I'm down .4 of a pound, another slow creep but downward which is of course what I'm after. This would mean a good five pounds lost, from the start of the challenge. (I can't remember the exact point of a pound when I started, but the pounds were well over where I like to be.)
I did some reading up on the best practices to divest oneself of a tummy, which is the part of me that makes me annoyed. (Some of it could just be the skin that stretched out when I was pregnant, but it's pretty undeniable when I look in the mirror that some of it is fat.) Everything I read pointed to carbs and sugar, sugar and carbs, which makes it even more of a total no-brainer about what I have to do. It's just doing it that is difficult. But the other night, we went to dinner, and I piled on everything else I like that is not sugar or carbs. I think that overeating slightly on meat, fish, cheese, salad, veggies, etc. is the only way I'll fob off my sugar cravings. If I'm not hungry, they aren't that noticeable. I need to break through to the point where I don't desire my dear Dr. P.
Some pretty fall days (today is one), we drive down the Chehalem Valley to the nut farms and get super-fresh filberts (hazelnuts, but in Oregon you definitely call them filberts) in big sacks. If I had those in my house all the time, I could fend off the Doctor, though I have to be careful how many I eat, because for some reason they also give me gum boils if I over-indulge. I might suggest a fun family drive today.
Anyway, I'll shift over and post on the holidays challenge. I managed to remember my start weight for it down to the .01 of a pound, so I'll know if I get that last five pounds off or not. (If I do, it had better be all tummy fat, though -- wouldn't it be disappointing to lose one's last five pounds and come out with a flat butt and no boobs and *still* have tummy fat? lol)
Probably your friends in Oregon call them hazelnuts because that is the more common term in other places besides Oregon. (This would be similar to how I call Dr. Pepper "pop" here but would call it "soda" if I were talking to friends from New York.) They likely use the word filbert when talking to their nut-farming neighbors. :) How nice that they would send you a sack of them when they were fresh. When I was a kid, my mom would roast them in butter and sprinkle them with salt, and set them out in bowls for party snacks when adults came over, one bowl of those and one of butter mints next to each other on the side tables. I would sneak out and steal the filberts and ignore the mints, despite loving butter mints as well. I can get filberts year round here, but often they are farmed in Turkey if it's not the autumn, and it's simply not the same.
And as to the name, here is from the story of St. Philbert: "Philibert was buried at Heriou, but in 836 the monks of Noirmoutier abandoned their home, finally settling with the relics of Philibert where the great church of St Philibert at Tournus still stands. His feast day is 20 August. The filbert, or hazelnut, is said to have been named after him, since it ripens about August 20 in England."
The first non-native population in Oregon to be here in any number and with intent to grow things was not Catholic nor French, but British, well before the Oregon Trail arose. It would have been both logical and easy for the Hudson's Bay Company factors to bring in nuts to start trees, or even seedlings, so perhaps that is why we got the English name for the nut despite later American settlement.
so, I lost a pound. Not huge but moving in the 'right' direction. Been stressed which definitely helps the diet. But it is now harder to exercise as it has turned frightfully cold and it makes walking and my outside exercise less desirable. I'm going to need to transition to the winter routine (that is not made up yet).
So I have no actual idea if I've lost anything. My weight seems to go up and down by a pound or two daily, so I guess now I'm just trying to figure out an average, and go from there. The scale says I've lost 3 lbs, but it was up 3 lbs yesterday, so yeah, no idea.
I'd guess I haven't, since I have changed absolutely nothing except weighing myself. Oh I got more stress added to my life in the form of car repairs - that should be really helpful. I've decided this is the last money I'll put into this car, so now I get to look for a new car.
I"ve heard of filberts, but never knew they were just hazelnuts. Learn something new...
Update on the filberts . . . I went to the local country produce store here and bought myself some filberts. (had to tell the manager they were hazelnuts as he looked at me blankly when I said filberts). They were not in a shell. I ate them raw. Tasty. I toasted them with a little bitter and salt. (tasty) They are a good snack. But I have that same thing going on in that I need like 12 handfuls to feel like I'm full and satisfied. That can't be good. lol
As a kid, they were always called filberts, even on the bag of mixed nuts that they came in. The bag would be emptied into a wide, low Christmasy dish that also held a nut cracker (but no sweets) and a 'nut pick' or two (for walnuts and Brazil nuts). There was some kind of tall handle in the center of the dish.
Filberts were always my favorite, and I believe that's because they have some nutrient that does me good, more so than other nuts have.
I think that it's fairly well accepted that nuts don't usually cause weight gain, especially if you don't grind them up very much with your molars and eat them fairly quickly. Not a lot of the calories get absorbed that way - as opposed to say... nut butters.
The Adventist Health Study showed a very large benefit from eating nuts weekly, as far as living longer. The same even applied to peanut butter.
(btw: nutcracker... sweets... get it? suite. Okay, no more hidden jokes. Maybe. :)
So, I feel pretty good today. Yesterday I walked with a friend. She's younger than me, in better shape and wanted to do a long walk but had limited time. So, we booked it and did a very long walk at high speed. I was huffing and puffing and in 30 degree weather was full on sweat. 12,000 steps taken quickly. :>) Then we ran out of time with dinner before I had to go up to my son's school for a program and when I got home, I did dishes and fell into bed. Didn't over eat! Maybe I should weight myself TODAY after that? :)))
Now that you mention it, specialmom, the nut cracker and bowl was kind of like a... what's the word, something like an idle past time or something. You'd have two or three, that's it.
If they were already shelled, they could probably all go in 10 minutes :)
"I was huffing and puffing and in 30 degree weather was full on sweat."
Yep, once your internal furnace comes on, you can handle the cold easily. It can be exhilarating, even at below zero. Except you have to be careful of the wind.
Btw, specialmom, I think that's a great story about how you discovered how to handle the walks in the cold. It's almost like an adventure story. Imagine doing that on Christmas Eve night, eh? :)
I hate nuts!! Thinking about them almost gives me the dry heaves!! The one thing i did pick up from the above posts is you all have teeth to chew them!! lol I will be losing the rest of mine and replacing with a new "grill"!! Guess that is the word nowadays!! lol
I am down a 1/2 lb. During my weight loss i broke down and bought some yoga pants. I have a hard time with those as i see some who really shouldnt be wearing them. It looks like they are smuggling turkey's in their butt. I didnt want to be that person but i wear them anyways. I was walking into the grocery store one night and this fine woman behind me says to her husband, oh look, another methhead.....The one drug i DIDNT ever do so i looked back at her and said really lady? I wanted to just throttle her between the eyes. Years back i would of. Had i not been taken by surprise i should of shown her the fruit and veggies section. This sort of thing happens quite a bit around here. If you lose weight they immediately think you are doing meth. There is a big difference between someone who has been dieting compared to meth. Hopefully at some point she will decide to take care of herself as it will catch up to her. That is the only nice thing i have to say about that.
Please remember me in your bedtime prayers. I work retail and the holidays are upon us!!!!
In "Scrooged", Bill Murray was always drinking vodka and Tab. Do they still make Tab? I suppose that they do still make vodka.
That might be as low cal as you can get.
I did just find out i am low on B12. They have shots for that at my doctors office. My hubby gets one. The doctor said we could give each other the shots if we would like. I told her that wouldn't be a very good idea given the fact i get queasy looking at bandaids!!
If you burn the Christmas turkey, the family can go out for Chinese food instead. Can anybody name that movie? Buehler? Ralphie?
Here's an article which breaks down calorie consumption by country:
https://www.treated.com/blog/which-countrys-christmas-dinner-packs-the-most-calories-find-out-with-our-heat-map-of-europe
US and UK are at the top at ~3300 kcal. Then there is this surprising bit:
"A KFC box meal has been the Christmas custom for many in Japan since the 1970s. A meal rather than a feast, this fast food staple ironically places Japan’s meal as the least calorific of the countries observed."
Sorry, Sarah, I was typing on my phone last night and my comment above regarding the B-12 should have said: "B-12 only comes from animal sources, such as meat, dairy, eggs, etc, with the best being liver etc. Most/many people can take a supplement and do okay if they take the right type - one that's more absorbable. Did your doctor suggest trying that before starting shots?"
I see Paxiled has already contradicted me, which is not a surprise, even though it's a waste of time to try to use spirulina and chlorella as sources of B-12 since as he noted, they aren't absorbed/used well by humans. I also wouldn't recommend soy, even if it were a good source too, because that's a goitrogen and even if you don't have a thyroid issue, it could contribute to one because in susceptible people it can inhibit the production of thyroid hormones.
Although it's true that most people do okay on supplements (provided they get the right type), it's not true that only those with intestinal issues, etc need shots. Some doctors prefer to start patients on shots to get their levels built up more quickly, then they can transition to supplements. Very few people who really need B-12 get that much of an energy buzz from it. Trust me, I've been doing weekly shots for 11 yrs and I have yet to get a buzz from them.
Most of the inexpensive B-12 supplements are cyanocobalamin, which the body doesn't use directly; it has to convert it to a form that can be used. The best type of supplement to take is a Methyl B-12 because that's one that is already in a form the body can use. It will say Methyl B-12 on the bottle. A sublingual or liquid is usually the best if there's any chance you might have trouble absorbing it because those are absorbed under your tongue rather than via the stomach. Methyl B-12 is a little more expensive than cyanocobalamin, but it's worth it.
Of course, your doctor will be the determining factor in whether you need shots. If s/he says that's what you need, then by all means, that's what you need.
Paxiled said to Barb: "I'm also hoping you meant the best form of B12 supplement is the methyl-cobalamin, not Methylated B12".
I've never looked into B12, but it only took one minute to find that the very famous supplement company Jarrow uses the term in exactly the same way as Barb used it.
https://www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Methylcobalamin-Supports-Lozenges/dp/B0013OQGO6
Right on the front label, it says "Methyl B-12" and "Methylcobalamin". The same goes for the Supplement Facts on the back. That's referring the same single ingredient, not to two ingredients.
So does NOW brand and many others:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D3774741&field-keywords=methyl+b12
Paxiled, you contradicted Barb's saying "It will say Methyl B-12 on the bottle". Will you also contradict all those companies?
Yep, Barb, that country by country analysis was interesting, though ~3300 kcal.seems like an awful lot. I wonder if they mean throughout the entire afternoon, rather than just the formal sitdown period.
Well, i am still lacking in the B12 dept, thank god it wasnt my sex life!!!
Barb, going from memory (and I haven't been to any fast food place in a long time) a Whopper with Cheese was around 750. So two of those with onion rings was maybe 1800. That's a big volume of food for me to handle. I once computed that stuffing myself at a Chinese buffet, with no rice, was well under 2,000.
I suppose to get over 3,000 for the Christmas meal you'd have to have an awful lot of dessert. Or add a quart of eggnog at the end.
All is going well here. Smaller portions are key for me -- when it comes to snacks and desserts. Even passing them up at times is a better choice.