Tag: aging boomer

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 315 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 315 of my Daily Food Diary! 😲

That is 50 Days until the end of my Daily Food Diary Challenge.

In 2026, I am going to switch over to a 365 Day Daily Activity Challenge.

I have been getting back on track  doing my regular workouts – walking with Dan and Molly in the morning, and doing my aerobics, light weights, and treadmill.

Yesterday morning, I walked the full route with Dan and Molly.  After lunch I did a light weight workout – three sets of eight exercises using eight pound weights with dancing before and after each set.   After a short rest, I hopped on the treadmill.

I know that if I am going to make the most of my Activity Challenge in 2026, I am going to have to break out of my comfort zone and kick up my activity level. 

Yesterday on the treadmill, I felt it was an ideal time to start pushing my limits.  I felt great, the 80’s tunes were rocking, it was time.

I had been strolling along at speed Level 3 on the treadmill.  A couple of minutes in, I had kicked it up to a Level 5.   Still feeling good and a bit cocky, I pushed it up to a Level 6.  

Level 6 is the turning point from Slow Levels to Fat Burn.   Specifically – 3.5 km per hour to 40 miles an hour.

I was clinging to the handrails for dear life, running for my life, and wondering how I was going to slow this beast down.    I had my left foot up when I made the dubious decision to set it down on the side rail.  And the right foot hit the 40 mile an hour treadmill.  Well…

That was less than elegant and more than a little painful.  Fortunately (or not), I was still holding onto the handrails.  I got off in one piece – but with a few new stretch marks. 🙄

I know that I have to keep pushing through my comfort zone – but I can’t see myself ever hitting Performance Level.   Maybe by 2027. 🤗

Daily Food Diary – Day 315

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c Cheerios (200)

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

Lunch:

(3) PC’s roast chicken (319)

(1) cheese biscuit (129)

(1/3) c gravy (24)

Snacks:

(1) tbsp honey (40)

(1) snickerdoodle (90)

(1) Belgium Chocolate cookie (120)

Supper:

(1) homemade chicken quesadilla (464)

(1) 315 mil Pepsi (150)

Total consumed calories: 1565

Total used calories: 282

(30) min walking (137)

(30) min light weights (73)

(30) min treadmill (73)

Total net calories: 1283

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1283 = 75 over 👎

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 283 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 283 of my Daily Food Diary and for the third day in a row it is a BUSY one.

On Thursday we hosted our family Thanksgiving Supper and yesterday I helped daughter Jennifer with some serious fall cleaning. 

I am particularly proud of the job I did on her microwave!

There are some cleaning jobs that are so notable.  Cleaning any bathroom leaves one with a major sense of accomplishment.  Defrosting and organizing a freezer does likewise. Microwaves also likewise! With a bit of soap and water and a little elbow grease,  a microwave goes from total cringe to bright and sparkling in a few minutes.  It is quite magical!

Today, Dan and I are clearing out our  garden, putting away the patio furniture, and taking down the gazebo curtains and roof materials.  It is sad work indeed, but tomorrow we are expecting heavy rains and winter will not be far behind. 

The way the weeks and months are flying by, it will be spring before we know it and we will be reversing the process.  😊

You know what is really weird? I have been diagnosed with  multiple  chronic lung conditions – asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis.  If I sit or lay around for three days, I feel terrible.  If I keep super active, and work my butt off, I feel GREAT! 

I am feeling strong, healthy, and my lungs are clear!  It is amazing! Weird but amazing. 🙄

Daily Food Diary – Day 283

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c cinnamon oatmeal cheerios (200)

(1/4)c 2% milk

Lunch:

(12) oz 7up (140)

(1) Turkey neck (150)

Supper:

(24) oz water

(12) oz carbonated water

(1) Double Arby’s roast beef (no bun) (200)

(1) Medium crinkle cut fries (530)

(2) cheese sticks (220)

(1) gravy (35)

Total consumed calories: 1525

Total used calories: 614

(47) min walking (99)

(3) hours cleaning (404)

(1) hour food prep & cooking – making turkey broth, and packaging cabbage rolls for the freezer (111)

Total net calories: 911

Net calories goal: 1229 – 911 = 319 under 👍

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 280 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 280 of my Daily Food Diary! 🤩

I am running later than ever this morning, but feeling much better than yesterday. 

I started my day by taking  Molly for her walk solo.  While some of our garden plants took a hit from the frost earlier this week, it is amazing how green the grass and trees are around here. 

Molly and I walked around  the baseball diamonds across the street, before heading onto our regular route.  The entire park was as fresh and green as it was in June.  That is not at all typical for October in Saskatchewan!  But I will take it as long as it lasts.

The rest of my day will revolve around cooking our ham and baking pies for our Thanksgiving supper tomorrow. 

Some of the leaves are changing color on our street – but they are still on the trees.  Our lawn is looking better than it has all summer. 🙂

Daily Food Diary – Day 280

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(3) cinnamon eggos (330)

(1) tsp butter (34)

(2) tbsp Maple Syrup (104)

(2) slices bacon (87)

Lunch:

(1) c beef broth (31)

Snacks:

(1/3) c mixed nuts (216)

Supper:

(3) c Beef Stew (552)

(3/4) c Maple walnut ice cream (225)

(2) tbsp caramel sauce (105)

(1/8) c chopped walnuts (96)

Total consumed calories: 1782

Total used calories: 287

(30) min walking (53)

(30) min aerobics (176)

(30) min treadmill (59)

Total net calories: 1495

Net calories goal: 1229 – 1495 = 265 over 👎

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 262 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 262 of my Daily Food Diary! 😁

There is not a lot happening in our little corner of the world this morning. 

We started the day with a nice walk around the neighborhood with Molly.

I didn’t really leave the yard dressed like this nor did I really want to slap somebody 🤦 – but this was a great photo of Molly.

Molly walked particularly well this morning  despite crossing paths with several other dogs, including her old friend Ripple.

Molly & Ripple back in their dogpark days.

I am not anticipating anything happening for the rest of the day, but I am about to do my aerobic workout and then will buckle down to some Saturday cleaning.  🤷

Daily Food Diary – Day 262

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1/2) grapefruit (39)

(1/2) tsp sugar (8)

Lunch:

(1) sourdough bun (259)

(4) oz roast beef (251)

(2) tsp butter (68)

(2) tbsp horseradish (14)

(48) oz water

Supper:

(2) oz riblets (99)

(6) Gyoza (200)

(3) egg rolls (440)

(1) PC Buttermilk chicken (120)

(6) tempura shrimp (210)

(1) tbsp Gyoza sauce (15)

(1) tbsp seafood sauce (12)

(1) tbsp Dilly Dip (50)

(1) tbsp plum sauce (35)

Total calories consumed: 1809

Total calories used: 548

(30) min. Aerobics (176)

(30) min. Walking (53)

(20) min. Treadmill (35)

(30) min. Light weights (73)

(30) min garden/yard (88)

(30) min. Cooking (56)

(30) min. Cleaning (67)

Total net calories: 1261

Net calorie goal: 1229 – 1261 = 32 over 👍

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 238 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 238 of my Daily Food Diary.  That is a full 34 weeks without one miss. ☺️

Today is almost two full weeks since we got our ‘new to us’ treadmill.  The first night we got it, I used it for fifteen minutes, the second night twenty, and every night since for a full thirty.

Until last night!  For the past three or four nights,  using the treadmill had just been getting harder and harder.

Over the past three and a half years, I have found that making commitments was more effective for me than setting result driven goals.  I have found that modest, persistent, consistent efforts were more effective for me than occasional grand gestures.  And I have found that muscle fatigue is a real thing!

When my muscles turn to achy, breaky, jello, it is time to set some down time for rest and recuperating.

Last night was one of those nights, and I’m thinking I am  going to have to start taking regular  break nights from the treadmill until I build up some muscle strength. 

It is unfortunate, because I  enjoy my evening treadmill time – physically and mentally.  But it has to be done!

Maybe our treadmill will appreciate the necessary break times.
Intermittent weight lifting is helping me to develop some arm muscles!  🥳. (I’m still working on the Bingo wings. 🙄)

Daily Food Diary – Day 238

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(3) crumpets (240)

(1 1/2) tsp jam (75)

(3) tsp butter (103)

Lunch:

(1 1/2) c chicken, green, white, orange, red vegetable, stir-fry (307)

Snacks:

(60) oz water

(15) barbecue chips (130)

Supper:

(1 1/2) c chicken, green, white, orange, red vegetable, stir-fry (307)

(1) red tomato (22)

(3/4) c Butterscotch ice cream (180)

(10) hazelnuts (88)

(1) tbsp dark chocolate sauce (52)

(1) tbsp caramel sauce (130)

Total net calories: 1360

Net calories goal: 1229 – 1360 = 131 over 👎

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 😌❣️

Daily Food Diary – Day 225 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is Day 225 of my Daily Food Diary.  Not a single miss in 225 Days!  💃

Yesterday was another busy and productive day.   I got to go for Molly’s morning walk with Dan. (We have been wildfire smoke free for a few days now. 👍) I did my morning aerobics and Wednesday weights. I spent the afternoon outside watering, pulling weeds, trimming plants, and doing general yardwork.   And, I came in to bake apple pies and straighten up the kitchen.

I can’t tell you how great it feels to wake up every morning feeling well and going to bed every night feeling that my day was productive.

I have been on this Health and Fitness Journey for three and a half years.  It hasn’t always been easy.  Not that it has been that hard, but there have been setbacks.  Regardless, weeks like this make it all worthwhile.

It isn’t about living forever, it is about living well.  This week, I am living exceptionally well! 😊

Daily Food Diary – Day 225

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c Rice Krispies (120)

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

(1) tsp sugar (16)

Lunch:

(2) chicken drumsticks (401)

(9) Lay’s Low Salt wavy chips (131)

Supper:

(1) sourdough bun (190)

(2) tsp butter (68)

(1) tomato (22)

(3) slices bacon (130)

(1) PC apple pie (178)

Total net calories:  944

Net calories goal: 1222 – 944 = 278 under 👍

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 213 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 213 Days since I began posting my Daily Food Diary.  😊🌹

I have completed SEVEN of the twelve months that I set out to post.  Every month I choose a different focus and for August I planned to do likewise.

Choosing a new focus is always a challenge and this month (August) has been the most difficult.  I drew a blank for the past week, I settled on making this a month to focus on weekly meal planning.  But our summers are notoriously short and meal planning is just too September Greige for me to get excited about.

So… I chose to go with COLOURFUL foods for August.   While our garden is struggling this year, we do have a variety of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, rhubarb,  and  several herbs to provide color (and healthy goodness) to our meals.  Of course, we also have access to all of the fresh colorful foods  available at our supermarkets and local Farmer’s Market. 

To kick the month off, I sourced out this short article which offers information on why a colorful diet is beneficial, plus the specific nutrients relative to each basic food color.

Eat the rainbow for good health – Mayo Clinic News Network https://share.google/13HbshB2dmRhHkj45

A bowl of  mini  hot peppers that we harvested from our garden a couple of years ago. 

Daily Food Diary – Day 213

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c Cheerios (147)

(1/4) c milk (28)

Lunch:

(1) mango (135)

(1) kiwi (46)

Supper:

(1) Caesar salad (440)

(12) chicken wing flats (510)

(2) tbsp Frank’s Xtra Hot sauce (26)

(1) pinch of dried HOT pepper flakes

Total net calories: 1009

Net calorie goal: 1222 – 1009 = 212 under

*** Yesterday’s diet entries included the  yellow mango,  green kiwi and lettuce in the Caesar salad,  and the red of the pepper flakes and hot sauce.

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 204 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 204 Days since I started my Daily Food Diary.

While I am counting the calories that I consume each day, losing weight is not my sole or main  goal. 

I am doing this in an attempt to eat better, not necessarily less.  I have cut some foods out of my diet, added others, and tweaked a few.    This week, I had a craving for chocolate chip cookies.   Switching out the normally  processed white flour for almond flour, using dark chocolate chips and adding chopped walnuts all helped to make them a bit more nutritious – and didn’t hurt the taste any.

Other than baking (way too many) nutritionally improved  cookies,  my week hasn’t been going too bad – but it is definitely not one of my best.

Our weather has been cool, our  HUMIDITY  high, and we have poor air quality due to smoke from northern wildfires.   The humidity does nothing for my respiratory system and the smoke (which I am allergic to) destroys it. 

I have been managing… Taking my meds, clearing my lungs and sinuses,  doing my aerobics and weight & cardio exercises, watching my diet, keeping active, managing my stress … and avoiding outside air (as much as possible). 

But my lungs are struggling and I am booked for my annual pulmonary function test tomorrow.   I cannot see this going  well.

Am I the only one who is mortified at the thought of  failing a health test?   🤦

Daily Food Diary – Day 204

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1/2) grapefruit (39)

(1/2) tsp. Sugar (8)

(2) crumpets (160)

(2) tsp butter (34)

(1) tbsp raspberry jam (50)

Lunch:

(1/2) c potato salad (236)

(1/4) c radishes (5)

(1/4) c green onions (10)

(1 1/2) oz Piller’s Ham (43)

(5) Hint of Lime tortilla chips (125)

(2) Almond flour chocolate chip cookies (100)

(48) oz water

Supper:

(1 1/2) servings nachos – tortilla chips, ground turkey, red pepper, green onion, hot pepper, black olives, shredded marble cheese, salsa (657)

Total net calories: 1188

Net calories goal: 1229 – 1188 = 40 under 👍

* Highlighted items contain significant collagen or significant contribute to the production of collagen

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 193 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 193 of my Daily Food Diary.  Today is also SUNDAY. 

Being retired, one does not generally dwell on days of the week.  Sundays, or at least Sundays in our household,  have a unique flow to them.

This morning, I slept in until 7:00 AM.  I could have slept longer.  I was up at 3 AM dealing with a coughing fit that refused to pass.  Dan was up early, dealing with Molly. So there was no good reason why I had to get up.  Alas, Molly felt otherwise. 

Morning Breath!

I was up at seven, and by eight we were heading out for our morning walk.   Even in a neighbourhood surrounded by major roadways, Sunday morning walks are peaceful.   This morning, we detoured through two parks.  We were surrounded by nature and sunshine. 🤗

When we got back home, we whipped up a quick Sunday morning breakfast.  By the time we finished eating, it was time for Dan to head out to pick up granddaughter Maddy to take her to work – another Sunday morning ritual in our lives. 💓

I gave Molly her Sunday pig’s ear.  Being primarily cartilage, it is a great source of collagen for her – and one of her favourite treats.

I headed outdoors to my personal retreat, to write my daily blog and soak in the sounds of Sunday – from the water feature in our pond, to the birds, to the muffled sounds of traffic in a city slowly coming to life.

Daily Food Diary – Day 193

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1/2) grapefruit (39)

(1/2) tsp sugar (8)

(1) granola bar (160)

Lunch:

(2) oz roast beef (109)

(12) French fries (120)

(1) c broccoli (60)

(4) tbsp gravy (20)

(60) oz water

Supper:

(10) chicken wing flats (425)

(6) multigrain crackers (180)

(6) vegetable thins (40)

(2) c raw vegetables – cucumber, mini carrots, cauliflower, radishes, broccoli (100)

(2) tbsp Frank’s honey garlic sauce (40)

(1) tbsp Dilly Dip (80)

Total net calories: 1209

Net calorie goal: 1229 – 1209 = 20 under 👍

* Highlighted items contain significant collagen or significant contribute to the production of collagen

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