Post about "white knuckling it" in Weight Maintenance from Dr. Berkeley, MD

I enjoyed Dr. Berkeley's post about "white knuckling it" in weight maintenance.  Check out her blog post in the link included. I have to laugh ( in a kind but knowing way, not a mean way..) when I hear people say "There's no way I'm going to going to white knuckle weight maintenance".  Okay..... sure....  That could be true for some people. Good for them!!! I'm sure people have experienced weight loss and weight maintenance without the white knuckle. I could not.

White freesias

 In my experience weight loss was so much different from weight maintenance. Later in July and August 2014, I'll be writing a series of blog posts about my big differences in weight loss vs weight maintenance.

I white knuckled it for the first year and a half. The top reason: I had very limited success in 40 years of trying to keep weight off permanently. I could not maintain my weight as a child, teen, or as an adult. I had to travel to "techniques not tried" and the land of the unknown this time around.

It took several months to explore some things- new foods, higher fat food (avocados, olive oil, grass-fed beef). It meant facing the unknown.  I was well aware what going back to old habits would do.

It took planning, strength and courage to switch over to a Paleo template. And, a ton of white knuckling. I don't want to fail, but I'm committed to find what works for myself!  I'm convinced that more molecular genetics will reveal that people with certain gene rearrangements do better with different diets. That the same exact food template won't work for everyone. I could tell when something was or wasn't working by looking at these things:

What worked:
1. The scale. Daily weighing tells all! High inflammatory foods stuck out like a sore thumb
2. How I felt after I ate: eat grass-fed beef = feel fantastic! Eat pumpkin = blow up like a balloon
3. Being okay with the white knuckle. Yes, yes... a little bit of risk and experimenting means some failing. Allowing myself to white knuckle, knowing I could course correct quickly.
4. Being real, real honest. Nuts... need I say more? I wanted to eat nuts so badly, but it was not to be. It took a lot of honesty to get real and abstain on this binge food.

White knuckle of the cat!

What didn't work in the past:
1. Not weighing in much post weight loss and in weight maintenance. Scale avoidance = gain
2. Never putting what I ate together with really bad indigestion. I thought everyone felt that way!
3. Never being okay with experimenting with removing wheat/grains and taking a risk based on what the "Diet Industry" and the Food Pyramid was telling me.
4. Not being honest with what I know I needed to to- basically abstain from grains/processed sugar/dairy/legumes/nuts.

Did anything pop in the article for you? Anybody else experience the weight maintenance white knuckle? 

Instagram and how it fits into Weight Maintenance (500 follower celebration!)

Wow!!!  I've been on Instgram for about 13 months and I hit 500 followers today.  Whoot-whoot!

If you're not following me AND you like coastal views, bird photos, animal photos, flower photos, and beach colors- hop on over and follow me.



http://instagram.com/gardengirl_kp

Special Mentions:
My favorite of all favorite hash tags for my Instagram account are :
 #onmywalk  (Thank you Suzi for the idea).
#walkingforweightmaintenance (Thank you Andrea for using this hashtag )

Special Saftey Note:
As always, hashtag and post safely. I don't ever make the same walk twice at a routine time. Always changing it up, always posting after the walk has taken place. Just saying...

I can't tell you how much being able to practice my photography hobby every single day is part of my long term weight maintenance. I've had a camera in my hand since I was 13. I got a Pentax K-1000, SLR for my birthday and have been a photo buff ever since. Photography is a gift that has been passed down from my grandfather on my mother's side. Happily, my daughter also has the gift, too. Love that!

Daily 60 minute exercise (not chronic cardio... really, my walks are rarely fast paced all at once) is a key tool for long term weight maintenance and stress relief.  I often break my walks up into 2 or 3 sessions due to time constrains.

What's working now:
1. Taking my Cannon SX500 IS with me on daily walks
2. Taking my iPhone with me if I forget my Cannon (happens!)
3. Walking 60 minutes or more for long term weight maintenance
4. Getting into a "Flow state" and stopping to photograph or watch a sequence.
5. Using photography and walking to decrease stress and motivation to get out and stay out into nature.

What did not work before:
1. Not taking my camera with me, and missing great photos!
2. Not remembering I can take some awesome photos with the iPhone.
3. Not walking for exercise and thinking 4,000 to 5,000 steps were "enough" (not true at my fitness level and health requirements. I now walk 5-6 miles a day. 12,000-15,000 steps)
4. Not really getting into a flow state due to always numbing with food.
5. Getting into nature, but not using it as a stress reduction tool.


What do you say? What gets you into a flow state?

One year post my last food sobriety lapse June 2013, where I am in 2014

Sunset in the Inside Passage

 Around one year ago, I had a lapse in my food sobriety.

It was June 2013 and I was on an Alaskan Cruise, about half way through the trip. I decided it would be "OK" to have about a tablespoon of mint jelly with some delicious lamb at the formal dinner.

It wasn't okay. And I knew it. And I ate it anyway. Insert slippery slope thinking voice "You've been walking about 15-20,000 steps each day on the ship and shore... certainly a little bit of mint jelly won't hurt....

It did hurt. I felt like H*LL and spend the rest of the evening alone, laying on my bed, thinking about the Titanic and the people trapped below. Dramatic much? LOL. :)

Everybody MUSTER!

 I did decide that food sobriety was a choice and I could choose to get right back on track and end my emotional pain and my physical pain ( I tend to get joint pain with grains and sugar). I made a plan to get back on track with "on template meals", regular walking, focusing on the trip, the awesome views, time with my kid and life in general.

I went up to the gym and weighed in the next morning. I was not alone. I was in a gym with 10 other people and waited in line to weigh in with 3 other people. MY people!!

In other words- I mustered up the plan and prioritized 100% on getting right back to recovery.

So the lapse was one meal, one time, one year ago.

It's been a year since the lapse. Have I had binge urges and thoughts, yes! Have I gotten very close to another lapse- YES! But I stopped, paused and asked myself.. why am I eating? Am I hungry? Am I angry, am I lonely, am I tired? Am I bored? HALT-B as the Before I eat app reminds me.

I'm still standing! Post paddle on an Alaskan river

Today, I celebrate! I'm still standing. Still food sober, still sticking to my food template. Still doing the work and prioritizing what I need to do to keep from being sucked into the wheat and sugar H*LL that I used to live every day, every hour.

Life is good. Here's to another year. Sometimes it takes an off road trip to make me appreciate all the on road automatic life I've build.

I wouldn't trade my grain/sugar/legume/dairy/nut abstinence for anything!

Onward!

What is working:
1. Abstaining from my trigger foods: grain/sugar/legume/dairy/nut
2. Taking any step necessary from falling back into binge eating.
3. Repeat, daily, each meal, hourly.

What did not work:
1. Moderating grain/sugar/legume/dairy/nut-... just like smoking a shorter cigarette... didn't work
2. Not taking action when moderate eating was not working (and I knew it)
3. Repeating moderation of junk foods and staying on the eat, repent repeat cycle.

Food sobriety ROCKS!!

First Day of Summer 2014 - what's "cooking" in photos, new Thai Cuisine cookbook!

Hello All!  First Day of Summer 2014 was yesterday. I was too "into" cooking and beach walking to remember to comeback and hit publish on this blog post! Here's what's "cooking" at my house, in photos:

Savory Egg Wrap: Eggs, celery, onions, avocados, freshly chopped basil, garlic sea salt, coconut oil.  Cup of black coffee with a teaspoon of gelatin and sprinkle of Ceylon Cinnamon. (coffee not pictured)

Win for summer flavors, win for a great Protein, Fat, Carbs from veggies (PFC), win for morning energy.

Keeping on my weight maintenance food template. Onward!

Headed to the beach Friday evening to make up for a lot of sitting at my desk during the day. Stopped by Starbucks for a decaf Americano (black) and grabbed my camera.

Win for getting in 60 minutes of non-chronic cardio, relaxation, and activity. Win for being able to practice my hobby, win for completing work goals at my desk.

Keeping work life balance in check. Onward!

I picked up my favorite Paleo cookbook author's new book at Costco- Sarah Fragoso's Everyday Paleo Thai Cuisine.

One of the things I chose to stop doing when I went Paleo was I stopped buying most pre-made sauces and pastes. I found I got either triggered by processed additives, there might be MSG or a like substance included, or heavy conventional salt that would cause bloat.

Curry is one thing I've experimented a lot with this year, so I'm excited to add a few more favorite dishes to my regular rotation.

As I'm reading the cookbook, I realize that I'll need to order some specialty ingredients, so right now I'm using up left overs and my own spice mixtures and ideas from the cookbook. Win for using fresh ingredients that are within my food template.

What's working right now:
1. Summer flavors- using basil, not heating up the oven so much, fresh vegetables, etc.
2. Using my fit bit to make sure I'm not sitting too much.
3. Using my own spices and using up leftovers. Getting creative with food. (meat, natural fat, veggies, savory spices)

What did not work in the past:
1. Buying lots of processed, frozen diet foods from the freezer, on sale and trying to pair those with fresh veggies and fruits. The processing, high salt, and low nutrients did not match with my health goals and I thought they "tasted great" and were "easy" and low in WW points. Not really, and being 70 pounds overweight was not easy.
2. I sat at my desk. A lot. Walked 4,000-5,000 steps per day and thought "I walked a lot". Pedometer is a truth bomb.
3. Spices, what spices? Packets pre-made at the grocery had a lot of MSG and salt. Glad those days are over!  Creative with food meant every low calorie summer dessert recipe at Cooking Light & Weight Watchers. Summer sugar was not a good feeling!

Wave breaking on the eve of Summer Solstice 2014

Low Inflammatory food resources (Paleo & Primal) for people who ask

When a person who is close to me (good friend, co-worker, or family member) wants to know more info on low inflammatory foods, I do four things.

1. Ask if they are working with or seeing their own doctor first. Who knows what meds they are on, etc.

2. I assess what education medium best fits the person

• printed materials
• books
• electronic books
• real live books (imagine that!)
• audiobooks
• websites
• podcasts
• websites
• Pinterest boards
• Youtube videos

3. Then I provide my 2 cents on some starting materials. 

A recent request : "What  low inflammatory foods can I buy and eat?"

This particular person is not much of a book reader, but loves computer print outs that she can make notes and take with her to the grocery, and to show her friends.  Cool. I chose 3 guides (Paleo) and one guide (Primal) for starters.

Here's the link I used to access the guides to print: (Balanced Bites- Practical Paleo)
Balanced Bites and Diane Sanfilipo's down loadable, and printable guides  fit this person to a tee. It also gave myself a chance to tell my loved one that: 

Here's the link I used to access Primal guides to print: (Mark's Daily Apple)

Some talking points: 
1. I don't eat all the foods on the list (pumpkin and yellow squash give me a bloated belly) or that I eventually worked into some of the foods- think liver and heart. I would never have touched liver or heart early on. Nooo way! Now, they are tasty once and a while.

2. That she could make her own food template out of her favorites and in season choices.

3. No food template is the same for each person. The foods we eat are meant to be customized to our own genetic make up and responses and long term health. Even if we are related. 

That's the best way  I know to spread my good health forward is to provide some starting materials that someone can learn in their favorite learning medium. The people who ask me are often the ones who have seen me yo-yo diet for 40 years. Glad to pay it forward. I applaud anyone wanting to take more processed foods out of their diet. Good stuff!

What works for me:

1. Using UPDATED resources that met my health goals to help support my new normal life style.
2. Keeping an open dialog and an open mind.
3. Using educational sources that best match the person's learning style

What did not work in the past:

1. Using a one size approach in counting things that did not really matter (the points in a Skinny Cow ice cream... this did not lead me to a sustainable, healthy outcome for me),The use of updated resources cannot be emphasized  enough! So many food lists still name Canola Oil as "healthy". I don't believe that is true. It will take a while for the literature to catch up.
2. Thinking one way of eating was the "Best way"- low fat, high carbs from whole grains. Some of my friends and family may benefit from a lower animal protein diet. Some may eat grains. Good for them! Trying to fit my own needs into a higher inflammatory template had a terrible outcome for my health.
3.Lending my friends & family  books if a persons learning style was more of an audio visual style of learning.They will not read them...

Weekend check-in, keeping on my food template during graduation and family celebrations

This Osprey being tough!

It's weeks like this one that I congratulate myself or being "tough not moderate".  It's been a week of visiting with family and friends, graduation celebrations, a quick trip to the fair (another blog post soon)  and time off work.     

It's also been a week for me to stay food sober and stick to my food template. No matter what. The forces that got me to be 70 pounds overweight are still around, I choose different path.

I'm also very thankful that my family doesn't even blink an eye when I whip up a Paleo-ish or Primal breakfast for them. I don't blink an eye when they break out the strawberry shortcake and ice-cream at game night. I might brew myself some good decaf coffee, but I stick to my 99% processed sugar free template. Wondering what the 1% is? It's the teeny bit of sugar in 85% percent chocolate. Two small squares, most nights. I could take it or leave it. That's how I know I'm not addicted to it.  It is what it is.

I used to justify special occasions to overeat. Now my self talk has me justifying longer walk times on the lagoon trail and a 20 minute time slot to do strength training at the gym. Whole new world. 

Lagoon views

Moderation strategies used to enable me to stay in a bad for me cycle. Eating little bits of junk food kept me hooked. It's what everyone told me to do." I MUST learn to eat all foods". "Normalize all foods". I'm sure that works for some people. It's a train wreck for me. Good thing I can think and feel for myself!  That's a critical step for anyone during weight maintenance and/or recovery from emotional or binge eating. 

What's working

1. Eating a Paleo-ish food template

2. Living a Primal lifestyle  as much as possible (playing out doors, sleep, strength, small, medium, long walks, no chronic cardio)

3. Being "tough not moderate" on my food choices

4. Thinking for myself 

5. Communicating to others that I can think for myself.

6. Taking breaks from the family celebrations for myself. Walks, strength training, time to grocery shop and cook.

 What didn't work in the past
1. "Treating" myself to graduation party food and eat-outs for "special occasions"
2. Not taking time outdoors just because everyone else wanted to stay indoors. Chronic Cardio- to work off that graduation cake slice (or two or three). NEVER worked, by the way..
3. Not being tough enough to stand up to my slippery slope thinking.
4. Not thinking for myself
5. Not speaking up when I knew I needed to speak up
6. Not training others that I take time to take care of myself. Not de-stressing and letting stress and binge eating take over.

Osprey flying over the lagoon

Where I shop in San Diego County to buy grass-fed beef and bison - help me add to my list!

I had a great question from a reader, Jen (waving hello) who is new to San Diego County from the mid-west . I moved here from Indiana 20 years ago myself and none of the grocery chains are the same. Farmer's Markets run all year in San Diego. And, if you were used to gardening in the Mid-west, the planting seasons are often different, too. A whole new world! Welcome to San Diego, Jen!

I realize a lot of people travel to San Diego and stay beach side in places with kitchenette's, so I thought I'd do a nice long list of places I shop, near the coast in San Diego. It's like we are on vacation here most days... so fortunate! Pssss: San Diego public service announcement to visitors- drive in the slow lanes- the two on the right, until you're more comfortable with the speed on I-5. Thanks! If traffic is jammed, most main west bound roads lead to the beach. Just saying... :)  Getting back to business...

Here is Jen's question: "I moved to the San Diego area back in October from the Midwest and am trying to find a good source for grass fed meat; in particular bison"

 Bison sources in San Diego:

1. Costco: ground bison , refrigerator section, Sold in packs of two, total of 2.5 pounds for $16.99 each. So $6.80/per pound

 2. Ralph's: Great Range bison steaks. Individually packaged, refrigerator section. About $11-13/per pound depending on the cut.

I've also seen bison at the following places Sprouts, Whole Foods (La Jolla and Encintas), Costco in the freezer section as patties. I use bison more as ground meat. For awhile, Costco carried bison steak filets. It was fantastic! I've not seen any of those for a year or so.

Grass-fed Beef in San Diego:
 I've been on a mission to find the grass-fed beef. I would love to buy a portion of beef, but could probably only have the freezer space for 1/8 of a cow or so.

Here's the order in which I buy grass-fed beef. Different sources yield a different flavor based on the grass, type of cow, etc. For ground beef, I always pay more for grass fed ( I notice that I feel so much better after I eat grass-fed). For steaks for fajitas or beef stew, I buy lean cuts of USDA grade high quality meat at Costco. I've got to face it. My budget will allow for grass-fed ground beef, but until I find a small enough share of a cow, I just go with lower priced, lean meats at Costco.

Grass-fed ground beef- San Diego Area
1. Trader Joe's -refrigerator section, $ 6.99 per pound
2. Trader Joe's - frozen $5-6, per pound (some of it is not local)
3. Sprouts- refrigerator section, $6-7 per pound (some of it is not local)
4. Sprouts- freezer section $6-7 per pound
5. Leucadia Farmers Market: A local farmer (I'll update with name soon..) $10/pound
6. Solana Beach Farmers Market: Da-Le Ranch. $10/pound. Nice variety of steak cuts $17-20.

Places I'd like to try this summer:
1. Primal Pastures- Temecula, CA with delivery service available
2. Cook Pig Ranch- Julian, CA- follow this local family on instagram for instant happiness
3. Possibly a meat CSA.

Okay, feel free to help Jen (and me) try some new grass-fed beef in San Diego County or ideas for shopping elsewhere.

 Eating quality grass-fed beef has helped me feel better than I ever have in my whole entire life. So glad I broke free of the low-fat teachings of the 1980's-2012 and updated my diet to one that supports my health. The saturated fat profile and the nutrient dense contents has made weight maintenance easier and a whole lot more flavorful. I have no doubt I have the gentic profile that allows for saturated, well sourced protein sources.  Glad to honor that! I must honor that for good weight maintenance  and health outcomes.

Ground Bison in a Beach House meal- great fuel for coastal living!

What's working now:
1. Buying and cooking grass-fed beef, bison, and other quality protein
2. Eliminating junk and processed foods (think snack bars) and putting the $$ to good protein.
3. Basic knowledge of how my body feels after I eat, genetics and saturated fat, listening to my bodies feed back, thinking about where my relatives came from and what they were likely eating.

What didn't work in the past:
1. Avoiding beef and cooking with fake soy meat, dry chicken breasts.
2. Using my grocery $$ to buy packaged food products and snacks.
3. Being so afraid of the red meat, saturated fat message. It didn't work well for me. 

No Grains, No Gains - June 2014 topic - eating Paleo while traveling - on a cruise

Our Mission Statement : A group a of Primal/Paleo/Grain free women who blog about their experiences/life/benefits without grains. It’s a great way for others (who may be wanting to lose weight, reverse an acute/chronic health trend, and/or transition from commercial weight loss programs) to read about real life women who are living the life and succeeding!


June 2014 Blog topic is: Eating Paleo while traveling. Specifically, I chose how I ate Paleo while on a cruise.

In 2013, I booked an Alaskan cruise for my daughter (pre-teen at the time) any myself. We did a great job of planning and saving so we could make this great trip together. We gave up eating out, got $1 Red Box movies, and took home made picnics to the beach so we could save up for our trip over a few years. Many "Staycations" during school holidays. Stay at home and travel the local sites.

 I had no idea that the year I'd take my first cruise, I would be eating low-carb Paleo as part of my long term weight maintenance and post auto-immune maintenance plan. No exposures to gluten! I did have a one night lapse on the ship (sugar in  mint jelly on some lamb... sigh!).  More on that later.. Reminder: I'm grain free, dairy free, legume free, and nut free and almost completely processed sugar free. I found cruising very do-able on a Paleo food template.

1. Planning:  Envisioning how things would go:

 A. I picked a cruise line that had a gluten free menu and had good feed back on gluten free sites. The last thing I want to have on a long trip is an "unintentional glutening" I'm in a lot of pain and it does change our activities for the day if I get exposed.

My emotional/binge eating will come back with a vengeance if I fall back into patterns with grain and sugars. Even if I am on vacation, I've got these conditions 24/7 and the responsibility to manage them to the best of my ability. Day in Day out.  I accept that and planned accordingly.

B. We planned our eating strategy a few months before we left home:

• Hotel before cruise- breakfast buffet where I could eat Paleo and my daughter could eat Primal.
• Choosing high quality, real food. I had an interview with Dietitian Cassie (Low Carb Conversations, episode 81)  My daughter started examining low-fat and no-fat yogurt ingredients and choosing not to eat it.  She realized there was a lot of either sugar and/or chemicals. She was also learning how good eggs, bacon, avocado/guacamole/salsa ,and whole fruit could taste for breakfast. So much more filling than cereal and waffles!

Primal Fuel for Jr. Family Member

• Day to Day plan for the cruise: A big, big discussion about how food would be set out all day. Deserts for my daughter were okay, once a day, reasonable serving, stick with dark chocolate or full fat ice-cream  or full fat butter where possible. No all day munching on junk. NO on the soda package that most families bought for unlimited soda and diet soda. Yes, occasionally a hot chocolate or tea after a cold outdoor event for her. Ice cream sundae bars, unlimited pizza = no or limited amounts. Bun less burgers, turkey burgers, veggies, fruit, cheese, nut butters, guacamole, YES!
• Hotel after the cruise  I booked a Home Wood suites for a few days in downtown Seattle. The room had a kitchenette  and was within walking distance to public transportation and a downtown grocery store. Instead of waiting to get home to get back to home cooked meals, we could start in Seattle. 

2. Communication once we arrived:
A. Getting to know the assistant waiter:  The waiter came and spent a long time the first evening talking to me about the gluten free options. I convinced him that I wouldn't be eating the gluten free rolls and bread, but he could help me avoid hidden flour in sauces. Clear soups were gluten free, creamy soups all had flour.

My cruise breakfast, hard-boiled eggs for later

B Advance menus:  I had a sneak peak at the menu the night before the food was served for dinner. I could choose anything I wanted and the chef would prepare mine without gluten. Awesome!

3. How it all worked while cruising:
A. Breakfasts in the formal dining room. I could always order eggs, omelets made to order,  and bacon or sausage. There was always salmon available, too.  I would obtain hard boiled eggs to take on shore excursions.
B. Lunch was usually from the buffet bar. Protein, veggies, and sometimes fruit

C. Snacks: I  found that there was a nacho bar that had huge bowls of guacamole. I would load my bowl up with guacamole only and put it in a plastic container in my cabin refrigerator. I could supplement any meal with guacamole for some good added fat. An international cafe served shrimp cocktail all day long. Also, turkey sandwiches (minus the bread) were great if we had been walking or hiking a lot.

Walking deck and my home for the week!

Lamplugh Glacier, Glacier Bay National Park

D Dinner: Almost always in the fancy dining room. Good steaks, salmon, seafood, lamb, veggies, and berries for something sweet.

There was a lot of seafood.

E. Food I brought: 85% chocolate to have at dinner with decaf coffee, beef jerky for on shore trips.

This sign marked the 15 pies on the buffet.. oh, maybe 15 people in the life boat??

F. Food for the Seattle tour: Easy! We shopped for our favorite foods that we eat at home and I cooked in the hotel.

Seattle grocery shopping for cooking at the hotel

Ground turkey salad bowl and Space needle with a view, walking fuel

Here's what worked:
1. Planning before the cruise started. Setting up some ground and cruise rules!
2. Communicating so I could be strict gluten free and eat great food.
3. Bringing food with me both to stay gluten free and save $$
4. Steering clear of sugar so I could put my full time and attention into the trip. Feeling great, walking lots.

Here's what didn't work for me before I went Paleo/gluten free
1. No planning, just show up and eat, and eat some more..what the heck I'm on vacation!
2. Not communicating about what I needed, just going with food that is set out for me.
3. Eating junk food, because what the heck, everyone was doing it... I'll start my diet when I get home..
4. Eating a lot of sugary foods and being stuck in the emotional/binge eating cycle. Lapsing on a bit of mint jelly (too much sugar and I knew it...) on some lamb one night. Felt terrible. Not worth it. Laid on the bed with depression setting in, thoughts of the Titanic.. (sigh)  A great reminder of why I stay away from sugar!

Chihuly Museum, Seattle

Check in with the other No grains, No gains bloggers and check out their travel topics.

Gwen at Against the Grain
Jeanette at For Life
Leigh at Poonapalooza

2 year, 4 month weight maintenance update- graphs and more!

May 2011 and June 2014

Each month, I post my current status. If you are here from the Paleo-sphere and dislike talk of weight, graphs, etc. Move a long and skip this post.  I'll have a great post soon about eating Paleo and taking a cruise.  Look for that post 6/6/2014.

Down to business:

Starting Weight : 187.4
Current Weight: 117.4
Goal Weight Range: 113-118
Years weight has been off: 2 years, 4 months
Years trying to stop yo-yoing: 40 
Age 48
Height 5'1"
Menopause: yes! under one year.

Yeah, May 2014. It was kind of a tough month.

Feb 2012 and June 2014

1. I had a strong gut feeling to add some emotional/binge eating support early in the month of May. I spent some time early in the month connecting to a few people in real life and online.

2. So Cal Fires: Mid-May. they came close, but my house is still standing. I can't thank the first responders, my neighbors, and friends enough. Whew!

3. Plumbing repairs/upgrades. Yep! Needed to happen proactively. I know what happens when you ignore. Too many signs of history repeating itself. Amazon Prime ships Toto low flush toilets. Just saying.....

4. Add in regular home life, work, a few days of positional vertigo, plus a house re-finance. Yay for lower interest rates. Boo for spinning rooms. It's all fine now.... I'm fortunate in many ways. Being sick reminds me I work hard to stay well most days. Chicken bone broth for the WIN!

5. I started a meditation practice from the book 8 Minute Meditation.  So far so good...

I'm still standing, literally and figuratively. It's all good. I did have to work extra on keeping my eating in check this month. My stinking thinking could have come back quickly. I can see how and why weight re-gain can happen, and quickly.

 I'm still sustaining a 1 pound loss from April 2014, overall. Getting sick the last week of May 2014 helped me kick my motivation into high gear. I can see how very easily I could have tumbled right into a slow, steady re-gain had I been ignoring the scale. It doesn't take much. I'll be watching June like a hawk!  May was just one of those months! It could be better, it could be worse.   See below the photos for my What's Working now list.

My tortoiseshell cat says she posed for this statue. I don't believe her!

What's working this month:

1. Getting support from a closer "fit" for my needs. Listening to gut feelings
2. Asking for help from friends
3. Being pro-active on house repairs (decreases stress/saves $$)
4. Having bone broth pre-made and frozen in the freezer.
5. Meditation, I think it will be good...

What didn't work in the past:
1. Staying too long with the same thing or a fit that wasn't right. Totally ignoring gut feelings
2. Not asking for help soon enough.
3. Ignoring rather than being pro-active on house repairs.
4. Reverting to high carb snacks when I'm sick. Which came first- the sickness or the health problems from high carb foods? Hmmmm...
5. Not taking time to quiet my mind....

Every day is a gift and the chance to grow, do something better, or not. Glad for strength to stand, think, choose, act and all those other verbs... ;)