Daily Food Diary – Day 336 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 336 of my Daily Food Diary! 💥

I am three days into my Food Diary recap.  As I have mentioned regularly, this challenge was never about losing weight, however in February I decided to up my effort by counting calories.  This led to 3 distinct wins!

1) I did lose  a total of 12 pounds in 2025

2) Terry from http://radicallyretired.com, a friend that I have made here on Jetpack introduced me to Lose It! an app that has been very educational and extremely helpful in maintaining my Daily Food Diary.

3) Counting calories was far more interesting and educational that I thought it would be.   

I thought I had a pretty good handle on portion control (I didn’t). I was comparing the portions I ate versus those that others ate – like my 220 lb husband, who until recently worked 13 hour, 24/7 shifts in a steel pipe plant.  🤦‍♀️

I also thought I had foods figured out calorie wise..

Salad was good… until I put salad dressing, sesame seeds, or cheese on it.

Nuts are good for you – until you look at the calories in them! (Salt and saturated fats add to the mayhem)

Sugar has tons of calories..not really, but sugar seriously ramps up my appetite so leads to a revolving door of calories

Chicken is low in calories – unless like me you like the dark meat skin on. That is where they hide the calories but that is also where the collagen is – so I have to balance that one.

Anyway, counting calories takes time but I would definitely recommend it, especially if one is trying to lose weight.

I am super late posting today.  I didn’t forget to post, we were just out and about so I did not have time to post …walking Molly, running errands, doing a bit of shopping, having lunch at The Canadian Brewpub – which was win Number 1 today.  Neither of us had brew but Dan’s chicken wings looked delicious and my taco salad was amazing.

Paying our annual house insurance was painful, but I did score a new fridge calendar for win Number 2.

Daily Food Diary – Day 336

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) Denver wrap (537)

Snacks:

(1/8) c peanuts (162)

Supper:

(1) Manwich bun (811)

(8) lightly salted lays chips (116)

(1/2) Oz chip dip (20)

Total consumed calories: 1648

Less calories used: 337

(30) min. walking (137)

(35) min aerobics (200)

Net total calories: 1311

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1311 = 103 over 👎

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

Daily Food Diary –  Day 335 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 335 of my Daily Food Diary. 🤩

As the final days of 2025 pass by, I am counting the wins that I have celebrated since I began my Food Diary in January.

When I began this challenge, it was all about becoming  more mindful of what I was consuming on a daily basis.   One of the first things people here noticed was how little water I drank.  🙄

I knew it wasn’t much, but I hadn’t really considered that it wasn’t enough.  I just wasn’t a fan.   I still fall short of what I should drink, but I have improved my water intake to the point where I will take it as a win (with room for improvent.)  Proper hydration is important for everyone, but with my family history of kidney disease and my personal history of chronic respiratory issues, I know that it is one area that I must continue to monitor and improve on.

As for my more recent general life wins…

My morning walk yesterday with Dan & Molly was a disaster of draining sinuses, coughing fits, and Pyrenees attitude.  

1) I tried to take the pressure off of Dan’s back, but even with Molly’s pinch collar on  she was lunching and lunging.  I was choking and sputtering.  It was bad.  I made it around one block, before Dan had to take the leash and we headed home.  Dan headed off solo with Molly prancing  in unison beside him –  as if  this was a fabulous win for her. 😣

While waiting for Dan and Molly to finish their walk, I cleared my lungs with my Airobika and calmed down and regrouped. 

2) When they got back, Dan and I went down to Southland Mall.  I felt better and things went perfect.  We returned with four  Christmas gifts plus a new pair of winter gloves for me.  I saved ten dollars plus taxes on the goves – and I paid for them with Canadian Tire money since I bought them at Mark’s Work Wearhouse.  Wins all around!

3) Later in the afternoon, we had a surprise visit from  granddaughter Prim.   She helped me make supper.   She did all the prep and she whipped up a pan of chocolate/walnut brownies for dessert.   We had supper, and she watched the end of a game show with Dan before he drove her home with plenty of leftovers for her sister Maddy.   Prim’s visit was a win for all of us! 

This morning’s walk went way better.   Molly was still too wound up for me to hold onto her,  but she walked well for Dan.  On our way home we stopped at the dog park for half a hour where she had a good run with her friend Ripple.

Daily Food Diary – Day 335

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) granola bar (160)

Snacks:

(36) Oz water

(8) Hint of Lime chips (200)

Supper:

(12) Oz carbonated water

(1 1/2) servings homemade hamburger helper (615)

(2) Bicks baby dill pickles (6)

(1) Chocolate brownie with walnuts (101)

Total consumed calories: 1264

Total used calories: 0

Total net calories: 1264

Net calories goal: 1208 – 2264 = 56 over 👎

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

I miss summer already. 💗

Daily Food Diary – Day 334 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 334 of my Daily Food Diary! 🔥 That means eleven full months of keeping and posting my daily diary without one single miss! 👏

Today is December 1st.  To round up this challenge, each day  I am going to note one Food Diary WIN that I celebrated in 2025.

When, I started in January, my main goal was to pinpoint foods that I could no longer tolerate in my diet.   My first win came as a complete surprise! 

Just by being mindful of everything I ate  every day, I soon realized how much mindless snacking I did throughout the day.  Much of what I reached for was high in salt or processed sugar. 

Becoming mindful of every bite I ate, or passed on, had a bigger impact on my life.  I became more present and mindful of my life in general.  

Ultimately, I became more aware of my thoughts, emotions, and the choices I made.

We are in the first deep freeze of our winter season.   I have been making the best of it and scored a couple of wins this weekend…

1) I took out the housecoat Dan gave me for Christmas last year.

Like being wrapped in a warm fluffy cloud!

2) I spent some time reading the book that I have been working on – ‘Let Them’ by Mel Robbins.  I have been struggling to read this book (it is me, not a reflection of the book or the author).  Yesterday, I read an entire chapter and was rewarded by this powerful quote…

“The truth is, your life is your responsibility.”

There was a time when such quotes would have spawned excuses and a never ending round of blame games.    Now, such quotes are a huge win.. a huge empowering win. 🤩

No one owes me the life that I want and no one can hand it to me on a silver platter.   It is up to me to make choices I need to make and to take the steps that I have to take, to build the strong, healthy, fulfilling  life that I want and deserve!

Daily Food Diary –   Day 334

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(2.5) scrambled eggs (228)

(2) potato patties (240)

(4) very thin slices bacon (87)

Snacks:

(1) Snickerdoodle (90)

(12) g chipnuts (96)

(1) Oz Frangelico (71)

(48) Oz water

Supper:

(2) full bowls won ton soup (450)

Total consumed calories: 1264

Total used calories: 0

Total net calories: 1264

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1264 = 56 over 👎

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great time. 🤗💞

Daily Food Diary – Day 333 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 333 of my Daily Food Diary. 🥰

Tomorrow is the first day of December.  I have always thought that in December my focus would be to review my 2025 Food Diary.  Since I have been working on being mindful of and grateful for the wins in my life lately, this will work out perfectly.    Everyday, I will note the wins that I have experienced from my 365 day challenge.  🥳

Today it is the coldest of our cold days so far.  Molly doesn’t even seem terribly excited about a walk so I am pretty sure it will be another off day.  Dan’s back  is feeling somewhat better, but another rest day will be good for him as well.

Latest wins…

1) Dan washed dishes after supper last night.  I did wipe them and put them away, but that is easy easy compared to washing, so it was a nice break. 

2) I completed most of our shopping last night.  It took me a long time to get up to speed with online shopping, but nowadays it is a definite win.  

3) I received my 6th monthly shipment of collagen supplements this morning.   They are my first ever subscription order – very handy and a bit of a deal, too.

Definitely the biggest win from my ‘Daily Food Diary’.   These collagen supplements have been life changing – and only  in a good way! 💞

Daily Food Diary – Day 333

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(2) eggo waffles (180)

(2) tsp butter (69)

(2) tbsp maple syrup (104)

(2) slices bacon(87)

Snacks:

(12) Hint of Lime chips (300)

(36) Oz water

Supper:

(1) sourdough bun (190)

(3) Oz roast beef (188)

(1) slices onion (6)

(1) tbsp horseradish (7)

(1/2) c gravy (50)

(2) Belgium chocolate cookies (107)

(12) Oz carbonated water

Total consumed calories: 1405

Total used calories: 205

(36) min aerobics (205)

Total net calories: 1200

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1200 = 8 under 👍

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 332 0f 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 332 of my Daily Food Diary. 😚

This morning, Facebook sent me a ‘memory’ of the last Christmas tree we had.   That was FOUR years ago.  That was not a memorable Christmas Season, nor was it a memorable Christmas tree – at least not in a good way.

The tree was perfect, in every sparkly way – until we realized it came complete with a family of shrews.  A big family – and they were indestructible, cocky, bizarre little creatures.  They lived with us for months before the last of them moved out in the spring.

Good times… 🤦‍♀️

I am so glad that life has turned around and that we are at a place where I can count my wins each and every day!

#1 – Our first REAL snow of the season. I declined to walk Molly solo this morning, but I did go outside with her to clean our walks and paths around our patios.
#2 – I did laundry, including the living room blankets.  A win for me because it didn’t bother my lungs AT ALL to spend time in our basement.  (Dan has been doing the laundry because it had gotten to be such a struggle for me.) 😊
#3 – A win for Molly – Dan had to run over to a friend’s,  so he took Molly to meet Tucker, their young Labradoodle. 😁

#4 – Yesterday, I finally hit the trifecta – a walk with Molly, time on the treadmill, and a session with light weights and cardio. 👍

Daily Food Diary – Day 332

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) paratha (240)

(1) tbsp peanut butter (105)

(1) tbsp jam (50)

Lunch:

(1) Harvest hot dog (160)

(10) Lays lightly salted chips (1=5)

(1/2) Oz onion dip (20)

Supper:

(2) servings nachos with ground turkey, red pepper, jalapeños, olives, green onions, shredded habanero cheese. Salsa (865)

Total consumed calories: 1587

Total used calories: 280

(30) min walking (137)

(30) min treadmill (71)

(30) min light weights (71)

Total net calories: 1307

Net calories goal: 1208  – 1307 = 99 over

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 331 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 331 of my Daily Food Diary! 🥳

This morning, I am just going to jump right into my wins since I posted yesterday.

1) For the forth day in a row, Molly and I  went for our morning walk solo.  Molly was very good,  again.    But, it was COLD!    Despite wearing 2 sets of gloves, my hands were freezing.  When we got back home,  my fingers were stiff and in excruciating pain.   I grabbed a jar of CBD cream and lathered it on.  By the time I had it rubbed in, the pain was easing – and in no time my fingers were as good as new.  CBD cream for the win!

2) Last night was dart night for Dan.  I cleared up the kitchen, did the dishes, massaged my hands and did my nails.   After digging in garden dirt, pulling weeds, and the like all spring/summer/fall,  it felt  good to show my hands some winter love.

Healing hands for the win!

3) Finally, shortly after Thanksgiving we asked our Genie if she and her husband Alec would consider hosting Christmas this year.    It is all rather complicated but with help of Alec’s Mom (who is  the official hostess)  that is now the plan.  

Big win – First  Family Christmas,  with and for, the newly weds.  💞🎄

Daily Food Diary – Day 331

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1/2) grapefruit (39)

(1/2) tsp sugar (8)

(1) granola bar (160)

Lunch:

(1/2) c potato (127)

(1 1/2) c Baked vegetables (37)

(1) snickerdoodle (90)

Snacks:

(6) Hint of Lime chips (150)

(48) Oz water

Supper:

(1 1/2) c macaroni & cheese (380)

(2) Harvest weiners (360)

(2) Belgium chocolate cookies (107)

(1) can A & W rootbeer (170)

Total consumed calories: 1694

Total used calories: 337

(30 min walking (137)

(30) min aerobics 200)

Total net calories: 1357

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1357 = 149 over 👎

That’s it for today.  take care and have a great day! 🤗💓

Daily Food Diary – Day 330 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 330 of my Daily Food Diary. 🔥

Today our friends and family in the USA are celebrating  Thanksgiving. While we, in Canada, celebrated in October, we are thinking of you and wishing the best for you and yours during this holiday season. 

My day started off on the slightly rocky side.  While I was paying some bills online, I tried to check into our Canadian Tire account on my new phone.  Eventually, I managed to get myself locked out of my account.  I called their 1-800-welcome to hell hot line.   Ten minutes later, I was finally on hold to speak to a human.  Never happened.  I finally hung up to get ready to walk Molly.

Now for the wins..

1) Last night I made a roast beef supper for Dan & I.  The roast came out perfectly as well as all the sides.  🤗

2) For the third day in a row, Molly and I walked solo. (Dan is doing much better but he had a routine Dr’s appointment this morning.) It was COLD out and there were multiple distractions to be had – but Molly was exceptionally co-operative.  We went the full circuit and  I coughed ZERO times!  🎉

Cold and frosty!
Molly sat patiently while I photographed the frost. 

3) When we returned from our walk, I tried my Canadian Tire app and whoops hoo, I got in on my first try. 😅

Daily Food Diary – Day 330

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee(2)

(2) eggo waffles (180)

(3) slices bacon (130)

(1) tsp butter (34)

(2) tbsp maple syrup (104)

Snacks:

(36) Oz water

(4) pcs black licorice (19)

(15) light salted Lays wavy chips (218)

(1) Oz onion chip dip (40)

Supper:

(6) Oz roast beef (376

(1) c oven roasted potato (255)

(1 1/2) cup oven roasted vegetables – onion, carrots, celery (37)

(1/2) c gravy (50)

(1) tbsp horseradish (7)

(1) sidesalad w/ French dressing (246)

(12) Oz carbonated water

Total consumed calories: 1769

Total used calories: 337

(30) min walking (137)

(30) min aerobics (200)

Total net calories: 1432

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1432 = 224 over 👎

That’s it for today. Take care and have a good day!

Happy Thanksgiving

Daily Food Diary –  Day 329 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 329 of my Daily Food Diary! 😆

This morning we woke up to find our city shrouded in fog.  That seems to be the norm lately, more often that not.   I am not loving the high humidity, as it is one thing that triggers my asthma – and the one thing that I cannot control. 

8 A.M. this morning

Staying indoors does help, but it is 11 AM and the fog is still hanging on. 

Molly is not a happy camper.  Dan’s back went out a couple of days ago.   The pain is  easing off but he is not ready to take Molly for her walk.   It will be on me again, but we won’t get far if this fog does not ease up.

There is nothing sadder than a sad Pyrenees 😔

Other than the fog (and Dan’s back issue) , all is relatively well.   I have a couple of more wins to celebrate…

1) Yesterday, for the second day in a row I put together a passable healthy lunch for myself – raw vegetables, bacon, and crackers.

2) Plus,  I got in two workouts on top of my walk with Molly yesterday – light weights and treadmill

Also, not really a win for me, but definitely something to appreciate… I have spoken to granddaughter Genie.  If Grandpa is still struggling on the weekend, she will be able to detour out of her way and drive Maddy for work.  It is so nice that they are sisters, workmates, and the best of friends!

Genie training Maddy on the first day of her first job. (March 2024) 💞

Daily Food Diary – Day 329

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) Granola bar (160)

Lunch:

(2) slices thick cut bacon (170)

(2 1/4) c raw vegetables (37)

(2) tbsp Dilly Dip (100)

(14)  crackers (128)

(48) Oz water

Supper:

(1) c cream of mushroom soup (200)

(1) Pan fried Ham, cheese, and onion wrap (382)

(2/3) maple walnut ice cream with chocolate sauce (303)

Total consumed calories: 1483

Total used calories: 280

(30) min walking (137)

(30) min treadmill (71)

(30) min light weights (71)

Total net calories: 1203

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1203 = 5 under 👍

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 328 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 328 of my Daily Food Diary. 😄

Despite snow storm warnings for the past week, any such weather seems to have missed Saskatchewan.  It is cool this morning but dry.   While there are plenty of dried leaves that have finally fallen, most of the grass around here is still suspiciously green.   I swear our seasons are shifting  later each year.   We are still mid autumn – and come June it will still be winter.  🤔

I am still enjoying that break between our Canadian Thanksgiving and full on  Christmas Season.  But,  I do have two wins to celebrate today.

1) Yesterday, I broke away from my less than impressive typical lunch and made myself a full on (small) salad.   I should generally make more of an effort when it comes to lunches, but it is too easy to grab a handful of chips and/or a couple of cookies.  But, yesterday I did it.   I made myself something relatively nutritious so I will take the win.

2) This morning, I took Molly for a walk by myself.  That alone is win worthy, but today on our walk I coughed twice.  A couple of coughs each time to clear my lungs/throat and we moved on.  I know it doesn’t sound that impressive, but for me,  walking our dog alone without multiple coughing fits is a massive double win for me!

Molly sharing the win.  (She did contribute to the win by being an especially good girl this morning. 💞)

Daily Food Diary – Day 328

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c brown sugar Shreddies (210)

(1/4) c 2% milk (28)

Lunch:

(1) small salad – romaine lettuce, green onions, radishes, cauliflower, ham, cheese, peppercorn ranch dressing, fried dried onions (393)

(36) Oz water

Supper:

(2) large sour cabbage rolls (360)

(12) Oz carbonated water

(1) snickerdoodle (90)

Total consumed calories: 1083

Total used calories: 337

(35) min aerobics (200)

(30) min walking (137)

Total net calories: 746

Net calorie goal: 1208-746 = 462 under 🤔

That’s it for today.  take care and have a great day! 💞🥳

August 2018

Daily Food Diary – Day 327 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 327 of my Daily Food Diary! 😎

I have been trying to be mindful of what I eat (and cook) for almost eleven months now.  I have even been  putting a respectable effort into choosing our menu – especially supper.   Despite all this effort, often – like once a week,  I find out that my  daughter, her daughter, or both of them – made exactly the same thing as us on the same day.   Last week it was Genie.  For supper on Saturday, Dan made Baked French Onion Soup.   After, seeing my blog on Sunday – Genie messaged me to say that she had done likewise for herself and her sister Prim.  So strange – I know Genie makes a lot of homemade soup, but I don’t think either of us make French Onion Soup regularly.  But apparently, when we do..🤔

It is another relatively pleasant day in Southern Saskatchewan – so far!  There is talk of snow but we have dodged it so far. (or at least the snow that comes and stays until spring)

We went for our morning walk.  The  humidity was relatively high (93%) but I still did quite well coughing wise –  a few random coughs, but no coughing fits, so that was good!

Another hand shot today. 

This one is to share my win for yesterday.  I got my wedding rings on.  I haven’t been able to wear them for months –  since I caught my finger on Molly’s chain (leash) when I was walking her.    The swelling in my knuckle refused to go down.   Now it is finally gone. 😁

Daily Food Diary – Day 327

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) 2 egg Denver omelet (235)

(2) potato patties (240)

Snacks:

(36) oz water

(2) Belgium chocolate cookies (107)

Supper:

(3) spring rolls (375)

(3) c chicken stir fry (614)

(12) Oz carbonated water

Total consumed calories: 1573

Total used calories: 137

(30) min walking  (137)

Total net calories: 1436

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1436 = 222 over 👎

That is it for today.  take care and have a great day! 🤗🧡