lildebbieg

I'm here checking in Epixi! It is seriously quiet every weekend. I wish there was more action around here....I find it motivating when there are several people checking in daily. I've checked out other sites, but they are too busy and people aren't always as supportive as the small group is here. That's what keeps me coming back

episode2011

I hear you, Debbie. Busy, I don't mind, but rude is unnecessary and unacceptable. I've seen some sites where the forum-goers are downright mean, especially to those who are in the clique. Our Fitday group may be small, but we treasure and nurture all who want to be part of the community.

episode2011

Another Saturday Night
(apologies to Sam Cooke )

Another Saturday night and I don't see nobody...
I'm not too hungry, 'cause I just got fed.
Oh, how I wish there were more postings here in
The Motivation Thread!


((Original lyrics))

((Another Saturday Night and I ain't got nobody...
I got some money, 'cause I just got paid.
Now, how I wish I had someone to talk to.
I'm in an awful way.))

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Strategy for the Week (April 20 - April 26):

• 7-day Rolling Average calories = 1200-1300: 966, 1104, 1078, 1111, 1155, 1251 <--- finally back over 1200
• 7-day Rolling Average water/tea, minimum 2500mL (10+ 8oz glasses): 3923, 3561, 3411, 3482, 3332, 3182 <--- yes, it's dropping and yes, it's on purpose
• 7-day Rolling Average sodium = 1000-1400: 1277, 1620, 1582, 1556, 1555, 1592
• Extra Credit -- 7-day Rolling Average Sat-Fat = under 15g: 15, 17, 16, 16, 16, 17
• Extra Credit -- 7-day Rolling Average Carbs = under 125: 68, 76, 75, 80, 87, 96
• Extra Credit -- 7-day Rolling Average Protein = greater than 75g: 73, 81, 83, 86, 88, 95
• Explore! Try something new or do some nutrition-related research at least 2 times:
  • Monday: Read the article about obesity categories
  • Thursday: Potassium! How it works to "balance out" sodium, so to speak. So why is it so hard to track???
  • Friday: Read about the power of cinnamon (yum!). Did some research on protein powder (is it really just for bodybuilders and athletes?).
  • Saturday: "Why do I gain weight so fast but lose so slowly?"
  • Saturday: Did some research on nutritional macros. Interesting... I may have to re-think my strategy...
  • Saturday: "Why is it called "ripped", as in "ripped abs", or "cut" or "shredded"?" Such aggressive terms...

May as well post the numbers up now, right? Not much else going on here tonight .

As I tend to do, I'm still tweaking and fiddling with the strategy, sometimes in big chunks, sometimes in minor ways. For the last few days, I've cut back severely on my (sugarless) gum chewing. Now, you have to understand, I pretty much buy gum by the case. It's been my go-to since I quit smoking, oh, so many years ago. But, y'know, gum has carbs, even the sugarless varieties, even though it's technically zero "net" carbs. And since I wanted to trim the carbs, I figured curtailing the gum *might* be a way.

It's been tough (and I've been going through breath spray like nobody's business), but I am proud to say I've gotten myself down to about 3-4 sticks a day for the past week. And that includes when I am driving (and for me, steering wheel and gum have always gone together like bread 'n budda). Gotta give myself a pat on the back.

Will it translate into a scale victory? Don't know. I've also made some other modifications, so they may all cancel each other out. They may even result in a small gain (*pout*) over the next week or two. But I'm trying to look at the big picture, the long view. I'm hoping these tweaks will pan out over time. We'll see.

lildebbieg

Check in time I started the day with an intense workout and tracking calories. I ended the day with making homemade pizzas with the family and not tracking. I just didn't feel like weighing and measuring every single thing I put on my pizza. I'm pretty certain I'm not too far over 1400 cals. so I'm still happy with that. HOWEVER....I feel like I'm retaining so much fluid! You know when your hands and legs feel stiff? Not sure if anyone else ever feels that way...but I do when I'm retaining fluid. I feel discouraged tonight...like I'm doing everything right but I'm not making progress. I know I have to just ignore that self doubt and keep pushing on.

Weekly Goals
track food Mon-Sat: Mon. - Yes, Tues - yes, Wed. - yes, Thurs. - yes, Fri. - yes Sat. - nope
min. 72 oz. water daily: Mon. - 72 oz., Tues. - 72 oz., Wed. - 80 oz., Thurs. - 88 oz., Fri. - 72 oz., Sat. - 72 oz.
1200-1400 calories: Mon. - 1274 cals., Tues. - 1215 cals., Wed. - 1238 cals. Thurs - 1029 cals., Fri - 1302 cals. Sat. - ??
exercise Mon-Sat:Mon. - 84 mins., Tues - 99 mins., Wed. - 79 mins., Thurs. - 70 mins., Fri. - 89 mins., Sat. - 51 mins.

Epixi - I quit smoking nearly 16 years ago and gum has been my go to ever since as well! Dear gawd lady...I really don't think giving up gum is going to make the scale move!! But who knows...I could be wrong!!?! Let me know if you see results! I still don't think I'll give up gum even if it does make a difference on the scale So what did you read about macros? I've recently been reading and hearing a lot about macros which is what got me counting carbs, fat and protein instead of just calories. The only kicker is it added another whole level of stress over what I ingest. It was making me a little crazy!

Have a good evening and I'll check back in tomorrow

lildebbieg

This getting logged out issue is really starting to tick me off!!

rosabella2012

Hey, folks! Finally got some time to myself! The boys bathed, stories read and they're in bed, dishwasher going, three loads of clothes washed and last one drying, meal for tomorrow planned, meat thawing, some of the veggies cooked, pantry items rotated today, hit 2 farmers markets today, animals fed, watered and everybody's been to the potty, even made 2 batches of low-carb zucchini bread with the boys, now it's time for me! Good thing is I was able to walk and help carry our produce from the farmers markets AND do grocery shopping for the week with the 2 boys in tow WITHOUT having to sit down AT ALL! That is a MAJOR victory! Asthma didn't bother me during my activities even though is was raining--another victory! I weighed this morning and I'm down 3 pounds from last week too! All in all, I'd say I had a very productive day! Vicki

episode2011

Well, 'tis Sunday night -- time to wrap up another week, folks! How'd we do?

Goodness gracious, Vicki, you put me to shame! So much activity, and all in one day. I don't think I do that much in a week! And with two little ones in tow (I don't know how old they are but if they're still bedtime-story age, I'm sure they're a handful). I'm so glad to hear the asthma didn't get to you. Then, to top it all off, a three pound loss. Go, Vicki!!!

Debbie, I am 100% with you on not wanting to weigh and measure every little thing. We try, in good faith, but sometimes, it's just too much. You just have to wing it. I hear you, too, about the disappointment in doing the right things (and your posts are proof you ARE doing the right things) and not getting the payoff. It's infuriating -- makes you want to throw up your hands and cozy up with something, anything, outrageously calorie-laden. I hear you loud and clear. I also know you're tough and strong and I'm willing to bet you aren't going to give in. I'm willing to bet you'll review, re-evaluate and maybe even revamp the plan, but you won't resign.

Hehe I'm talking as much to me as I am to you right now .

Oh, and with regard to the Fitday log-offs, I posted a little workaround in post #27 of this thread (copied from a post I made back in March). The TL;DR version: copy your post before hitting Preview/Submit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Strategy for the Week (April 20 - April 26):

• 7-day Rolling Average calories = 1200-1300: 966, 1104, 1078, 1111, 1155, 1251, 1296 <--- oooo close to the edge...
• 7-day Rolling Average water/tea, minimum 2500mL (10+ 8oz glasses): 3923, 3561, 3411, 3482, 3332, 3182, 3043 <--- yes, it's dropping and yes, it's on purpose
• 7-day Rolling Average sodium = 1000-1400: 1277, 1620, 1582, 1556, 1555, 1592, 1548 <--- still too high, still working down Tuesday's excess...
• Extra Credit -- 7-day Rolling Average Sat-Fat = under 15g: 15, 17, 16, 16, 16, 17, 17
• Extra Credit -- 7-day Rolling Average Carbs = under 125: 68, 76, 75, 80, 87, 96, 98
• Extra Credit -- 7-day Rolling Average Protein = greater than 75g: 73, 81, 83, 86, 88, 95, 97
• Explore! Try something new or do some nutrition-related research at least 2 times:
  • Monday: Read the article about obesity categories
  • Thursday: Potassium! How it works to "balance out" sodium, so to speak. So why is it so hard to track???
  • Friday: Read about the power of cinnamon (yum!). Did some research on protein powder (is it really just for bodybuilders and athletes?).
  • Saturday: "Why do I gain weight so fast but lose so slowly?"
  • Saturday: Did some research on nutritional macros. Interesting... I may have to re-think my strategy...
  • Saturday: "Why is it called "ripped", as in "ripped abs", or "cut" or "shredded"?" Such aggressive terms...
  • Sunday: Did more research on setting/hitting macros

This whole macro thing is intriguing. Essentially, as Debbie alluded to above, it involves assigning goals for Protein, Carbs and Fats (your MACROnutrients), based on your age, gender, activity level and current weight. The key is in making sure that those macros add up to your proper number of calories, based on the sort of weight loss plan you choose (low-fat, low carb, Atkins, Paleo, DASH, whatever). You can even set macros for a weight gain regimen, if that's your thing (hah, I WISH that was my thing).

Anyway, I've sorta been fiddling with macros all along, but didn't know it was a "thing" or that there were actual plans that could help set them properly. I had the right idea, but no good direction. I think I'm a bit more on track now. For the past few days, I've been playing around with it (it's both harder and easier that I imagined). There's a good chance tomorrow's "My Strategy..." will reflect some of the changes.

I hope it works! See y'all tomorrow!

episode2011

Forgot to comment on this. The reason I'm cutting back on (but not eliminating) the gum is that gum has empty carbs. According to my macros, I need to bump up fiber (*groan* my old nemesis). I'm trying to limit my intake of unenhanced carbs, because I have to add in fiber-carbs without going over the carb threshold. Trading gum for Brussels Sprouts, so to speak (fortunately, I LOVE Brussels Sprouts ). It's not so much about the carbs making or not making the scale move; it's about trying to get all the puzzle pieces to fit.

I miss the sweetness, though, thus the sudden interest in breath spray. Of course, if it turns out the breath spray has carbs, I'm sunk!

Oh, and hey, did I mention what a bang-up job you did on goals this week? No? Well, you're doing GREAT! That blasted scale better start telling the truth! Have you noticed any changes in the mirror? In how your clothes fit?