Tag Archives: Upper Peninsula of Michigan

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3 steps forward, 2 steps back

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Time to check back in with you, Dear Readers. Eight weeks in on my Noom program, I am down 13 pounds. I have faced large ups and incremental downs on the road to 13 pounds. In a day and a half at the 4th of July I gained six pounds, and I didn’t eat nearly as crazily as I have in the past. but it was salty, heavy foods. It took me a week to re-lose the six pounds. BUT it did happen with hard work and determination.

Then we traveled back to the beautiful U.P. to visit with relatives and friends. There are two foods that are prevalent in the mid-U.P. (Land of many, many Finns like me) that I choose to not resist: pasty and cudighi. And I enjoyed both twice while there.

Pasty consists of potato, rutabaga, onion, ground beef wrapped in a crust. The U.P. is Iron Mining Country. (Please, don’t call it the Rust Belt! That has a very negative connotation.) So when the Cornish miners came over to be the bosses at the iron mines, they brought pasties. They made a great miners lunch, kept warm in tin foil in their lunch pail. They could wash them down with hot coffee from their thermoses. Anyway, they were the meal of choice at least a couple of times a month when I was growing up in the U.P.

Cudighi is really only found in the U.P. It is like Italian sausage, but the spices are a bit different. There are many Italian descendants in the U.P. too. Cudughi is usually served on a crusty white bun, with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, onions, green pepper. So scrumptious!

Well, after five days away, I gained 10 pounds, yes, a shocking 10 pounds! It was mostly salt and retaining fluids, but it was still a shock. The weight came off in five days of eating well and walking more.

Do I recommend this type of binging? No. Do I regret that I did it? No. I made the conscious decision to eat and enjoy these childhood favorites while I was on vacation. I savored every bite.

Now I’m back home and recommitted to my Noom program and to my pilgrimage to better health. I really do want to be able to walk around Disneyland Paris with my family in 2021. This is the journey I am on. And, hey, today was really exciting because I dropped below another 10 pound mark on the scale. Woo hoo!

Meet me at the Kingdom.

Donna

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Mini-Victories!

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Day 69 in my journey to join Mickey at The Magic Kingdom  (Why do I find myself thinking about using the “Shake Weight” today?  🙂  I know…I’m nasty!)

Dear readers, I’m so excited today!  I stepped on the scale to see how much ground I had lost (as in how much weight I had gained) on our trip to the UP.  You know, eating out a lot, lots of salty food with higher fat content than what I eat in my controlled environment.  I just wanted to see what the damage was, so I could have a realistic idea of where I am.  Surprise of surprises, I’ve lost another 3.4 pounds!  So now I’m down 22.2 pounds from the start!  Woot!  Woot!  (Cue Disco music)

So today my plan was to do a half hour of “Lean Body Workout.”  But instead I went grocery shopping.  I did the BIG shop all by myself.  I was on my feet walking around the store for an hour.  My knees locked up, because they are not used to me standing for that long anymore.  I was sweaty and smelly and gross.  But still, dear readers, I did it!!  Our cupboards are no longer bare.  And tonight I will make “Surprise Package Casserole.”  It’s one of my favorites from “Recipes to Lower Your Fat Thermostat.”

I feel absolutely exhilarated!  Good food, a good physical challenge and I’m on my second cup of coffee today from my new Keurig.  Life is good, my friends!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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It Takes a Village

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Day 42 in my quest to be my best for Mickey

Today’s plan contains a few things:

  1. Mike eats seeds everyday.  They are his favorite snack, and he is nearly out of sunflower seeds.  So step one for today is to travel to Walgreens and shop for Mike’s seeds.  However, instead of running in and running out like I usually do, I will stay and walk and browse for at least 20 minutes.  That way I’ll get some steps in for me and my handy-dandy Fitbit.  And I will mo-o-o-ove some.  🙂
  2. We are singing with our besties, the Carlsons, the next time we visit the UP.  So step two for today is going into the basement and putting on a full-court-press to find a song, “Come, Let Us Reason.”  This means more time on my tootsies, and I’ll walk the stairs a few extra times today.  Plus there will be stretching and bending as I search.
  3. My dear daughter-in-law picked up a book from the library for me to see.  It’s titled, “I Quit Sugar” by Sarah Wilson.  So my third step for today will be to come home and looking through this book.  There are 108 sugar-free recipes in it, so I will look for some new ideas to try.

There you are, dear readers.  A threefold plan today.  As you can see it takes a village for my plan today.  Thank you Mike, Wayne, Jean and Eliza for getting me up, moving and planning today.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: 42 days ago I would not have had the energy to pull off this three step plan.  I’m definitely noticing the difference that the nutritious food and the more mo-o-o-oving are making.  🙂  PTL!