Jewish Musings, Sun., Oct. 10/16

[gazelle18]

What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.

Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:

Angelika
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy

[gazelle18]

Hi Everyone,

The High Holy Days always create in me a sense of new beginnings. Perhaps THIS will be the year that I achieve the state of being the best i can be at this stage in my life. This year has been no exception. Since getting rid of the large amount of leftover break fast food, I have been much much better with my eating. (Fortunately, there are lots of people who like to take the leftovers off my hands!)

On Friday , Louise shared with us her new mantra : "Less weight, Less pain." Perfect!

I have been working a bit to come up with my new mantra for the coming year. Fortunately for me, my extra weight has not caused additional pain, that i know of. But i do know that less weight would lead to better overall health. I have a fear of developing diabetes, as my whole family has it. So far, my blood sugar level is ok but it could be better. My gastro-esophageal reflux would improve, supposedly. I KNOW I'd have more energy.

so, i have decided my new mantra will be: "Less weight, better health, better looks, better life."

What is your mantra, goal, mindset, determination, for 5777?

[momof2]

Boker Tov!
Thank you all for your support.
My Mom has about 20 to loose, she is less than 5 ft and has post polio so getting in physical activity is very challenging. She uses crutches around the house and a scooter outside.
Last night I did some emotional/stress eating. The difference this time, I tracked everything. I was aware of what I was eating, it wasn't mindless.
Need to finish the sukkah today, wonder when if the rains will come.
My mantra, that a college professor had us write down: "Inch by inch math is a cinch, yard by yard it is very hard." Replace math with life, you need to remember baby steps, small changes, things don't change drastically over night. Be proud of the small things, look how far we have come.
DH is working today, so I have lots to do with the kids.
Have a great day.
Tamara

[savtele]

Boker Tov All! We have been getting slammed with one storm after another - usually with a small break or 2 in between. So far we have several inches of rain, lots of wind. My sukkah sits forlorn, bereft of decoration. The good news: in spite of several "blips" the power has stayed on....

My workout mantra this year: Never less! It doesn't all have to be at the same time - but if I am working out for a minimum of 45 minutes - I will never do less than that! (the Monday H2Oaerobics class is only 45 min long, the others, 1 hour) Whether a walk, stretches on the exercise ball, weights, bike or treadmill, or some combination of all of them - I will not do less than 45 min. More is better.

My daughter is here for a few days. She was going to help with sukkah decoration. Maybe if we get a sunbreak today. Otherwise, we'll just get a bunch of pumpkins/hard squash in there & call it good.

Have a good day ladies!

[happysavta]

How about this: "Quit kvetching and start stretching". I've seen T-shirts with that mantra. If kvetching counted as exercise, I'd be the Queen of Svelte.

[louise]

So for me not just "Less Weight, less pain" but also adding at the end "Do it" or "Get it done" or "Make it Happen". I can't stress to myself enough how important this is to my quality of life. If you will excuse a little journey into old-fashioned dieting talk I was just looking at my Fitbit log. With the hamstring injury etc I haven't been doing 10,000 steps, more like 6000 average and I was doing less of my workouts. I see that my calorie usage is 16-1800. I am not considering where I am right now as "dieting" and I have no intention of counting calories - the impact of the sugar on pain is now absolutely true for me so this change is vital. It did however open my eyes to the fact that my daily calorie usage is not all that high. MOVE MORE! Do it.

[happysavta]

Last night, I got to babysat one set of grandkids that live in San Diego (3 y/o and 1 y/o). Tonight I'll get to babysit the other set in San Diego(7 y/o and 4 y/o twins.) They are sweeter than honey. They gossip like old ladies and tell me all their latest discoveries about the world and complain about their daycare "friends" who were mean to them on the playground. That's my definition of a good weekend.

[peachymom1]

My mantra for this year is Stop the denial and get real. Don't kid yourself about what you're putting in your mouth, because your body knows it whether you admit it or not. So stop pretending "just this once" and get serious about taking care of your body. It's the only one I've got, and I've got to make it last!

It's gloomy and cool outside, but we did our grocery shopping and laundry last night, so we don't have any chores to do today. I'm secure and comfortable with my Torah and haftarah readings for tomorrow and Tuesday, and I'm happy to welcome Sukkot. Chag sameach to all!

[lee058]

Hi everybody. I've been busy, busy, busy --- nothing particularly unusual, mostly chores, but a LOT of them. I think H has watched too many cooking shows on TV; he uses mixing bowls, pots and pans, chopping boards (we have two but he uses plates also), utensils, etc., with abandon. Each step when he is cooking involves lots of STUFF. Fortunately, he is a good cook (even though he uses too much salt), so DS and I enjoy his cooking. However, cleaning up is WORK. Whew!!! On the good side, since I told him that my doctors want me to eat more vegetables, he has been making more of them, which is a help and I appreciate it.

What else have I been doing? Actually, right now I am trying to figure out how to help a friend who is going through an existential crisis. He has had a lot of pain due to physical problems, plus various life problems on top of that. These are affecting his moods, and he is not the most cheerful person around anyway. I suggested that he try anti-depressants, but he is reluctant to do so. I've been trying to tell him about my philosophy of looking for the bright moments and good things that do happen. However, he says that his faith in God is wavering because he doesn't see why he is suffering, or for that matter, why anyone suffers. He wrote me a colorful email about wanting to argue with God about this and many other matters.

I can totally relate; I think any thinking person could. I want to help him feel better, and I think I could say some things that might help. I just need to figure out what to say.

I also have been doing laundry, driving DS around, shopping, helping my mom over the phone with some problems, and loving the autumn.

Re today's topic: One of my goals is to not dwell on what I have done wrong or insufficiently, but to focus on what I've been doing well. I think I need to give myself more credit for what I do. I actually get a lot done, even if some people might not think so. I do not need to judge myself negatively, and I will be trying not to.

Have a peaceful rest of the day, Lee

[hollygail]

I've been busy... Yesterday's class was sensational! This morning's was good, and this afternoon's was relatively good. No complaints.

I don't have a mantra per se. I just keep on keeping on; it seems to be working for me.