Live Well

From Today's Motivation to Live Well (in my sidebar) today:

Live not in what has happened, or fear of what may come tomorrow. 

Live Well in the here and now, and treat this as your defining moment.

That's pretty much my goal today.

I'll "open my Fast-5 window" at 11:30

when I meet a friend for lunch at a Chinese restaurant.

It's a little earlier than I usually eat, 

but I'm thankful for the flexibility of this lifestyle

that lets me enjoy an endless variety of food 

without calorie counting or measuring, etc. 

Yesterday I had a craving for something sweet.

Unfortunately it "hit" after my window had closed.

I resisted the temptation and enjoyed a cup of

hazelnut cream decaf coffee instead.

I'm REALLY glad I didn't give in to the urge.

I feel stronger and healthier for having made that decision.

 

 

A Lifetime Challenge

Only now would I be "courageous" enough to again admit to writing this book.

Published by Victor Books, then a division of Scripture Press,

it was one in a series of Bible studies for women.

Self-discipline has always been an area of challenge for me.

Once again, I've achieved a goal in the weight loss department.

But it's only the beginning.

The book has been out of print for quite awhile, and I had kept no copies for myself.

I stumbled on this one awhile back in a thrift store, brought it home to put on a bookshelf,

and occasionally pull it out to remind me of where I've been, where I am,

and that some challenges are for a life-time!

Maintenance Strategy

Monday - a grilled pear salad.  With goat cheese, bacon and currant vinaigrette dressing!

It was the major part of my eating for the day.

An hour of thrift store shopping with a friend preceded it;

lovely conversation accompanied it.

It was SO good that I'm thinking of repeating the salad

when we go out for a mid-afternoon dinner today!

Hovering around my 135# goal and planning my

Maintenance Strategy are the focus of my healthy lifestyle efforts these days.

135#

If my goal weight is 135#, then I am HERE!

I began Fast-5 on February 6.

I know that I weighed at least 180.

SO....

that's losing 45 pounds in about 8 1/2 months.

I plan to ease into "maintenance" the first week of November

while continuing Fast-5.

It has worked well for me in areas besides weight loss

and I'd like to continue those benefits into the next phase of my life.

I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to do that, 

but I have a couple of weeks to figure it out.

I'm open to suggestions.
(I'm wearing an "old" dress that's been hanging in my closet
just WAITING for me to arrive at its size.
Feels so good!)

Enormous!

 I'm anticipating some healthy eating

after being gifted with this ENORMOUS sweet potato!

Autumn is a great time to enjoy soups made of combinations of

all KINDS of vegetables! 

Candles, Centerpieces, Company

This centerpiece welcomed guests Saturday evening 

and another full table at noon on Sunday.

By managing/adjusting my Fast-5 "window"

I was able to enjoy my frozen pumpkin dessert, some hot cider

and ALL of the foods that everyone else enjoyed.

I'm SO thankful for this way of eating.

By the end of this month, I expect to be at my goal of 135#, 

so I'm beginning to think about my strategy for November.

How are YOU doing in the area of healthy living? 

Left Overs - Yummy!

I'm home alone for a few days.  I decided to use up some leftover onions and tomatoes from the weekend's Brat and Burger Bash.  Chopped 'em up and added them to a partial package of chopped cabbage.  I made a dressing by thinning down the meager amount of mayo left in the jar with some red wine vinegar, a tad of sugar and a bit of soy sauce.  

I'm here to tell you, it was DELICIOUS!

And FILLING!

I ate it during my Fast-5 "window", of course.

Not an End....Just a Beginning!

Attaining your goal is not the end...on the contrary, it’s just the beginning!

So reads the Motivation to Live Well on this first day of autumn.

My new weight goal for September 30th is 138#.

Stepping on the scale this afternoon as I showered to get ready for a party this evening,

I see that I have reached it.

Fast-5 has proved an effective plan and since February 6,

I've lost at least 42 pounds.

I'm thinking that by the end of October I shall have reached

a reasonable weight to maintain.  135#.

Not an end....just the beginning!

The Rebel in Me

After reading a post about someone's experience exercising at a health club (I believe it was), I decided to be honest about my own experience and philosophy of exercise.

I confess to being quite frugal with money and not liking to sweat very much.  I also admit that I wouldn't consider myself an extremely active person.  Maybe these traits contribute to the fact that  I've never been a huge fan of "artificial" exercise. 

It seems to me that there's always some new class or stream of exercise calling for fees, equipment, clothes/shoes, and inconvenient scheduling.   My first instinct is to resist these.  That's why at age 63,  I'm more conscious of and committed to incorporating "natural" movement, activity, and thoughtfulness into everyday chores. 

Maybe it's an age thing.  Maybe it's just the rebel in me...
but when, why, and how did exercise become Big Business?
 

Perspective

OK.  That's what I get for messing around with my posts.

I deleted a couple of the most recent ones and have a feeling they are irretrievable.

Fortunately, I also jot down daily notes in longhand in my journal.

These are about as permanent as humanly possible., I guess.

Thankfully there are SOME words that are ETERNAL!

“All men are like grass,

and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of the Lord stands forever.”

I Peter 1:24-25

It's important to keep things in perspective!
Even weight loss.

Stretched!

Practicing before hitting the streets...

  This was a new experience for me!

 It "stretched" me in many ways - some of which I listed HERE.

Besides the fun experience, we toured neighborhoods

with Frank Lloyd Wright designed homes.  The landscaping beauty

in these old, established yards was amazing.

Trying this "new thing" was invigorating and a confidence-booster.

I'm SO thankful for my health and a rebirth of energy

since I've been practicing the discipline of Fast-5 eating!

Trending

"Giving in eventually leads to giving up. (With temptation, addiction, parenting kids, 

and many other areas)" ~Rick Warren

I'm really glad I did NOT give in the past few weeks.  The scale seemed like it would never budge.  I just kept on keeping on!  This morning, I was down a pound or two.  I have an old scale, so it's a little difficult to be 100% accurate.  I just go for the general trend...and I'm trending in the right direction.

A Walk in the Park

A walk this evening was a calm way to end the day.

 

 The pace was moderate.

 I REALLY need to invest in a good pair of walking shoes.

 I took my shoes off, walked barefoot,

and ended up with blisters on the bottom of my feet.

  It was worth it though!

The wildflowers and grasses were beautiful...

 And my blood pressure was 116/77 when I returned home!

The combination of the Fast-5 eating schedule,

weight loss, and exercise have resulted in normal blood pressure readings

for the first time in a LONG time for me!

I'm thankful.

Me Yesterday

Me, yesterday.
Dressed and ready to go to our
no-longer-Red-Hat-Club dinner.
It was at a Chinese buffet.
I ate what I wanted - not as much as I might have
six months ago.
I topped it off with two small scoops of ice cream.
I'm currently at the weight goal I set for the end of August.
At this rate, I'll definitely be at my goal weight
by the end of September (or sooner).
I've gotta work on my smile.
I'm really much happier than I appear,
but too busy concentrating on running to pose
within 10 seconds of setting my cell phone camera up!  
It's NOT easy!

Pleasures Abound!

I like the Fast-5 plan for how it makes a way for me to participate in occasions such as THIS.  By  varying the time my "window" opens now and then and still observing the five hour boundary, I don't have to miss out on the pleasure of food and company!  There were so many tasty and healthy foods at our last Home Connection....