7 Day Motivational Thread 12/3/2012 Let's make this our best week this year.
 

Time to start fresh. Let's go! :)

Sorry--I was out of touch with our group Friday and all weekend.

Was aggravated this morning to find I lost only one pound last week BUT it's a step in the right direction and considering I didn't exercise much at all, my body was pretty generous. A pound a week ads up to 52 lbs. a year. I'd love to be 52 lbs. lighter on Dec. 3, 2013. :)

Hope, my kitchen contractor STILL isn't finished. He was supposed to finish this weekend. He didn't tell me, but told his helper he doesn't have the money to buy the paint. I won't advance him another cent. He's done except for about two hours of sanding that he needs to do and then the painting. Our contract has expired. I got an estimate from a painter of $450 so am going to call my current contractor today and tell him (or leave a voice mail) that if he can't finish the job in the next two days, we'll ammend the contract to rescind the painting and he can accept $207 as final payment in full and I'll hire a painter to finish his job.

I'm in for the week. I hope. Weekend was a fail. Hugely. I ate a giant bag of chips, a giant bag of Cheetos, and a giant bag of M&Ms. I also ate a steak dinner, and a chicken pot pie. I love chicken pot pie. And I ate Red Lobster, although managed to avoid the biscuits. I don't know where the off switch is. I lost it. If it's edible, it goes in. And as a result, my blood sugars were monstrously high all weekend long, which makes me depressed along with feeling unwell. Ugh.

Sorry, that's all I got. I'm here, I guess.

Yay for helping us start out on a cheery and hopeful note! :p

Oh my gosh Joanna you managed to AVOID the biscuits!! Those are the best part. I make my own chicken pot pie. I have never actually worked out the nutritional value though. Do you do the total of what is in it and divide by number of pieces?

Was a little stressed this morning. Annoyed that I thought we had decided we were going out shopping this morning and then she forgot. So...stressed equals stopping at coffee shop and having a muffin. I just didn't care. UGH!!

Jenn

GOALS
1. Try to keep carbs and protein in check
2. Drink 6 glasses of water a day--at least
3. Exercise
4. Before going grocery shopping (which is Thurs) write out list and work out meal plan for week.

Personal
1. Finish Christmas cards
2. Empty fridge and clean
3. Tidy downstairs
4. Put up tree??

Last one is question mark as I can't decide whether it's too early or not. A friend of mine might be coming on the 10th to help decorate. She lives out of town so it's dependent on weather.

Jenn
P.S. Hope to see Mike and Tori back

Catching up from weekend posts:


Hope, funny what you said about the hummus--that I'd like your friend's hummus if I ever tried it. My granddaughter's fiance doesn't like soup. Her 11 year old sister loves to help me make soup and she told him yesterday that he'd love HER soup if he ever tasted how SHE makes it. :) I use Eden organic black soybeans that I can find only online. They are only 1g net carbs per half cup serving and I have found several ways to enjoy them. Last night I made a dessert quesadilla with mashed black soybeans, unsweetened cocoa powder, artificial sweetener, cinnamon, and almond extract. :p Well, maybe your one pound gain was just a scale fluctuation or maybe a little extra water retention. I hope your scale reverses soon.

Jenn, getting back to daily menu planning would be a really good New Year resolution for me as well.

Donna, it's great that you responded to Krystal on your ideas to cut back on low carb. I low carb, but I've been known to have a carbfest now and then. It doesn't discourage me from feeling I may be able to give others tips. Special kudos on your exercise and calories last week. Do you track your dietary cholesterol? I do pretty well at limiting mine to 250g per day.

Krystal, cardio is great for helping speed up metabolism--which is probably why I didn't lose well last week--because I hardly did any exercise at all. I usually lose nicely the first week of a proper diet restart with good exercise. That's great that you batch cook ahead.

A great place to start on cutting down carbs is to cut out white foods (except cauliflower and mushrooms.)

--BREAD: In place of bread I use low carb tortillas. Some people enjoy Food For Life/Ezekiel bread found in the freezer case of health food sections of grocery stores where I live. It's made from sprouted grain instead of flour and they say fewer carbs are absorbed.
--PASTA: I used Dreamfields brand pasta which is found in the regular dried pasta section of my grocery store. It is processed differently so that it contains only 5g digestible carbs per serving instead of around 40g for regular pasta.
--RICE: Instead of rice I eat textured veggie protein aka TVP (found in baking or health food sections of grocery stores) that I cook with broth to impart flavor. -
--POTATOES: In place of white potatoes I eat cooked cauliflower or broccoli cooked until very tender, drained well, and mashed with cheese, butter/low fat substitute with no trans fats, and seasonings to taste.
--FRUIT: Ditch the bananas and apples and opt for any kind of melon (except watermelon) and any kind of berries (except grapes, which are in the berry family.)
--BEANS: I use Eden Organic Black Soybeans at only 1g net carbs (carbs less fiber) per serving. I can find them only online so far at vitacost.com (I hope that address doesn't get removed.)

There is a LOW CARB RECIPES thread in the FOOD TALK forum that has some recipes. I think the chocolate mocha flaxmeal muffins recipe posted by me is in the COOKING FROM SCRATCH forum. Some people don't like them but it's a staple at my house. My grandkids eat them, not knowing they're "diet food."

Jenn, it was a Marie Callender individual pot pie, so the nutritional information is on the back. They're about 500-600 calories, I think.

Joanna, huge hug to ya! So glad you're here. Put last week behind you and just try harder this week. (I totally sucked on exercise last week.) Feel better soon! YOU CAN DO THIS.

So many are missing. Where are Tori, Mike, Cassie, to name a few? And I hope Canary/Hope can join us this week although she doubted she could.

Jenn, wishing you (and so many others here, including myself) a less stressful week! Kudos on your great plans for food, fitness, and personal goals. :)

Joanna, I love pot pie, too. Boy, do I miss that! But I sometimes make a chicken casserole adding low carb veggies and instead of gravy I use store-bought Classico Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.

All them suckers are MIA. I know this because I'm staring at their backs as I hide behind them.:o

Mern thanks for getting us started! And those are GREAT ideas. I already don't eat anything "white" - I make sure it is only whole grain. But that still adds up! I'm soo copying and printing out your list - it's going to be super helpful for shopping next week!

Joanna, last week is past and today starts a new week! I know you can do great. Keep lots of water in you to stay full and to push off some of your cravings. But if you crave something - eat it! A craving is your body telling you it is missing something that it needs. So with me, when I crave chocolate, I'll measure out a 1/4 cup of chocolate bits and snack on those! :)

Stress week - I'm hoping not, but I know that feeling all too well. Keeping happy again (doing well staying positive!), even with my final coming due this weekend :P

Okay, I've thought long and hard about this, so here are my week's goals:

1) Drink more water, try for three bottles a day
2) Walk at least five days with my dog
3) Watch my carb intake and keep count on it
4) Eat less nuts - cut back to a couple times a week and not everyday
5) Exercise - Zumba, yoga, weight training, cardio, anything!
6) Stretch
7) STAY POSITIVE! :)
8) Practice meditating before bed

Phew, I think that's it! Here's to a great week everyone! (And I'm happy my plateau finally is gone, for a while at least!)