots of heavy, wet packing snow, especially if it's not cold. But that night must have been really cold, because the snow was dry. It was coming straight down, quite heavily, without wind. It was piling up in the back yard when I turned the outdoor light on. So shiny, so sparkly, like someone upstairs had up-ended a huge container of white glitter. To this day that's how I think of that kind of dry snow, glitter snow.

Lindsey, Thanksgiving plans. None really. It's just the two of us, and we stopped making fancy holiday meals a long time ago. Likely my husband will turn these small pie pumpkins that have been serving as autumnal decorations into black bean and pumpkin chili. Will your husband's dietary changes make things easier in your kitchen this year? The weather is forecast to be dry, so we should be able to do both morning and afternoon walks. I can't say evening walks, as sunset is coming so early this far north, different for us. I did see that Macy's is having some version of the parade, so I set it up to record. I'll probably end up fast forwarding through most of it, as I find the blathering increasingly annoying. :lol: I do like the shows part of it though, as that's likely as close as we'll ever get to Broadway. I sure hope Mr. and Mrs. Claus are wearing masks, it would be a great example. Then on Friday it's okay for the elves to start trying to figure out how to decorate this new place, our first Christmas here.

Cooking this time of year can be so wonderful, as most every pot of soup, stew or chili makes enough for leftovers. Then you only have to cook half the days! Hubby presently has a pot of vegetable soup going in the Instant Pot. Earlier I made white and green soup, something I'm working on. White is potatoes and white beans, green is some veggies. Still a work in progress. We've never owned a cooking vessel that can go from stovetop to oven. The one he bought himself weighs 18 pounds. Gee, it's terrible, getting kicked out of the kitchen when your husband wants to experiment! :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: NOVEMBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Suey51 » Fri Nov 27, 2020 8:04 am

Hi everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to those celebrating!

Plumerias - love your descriptions of the colours and plants :-) We will be here for the next couple of months, maybe a little longer. I have a lovely image of you and your husband cooking comforting winter meals and vying for space in the kitchen!

Weight this week is the same as last week. After realising that my evening off-program snacking was becoming a bit of a habit, I've watched some McDougall videos to help me get back on track. I loved the one that Lindsey shared recently of Dr and Mary McDougall with Chef AJ. I also watched their subsequent interview with her, Eat Your Carbs But Lose Weight plus Dr Doug Lisle on Willpower and Chef AJ's From Fat Vegan To Skinny Bitch. My mini video-binge has helped remind me why I'm eating this way, and how to tackle those aspects where there's room for improvement.

Thanks to all of you for keeping this group going. It really helps to know that I can check in here each week with like-minded and supportive people.

Best wishes to all, Sue xx
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Re: NOVEMBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Ejeff » Fri Nov 27, 2020 10:19 am

Hello friends,

Been doing good. I agree with Plumerias, soups and stews are so darn tasty right now. I made the cauliflower dal from the McDougall list of recipes, so easy and tasty. Very filling also. Made a new recipe which was Samosa bites. They were also good. I haven’t shopped other than for produce and have been using up some more of the freezer inventory.

Sue, thanks for the links to the videos, I have seen most, but I just rewatched From Fat Vegan to Skinny Bitch. I love Chef AJ’s story, her struggles and how she eventually overcame them are amazing. And of course “The Fat You Eat Is the Fat You Wear”, is the best slogan ever from our great doctor! I really need to get that on a T-shirt to wear to pickleball. It will prompt some questions which is good. It does cause me to reflect on the amount of nuts and seeds I eat. I often have them daily and it’s probably not necessary.

We are under more lockdowns so no pickleball right now. Instead I make sure to walk at least 45 minutes each day. I did see a Physiotherapist for my right leg issue and he gave me some strengthening exercises. My right leg is much weaker than my left, so my goal is to fix that issue.

We are having very nice weather these days, sunny and around zero Celsius. The sun makes me so happy lol. No big cooking plans this week. But tonight I’m making potato nachos, which will be air fryer fries, topped with Kiki’s cheese sauce, green onions, and fresh tomatoes. Sounds so yummy doesn’t it?

Wishing everyone a happy week filled with potatoes and sunshine.

Erin
"The more disciplined your environment is, the less disciplined you need to be. Don't swim upstream."
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Re: NOVEMBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Lyndzie » Sat Nov 28, 2020 8:24 pm

Sue - Your updates have such a positive feel to them, I’m glad to hear that the restrictions aren’t stopping you from enjoying Spain. Theoretically having restaurants closed helps stay on plan. Thank you for posting those videos! I love the Chef AJ From Fat Vegan to Skinny Bitch speech. I’ll have to check out the first video you posted, that’s new to me.

Plumerias - Your writing paints such a beautiful picture of Portland. I am in agreement about getting thru Thanksgiving before Christmas, apparently I’m the only one who hasn’t begun Christmas shopping yet. Good luck with the coronavirus surges, it’s stressful times.

Erin - How is lockdown going for you? From what I’ve seen Canada has done a pretty good job of keeping cases low. Are you getting snow yet? Do you like walking in the crisp air?

This past Thursday was US Thanksgiving, and I made a McDougall feast. It was great to be able to eat all the dishes. My husband pointed out that it was the first time he’d not had turkey on Thanksgiving. I made barley stuffed acorn squash, balsamic dijon roasted brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, green beans, mushroom gravy, and cranberry sauce. I’m down another 1.5 lbs, which is super spectacular considering it was a holiday week. I’m so grateful for this way of eating - maintaining a healthy weight is completely possible (as long as you keep doing what you did to lose it in the first place, of course). And, if you stray off track, just get back to it.

Also, I am thankful for you all. Thanks for stopping by every week and keeping this group going. I appreciate you!
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
www.lindseyhead.coach
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Re: NOVEMBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Lyndzie » Mon Nov 30, 2020 5:04 am

Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
www.lindseyhead.coach
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