It takes a long time for my hair to dry so instead of showering last night before bed, I decided to do it this morning after taking the dog outside and having my first cup of coffee. My doctor's appointment was in Kingston at 9:45, so that meant I had to leave my house at 9 AM. I still managed to read my email, have breakfast and a second cup of coffee and "face time" with my dad and Dee. At that time of morning it doesn't really take me 45 minutes to drive in, but I don't like arriving anywhere late. As it turned out I had to drive around and around the parking lot for 15 minutes to find a space to park. If I had found a space immediately, I would have gone shopping at Giant Tiger until my appointment time. But I didn't, and then the meter only recognized 3 of my 4 quarters, so I was gypped out of 15 minutes. Fortunately, I didn't get a ticket.
So I have lost 26 pounds since starting this diet, so definitely beginning to plateau. I'll take it. My BMI has dropped 5 points so I am only considered over weight, but not obese. My doctor is happy. However, she is concerned about my thyroid levels so she has increased my prescription for thyroid medication. She says it could be related to the weight loss. She wants me back in two months now, instead of 6 months. She gave me a flu shot in one shoulder and a pneumonia shot in the other, so my arms are really feeling it now. She is referring me to a gynecologist for my prolapsed cervix and she is going to arrange for a colonoscopy. My fecal test came back negative, but I am 68 and never had a colonoscopy so she wants to do that test. She faxed a referral last summer for an ears, nose and throat specialist, but the office has never called me. She wants to rattle their chain and see why they have ignored this request. Over all I think I am in good health, but she is being very proactive and all these tests and vaccinations are free to me, so there is no reason why I should not want to get these things done.
On the way home I stopped at two different shops....Freshco and Walmart.
I bought the 8 Kg dog food at Walmart for $18.06 with tax. I picked up one of the older bags that still had the denta bone inside as a free promotion. The newer bags no longer contain those freebies. I picked up two more items but handed them to the cashier and told her I no longer wanted them. I will look elsewhere to get them cheaper. *patting myself on the back*
Meat cost me $42.33 -outside round roast, 3 chubs of ground beef, Basa fillets, smoked ham, Italian sausage and salami. All were sale priced except for the hamburger and salami and I apparently saved over $24 off the regular price of my meat purchases. Yay me.
Produce cost $33.25 - frozen berries, 2 red peppers, 4 broccoli crowns, 3 lbs. carrots, 2 cabbages, frozen California mix, frozen butternut squash, 4 zucchini, whole mushrooms, 4 pack avocados, and 3 sweet potatoes.
Dairy cost $9.36 I bought the store brand name of cottage cheese for $2.99 each. When I went to Shoppers (where I usually buy my eggs and dairy) earlier in the week expressly to buy plain yoghurt, I discovered they don't sell it. Today I found this one on sale for $1.69
I bought some pantry items for $11.39 The almonds were discounted by $2.30, so only $3.99 I am just realizing that I should have bought the large cans of stewed tomatoes for 99 cents (same price as these cans). I only use one of these small cans, but I could easily have frozen half of the larger tin. This brand of Stevia is half the price of Splenda.
Non food items cost $6.76 I was completely out of paper towels. I use cloth more often, but sometimes paper toweling comes in handy for certain jobs. The vegetable oil is a non-food item because I can't have it. It is only used to make the dog his biscuits.
I made a $2 donation to the Easter seal campaign, and after taxes my total groceries at Freshco came to $105.87
I took photos of my groceries before putting them away, had a late lunch, fixed my supper casserole, talked with two of my grand kids on Facebook messenger, wrote out this blog post and now the day is done. It has been snowing off and on all afternoon, so I am very happy I did my grocery shopping on the way home. Have a great weekend everyone.
Great news all around (save for your thyroid levels) so let's celebrate with you! You're only overweight now. Woohoo! I think I'll remain at the obese level for a while yet.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on handing those 2 items back to the cashier because you figured out that you could probably get them cheaper somewhere else! A lot of people would have just bought them because they didn't want to inconvenience the cashier.
And I love that you dug to get the older bag of dog food that contains the freebie, LOL. I would have totally done that!
I also appreciated the picture of the paper towels because I had forgotten that in French they're called "Essuie-tout" which means "dry everything" or "wipe everything". My French is getting worse and worse.
Good luck with all the tests. Since they're free to you, yes, you should do them, I guess? I hope all the results are good.
I hope you have a great weekend, Susan!
I had to laugh when my doctor announced I am no longer obese...just overweight. It kind of takes the excitement out of losing that much weight. I never really considered myself obese, but I guess I was. Yay???
ReplyDeleteWhile walking through the store I began thinking about my wanting to pay extra on my credit cards. How could I do that if I were picking up other items in Walmart that I never knew I wanted until I saw them? I only went in for dog food. The deodorant I picked up was not on sale and I still had some at home. The pillow protectors I could probably find cheaper on Amazon...certainly they are cheaper at Value Village because I have bought very nice ones there in the past. And do I really want to pay $12 for only 100 feet of macrame rope, without even checking the price on Amazon? BTW, I did check the price on Amazon. It was not only cheaper but they have every colour available. So by the time I got to the cash, I resolved to hand everything in and NOT make the purchase. I only bought the dog food.
I.am.SO.proud.of.you!
DeleteSusan, congratulations on the weight loss! That is an amazing accomplishment and achieved through much self-discipline, even if it only makes you overweight as opposed to obese! :D I need to emulate you and acquire some self-discipline, myself - I, too, was considered obese prior to my cancer diagnosis (more than 50 lbs. over my ideal weight for my height). Then, I lost 40 lbs. during chemo, because I couldn't eat, and was just overweight! But now, my taste buds are back and, oh, my! I've been eating all the wrong things and my weight has been creeping back up! It's not a good thing!
ReplyDeleteWell done, too, on putting back the items you didn't really need/can get for less elsewhere. If you have a dollar-store type store in your area, look for clothes lines there. I have been able to find the cotton clothes lines there in the past (although, these days, they seem to carry more nylon ones). Also, if you have yarn, I have used that for macrame plant hangers - just use multiple strands for each "cord", depending on how strong you want the holder to be. At least 6 strands for a light planter, 12 for a medium weight one, etc.
Thanks Bless. I forgot I could use multiple strands together to make up one cord. Duh. I was looking at chunky wool at Michael's, but it seemed to have too much stretch to work well. I forgot about using several strands together of a cotton yarn. I think I will try that this week.
ReplyDeleteThis diet has worked for me precisely because I don't have any self discipline. I am still a binge eater when I am anxious, but I can only eat certain foods now. I don't count calories and I do not limit my portions. I do not exercise. I have to work on those aspects of my health. In the meantime, taking out all flour, grains, starch from my diet has worked on reducing my blood sugars (which was the main goal) and has also benefited my waist line.