Just to keep it interesting

Thank you guys for all your support and encouragement ! Menopause is such a wild card time of life. My head knows this , and I have learned about the numerous problems and potential treatments in my herbal medicine studies, but it becomes a whole different ball game when it is your very own body that goes through it. It kind of give new definition to the term "campaign of shock and wonder" before it is over. You are shocked at what your body can do and at the same time in wonder at the awesome functions of the human machine called the body.Then add the antics of the scale that come with a long weight loss journey, and it can make you crazy.

More wall washing yesterday, and this time the kitchen. I set a goal to do more exercise than just wall washing this week, so I began the day with a ride on my stationary bike, then breakfast, then dig into the business of cleaning. Kitchen walls can get so dirty with the combination of cooking fumes and grease, and turn into glue with the addition of dust.Gads, what a work out ! Somewhere ,someplace i read that the physical act of scrubbing by hand for a big person burns about 500 calories an hour. Work those muscles, burn those calories and get a spanking new feeling house in the process. It's a good thing !

After he room was done and I was aching from head to toe I remembered it was Wednesday and time to plan next weeks menu and grocery shopping list. Three people on a weight loss journey, three slightly different dietary needs, three different prefernces and one needing to brown bag two meals a day. Son and I seem to need a slightly higher level of protien, I have to balance carbs with protien and hubby is now confirmed sensitive to sodium. It is something I have tried to tell him, but he chooses not to listen to. He is the one who brown bags, and he also has dental problems. Because of bad experiences in the past, he refuses to go back to a dentist, so a lot of his food choices are determined by the affect on his teeth. And then there is the "yeah, right" factor. Raw carrots hurt his teeth but nuts do not. Salad is okay, but only if it is swimming in dressing. That one was remedied by the Wishbone Salad Spritzers. Well the last week he has had a very busy week and asked if I could create some breakfasts that could be eaten at his desk, needed no heating, and the veggies were hurting his teeth. So he has been eating low sodium V8 and cottage cheese ( I am not crazy about these options because of the sodium, but...). He is a definatee scale junky . So I was remebering all these factors plus my own need to increase the starch carb servings to battle the constipation, and after mental gymnastics figured out a plan. Oh yeah- keep it budget friendly . That done, and it is dinner time. At dinner hubby comments that he noticed that he has gained 4 pounds and the water ration on our scale says it went up almost 2 percent. BINGO ! It is the sodium intake ! So we get into a discussion about how his eating habits will have to change in order to beat the plateau and prevent health problems, so that meant me spending re-doing the menu and the shopping list to reflect this nessisary move.

Somewhere in this I have to also plan a lesson plan for next week. And three more rooms still need washing down. Good thing I really like this way of life !

exercise- 3 hrs 45 min
bike 15 min
washing walls 3.5 hrs


Breakfast-
The oatmeal mess ( oatmeal, crasins, goji beires, coconut, flax seed mix, peanut butter,olive oil)
Nonfat yogert with cocoa powder and splenda
water,2 cups coffee

Lunch-
Citrus Grilled chicken salad( 3 oz chicken breast. 2 cups assorted greens. 1 T seed mix, 1 blood orange, 20 grapes,fig infused balsamic vinegar)
1/2 c nonfat yogert ,1 T sugar free strawberry jam
Diet Squirt



Dinner-
Universal Marinade chicken breast, whole wheat couscous
green beans, tossed salad
Diet Squirt



Snacks
Very early AM- 17 almonds, Green Tea
afternoon- sugar free pudding, sugar free jello,1/2 c unsweetend apple sauce,2 green tea
evening-Kellogs fiber plus bar, 2 wasa light rye, 1 wedge laughing cow lite,sugar free chocolate pudding
apple ( going higher carb and fiber),
herbal tea (sage,dandelion,oatstraw, nettles,hibiscus,camomile-for menopausal reasons)

water 13 (104 oz)- I don't count tea or diet soda in my water count
Fruits 4
veg 5
lean protien 2
dairy 3
healthy fats 2