**The Senior WW Challenge** Saturday 4/20

Good morning all.

I was up extra early this morning and now I'm almost ready to leave to pick up DD for our road trip to NE Indiana. It's a 3 hr drive one way so we probably won't be home until around 8pm this evening. We're visiting one of my best friends since high school and I've really been looking forward to this trip. It will be a long day but a fun one.

I checked the weather online and it looks like I'll be driving all the way there in rain. Ugh. This will be the 3rd day of rain but it is supposed to move out later on tonight and Easter Sunday will be very nice and much warmer than the 50s we've had the past day or two.

Where did you see that documentary, Sharon? Amazon? Netflix? Sounds interesting.

We're expecting rain today and (possibly) tomorrow, but temps in the high 60s. I have some shopping to do so I will be able to walk. 

Have a great visit, Vicki. 

Sounds like a perfe3ct idea for Easter, Sandy.

I've made some of Ann's lentil, spinach, sausage soup and will bring some across the street to my neighbor who broke her humerus. She is doing great. Lots of falls around here lately. Working hard at making sure I will not be one of the statistics.

Have a good one, friends.

Gail

Got up early, took care of Hubert, showered, washed my hair and got Easter baskets arranged to I can fill this evening. Going to church to get basket blessed this morning. Home to mop the floors and then work at 1:00. Cooked poppy seed filling for my rolls. Will roll out and bake after work (1-6) today. Mass at 8:00. I may bake a carrot cake in the morning and I may not. Depends on all I get accomplished today.

Hubert has to have another echocardiogram before he is eligible for adoption. He will be going to a sub foster on Monday as I will be having my hand surgery on tuesday. I'll get him back on Wednesday or Thursday.

Lots of rain yesterday and still some spritzing today. Tomorrow should be 75 and sunny. Last night went down to 38. Today should be 55-60. Yestrday it fell all day long. I guess this is what Spring is all about. Change, change, change.

My Bill should be discharged later today. Cath was removed at 6 a.m. and he has passed urine 5 times since then. Urologist and cardiologist have cleared him. Just waiting for hosp doc to discharge him this afternoon. And NO Catheter!

Back home DH is still asleep.  Food poisoning with a fever?  I don't know that much about food poisoning.  DH is still asleep I don't think he moved since I left.  I did look in long enough to make sure it was breathing. 

I managed to lose a bit from last month's weigh-in.  The topic was eat what you love.  As the conversation got started, I listened to members talking about how far they could get into the day with 0 point foods which I think is just  ... crazy.  I know that most of what I eat is 0 point foods, but avoiding pointy foods is not a goal.  I want to disperse them through the day.  Anyway, it did make me realize that I do eat a 0 point lunch most of the time.  Anyway, that does make me a bit more attentive to ensuring I get carbs and oils during the day.  I used to use salad dressing on my salad at lunch, but since I started using balsamic vinegar I haven't used oil.  Maybe get some oil in with the vinegar and mustard!  However, that's not the point.

Eat what you love.  There is a delicate balance, I think between eating foods that you love in reasonable point quantities and going toenails over teacups over trigger foods.  The emphasis of the meeting was not to declare "forbidden" foods because that will only make them more appealing to us.  But to figure a way to eat them in moderation when we can get to that stage.

Another woman, whose name was also Karen, spoke my words.  She loves bread and crackers and told of her recent decline into a pan of fresh cornbread.  I think there is a decision or a point at which we might say that a particular food, though we may like it, it simply not worth it.  Not declare it forbidden, but not worth it because of the havoc that it raises.  I think it's kind of like identifying some foods as those we are allergic to.  I can live with that.  I know that every single time I have lost a lot of weight, been happy and satisfied with myself and then tried to bring back foods, even before WW, that it was bread and crackers that I just couldn't manage.  It was a slippery slope.  I have both now after all these years.  I count out the crackers into the serving.  I put the box back into the pantry and I know the points of the serviing.  Then I eat them as planned.  It is structured and rigid and I know.  I know that if I get that container back out thata it's all over and I will eat far more.  so, structure.

QOTD:  You don't need to identify it if you know that's not a good thing for you, but how do you handle foods that you really like, that you might call forbidden foods or trigger foods?

AOTD:  My answer is folded into the intro above!

And now it's time to fill my water bottle and head over for Zumba.  DH hasn't roused yet.  I skipped a poetry workshop because I didn't want to be gone that long from him.  He's got to be hungry.  He'll probably want to stand on the scales!

KC, such great news about Bill!  Relief!

Sharon, I haven't looked through recipes since I've been here, but I'm going to look for that lemon pie recipe.  In Tucson we'd be inundated with lemons and I'd have made it a couple of times already!  Not so much here.

Jane, I'm glad you're going on a cruise. You enjoy them so.

Joanne, how are you doing?  And Marlo?  Gail, wow.  I hope your PCP has some good ideas about the bone density issue.  Maybe a referral will give you a specialist's help to work on getting that strength back.  That's why I jump, when I remember.  The one article that said that random jumping through the day, at least 30 seconds apart, seemed to have the best results for increasing bone density.  I do have trouble remembering it.  Maybe I need to tie it to walking 250 steps.  Always start and stop with a jump.  Yes, good idea.  Thanks, Gail.

So glad Bill will be discharged, KC.