Saturday, July 11, 2020

Saturday Morning Freewrite

Today, we have Eunice over. I have not talked to her in a couple of years. She has been home from Nepal because of COVID, but we just connected last week at the Refreshing at the Ropps. So, we are having her over for breakfast this morning. We got Apple Turkey sausage. I hope it is as good as what Debbie would make for me when I would go to Boise. 

George wanted to make a Dutch Baby, but I had a feeling it would be too many SmartPoints for me. Yes, SmartPoints. I am doing Weight Watchers (maybe I mentioned that in the last Freewrite - I cannot remember). I don't have a lot to lose, but I have enough that was gained as a result of my tibial plateau fracture that was not coming off by my normal methods. I think I was just tired of weighing/measuring and recording on Lose It. I have been doing (or trying to do) this for ten years, and even longer before that when I had the BodyBugg. I had a record of 190 days or so the last time I had to "course correct." But this time, I could not be consistent for more than 10 days at a time, and I wanted to see if I could find a better way.

Oh my, Weight Watchers (now WW) has changed! I am impressed. The last time I tried it was just buying a "pouch" with a points book and an erasable card. I never actually joined because back then it involved going to meetings which just would not be my thing. I bought the pouch used. (I think off of eBay, but I cannot remember.).

This time, there was a 55% off and no starter fee. I bought the six-month plan because, really, maintenance is my issue, not losing. I was pretty good at maintaining in my weird way of letting it fluctuate 10-15 pounds, but I don't want to do that big of a fluctuation anymore. What is interesting is that my basal metabolic rate has decreased by about 67 calories a day in the last 10 years, and if you eat the same, you are going to slowly gain over time, and that is what I did. Add to that decreased activity due to three broken toes and fractured my tibia over the last four years (my repeating students marvel at my clumsiness). So it slowly creeps up! 

So, the app is super easy. I am on the "Blue" plan that gives me lean meats, eggs, fruits, and vegetables as "Zero" points. It is based on science that is trying to form a foundation for healthy eating. I love it. It is so much less to keep track of. My "SmartPoint" value goes up on a portion of food that is high in sugar and lower in protein. It goes down if it does have calories but is higher protein and low fat. 

All that said, I am on Day 6, and it has been so easy.

Also, they have a lovely integration with my Apple Watch. So I don't have to record any of my activity on there. I didn't have to on Lose It either, but Apple Watch tends to give a ridiculous award of points for things like Pilates [not walking though] that overestimates how many calories I can add to my daily calorie burn (thus allowing me to eat more - but I usually don't.) With WW, they don't assign it a calorie value but a point value, and they don't add it to my SmartPoint allowance automatically. 

I have not "Connected" on the connecting part, but if I do, you can post pictures and videos similar to Instagram. LoseIt has no pictures, and the posting feature is the same as when I first joined in 2010. I have a lot of friends on Lose It, but I have chosen not to start following people, but I get attached to them, and then the relationships connect me to being online too much. That is something that I do not want since so much of my life and ministry requires me being online. 

I have my first "weigh-in" tomorrow, and we will see if it works to not keep track of my Zero Points. I do like fruit. So instead of reaching for the ice cream, I have reached for the watermelon, but watermelon is still calories, but they allow for that in reducing the number of my SmartPoints. We will see. I am happy. 

What I will really be happy about will be maintenance. It will only take me about 6-8 weeks to lose this, and then I will have the rest of the six months I joined to see how their maintenance tools help. 

Another adventure. 

Oh, by the way, I ran about 2/3 of the time I did Glen Eden yesterday. I tried to keep my BPM between 125-150 the whole time. I have not done that in years! YAY me! 

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