“You wanna do what now?” – Codee at The Condo Atlantic Beach, FL – August 10th, 2021
We have been getting out and about in the morning, but mostly in the car to run errands. Like everywhere else, it’s pretty warm outside no matter the time of day and Codee gets in most of his steps in the evening. I did a bit of container gardening after we got home and he took a little nap. Luckily, I have an eastern facing balcony, so by 12:30, we have some shade. He really likes to break up the early afternoon by going in and out. This way he can check out any neighbors passing by and then cool off on the air conditioned, hardwood floor. Not a bad gig, if you can get it.
Honey Nut Squash, Tom Thumb Peas, and Arugula Upcycle Balcony Victory Garden, The Condo Atlantic Beach, FL – August 10, 2021The Carrot Patch Dig Local Community Garden, Dutton Island Road Atlantic Beach, FL – August 10, 2021
Parks and Recreation:
An Unusually Empty Day, Atlantic Beach Dog Park Atlantic Beach, FL – August 10, 2021Howell Park Atlantic Beach, FL – August 10, 2021
On The Streets Where I Live:
There are all kinds of unexpected joys kicking around Atlantic Beach. Finding hidden bits helps keep me motivated….and not just because it means I can stop in this heat to take a photo. 😉 I find I have just a little burst of energy after I smile.
“Nothing to see here, folks.” – Tree Man, 11th Street Atlantic Beach, FL – August 10, 2021Sunshine in Rock Form, Beach Ave Atlantic Beach, FL – August 11, 2021Mammoth Sunflowers, The Condo Atlantic Beach, FL – August 10, 2021Happy Little Clouds Atlantic Beach, FL – August 10, 2021
Sweating It Out:
A return to the streets!!! It was great, but it was a walk/run/limp combo, to be completely honest. My left hip HATED me at the end of this. I stretched it out a bunch and used my roller ball, but this is a great reminder to do what I say…or not…and not what I do. I am a negligent stretcher/flexibility training buddy. Heed the warning, please.
Podcast of The Day:
This section should be retitled, “My Schoolgirl Crushes”… Today, it’s back to my boys and their guest, Tony Hawk. I was never cool enough to be a skater, but I think the first time I saw him was in the movie “Gleaming The Cube”…Could that be accurate?
On The Plates:
The old standard… Guitar Case Greens, Roasted Lola Chicken, Roasted Shaved Beets, Grapefruit, Sautéed Onion, and English Cucumber with a Grapefruit Vinaigrette
Since we’re being honest…this is how it played out behind the scenes….
How I Really Eat My Salads, The Condo Atlantic Beach, FL – August 10, 2021
Cronometer:
Garmin Says:
That step count is a little more in line with what I like to see.
110 Days Until Load In!!…Stay safe and moving, y’all!!!
Sea Oat Summer Views Atlantic Beach, FL – August 9, 2021A Quiet Morning Atlantic Beach, FL – August 9, 2021
After a quick trip to check that everything was okay on the ocean side, I took us up to one of the National Parks that is close by. Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve has a handful of trail options and includes Fort Caroline, Spanish Pond, and the Theodore Roosevelt area. You can get everything from river to woods to salt marsh, plus the only real elevation change that I have seen in the state. We didn’t get that far today, though. Something freaked Codee out and it was too buggy to try to convince him that something wasn’t going to come out of the forest to get him. He braved it for half a mile and then we retreated. The silver lining is that he kind of quickly trots back to the car once he gets his way, so he gets a little exercise on the return.
Spanish Pond Trail, Ticumuan Ecological and Historical Preserve Jacksonville, FL – August 9, 2021Spanish Pond Trail Map, Ticumuan Ecological and Historical Preserve Jacksonville, FL – August 9, 2021Relentless Palm, Spanish Pond Jacksonville, FL – August 9, 2021
In The Gardens:
I think it might be chard for dinner tomorrow. These probably don’t have enough soil to get much bigger, plus, if I wait any longer, I am afraid that I will lose them to pests, sun, or wind. I love the different color stalks, though, and at this size, I bet I can almost cook both the stem and the leaves together. I might have time for one more round of Guitar Greens before we take off. I was trying to decide what to do with the case when I leave…likely it’s given its all, but we’ll see when I empty it.
Guitar Case Greens, The Condo Atlantic Beach, FL – August 9, 2021The Violated Pepper Plant, Dig Local Community Gardens, Dutton Island Road Atlantic Beach, FL – August 9, 2021Simple Smiles, Dig Local Community Gardens, Dutton Island Road Atlantic Beach, FL – August 9, 2021
On The Streets Where I Live:
The BEST Type of Water Fountain, Bull Memorial Park Atlantic Beach, FL – August 9, 2021
Sweating It Out:
I took a rest from any cardio today, but I started the week off with a continuation of my mini arm workouts.
On The Plates:
I had my standard Green Drink at 2PM, but then I wasn’t really hungry until dinner. And then I made this dish…what was meant to be two portions became one and I feasted. I really didn’t plan it this way and I need to work on my portion control worst of all. Now that I got that admission out of the way…this way SO yummy.
Cronometer:
Let’s talk rest calories as they relate to Cronometer. Your “Calories Consumed” is obvious…whatever I have entered for the day. Most entries come from their really widespread database, but I can also add custom foods and build recipes if I have items that aren’t already listed. The middle one, “Calories Burned” uses some data that I give it in my profile and a formula to calculate my daily resting metabolic rate…mine is 1242 calories. Think of that as my account balance for the day. I can add calories by adding workouts manually if my Garmin isn’t working for whatever reason or syncing it. This way, it’s slightly…that’s a big key word here…more accurate because my Garmin tracks my heart rate which is related to the entire equation. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m not sure what algorithm magic goes on, but the two apps never end the day with the same calories burned, so take it all with a grain of salt. Tracking is really great for me, though, because it focuses my attention even if my body doesn’t always follow formulas. There is also an option to add the “Thermic Effect of Food” which is the calorie cost of my body digesting whatever I ate: protein costs a bit more than fat or carbs, whole foods a bit more than processed. I don’t include that one though, but it is a real thing, obviously. Instead, I think of it like the round up savings account that I have. You don’t have to worry about it, but over time, it adds up. Moving on, they give my remaining balance for the day based on how much weight I want to lose a week. One pound equals a calorie deficit of 3500 calories, so at a pound a week, I need to spend 498 calories more than I consume, which means that, in the app, I begin each day with 743 calories. As you can see, today, I was over my limit by 169 calories and that’s because I am not really interested in eating less than 1200 calories a day and today was a really chill day. In general, I try to keep to what the apps tell me, but I am in charge, not them, so if I am still hungry and I am under 1500 calories five days a week and under 1700 calories the remaining two days, I am going to ignore Circle #3 telling me that I am “over”. I’m going to see how that plays out over the course of the next few weeks and I will adjust that goal if necessary. That’s enough talking for about that, for now.
Yup…looks like a 92 degree rest day. I will say that I am a bit disappointed that I missed the daily step goal, but I came relatively close, so I’ll be a little more mindful of that next week. (Remember: I could have used the treadmill for a bit even if I didn’t want to be outside.)
Dig Local Community Garden, Dutton Island Road Atlantic Beach, FL – August 8, 2021
It was a beautiful day to round out Week 1 of my challenge…one of those days where there is not much to report in the garden, though. August is like that around here. After checking on things there and then heading to my favorite grocery store (they have 10% off produce on Sundays), we headed back to the condo for a chill day. I did a bit of my strength training while getting extra vitamin D and composting a couple of plants on the balcony while Codee napped. It was a warm and sunny day, so we took a lot of short walks. After my coaching call, we headed to the park…again. It’s not uncommon for us to hit at least three of the parks in Atlantic Beach on any given day and today was no exception. It’s a really difficult place for boredom to set in and that is only one of the reasons I love my tiny town so much. And now for some photos from the next town over…Neptune Beach….
Simple Beauty, First Street Neptune Beach, FL – August 8, 2021Bumper Sticker Wisdom Atlantic Beach, FL – August 8, 2021Creatures by Scotie Cousins Neptune Beach, FL, August 8, 2021I’m a sucker for a penny farthing…, First Street Neptune Beach, FL – August 8, 2021
Sweating It Out:
I had a fun walk/run combo into Neptune Beach this evening. I walked the first 2.5 miles, jogged 2 miles, and then walked the last half mile home. Straight out and mostly straight back. There isn’t a ton of shade on First Street in Neptune, so I haven’t gone far in that direction in a long time. The bummer is that I noticed my phone was going to die, so I skipped a podcast/music and didn’t take a lot of photos, but I was reminded how nice the route is with a good breeze, creative neighbors, and the occasional view of the ocean. No turns and very little traffic means you can just get in the zone and the fellow fitness seekers provide just the right amount of motivation when you need it.
I also had a double dose of arm resistance training. It seems like such a small daily amount, but I will be honest that I am feeling it after a day off tomorrow. I’m not sore, but I’m glad I am easing back in.
On The Plates:
7 for 7 on the brunch consistency this week. This photo is from yesterday, but my Green Drink is exactly the same, so…
Have a mentioned recently that it is an acquired taste?…
I had a HUGE kitchen win today and finally found the right combo of recipe and technique to make my own mayonnaise. Why didn’t I go to Martha months ago??? I am very excited about this development. Mostly because I failed so many times prior to this success, it seemed like I was not ever going to get it right…blender, whisk, food processor…nothing had produced anything but an oily mess. Mayonnaise is a condiment that I gave up back when I lost my first large amount of weight and I don’t miss it often, but I am trying to eat more fish and I definitely miss it when it comes to canned salmon and tuna. I didn’t use much and also added Dijon mustard and caper brine, along with celery and sea salt, but it makes a big difference. I like to let it chill in the fridge for a few hours before eating, if I think to plan it out that way. I’m really excited to have this in a sandwich, but I am keeping gluten out of my diet for a month, so as if I didn’t have enough beets earlier in the week…I served it along with some roasted beets tossed with champagne vinegar, salted English cucumber slices, and greens from my balcony garden. Perfect for a hot summer day.
Cronometer:
Around 9PM, I got a little snacky…some carrots, an apple, and coconut peanut spread were a perfect, if strange, solution. It was kind of a weird day with a touch of an over indulgence at the end. As a side note, I have not had the exact same weight three days in a row in any other time in my memory…so strange, but holding steady through day 7 of my challenge and day 1 of my cycle.
Garmin Says:
It was a beautiful day… which was exactly what I needed to close out the week hitting all my goals!
112 Days Until Load In…Stay safe and moving, y’all!
I’ll put this delicately…The little man had some digestive issues that caused a very early morning (2:54AM) trip outside. Historically, I am not known for my natural ability to wake, but luckily, I have woken up every time that it has really mattered when it comes to this guy…so far. Oddly, he doesn’t bark, but I must sense that something is different in the bed. Tonight was no exception and we made it in time. 3AM isn’t an unknown hour to me, but it did mean that I was awake for awhile after. No worries for Codee though. He was definitely my partner in sleeping in today and seemed to be just fine when we got a late start. We headed straight to the community garden instead of hitting the beach or the park. The garden is 1.75 miles from the condo and to get there, I go through an area, apparently known officially as the Mayport Road Corridor. Earlier in the year, Atlantic Beach partnered with the firm ArtRepublic to add about 15 murals to buildings in the neighborhood and this one is part of a large group of them on Mayport Road. They have been pretty controversial, as all good art should be. The other side thinks that they aren’t “beachy” enough, but I think that is why I love the project so much. It’s nice to have a little originality and diversity in our public art. Someday, I’ll try to find out more about the man in this particular mural.
In The Gardens:
Sprouts are so fun because, well plants are just awesome, but also because changes are noticeable day to day when they are this tiny. I’m going to have to break these guys apart pretty soon, I think. I still marvel at how all of these purple tomatillo sprouts popped up after an unripe fruit that fell from a plant a few months ago decomposed just right. Mother Nature carried on the most important part of the plant even if I have yet to taste one proving yet again that she does not need us. Maybe this season, the timing will be right. 🤞
Tomatillo Sprouts Dig Local Community Garden, Dutton Island Road Atlantic Beach, FL – August 6, 2021
Here at the condo, my sunflowers are just about to burst into color. I really didn’t expect them to get to 9’! This is going to be quite a compost run once the season is finished.
Mammoth Sunflowers, The Condo Atlantic Beach FL – August 6, 2021
On the other hand, I am not holding my breath about the fruitfulness of this pepper plant patch.
Codee Cooling Off, The Condo Atlantic Beach, FL – August 6, 2021
Sweating It Out:
That’s right. It’s not a typo. I’m calling this category a Wog. It’s not quite a walk and not quite a jog…something immediately in between though it’s enough to give my heart rate a little boost. I’m sure I live in the Sunshine State, but I keep lining my timing up with our daily storm, so here we are…Well, here we are after Codee decided that I had had a long enough wog.
What I Watched:
Amazon released Season 2,Episode 1 for free, but the rest of the Season 2 episodes are on Showtime. It’s a guilty pleasure and I feel like that’s the only other thing I need to say about it.
On The Plates:
I had my usual Green Drink for brunch, but then it was a natural sugar landslide from there.
So many sweet potatoes this week!! I like to roast a few at a time and keep them in the fridge or the freezer…it’s a tiny amount in sweet potatoes, but more on resistant starch later. Dinner was simple and nice. I pulled everything cooked from the fridge, so I just heated it in a skillet with some avocado oil, starting with the baked sweet potato, then the cubed, skinless, roasted chicken breast, then the steamed broccoli. It only takes a few minutes to get everything up to a good temperature.
Maybe it was TOO simple, though. It was really good, but I kind of wanted it to have a sauce when it was all said and done…I don’t usually get into making one, but maybe a lemon vinaigrette or a mustard sauce? I got some nice color on the sweet potatoes, though. I won’t be surprised if I make this next week, so I’ll keep that note in mind.
Cronometer:
The day played out with me skipping supper and tacking a double portion onto my evening sweet tooth fix…My Frozen Peanut Banana. It was the second dessert day of the week…Go big or…never mind…I’ll see tomorrow what this does to my scale number, but I’m going to guess that it won’t move much in either direction tomorrow morning. This will more than likely halt that quick water weight drop I was experiencing. Two bananas and an apple are a lot of sugar to have at once at any point in the day, but especially two hours before bed…I know better, but it’s a splurge, so let’s make it worth it, right? Points to me for dulling the blood sugar effect a tiny bit by blending the bananas with peanut protein powder and full fat coconut milk. To be clear, the apple didn’t go in the frozen banana. It was it’s own crunchy craving after I had the “nice cream”…one is too many and two is not enough… It’s all good. I still think it was a successful day.
Garmin Says:
Not as active overall today, but I still hit the goals.
114 Days Until Load In…Stay safe and moving, y’all!!
It was in the low 80’s this morning and the beach was lovely. We walked with a neighbor and her dog for about a mile and then hung out like riff raff under the pier for a bit. On the way home, Codee found something that he just couldn’t get close enough to…
Boys Are Gross – Codee Rollin’ It Atlantic Beach, FL – August 5, 2021Camouflage Codee Atlantic Beach, FL – August 5, 2021
In The Gardens:
The balcony plants get a pretty decent amount of really direct morning sunlight this time of year and because they avoid the blistering heat of the afternoon sun, they do pretty well. I’m excited to see if this pepper comes all the way through ripening.
Potted Pepper Plant Upcycle Balcony Garden, The Condo Atlantic Beach, FL – August 5, 2021
I don’t typically get any squash up here, but I think the plants are fun so I grow them anyway.
Honey Nut Squash Flower Upcycle Balcony Garden, The Condo Atlantic Beach, FL – August 5, 2021
Just waiting on the last two little seeds to sprout in this lot of tomato plants….
Tiny Tomato Sprouts Upcycle Balcony Garden, The Condo Atlantic Beach, FL – August 5, 2021
Speaking of seeds…I give you The Ultimate Seed Spreader!
The World’s Cutest Seed Spreader – Codee Atlantic Beach, FL – August 5, 2021
Sweating It Out:
By the time I got around to hitting my five miles for the day, we were just starting our daily storm, so back to the treadmill. I am really grateful that I bought it though I need to stop filling my living room with recreational gear. It was a walk/jog combination holding 3lb dumbbells for 4 of the 5 miles.
What I Watched:
What a fun soundtrack! I mean, the whole movie is pretty glorious, but the orchestrations and songs are everything you want in a musical. Also, I confess that Hugh Jackman is pretty awesome workout motivation for me. A girl can have day dreams, right?
On The Plates:
Should I start posing my brunch Green Drink in random places around the condo so you don’t get bored with it? That’s the thing…it’s not exciting and, I repeat, it’s an acquired taste, but at 215 calories with 25g of protein (important albeit, not complete protein), my concoction takes about an hour to drink and is more interesting to me than plain water. Plus, it’s full of all sorts of things that are really beneficial (for most people) that I definitely wouldn’t consume most days if I didn’t intentionally try, like chlorella and spirulina.
My brunch plate was the greatest example of a silver lining to being single and only cooking for myself. It’s also a reminder that I would never ever recommend that anyone follow my eating plan because it is very specific to my…let’s say…uniqueness. I’m not saying that what was on the plate wasn’t delicious and remarkably nutritious, but who in their right mind wants to eat a plate of roasted beets and steamed broccoli?…Besides me, that is because I really enjoyed it. 🙂 I used a bunch of champagne vinegar and sea salt and the beets I cooked in the Ninja the other day were perfect! You have to be a big beet and broccoli fan for this one. I get it if you aren’t.
Dinner was another “pasta” plate, this time black soybean spaghetti. Now that I have leaned into the single ingredient alternative noodles, you can expect to see lots more of them in my rotations. I do this with most new ingredients that I get into…potentially eat it too often…but I’m reminded why so many people are drawn to making and eating pasta. Obviously, actual, real, good pasta is also amazing, but pulling a meal together with a base of pasta is SO easy and fast. The bonus with the alternatives is that you get the plant protein you want, the downside is that none of them are pasta.
The packaging is a little deceptive on this one in that it says black bean on the front, but the black beans that come to mind don’t have the protein content this product boasts about. It’s because the noodle are actually made from organic black soybeans, so be wary if you are sensitive to soy. I’ll say it a little louder for the people in the back…ALWAYS READ THE INGREDIENTS! Sorry, I don’t mean to be so aggressive about it. Anyway, at the end of this month long challenge, I will do a whole taste test comparison of a few varieties to actual pasta. The soybean ones have a little chew to them versus the chickpea noodles, but I really like most of the varieties that I have tried.
Tonight’s plate had the noodles, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, sea salt, and dried thyme. I cooked the noodles in salted water, drained them, and tossed them in a small bowl with 1tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. I added my veggies and dinner was served.
Cronometer:
Time restricted eating saved me from myself again. I had entered in double of my dessert peanut spread and was still in the calorie range, but I was right up to the edge of 10PM with what I actually ate that I didn’t have the second serving. The calorie count wasn’t really the point, but I had already had a TON of food and really didn’t need to eat it. The genesis of that spread is that I was trying to find something to replace, or at least mitigate, the amount of my beloved peanut butter that I eat. I bought what is effectively peanut powder. It is a single ingredient product, but clearly HIGHLY processed. See? I have a bunch of exceptions to every rule, too! The protein powders and supplement powders, and coconut milk that I use fall into the exception category, though I do try to keep them single ingredient items, like the NorCal Organic Peanut Protein Powder. But here’s where my addiction shines through. I have taken to mixing it with full fat coconut milk instead of water completely negating the lower fat, lower calorie feature of the powder. Of course, when you mix it with water, it’s not nearly as yummy, but it’s dangerously close to higher in calories than peanut butter this way plus, the fat from the coconut milk is predominately saturated. At this point, I might be better off with actual peanut butter, but I have MAJOR portion control issues there so it’s never just one serving. With this spread, one is enough.
Garmin Says:
A fairly consistent day which translates, in my mind, to a win. A decent amount of calories burned and steps taken, according to the algorithms.
Fascinating Mushrooms, Howell Park Atlantic Beach, FL – August 4, 2021
We started the day with a walk to Howell Park where the recent rain made for some fun puddles. I suspect that it was about a mile and three quarters total and along the way we chatted with some guys playing tennis in Jack Russell Park. I say “we” because Codee can still be a bit barky at strangers who try to talk to him, but he is getting so much braver…and, thankfully, quieter. Truth be told, guys just like to get him riled up and he only has so much restraint before he is compelled to answer them….because they are talking to him. He’s not aggressive, just vocal. Back to the parks…Howell has some cute, very, very short trails and Jack Russell is right across the street and marks our loop with a nice public restroom. It’s a great destination with a lot of route options..
In The Gardens:
Gatherer’s Gold Sweet Peppers Dig Local Community Garden, Dutton Island Road Atlantic Beach, FL – August 4, 2021
I can’t believe this pepper plant is going to produce again!! Good thing I came to check on it because it had been knocked over in the storm the night before. It’s safely tucked in a cage now and still has two peppers on the cusp of ripening and now at three in the second round. Then, I decided to do some weeding and came across a couple of these…
Purple Tomatillo Sprout Dig Local Community Garden, Dutton Island Road Atlantic Beach, FL – August 4, 2021
I had about a dozen purple tomatillo plants that had a TON of fruit on them and they were beautiful in their delicate wrappers, but they started dying off without ripening…maybe it was too wet…I have no idea, but then a tropical storm came through and all the plants took a hit, some from wind and some from a palm tree branch that crushed them. It looks like the pods decomposed fast and dozens of the seeds sprouted in the same spot… I popped it back in the ground to see if any of them make it for the fall plant. Mean while, in the climate control section:
Mixed Lettuces Moistenland Hydroponic Garden, The Condo Atlantic Beach, FL – August 4, 2021
On the Streets Where I Live:
Neighborhood Love, Seminole Road Atlantic Beach, FL – August 4, 2021Pop Up Artwork by Scotie Cousins, Beach Blvd Atlantic Beach, FL – July 22, 2021
Sweating It Out:
It was a nice easy spin around one of my favorite routes. I walked the first little bit and probably started a jog somewhere around a half mile in. I made it home just as the daily rain set in.
Podcast of The Day:
I am a recent subscriber to Gastro Pod which is a podcast where they “look at food through the lens of science and history.” They have a lot of interesting episodes, but one of the nice things that they do is guest episodes so they have introduced me to a few other new podcasts. This one is from Body Stuff. The episode is about water and hydration and isn’t ground breaking, but it is interesting especially if you are like me and have any interest in the industrial food system and how messed up it is. I haven’t had time to fact check this, but could the US military really be the leading purchaser of Gatorade in the US? Recent dips into this rabbit hole tells me that it is definitely a possibility.
On The Plates:
I used the last of the parsley in the fridge for my daily green drink at 2PM. If you had told me even two years ago that I would make it through multiple bunches of parsley before their demise, I would have rolled my eyes at you, but now…I love it. I just want you to know that I don’t think anyone should dive into this combination all at once, but I will say that I forgot the vinegar this morning and I immediately knew when I tasted it because it was really not good. The point is that all of ingredients kind of work together, but it’s, for sure, an acquired taste.
The snackiness of the meals that I have at this time of day is why I originally called it tea, but it has been pretty consistently between 6:30PM and 7PM this week, so I’m sold on renaming it supper. I had an easy plate of blistered carrots and broccoli stalks, Mary’s Gone Crackers Super Seed Classic crackers and Dash Cooker Eggs with black pepper.
I am going to call what I had for dinner Call Your Mom Chicken. The deliciousness is a result of the fat in and on the dark meat of the chicken and the time everything was left to simmer together in my cast iron pan while I chatted with my mom. I had just about three ounces of chicken thigh left in a mason jar and I had saved the cooking juice with it. Well, obviously, when the fat and collagen cooled, they hardened. This is a very effective trick for separating everything if you don’t pull the meat off the bone first, which leads to much more surface area for the fat to cling to, and if you don’t use the shape of mason jar that I used, which was a pint size regular mouth jar. In my case, I did both of those things making it messier and less effective, but the result was that some of the fat melted by back onto the meat and fat is delicious so there’s that. All in, I used a brush to coat the bottom of the pan with a little of the leftover chicken fat/collagen combo from the jar and tossed the sliced raw mushrooms in. Once they got a little wilty, I added the leftover roasted cauliflower (which had color, but was still very crunchy) and then the chicken and some sea salt….and then the whole thing stewed together while I finished my chat with my mom. After we hung up (maybe 30 minutes later?), I plated it on a bit of my tiny hydroponic arugula. The chicken and cauliflower got more tender as they cooked and the mushrooms lended an extra push of umami and flavor. This plate is a real reminder that good things come, sometimes in unexpected ways, from talking to Mom.
Cronometer:
I have developed such a sweet tooth since I stopped drinking a few years ago. Even though there are studies that say the body recognizes all sugars as equals, I have a guideline of no refined or highly processed sweeteners (well, no refined or highly processed anything really) which means that I tend to stick to maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, dates, and bananas as my primary sweet sources. This month, I have locked the pantry door on the first three and would like to limit the other two to one day each a week. I’m not all about restricting foods for people, but I am an addict so it’s helpful for me to set up a very specific plan. It helps me lower the number of times that I have to argue with myself about food and makes the day easier. I came in a little low on the calorie side of things today and that Is super unusual for me, but not in a bad way. I actually wasn’t hungry and felt good about what I had eaten, but I definitely took my last bite at 10PM. Having that hard stop definitely made me question whether to keep eating whereas, with no guideline, I would just grab something else…..I decided earlier in the day that I wanted banana nice cream (there’s that sugar addiction), so I had logged that info before Codee and I headed out for a walk. We ended up being out later than expected and it was a really great evening. Like I said, I am trying to get Codee’s weight down as well and if he wants to walk, I want to walk. I had loosely planned what I was going to have for dinner, but hadn’t really decided on the details and when we got home I happily prioritized chatting with my mom over eating…and during the call, I threw together dinner and ate a red pepper that wasn’t going to make it until tomorrow. Since Kristina May taught me on Dear Evan Hansen that I like them by bringing me one to cut up, I actually really like snacking on strips of raw sweet bell peppers, except green, thank you very much. In any event, by the time I finished eating what turned out to be a delicious meal and my banana nice cream, I was really full and it was precisely 10PM, so there you have it.
Garmin Says:
A little lower on the steps and the calories, according to this one, but I got my heart rate a little higher today. Eventually, I might try to get on board with caring more about what the other numbers mean, but I don’t really pay much attention to them. All of this with the caveat that these numbers are definitely not 100% accurate by a long shot and should only be used as a guideline. The expression “Don’t eat calories a watch gave you” always makes me chuckle. I happen to like to track data though, so I fitness trackers are kind of a hobby of mine. There are SO SO SO many to choose from. Personally, I wear a Garmin Forerunner 245 and it does everything that I need it to do and likely more, it was reasonably priced, and is a good size (though still a little big) for my wrist.
116 Days Until Load In…Stay safe and moving, y’all!!
