IRMO12HD

Perhaps I should change my screen name to "OneDayL8te"!  Thanks for the poem, Belle; it was spot on!  Tomorrow we would have started our travel to NYC, preparatory to boarding NCL Bliss for our Panama Canal cruise.  Am I sad -- of course!  As you wrote:  

"One thing will be true for us all

Our next cruise isn't our call"

-and-

"Thin might not be the word but will weigh less

Should be eating right and doing exercise in this mess"

I am so grateful for the support of this group, and value your comments and experiences.  They've really helped me with downs (and ups), not just in terms of weight, but also emotions and goals.  I guess I'm down .9 lbs this week, but since I weigh myself daily (under Noom), that changes day to day, and I've learned to accept that as long as the overall trend is downward, I'm doing the right things.  I will seize on the opportunity to eat more healthily than I might have chosen to do aboard the Bliss for 21 days! 

The weather here in Eastern Washington has been very springlike, with temperatures in the mid 60s during the day, and down in the low 40s at night.  Irrigation just got turned on this week, so my weekend task is to work on the sprinklers, several of which need to be replaced.  Mask in place, I braved Home Depot to find replacement sprinklers and parts; most people seemed to be trying to keep their distance, but some apparently thought that this was an appropriate 'family outing,' so I made several detours down uninhabited aisles to get the things I needed.

My ribs should be pretty much completely healed by now (4 weeks into the 4-6 week healing projection); although I still have some pain (I learned it's called "intercostal" -- didn't know I had muscle between my ribs!), it's manageable with rest and small doses of ibuprofen.  Fortunately, we have ample places to walk, so I've been able to walk every day and increase my distance; I'm up to about a 40-minute walk.  I hope you all are doing well.

Diana from WA (aka IRMO12HD, aka OneDayL8te!)

I just spoke with Travelex regarding my travel insurance for our (cancelled) Panama Canal cruise aboard NCL Bliss.  As has been mentioned, I won't be able to get a refund for the premium I paid (unless I can prove that all of the money has been refunded to me by the cruise line, airlines, etc.  That won't happen until July at the earliest, so . . .).  What I can (and will) do is request a "One Time Date Transfer" to switch the policy to another trip.  I will have to start that trip within a year of my cancelled trip.  It's my understanding that if the new trip costs less than the original trip, I can request a prorated refund of the difference in premium.  I purchased this policy through squaremouth.com.

Hi, everyone!

Well, two weeks have passed since my accident, and I'm happy to say that my pain has reduced to the point where I have resumed my daily walks -- although on a greatly reduced scale so far.  I reduced my steps goal to 3000 steps per day, and will increase it 500 steps probably every other day.  Ups and downs as far as the scale is concerned, but I'm down overall, so that's good.  My husband has been doing the food shopping, and has been doing a good job -- I'm all over him about washing his hands as soon as he comes in the door, and apparently the stores have been on top of sanitizing the carts and providing hand sanitizer both entering and exiting.  It's asparagus season here in Eastern Washington, so I'm ecstatic -- one of our local farms has set up an online store, with farm "curbside" pickup.  $1.75/lb, but it's cut fresh that morning.

Our Panama Canal cruise on the NCL Bliss has been cancelled, so am extending my goals out to my birthday in August and then (hopefully) our Transatlantic cruise on RCL Allure OTS in November. 

Governor Inslee just extended our "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" through May 4.  Well, at least that should give my ribs time to heal fully!

Diana (in WA)

@tbae, thank you for posting.  I appreciate reading your positive viewpoint.

Thanks for doing the review!  We are (most probably) not going to be able to experience the Norwegian Bliss (April 19 Panama Canal sailing NYC-Seattle), which would have been our first NCL experience, so I'm really enjoying your descriptions.  

2 hours ago, tbae said:

Not yet-- we are scheduled for April 12 out of LA on the Bliss. Waiting, somewhat patiently--although anxiety filled... I have heard from a few people that Carnival is extending another 30 days and that NCL would likely follow suit...but nothing yet... I also heard that these announcements tend to come o Friday's after 5 p.m.... so .. we shall see...

April 12 out of LA?  Isn't that sailing out of NYC-Manhattan?

My at-home fitness plan crashed on Thursday -- literally 😞  I broke three ribs on my left side in a motor scooter accident.  Just getting up and down from my chair is going to have to be my workout for the foreseeable future.  The silver lining (I guess) is that the pain has decreased my appetite substantially, so as long as I focus on healthy nutrition, my weight should stay the same (maybe even go down a bit).  Although I'm pretty sure NCL is going to cancel our 19 April Panama Canal cruise, I want to stay with this group, and hope that our November Transatlantic will actually take place.

Hello, everyone!

@pacruise804 and @JennyB1977, I hope you're feeling better; I find it more difficult to eat 'healthily' when I'm ill, because most of the comfort foods I want just don't fit in the healthy category . . . One of the things I've learned from Noom is to leave 5 mouthfuls on the plate (save them for later, share them with a friend, etc.), and that has helped me moderate my portions when it comes to foods that aren't so great for my weight loss.  I'm down about 2 lbs from last week, but am currently on one of those 'upswing" peaks in my Rocky Mountain weight chart.  I find that the daily weight check is helping me overcome my frustration at seeing day-to-day fluctuations, and focus on the overall trend.  Next week, I'll be traveling as we're helping my stepdaughter move from Tacoma to Phoenix, so am thinking about bringing our scale!  I'm currently working on a list of healthy snacks to take along.

@winewanderer, have a great cruise!  How long a cruise is it?  @melmar02, I hope your cruise works out!

Diana too!

Better late than never . . . right?  At least I'm still posting in February (thanks, Leap Year!).  I truly appreciate being a part of this accepting, supportive group.  Your comments have really helped me deal with some stumbling blocks and impediments in my weight loss / lifestyle change journey.  I, too, have experienced weight upswings and downturns this week, and have managed to stick to my plan (almost) throughout.  I'm down 1.7 lbs for the week -- but my weight chart in Noom looks a lot like the Rocky Mountains -- all peaks and valleys.  Overall, the trend is downward, though.  I learned a new recipe last week for Oatmeal Banana cookies which are made from . . . oatmeal and bananas! 

Here's the recipe, in case anyone wants to try them (approximate calorie and nutrition values are 1 cookie ~= 50 calories, 11 g carb, 2 g protein, 1 g fat, 1 g fiber, 2 g sugar): Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; thoroughly mash (until almost liquid) 1 large RIPE banana (I used two small ones); add/mix in 1 cup Quick Oats (like Quaker, but they should be Quick, not Old Fashioned oats).  I then added a shake of cinnamon, and a tablespoon of mini chocolate chips, but you don't have to; it added a few calories/fat, I'm sure, but was worth it :-)) .  Make round balls out of the cookie batter (I made about 9). Place onto baking sheet (I used parchment paper to prevent sticking), spacing about 2 inches apart. Gently press down on each ball so that it flattens into a round disc. Cookies will not spread much during baking, so keep that in mind when shaping and flattening your discs.  I baked mine for 15 minutes, then turned them over and baked for 10 minutes more, as I wanted a firmer texture.  They were good warm -- and cold!  Put them in the refrigerator to store.

I found this recipe at https://kirbiecravings.com/2-ingredient-banana-oatmeal-cookies/.

Diana (too!)

I wonder if anyone else has noticed the wording in the original document or in the response; it's referring to the distance from the kids' play area to the window as 'mere feet' -- as in "none of the glass panes, which were mere feet from the kids’ H2O Zone, contained a warning, design decal on the glass, or anything to warn passengers,such as Mr. Anello, of the hidden danger that some of the glass pane windows in the middle row may be slid open."  

To me, 'mere' refers to a few -- as in 3-4, not 30 to 40.  

@JamieLogical, I noticed that you mentioned a difficulty in 

"You have to click into each category, copy/paste the list of room numbers into a line counter, and divide by 2, because it's double-spaced. "  I find that if I select/copy the table items as a whole (cabin #, category, sleep# I think) and then paste as plain text into a worksheet, it eliminates the line spacing problem . . .

Thank you, @hallux!

We'll be on Bliss for the 21-night Panama Canal cruise, and I was thinking of bringing aboard a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle (to leave on the ship) -- is there a Library or other quiet common area where I could leave it for others to work on?  When we were on Westerdam on a Trans-Pacific, they had several going at one time.

My first accountability posting!  I'm down 1.1 lbs since last week.  Have been trying to meet my goal of 30-minute walks 6 days per week, following my Noom plan, and going to water aerobics/swimming at least twice a week.  Noom has me weighing myself every day, and I'm beginning to get used to dealing with the ups and downs on the scale from day to day.  It's really helpful to have supportive communities :-).

This is an awesome thread!  I, too, find I do better at the buffet if I focus on salad/veggies first, then proteins, and finally (after much thought, hopefully!), some carbs or dessert (I try to choose one or the other, but am not always successful!).  I do like to snack in the afternoon, so I'll usually grab an apple or other piece of fruit to take back to the cabin.

I think I posted in the 'wrong' section -- I was reading the Thursday 1/20/20 Weigh-In post, and replied there -- but probably should have put it here, so am re-posting (since I couldn't figure out how to move my post . . .

Hello!  I'm definitely a latecomer to the group, but would love to join.  I'm really impressed by the caring support you show each other.  We are heading out on a 21-day cruise in April through the Panama Canal on Norwegian Bliss (NYC-Seattle), and I've been working on establishing good habits (and losing some pounds as well).  I noticed that at least one of you mentioned Noom -- I'm a recent convert to it, and am really happy with it.  I find its focus on dividing foods up into groups based on calorie density really works for me.  I tried Ideal Protein about 3 years ago, and although I lost lots of weight (almost 55 pounds) in about 7 months, my kidneys didn't like it (dips in kidney function) and I gained it all back -- with a vengeance.  I also like the support structure Noom provides -- a combination of psychology, science, and sociology, as they say.  

My goals:

Weight when I started with Noom (Jan 28): 217

Current weight: 211

Goal #1 (start of cruise is April 19): 199

Goal #2 (end of cruise is May 10): 195 (being realistic -- I won't have access to Noom continuously throughout the cruise, and will have lots of temptation -- of course, I'll be doing LOTS of walking, and LOTS of stairs!)

Goal #3 (64th birthday is in August): 180

Exercise Goals: 

Go to Gold's Gym at least 3x / week for water aerobics and swimming, my cardio and arms workout routine, or some other hour-long activity

Walk at least 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week

Walk 18 holes of golf (hilly course!) at least once a week starting in March -- substitute walking around the Bliss in April and May!

Diana (too!)

Hello!  I'm definitely a latecomer to the group, but would love to join.  I'm really impressed by the caring support you show each other.  We are heading out on a 21-day cruise in April through the Panama Canal on Norwegian Bliss (NYC-Seattle), and I've been working on establishing good habits (and losing some pounds as well).  I noticed that at least one of you mentioned Noom -- I'm a recent convert to it, and am really happy with it.  I find its focus on dividing foods up into groups based on calorie density really works for me.  I tried Ideal Protein about 3 years ago, and although I lost lots of weight (almost 55 pounds) in about 7 months, my kidneys didn't like it (dips in kidney function) and I gained it all back -- with a vengeance.  I also like the support structure Noom provides -- a combination of psychology, science, and sociology, as they say.  

My goals:

Weight when I started with Noom (Jan 28): 217

Current weight: 211

Goal #1 (start of cruise is April 19): 199

Goal #2 (end of cruise is May 10): 195 (being realistic -- I won't have access to Noom continuously throughout the cruise, and will have lots of temptation -- of course, I'll be doing LOTS of walking, and LOTS of stairs!)

Goal #3 (64th birthday is in August): 180

Exercise Goals: 

Go to Gold's Gym at least 3x / week for water aerobics, my cardio and arms workout routine, or some other hour-long activity

Walk at least 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week

Walk 18 holes of golf (hilly course!) at least once a week starting in March -- substitute walking around the Bliss in April and May!

Diana

17 minutes ago, sunsetsoon said:

You are officially adopted. Aprille is already doing research for our next cruise.

Yay!!  Thank you, @sunsetsoon!  @Aprille, Hi, surrogate sis!!!  I'm booked on Bliss for the April 2020 Panama Canal -- NYC-Seattle!  My first NCL cruise!!

@jaxw17, I love your idea!  I, too, lost my mom way too soon (she was 65 when she passed), so am hoping @sunsetsoon will 'adopt' me as well :-)  @sunsetsoon, you and your posts and your attitude are AWESOME :-).  

Thanks, @Paul Bogle.  Guess I'll get to try it in two months :-)

Has anyone used this?  Can you log into your CC account and post, or is it only available as a guest?  I would imagine that since NCL wants reviews, login might be possible?

@JamieLogical I've been trying to follow your crumbs; my dilemma is that Mr. Google's information displays change day to day.  Could you say if there's a con in the name?

Thanks so much, @megr1125.  That's exactly the kind of information/advice I was hoping for :-)

What a great idea!!!  I will definitely be following.  Unfortunately, I have no suggestions because I have no experience (yet) on NCL, but will be doing a test run of this on our 21-night Panama Canal cruise in April -- early in the cruise, so I can perfect my technique :-)

We'll be flying into EWR on a Saturday, and leaving the Manhattan Cruise Terminal on Sunday (afternoon) in April. Our current plan is to stay overnight in Newark at the Hilton Penn Station, and then take the NJT train to NY Penn Station Sunday morning (probably around 10 am), and Uber or cab from there to the port. My question is, are the trains 'standard' commuter trains, or will there be a place to stand (or sit with) our suitcases (one large, two small)? I'm hoping that the Sunday morning commute won't be a crowded one.