Category: 2025

Daily food Diary – Day 134 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is Day 134 of my Daily Food Diary! Only 231 Days to go until I am a nutritional expert. 😄

After no sleep the night before, I did not make any great strides on my Health & Fitness Journey yesterday.

It gets incredibly frustrating to be tripping along and then have a massively rough day, when you wonder if you are going to survive – much less ever get back on track to bigger and better things. 😬

Fortunately, yesterday wasn’t a total write off.  Dan and I took Molly for a short walk.  As we were passing the dogpark, Dan noticed that Molly’s friend Willy and his human Randy, were there so we stopped to visit.  Ripple, and his human Lyndon, showed up and Molly wasn’t going anywhere.

I left Dan and Molly at the park and came home to do my aerobic workout.  When Dan got home, we headed out to go shopping.

I used all of our Canadian Tire points on bedding plants but I scored big – several herbs, peppers, strawberries, pansies, AND portulaca.

We moved on to Walmart and bought a new coffee maker, a few groceries, laundry detergent AND dog treats.  We picked up dental treats (pricey but not as bad as dental surgery!), bedtime cookies, and general snack treats.

When we got Molly we paid $250.00 for her  plus took her straight to the vet’s for a checkup and her vaccines (another $250.00 ?).  In the past week, we took her to the vet ($442.00), bath at Pet store ($20.00 incl tip), got her a new bag of dogfood ($60.00) and got her treats… ($60.00).   And she needs a new collar. 🤦 Molly dogs are not for the faint of heart!

Healthwise I am hopefully back on track today.  I slept like a rock last night – ALL NIGHT.   This is my last day of antibiotics, three more days of Prednisone, and if we get past this solid rainy day with 92% humidity – I think I will be good to go! 💃

Daily Food Diary – Day 134

Breakfast:

(1) coffee (2)

(1) tsp olive oil (40) (.7 grams)

(1) tsp butter (34) (2.3 grams)

(1) egg (80) (1.5 grams)

(1) slice back bacon (50) (.5 grams)

(1) slice marble cheese (80) (4.5 grams)

(2) potato patties (240)

Snacks:

(48) oz water

(1) Lemon oatmeal cookie (68) (.6 grams)

(1) Peanut butter, cream cheese cookie (167) (3.5 grams)

Supper:

(2) x Arby roast beef (no bun) (200) (8 grams)

(1) med Arby crinkle cut fries (390) (3 grams)

(1) Arby gravy (35) (.1 gram)

(1) tbsp Arby Horsey Sauce (60) (1 gram)

Total net calories: 1241

Net calories goal: 1243 – 1241 = 2 under 🙂

Total saturated fats: 25.7 grams

Saturated fats goal: 13.75 👎

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💝☺️

Daily Food Diary – Day 132 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in Health and Fitness, 2025

It is 132 Days since I began posting my Daily Food Diary! 🤗 It is also 5 days since I began my latest round of antibiotics and Prednisone. 

Yesterday started way too early.  The latest episode of Prednisone side effects woke me up at 4:00 am and I wasn’t getting back to sleep. Fortunately, the vibrating eased off and I was able to have a relatively productive day.

I got my morning aerobics done…

And we took, Molly for a bath at Pet Value..

Not much of a drama queen! 🙄

Molly and I walked home after her bath, since she was still pretty damp.  It was only one kilometer and supposedly took us fourteen minutes but it seemed much further and much longer!  I don’t think my health app included for the poop stop (3 BAGS full!) or stops to sniff every tree, sign, post, and blade of grass.

Finally home and looking good.

After we returned home, I still had enough in me to do a bit of house work, plant care, and  to change over the blankets on the living room furniture.

For supper, I spatchcocked my first chicken – ever!  That was not as much of an ordeal as I assumed it would be, but my kitchen scissors may never be the same.

Dan barbecued the chicken, once I had it spread out, oiled and seasoned.  It was pretty good for a first effort, in my mind!  It will be fun to try again later in the season when I have fresh herbs from the garden to season it with. 👍

Daily Food Diary

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1 1/2) oz low sodium ham (50) (.7 grams)

(2) Eggo classic waffles (180) (1.5 grams)

(1) tsp butter (34) (2.3 grams)

(1) tbsp Maple Syrup (55)

Snack:

(1) pear (103)

(9) raspberries (9)

(60) oz water

Supper:

(1) BBQ chicken thigh & drumstick (180) (3.1 grams)

(1) BBQ chicken wing (50)

(2) tsp olive oil (79) (1.3 grams)

(1/2) c potato salad (220) (2 grams)

(3) radishes (4)

(1/4) c orange pepper (4)

(1) carrot (25)

(5) slices cucumber (4)

(1 1/2) tbsp Dilly Dip (120) (1.9 grams)

Total net calories: 1042

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1042 = 201 under 👍

Total saturated fats: 13.4 grams

Saturated fats goal: < 13.75 grams 👍

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great day! 💗🌞

Wascana Trails North West of Regina

Daily Food Diary – Day 131 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 131 Days since I started posting my Daily Food Diary. 🎉

My Mother’s Day yesterday was very nice! I spent the day with Dan and Molly, soaking in more heat than we were prepared for!

Dan drove Maddy to work and came home to make me a perfect cheese omelet and bacon breakfast.  He made one stop on the way to buy me a beautiful bouquet of orange roses.

I heard from Jennifer (who was working), Genie & her fiance Alec (who was working, but took time to message all the mothers in his life – 😊), and son Dan called when he got home from work last night.  I didn’t hear from son Mark, (nor expected to) but I did have him, his fiance and his boys in mind.💞

My one big food treat for the day was a little wee chocolate Rolo ice cream cone.  I was up at 4:00 this morning.   I’ll say it was worth it.

Dan made delicious ham salad wraps for supper last night. Neither of us were feeling a hot heavy meal. If it cools off a bit this week, I’m sure we will share a steak one night. 🙂

Today is all about Molly.  I’m going to do what I can with a brush this morning and we will take her to PetSmart for a nice bath.

Daily Food Diary – Day 131

Breakfast:

(1) coffee (2)

(2) egg omelet with cheese (260) (10 grams)

(3) slices bacon (130) (3.3 grams)

(1) tsp olive oil (40) (.7 grams)

(1) tsp butter (34) (2.3 grams)

(1/2 tomato (11)

(2) potato patties (240)

Snacks:

(60) oz water

(1) Rolo ice cream cone (310) (11 grams)

Supper:

(3/4) c Ham salad (235) (4 grams)

(1) cheese tortilla wrap (170) (1.5)

(1) Bick’s Baby Dill Pickle (3)

(6) No Name lightly salted ripple chips (65) (.2 grams)

Total net calories: 1500

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1500 = 257 over 👎

Total saturated fats: 33.1 grams

Saturated fats goal: 13.75 grams 👎

My stats for the past week show my saturated fats averaged 22 grams per day, which isn’t good, but my sodium was only 1765 mg per day, which I am really happy with. And my processed sugar was 19.58 grams which isn’t bad – but something that I still have to work on. (At 32 grams of sugar and 11 grams of saturated fats, that Rolo ice cream cone did some damage even to my weekly stats. 🙂)

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great day! 💖😊

Daily Food Diary – Day 130 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 130 Days since I started my Daily Food Diary!  🎉

It is also Mother’s Day 2025.  This is me, ready for a beautiful relaxing day.  I just bought myself a new summer dress to lounge around in on days like this – and you will note that I do own a real pair of shoes!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Best parenting advice EVER. 

My favourite thing always is my family.  My favourite thing lately is seeing my family putting more focus on their health and fitness.   (I like to think that my own efforts over the past three years have helped steer them in that direction.) 🤗

Daily Food Diary – Day 130

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) slice low sodium ham (50) (.7 grams)

(1) egg (80) (1.5 grams)

(2) potato patties (240)

(54) oz water

Supper:

Caesar salad:

(2) oz shredded Habanero cheese (223) (10.2 grams)

(4) oz shredded mozzarella (168) (7.4 grams)

(3) oz. Chicken breast (140) (.9 grams)

(2) slices bacon (87) (2.2 grams)

(2 1/2) c lettuce (15)

(1/2) red onion (15)

(4) tbsp dried fried onions (67) (2.2 grams)

(3) tbsp Caesar Dressing (240) (2.2 grams)

Total net calories: 1149

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1149 = 94 under 👍

Total saturated fats: 27.2 grams

Saturated fats goal: 13.75 grams 👎

My saturated fats were a big miss yesterday. To be honest, it would have been worse if I wasn’t on the meds for my bronchitis.  I was in a mood for ice cream after supper last night but I can’t eat for two hours before taking my antibiotics AND I cannot go to bed for at least an hour after I take them.  So… Ice cream at 8 pm just wasn’t doable. 😕🍧

Daily Food Diary – Day 129 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 129 days since I started my Daily Food Diary.  It is 9 days since I started tracking the  saturated fats that I consume each day, and yesterday was the 1st day that I met my daily saturated fats goal.  Whoo Hoo! 🌹

Yesterday was the second day of taking the extra medications that my respiratory specialist prescribed for me on Thursday.  They have already been kicking in – for better and worse.

The sinus spray seems to have been a good call.  I don’t know about doing it indefinitely.  I have to begin the process by using my Neti Pot to rinse my sinuses and then follow up with the spray.  I know people do a heck of a lot more to maintain their health, but seriously Everyday indefinitely! 🙄

The antibiotics hit me hard on the first dose, but they seem to have settled down and my lungs seem to be clearing up.

Yesterday, the Prednisone kicked in.  The side effects can range anywhere from lethargy, moodiness, to super hyper Good Year Bunny mode.  Yesterday, I went with Good Year Bunny Mode. 

I got in an intense aerobic workout, went for a walk with Dan & Molly – and hit the kitchen.

I had found that the baked beans I made a few days ago were a bit bland, so I called daughter Jen to see if she was up to splitting a roaster of Smoked Baked Beans for supper.  The brown beans we had left over called for – two large cans of kidney beans, two large onions, two pounds of bacon, two pounds of ground beef,  two cups of ketchup,  one cup of brown sugar, and a couple of tablespoons of liquid smoke.  Dan and I would have been eating beans for a month.

Jen was up for an easy supper, so I started that.  Then she called to say that her fiance  would appreciate Puffed Wheat Cake for dessert.  And… I couldn’t make Tanner Puffed Wheat Cake without sending Prim and Maddy  Rice Krispy Marshmallow Squares.  (The Puffed Wheat and marshmallows meant a quick jog to Freshco a few blocks from us).

Fortunately, Dan was home and chopped up the bacon and onions for the beans, washed  all the dishes, and packaged up the deserts.  I made it through the entire adventure without breaking the burn blisters on my hands from the muffin incident a few days ago.

By the time I went to bed, the Prednisone high was wearing down so after a couple of hours of Prednisone paranoia I did get a pretty decent sleep.

Only eight more days of antibiotics and Prednisone. 😊

Daily Food Diary – Day 129

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) oatmeal bran apple muffin (164) (.6 grams)

(1) tsp butter (34) (2.3 grams)

Snacks:

(30) oz water

(1) c Lemon Ginger tea

(1) Mango (135)  (.1 gram)

Supper:

(1) Paratha (240) (1 gram)

(1 1/2) c Smoked baked beans (532) (7.9 grams)

Total net calories: 838

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 838 = 405 under 👍

Total saturated fats: 11.9 grams

Saturated fats goal:  <13.75 grams 👍

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great day! 💖🤗

Daily Food Diary – Day 128 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It has been 128 days since I started my Daily Food Diary.   In 128 days, I have missed zero daily entries,  or posts on Jetpack (WordPress). 💃

People do not succeed in reaching goals, or in life, by hiding behind excuses.  That is one of life’s basic truths. 

That being said, yesterday’s diet goals were a complete miss.  While excuses cannot turn my results into a win, I do have a few to share. 🙂

* Starting my morning with a medical appointment – a less than stellar one that resulted in three prescriptions (one that may be a permanent addition to my daily routine), a requisition for a chest x-ray and an appointment for a check up in two weeks.  ⚕️

* Having taken my first dose of the antibiotic I received, I was hit by some bizarre side effects.  I felt like I had been punched between my eyes and felt dizzy. 🥴

* Since I felt rather off, I passed on my daily aerobics and walk.  That meant I had zero calories to subtract from the calories that I consumed.  😒

* We took Molly to the vet for a tic treatment and to get one of her ears checked out.  While there the vet did her upcoming annual checkup, identified a fungal ear infection and prescribed medication, and provided her with a tic prevention as well as one for worms.  Molly came away with a clean bill of health and kudos for being such a big, beautiful, happy, friendly, calm girl.  I came away with a $442.00 bill. 🙄

* And finally, we got home and I received the sundress I had ordered. Size Small. AND.. It fits perfectly! 💃 🎉🎉🎉

So there you have it, a few hits, a celebration, and a miss on my daily diet goals.  I am not terribly upset.  I, am delusional enough to  think days like this help  to keep my body from going into starvation mode. (That will never happen. 😂)

Daily Food Diary – Day 128

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) cornmeal muffins (130)

(1) tsp butter (34) (2.3 grams)

Lunch:

(3) oz dark skinless turkey (150) (1.9 grams)

(6) Hint of Lime tortilla chips (150) (1 gram)

Snacks:

(48) oz water

(1) pear (103)

(7) raspberries (7)

Supper:

Taco Time Takeout:

(1) Small Mexi-Fries (265) (3)

(1) crisp Meat Burrito (428) (6)

(2) Hard shell tacos (432) (9.8)

Total Net Calories: 1701

Net calories goal: 1243 – 1701 = 458 over 👎

Total saturated fats: 24

Saturated fats goal: <13.75. 👎

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞

Daily Food Diary – Day 127 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 127 Days since I started my Daily Food Diary! 🎉  It has proven to be an effective goal for improving my eating habits.  Becoming mindful of anything we do is a good thing  keeping a food diary definitely keeps me mindful of what I am eating.

Nutrition is important, but it is just one part of my overall health and fitness lifestyle.  This morning, I got to focus on another part – professional medical advice and treatment!

This morning, I paid a visit to my respiratory specialist.  Expecting a refill of my regular inhalers and a “Keep doing what you are doing!”, I wasn’t overly concerned about this visit.

Needless to say, I left the specialist’s office with prescriptions for my regular inhalers, antibiotics and oral steroids for bronchitis, nasal spray for ongoing sinus issues, a requisition for a chest x-ray, and an appointment to go back to see the  specialist in two weeks. 😢

Asthma, bronchiectasis, COPD and bronchiolitis are chronic health issues.  Regardless of how hard you work to maintain a healthy lifestyle, they are always there.  It is frustrating, but fortunately I had a regular visit booked this morning,  and hopefully we can get a handle on this and move forward – sooner than later!

Daily Food Diary –  Day 127

Breakfast –

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c Shreddies (200)

(1/4) c 2% milk (31) (.8)

(1) tsp sugar (8)

Lunch –

(3) oz dark, skinless turkey (150) (1.9 grams)

(1) c broccoli (31)

(1/2) cup cauliflower (13)

(4) radishes (6)

(1 1/2 tbsp) Dilly Dip (120) (1.9 grams)

(48) oz water

Supper:

(11) chicken wing flats air fried (420) (8)

(1) tbsp Frank’s Xtra Red Hot sauce

(2 1/2) air fried riblets (123) (1.7 grams)

(1) tbsp Frank’s Stingin’ Honey Garlic (40)

(1) carrot (25)

(1/2) c broccoli (20)

(5) slices cucumber (4)

(1/4) c orange bell pepper (9)

(1 1/2 tbsp) Dilly Dip (120) (1.9 grams)

Total net calories:  1168

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1168 = 75 under 👍

Total saturated fats: 16.2 grams

Saturated fats goal: <13.75 grams 👎

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great day! ❤️☺️

Daily Food Diary – Day 126 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 126 Days (18 weeks) since I started my Daily Food Diary.   My ultimate goal setting out on this adventure was more about improving the nutritional value of what I consume each day, than any effort to lose weight. 

That being said, today I weighed in at 124 pounds! That is nine pounds down from the 133 pounds that I weighed on January 1st of this year AND 36 pounds down from the hefty 160 pounds that I weighed three years ago, when I kicked off my Healthy Active  Lifestyle.  💃

I do have a general goal to eventually reach my ‘best weight’ of 115 pounds.  That is where I feel and look my best.  But, being my best is more about how fit and healthy I am.  That is where daily exercise, proper nutrition, adequate sleep, and stress management all matter. 

I have been struggling with my morning exercises for the past couple of days.  The following video popped up on my You Tube feed yesterday.  It is one I hadn’t tried previously.   I found it motivating so am sharing the link for anyone who is looking for a boost to their daily workout.

* I do not, and never have, promoted any product or video for any financial kickback.  If I share anything like this, it is just because it worked for me.  🙂

Daily Food Diary – Day 126

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) oatmeal/bran/apple muffin (164)              (.6 grams)

(1) tsp butter (34) (2.3 grams)

Lunch:

(25) Lightly salted ripple chips (270) (1 gram)

(3) oz dark turkey meat (150) (1.9 grams)

Supper:

(4) oz lean ground burger (307) (7.6 grams)

(1/2) c baked brown beans (196) (2.5 grams)

(2) cornmeal muffins (290) (2 grams)

(2) tsp butter (69) (4.7 grams)

(1) PC bacon (43) (1.1 grams)

(1) tbsp habanero cheese (25) (1.1 grams)

(1/4) c mushrooms (11)

(1/4) cooking onion (3)

(1) tsp olive oil (40) (.7 grams)

(1) side salad (90) (1)

Total net calories: 1528

Net calorie goal: 1244 – 1528 = 285 over 👎

Total saturated fats: 26.5 grams

Saturated fats goal: 13.75 grams 👎

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 😊💓

Daily Food Diary – Day 125 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today it is 125 Days since I started my Daily Food Diary.  It is Day 5 of tracking the saturated fats that I consume in a day.  The struggle is real!

I needed something to kick-start my day yesterday so I opted out of my typical morning aerobics and returned to the freelance dancing that started my health and fitness journey.  💃

Following an hour of dancing and lung clearing, I headed into the kitchen to do some baking.  Despite burning/blistering both of my hands, I persevered and finished  my oatmeal/bran/apple muffins. They cooked to perfection and with a decent consistency. They weren’t the worst muffins I have ever made. (That would be the muffins I scorched last week.) But they weren’t the best, taste wise (in my opinion). I should have used molasses instead of brown sugar. 🙄

Dan chopped the apple for the muffins and the vegetables and meat for the soup.  I managed to make the cornmeal muffins alone despite my muffin related injuries. 🙂

Today I am making a pot of Baked Brown Beans to serve with a couple of leftover burgers.

I didn’t make my saturated fat goal again (or yet), but it is a work in progress. (And I am meeting my processed sugar AND sodium goals that I set last month. 👍)

Daily Food Diary – Day 125

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c Jordan’s Honey Nut Morning Crisp (460) (2 grams)

(1/4) c 2% milk (31) (.8 grams)

Snacks:

(48) oz water

(1) c Licorice tea

(1) Bran/oatmeal/apple muffin (made from scratch using  Canola oil, brown sugar & stevia, whole wheat flour) (164) (.6 grams)

(2) tsp butter (69) (4.7 grams)

(1) tsp sunflower seeds (17) (.2 grams)

Supper:

Homemade Beef Barley Soup:  (Low salt beef broth, lean beef steak, onions, leak, parsnip, carrots, fresh mushroom, cabbage, Bok choy, celery, parsley, barley, hot pepper flakes, black pepper, 1/4 tsp salt)  (500) (1 gram)

(2) cornmeal muffins (290) (2 grams)

(2) tsp butter (69) (4.7 grams)

Total net calories: 1299

Net calorie goal: 1247 – 1299 = 52 over 👎

Total saturated fats: 16 grams

Saturated fats goal: < 13.75 grams 👎

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 😊💞

Daily Food Diary – Day 123 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

I am at Day 123 on my Daily Food Diary. 🤗

May is shaping up to be a beautiful month here in Saskatchewan.  It is getting warm enough that Dan and I decided we had better take Molly  for her walk  before breakfast this morning.

Return home!

A few weeks ago, I started using the Lose It! app to track my calories and nutrients that I focus on month to month. (This month it is saturated fats).

At the end of each diary entry, I note Net Calorie Total, net calorie goal, and how many calories I am over and under by.  My net calories are my total calories consumed less calories used.  Lose It! totals my calories consumed and used and calculates the difference.

I have found that for most calories consumed, the Lose It! app is fairly accurate compared to nutritional labels printed on packages.

For calories used, I generally note my morning aerobics (110 cal.)and our walks with Molly (+/- 100 cal. for 35 to 45 minutes).  

Yesterday, I included the hour and a half that I spent pressure washing our patios. (325 calories)

* Walking with Molly for an hour and a half would earn me < 300 calories used.

Yesterday, I swept our patios, pressure washed them, did some general outdoor cleaning and maintenance, came in to have a Caesar and a snack & then helped Dan make supper.  And I was still relatively presentable!

This morning, I walked Molly for half an hour.   Dan shot the photo of us above when  we got back home.   Both of us looked like we were having a medical crisis.  🤦

Something doesn’t add up…

Daily Food Diary – Day 123

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(2) potato patties (240) (1 gram)

(2) poached eggs (143) (3.1 grams)

Snacks:

(40) oz water

(1/2) c raspberries (32)

(11) Hint of Lime tortilla chips (275) (1.8 grams)

(3) tbsp salsa (8)

(1) Caesar (168)

Supper:

(1) Lean beef burger (no salt) (243) (6.7 grams)

(1) tbsp horseradish (45)

(12) Lay’s lightly salted chips (67) (.5 gram)

(5) No Name light Salt ripple chips (54) (.2 gram)

(2) tbsp French Onion chip dip (45) (1.5 g)

(1/2) tomato

(5) slices cucumber (4)

Total net calories: 851

Net calorie goal: 1247 – 851 = 396 under 👍

Total saturated fat: 14.8 grams

Saturated fat goal: < 13.75 👎

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great day! ❤️ 🌞