7 Day motivational thread 3/11/13
 

I hate to start it 2 weeks in a row, I feel like a thread.starter.hog but I don't know what tomorrow has in store for me and I am starting over and I need to be in this week.

Cassie, let me just tell you the Stanley is FAMOUS. I was walking along the river with Hope, her DH and Stanley and Hope goes to take a picture with Stanely. We hear this guy telling his (wife, gf, female friend, whatever) that our little fella was Stanley, then he tells her the story about Stanley. So then we make our way to Bourbon Street. Yes, we took him to Bourbon Street but it was day time and we didn't take him in any bars or skrip clubs. Stanley stops for another photo opp and some guy walks up to tell us about his Stanley that he took on a cruise to Mexico. Then a crowd of girls walk up and they tell us about Stanley. One girl said she took Stanley to the Czech Republic. She even did a video interview for Hope. Not more that a couple mintues go by and it's time for Stanley to pose for more pics. ANOTHER woman walks up and tells us her stary about Stanley. She also did a video interview for Hope. I think we were all in shock how this little fella is known by so many people. The crazy thing is that people came to us to talk about him. They couldn't be happier to tell us their stories.

This morning I was back up to 197.4

I will weigh in tomorrow morning, take a pic of the scale and post my weight.

My goals for the next couple weeks:
1) Lose 7 pounds (PER WEEK)
2) 100+ ounces of water per day
3) post daily
4) take all vitamins daily
5) have fun and help raise a lot of money for Johnny on Thursday

How very cool is that? I just knew he would have a great time in NOLA!

Thanks for starting us off. I need to be in, too; will have to think on my goals and decide whether the tried and true or more general ones are best for me this week. Work will be an absolute bear, so time to meet my needs is short, but I have never needed it more, so I absolutely have to find that balance.

Gotta run now, but I will be back this afternoon! Hope everyone had a great weekend :).

Mike, I don't think you're a hog. (More like a rice burner ...) Glad to see you're "starting over." As your timing is quite good.

I'm 'starting over,' too. Just as Stanley's gone to a new host, I've got a new fitness 'pal.' & I'm, like, ecstatic. (Android and a Big Phat Db with Sugar, and ...!!!) But I don't want to ditch my forum friends, so here I am.

Week of 3/4 recap:

• Workout > 120 min/wk: 20, 65, 0, 35, 0, 0 , 0
• Cholesterol < 250mg: 142, 91, 182, 287, 299, 168, 145
• Protein > 50 g / day: 68, 47, 89, 115, 75, 36, 78
• Vegetables > 3 / day: Y, Y, Y, N, N, N, Y
• Calories < 1500 (M-Th): 1254, 1651, 1280, 1858,
• Calories < 1800 (F, S, S): 1563, 1764, 1825

Not a very good week. Started Strong but faded. Although, I didn't blow out the weekend. Ah ... it's another day! *& Spring Break for some!)

- Donna

PS: It seems IB (i.e. H&F) is just milking Fitday until they can put them on the auction block. But when they are losing customers like me (First login: 2002, Prem. member for years,) it can't have a positive effect on their asset value.

Mike, Cassie and Donna- glad to see that you are all on board this week. Darlene and I are doing another walking challenge this week, a mere 10k between now and Sunday if any of you are interested.

My challenge this week will be supper. Getting home late and no help :( - this is going to take some planning and organizing on my part. So my goal for this week is not to cave and get take out for supper. NO TAKE OUT. Yep that's my goal.

Thanks for starting us off (AGAIN) ;)

Like Cassie my goals will be simple this week. Going out for lunch with friend tomorrow and Wed I have to go to see dietician. I have to keep food journal for 3 days and write down glucose numbers. Yesterday water was next to nil--too much coffee!

GOALS
Eat sensibly and drink 6 glasses of water

Robin, do you have a slow cooker? A great way to make meals ahead. A healthier alternative to take out is bbq chicken at the deli counter and get some salads.

Jenn

Donna, I'm sorry we are losing you to the competition. It's hard anytime a member is lost, especially a long time, paying member. At least on the bright side, you're still here with us... For now. :)

Mike, thanks for starting us. 7 pounds a week is an ambitious goal. Altho this week I would LOVE to lose the 4-5 I gained here.

Mike, Cassie: DH and I took Stanley to Cafe du Monde last night and once again he was a star. A group of college age people recounted their experiences, didn't get it on tape but one guy took Stanley to the Eiffel Tower.

Yes after our extravagant dinner at Nola, we went to Cafe du Monde, and yes I had pretzels and chips after that which is why I'm back this morning on FD.

We're taking Stanley to NY, then to FL. Mike, I told DD we have a foster doll and she texted (and I quote) "I am not introducing a paper doll to my friends." Well!!! I will get her to come around and I will take good care of him!!!Tori, PM me with your address so I can send him to you or if it's OK Mike will give me the info. Or I can send Stanley back to Mike and he can send him to you.

Donna so glad you are still here with us.

Robin I like how you say a mere 10 k

I'm with Jenn on the 6 glasses of water. 8 is ambitious for me, little sipper that I am.

I feel like I'm getting a head cold; maybe cause we're leaving NOLA? Everyone go visit Mike; he is a true Southern gentleman. We had a fabuolus time with him and his lovely family.

goals:
1) 6 glasses water
2) plan meals
3) get close to plan
4) stretch
5) walk or gym
6) fight head cold
7) write 3-4 days min.

Hope- Got about 25 in last week- so yes a mere 10k this week lol.

Jenn thanks for the suggestion. This am I prepared some chicken to bake and left it in the fridge for my 17 year old to put in the oven this evening and I have left over salad from yesterday. Tomorrow I will do the slow cooker. That's as far ahead as my planning goes. My 17 year old will put things in the oven if I give him precise instructions. However if I leave "cooking" in his hands it will be chicken strips or mr noodle haha.

Donna- glad that you are staying on the forum. The support network is as impt as the logging :)

Plan:
1 egg, 1 egg white with bacon on Ezkiel English muffin (did it, no muffin)
chicken and salad
dinner at Gumbo Shop:
split etouffee and gumbo with DH or have blackened fish and veg
Snacks:
fruit
nuts
dried okra
tea
sardines

Hope, sadly your daughter will see what she's missing when Stanley is the life of the party. She'll quickly learn that he's the popular kid and if she wants to fit in, she's going to have to hang with him.

I'm in. Same goals as last week. I'm down 1.5 pounds (to 173.5), so the goals must be all right.

<1600 calories
>64oz water
>20% protein
walk on days off
weights/calisthenics on days off

True dat

I am so glad Stanley is having such a good time. That little boy in Kentucky is going to be so thrilled with what you send him!

Kind of makes me wish I had mailed myself to Mike, too. But I think NOLA will be the trip we take after we drop DS off at college in a couple years, unless we can swing it before then.

Robin, sounds like you are doing great. Good luck with the no-take-out goal. You are a stronger woman than I and will probably be eating better because of it. I don't have the emotional energy to go into the fiasco that was the end of last week; suffice it to say that it has made this week ungodly busy and I had to plan in some meals out to preserve my sanity. But I tried to do them at places where I have a "safety" order. And I will take you up on your walking challenge as well. I'm hoping to start my C25K again this week; I turned into a real slug after I injured my hip flexor.

Jenn, nobe, Hope, glad you all are on board and keeping it steady.

Donna, I'm glad you're sticking with the forums; also glad you found what you needed.

Well, life has been crazy, so I'm keeping goals simple.

1. Log everything and post daily.
2. Make good decisions and eat clean.
3. Move some every day (and do the walking challenge).
4. Work steadily but not frantically. One thing at a time.

Followup (after last week's blood tests) with my doc this morning. In view of managing my cholesterol and blood sugar so well without meds and my triglycerides have come way down, she is changing my blood tests and followups to once every six months instead of once every four months. :) She was disappointed my my weight gain until I told her I'm on my way back down from 228. She told me to stick to the 25g net carbs (total carbs less fiber) I am doing because it works well for me.

My goals are the same as always:
1500-1800 calories
Dietary cholesterol average 250mg
Saturated fat average 10% of total calories
Net carb average 25g
Fiber average 25g
Protein minimum 100g
Water 64 oz.
Exercise 5 days

Today's menu
Brunch: zero cholesterol egg substitute omelet with Alfredo sauce
Snack: Laughing Cow cheese wedge
Lunch: ham and spinach on low carb tortilla
Snack: flaxmeal with whey protein powder and water as a sort of cold cereal
Dinner: lean pork chop, mashed broccoli with cheese, mixed veggies
Evening snack: protein square, cocoa almonds, green tea

Mike - 7 lbs a week! Man, that's a lot of working out.

Robin - A mere 10K! I would think you should be proud of the fact that you think of 10K a week as no big deal. Your saying that your son will put things in the oven if you give him precise instructions reminded me of the time I had a chicken in the refrigerator, seasoned and ready to pop in the oven. I left a note for my husband about what temperature to set the oven at and what time to put the chicken in. I neglected to write down to put it in the baking pan, so he put it in the oven on the dinner plate it was on (he did remove the plastic wrap first even though that wasn't in the instructions).

Hope, I always enjoy reading your list of foods for the day. I love okra and have never had dried okra. Where do you get it?

Last week, there was a discussion of kale chips. I bake mine. I got the recipe from Melissa d'Arabian on Food Network. You can google it - it's really simple though. Wash & thoroughly dry the kale. Remove the ribs. Tear into about 1.5 inch pieces. Sprinkle a little olive oil & salt on and toss. Bake about 20 min at 275. So yummy. I use popcorn salt (very fine, powdery salt) because it sticks better. I'm experimenting with the seasoning - trying adding things like cayenne, chili powder, or paprika to give a little kick.

Mern - that's great that you only have to see your doctor twice a year now. You seem to have mastered eating for blood sugar control - that was the most important thing. Now you can focus a bit more on weight loss.

Nobe - if you're doing all your exercise in the evening, could you break it up some? Maybe get up 15 min early and do 10 min of something before you go to work. Could you walk some during your lunch break? Even a little leisurely walking would be good if you're at a job where you sit.

I did lose weight last week. I have an evil scale. There must be something weird with the tile floor in our bathroom. Last week when I weighed myself, I turned the scale 180 degrees from the way I normally have it because I thought I'd get more light on the dial. Yesterday, I put the scale the way I normally do it and it read 156. Turned it 180 degrees and it was 158. Took it upstairs to a wood floor and it read 156 (I tried it in a couple of different places). So I'm going with 156.

It will be more diet than exercise to do this.

Very nice! Your hard work is paying off!

Mike Thanks for kicking us off this week! Wow 7lbs!

Cassie Wishing you moments of peace in your busy week! Glad to hear you are walking this week also.

Donna I am glad you are sticking it out with us but I most certainly can relate, general frustration is one of the reasons why I fell off last year and I am still rolling my eyes at the site a few times a week now I am back.:(

Robin That’s a great goal, something that works for me is to cook double the protein and veg and use it for the next day as a stir-fry. I am excited for our walking challenge I got 15.5k in last week no were near your amazing 25k :D I think nobe is joining us also.

Hope I am living vicariously through you and your vacation right now it sounds like you are having a great time, how much longer are you on holidays?

Mern That’s great news about your blood tests, I still do not know how you do the 25g of carbs I am a carb- aholic.:o

Carolynn Your kale chips sound good I will need to try to make my own, my hubby is paying a fortune to buy them keep us informed on your spice trials.

Have a great Monday everyone!:)

Mern, great news!! Keep it up :D.

Darlene, I love your avatar...very springy! I am so ready to be done with winter, and I have it much easier than many of you :o.

Hey Everyone!

I'm still alive. Had a few curve balls since the first of the year which have led me out of town several times, but I'm back. I'm doing great and my weight is down to my maintenance level... hope I can keep it there until summer! :eek:

We have been hit by blizzard after blizzard since Christmas and so there has been very little opportunity for walking, etc. We have about 20" on the lawn and the banks in front of my house are between 4-5 feet so it will be awhile, I'm afraid.

Looking forward to catching up with everyone! My log-in problems seem to have been resolved which is also quite awesome!

quinn

Nice to see you again Quinn!
Mern, way to go!
Hope I'm up to 4 glasses so far ;D

Well had a very good supper tonight. Managed to get the chicken cooked (in the right pan lol) by phone so just had to make some salad and veg. It was actually my hubby who hobbled to the oven to do it. 1 day no take out:)

Putting a pot roast in the slow cooker tomorrow. This will result in some good leftovers for Wed.

1.6k walk today - about the best I can do when at work. Cassie glad to have you on board.

Mern you really should be on Dr. Phil or something. What an awesome accomplishment. You are my hero this week.

Mike I know how some men can lose, hubby lost 15 lbs in 2 weeks, diet alone. There's not a woman I know who can do that. And yes I will take all the credit for that because I cooked him everything and brought him green tea when he was begging for cupcakes. He's glad now he feels great.:p

Carolynnq I wish my scale was evil too, that would explain so much but I didn't move it unfortunately.

boo
 

I somehow managed to throw my back out:( My physiotherapist who I'm seeing for my shoulder, today told me no sitting for at least two days so I'm off work. This means no walking for exercise, only what's necessary. I think I'm still in the 'ones'.
Hope you all have a great week.

In responding to people, I forgot to post my goals.

1. 1200-1500 calories a day
2. no white flour, sugar
(I'm successful with those most days).

3. An hour extra movement a day.
(Doing every day, but some days it's a struggle.)

Robin, if your husband lost 15 pounds in two weeks, you can cook for me! I know you said it was a man thing. It must be...

Mike...so if your base calorie rate is 3500 a day and you ate nothing all week, you'd lose 7 lbs. The only way I could possibly lose 7 lbs in a week would be with massive amounts of exercise.

Keeping goals simple to start...

1. Focus more heavily on eating healthfully rather than weight-loss.
2. Strict limit on processed foods.
3. Try to remember daughter is an adult while home on Spring Break.
4. Spring clean one area per day for exercise in exchange for being snowed in. GRRR....

My kitchen is closed and I'm finishing the day 1542 calories deficient.


Starting weight =197.4


My goals for the next couple weeks:
1) Lose 7 pounds (PER WEEK)
2) 100+ ounces of water per day over a gallon
3) post daily yes
4) take all vitamins daily yes
5) have fun and help raise a lot of money for Johnny on Thursday

My job is really active but I'm only there three days a week. The rest of the week I'm at home with a clingy three year old. I do my walking during the day (or at work, when I'm at work), but if I tried to lift weights or do sit ups or anything when the kid is around he'd be climbing all over me. So my only option is to do it after he's gone to bed. I could get up early, but he gets up anywhere from 5am on, and I'm NOT a morning person! Haha. It worked for me last year to spend about 45 minutes in the evening lifting weights and doing stretches and calisthenics while I watched tv, but with this job I'm exhausted by 8:30. And I can never fall asleep if I go to bed early so I'm always underslept, which doesn't help. But I'm working on it.

Got a lot of walking in today. I walked to my mom's (3k), and then when I got there we walked to the mall near her house and walked around there for 2+ hours and back again. The latter wasn't fast walking, but I was moving at least, almost the whole time. I'm not doing my weights tonight. I'm watching Downton Abbey and trying to get to bed early. Harder than usual with daylight savings, though. Excuses excuses.

Walking people! I bought a pedometer today. 3k down, 7 to go :)

<1600 calories - 1450
>64oz water - yes
>20% protein - 22%
walk on days off - yes
weights/calisthenics on days off - no

1. Log everything and post daily. Yes
2. Make good decisions and eat clean. Yes!
3. Move some every day (and do the walking challenge). Yes...squeezed in 2 miles, ~3.2k
4. Work steadily but not frantically. One thing at a time. So-so

Cassie Thanks I also want spring to be here I am tired of the rainy grey west coast weather.

Quinn Welcome back!

Jezzie Sorry to hear that back pain is not fun at all.:eek:

Mike Nice deficit.:)

Robin & Nobe Nice k’s today!!:)

Goals:
Walk 10k: M=1.2K
Calories less than 1500: M=1241
Calorie deficit of 5000: M=-797
Squats twice: M=N

All walkers - great day -Nobe- wow. Glad you bought the pedometer!

Jessie, sorry to hear about your back. I just went through a physical issue with no exercise for about a month and I had to really focus on the diet........take the care it needs.

I cannot imagine HOW to get a walk in today. Crazy scheduling day. Today I go back to Tae Kwon Do after work. I have been gone for over a month. I've never really included it in my exercise, I have been doing it for so long, but maybe after this break I will burn some calories there.

Pot roast in the slow cooker, no fast food tonight :)

Mon.
 

• Workout > 120 min/wk: 15
• Cholesterol < 250mg: 90
• Protein > 50 g / day: 43
• Vegetables > 3 / day: N (some + lots of fruit)
• Calories < 1250 (M-Th): 900
• Calories < 1800 (F, S, S):

Dropped my weekday cal goal down a bit. Needed more protein & veggies.

Mern: Congrats on the great check-up.

Jezzie: Sorry to hear you threw your back out. Hopefully you will stay in the 'hundreds' during your convalescence.

Carolyn: I thought I had an evil scale, so I got a new one, which tells me the same thing as the old one, but to the tenth of a pound! It's even more devilish.

Mike, Sounds like you're getting serious about weight loss. You might want to watch that your cals don't drop too low on Weds, or you'll be dragging for the fund raiser. And I know you'll want your wits about you for that.

- Donna

Thanks for the pointer Donna.

I weighed in this morning at 194.8 (-2.6 in 1 day). I'm sure it's 100% water weight. I guess we'll see what the next few days have for me.

I had another good weigh in last Saturday morning. 169.4. Down from 173 2 weeks prior.

I think I am on the right track. I have great days and bad days (more great) so it's balancing out. I thought I hit a plateau but it doesn't appear so. My clothes are a bit loose. I can finally see some results. :-) I'm really dreading a plateau. My goal is 1.5 lbs a week for another 9 weeks and I will be ecstatic! But any loss really is great :-) 13.6 so far is great!

Goals for this week:

1) 10,500 calories for the week spaced out
2) Walk 30 minutes 5 days (combine walk/retro/jog)
3) 20 minute workout 4 days
4) WATER!!
5) Track food and activities here

Good day yesterday. I wrote down what I ate but didn't have time to log. I didn't eat enough veggies but I got my water in. Did 15 mins Wii boxing in the morning. I want to see if I can tone my arms more before summer and t-shirt weather.

Going to tea room with friend who is off for March Break (teacher). Should be fun.
Jenn

Donna too funny about the scale!

Miraculously I fit in a walk today. Thanks all of you (walkers and nonwalkers) because if it wasn't for this thread I would not have done this today. 1.6k again. At lunchtime. That's 3.2 so far.

Everyone is doing so well with their goals so far this week!

I love daylight savings time - I love it being light later. I had been getting up and doing yard work for a half hour to an hour between 6:30 and 8. Now it's dark then. I know I can do it later, but it felt good to accomplish something and get a half hour of exercise in before the day had hardly started. I did some push ups and crunches when I got up today, but I have to think about what other exercise I want to get in early now.

quinn - LOL at "treating daughter like an adult when home on spring break". So hard to do sometimes. Your goal of focusing on eating healthy rather than weight loss is smart, IMO. I'm trying to do that too.

nobe - how about incorporating your 3 yr old (that's such a cute age!!!!) into some of your exercises. Put on some lively music and dance around with him/her. Go to the park and race each other. Lie on your back and raise your child up on your legs and move him/her up and down. There are probably lots of sites that have ideas for exercising with children. Each individual thing might be only 5 or 10 minutes, but it all adds up. I like to exercise while watching tv too.

Mike - congratulations on your day 1 weight loss.

Jezzie - I hope your back heals soon.

whyme - bravo! on your weight loss. I'm trying to lose about 1.5 lbs a week too. It's so nice when clothes feel looser.

Robin - I admire your dedication to walking. Thinking about your pot roast is making me hungry.

Jenn - I'm also trying to tone my arms. I'm doing push-ups, and using weights (putting my hands in back of my shoulders and raising and lowering them). What are you doing?

Donna - Most scales are too darn truthful! That's why I avoided mine for too many months.

Thanks Darlene, Robin, Carolyn and Donna for the thoughts. Pain seems to diminish my appetite - only 700 calories yesterday and 270 so far today. I can actually stand straight today for a few minutes:-) . I just hope this doesn't keep me laid up for too long!! Very thankful for my tablet to use while horizontal.
Have a great, on track day all :-) Positive thoughts coming your way!