Cate's Diary

Hi! :) That's a lovely lot of vegies - and now only pumpkin left in the fridge - boy, are you going to enjoy the farmers' market today!

I had to look up the eastern spinebill and the forest raven, but all the others I know - I love blue wrens (but who wouldn't? :D )

The family/friends commune on your land, with gipsy caravans dotted about - yes, it probably is a dream, but such a lovely one - and born of having a close and loving family, as well as living in a place you so much enjoy. It gladdens me to read about it! :grouphug:
 
Cate I love when the fridge is cleaned and bare and ready to stock. It's a bit of a mess at the mo . Could do with bigger fridge really.
Love the sound of all the birds.
What a great veggie day you had . Sounds wonderful .
 
Cate said:
I fancy having a sort of commune for friends and/or family up here, with them dotted around. It's just dreaming & dreaming is fun. I don't want to leave here.
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My parents have fantasized about the same thing. It just feels so lovely! Have fun at the farmers´ market, I´ll be stocking up today as well.
 
Hi, Amy. We really enjoyed the farmers market, but there was hardly any veg & we had to go to a big fruit & veg store in town. We did buy some sensational cheeses though & have now established how I can go to a local farm to buy my produce direct. I need to order it by email & can pick it up from their farm on Fridays. We bought some of their low-fat milk in glass, low-fat quark, also in glass & a couple of their Bavarian-style farm cheeses. Oh, yum. They are so good. The family stayed with us when they first moved to Tassie, trying to find a suitable dairy farm. The father tells everyone the story whenever he sees us. They called in at our country pub, asking to stay & I said: "I'm sorry, but we're renovating". He tells everyone that I looked at their crestfallen faces, along with their 4 very small children & relented. They stayed a week & found a farm not far away from where we were & where we still are. It will feel good to buy their produce straight from their farm. They don't have a shop as such & sell at markets.
The commune is a dream, but one that makes me feel happy too. :grouphug:

Hi, Petal. I hate cleaning the fridge and/or freezer, but it was so empty that I felt it was an opportunity not to be missed. It's very full now. I swapped the veggie & fruit drawers around so now my veggie drawer is the biggest. I never have enough room for all the veggies & probably eat too much fruit. We don't have a huge fridge. The fridge is on top of the freezer, but we also have one about the same size in our garage & also a chest freezer. We're pretty well stocked almost always. We rarely eat out & don't eat pre-prepared meals.

Hi, LaMa. It's fun to dream. I would love your parents I'm sure. Their place sounds just wonderful & so do they xoxo
 
I don’t know if I could cope with living in a commune - I like my space! I’m also so weird about food that I would hate having to eat the ‘group meal’ every evening. I know it would lead to tears and self-destruction. :)

Glad the BP is being sorted and you have a nice clean fridge stocked with nice ‘clean’ food.
 
I have so much space, Em & would never be cramped. My ideal "commune" probably isn't really a commune, it would be sharing our 50 acres with like-minded people, each with our own space. It's just day-dreaming. I'm very happy with my life. I'm trying to have a contingency plan, that does not involve moving. :)
 
Hi Cate! Haha, we have beautiful hawks and bald eagles here, lots of waterfowl, I don’t think there have been any accidents involving the turbines. Davis is my maiden name, I’m from the east coast originally but now I live in Iowa.

I love the whole tiny house living thing, and getting closer to nature. They make some really cute and functional little homes.
 
LaMaria said:
I just know you'd get along so well!
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That's a lovely thought xoxo
davisgirl said:
Hi Cate! Haha, we have beautiful hawks and bald eagles here, lots of waterfowl, I don’t think there have been any accidents involving the turbines. Davis is my maiden name, I’m from the east coast originally but now I live in Iowa.
I love the whole tiny house living thing, and getting closer to nature. They make some really cute and functional little homes.
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I saw lots of bald eagles on a drive to NYC from Baltimore with my late BIL many years ago. It was a magical drive & the bald eagles were magnificent. I love the tiny house idea, especially close to nature but am so used to living in a large open plan house that I don't know how I would adapt to actually living in one. It's a dream, but an enjoyable dream.

I don't think it's going to rain today, but I am going for a walk regardless. I have been sleeping really well the last week or more. Could it be my new pillow? Who knows?
I think I'll do a reset on the 1st of September. That gives me exactly one week to think about it & come up with a plan. I have been doing well with my diet & only eating healthy food, but that's second nature now. I have cut my alcohol consumption right down from sharing a bottle with G most days to sometimes having none, sometimes only having one glass & maybe twice a week sharing a bottle of bubbly or a good red wine. I can see this being my new norm. I'm never tempted by any of our large range of spirits or liqueurs any more as both our sons are strictly limiting their alcohol consumption too & I'm normally only tempted when they are here.
I need to go for a walk every day.
I need to sit or stand in silence often & just breathe & listen to the birds at least once a day.
I will limit my calories to 1200 on as many days as I can to try to shrink my appetite. I get SO hungry.
I will try to play golf every week & enjoy it. I used to love the game. If I get around ok this week I might start going out & having a practice game on my own once a week as well. When daylight savings starts G will be able to have a hit on a Thursday with me in the 9-hole comp that's open to everyone whether they are members or not. I need to play regularly to get my game back as it has really deteriorated.
Anyhow- enough of my rambling!
 
Sounds like a really good plan!! Do you have a contingency plan for days when you are really hungry? I started figuring that out, and am not cheating this week finally! I love the idea of having a lot of acreage and friends and family close. It would be great if you could keep your land and also have something like a little gypsy caravan to put on some land by the ocean or something nice like that.

Glad it is working out with cutting way back on wine, and that you can do some golf practice even on your own and also enjoy the company with people you like golfing with. Sounds like you have a really good foundation for making September really successful! I will try to sneak in some gardening in solidarity with you and Petal. Happy almost spring!!!
 
Cate said:
have cut my alcohol consumption right down from sharing a bottle with G most days to sometimes having none, sometimes only having one glass & maybe twice a week sharing a bottle of bubbly or a good red wine.
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Well done! I love the sound of your September plans, too. I'm thinking of a plan for myself but these days just the thought of hard rules makes me want to break all of them :(
 
Marsia said:
Sounds like a really good plan!! Do you have a contingency plan for days when you are really hungry? I started figuring that out, and am not cheating this week finally! I love the idea of having a lot of acreage and friends and family close. It would be great if you could keep your land and also have something like a little gypsy caravan to put on some land by the ocean or something nice like that.
Glad it is working out with cutting way back on wine, and that you can do some golf practice even on your own and also enjoy the company with people you like golfing with. Sounds like you have a really good foundation for making September really successful! I will try to sneak in some gardening in solidarity with you and Petal. Happy almost spring!!!
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Hi, Marsia. I think eating more protein would help. What did you implement to help you with hunger? I really struggle with it these days. I'm having no trouble cutting back on wine. I once had none for 6 months without any problems. It's when I impose too strict rules with myself these days that I seem to rebel against them, so I have to learn to be very gentle. They are guidelines, not rules I have to tell myself ;)
LaMaria said:
Well done! I love the sound of your September plans, too. I'm thinking of a plan for myself but these days just the thought of hard rules makes me want to break all of them :(
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This is absolutely what happens with me too, LaMa.

I'm having a lovely, lazy Sunday.
 
Cate,
I'm so happy that even though I'm following a plan I don't count calories . The odd day out of curiosity I tot them up they are about 1200 to 1400 . My slimming club leader says we should never be hungry. Your diet is so healthy so I think you will be fine.
 
Cate, would it be okay to create an Autumn Challenge communal thread in this section of the website? I just think if it's in the Club Challenges part, people won't use it? I want to create a goal of losing a pound a week until Christmas and I think it would really help if other people could join in and take part. I will be having my weigh-in every Sunday, but others might just want to maintain or only have a smaller amount to lose, so everyone can do their own thing basically. It will just be a place for us all to gather and discuss the stats. :D What do you think?
 
Cate said:
You just made me smile. Were you drinking Scotch whisky, Rob? We have a large collection inherited from G's Dad's collection. Most are over 70 years old. You'll get to try some if you visit :D
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Now that would really make a visit to Tasmania worthwhile! No, I usually drink Kentucky Bourbon, I do much prefer Scotch but its a lot more expensive. I keep a couple of bottles on hand for special occasions. I have had some good Scotch, but nothing to compare to a 70 year old, that is a very rare thing indeed.

I think it is good that we, I took the cue from you, have reduced our alcohol consumption. I probably still drink a bit more than you, but its a lot less than I used to. I can really tell by how much longer my supplies last. Maybe now I can afford to switch from the Bourbon to more Scotch and Irish whiskeys now! Alcohol is mostly wasted calories.

Cate said:
I saw lots of bald eagles on a drive to NYC from Baltimore with my late BIL many years ago. It was a magical drive & the bald eagles were magnificent.
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You may be the only person I know who noticed the wildlife driving from New York to Baltimore, its not known as a nature tour.

I am hoping you get around to your species list. I have enjoyed looking at what you have posted so far. I like exotic naturescapes, and from here you can't get much more exotic than Tasmania.

Will you be ok at 1,200 calories a day? When I first started it you seemed concerned that it was too little. For me it has worked out, the only problem I see is I know I can't stay on it forever. The time will come with I have lost enough weight and will need to transition to something a bit higher. I try not to think too much about that now.
 
The things I'm learning Rob is to use my food wisely . Like you can eat so much fruit and veg that really fills you or homemade soups . Think the key is to use the calories to fill and satisfy. Saying that I'm having a hungry day ,time for melon fix !
 
Cate said:
I think eating more protein would help. What did you implement to help you with hunger? I really struggle with it these days.
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Hi Cate, it varies what is helping with the hunger, which is why I didn't really have a good plan before. So now I realize it could be a number of things: too little protein, too little water, not enough roughage to fill me up, or I want something really yummy so I feel full emotionally (not in a stuff yourself way, just in a satisfied with the taste way). So I go through my checklist, and if at the end I just need a little yummy treat, I have been having veggie roughage (I made big batches of veggies so I have them right there - and I freeze some, too, for that reason) and then allow myself a nice little treat of something still on the ok list at the end. So, for example, I have been having a big bowl of summer squash with a little butter or tomatoes with a little salad dressing on top, and at the end I get a little piece of the most fattening brie or a little healthy chocolate shake that is full of hemp seeds and soy lecithin and my zero cal sugar (with unsweetened cocoa). (I have also been allowing for more sugary fruit and fresh squeezed juices in small doses because I miss them terribly.) I try each time though to make the treat little and the more healthy veggie dish big. I am avoiding making the treat truly addictive things like white flour or sugar because I don't want it to backfire and eat more flour and sugar when I crash from the first batch. I also made some veggie dips like salsa verde and pesto (which can be frozen in little bags) and sometimes just make an egg with the dip on top as my snack. Mostly having a small dose of healthy fats like a small handful of nuts is helping me - especially at the end of the eating day so it tides me over.

That's just my process though - yours is probably going to look different because you are more on a low fat diet.
 
LaMaria said:
Enjoy!
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I did, thanks LaMa xo
Petal001 said:
Cate,
I'm so happy that even though I'm following a plan I don't count calories . The odd day out of curiosity I tot them up they are about 1200 to 1400 . My slimming club leader says we should never be hungry. Your diet is so healthy so I think you will be fine.
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Thanks, Petal. I feel much better when I'm not counting calories obsessively. I know what I eat is healthy, but maybe I need to up my exercise just enough to counter the calories consumed. I know I'm not active enough at the moment.
Emilyrose said:
Cate, would it be okay to create an Autumn Challenge communal thread in this section of the website? I just think if it's in the Club Challenges part, people won't use it? I want to create a goal of losing a pound a week until Christmas and I think it would really help if other people could join in and take part. I will be having my weigh-in every Sunday, but others might just want to maintain or only have a smaller amount to lose, so everyone can do their own thing basically. It will just be a place for us all to gather and discuss the stats. :D What do you think?
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Hi, Em. I don't think the diary section is an appropriate place for a challenge unless it is in your own diary. I see your point that it may get lost in the challenges section, but what about here?- https://weight-loss.fitness.com/forums/contests.43/ This section attracts a lot of spam but not much else so would stand out. I won't participate as, like Petal, I seem to react against contests, but feel free to start one. Maybe call it the Autumn/Spring contest to be inclusive. There are quite a few Southern "hemispherites" here. I read all posts, including clubs, challenges etc but usually don't comment as I save my time for diaries.
Haha, Rob. I thought you had missed my whisky post in your diary! I asked because of the spelling. I had never really liked American whiskey until I had it at my sister & BIL's home in Baltimore. Here it is usually only drunk with coke. The Jack Daniels he had seemed lovely but when I tried it again back home it wasn't. Either it is different quality here or it was just a circumstances thing. I think it's good that we have both cut down our alcohol consumption too. It can only be a good thing. Enjoying wine or whisky/whiskey in moderation can be done & we are.
Re: the drive to NYC from Baltimore. It was such an exciting day. I remember so many things about that day & it was magical. My BIL was my tour guide. He tuned into local community radio stations & told me that he supported them financially. He never showed off. It wasn't that. My day was a truly educational one & one I will never forget. I'll talk about it in another post otherwise I will be here forever. He was a wonderful man & I miss him as much as I miss my sister.
I will do a species list in my diary soon. I will try to list everything we have seen on our land since we moved in almost 16 years ago. It will take a while!
1200 is not enough for me. You're right.
People eat pickles here, but in my experience, it is not a thing. Of course, I don't consider what goes into McD's "food" as I don't eat it & have only gone in there under sufferance.
Marsia, hon. I am running out of time. I have been on here for what feels like hours. I'll come back later & reply to your post xoxo
 
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