A new habit I’ve acquired over the past year is measuring/weighing everything I eat. It’s been shocking to discover how much I was eating before, and it’s no wonder I struggled with my weight for so long! For example, rather than spoon a heap of rice on my plate or in my bowl, I measure out 1/4 cup – it’s more than enough. A serving of stir fry, like the pork and peppers below, is 1/2 cup . . . and that’s more than enough too. I have a great digital kitchen scale, purchased years ago from Weight Watchers, and it gets pulled out several times a week these days because two to three ounces of meat is more than enough now. My set of Weight Watchers stainless steel measuring ladles (1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, and 1 cup) also get used frequently – those have turned out to be one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. Measuring my servings is a habit I don’t think is going to go away any time soon either – it doesn’t take long, and it makes a BIG difference.
Sunday: Loco moco; cucumber; German chocolate cake for dessert
Monday: Roasted red pepper and tomato soup; toasted cheese sandwich; fresh pineapple; German chocolate cake
Tuesday: Panzanella with beans; German chocolate cake
Wednesday: Cuban bowls; German chocolate cake
Thursday: Grilled flank steak; sourdough stuffing; sautéed green beans; German chocolate cake
Friday: Pork & pepper stir fry; steamed rice; peach ice cream & gingersnaps
Saturday: Leftover steak sandwiches with sautéed onions and cheese; cucumber spears; peach ice cream & gingersnaps
The menu plan for next week, in no particular order:
- Roast turkey w/cranberry relish; stuffing; vegetable
- Turkey club sandwiches
- Hot turkey sandwiches
- Breakfast for dinner
- Pepperoni mini pizzas
- Chicken risotto
- Broccoli quiche
The views along the beach never disappoint.
While last week’s weather started out chillier than usual, it made for some nice walking, even if I did have to do some of it on my own. By the end of the week temperatures were thankfully back up with lots of sunshine, but the humidity remained low. Last Sunday afternoon YaYu and I took a three-mile walk up on the eastside beach path. We had planned to walk longer but some very big storm clouds began rolling in from the west and we eventually made the call to head back to the car. Still, the temperature and breeze were perfect for walking, the views were gorgeous, and it was the perfect place to walk together one last time. I took Monday off because it rained most of the day, but I was back at the park for 3.5 miles walks on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Brett was out of quarantine on Friday, and we were back to 4.6 mile walks then and Saturday, and yesterday we hiked four miles on the Waiokapua Bay trail for Valentine’s Day. The trail is located on the Barking Sands base, and the loop goes from Major’s Bay beach to base housing and back (we did two loops). It was quite hot out on the trail, but we still got a breeze most of the way, and the views along the way were lovely. It’s beginning to look like Monday is going to be our day off going forward.
After nearly two years and many, many miles my trail shoes need to be replaced, but I am trying to hold out until next month. My first choice for a new shoe is the Hoka One-One walking shoe to see how they work out, and if goes well with them I will get the GoreTex version for our walking tour in Japan in 2022.
The Occasional Nomads 
Wow, the sand is so different there than here! I guess that is because of volcano origin??? Such beautiful views! Your food looks amazing.
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The sand at Barking Sands is very fine. I’m sure it is volcanic, at least partly. Barking Sands got its name because of the sound the sand makes when you walk on it! We could see on the trail where the water had come all the way up in the past, I guess when there have been very bad storms. The trail was nothing, but nothing I want to walk on during the summer here – it was hot out there!
I wish I had better lighting to take pictures of the food – it all looks very gloomy to me. But, it’s dark or nearly dark when we eat and it is what it is.
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OK- pulling out the scale. You are right, I just need to do it. I have some great measuring cups. Trying to talk my husband into not cooking for eight is a chore in and of itself. One left over night is good- two is too much!
Barking Sands was one of my favorite Hawaiian beaches. The black sand beach just below the Kilauea Military Camp is my second. How about a hop over there when things get a bit better? Those cabins set in the jungle—ahhhh.
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Once I got in the habit of weighing/measuring I could see how easy it is – doesn’t take long at all. But no more eyeballing for me – I always gate myself way too much. I’ve cut all my recipes in half for Brett and me, but occasionally we get something that seems to last for days.
We love being so close to Barking Sands now – it’s still 35 minutes away, but better than the 1 1/4 hours it was before. We looking forward to getting to Kilauea in the next couple of years – we had reservations back in 2018 and then that darn volcano had to erupt and ruin everything.
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Measuring food is so important. I need to get back to that – pronto! I have my annual physical this week and I have a feeling my added weight may come up. Haha.
Those Hoka shoes are a favorite of one of my friends. I hope they work for you, too!
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Along with all the walking, measuring my portions has had the biggest effect on my weight loss. My goodness but was I eating too much in the past, even “healthy” foods. If you can get your hands on a set of those Weight Watcher ladles, they are great!
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I need to add green vegies & fruits back to my diet along with smaller portions. These days when I think about needing to cut back & eat better, seems I go into starvation mode. I need to get back to drinking more water too.
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I know that my portions are the right size now, and I am appalled at how much I thought was an appropriate serving before.
I am working very hard now to include lots of vegetables and fruit into our diets – we blessed here that we can get fresh vegetables year round. And I LOVE tropical fruit too!
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Your meals all look so wonderful! My husband has to eat a keto diet for health reasons which I completely support but also find very limiting at times. I’ve always found that putting off buying new shoes isn’t a savings in the end–I get too many aches and pains from walking in shoes that are past their prime.
Erica
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I wish I had better photography skills and better lighting to take pictures of our food – to me the pictures all seem so gloomy.
I am ordering new shoes next week – thank you for your advice (Nina too). My walking shoes are well past their prime and are starting to cause problems, and I’ve decided it would be fooling to wait another month.
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Beautiful beach pictures.
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The beach path always provides beautiful views, and the views from the trail at Barking Sands turned out to be just as nice!
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Yummy dinners. You got good value from the German chocolate cake!
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Thanks! I bake cakes in a 9′ x 13″ (33x23x5 cm) pan and then cut into 24 servings – that’s 12 days of cake for Brett and me. And yes, by the time we are finished we are ready for something new! We’re having ice cream now but next up is a pan of gingerbread.
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Meals all look delicious. Like others here, I need to get veg/fruit back up – it’s difficult here because the only thing I don’t like about curbside pickup for groceries is that they don’t nail my preferences for fruit/veg. If we ever get back to real life, I will never again take for granted being able to grocery shop in person. I agree with Erica about replacing walking shoes. Mine are about a year old and I’m ready to replace because a knowledgeable friend told me 500 miles is the most you can expect before the insides of a shoe break down, long before you can see wear on the outside.
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Because of your comment and one from Erica, I am ordering new walking shoes next week. The inside is falling apart, and I can feel everything through the sole now. Way over 500 miles on them as well.
The main reason we have continued to shop in person for our food is that I do not want someone else picking out my produce! It helps that we have the year-round farmers’ market here, but I still buy produce at Costco and like to choose my own. I like the freedom of changing my mind if one vegetable looks better than another, or the price is better.
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