And The Survey Says…

I picked up the latest copy of a magazine that I really enjoy. In fact, I used to subscribe to it because I liked the news and recipes and fashion. As a subscriber, I got a reduced price and a few bonuses along the way.

weighing-right

Anyway, I picked up the latest issue and started to turn page after page after page. There were many nice recipes, new fashions, and of course advertisements. Then I hit page 52 and my world was shattered. The column was about what to eat in your 20s, 30s, & 40s. (No mention of your 50s, 60, 70s, etc)

scale-cartoon1

In your twenties, you should be eating eggs, vegetables, chicken, coconut water, Greek yogurt, and quinoa. In your thirties, you should be eating oatmeal, nuts, tuna, edamame, avocado, and lentils. In your forties, you should be eating ginger, cherries, salmon, kale, extra virgin olive oil, and green tea.

teckel_mesa

But I’m in my sixties! What am I supposed to be eating? Or is it that after you turn fifty it’s all over anyway, so you might as well give up!

I thought about this for a while and actually started to feel bad, then my phone rang and it was a man doing a survey for our local electric company. Now I love my electric company, they do a good job, (the rates are bad, but heck they are bad everywhere!) and they’re very friendly when I need them. So I answered his survey. At the very end, he asked how old I was. Now, what on earth does my age have to do with the electrical current?

You know, my age never bothered me until I read the article, but today I was actually feeling old. I told him how old I was and why I was feeling bad about it. He laughed and then said, “It’s okay, that’s young! I’m 68!”

After that, I felt better and went about my day.

At least Weight Watchers has helped to give me guidelines to follow about the foods to eat to make you healthy.

But between the magazine and the electric company survey, I sort of felt tremendously over the hill!

Sig file for Dackel

All in a Days Work

Today was go through the fridge day and determine what needed to be tossed, what needed to be cooked, and what needed to be prepared.

This found me making a huge garden salad, Jack made his cucumber salad, and I prepared everything so we could saute up bacon, onion and Brussel sprouts for our dinner tonight.

So that was also a lot of cutting up and chopping as well as preparing three meals for me and three meals for Jack.

Whew!

At least I have all the vegetables prepared for the next few days and I will just need to cook the protein part of the meal.

This is good because nothing will go to waste and I can now get on to other things.

I couldn’t stand not doing something about my roots so I ordered some color from a mail-order company. It should be here next week. I hope it comes out well because I am not sure how long it will be until I feel safe going to the hair salon. I will keep you posted.

Tomorrow is clean my closet out day, as suddenly I have an interesting problem. After losing 38.6 pounds, I have a closet full of clothes that are way too big for me. So I need to weed them out.

I slept like a baby on Wednesday night, and I am sure I will tonight too. Having the air conditioner makes all the difference!

Happy Thursday!

 

original-linear-image-dachshund-hearts-freehand-drawn-black-white-cartoon-79618182

Sugar

The day after Christmas found me standing in the kitchen again, asking the age old question…”What’s to eat?”

54ba4335d35eefea401e34b6db36510e

Why am I back on the prowl? Well, after just one day of breaking training (my diet) my body responded by craving sugar once again! Pitiful really, but it just proves that sugar is like a drug to me and I best keep away from it!

So, I went back to my regular, no sugar eating plan today, and I am determined to stay this way. Sugar-free if you will!

Now, I did enjoy my Stollen on Christmas, delicious as it was, and because of the bad tooth, I did use a little Rum, medicinally. That tooth, whichever one it is, was surely bothering me!

I received a phone call this morning from my dentist’s secretary. I’d left a message on their machine on Christmas Eve, and she called me to find out what the problem was. She immediately made an appointment for me to see him in the morning. Thank you so much, Sandra!

The Insurance Adjuster came by to see our roof. Have I mentioned that in the windstorm last week, the cap on part of the roof blew off? Well, yes, and thankfully we had waterproofing done until after the first of the year when repairs will be made.

Both Jack and I went to get the mail, my new Real ID License arrived (15 days after I applied), and then we both took naps. We’re still tired, but at least our little naps helped some.

So as the day after Christmas comes to a close, I need to plan a few low carb meals and think of how we can celebrate New Year’s Eve without me breaking training.

 

149450591_8d7a17c7cd_o

Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen

Today’s Thursday Thirteen will revolve around 13 of my favorite things to eat right now. I’ve discovered a few things and I sure have been enjoying this guilt free eating!

  1. Grilled Summer Squash, Zucchini and Eggplant from my garden. Toss it with a little olive oil, chop up a sweet onion with it, and grill until all of them are caramelized! Oh just total yumminess!
  2. I have been eating pop-chips in a barbecue flavor because that’s what Weight Watcher’s had. Then they ran out, and I was in the grocery store and discovered, Sea Salt and Vinegar Pop Chips! OMG!

    tb-product-All-Natural-Pop-Chips-Sea-Salt-and-Vinegar-1297791867

    This is nirvana! The best chip of all. 22 chips for 2 points!!!

  3. Fiber One Fat Free Cottage Cheese with fruit. I remember back in my youth turning my nose up at cottage cheese, but Fiber One makes theirs so creamy and good. It makes me a happy girl!
  4. Bacon. I know, you are all saying bacon? But yes, I can have 1 slice of bacon for 1 point at breakfast, which means that I can have a slice of bacon and an egg for three points! That sounds good to me!
  5. Bacon again. I love BLT’s and now that I can eat 1 or 2 slices of cooked bacon, I can make an awesome Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich!
  6. Potato Salad. I’ve got this recipe almost fine tuned. Stay tuned for a recipe, but it is really good!
  7. I love ice cream and find that the Weight Watchers Dark Chocolate Raspberry ice cream bar is the best!
  8. A wonderful salad of mixed greens, goat cheese, strawberries and spiced almonds! Need I say more!
  9. My very own, go out in the yard and pick a peach off the tree and bite! I was checking on them today and it won’t be long until they’re ready!
  10. Hot-dogs. I can eat fat free Ballpark Franks as they have only 1 point per hot-dog! I buy the lo-fat rolls and a hot-dog and roll is only 3 points!
  11. When I get back from my trip I want to take the turkey out of my freezer and thaw and cook it up! I sure love turkey!!!
  12. Lemonade. This summer I have been making my own lemonade with generic splenda. It is so refreshing and good, that even Hubby is drinking it!
  13. A Burger! I had my first really honest and truly hamburger a couple of weeks back. After three and a half years on Weight Watchers, I really do not eat hamburgers at all anymore. All I can say about that is…Mmmmmmmm!

The Foods We Eat

Gattina over at Writer’s Cramps asked the question, “How do you do your grocery shopping? Since I know that many countries do their shopping differently, I decided to write about how I shop now, and how I have shopped in the past.

When Hubby and I first married I did a big shopping once a week and then filled in with things during the week. We lived outside of town and it was quite a ride to get to the nearest grocery store.

When we moved to Germany, I shopped every day. Our fridge was tiny, so I just didn’t have room for much. In Germany this was quite common back in 1989. I really enjoyed this because I always felt like I was getting things very fresh and this was nice. I especially love the bread in Germany. Simply the best ever.

Nibelungenland_Odenwald_Bauernbrot_Nibelungenbrot_Vollkornbrot

Seriously. The best bread in the world…made in Germany!

Later on, we moved to Florida. At that time, Hubby was flying three or four days a week and so I was home a lot by myself. I didn’t cook. I ate frozen diet TV dinners. I shopped every few days, but food held no real thrill for me.

When Hubby retired and we returned to New Hampshire, I began to cook again in earnest, which meant that my shopping habits changed. I shopped once a week again, and started to cook great extravagant meals. Oh I loved cooking lasagnas and casseroles, and cakes and cookies! Yum!

Right up until Hubby developed diabetes and I hit my high weight level. Then I had to relearn, to manage mealtimes, for his diabetes and my Weight Watchers meal plans.

I started shopping for pantry items once per week and buying my meats, chicken and fish once per week. Then twice a week I will supplement with fruit and vegetables. There are times I shop every two weeks to use up what I already have.

In the summer I eat what I grow or what I can get at the local farm stands.

August 22 018

I love fresh vegetables. Don’t you?

So how do you shop for the food you eat? Has it changed over the years? Are you eating fresher food now or more packaged foods?

I always read the sale flier and try to plan meals around what is cheap that week. I also stock up on chicken and beef when they are on sale. How about you?

I wish I lived closer to a good fresh vegetable market, but that only happens in the summer when the farm stands open in our town. Other than that I must drive 20 miles to the nearest, good grocery store.

What do you like and dislike about grocery shopping? What is your favorite time of year to shop? Do you utilize your local farm stands and farmer’s markets?

A Carrot Anyone?

The dackels have been watching me.

Why, you might ask? Well, I decided after the German Judge criticized Anneliese that perhaps all three of my dackels were a bit over weight. So I weighed them. Ah, well, let’s just say, I’m a good doggy cook.

So their diet immediately started. I got them some special diet canned food, and then I cut back on how much they are allowed to eat of the crunchies. Greta and Anneliese are not big crunchy fans, so they have been doing very well. I also stopped all plate scraps for them. Fritz, the lucky devil, gets it all. Slowly, they are both losing weight. Even Arnie is starting to look a little better.

I want to get Greta back to 18-19 pounds, Arnie at 18 and Anneliese down to 16-16 1/2 pounds. Fritz? Well let’s just say that the boy needs to maintain the weight he has and even put on a bit as he is very slender. But the boy runs and runs and runs and I can hardly keep the weight on him.

The dackels? Well, as I said they are following me everywhere. Watching, hoping, for a little cookie or treat. What do they get? Carrots! Luckily they love the baby carrots and are happy for those.

Oh I can truly relate to them. Today is my Weight Watchers meeting and I am really hoping for a good weight loss. I sure have been working hard and measuring every little thing that has gone into my mouth.

What can I say? Food is food, be it people food or doggy food, and we are all subject to putting on a little spare tire, aren’t we?

Thursday 13 #63

food

Thirteen Foods I’m Enjoying On Weight Watchers

1. Grapefruit. We got a box from my friend in Florida for Christmas and just finished the last of it today. Oh, it was sooooo good!

2. Oranges. Especially the navel ones with no seeds.

3. My super salads with tuna or chicken. They are so crunchy!

4. The fish I’m eating, from tuna to salmon. I do love fish.

5. Potatoes. Yes, I can eat small amounts of potatoes and I am really liking that. So many diets tell you not to eat any potatoes and then I miss them terribly.

6. Eggplant. This is pretty much a free vegetable and I roast it in the oven and eat! Oh I do love that.

7. Yogurt. I try to snack on one of these each day. The Weight Watcher brand ones are great and only 1 point!

8. My tuna sandwich. I make it with a 7 grain light bread and 1/2 a cup of tuna and fat free mayo it is easy and “normal”.

9. My Cream of Wheat mixed with banana chunks. I sprinkle a little splenda on that and the milk and it’s a nice warm way to start the day.

10. The pasta! There are so many good pasta recipes on the Weight Watcher Web Site and all the ones that we’ve tried have been good.

11. The Chili. It’s amazingly spicy and Hubby loves it. I can make it with ground turkey and no salt, so it’s very healthy!

12. The ice cream. Yes, I can have various WW ice creams and they’re just 2 points. Pretty good. Especially the chocolate ones.

13. These new things they have called Peanut Butter Bliss Bars! OMG! I have gone to Heaven with these! They give me my chocolate fix and they really do not taste like diet food at all.

Thursday Thirteen

Nov 24 015

My Favorite Perfect Lunch

1. Lettuce. Shredded into bite size pieces.
2. Cucumber. Peeled and sliced into bite size chunks.
3. 2 slices of deli roast beef or deli turkey, rolled up and sliced.
4. 1 ounce of cheddar cheese cut into match sticks.
5. 1 Roma tomato cut into bite size pieces.
6. 1 wedge of green pepper cut into match sticks.
7. 1/2 a stalk of celery sliced thinly
8. Red salad onion, sliced thin. As much or as little as you’d like.
9. 6-8 large Calamata olives. (the ones with pits are the best.)
10. Low Carb. Ranch dressing drizzled over the top.
11. One large glass of water with your meal.
12. A cup of hot tea afterwards
13. A small dish of sugar free Jell-O.



It’s Just Not Right

Okay, I have been on my diet for three days. Three full days! So how come I am not 10 pounds lighter already? It seems to me that all the struggle, all the work preparing these vegetable laden and healthy meals, would also aid in my weight loss. How come when you eat wildly, you gain weight overnight, but when you are good and eat in a dieter’s fashion, then you don’t lose the same way?
It’s just not right!
Today I actually got up and did some of that horrible stuff I have mentioned before.
I exercised!
I am not what you would call lazy, but I just hate to sweat and when you exercise you sweat. Yuck. However, today I decided to brave the gawkers and go to the town beach to swim.
I put on my swim suit, the one I bought because is holds my tummy in, my boobs up and doesn’t make my bottom look like the back end of a “wide load” truck! In other words, it hides things pretty well.
I went down with my neighbor and her family and paddled around and around and around for almost an hour. No sweating there, right?
I knew that all this “work” had to have paid off with a big weight loss.
I rushed home and ran into the house and jumped on the scale. No change!
Oh, of course, I needed to take off the bathing suit. It’s wet and probably weighs ten pounds, right? So I started to take off the suit. The spandex that I loved so much an hour ago, was now like sprayed on latex that would not budge. I shimmied and shook and I sucked in my stomach. No go. About the time I was thinking I would have to either sleep in this thing or have Hubby cut me out of it, I found that rolling it down, worked.
By the time I got the stupid thing off, I forgot about weighing myself and just dressed in my shorts and left the room.
It’s just not right.

Oh Woe Is The Fat Lady!!!

Well, here we go again.
I was getting ready for a picnic yesterday when I found that my cute, summer shorts were too tight. My first thought was, “How’d these shrink?”
After deciding to have my dryer heat settings checked, I pulled on a pair of stretchy all purpose shorts. These are my fall back ones. They always fit, never shrink and can be worn anywhere.
I finished preparing for my day, loaded all the food into the car and off we went.
I felt good, comfortable and we had a great time, but when I downloaded my pictures onto the laptop I saw this strange woman in them. She was sitting in my comfortable shorts, with my hair and glasses, but this woman, this chubby woman, couldn’t possibly be me!
I went into the bathroom stripping off my clothes as I went. I stepped on the scales and I swear I heard groaning! (My own, perhaps?)
“I don’t weigh that much!” I screamed, “Surely it’s all the iced tea I drank today!”
I came out and asked Hubby, “Do I look fat?”
He looked at me with real fear in his eyes. He stumbled, he stuttered, and smartly, he did not answer me.
So, what now, I wondered? I knew even before I finished the question.
It’s back onto the diet wagon. The one I fell off of last January. The one I tried to climb back onto, and fell off of again and again this spring.
So why stay on the diet this time? It’s easy. You see, aside from these ugly, all purpose, shrink resistant shorts, all I have to wear is my underwear and a pair of raggedy pajamas!
It’s a good thing I planted my garden of vegetables, because it’s all I’ll be eating for a while!
Oh woe is the fat lady!

image001.jpg