Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Eleventh Monthly Assessment - November 30th


No fair! My monthly assessment comes right after Thanksgiving weekend : (      I've been having too much fun lately, and too much good food.  I've gained two more pounds in addition to the three I gained in October on our Russia trip, for a weight of 135.  There's no tape measure here to measure my waist, suffice it to say my chinos that I was happy to fit into again are now a bit tight.  No excuses really, just eating too much and the wrong things.


January 30th
November 30th

January 30th
November 30th
What went right this month?
  • We've had a wonderful stay in Cannon Beach and I've walked on the beach every day except for three really stormy days.
  • I've remembered my vegetables amid all the other delicious food available.

What not so well?
  • I've eaten more gluten than at any other time this whole year.  I made real Parker House rolls for Thanksgiving, and we discovered the Cannon Beach Bakery.  We went in to get rolls to go with clam chowder for our guests, and wound up with delicious Haystack Bread and a pastry each.  (Regardless of diet, this is worth a stop if you're in town!)
  • I've enjoyed wine and cheese and crackers every afternoon while reading by the wood stove.  What a life!
  • Although we checked out Cannon Beach Fitness, we didn't join.  When we looked in we mainly saw treadmills and a stationary bike.  Their ad mentions Nautilus equipment but we wouldn't have been familiar with it.  We said who needs a treadmill when there's a beautiful beach??  However, we've done no strengthening exercise - I'm sure my muscles are turning to fat.

What will I do better next month?
  •  To be honest, probably not much.  December isn't exactly the best time for getting back on track, although when we get home I'll get back to eating my daily salad instead of just eating up Thanksgiving leftovers.
  • I'm considering eating very lightly for a few days after we're back - lots of soup and veggies and fruit.  I've been feeling a bit overstuffed lately and that might help if I can actually do it.

Here are some photos of our beautiful Cannon Beach Thanksgiving.  We started with munchies in the afternoon.  It just turned out that Ben's choices blended with mine perfectly for some really great afternoon grazing.  (The kids brought flowers too - I'm so lucky!)


 Ben also made that yummy green bean dish with sauteed wild mushrooms and walnuts - the traditional green bean casserole without the Campbell's soup and French fried onion rings.  It was delicious!  Stan provided his great mashed potatoes and gravy.  He makes the gravy ahead of time and adds some Madeira for a really flavorful sauce without the last-minute rush.


 Jason made a colorful salad and we all made sure to fill a large portion of our plates with it.  (Of course, we all went back for seconds and I didn't notice the proportions of those...)  I did eat the leftover salad the next day for lunch and it was still great.



I was lucky a grocery store we visited was taking orders for fresh free-range turkeys.  I didn't stuff it (Melanie made Stove Top stuffing with some added veggies and apple, which was very good) and I followed Tom Douglas' instructions in Turkey Boot Camp to leave the legs untied for more even cooking.  How easy!



No photo of the apple pie.  We had to wait awhile before eating it, but enjoyed it later by the fire with ice cream, coffee and/or Irish whiskey.  Altogether a satisfying and very low-stress Thanksgiving dinner!

I know this got off the topic of my weight gain this month.  It seems my good eating habits disappear every fall from Halloween through New Year's Day.  Melanie pointed out I can be proud of my net loss for the year (ten pounds), and I am.  

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