rosabella2012

Debbie: I like what you had to say about consistency. For years, I had this 'all-or-nothing' mentality. I felt that I had to do a diet perfectly or not at all and that meant eat everything available. It was like I had no choice in the matter on any level. Now I describe my plan for eating in parameters rather than absolutes--for instance, I strive to eat 95 to 110 grams of protein per day rather than saying 'I'll eat only 100 grams of protein per day' and getting down on myself if I eat 102 that day.
I've found I get better consistency when I start my goals out Small, keep them Measurable, remain Accountable, take Responsibility for my successes/failures all within a stated Timeframe.
Tracking foods can be a shock sometimes--good and bad!

Annette: I love food and cooking way too much to be able to eat the same thing made the same way day in and day out! I'm always up to try a new recipe or natural food item especially produce or fruit. Tonight, I roasted Belgian endive--it's a nutritious vegetable with a bitter whang to it. Roasting was supposed to take out the bitterness, but it's still there, just less intense. Don't plan on fixing any more of it either!

Lisa: I can eat on target anywhere IF I'm in the right frame of mind and I can binge on anything anywhere for any reason or no reason at all--IF I'm in the wrong frame of mind! I'm a true food addict!
I've always made oatmeal with milk, a little cinnamon and vanilla--it's the way I was taught to make it and for years I thought that's the way everybody made oatmeal!
Congrats on making your purses and your husband's new job! I hope both of them are profitable for your family!

Epixi: I portion out foods in individual servings using baggies and freeze them either in a larger container or a larger freezer baggie, especially things like fish. It sure makes it easier to thaw it out!

Lynda: Doesn't it feel nice when someone notices our efforts to get healthier?! Good for you!

Good night! Vicki

rainbow24

Lisa, that is fantastic news.

lildebbieg

Hello all! Even with the time change, I've managed to get up and get a workout in before work. Happy about that In the past, getting that workout in before my day started really helped me stay consistent with my exercise goals!

Vicki - I still struggle with an all or nothing approach. I'm always trying new things to break that mindset. This week, I set my calorie goals higher than I normally do. Usually I aim for 1200 or lower, but now I'm aiming for 1430 (my weight that day X 10) and set a minimum protein goal and a maximum carb goal. This seems more manageable long term. I'm also staying off the scale and using other things to measure my success that day. When I weigh every 2 or 3 weeks, I'll adjust as needed to keep progressing. I believe that would fit into your SMART goal setting.

Lynda - I attempted black coffee this week, but not for me! I'm now bringing light cream from home to add to my coffee. I still can't believe how many calories were in 2 creams!! They must be using 35% cream or something!

Have a great day all!

episode2011

My Goals for the Week (March 9 - March 15):

• Calorie Cycling -- have at least 1 High day (A=Average Day, H=High Day): A, A, A
• Minimum 1500mL water/tea per day: 3417, 3462, 3417
• 7-day Rolling Average calories = 1200-1300: 1182, 1142, 1138 <---boo, wrong direction
• Explore! Try something new or learn something new (nutrition-wise) at least 2 times:
  • Monday: Did some research on something, but I forget what... I guess that doesn't really count ((edit: I remember what it was! I did research on pee colors (how could I forget that???), so I gs it DOES count -- yay!))
  • Wednesday: Did some research on nutrition labels. See below.

We all read food labels, yes? Did you know they are due for an overhaul? They've been unchanged since the mid '90s. The overhaul is still in the works, and it looks like they're heading in the right direction, but in my opinion, the changes don't go nearly far enough.

Positives:

• Serving sizes will reflect what people actually eat. Supposedly, current serving sizes reflect the portions people used to eat in the '70s and '80s, but in my opinion, current serving sizes reflect what marketers want to make their calorie counts look better. "Our chips are only 20 calories per serving!" And then in tiny print: Serving size = 1 chip

What could be better:

• There are so many nutrients that we're told we should track (potassium, magnesium, all the Bs and Ds among others) and yet these are routinely not included on labels, because THEY AREN'T REQUIRED TO BE LISTED. Grrr.
• There is controversy over whether listing "Added Sugar" will confuse consumers. Consumers aren't too stupid to understand that the indented lines under Fats are sub-categories of Fat, or the indented lines under Carbs are sub-categories of Carbs. But we're are too stupid to understand that Sugar can also have sub-categories?
• They propose swapping the columns so that the left-most column will be Percentage Daily Value. I hate this idea. I want to see the component first (Fats), then the unit number (6g). For my money, they could eliminate the percentage altogether. Leading to my next point...
• I wish they'd leave out the percentages altogether. They're based on a 2000 calorie diet and are, therefore, absolutely worthless to me. Just give me the raw data. That includes the vitamins and minerals, too -- the Percentage Daily Value info is meaningless unless you're on a 2000 calorie diet.

*steps off her soapbox*

I hope there will be time for suggestions/questions. I may actually get off my butt and submit some!

rosabella2012

Epixi: I totally agree with you suggestions on changes to food labels. I, too, wish they'd just give us the raw data and let us be responsible for determining how much of the nutrient/servings of food we need. I wish they would give us the I.U. or mg of minerals/vitamins rather than percents because I don't eat 2000 cals per day. Also, the amount of nutrient/mineral needed for a 25 yr old active female is very different from what is needed for a 60 yr old post-menopausal female. Vicki

lildebbieg

Evening check in I've been right on track....a little over in my calories, but I did a lot of exercise today so I can't sweat over 54 extra calories. And now I head into the weekend where I normally struggle. I'm planning to do my best to maintain consistency.

Weekly Goals:
track food daily: M-yes, Tu-yes, W-yes, Th-yes
72 oz. water daily: M-104 oz., Tu-88 oz., W-80 oz., Th-128 oz.
max. 1430 calories: M-1426, Tu-1419, W-1398 Th-1484
min. 90 g protein: M-97 g, Tu-112 g, W-90 g, Th-101 g
max. 180 g carbs: M-142 g, Tu-167 g, W-95 g, Th-105 g
2 upper body workouts: M-yes, Th-yes (Goal met!)
2 lower body workouts: T-yes
4 - 20 min. HIIT workouts: - M-yes, Tu-yes, W-yes, Th-yes (Goal met!)
4 - 30-45 min. steady state cardio: M-30 min, Tu-30 min, W-45 min., Th-75 min. (Goal met!)

Epixi - I always check the portion size when looking at the label...no foolin' me with a 1 chip portion I had no idea that the percentages were based on a 2000 calorie diet. Makes me realize I've probably be way under on calcium since it's one of the only things I look at percentage wise!

AZLisaLou

good moments and bad moments. the only consistency is that I'm inconsistent. I went from drinking diet soda to watered down crystal light to plain water...now on regular soda! eek!!! Need to nip that in the bud quickly.

I'm so relieved that dh is working again. June 1st I will have double insurance coverage, and hopefully can get my hands fixed (carpal tunnel) so I can bead again and work with my hands on any creative and artistic thing I want. Will be finding a therapist in the next 2 or 3 weeks to start getting to the bottom of obsession with food and limited ability to keep to a plan instead of binging. Once I get that all figured out and working in the right direction, I will look in depth more on a lap band. There are great success stories and great failure stories. There's no guarantee, and is the risk worth it? I'm thinking so.

Almost finished my custom bag order. It looks good. I made a major mistake, but hopefully no one will notice my correction. I see it, but my daughter couldn't see anything and said I'm crazy. (Yes, that's why I take meds, hehehe) Tomorrow I'm going to get one finishing touch. I made two fabric yo-yo's, the larger being the interior fabric (green polka dot), and the smaller the exterior (pink with subtle cute flowers/butterflies). I need to buy a big pearl or gem button to put in the center, attach it to the flap and it will be ready to mail. I'm pretty happy with it. Hope the recipient loves it!

Tomorrow I'm going to test myself and see if I can stick to atkins w/ milk 2x, oatmeal 1x, and a regular dinner with NOOOOO snacking or binging (Unless it's a banana or something healthy then that might be ok).

Oh! I tried a minneola today. It was super juicy, not really very sweet, or at least not what I was expecting. I had a hard time peeling it. It seemed that the rind should come off easily, but the fruit split in half and I couldn't get the halves out of the rinds...big mess. I also didn't know they had seeds. Bit into one. Tasted good! I think I like the Halo mandarins better though. But they're definitely good.

Debbie, you're looking awesome on your goals!!!

Epi, I totally agree with everything you said on labeling!

rainbow24

As of yesterday work at the farm passed into double time. I expect my mileage to increase.
I lost a pound. Surprised by it.

episode2011

Hey folksies, you know what today is, right???


Lisa: I'm surprised to hear your minneola had seeds. The one I had didn't have any. If it had had seeds, I wouldn't have been as impressed. As far as peeling, I cut it into wedges, so I didn't realise it was hard to peel. Bummer. Glad you enjoyed it anyway.

Debbie: Regarding it being the weekend, hang in there -- I have no doubt you'll be a superstar!

Speaking of superstars, look at our Annette! A pound down -- congrats!

Vicki: You're so right about the differences in age and activity levels. I hadn't even thought about that. Good point!

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

My Goals for the Week (March 9 - March 15):

• Calorie Cycling -- have at least 1 High day (A=Average Day, H=High Day): A, A, A, A
• Minimum 1500mL water/tea per day: 3417, 3462, 3417, 3417
• 7-day Rolling Average calories = 1200-1300: 1182, 1142, 1138, 1122 I'll get it up to 1200 one of these days...
• Explore! Try something new or learn something new (nutrition-wise) at least 2 times:
  • Monday: Did some research on something, but I forget what... I guess that doesn't really count ((edit: I remember what it was! I did research on pee colors (how could I forget that???), so I guess it DOES count -- yay!))
  • Wednesday: Did some research on nutrition labels.
  • Friday: Learned something new about Fitday's posting policies -- see note below.

Thanks for the support on the labeling issues. Losing weight and maintaining a healthy food balance is tough (and complicated) enough without having to make do with substandard tools. Let's start a labeling movement and when we get done with that, let's move onto re-structuring BMI!!! ((Hehe I'm on a roll now... mmmm rolls...).

Note: here's something for the Learn Something New file: I did not know that Fitday limits us to 4 smilies per post. Apparently this post contained 6 smilies, so I had to edit it before it could go through. Oops!

AZLisaLou

To me a "small" victory is actually a huge victory. I was planning to go out. I was planning my failure and was trying to decide what I was going to get...soda, shake, etc. I took my water with me to make myself feel not so bad, the appearance of making better decisions. Then, when I got out there, I said to myself, "I'm thirsty. I want a soda." Then I said to myself, "You have water." Then I said, "I want ice cream, shake, something, I'm hungry." Then I said, "You are not hungry. Drink water for the thirst and if you're hungry when you get home you can have a super cold, chocolatey atkins shake w/ milk." And that's exactly what I did.

I attached pics of the custom order purse I just made. It looks a little wonky in the pics, but it truly is very symmetrical and will lay better once it has stuff inside it to fill it out. The pink has flowers & butterflies. She wanted pink on the outside with lime green polka dots on the inside. I think I got that down. I have to tack the larger green yo-yo flower down a bit more.

Debbie, Good for you for continuing to rock your goals and for getting in your exercise!

Annette, why are you surprised you lost a lb? You've been working like crazy on the farm.