Cate's Diary

Thanks, LaMa. We have been. I'm about to take them home to their Mum's & will come back later xo
Quick edit- hi, Marsia. Just had a quick look at the previous page on my phone & realised I hadn't replied to you xo
 
When you live on mainland Australia, away from the cities, things are usually a lot further again.

Definitely. My commute to work has never been less than a 45 minute drive ... ok it was 7 minutes for 2 months once before I was transferred to the CBD.
 
Marsia- I think the key for me when I get back down to my "happy weight" will be to weigh myself every single week. I don't want to track calories for the rest of my life. I think I have a thing about the tongue being a tongue. I tasted it & the flavour is nice, but my brain is playing tricks with me. We are going to have some cold for dinner with green tomato pickles & hot veggies.
TM- Just dropping the kids back at their Mum's is an 80 km return trip & yesterday's museum visit was 120 km return. The price you pay for living in the bush :) I love the solitude of it.
Today-
BF was venison shank & veggies (what I couldn't eat last night) & an apple.
Lunch was Rump steak & salad & a banana.
Dinner will be tongue with veggies Total 1058.
Sunday night we usually have some chocolate (6 squares max.) & a small amount of fruit. I'll see how I feel after dinner. I just put in what I might have after dinner & it would total 1359- 20 grapes, 6 squares Old Jamaica Rum'n'raisin chocolate, 1 GF ginger snap & some licorice. I'll leave it in MFP & take it out later if I don't have it.
OK. I have a chore I need to do. The bank that we have banked with forever has closed it's local branch & I am considering changing banks. I need to look at how complicated the alternatives are. There would be so many things that need changing over (direct debits, paypal etc) so I'm not rushing into it, but I have opened a simple account & deposited $50 so that I can "play" with how it all works with them. Boring, but needs to be done....
 
OK. I have a chore I need to do. The bank that we have banked with forever has closed it's local branch & I am considering changing banks. I need to look at how complicated the alternatives are. There would be so many things that need changing over (direct debits, paypal etc) so I'm not rushing into it, but I have opened a simple account & deposited $50 so that I can "play" with how it all works with them. Boring, but needs to be done....
That´s exactly the kind of chore I would put off forever, getting more stressed out and frustrated every day and choking the negative feelings down with chocolate and icecream.
 
One hour spent looking at how their system "works" is enough to put me off I think. It's very cumbersome & impractical. I'll leave my options open, but cancel the appointment to get a credit card from them. I can use them to get change easily with an account, even with very little in it.
Back to reading the Saturday paper :)
 
What a stunning view, Cate. How great it must be to have that view from your house. I guess I'm just used to living in the suburbs, it's amazing to think of. Also, are those sheep in the foreground, and are they yours? Or just part of the scenery?
 
Your view is so peaceful and idillic! Love all the sheep looking at you and the beautiful blue mountains in the background, too! It looks like you have red soil - is it nice for gardening in? I have read that if it is red it is high in iron and plants love it. That's pretty dedicated waiting for the frost to clear so you can garden!!!

Too bad we don't live near each other - I love researching things and wouldn't mind finding things like a good bank - if such a thing exists these days.

I think it's really good to weigh yourself weekly and eventually not have to log calories. Do you think you will have to give up alcohol or anything to do that consistently? I definitely can never go back on sugar, and have to severely limit even the zero calorie sugar.
 
LaMa- Thanks. It is a beautiful place to live. I must add more photos to my diary.
Jack- They are our sheep. We have 13. They see me & look expectantly for some ewe & lamb pellets. They are never far away. We have 50 acres of mostly bush, but it is clear near our house.
Kimmy- When we met we both lived in Melbourne, with everyone so close, but we are so used to living in the bush now that I can't imagine even living in our nearest town, which is 11 km away. At night I can see one house in the distance. It is so peaceful.
Marsia- Our soil is very rich & red & does grow anything. I'm not so sure about the dedication. It is so cold that the frost may not lift at all. We might get some wood instead. I wish you did live close!
I do think I have to cut out alcohol, at least until I lose this 10 kg, but I am finding that very difficult. Whenever I try to articulate my feelings about it I feel that it sounds like I am alcoholic & I know I'm not. ( I'm not in denial either.) I know that it is stopping me from losing weight. My glass of wine is someone else's chocolate or soda. I have been working my way towards making the decision to not drink any alcohol in July by not having any some days & only having one glass max. on others. Like everyone else, I'm a work in progress. I think I said in my diary before that G & I have always been involved with wine. My grandfather blended his own dessert wine. I grew up in a wine-making district. He grew up in a hotel. We had friends who were wine writers & had tastings. They told me I have a very good palate. G managed a few wine stores in Melbourne. We moved from there to a country pub. We have always been involved & interested in wine. It's hard to just stop doing something you love.
Edit:
Today- I am not going to have any wine. I am about to go outside, even though it is freezing. I have lost nothing in the last week. I'll weigh myself again tomorrow. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow & will ask her to do some tests & also ask again about IF with my meds. I'm a bit cranky about my weight. I really felt like I had lost a kilo. :(
Edit #2 I have a very upset stomach all of a sudden- cramps, diarrhoea & feeling awful. That may account for no loss this morning. Will have a gentle day.
 
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Aw, sorry about your stomach - hope it passed quickly. So glad you have a doctor's appointment and can find out about exercise and IF and make sure everything is ok - really hope so!!! I am not losing lately either, but not gaining is also a good thing. We'll get there!

I liked reading about all your history with wine - maybe you can still have little tastes but not glasses of it? I have tiny crumbs of nice gluten free treats I make for my kid, and it helps me stay off sugar but not feel deprived.

I love when you talk about your land there, too. Sounds so peaceful and restful. Hope it warms up for you soon!!!
 
Great picture, it doesn't look cold.

I understand your issues with alcohol, I am in a similar place. And I believe you are right to think of it as like chocolate or a sugary drink; wasted calories but probably not harmful otherwise. I know alcoholism is a serious problem for some people and don't want to show disrespect for that, but most people are not alcoholics. None the less a lot of us seem to worry about it.
 
Marsia- My stomach has settled down & I did get outside, went for a walk & also did some gardening. I was well rugged up & even wore a woollen beanie. It won't warm up any time soon, but I will just have to rug up. The fresh air is good for me. I don't much like white wine so I have poured G a glass of white & I am enjoying a diet tonic with lime. I'll pretend :)
Not quite sure how to handle alcohol yet, I don't plan to give it up completely, but making it more of an occasional thing is what I will try for a while.
Rob- I think this is what I'm doing for now. I have had 4 glasses only in the last week so that's probably not what is holding me back, but I think I need to put it to the test. Do you want to try a Dry July?
LaMa- Thanks. I'll be surprised if my doctor comes up with anything helpful except eat less, move more & don't drink alcohol. She seems to be against IF & also seems to think it's a simple equation. I wish.

I don't feel quite so cranky this afternoon. Getting outside & getting physical helped. I have inputted my calories for the day & they are 1383 cals, which will leave me some cals for fruit. It's only 4.48 pm & I am hungry already.
 
She seems to be against IF & also seems to think it's a simple equation. I wish.
For most people it IS a simple equation. The hard part is finding ways to stick to whatever you´re doing to the input side of the equation long-term...
Looks like you´re properly back on track!
 
Do you want to try a Dry July?
Sure, but I may need a couple of days off, an old friend is visiting on the 4th, and I am meeting my brother and his family on the Oregon coast later in the month. I can try, but these visits are normally times for a social drink or two. I am willing to try and see how it goes, will report back August 1.
 
Don't worry about it, Rob. I don't do well when I put pressure on myself as I seem to then fight against it. Our brains work in mysterious ways.
Weighed myself this morning again as I didn't think yesterday's weight could be right. I have gained .5 of a kilo. I'm down 1 since we got home, 11 to lose. I'm feeling very down about it. I am going to talk to my doctor about it this morning. I'm going to fish out the exercise program I got from the EP last year & start on it this afternoon.
 
I think I need to seriously think about trying a low carb diet & will look into it. I have never really contemplated it before. Any hints or advice on how to do it would be gratefully appreciated. I won't contemplate IF until after I see my cardio at the end of July.
Edit- I have to keep my salt intake as low as possible, due to my aneurysm.
 
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