Tag: motivation

Daily Food Diary – Day 299 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 299 of my Daily Food Diary. 💗

In keeping with my monthly focus of planning meals that reflect our October change of seasons, I served up a summery garden salad for last night.  It has been back and forth between light meals for warm days and hearty comfort foods to get us through the first snow of the season.  That is October in Saskatchewan!

Today is Monday.  Starting a new workout week, I was excited to come across a motivating quote while browsing social media this morning.

I do not work out to be better than anyone else.  I WORK OUT TO BE THE BEST I CAN BE.

That is the truth – and it has been my strongest motivation since I first read David Goggins’ “Can’t Hurt Me”.  The human body is amazing – and the potential for how amazing it can become is fascinating.

But the ongoing quest to find my true potential can be frustrating at times.   I can have a bad night, I can experience setbacks, I can get cocky and try to walk our dog Molly without her pinch collar….. 

Feeling my full potential this morning, that’s  the direction my day took!    By the time we got to the park, I had to take a break at a bench in the kids playground.   By the time we got to the other side of the park, I had to hand her over to Dan.  By the time we got home, I felt like I had wrestled a steer and lost the rodeo.

Someday, I will be the best I can be (I am not there yet).   I hope that by the time I do get there, I will be able to manhandle Molly without a pinch collar.  That would be incredible! 

Daily Food Diary – Day 299

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(3) slices low salt thin slice bacon (135)

(2) potato patties (240)

(2) egg cheese omelet (260)

(1) medium tomato (22)

Snacks:

(36) oz water

(16) oz cherry tea

(2) pieces chocolate cake (600)

Supper:

(1) chicken salad: lettuce, tomato, cucumber, cauliflower, green onion, green olives, chicken breast, sesame seeds, dried fried onion, peppercorn ranch salad dressing (473)

(12) oz carbonated water

Total consumed calories: 1731

Total used calories: 0

Total net calories: 1731

Net calories goal: 1208 – 1731 = 523 over 👎

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

Fun times in Deadwood, ND – Spring 2024 with daughter Jen.  Getting up there was less than half the battle.  The real challenge was getting back down. 🙄

Daily Food Diary – Day 261 of 365 Days

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today it is 261 Days since I started posting my Daily Food Diary. 💓

Today it is also my sister Elaine’s BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday Elaine! 🎈

Speaking of birthday cake… I love cake, I love icing, and I especially love the icing on commercially made cakes. 👍

Unfortunately, I (as well as my daughter and her daughters) cannot eat yeast and commercially baked anything these days is made with powdered egg whites – which are made with yeast. 

That is just one of the allergy/ intolerances discoveries that I have made recently. 

A few weeks ago, I ate something that should have been perfectly fine.  I immediately got seriously bloated and started experiencing violent abdominal cramps.  🙄

I checked the ingredients and the only thing that was slightly questionable was that the product contained palm oil.  I decided to keep that in mind.

A couple of days later, daughter Jen messaged  me that she was violently ill.  She sent me the nutritional label/ingredient list for what she had just eaten…and it noted  palm oil.

I have been fine since, but Jen has been checking anything she eats for palm oil (she has several severe food allergies so she is generally extra careful). 

She has not been feeling well for some time and been experiencing allergy type issues – but she couldn’t pinpoint the issue.

This morning she messaged me that she happened to notice that the margarine that she has been using for cooking and baking has palm oil in it now. 

No doubt, palm oil is becoming as ubiquitous as yeast!

That is the issue I have with a number of professionals – business administrators, doctors, investment counsellors, chefs apparently… They find one thing that works and that becomes the norm for the entire industry  – until it turns out that the norm doesn’t work all that well. (At least for some  of their customers) 🤦

In the meantime  buyer beware, be mindful, be alert…

Daily Food Diary – Day 261

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) paratha (240)

(1) tbsp jam (50)

(1) tbsp peanut butter (105)

Lunch:

(1 1/2) oz ham (43)

(1) tomato (22)

(12) Doritos (153)

Snacks:

(1) vodka Caesar (168)

(48) oz water

(12) oz lemon water

Supper:

(11) chicken air fried wing flats (468)

(2) tbsp Frank’s Honey Garlic sauce (80)

(1) Serving Caesar Salad (250)

(1) c Apple crisp (227)

Total calories consumed: 1808

Total calories used: 439

(30) min aerobics (176)

(30) min walking (53)

(30) min garden/yardwork (88)

(30) min housework (67)

(30) min food prep/cooking (56)

Total net calories: 1369

Net calories goal: 1229 – 1369 = 139 over

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

Daily Food Diary – Day 246 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

Today is Day 246 of my Daily Food Diary.  119 more days to go until the end of my 365 Day Diary – and the end of 2025. 💖

I am thinking that I need to really buckle down to make the most of this experience before I wrap it up!

This week I have been sidetracked by a lung infection.  I don’t know if everyone has their own special weakness, but my breaking point is fever.  Even a low grade fever – anything above 100 degrees Fahrenheit and I am useless. 

I am also pretty much the medical community’s worst patient.  Stress triggers my asthma, so walking into any medical facility,  doctor’s office or pharmacy is a major health event waiting to happen.   Then there is the time warp!  I can lose hours at home waiting for my nail polish to dry or for a pot of soup to cook.   Waiting five minutes for a blood test tries my patience.  And finally there is the medication…

I think the main reason I have these little health events is to remind me to have more empathy for people who truly suffer from chronic health issues.   People who regularly deal with frequent visits to health facilities, painful procedures, and multiple medications.

When I have these lung infections, I have to take THREE pills a day.   I take one antibiotic in the morning – on an empty stomach, no less than two hours AFTER I take any vitamins, followed by one hour before I can eat.  Then I have one Prednisone tablet to take, with food, but no grapefruit!  Then life proceeds as usual until after supper (except that I have to avoid sunlight or the Prednisone will turn ugly on me).    After 7 pm,  I cannot eat anything to be prepared to take my second antibiotic tablet on an empty stomach, at least one hour before going to bed.

I can’t imagine how people taking multiple medications, all with their own unique rules keep everything straight.  I would need some serious organizational skills update or things would go south PDQ.

I don’t know if it was the first pills yesterday or the chicken soup from the night before, but I felt pretty good yesterday.  I mostly took it easy, mostly relaxed outside in our gazebo, and mostly stayed out of the sun and avoided turning into a Prednisone werewolf – even when I was watering the garden, weeding, trimming plants, and picking vegetables.

Last night my appetite returned and I totally enjoyed the supper that Dan served up.

Salzburg steak, fries & gravy, broccoli & cauliflower. 😋

Today, I am doing good so far but I do have to go get X-rays and blood tests done.  😥

Daily Food Diary – Day 246

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1) c Cheerios (147)

(1/4) c milk (28)

Lunch:

(3) oz Rotisserie chicken (150)

(6) Hint of Lime tortilla chips (150)

Snacks:

(1)2 c caramel corn (85)

(1/2) c chicken broth (27)

(48) oz water

Supper:

(5) oz lean ground beef patty (304)

(1/4) c onions (15)

(1/4) c mushrooms (11)

(1/2) c gravy (50)

(2) tsp olive oil (79)

(16) crinkle cut fries (126)

(1/2) c broccoli (27)

(1/2) c cauliflower (14)

(1 1/2) tsp butter (51)

Total calories consumed: 1266

Total calories used: 176

(1) hour gardening (176)

Total net calories: 1090

Net calorie goal: 1229 – 1090 = 139 under

David Goggins

by annemariedemyen, posted in August 2022

This morning I learned of one of my newest inspirations from my partners in my Volley fitness group. David Goggins is one of the world’s best endurance athletes. He is also a genius as a motivational speaker and as the author of countless thought provoking quotes.

These are a small sample of David Goggins quotes. These ones spoke to me personally in a big way so they are the ones that I chose to share.

“Nobody cares about yesterday.  What have you done today to better yourself?” – David Goggins

“When you look in the mirror, that’s the one person you cannot lie to.” – David Goggins

“I don’t stop when I’m tired.  I stop when I’m done.” – David Goggins

“Every day do something that makes you uncomfortable.” – David Goggins

“Success is based on your willingness to work your ass off no matter what obstacles are in your way.” – David Goggins

“I thought I’d solved a problem when really I was creating new ones by taking the path of least resistance.” – David Goggins

“Don’t limit expectations of yourself and settle for anything less than what you are truly capable of.” – David Goggins

“Most people who doubt you doubt you because they can never see themselves doing what you are trying to do.” – David Goggins

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