Cate's Diary

Hi, LaMa, Amy & Marsia.
I had some oatmeal for breakfast, with some almond milk, a little fruit & nothing else added. It's raining again so G is not going to golf. I woke up hungry. Not ravenous, but also tired & feeling a bit heavy-headed. It feels like hayfever, but it sure is the wrong time of year for that.
I do have a BP testing kit at home, Marsia & had better start monitoring it every day so that I can take the stats to the cardio. I'll try a day of IF soon & will monitor my BP during the day when I do. I'm more worried about when I should take my meds during the day if I fast as usually, I take them in the morning. I may just wait the 2 weeks before I start. I hope I'm not coming down with a cold as I have a headache too.
 
Darn, hope you get nice rest and enjoy the day in hopefully by the fire! Sounds good to monitor your blood pressure and then you can tell your doctor what seems to raise or lower it.
 
Thanks, Marsia. I had a quiet day & don't feel any worse. I have had a low-level headache all day though, mostly around my eyes & sinuses.
 
Good for you Cate, you seem to have really settled back into the groove after your holiday.

Hope you’re getting some decent weather your way soon!
 
Would it help to massage around the sinus area and eyes on your face? I sometimes do that if I have sinus pain. Hope you are feeling better!!
 
Thanks, TM. I wish I was in the groove if the groove meant I was losing weight. I am, however, determined to lose weight though & I am also very stubborn.
Thanks, Marsia. I might try that tonight. I'm not aching as much this morning & am feeling quite a bit better. I decided that because G was doing a fasting blood test this morning I would fast too. I feel good. I am going to take my meds with my lunch at 12.30. I know it sounds crazy, but I quite like the feeling of hunger when you know it can be dealt with before long. You feel lighter. I enjoy my food a lot more doing 16:8. I really want to do this!
Thanks, LaMa. Hugs are always nice.
:grouphug:
I wonder if doing 16:8 most days & staying under 1500 cals per day would work well for me. I have been trying to stay under 1400 but almost always end up about 1500. I can't imagine playing 18 holes of golf, pushing a buggy around in the middle of winter, without having any breakfast, would work well. I'm a bit scared to try but might try next Wednesday, rather than this Sunday. We'll be away again this weekend for 2 nights & will eat out with friends tomorrow night, play golf Sunday & then eat out with them again at R's work. On Monday we are meeting R for breakfast & then heading back home again. I could manage to do 16:8 tomorrow I think & then start again on Tuesday. I'll monitor my BP today, now & then again mid-afternoon after eating.
 
You're sweet, LaMa. I don't think I could skip breakfast or dinner on golf days, especially in winter. I think I was kidding myself! I have breakfast prepared for Sunday for both of us- a sour dough toastie with cheese, a little hot salami, chilli, avocado & spinach. I'll take our sandwich toaster. I also have a couple of travel coffee plungers & freshly ground coffee beans. I will have a couple of bananas for lunch.
I have done well today with the morning fast, but my BP was high before eating. I'll keep a good eye on it.
 
Hi Cate! I'd be interested to know if the golf lowers your blood pressure a lot. I know that exercise is supposed to help a lot, but I wonder if they mean overall it starts to come down because you are losing weight and getting healthier so you are less stressed mentally and physically, or is it an immediate effect? Maybe doing deep belly breathing or another form of relaxation could bring it down if there are immediate blood pressure benefits to stress relief? I wish I knew more about stress - it really shows how interconnected our emotions and body are, but I guess I am assuming that the cause of your blood pressure is linked directly with stress levels, and I know they don't really know what causes high blood pressure, just what helps too not exacerbate it. If I were there I would do relaxation exercises with you and have you take your blood pressure before and after and just have fun experimenting with how to get it back down - like does eating a healthy meal bring it down for you - and questions like that.

I like feeling lighter with the fasting and I even like feeling hungry and not acting on it at times. I just looked up if IF causes stress in the body and the first thing I read is this Harvard Medical School article that seems pretty good, but I would love to hear what your cardiologist thinks of this Intermittent fasting: Surprising update - Harvard Health Blog . I agree about not trying fasting on golf days! Hope all goes great, and I love the sound of your picnic breakfast!! You are a traveler after my own heart bringing along your own sandwich toaster!!
 
Marsia said:
it really shows how interconnected our emotions and body are,
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Hi, Marsia. I wish you could be here! Blood pressure is very tricky. I only eat healthy meals & never eat junk food so don't think I can improve on that, except for eating less. My BP yesterday morning while fasting was very high, but then mid-afternoon after having taken my meds & eating lunch it hadn't come back down much. Stress is the weirdest thing. I don't realise I'm stressed often, but then when I have to try to slow down my hamster wheel brain I realise I must be. I woke this morning with about 20 thoughts & they were all mixed up. Maybe I had a bad dream, but it has taken me ages to calm down. R messaged me last night to say he has been getting messages from C & she misses him, so he is still hoping. It is very hard composing a reply to him. I don't think she is playing him along. I really think she is very confused & conflicted. It's very complicated.
I think posting in the forum in the mornings is a good way for me to slow my brain down on focus on others, rather than myself. I know that I am anxious about dining out both nights with this other couple. I really like them both, but she is SO glamorous. She dresses so smartly & is very slim. I really don't have dress-up clothes & always feel such a dag when I'm near her. We are staying with them in a house (airbnb) next March for 8 nights in NSW so I'll have to get over it. She's lovely & he is really becoming G's best friend.
I don't want to buy new clothes until I get some weight off. I think more exercise will help. Meditation or yoga would help too if I didn't get so anxious about trying new things with new people!
I had better get moving. The car is packed with 2 sets of golf clubs, 2 buggies, 2 small bags, golf shoes etc, a picnic bag, 6 bags of wood for R. my coat, scarf, thermos, kitchen sink........
 
Hey Cate, I appreciate you stopping by my diary now and then, good to know people are reading it. Somehow that gives me a bit of motivation to stay on track.

I also like reading your comments about Australia, it has always been a place I wanted to see, but so far have not. Now that I am retiring I am going to try and talk my wife into making the trip, but that probably won't happen for a year or so. In the meantime I can enjoy it vicariously reading the comments from you Australians here.

I tend to agree with the others better not to skip breakfast, but then you are a whole lot smarter about this weight loss thing than I.
 
Cate said:
Meditation or yoga would help too if I didn't get so anxious about trying new things with new people!
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If you google "guided meditation" a whole bunch of videos comes up, maybe you´ll like the sound of one of them? The first one I clicked on had a voice like a porn parody so it made me giggle more than relax but I´m sure there´s plenty to choose from.
Cate said:
I really like them both, but she is SO glamorous. She dresses so smartly & is very slim. I really don't have dress-up clothes & always feel such a dag when I'm near her.
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Who knows: she may secretly envy people who can go out in public and feel confident without having to get all dolled up.
 
Cate said:
... I am anxious about dining out both nights with this other couple. I really like them both, but she is SO glamorous. She dresses so smartly & is very slim. I really don't have dress-up clothes & always feel such a dag when I'm near her. We are staying with them in a house (airbnb) next March for 8 nights in NSW so I'll have to get over it. She's lovely & he is really becoming G's best friend.
I don't want to buy new clothes until I get some weight off. I think more exercise will help. Meditation or yoga would help too if I didn't get so anxious about trying new things with new people!
I had better get moving. The car is packed with 2 sets of golf clubs, 2 buggies, 2 small bags, golf shoes etc, a picnic bag, 6 bags of wood for R. my coat, scarf, thermos, kitchen sink........
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I really sympathise about the anxiety about dining out with the glamorous friend, even if she's a lovely person. (Eight days in March sounds pretty demanding, too - is it for a festival?) Hope you're having a wonderful time right now - you're probably on the road? Safe travelling, then! :)
 
I have been thinking of how to explain meditation well. There is this idea that you need to calm your thoughts, but the thing telling you to calm your thoughts is your thoughts trying to boss the other thoughts around into being quiet. So that doesn't usually go too well. So some people walk or sit in nature and deeply listen as a form of meditation. They can hear the stillness and peacefulness even under the birds chattering, sounds of humans doing things, the wind blowing, ... Well even if you don't meditate in nature, that is what the aim in traditional Buddhist meditation is - you let your thoughts just do what they do and you sink into the peacefulness that is already there in you, like peacefulness is there in nature (and of course, we are part of nature.) So there are a ton of ways to do this, and one that is relaxing is to breathe deeply into your belly, another is to feel where the breath goes into your body and how soothing it feels, another is to just listen to the world around you and feel yourself in your body. And just doing this 5 minutes a day gives you tremendous benefits.

I don't like getting dolled up, so am happier going out with people who are not into that either, so I know what you mean. But I bet your friend doesn't think about what other people are wearing at all. I bet it is how she feels comfortable going out, like we feel more comfortable being casual.

Anyway, happy travels!!!
 
Hi, Rob (alligatorob). Thanks for visiting my diary. I love it when that happens. I think we all motivate one another & have a really good support system happening. I'm not so sure if I am smarter than anyone else about this weight-loss thing, but thank you for the compliment. I'm just being careful about what I eat & am not skipping breakfast for now. Breakfast is my favourite meal I think.
It's only 2 weeks before I see the cardio & I'll ask him for a change in BP meds.
I'm sure you would love Australia, but it is vast & very varied. If you decide to come to Tasmania let me know & I would love to catch up. We live about 1.5 hours away from Cradle Mountain. Tasmania is beautiful. We have a lot of forests/national parks & have a great foodie culture. Have a look at this site- Home
Hi, LaMa. The trouble with videos on the internet is my limited data allowance. I will have a look though. You have me very curious about the one that made you giggle.
I think our friend who is so glamorous, just is. She's very comfortable in her body, very fit & has never been even slightly overweight. She does what comes naturally to her I think. I also don't think she would look down her nose at anyone. I have never heard her be negative about anyone. I get on really well with her. I'll just have to get over it.
Hi, Amy. The 8 days in March is for a golf tournament. She doesn't play but her husband & mine & I do. I did have a wonderful time & it all went well. Safely home again now :)
Hi, Marsia. I like your explanation of meditation. I'll try to find something that works. Tai Chi used to work for me & I went to a class just once a week but did it at home often. I might try doing that on my own again. I miss my old teacher. She moved interstate.
Marsia said:
I don't like getting dolled up, so am happier going out with people who are not into that either, so I know what you mean. But I bet your friend doesn't think about what other people are wearing at all. I bet it is how she feels comfortable going out, like we feel more comfortable being casual.
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I'm absolutely certain you are right about that.

We had a really good couple of days. I'll tell you more about that tomorrow morning I think. I'm a bit tired now.
 
Cate said:
I think our friend who is so glamorous, just is. She's very comfortable in her body, very fit & has never been even slightly overweight. She does what comes naturally to her I think. I also don't think she would look down her nose at anyone. I have never heard her be negative about anyone.
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:D Ok, that would intimidate me as well!
 
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