Beauty

[KaySD]

@KaySD wrote:
@geezerette
@Oshare-girl

Hey, here's a thought. Maybe if we work on having an "appreciation" or "feelsgood" obsession, that will be enough. Everything else is just details anyway!
@KaySD

Let's see...

I appreciate La Dolce Vita biscotti, Talenti gelato and Amstel Light.

@just bee hmm, me, too, but I don't think you quite took my point there. (Or maybe you did! )

[geezerette]

TODAY'S SAHARAN DUST STORM

Before:

After:

[KaySD]

@geezerette  Thanks for posting the photos. That storm is weird. I hope all of you in the dust's path are taking care of yourselves and drinking plenty of water. This is being quite a year on planet Earth. 

[Oshare-girl]

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@geezerette wrote:

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@Oshare-girl wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@KaySD wrote:

HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE EVERYBODY! 

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@KaySD 

My least favorite season -- but it's one step closer to my favorite: Autumn. 

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@just bee 

I second that emotion! 🎶🎶🎶

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@geezerette @just bee @KaySD  I third that! 

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@Oshare-girl 

Do you have an "autumn" season in Hawaii?  I always thought the weather stayed the same year round.🌸  How is autumn any different?🤨

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@geezerette  We do, sort of, have an autumn season. It's a couple degrees cooler and the sun goes down earlier. Winter is then another couple degrees cooler and dark by 6:00. But the interesting thing is that spring is the coldest months. We get down to the high 60s and it rains a lot. You have to be very observant to notice the seasons here.  I might have to change my answer. Spring is my favorite month because it's the "coldest". I like the idea of autumn but it's not enough of a temperature change.

I think that's why I enjoy my seasonal makeup capsules so much. It adds to the idea of the changing of the seasons. 

[Oshare-girl]

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@rnmom wrote:

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@Oshare-girl wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@Oshare-girl wrote:

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@Oshare-girl 

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@just bee 

I'm going into the office more often, but my kids are still at home so the pets aren't completely alone yet. I wonder if the cat will miss me? About a week into the quarantine, DD told the dog, "How did you do it before? Now you want to go out so often!" LOL, he used to be able to hold it all day but now has to go out at lunch time and in the afternoon. And I also wonder how my kids were able to survive on so little food when they were in school. It seems that they are always eating something at home.

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@Oshare-girl - OMG, my kids are eating tons too! I was wondering the same thing, how did they manage at school? I swear my oldest has gained 30lbs since March. It is very obvious that he's fluffed out. My youngest has probably gained 10. I'm trying to encourage them to eat healthier and exercise more but it's falling on deaf ears. Xbox and junk food seem to be the standard around here. 

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@rnmom  Hahaha, I like that "fluffed out". I fluffed out myself. Fortunately my kids have been able to get in more of their physical activity. DS is a runner so he's continued with that and he is learning how to surf. DD does martial arts and they have been doing a lot of virtual practices. I feel like they are at least burning off some of that horde of food they consume. And over here, PS4 is DS's 2nd favorite thing to do after running. You mentioned going on a family bike ride. That sounds nice. How often do you do that?

[Oshare-girl]

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@aprilskies wrote:

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@Oshare-girl - I could eat sweets every day, I love them so much. But I rarely eat them anymore because it's easier to just avoid them. I don't usually eat after dinner either, which is by 7pm at the latest, and don't eat until breakfast the next morning, which is probably around 8-9am. So I'm unintentionally intermittently fasting for 12-14 hours too. Just because I only eat my 3 meals, no snacks. 

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@rnmom @Oshare-girl, I dont think I have met a sweet I didnt like.   

I still havent been able to rein it in so I am still working on that. I have been bingeing even more the last few days and I am almost happy about that because I was going to buy a few things at Costco that were on sale, all junky things, and now I just will not allow myself to buy any of it.  I think I am at least done with thinking I can exercise moderation. It just isnt in my vocabulary. 

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@aprilskies I can't do moderation either. That used to be my motto, everything in moderation. But I really can't do moderation with sweets. Now I have the mindset of no sweets or other processed snacks and if I happen to have one, I can stop. It's kind of like my obsession with using things up over buying new things. I feel like it sets me back and I just don't want to give up any of the new ground I've made.

[rnmom]

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@aprilskies wrote:

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@Oshare-girl - I could eat sweets every day, I love them so much. But I rarely eat them anymore because it's easier to just avoid them. I don't usually eat after dinner either, which is by 7pm at the latest, and don't eat until breakfast the next morning, which is probably around 8-9am. So I'm unintentionally intermittently fasting for 12-14 hours too. Just because I only eat my 3 meals, no snacks. 

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@rnmom @Oshare-girl, I dont think I have met a sweet I didnt like.   

I still havent been able to rein it in so I am still working on that. I have been bingeing even more the last few days and I am almost happy about that because I was going to buy a few things at Costco that were on sale, all junky things, and now I just will not allow myself to buy any of it.  I think I am at least done with thinking I can exercise moderation. It just isnt in my vocabulary. 

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@aprilskies - Me either! I think my oldest son is the same way. He just wants to eat junky food and sweets. What teenager doesn't right? But it's just too much. He's always been a tad chubby but these last 3 months have done a number on him. I still have treats and junk in the house, chips, candy, ice cream, cookies. Once the stuff we have is gone I need to not replace it. If it's not here, he can't eat it. It needs to be just a treat once in a while, not an every day thing. 

[rnmom]

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@geezerette wrote:

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@aprilskies wrote:

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@Oshare-girl - I could eat sweets every day, I love them so much. But I rarely eat them anymore because it's easier to just avoid them. I don't usually eat after dinner either, which is by 7pm at the latest, and don't eat until breakfast the next morning, which is probably around 8-9am. So I'm unintentionally intermittently fasting for 12-14 hours too. Just because I only eat my 3 meals, no snacks. 

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@rnmom @Oshare-girl, I dont think I have met a sweet I didnt like.   

I still havent been able to rein it in so I am still working on that. I have been bingeing even more the last few days and I am almost happy about that because I was going to buy a few things at Costco that were on sale, all junky things, and now I just will not allow myself to buy any of it.  I think I am at least done with thinking I can exercise moderation. It just isnt in my vocabulary. 

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@aprilskies 

I have to agree with pretty much everything you said--except for the Costco part because we don't have one here.😊  But I do remember all the sweet goodies they used to have, especially around Christmas time. 😋😍🎄

I have no self control when it comes to sweets either.  I tried the moderation thing, but I just end up binging.  And if I eat all the sweets I have in the house, I just end up driving down to the nearest dollar store and buying their junk--and that stuff is junk.  At least at the grocery store I can get stuff that's slightly less bad for me.

I have found (now that I'm going to town only about once every two weeks) that that's about how long it takes for me to work through the sweet craving: almost two weeks.  The key is going to be not to buy anything remotely junky (sweet or not) so that I don't start the cycle again.  Fruit doesn't seem to trigger the craving, but it also doesn't satisfy my sweet tooth.  

I wish I could be like @rnmom and get down to just eating three meals a day.  I like and need at least one snack in the afternoon.  I've tried substituting different nutrious foods, but I think the thing that works the best for me is to just have another cup of sweetened tea then instead of food.  If I allow myself a bit more sugar in my tea once in a while, I seem to be able to stay on track better.  And I don't gain more weight like I do if I indulge with junk food.

I just have to forget the "moderation" argument and go cold turkey.  And tamp down the cravings until they go away and stay away!  🦃🤞

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@geezerette - I wasn't able to do any sweets iin moderation for a long time. Last year was horrible. I was eating tons and tons of it, candy, cookies, you name it. I was eating it every day, several times a day, and craving it every day. I definitely felt like it was an addiction It was awful. So when I started my "diet" this January I gave it all up. Cold turkey. There's still sugar in my yogurt, granola bars, etc. It's sad but I think there's sugar in just about everything. But no more candy, cookies, cakes, brownies, donuts, etc. I felt like I had to "detox".

I will now have an ocassional treat of something sweet, a small piece of cake, a cookie, a bite of chocolate. But it is not the norm, not every day. Maybe once every couple weeks. And it's still hard because it still tastes SO good! It's so easy to just binge and not want to stop. So I just avoid it altogether most of the time. For me, it's easier.

And I have found that the cravings that I used to have are almost nonexistant. Every once in a while I will have a real "craving" and I will give in and have something small to satisify it. I am not perfect by any stretch, it's still a day to day struggle. But I am trying to focus on what is best for me too. I'm trying to do it for my health as well as to lose weight. 

[rnmom]

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@Oshare-girl wrote:

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@rnmom wrote:

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@Oshare-girl wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@Oshare-girl wrote:

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@Oshare-girl 

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@just bee 

I'm going into the office more often, but my kids are still at home so the pets aren't completely alone yet. I wonder if the cat will miss me? About a week into the quarantine, DD told the dog, "How did you do it before? Now you want to go out so often!" LOL, he used to be able to hold it all day but now has to go out at lunch time and in the afternoon. And I also wonder how my kids were able to survive on so little food when they were in school. It seems that they are always eating something at home.

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@Oshare-girl - OMG, my kids are eating tons too! I was wondering the same thing, how did they manage at school? I swear my oldest has gained 30lbs since March. It is very obvious that he's fluffed out. My youngest has probably gained 10. I'm trying to encourage them to eat healthier and exercise more but it's falling on deaf ears. Xbox and junk food seem to be the standard around here. 

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@rnmom  Hahaha, I like that "fluffed out". I fluffed out myself. Fortunately my kids have been able to get in more of their physical activity. DS is a runner so he's continued with that and he is learning how to surf. DD does martial arts and they have been doing a lot of virtual practices. I feel like they are at least burning off some of that horde of food they consume. And over here, PS4 is DS's 2nd favorite thing to do after running. You mentioned going on a family bike ride. That sounds nice. How often do you do that?

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@Oshare-girl - So far we've only gone on one family bike ride. We don't have sidewalks on our busy road so to ride we have to load all the bikes up in the truck and drive down to the rail trail. I really wish that we could just jump on our bikes and go, I'm sure we would be out a lot more if we could. 

My youngest son was going to play baseball this spring/summer and that was cancelled. Boy scouts cancelled everything including all camps and meetings. My older son wants to try to play football this fall. They just started conditioning outside for that, so I'm going to try to encourage him to do that at least once or twice a week. They used to swim a lot (we live on a small lake) but they don't even want to do that anymore. I think they're just tired of being home without anyone else around. The appeal to do anything just isn't there because they're not doing it with anyone else. 

[geezerette]

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@rnmom wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

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@aprilskies wrote:

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@Oshare-girl - I could eat sweets every day, I love them so much. But I rarely eat them anymore because it's easier to just avoid them. I don't usually eat after dinner either, which is by 7pm at the latest, and don't eat until breakfast the next morning, which is probably around 8-9am. So I'm unintentionally intermittently fasting for 12-14 hours too. Just because I only eat my 3 meals, no snacks. 

---

@rnmom @Oshare-girl, I dont think I have met a sweet I didnt like.   

I still havent been able to rein it in so I am still working on that. I have been bingeing even more the last few days and I am almost happy about that because I was going to buy a few things at Costco that were on sale, all junky things, and now I just will not allow myself to buy any of it.  I think I am at least done with thinking I can exercise moderation. It just isnt in my vocabulary. 

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@aprilskies 

I have to agree with pretty much everything you said--except for the Costco part because we don't have one here.😊  But I do remember all the sweet goodies they used to have, especially around Christmas time. 😋😍🎄

I have no self control when it comes to sweets either.  I tried the moderation thing, but I just end up binging.  And if I eat all the sweets I have in the house, I just end up driving down to the nearest dollar store and buying their junk--and that stuff is junk.  At least at the grocery store I can get stuff that's slightly less bad for me.

I have found (now that I'm going to town only about once every two weeks) that that's about how long it takes for me to work through the sweet craving: almost two weeks.  The key is going to be not to buy anything remotely junky (sweet or not) so that I don't start the cycle again.  Fruit doesn't seem to trigger the craving, but it also doesn't satisfy my sweet tooth.  

I wish I could be like @rnmom and get down to just eating three meals a day.  I like and need at least one snack in the afternoon.  I've tried substituting different nutrious foods, but I think the thing that works the best for me is to just have another cup of sweetened tea then instead of food.  If I allow myself a bit more sugar in my tea once in a while, I seem to be able to stay on track better.  And I don't gain more weight like I do if I indulge with junk food.

I just have to forget the "moderation" argument and go cold turkey.  And tamp down the cravings until they go away and stay away!  🦃🤞

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@geezerette - I wasn't able to do any sweets iin moderation for a long time. Last year was horrible. I was eating tons and tons of it, candy, cookies, you name it. I was eating it every day, several times a day, and craving it every day. I definitely felt like it was an addiction It was awful. So when I started my "diet" this January I gave it all up. Cold turkey. There's still sugar in my yogurt, granola bars, etc. It's sad but I think there's sugar in just about everything. But no more candy, cookies, cakes, brownies, donuts, etc. I felt like I had to "detox".

I will now have an ocassional treat of something sweet, a small piece of cake, a cookie, a bite of chocolate. But it is not the norm, not every day. Maybe once every couple weeks. And it's still hard because it still tastes SO good! It's so easy to just binge and not want to stop. So I just avoid it altogether most of the time. For me, it's easier.

And I have found that the cravings that I used to have are almost nonexistant. Every once in a while I will have a real "craving" and I will give in and have something small to satisify it. I am not perfect by any stretch, it's still a day to day struggle. But I am trying to focus on what is best for me too. I'm trying to do it for my health as well as to lose weight. 

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@rnmom 

Yes, I'm exactly the same.  I do well for a few weeks and then I get a craving and if I can resist that, I'm good for a long time.  I find that the cravings are actually better than the real thing!  What I mean is that most often what I think I want "tastes" better in my imagination than when I finally eat it for real.  

It's all mental, I know.  I still can't rid myself of the idea that I'm missing out on what everybody else can have.  The OG used to tell me to realize that the only thing I'm missing out on is good health.  In my mind I know that, of course.  It's also an emotional thing.  And, to be truthful, it's boredom too. 

It's just been tough to maintain any kind of motivation--for food or anything else, really.  I know that compared to many I am very fortunate.  I need to do a better job of reminding myself of that.😉