It was a little harder today pre-logging a planned menu into the nutrition tracker here because I have leftovers in the fridge to get rid of and DH, although he usually eats whatever I prepare, is not in the mood to finish up leftovers. But I did it and my planned menu meets all my nutrition goals.

Breakfast: lean, preservative free roast beef, cucumber and spinach wrap

morning snack: protein shake

Lunch: turkey chef salad with ranch dressing

Snack: another protein shake

Dinner: last of the roast beef, yellow squash, sweet & sour cucumber, brussels sprouts

Evening snack: strawberries and Light Laughing Cow Cheese wedge


Socornish, welcome. My best tip is to pre-plan your daily menu and portion sizes and pre-log it into the nutrition tracker to be sure to meet your nutrition targets. Be sure to log the wine so you see how many calories you'll be consuming from that. And, no, it doesn't count as servings of fruit. ;)

Limarose, your poster is nothing short of inspirational. Good for you for already knowing what to do and how to do it. That's half the battle. :)

Robin, major kudos on meeting your goals and getting in intense exercise!

Joanna, kudos on your calories Friday and on the major progress figuring out your basal rates. :)

Tori, glad to see you checking in and being in a winning mode. :)

Donna, very nice Friday report! Way to go, girl!

OK, I'm gonna make myself go exercise now. If I don't I'll probably slack off today again.

Mern: enjoy your workout. I love what you said about the pre-planning and pre-logging I can SO see the truth of that. Right now I am solely tracking calories and maybe someday I will up the ante and start looking at contents of foods. Right now I am pre-planning the "challenging" meals and logging everything after the fact.

Hi Limarose nice to meet you. Your start weights and goals weights are very similar to mine within a few pounds. I too know what works for me even though I go through months of not doing it.

I am getting better at cooking stuff, packing my lunch so the take out is going way down. Good for the budget as well.

I was at Tae Kwon do this am, I teach this every tuesday and sat. It's not nearly as intense as it sounds because I do a lot of watching and holding pads and stuff. Don't get the workout the students get. The class is 1.5 hours and I am only logging 30 mins for an activity because the FITDAY calories burn estimate for martial arts is way high and does not reflect how much standing around goes on.

Robin

Robin, thanks--I did finish my workout and it was a little more fun since I popped my aerobic walking DVD into the computer in the living room and watched TV while I was exercising. :p Using the nutrition tracker to tally calories is a good start. And pre-planning your challenging meals is really great. Kudos on that! My doc's words are always in the back of my mind: "You don't have to be perfect, just better than you USED to be." This is not preaching--just telling you that I don't analyze all the tallies in my nutrition tracker, either, but find it a really valuable tool. Besides using the FitDay nutrition tracker database, each time I buy a new brand name food from the store, or something not listed in the nutrition tracker, I enter that nutrition info. as a custom food so I can go by that serving size and nutritional content. I actually look at my nutrition tracker daily tallies for only calories, saturated fat, protein, dietary cholesterol, fiber, and net carbs after deducting fiber. But now on my new metabolism boosting plan I must also be sure to not exceed total fat for each meal, so the nutrition tracker is helpful for that, too.

Welcome socornish!
Good going to all the ladies for finishing the week strong. Hope "The Slacker" (his words) is picking up the pace!
Wow Mern, if I ate that for dinner I would have to sleep alone!!

Had a good morning with my friend.
Jenn

thanks for the welcome
 

Thanks for the welcome. I hope the poster will motivate me to stay on track: IT's called "Positive Choices I can Make today that Make Positive Change Tomorrow" because "Fitness Goals" just never has worked for me! Click on the title to see the poster. There is also a quote by Jillian Michaels that I liked. I walked 30 minutes this morning and it's my first exercise in 2 weeks. I had a cardiac procedure Friday 1/11 and was just cleared for walking yesterday. I felt a little tired and weak afterwards but I'm glad I just went out and did it. doc says I can start back running in 2 weeks and to build up slowly.

Limarose, I could get to your poster by your prior post that had the link in blue for click HERE which was for http://flickr.com/gp/28169399@N07/B0h53z , but in your last post the link for your poster came up on Flicker that it was a private photo until I signed up for a flicker account. Maybe I did something wrong...but I see it now via either link. Kudos on your walk, especially in view of just having a cardiac procedure on the 11th! Best wishes on your speedy total recovery. :)

Jenn, why would you have to sleep alone after eating my dinner? The brussels sprouts causing er, uhm, flatulence? They don't bother me if I stick to the 85g serving which is about six sprouts. I love them but my carb restriction prevents me from overindulging.

Hi all. It's Saturday evening and I just finished dinner. I had a little over 1400 calories yesterday. Little bit less so far tonight, but it is only 6:20 p.m. Not much in the way of exercise today - grandkids gifted me with their colds. Maybe tomorrow.:rolleyes:

Just checking in to let you know that I'm still alive. I finally got off my butt and tried that thing where you put one foot in front of the other in an effort to propel your body forward. I only did 4 1/2 miles, but it's a start. Tomorrow I plan of being on the bike all day, supposed to ride out to a racetrack in NOLA tomorrow. When I get back I'll knock out another 2-3 miles.

If I have some nice weather next week I'll try to knock out 10 miles.

I'll check back in tomorrow.

1.) Less than or around 1400 calories/day: M - Y, T - Y, W - Y, Th - Y, F - Y, S - Y
2.) Follow C25k program: M - Y, T - off, W - off (sort of - I'm reorganizing my workout routine, but I did exercise!), Th - exercised, F - no exercise, S - ran
3.) Walk to car at least x4: M - Y, T - Y, W - Y, Th - Y x2, F - N, S - N/A
4.) Drink 64 oz. water/day: M - Y, T - Y, W - I think so, Th - not quite, F - not quite, S - no
5.) Figure out basal rates (pronto): good enough

I ran 4 miles today, and I'm quite pleased with myself about it :D The last mile and I were NOT friends, though. Probably due to the fact that the last mile and a half was uphill - I mean, not way uphill, but enough to take a toll!

I've been uber craving chocolate recently - ask my facebook friends, every other status is about wanting chocolate! So I bought some Dove dark chocolate today, and I'm hoping one or two at night will stave off the cravings.

Mern - you're always so encouraging! Thank you. I hope your new plan is working alright.

Caty, well done on your calories through 6:20PM Saturday. Did you have enough leeway for a sensible snack before bed? Aw, sorry 'bout your cold. Wishing you and your grandkids a speedy recovery. How old are your grandkids? We have 7 (3 boys and 4 girls) ranging from 27 down to age 8.

Mike, 4 1/2 miles is something to crow about! Way to go! Enjoy the biking tomorrow.

Joanna, great report! OMG, that last mile and a half uphill sounds torturous--even if it wasn't WAY uphill. My hat is off to you! Enjoy the Dove. I've never had it, but have heard it's delicious. I eat Bakers Unsweetened Baking Chocolate when I crave chocolate if I don't have any Hershey's Sugar Free Special Dark. I've also been known to just wet down Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder--crazy, I know, but it's the chocolate I crave--it doesn't have to be sweet. Well, thank you for YOUR encouragement. :) I'm not supposed to weigh until I've completed 21 days of the metabolism makeover, but I couldn't resist--weighed this morning and found I'm down 2 1/2 lbs. in two days, so I feel quite encouraged.

Argh!!!
 

Hello all, I screwed up my weekly weigh-in and I'm wondering what I should do. I forgot to weight in today before I got dressed (jeans, shoes, shirt and a bowl of cereal). The scale still said I lost two pounds but I'm wondering if I should take some off for all the crap I had on or just leave it at two pounds? I can't believe I forgot to do it this morning!! Gerrr to myself . . . PLEASE . . . any thoughts?

Sarah709

Food diary--yes!
Exercise daily--no
staying within daily calories--yes
changing behaviors--YES--I didn't order badly today when eating out.
Water--didn't come close--need to do better!!
Post Daily--yes
Weigh Date--Friday--MISSED THAT ONE THIS WEEK!

Sarah, personally when I forget to weigh I just weigh myself the next day. But you could deduct maybe half a pound. You only have to be accountable to yourself, so do what makes YOU feel comfortable. Big skinny hug to ya!

P.S. Kudos on the loss the scale DID show you. Way to go! :)

Sarah, another thought--you could weigh your clothes, a bowl of dry cereal, and water to account for the milk on your cereal--and deduct that from this morning's scale number.

No excuses--just an analysis. Long story short, I did well eating until after dinner when I found I made an error in pre-logging some meat. The mistake caused me to not plan for enough calories for the day. But then later I also didn't feel like having the protein shake I had logged for an evening snack. So I ate some cheese and a turkey burger patty because I wanted them and was tired of trying to juggle the numbers and portions to make my day's achievement look good. Even with the burger patty and cheese I just barely made my 1200 minimum calories target. Tomorrow is a new day and I will do better.

Day 3 of 21 Day Metabolism Makeover

Follow plan guidelines for meal/snack content and spacing, calories, fat, etc. YES, YES, NO
Calorie minimum 1200 1401, 1355, 1205
Sat fat limit 10% of total calories 10%, 10% again, 20%
Net carb limit 25g 24g. 25g, 23g
Fiber minimum 25g 36g, 34g, 18g
Dietary cholesterol under 250mg per day 205mg, 242mg, 264mg
Protein 120g 145g, 158g, 110g
Water 64 oz. (I can't do the plan's 96 oz.) YES, YES, YES
Exercise 5 days (I won't do plan's 6 days) DAY OFF, NO, YES

I think I could join the circus, qualifying as a juggler. LOL It took me about half an hour to plan my day's menu to meet my new food guidelines with the portions of foods I want to eat today.

Here's today's menu:

Breakfast: Southwestern Egg Beaters omelet stuffed with raw yellow squash and Picante Sauce. (That was yummy--I may have it for tomorrow's breakfast, too. I find the Southwestern Egg Beaters a little spicy, but could tame them down using half of that and half regular egg substitute, if desired.)

Snack: low carb protein shake

Lunch: Turkey burger wrap with spinach and green peppers

Snack: another low carb protein shake

Dinner: baked, skinless chicken breast, black soybeans mashed with spices, brussels sprouts, cucumbers

Evening snack: Carb Masters Dairy Blend (like yogurt but with fewer carbs) with flaxmeal.

Wow, it's L-O-N-E-L-Y in here!

Hope, where'd you go?

I'm hanging in here OK today--on track with everything. Baking chicken breasts for dinner and the house smells so yummy! :)

Tomorrow I'll have the grandkids all day for Martin Luther King Day, so I likely won't get online much, but I'm promising now to stay on track and exercise.

Congrats to all who are doing well and huge hugs to you who are struggling.

Kind of a lazy day today. Did my physical therapy exercises, went to Target and read a little bit. Yesterday I ended up with less that 1500 calories. My cold feels better today. Also decided to add some supplements: potassium, magnesium and niacin. Didn't know about the side effects of niacin - I was pink for about 20 minutes. Did some research and studies showed niacin helps with arthritis and insomnia. I'll give it a try to see if it helps.

Mern, my 2 granddaughters are 4 and 1 (17 months). I see them every Wednesday - I pick them up from daycare as my daughter works until 6:30 p.m. I'll see them again on Saturday for the 4 year-olds' birthday party.:D

Caty, sounds like a nice day with the exercise, shopping and reading. I had a lazy day, too--just a wee bit of cleaning and then surfing the Internet for help on my new way of eating while I await a book I ordered. I take fish oil and red yeast rice on my doctor's recommendation to help manage high cholesterol and triglycerides with diet and no meds. What are your supplements for? And do you like being pink? ;) Is that a normal side effect?

Aw, what great ages for grandkids--4 and 17 months. :) Enjoy the party Saturday!

Do you have siblings? I find it just delightful talking to my brother and sister, who are also grandparents, about things all our grandkids say and do. Sharing grandparenthood is really fun and has brought us closer together in our senior years.

I can log in! I can log in!

I'm here! Glad you are too, Cassie! I've had an incredibly lazy day. Kinda bored actually. Having trouble staving off bored eating. Otherwise, everything is good. Have tomorrow off, so probably more laziness.

Hi Everyone

Thanks Mern for holding down the ship by yourself pretty much all weekend.

I had my first green smoothie today. It was easy to log the ingredients.

I also went snow shoeing, which has become a Sunday routine. 60 minutes. As timed by my nieghbour I go with who uses a timer and keeps us on track.

Glad to see you getting back on Cassie. I have continued to have no problem logging in. Don't know why.

Mern, I have been reading and enjoying your posts even though I had nothing to say today. And I agree. Big hugs to anybody struggling right now.

Caty I think you came to the right place to get support for your journey.

Joanna. I am very envious of your progress running and it is motivating me. I run very slow and so I need to speed up. Went to a Zombie Run back in November, that was all sprinting. It was really fun. 5 k being chased by zombies. There is a monthly "Blood Monitor" fundraising 5 k. I went to the first one but have not gone back. I need to go. Thank you.

Robin

I'm sorry. I'll try to be more supportive next week.

Weekend
 

• Cholesterol < 250 mg/day: 144, 35, 117, 0, 132, 284, 128
• Lift weights @ gym > 30 mins: Y
• Exercise @ Home > 30 mins x 2: Y(50 mins), Y(30 m.)
• Eat Vegetables > 3 servings/day: N, Y, Y, N, Y, Y, N
• Protein > 50 g / day: 39, 46, 81, 48, 59, 120, 75
• Total Calories < 1750 / day: 1206, 1550, 1888, 1725, 1610, 1991, 1724
• Less Sugar intake (subjective): N, ~, Y, ~, ~, N, Y
• Be less obsessive (subjective): ~, Y, Y, Y, Y, N, Y

Not too bad, overall.

Day 4 of 21 Day Metabolism Makeover
Sunday

Follow plan guidelines for meal/snack content and spacing, calories, fat, etc. YES, YES, NO, YES
Calorie minimum 1200 1401, 1355, 1205, 1207
Sat fat limit 10% of total calories 10%, 10% again, 20%, 7%
Net carb limit 25g 24g. 25g, 23g, 21g
Fiber minimum 25g 36g, 34g,51g 31g
Dietary cholesterol under 250mg per day 205mg, 242mg, 264mg
Protein 120g 145g, 158g, 110g, 148mg
Water 64 oz. (I can't do the plan's 96 oz.) YES, YES, YES, YES
Exercise 5 days (I won't do plan's 6 days) DAY OFF, NO, YES, DAY OFF

Hi guys!! I'm back, tail between my legs. Missed you guys!!!! Are we continuing on this thread or....?

I've been on vaca and though I have tried to plan... well let's jsut say curry conch will NOT be on my menu LOL and will try to avoid the rice and beans too.

My goals starting 1/21:
1) Plan meals
2) stick to polan as much as possible
3) write as much as possible
5) stretch
6) meditate


Plan:
scrambled eggs and sf wheat bread fresh from bakery down road (still on vaca)
chicken and salad
fish and veg
Snacks: nuts
fruits

Hope, hi! I just now put up a new one.

Finished Sunday just shy of 1500 calories. Tomorrow will be weigh in day. My goals this week are to stay within 1500 each day, drink 64 ozs water, and exercise daily.

Mern, I noticed your weight loss! Great job! I have 6 siblings (2 brothers and 4 sisters). Only the 2 brothers have grandkids. My older brother has 9 grandkids, but they all live in Florida. My younger brother, who lives in the Chicago area near me has 2 little boys, about the same ages as my granddaughters. It's fun to compare the differences between the boys and girls.

Good luck everyone and have a great week!