Buns Again

[bunsofaluminum]

I love Dillon’s YouTube videos! Thanks for sharing. I’m going to try the spinach recipe but I think I’ll leave the cashews out.

You are rocking that workout!!! Way to go!

Hi Moonlight!

Yeah, I won't use the cashews either. Calorie dense, and cashews can trigger my IBS. But I know those beans will make it as creamy as can be.

Today I stayed home from the gym. They're moving to a new location, and to mark that event, they're opening it up to the public, and that means the place is crowded. But I'm going to get on my yoga for the next few days to keep up with exercise. I can do that at home Can I do it without hurting my dang KNEE is the question.

Last night, went out to a movie with my youngest. Hello Dolly! The theaters have been showing movie classics and since my youngest works at the theater, she gets two tickets free, for these classic events. It's a fun movie, with really singable songs. I had a couple palmfuls of movie popcorn, clean off plan. It wasn't over salty, which is what I was expecting. There was also some oil in the ginger sauce on my sushi roll that I had for lunch on Tuesday. I think I haven't had anything else with fat, but I need to be more on top of it. Fat is creeping in, and I can't let it. The ginger sauce sneaked in, but I knew I was eating literal kernels of fat with that popcorn. I mean how yucky is that? Two cups of fat? GAG me.

At work we're starting to see signs of the Imminent Move, as the facilities team has been roaming around looking at cubicle numbers and such. We put it aside while Our Corporate Head was on vacation, but we should see some changes soon. I think once they start, it'll be a bit of a whirlwind. Changes


Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
There's gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
Mmm, yeah

[bunsofaluminum]

I'm All About That Bass Cover by Postmodern Jukebox

Yeah, it's pretty clear, I ain't no size two
But I can shake it, shake it, like I'm supposed to do
'Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase
And all the right junk in all the right places
I see the magazines working that Photoshop
We know that stuff ain't real, come on now, make it stop
If you got beauty beauty just raise 'em up
'Cause every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top

Yeah, my momma she told me don't worry about your size
She says, boys like a little more booty to hold at night
(That booty, booty, uh, that booty booty)
You know I won't be no stick-figure, silicone Barbie doll
So, if that's what's you're into then go ahead and move along

Because you know I'm all about that bass
'Bout that bass, no treble
I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble
I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble
I'm all 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass

Hey, I'm bringing booty back
Go ahead and tell them skinny girls that
No, I'm just playing I know you think you're fat
But I'm here to tell you
Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top

This is going on my wedding playlist TOO!

[SilverDollar123]

Adorable! Go for it!...I'll be the fly on the wall dancing at your wedding! lol

[bunsofaluminum]

Adorable! Go for it!...I'll be the fly on the wall dancing at your wedding! lol

We're getting things together, including our playlist, and where we are having the ceremony, my sister's place, we can pipe the music into whatever space people are gathering. Also figuring out where we're going afterwards. Possibly Vegas, with a package that includes going up in a helicopter (on my bucket list wooot!) or we also thought going to the beach would be fun and we found a package in San Diego which includes a room with a balcony practically on the beach, a cruise tour of the bay (a TWOOO hour tour...a TWOOO hour tour ) and an activities pass to get in various places in the area. I've also shopped for something to wear and found the basic outfit, and now I need to get a foundational garment, and some flowing jacket/throw'shoulder wrap type thing for over it. Wylie and I need to coordinate that so we match

The weekend was actually VERY compliant. I had chocolate and other than that everything I ate was on plan. Processed: I did eat some whole wheat toast and had bread with a Portobello Burger with the Works. So that was processed, but I kept the fats way low, and ate on plan, in the lighter end of the Calorie Density spectrum. And gained two lbs stupid scale. Wait..I just remembered, I had curry over rice. I added two cups of veggies, but that curry was 50% fat so NOT everything was low on the calorie density scale.

Worked out this morning. My gym moved and everything is shiny and new, and the place doesn't smell like uric acid sweat. The circuit area ... not going in there at all, tyvm. It's half the space of what they had at the old location and I just don't want to get in there and bump butts with people, you know? BUT I'll find all the weight machines I need and keep it out on the floor. Today's workout was 30 minutes recumbent and about 15 minutes weights. Then driving to work a different route, but I was early enough to stop and eat my breakfast outside in one of my favorite open spaces in the city. Very nice. So the plan with exercise will be to do 30 minutes every day. On gym days, I'll do recumbent then weights. On non-gym days I'll do yoga at home. Gym at least three days a week, but I'm going to aim for four. I left home 30 minutes earlier and it was nice. Felt just a tiny bit less crowded, maybe?

[bunsofaluminum]

I forgot to mention, when I got home from work last Friday, my mom and Wylie were eating dinner together ... which is new, but that's another story ... anyway, he had made a huge pasta salad with chunks of chicken meat in it. Some days, i would have some and pick the meat out. But this time I asked what kind of dressing it had. Regular vinaigrette made with Olive oil. I said "no thanks, no oil for me" and Wylie was insistent that olive oil is good for you, and SO good for you that it wouldn't cause weight gain. Where even does that idea come from? My sister thinks the same thing. That olive oil isn't a weight gain fat. ???

Anyway, I had one piece of tomato, and a rotelle noodle and just ate the food I had for myself. And I've got to think about this upcoming weekend. It's the Family Glamping weekend, and it will be loaded with food. I'll bring my zucchini and portobello for grilling, going to make a huge batch of Oat clusters to bring and share. I'll probably bring regular oatmeal for breakfast, even though I might have one pancake with jam. There will be plenty of fruit and I'll bring baked beans for sure, and maybe just some regular canned beans. It isn't going to be super easy to stay away from the junky stuff, but if I bring lots that I can munch on, maybe I'll grab a baked potato instead of a cookie. Or chips.

As for our getaway after the wedding, I am treating it like a Feast and going to enjoy without overdoing. That is, for meals I'll eat what sounds good, and not worry about fat content as much. No animal protein, of course. But that's at the end of September, and I can keep going with my zero processed foods or ingredients until then

[bunsofaluminum]

Okay now I'm doing this not for fun, not because it's great, but because if I don't, it will be bad. Those two lbs that I mentioned here recently, two lbs UP...they stayed. There has been some fluctuation, and I know that IS what I saw this morning...it fluctuated up and hasn't fluctuated back down yet. Whatever. It discouraged me so badly that I started crying. But I put on my workout clothes and put in 30 minutes on the recumbent (and that hurts my foot, so that's great) and ate watermelon and oat clusters for brekkie. Stir fry vegs and rice for lunch. Something on plan and unprocessed for dinner. Oh yay.

But I gave myself a talking to on the way to the gym this morning. If I say Screw It and don't pay attention to the fats, I will be exhausted, lacking stamina, foggy brained, and I will gain weight. So I will continue with my commitment to no processed foods or ingredients, and I'll get to the gym frequently and consistently. Thankfully I haven't been craving anything SAD. I'm heading for a weekend camping trip where there's gonna be all kinds of Trifecta Foods (fat, salty, sweet junk) so I better avoid triggers. I'm taking a huge batch of oat clusters, and frankly I'm gonna bake a ton of potatoes so I can munch on them while everyone else is having tortilla chips and M&M's. And sweet rolls, cookies, pretzels, roasted salted nuts, etc.

Up to now I would just say "Well, I'm losing weight so I'm not gonna eat the SAD stuff" but now it's going to be "I don't want to gain weight, so I"m not gonna eat it" or...not say anything and everyone can either notice what I'm doing or not.

[AnnetteW]

May I ask what your foot issue is? I have problems with my left foot. Got a nasty neuroma years ago from dancing, and had surgery on it a few years ago. It still bothers me, but not the same. I was getting lots of ankle pains and other strange foot pains, the doctor said it was arthritis. That has actually gone away for the most part. That darn forefront foot pain though is so frustrating, and a bit limiting.

Enjoy your camping trip.

[bunsofaluminum]

May I ask what your foot issue is? I have problems with my left foot. Got a nasty neuroma years ago from dancing, and had surgery on it a few years ago. It still bothers me, but not the same. I was getting lots of ankle pains and other strange foot pains, the doctor said it was arthritis. That has actually gone away for the most part. That darn forefront foot pain though is so frustrating, and a bit limiting.

Enjoy your camping trip.

Hi Annette,

It's my left foot, too! Mostly it comes from consistently wrenching that ankle when I weighed 320 lbs. So there's some calcification in the ankle joint, but I also get this pain sock...from the toes to the ankle. X-rays do not reveal any broken bones in the arch, which is where the pain can be so terrible. I'm sure there is inflammation in the tendons or something. There for a while I was pretty much crippled. When Wylie and I went shopping for some big stuff for our place, a half hour of walking around a furniture showroom crippled me, so that I needed to be in a wheelchair at Ikea (our second stop)...Moving house...oh MAN! There have been times when it made me cry, but I try really hard to manage it with visualization (it works 90% of the time).

These days it isn't nearly as bad, because a year or so ago I started taking the only daily supplement that I take: Alfalfa Complex by Shaklee. A friend mentioned it to me and I thought "why not" and now a year later, the foot pain is much less frequent, and not nearly as intense. It helps your telomeres...same thing they're saying about leafy greens, which I also eat every day. But it's so random. My mom, sister, and sis-in-law went out for a girls day, and I shopped for three hours without a problem at all. I was worried, but my feet were fine...and shopping is JUST HORRIBLE on my feet. Yet there I was enjoying wandering around many different shops and stores, no problem. And some days I can be standing there in the kitchen and WHAM ankle collapses and can't take any weight.

Anyway, once I take off some weight, right? because when I was in my 180's I was all over the place, walked every day, went hiking, even jogged on occasion. I can't even imagine that now...taking the dog around the block I end up limping. Yeah, forefront foot pain...ooof! That's the worst.


+++
No workout today. I was gonna get up and go lift, but when I turned over and saw the time was 6:22 (and I leave by 6:30) I said "gotta get up" and fell back asleep Maybe I'll go after work.

Yesterday I bought some chocolate, and chocolate covered espresso beans and nibbled in the afternoon. Way off plan, and highly caffeinated but it is what it is. Too bad, so sad. I was dragging for some reason and needed a boost.

Camping Trip.

Bake 10 lbs of potatoes to bring
Bring cucumbers to slice and snack on
Make huge batch of oat clusters

I will allow myself some "feasty" things. I have to decide what those will be, and then hold myself to it. I'm sure I'll nibble a bit, but I plan on being prepared with my taters and cukes. I do know that I won't be gorging on anything junky or feasty. IBS flare up? Do not want.

At work, we are in wait mode. Our Corporate Head is back from vacation, and thanks to a fuss that one teammate threw up when they started this project, we have to wait for his go-ahead. But I can NOT wait. My boss is a control freak who somehow has too much time on her hands, even though she is in one meeting after another, and takes work home and stays up until 3:00 a.m. but she still has the time to note when I go 3 minutes over on break time AND pull me aside to express her concern about it.

FFS I'm sick of her. I want to work where the manager doesn't comb through everyone's break time with a fine toothed comb. Break time, and EFFING bathroom time. It's ridiculous and I'm done. Everyone on this team is sick of it, and she is only doing it in hopes of "catching" one chick that she doesn't like...and believe me when I say that one will NEVER go over. She is a master of the fine print, and takes things as far as she "legally" can. Meanwhile the rest of us sit under the peering squint of a micro-manager who should never have been put in charge of any team.

Anyway, I'll be REALLY happy when the move comes. Please let it be soon!

[bunsofaluminum]

Terrific workout this morning. I started with weights, then 20 minutes of cardio and here's the cool thing: When I started my cardio, my heart rate was already 121 so I had 20 minutes of 120-130 HR without much effort. Watermelon, grapes, and oatmeal for brekkie.
I feel pretty good. I really enjoy being at the gym early.

Today I'll make my giant batch of oat clusters, and bake my 10# bag of potatoes. And get my stuff packed for camping. A quick trip to the grocery store after work to buy the things I'm bringing. Time to make a list.

[bunsofaluminum]

Back from our camping and pleased to report that I did not gain, and in fact it looks like down a little bit, on the lower edge of the 238 mark I did eat some off plan stuff, including tortilla chips (thank GOD my mom brought a variety to share that I didn't enjoy that much, so I wasn't tempted. The wrong kind of chips, I would've eaten the whole bag) I took four dozen Oat Clusters, and I did munch on those. My SAD eating beer gut brother liked them, my vegetarian fitness freak sister did not. My little toddler grandson ate several. I also had half a dozen cucumbers and sliced those up for sharing during the day and a few people had them, but I GOBBLED them down.

Heh. Shhhh, don't tell, but on Saturday night, after the kids were in bed, and after Gramma turned in, we took the 420 to Colorado and watched the stars spiral, and played with a voice altering app and laughed our heads off. So much fun! and such a PERFECT ending to a busy day. While we were on our trip, I did have a total Not Health Food cookie.

Off Plan things I ate: small servings of mayo based potato salad and macaroni salad; tortilla chips; scrambled eggs; a few Caramel M&M's (they turned out not to be that big a deal...not like when I was out of control back a few months ago) so yeah overall I think I did really well in a SAD and junk food environment.

No workout today. Needed to give my knees and feet a break and I think the big increase in activity all weekend more than makes up for it. But there are rowing machines at the gym and I am TOTALLY going to try it out!

[bunsofaluminum]

Really good workout this morning. I put in about 40 minutes lifting, then 20 min of cardio on the recumbent.

Eating remains good. I did buy some raw whole almonds and have been nibbling them. I'll need to cut those out.

Ooh! Lunch today...I brought some split pea something and potatoes, but it didn't sound good, so I went to Trader Joe's and bought precooked quinoa, frozen roasted corn, frozen spinach, and some salsa. Made a plateful that looked like a Mexican party it tasted SO good, and it is nicely rib-sticking. I'll do that again for lunch tomorrow.

We booked our honeymoon. Five nights in Vegas, including Cirque Du Soleil and a helicopter flight! Yay! going up in a helicopter has been at the top of my bucket list for a long time. I am SO excited! We have a room with a hot tub, on the strip. We are also taking a ride on the large wheel, and a day trip to Hoover Dam.

It will be the last days of Sept and first days of Oct, which is still five-ish weeks away, so I'll continue with my zero processed plan until then, and it'll be Feasting while we're away. Modified. I won't just put all the things in my mouth. I'll still choose as carefully as I can, but yeah...if there's a yummy dessert, I'll have some you know? I will develop a plan and follow it, and I will have some feast foods.

Until then, compliance and avoidance of refined foods/ingredients.

[Lyndzie]

Heidi! What day is the ceremony? I’m so happy for you!!

[bunsofaluminum]

Heidi! What day is the ceremony? I’m so happy for you!!

It is Sept 28, a Saturday. Mid-afternoon with "light refreshments" . I'm putting together my outfit, and Wylie wants to go shopping together for something matching for him. Monday we'll head up to my sister's for our second "venue meeting" and get some phone numbers and possibly get some things done for the decor. We want it to be super simple but there's still seating and such to think about. I'm going to finish with the invitations tonight. I made them myself, with elegant Dingbatz style decorations on each one.



I am loving watermelon season. That has been brekkie for me almost every day for just weeks. Watermelon and some oat clusters. I figure through September? Grapes, too. I love July because Grapes! and Watermelon! The main drawback to my watermelon habit has been buying it already cut into spears or chunks, in a plastic tub, $3 or $4 for a one lb container, where a whole watermelon is like .49c or less a pound. I've processed plenty of watermelon, but I have also bought SO MUCH at this high price. You pay for convenience, eh? Yes, loving melon season, and really eager for soup season to start up. It's been cooler overnight, but evenings are still too hot to cook a pot of soup. Soon.

My impromptu TJ's lunch yesterday YUM! All from the freezer aisle, and yes, expensive. Spinach, quinoa, corn, salsa. But I could get those ingredients into the house and put it together a lot cheaper.

No workout today. I maxed it out yesterday and my muscles need a rest. Just staying with my compliance and my planned exercise routine.

Must mention the chocolate covered espresso beans I've been nibbling the past few days. Maybe I've gotten into the Pleasure Trap with these? Better get a handle on it.

[bunsofaluminum]

This has been an indulgent week. I've had extra dark chocolate every day, and got some raw whole almonds on Monday and ate some every day, the last of them yesterday. So I need to stop that. Otherwise I've been eating SO compliant, zero processed is really sticking for me. Now to get a genuine handle on calorie density.

Good workout today. About 40 min on weights, 15 cardio and I do have noodle legs. Feeling really good.

I'll make oat clusters after work. My most recent batch, good grief! I made a huge recipe a "10 Batch" before camping, and didn't know that the dates were un-pitted. I couldn't figure out why the dates weren't blending...then I had a date for a nibble, and there was a pit in it, and I had to run my hands through the banana/date puree to get all the pits out! So that happened. Just ate the last of those cookies today. I'mma stop on my way home from work and see if there are any red-banded bananas for cheap and if there aren't I'mma just buy nanners. Make me some cookies

Come on, soup season!

[moonlight]

Heidi! What day is the ceremony? I’m so happy for you!!

It is Sept 28, a Saturday. Mid-afternoon with "light refreshments" . I'm putting together my outfit, and Wylie wants to go shopping together for something matching for him. Monday we'll head up to my sister's for our second "venue meeting" and get some phone numbers and possibly get some things done for the decor. We want it to be super simple but there's still seating and such to think about. I'm going to finish with the invitations tonight. I made them myself, with elegant Dingbatz style decorations on each one.

Heidi, your invitations are beautiful! You are so artistic with the ink pen! I love hearing about your wedding plans, too. Sometimes when people have been living together for a while then decide to get married, they don't have a ceremony and honeymoon. It's great that you and Wylie are doing both. Your honeymoon plans sound like so much fun. I'm wishing you all the best.