Weigh-In Wednesday #2

Today was my first weigh-in after a week of Weight Watchers. On a positive note, I was down two pounds - woo hoo! However, because I had been weighing myself DAILY, I was expecting a slightly lower number, and so I felt a bit disappointed. But, a loss is ALWAYS better than a gain and I'm confident I will lose more before my next weigh in.  I've already noticed how my opinion of certain foods has changed. For example, I love Almond Poppy Muffins, but at six points a piece (or roughly 1/7 of my daily allowance) these are not items I plan to eat on a daily basis. But I certainly don't feel guilty about eating them either because feeling guilty about eating is just another form of emotional eating in my book.

Snapshot Sunday

    Instead of Wordless Wednesday, I've decided to do Snapshot Sunday.  During my weight loss journey, I plan to blog weekly for "Weigh In Wednesday", but I love photography so much I wanted to give it a proper place in my blog.  

    For the first installment, I chose a picture taken a couple weeks ago of one of the spectacular sunsets I've had the privilege of witnessing from the back porch.

Day One (and Two) is done!

Yesterday, I completed my first day of Weight Watchers Online. It went pretty well. I drank enough water to float a boat, exercised, and only went over by 1 point (versus the day before, when I would have been over by about 20 points). I've used the points-based system before, and it did work as long as I put time and energy into tracking food and participating in meetings. Now I'm blogging about it in hopes to stay motivate, and to notice any patterns. For example, today - Day 2 - I noticed I had a harder time feeling full and staying on track when I did not plan out my meals, as I did on Day 1. Hopefully, I'll stick to a plan tomorrow.

Photographic Peace

Over the last couple months, I've been volunteering with the local high school softball program, working a bit, and trying not to get frustrated with Facebook.  Now that the regular softball season has come to a close and I am in a lull for work, it is time for me to focus more on employment, health and beef cattle. As I head into this transition phase, I've pulled out the camera and snapped pictures of the spring landscape.

Tonight, as I posted photos to Facebook, I realized that what I enjoy so much about photography is trying to capture more than just the object in a picture. When I do a portrait of a bearded iris, the purpose is more than recording the looks of the flower for posterity. It's gratifying to look at a photo and experience a feeling that is nearly inexplicable. I don't know if a photo affects others the way it affects me, but it the passion fueling the creativity is enough to make me continue to do it.

Little John Meets Facebook

Little John, the most recent addition to our herd of Simmentals, has joined Facebook.  That's right, he has his own page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-John-the-Simmental/208516512493321?ref=ts

The idea of having our calves communicate with the world via social media had been bouncing around in my brain for a bit, but then a good friend encouraged me to utilize the Facebook page feature as an outlet for both creative writing and agricultural advocacy.  I've had to remind myself not to start out too fast and furious because I don't want to get burnt out, nor do I want to burn out Little John's fans.

I hope this little experiment works but if not, I'll just do my best to learn and improve!

Agriculture: Education vs. Conversation

While participating in Agchat on Twitter, there have been a few times when I noticed a dichotomy in the discussion regarding agriculture and the general public.  Some people emphasize the importance of educating the general public, while others stress the need for having a conversation with consumers that are likely more educated about agriculture.

Certainly the internet has provided a wealth of information to a population that is further removed from agriculture than it was several decades ago.  Unfortunately, much of the information available is not reliable nor scientifically sound, and typically found in the form of emotionally charged editorials.  So despite the rise in interest leading to self-education by some of the population, the two percent of the population involved in agriculture have a responsibility to educate and dispel myths when necessary.

The Information Highway, though,  is not completely cluttered by intellectual litter.  As the X-Files put it, the truth is out there.  So when interacting with more knowledgeable yet inquisitive consumers, the conversation aspect becomes crucial.  I'm not a psychologist, but I don't think I've ever met anyone who enjoyed feeling like an idiot because someone talked down to them. Having a conversation with someone goes beyond education because you listen as much - if not more than - you speak. Any and all information during a conversation should be provided to consumers in such a way that they feel confident in your reliability as a source.

Most of my interaction with consumers occurs at local fairs and expositions.  At these events, I find it best to start with basic educational points, and as I gain a better understanding of the consumer's perspective and knowledge, I shift into a more conversational mode. I always try to end on a positive note because if it's the only interaction a consumer has with a producer, it needs to be the best one possible.

Wordless Wednesday's Winter Wonderland