Day thirty nine and another bitterly cold day in Saskatchewan. I don’t know if February is typically this frigid or if we are having a particularly rough go of it this year. It seems worse than ever.
This appears to be a good day to go through my archives and remind myself that summer does come to our chilly corner of the world. 🥶
Thirty-eight days in and this isn’t shaping up to be a good one. A few years ago this would have been one of those days that put me over the edge – or at least kept me clinging to it for dear life.
There is nothing drastically wrong in my life today. It is just one of those days where every little thing goes wrong.
I woke up to a balmy minus 40C (feels like). In reality it was only minus 30C. I made sausage and egg breakfast sandwiches and Dan’s sausage decided not to cook. My computer was glitching, also my phone. My phone worked, it just refused to make calls. Since Dan was going to drive our Maddy to work, I needed to call her to make sure she was ready. Dan took the garbage out when he left. I got into a battle with the new garbage bag. I wanted to put it in the garbage can and it did not want to go. Ultimately, I prevailed, but things got ugly. Meanwhile, Molly dog was on a tear while I was trying to do a video for my accountability group. Again, I prevailed but not before I accidentally deleted my video. Finally, I managed to complete my aerobics without incident but I have been experiencing coughing and sneezing fits ever since. Sigh…
It could be a long day. I might even make a few poor food choices. 🙄 But this will be a good day to mark on my diary, because I know that tomorrow is another day – and it will be better! Looking back through this year, there will be more days like today – and more better days that follow. And this Daily Food Diary will be the solid proof I need to remind myself that such is life.
Daily Diary – Day 38
(1) c coffee (2)
(2) tea biscuits with butter (234)
(3) slices thin sliced bacon (270)
(24) oz water
(4) air-dried chicken wing flats (320)
(1) egg roll with plum sauce (100)
(1) c tea (1)
(2) chocolates (130)
(12) oz carbonated water
(3) c chilli with cheese & fried dried onions (640)
(25) Salt & vinegar chips (270)
(1) c tea (1)
Total calories: 1968
(I knew that one was going to be ugly! 🙄)
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💓☺️
I am thirty-seven days in on my Food Diary and my mission to become more mindful and responsible in what I consume.
This exercise is just part of what has become my health and fitness journey to adopt a strong and healthy lifestyle.
I have learned a lot in the past three years but there is one quote that I came across recently that really sums up the method to my (possible) madness.
“If you are persistent, you will get it.If youare consistent, you will keep it.“
This quote has been credited to Harvey Mackay who is a successful American businessman, author, and syndicated columnist.
His advice is obviously relative and effective to more than creating a fit and healthy lifestyle. Words worth noting. (Take note Genie. 💞)
Granddaughter Genie (with her Mom and our daughter Jen). I recently discovered Genie has been stalking me (following me 😂) on my Food Diary blogs.
Food Diary – Day 37
(1) c coffee (2)
(3) Crumpets with jam & butter (408)
(1/2) c pineapple, (1) peach, (1/2) cup raspberries (123)
(2) cookies (146)
(25) salt & vinegar chips (270)
(2) c beef stew (300)
(2) Tea biscuits (200)
(12) oz carbonated water
(1/2) Bag popcorn (250)
Total Calories: 1699
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! ❤️😊
I’m thirty six days in with my daily food diary and it hasn’t been going too bad so far. This month, I am counting calories to add to the challenge. I am glad February is a short month because I struggle with this exercise.
Counting calories isn’t that big a deal if one is eating one pear or a bowl of cereal. If one is dealing with a plate of homemade stew, chilli, or soup, things get complicated. Then there is meat! Two slices of thin sliced bacon is 180 calories – RAW bacon. So what if you cook it in the oven, drain the fat, pat it with paper towel AND use most of it for later use, when it is microwaved and once more patted down with paper towel to remove extra oil. Air fried chicken wings are 80 calories each. What constitutes each chicken wing? Dan and I get packages that are an equal number of drummets and the other piece with two skinny bones. Dan eats the drummets and I eat the other pieces. Is each piece 80 calories? Are all pieces considered equal. No idea! It gets so confusing!
Speaking of struggling with exercise, yesterday Dan and I took Molly back to Waterfall Park. As I was getting her out of the Jeep, I caught a glimpse of a dog coming up behind us. Trying to keep her from mowing me down and bouncing over to make a new friend, I did not even realize the other dog was her bestie Willie from the dogpark.
It turned out to be a great outing. Molly and Willie walked together, veered off a few times to tumble in the fresh snow, sat to watch the squirrels playing in the trees AND Dan and Randy had the chance to catch up as they walked their dogs. I wandered behind and managed to get one shot of our little crew.
Food Diary – Day 36
(1) coffee (2)
(1) c Cheerios with 2% milk (200)
(24) oz water
(1) sm taco salad with 5 Hint of Lime chips (264)
(1) c tea
(1/2) pkg ramen noodles with vegetables (342)
(2) No Name egg rolls with plum sauce (235)
(2) Riblets (60)
(5) Air fried chicken wings, refried with Frank’s Extra Red Hot and Frank’s Honey Garlic Sauce. (400)
(12) oz carbonated water
(1) c tea (1)
Total calories: 1404
** Yes, two riblets (I’m not a fan but I like to make them for Dan) and it was 10 wing pieces (not the drummet). And what is that piece of the wing called? If they even have a name! 🙄
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞
If our local groundhog declared an end to winter earlier this week, Mother Nature did not get the message.
We got a fresh drop of snow last night, we are expecting a lot more in the next forty eight hours, and while our temperatures are out of the deep freeze, they are far from balmy.
The good news is, our weather has us craving comfort food, much of which is nutritionally sound. Our stew last night was full of protein and fresh vegetables and I’m thinking chilli could be on the menu tonight.
This fresh snow also provides an opportunity for a good workout and fresh air. That snow isn’t going to clear itself and even if Dan gets our (NEW) snowblower back up and running, there are places a snowblower just can’t go.
Food Diary – Day 35
(2) c coffee (2)
(3) Crumpets (240) with butter (68) and jam (100)
(24) oz water
(1) c tea (1)
(1/2) pear (51)
(2/2) kiwi
(3) cookies (219)
(4) c homemade beef stew (600)
(12) oz water
(1) c tea (1)
Total calories: 1313
Beef stew – Beef, potato, carrot, lo bak (daikon), onion, garlic, mushrooms, peas, turnip, celery, gravy
That’s it for today. Take care & have a great day! 💞🤗
Thirty-four days in and it seems I am past the worst of the flu that I have been fighting off. Yesterday I wasn’t dealing with the exhaustion and aches and pains that I had been. I was even somewhat productive.
I got my aerobic workout done yesterday morning. I vacuumed the living room and porch (no small task when one has a huge hair shedding Pyrenees). I baked a large batch of oatmeal/coconut cookies (not sure why but I had a major craving for them and they are Dan’s favorite). I worked on my current sewing project. 🤦 And, I made Taco salads for supper, which is always worth the slicing and dicing.
At the end of the day, I felt fairly accomplished. After the sewing debacle, I decided to go all out and enjoy a Caesar with my Taco Salad. I have never been a ‘drinker’ and since I have had to avoid yeast, alcoholic beverages are typically on my ‘don’t go there’ list. Last night I was feeling it and today I am paying for it. 🙄
Food Diary – Day 34
(1) c coffee (2)
(1) Pear (102)
(1) Granola bar (170)
(1) c tea (1)
(2) Oatmeal/coconut cookies (146)
(1) Taco salad (791)
(1) Caesar (188)
(24) oz water
(1) c tea
Total Calories: 1401
** Taco Salad included: Lettuce, green onions, radishes, tomato, olives, orange pepper, seasoned ground turkey, shredded habanero cheese, fried dried onions, salsa salad dressing, and 5 Hint of Lime Tostitos chips
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞
I am thirty three days into my food diary and eleven days away from celebrating the third anniversary of my health and fitness journey. I am pumped up!
I am also struggling to work my way through some strange form of seasonal flu. I know it is a flu because my symptoms are a lesser form of all of the symptoms my daughter has been dealing with for the past few days. It still sucks because I want to be going hard to wrap up YEAR THREE on a high note! 💪
All is not lost. I will manage a less intense aerobic workout, possibly have a nap, and hopefully complete a sewing project that I am working on – making a couple of rice bag door draft stoppers. Sewing is NOT one of my talents or passions. Fortunately, daughter Jen lent me her Maddy’s basic sewing machine because she knew I would get overly frustrated dealing with her own more complicated electronic madel.
Two You Tube videos and one speaker phone call with Jen and Maddy AND I got the little beast threaded yesterday. 👍
Food Diary – Day 33 of 365
(1) c coffee (2)
(2) egg omelet with ham & onions (254)
(2) Potato patties (240)
(24) oz water
(1) c tea (1)
(2) bowls Knorr vegetable soup – extra broth and fresh vegetables carrots, onions, cabbage, spinach, and celery. (140)
(6) soda crackers (60)
(11) Hint of Lime Tostito chips (250)
(1) c tea (1)
Total calories (946)
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🤗
I am posting my Food Diary for February 1st. In reality, today is February 2nd which of course is Groundhog Day!
I am not counting on spring magically bounding into Saskatchewan if some rodent didn’t see his shadow this morning. Incredibly, on this day three years ago that is exactly what I was counting on. Counting, hoping, praying, wishing ( THE WORKS)! 🤦
The fact was I was always hoping, praying, and wishing for something that would happen to turn my life around – something that would have me bounding out of bed to do what needed to be done, to take our little Cavalier Kat for long walks, to find myself whole and fit and healthy, and to be fully embracing and enjoying life as it is meant to be. The fact is, I was delusional. 😳
But three years ago, Groundhog Day 2022, I had a major epiphany. I realized that nothing was going to change unless I did. It took me twelve more days to act on this realization but finally on February 14th, I did act. I took my first step on my health and fitness journey and the rest is history!
My life isn’t perfect, my commitment to my health and fitness is not always perfect, but it is in my hands – and not at the mercy of some rodent who is out and about looking for his shadow today. 🤗
Our precious Kat, who we lost to congenital heart failure in March 2022.
Food Diary – Day 32
(1) c coffee (2)
(3) eggo waffles with butter and syrup (411)
(24) oz water
(1) c tea (1)
(27) onion & garlic chips (260)
(12) oz carbonated water
(1) Dbl Arby’s beef with horsey sauce (300)
(1) medium fries with gravy (465)
(1) mozza stick (115)
(1) c tea (1)
Total calories: 1555
A nutritional fail today but this diary is about reality – and ultimately a commitment to do better.
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💓😊
Down one month – eleven to go! I have maintained and posted my Daily Food Diary for a solid month. So far, I haven’t really changed my diet, other than trying to drink more water and avoiding mindless snacking. I have experienced some benefits from the effort including losing a total of three pounds this month. 👍
In February, I am going to count calories. I did count calories in the past and I’m not a big fan of doing it to control calories. It works, but at what nutritional cost? In my mind, it is rather a drastic measure when used for weight loss. I’m not actually looking for weight loss. I am just working on maintaining a reasonable and healthy calorie count. In future months I am going to focus on specific nutritional targets.
Yesterday, Dan and I celebrated the end of January by taking a hike through a couple of Regina’s best parks – Wascana Lake and Waterfall Park. I love walking and when I can walk through nature with my favourite human and our Molly dog, that is my perfect date.
Wascana LakeWaterfall Park
Obviously these photos were from my archives of summer pics. Climbing icy inclines and stumbling along snow packed trails, in frigid temps, while holding on to a hundred pound dog is not conducive to great photography. It is fun, a challenging workout, and it must be good for developing balance.
Food Diary – Day 31
(1) c coffee
(1) c Shreddies with 1/4 c milk
(24) oz water
(2) ginger cookies
(1) c tea
(1/2) sm bowl mixed nuts
(20) oz water
(1/2) lg chicken pot pie made with puff pastry crust
** Dan made the chicken pot pie for supper and it was amazing. It was filled with leftover roast chicken, onions, celery, carrots, mushrooms, peas, potatoes, and gravy.
That’s it for today! Take care and have a great day!
We are wrapping up January and for those of us in Saskatchewan, we are fortunately enjoying some unseasonably warm weather. Our temperatures have been straddling the freezing point for a few days now and I have been showing my appreciation by getting out and about.
I have even been heading to the dogpark with Dan and Molly every morning. Walking there is a bit challenging because our streets and sidewalks are, for the most part, icy ruts and snow banks. Navigating them while walking an excited hundred pound dog is a workout. Yesterday, although the temperatures were mild, the wind was anything but. My lungs did not appreciate the wind. By the time I got home I was pretty much exhausted by constant coughing fits, but after a bit of a rest the coughing subsided and I was able to do my morning aerobics and get on with my day.
Food Diary – Day 28 of 365
(1) c coffee
(3) waffles with butter and syrup
(3) slices thin sliced bacon
(24) oz water
(1) c tea
(2) sm bowls of Hint of Lime tortilla chips with salsa
(24) oz water
(1) Large chef salad
(1) c tea
I came up a bit short on my water yesterday, but my salad included a generous serving of lettuce, spinach, tomato, cucumber, radishes, orange pepper, and green onion. Plus I had a couple of cups of tea. 🙂
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 