Hold Fast: Tanktimus Sticks to What is Working

[Mrs Van]

Tank doing the ranger thing like... a ranger! You're handling the head aches, you're doing the stretches, you're doing some cooking...

Ranger on.

[Harriet]

On 10/12/2020 at 11:10 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Intuitive eating, KBs, mobility work, walks, and meds are all working right now. Meaning, my BP is controlled, my waistline is slowly going down, my energy levels are up and I'm feeling better. Therefore, the theme of this challenge is Intuitive Eating: I finally feel like I am getting better at not only being aware of my body cues of hunger and fullness, but actually taking appropriate action based off of them. I'll cook as often as I can, and eat out as little as possible.

Hey, just drifting past and saying hello. I'm so glad things are working for you and the BP and waist are obeying. 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

10 hours ago, MrsVan said:

Tank doing the ranger thing like... a ranger! You're handling the head aches, you're doing the stretches, you're doing some cooking...

Ranger on.

I appreciate the vote of confidence, thank you.

8 hours ago, Harriet said:

Hey, just drifting past and saying hello. I'm so glad things are working for you and the BP and waist are obeying. 

Welcome, and thank you to you too.

 

Today is a good day. We had a good time at church, then came home and had leftovers for lunch, which were very good. I did laundry in the afternoon while Sra. Tanque and the baby napped. Dinner was ok. It was some lo mien noodles I cooked and topped with a mixture of beef and veggies, making a sauce from broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger paste and garlic paste.  I then got some things at the grocery store and prepped the slow cooker for dinner tomorrow, but you'll have to come back tomorrow to know what dinner will be tomorrow night.

[deftona]

Ooooh, a cliffhanger!

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

4 hours ago, deftona said:

Ooooh, a cliffhanger!

Here's a hint:

It involves vermouth.

[RhiaWolfe]

mmmmm... loving all the tank cooking tips! ❤️

 

I'm really heavy and worried about working out too much as it might put stress on my joints. I also am still recovering from an ankle injury from back in June, so I have to be careful what I do. I think I'll start with walking when I get to the point of adding in movement for my challenge. 

[Scaly Freak]

2 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Here's a hint:

It involves vermouth.

 

You're having vodka martinis for dinner????

[Rinna]

11 hours ago, RhiaWolfe said:

I think I'll start with walking

It works.  That’s what I do.  When I first started the route I do, it look me 1 1/2 hours.  Now it takes 47 minutes.  My knees would hurt so bad, I would almost be in tears by the end.  But now, they don’t hurt nearly as much. And I’ve lost 32 lbs over 2 years. (Granted, my weight has gone up & down, up & down.  But it’s staying down so far.)

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

12 hours ago, RhiaWolfe said:

mmmmm... loving all the tank cooking tips! ❤️

 

I'm really heavy and worried about working out too much as it might put stress on my joints. I also am still recovering from an ankle injury from back in June, so I have to be careful what I do. I think I'll start with walking when I get to the point of adding in movement for my challenge. 

Walking is awesome. Frodo and Sam Walked to Mordor.

10 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

 

You're having vodka martinis for dinner????

No. If I have martinis, they'll be with gin. And olives.

Just now, Rinna said:

It works.  That’s what I do.  When I first started the route I do, it look me 1 1/2 hours.  Now it takes 47 minutes.  My knees would hurt so bad, I would almost be in tears by the end.  But now, they don’t hurt nearly as much. And I’ve lost 32 lbs over 2 years. (Granted, my weight has gone up & down, up & down.  But it’s staying down so far.)

Agreed.

 

Today is a good day. I was a bit tired. I did the NF Mobility workout. Work was good. It was my boss's birthday, and he really is a good boss. We got him a gift card and a charcuterie board. In order to avoid having to do math I bought the board and the crackers that went with it and co workers covered my share of the gift card. The charcuterie board was a big hit, I got this one:
https://www.heb.com/product-detail/h-e-b-quot-everyones-favorite-quot-mini-cheese-board/2098938 along with some crackers.

 

The mystery meal was the following. Last night, I seasoned pork chops with salt and pepper, then melted some butter in a skillet and browned both sides of the chops and sat them on a plate. Then I melted more butter in the skillet and cooked some leeks that I had cut lengthwise then thin sliced for five minutes. I put the leeks in the bottom of my instant pot, then added the pork chops, 1 and 1/2 cups of cranberries (fresh) and some chopped rosemary. I also added 1/4 c dry vermouth, 1/4 c chicken broth, and 1 tbsp maple syrup. I let that sit covered in the fridge overnight then put it in the instant pot with a three hour delay and a six hour slow cook-mode cook time. I served it with prepared mashed sweet potatoes. It wasn't quite as good as I had built up in my mind, but still good.

[RhiaWolfe]

11 hours ago, Rinna said:

It works.  That’s what I do.  When I first started the route I do, it look me 1 1/2 hours.  Now it takes 47 minutes.  My knees would hurt so bad, I would almost be in tears by the end.  But now, they don’t hurt nearly as much. And I’ve lost 32 lbs over 2 years. (Granted, my weight has gone up & down, up & down.  But it’s staying down so far.)

 

10 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Walking is awesome. Frodo and Sam Walked to Mordor.

 

I just need to will myself to do it. That's the hard part. 

10 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

 

Today is a good day. I was a bit tired. I did the NF Mobility workout. Work was good. It was my boss's birthday, and he really is a good boss. We got him a gift card and a charcuterie board. In order to avoid having to do math I bought the board and the crackers that went with it and co workers covered my share of the gift card. The charcuterie board was a big hit, I got this one:
https://www.heb.com/product-detail/h-e-b-quot-everyones-favorite-quot-mini-cheese-board/2098938 along with some crackers.

 

 

That's awesome! 

 

I remember one year my employees made me a birthday cake. I was so touched that they decided to do that. 

 

 

[Rinna]

57 minutes ago, RhiaWolfe said:

That's the hard part. 

Damn straight it is.  I found that listening to a good podcast helped me in the beginning.  And/or music.

[RhiaWolfe]

36 minutes ago, Rinna said:

Damn straight it is.  I found that listening to a good podcast helped me in the beginning.  And/or music.

 

I tend to do audiobooks. Those are good to get lost in. What makes it most difficult is when the weather is poor outside. Here in Oklahoma we don't get very many "nice" days. It's either too hot, too cold, or rainy. 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

2 hours ago, RhiaWolfe said:

 

 

I just need to will myself to do it. That's the hard part. 

 

That's awesome! 

 

I remember one year my employees made me a birthday cake. I was so touched that they decided to do that. 

 

 

Our supervisor was very grateful for the day.

The hardest part of any workout is getting started.

1 hour ago, Rinna said:

Damn straight it is.  I found that listening to a good podcast helped me in the beginning.  And/or music.

Music was very helpful back when I was using the treadmill regularly.

1 hour ago, RhiaWolfe said:

 

I tend to do audiobooks. Those are good to get lost in. What makes it most difficult is when the weather is poor outside. Here in Oklahoma we don't get very many "nice" days. It's either too hot, too cold, or rainy. 

When I was first back to the boards and full of that newb energy I was getting out in any weather. Five years later that enthusaism has moderated a great deal.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Today is a good day. I did the KB workout before work, only one round due to being very tired. It's still way better than nothing, and it helped some. Work was good, I had good talks with co-workers. Dinner was incredible. I melted 6 tbsps butter (you read that right, and begin to see why dinner was so good) and cooked gnocchi in it for 10 minutes. In another skillet I cooked 2 lbs Italian sausage, then when it was almost done added 12 oz of broccoli florets I had steamed in the bag they came in, and added two cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes. Meanwhile the gnocchi was almost done, so I added an Italian Seasoning blend that included salt, pepper, and garlic, along with some parmesan. I served the gnocchi and poured the rest of the butter in with the meat mixture, to which I also added Parmesan. I served that over the Gnocchi and topped with Parmesan. It was incredible and Little Bit liked it too. After dinner Sra. Tanque put the baby to bed and I cleaned up the kitchen, then I discovered I like vermouth on the rocks. I did a quick google search and discovered that is a recommend way to serve vermouth by itself. I have some dry white Vermouth (Dolin), which is very good on its own. 

For those wondering, Vermouth is "Aromatized (infused with botannicals) and fortified (Spiked with unaged Brandy)." 

[Ranger Hal]

My dinner was incredible, too, and it's mostly your fault! I cooked a steak in my cast iron pan and it was amazing! Thank you for helping make it happen. I feel like I leveled up in cooking!

[KB Girl]

18 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I did the KB workout before work, only one round due to being very tired. It's still way better than nothing, and it helped some.

yes, good choice

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

22 hours ago, Ranger Hal said:

My dinner was incredible, too, and it's mostly your fault! I cooked a steak in my cast iron pan and it was amazing! Thank you for helping make it happen. I feel like I leveled up in cooking!

5 hours ago, KB Girl said:

yes, good choice

 

I'm not surprised you approve of KB activity.

 

Today is a good day. I did the NF Prime Mobility workout in the morning, which opened me up pretty well. Little Bit and I spent the day together, and we had fun. She took an almost two hour nap (it was my idea but she only put up token resistance) right before lunch, then we went to the park where she had a blast. This park has a playground more appropriate for very little ones (it said 2 and up but Little bit is bigger than most two year olds), and also a mulched area where they took trees they had to cut down and used them to make seats and things to climb on. Little Bit, bless her ranger heart, seemed to prefer that to the playground equipment. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kvLJ7ceUm9SAdRtd9

We came home and watched a little TV and I made dinner. In one skillet I cooked cubed butternut squash and halved brussels sprouts in avocado oil with salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, fresh chopped rosemary and garlic paste. In another skillet I cooked some bacon I had chopped, then set the bacon aside and removed all but about 2 tbsp of the grease, then cooked some chicken with salt, pepper, and rosemary. I served the veggies, then the chicken over them, then I saw how beautiful the drippings in the skillet were so I added some flour and milk to make a bechamel. I served that over the chicken then topped with bacon. It was very good. Little bit was very fussy and threw a couple of really high powered tantrums tonight, one about being put in her high chair, and one about being removed. I was gonna let her play downstairs till bedtime, but about 25 minutes before that she laid down in nap position (face down, head on one side, butt up in the air with feet tucked in under the butt) so I took her up for bedtime. Wednesday night is my night to put her to bed since Sra. Tanque has a small group. I ordered groceries, cleaned up the kitchen (mostly, and made this post).

[KB Girl]

Sounds like a good day  that playground looks great, it’s a bit of a trend isn’t it, to have natural materials like logs lying around to play with/on/under x) I think it’s nice.

 

My trick to understanding the tantrums is to think about how I am encroaching on her autonomy. Sometimes I can then change my approach but other times it just helps me to relate a bit, which is also nice, because then you get to feel less like !;$~*]^[+_$ you know. Though honestly it’s almost always in combo with being tired isn’t it? 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

1 hour ago, KB Girl said:

Sounds like a good day  that playground looks great, it’s a bit of a trend isn’t it, to have natural materials like logs lying around to play with/on/under x) I think it’s nice.

 

My trick to understanding the tantrums is to think about how I am encroaching on her autonomy. Sometimes I can then change my approach but other times it just helps me to relate a bit, which is also nice, because then you get to feel less like !;$~*]^[+_$ you know. Though honestly it’s almost always in combo with being tired isn’t it? 

For sure, each tantrum was because we made her do something she didn't want to, or stopped her from doing what she wanted. It never feels personal when she does it. We literally tell her to "get the mad out" and try to validate her feelings. Even if she doesn't understand yet, we want to lay a foundation where she knows her feelings are ok and it's healthy to Express them. 

[RhiaWolfe]

44 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

For sure, each tantrum was because we made her do something she didn't want to, or stopped her from doing what she wanted. It never feels personal when she does it. We literally tell her to "get the mad out" and try to validate her feelings. Even if she doesn't understand yet, we want to lay a foundation where she knows her feelings are ok and it's healthy to Express them. 

 

It's awesome that you're doing this for her. ❤️ A+ parenting

[Scaly Freak]

8 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Even if she doesn't understand yet, we want to lay a foundation where she knows her feelings are ok and it's healthy to Express them. 

 

Everyone who reads this and thinks it is awesome, please do this with your sons as well as your daughters.

 

Because it is awesome, and all children should have this.  

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

8 hours ago, RhiaWolfe said:

 

It's awesome that you're doing this for her. ❤️ A+ parenting

It's one of the reasons I'm glad I didn't become a parent in my 20s. No way would I have been able to do that then, I simply didn't know yet what I needed then.

1 hour ago, Scaly Freak said:

 

Everyone who reads this and thinks it is awesome, please do this with your sons as well as your daughters.

 

Because it is awesome, and all children should have this.  

I agree, and it's not something I had, which is why I want to make sure I do this for Little Bit. Mom and Dad are great, and I still have a good relationship (in fact I was just down there with them today), but in the same way I didn't have what I needed in my 20s to be able to teach this to Laura, they didn't have it for me. I don't resent that, it simply is. They did the best they did with the knowledge they had, and I have better parents than they did .

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Today is a good day. I did two rounds of the NF KB workout in the morning. I'm still feeling it this evening. As I hinted above, Little Bit and I went to go see my parents for a while. When I got home I didn't feel like cooking, so I got breakfast tacos for the family. A good day, and I'm tired. I'm going to pick up our grocery order soon.

[Sloth the Enduring]

Tacos and kettlebells. You’re living the good life.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

2 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

Tacos and kettlebells. You’re living the good life.

I keep telling everyone how awesome my corner of Texas is. You've had the tacos (I didn't go to that particular place), you know how it is.

 

Photo proof I've eaten tacos with Sloth in my hometown.