01gt4.6

1) Lose 2 pounds
2) Eat better (more fruits and veggies, less junk)
3) Lift 3 times
4) walk 10 miles
5) Drink more water

Mern

Hope, "demented scale" I'm so sorry you have to restrict your cheese due to allergies. Today I erred in choosing both 1/2 ounce fatty cheese on my chef salad for lunch and having a 21g stick of protein category cheese as a snack. It was a good lesson for me to learn on my first day on this program. With having eaten both cheeses, my sat fat today will be at 12%. Had I not eaten the fatty cheese, I'd have made my goal of 10% saturated fat. Ah, I GET it now. And I think it's an adjustment I can make without much difficulty. I sought out a new eating plan to learn some new tweaks to try to help speed up my metabolism, and the cheese guidelines may prove to be quite a beneficial one.

Jenn, thanks for telling me what normal is for you for triglycerides and A1C. We measure our triglycerides differently. Normal is 150 or less and my last test was a whopping 272, down from my highest of 286. A1C normal here is 4-6% mine has been between 5.6 and 5.9% since May of 2011. My doc is a little leary of all the protein I eat, but my blood protein and any tests that would point to possible kidney problems are always normal. Doc gave me her reluctant blessing to proceed at 120g protein per day until my next blood tests in March, but I'll compromise and see if I can drop it down to 100g on my new plan (which has unlimited protein) and still lose weight.

Ama, happy Monday to you, too. Keep in mind that being up a few pounds doesn't mean it's all fat weight gain--could also partially be water retention and scale fluctuations. And yes, YOU'VE GOT THIS, too. Now might be a good time for you to start with unseasoned canned tomato sauce and add your own herbs and spices--I'll bet it wouldn't be 14. UGH, I cannot go black coffee--more power to ya. Ooh, I should look at my brand of smart butter. Thanks for bringing that up. Smoothies are yummy--I'm so glad Donna shared her ideas with us.

Aw, Mike, so sorry about Choe's pain. It really sucks big time when our pets develop arthritis or any other health issues. LOL on your reply about where your head has been. But there ya go! Nice simple goals for attacking your scale numbers.

cjohnson728

Yep, I'm looking forward to trying a smoothie soon, too. I just need to get past the cold-drink-cold-weather hurdle. Maybe later in the week.

Mike, sorry about your Chloe' girl . There are some folks who live near us who had an elderly dog with a lot of joint pain. They did get some medication for her and it helped quite a bit. I hope you can find something to help her.

But that's not an excuse...keep walking . Now you have to enjoy it for BOTH of you.

Ama, I hear you on the ingredient thing. Was it the pasta or the sauce that was the problem? I have a lot of recipes I like for sauces; if you want some, give a holler. My hubby's Italian, so it's always been homemade sauce in our house. He refers to Ragu as "raw goo." And the Smart Balance butter is one of my conundrums as well. I waver between the artificiality of margarine and the heavy calorie/fat load of butter. Right now I'm using something that is a butter-olive oil blend; not calorie friendly, but I don't use it much. Same for sugar vs. sweeteners. I don't know that there's a answer; it's just personal choice.

Thanks, Hope .

Glad you all are here today. Wish some of our long losts would pop back in!

dmartz

Mern, I should follow your lead and do egg white omelets, but I know I'll never cook breakfast on a weekday. It just won't happen, so that's out. I used to cook up a nest of boiled eggs and eat one or two on the mornings when I was in a hurry. With a couple of dashes of hot sauce to get the motor running. Now, one whole egg is my whole cholesterol limit for the day. & I might have a problem boiling a half dozen egg whites, so I think that's out. I'll have to try Fiber One. And goat milk yogurt.

Jenn, My Mom used to eat Shredded Wheat all the time and I would make fun of her, but even though it looks unappetizing to me, I can get over that. Humility, is not my strong suit, but I could perhaps add a side of crow.

Cassie, I switched to all natural peanut butter, so peanut butter and bananas are definitely a possibility. High fiber english muffins sound good, too. I eat a lot of almond for snacks, but think something more substantial for breakfast will keep me sated longer. BTW, I love the jpg you posted.
Oh, & instead of butter I've been using peanut oil, or peanut/olive mix. Once in a blue moon I'll throw in some butter to get things browner, but just a pat. Peanut oil is a tad expensive but not as much as real butter.

Tori, I haven't tried cottage cheese in ages! I'll have to consider that. Since my main goal is lower cholesterol I've tried to swear off cheese or all kinds, but cottage cheese may work.

Ama, I'm with you on 'nothing that has more than 5 ingredients listed on the package' rule. Excellent advice. And smoothies, with low sugar yogurt and cud, um, I mean kale. That's what I should eat, smoothies with greek yogurt and green vegetables!

Hope, You Rock. Don't let that doc try to intimidate you. You Got That.

- Donna

ToriD1012

I'm gonna go with my old way of setting my goals, separate goals for fitness and home....here goes nuthin...

Health/Fitness

1--Under 1800 calories--Higher than I was previously doing, but I've come to the conclusion that it's just going to take longer to get these last 20-30 pounds off. I've just got to step up my exercise. Speaking of which.....
2--EXERCISE!!!--I haven't been doing this in months. No wonder I've stalled, then started to slowly gain a little back. I've tried the treadmill....I just can't force myself to walk on it. It's so freaking boring....and yes, I've tried watching tv, listening to an audio book, it's BORING!!!! I'm gonna have to break out some of my old DVDs and warm them back up. I'm shooting for 3 nights this week.
3--Water--my nemesis.......


Home/Life

1--See The Jassi Cat no fewer than 4 times this week--Going between the two different households is starting to wear on me, but I can't take it out on her by not going by.
2--Organize the cabinets--My OCD is really starting to rear it's ugly head, and the cabinets are driving me batty!!!
3--Start working on the pillowcases--I've had an embroidery pattern for weeks, haven't done anything with it.

That's it. Not too too hard. I'm hoping I can keep up with it this week. WHN learned that his triglycerides were high, so he needs to start watching what he eats too. It's hard during the week, because we work different shifts we normally fix quick meals. And we all know "quick" doesn't always equal "healthy". Life is going good though. His sister has officially moved back in with her husband. She turned over her key yesterday. His niece moved to her dad's a couple of months ago, so it's just the two of us now. We've been looking at houses, and he's going to go see about getting preapproved for a home loan pretty soon. He's realized that, while the rent is awesome here, the landlord is lazy and at the end of the day (Sorry Bubba) we have nothing to call our own. We want to own...it's what makes sense. Okay, I'm off to do the dishes. We need to find a house with a dishwasher..........

Mern

Donna, have you tried the zero cholesterol egg substitute like Egg Beaters? I mostly use the store brands, though, because they're cheaper. Giving up shell eggs was one of the keys to getting my cholesterol down to normal. Sometimes I use half regular egg substitute and half egg white substitute for my omelets. I tried to make a deviled egg a couple weeks ago with egg substitute, but it didn't work. I was hoping to be able to somehow cook the white in the shape of half a boiled egg, but I couldn't do it. For my tuna salad, I cook the regular yellow egg substitute in a shallow bowl, allow it to cool, and then dice it to add to the tuna salad. DH said it tasted just like regular egg in the tuna salad. Does to me, too. There are recipes for make-ahead omelets that you bake in a muffin tin, store in the fridge and then reheat the next few days in the microwave. I haven't made any for a long time, but I'm sure they'd work the same with egg substitute.

Tori, kudos on setting some goals and your willingness to get back to exercise. I haven't been getting to the Y lately and have been doing exercise to DVDs. I need to get some new ones to add some variety. I haven't done embroidery since I was a young teenager. Funny you mentioned that because not more than half an hour ago my little sis and I were reminiscing about one of the elderly neighbors (when we were children) teaching us how to do it. Best wishes with your eating lifestyles and living arrangements.

Robingen

Hi Everyone, just getting on now and I am sick so I won't be exercising for a few days other than some gentle yoga. My stomach is fine so I am sticking with the same menus. I eat Fiber One or Shredded Wheat for breakfast. Although last week a couple of days I had green smoothies. If I am rushed I eat a banana on the go.

Joanna congrats on your loss really. 1.8 is an admirable loss for one week. I think that means that officially you are off plateau?

Hope best to you at the Dr. tomorrow.

Mern

Robin, wishing you a speedy recovery!

Monday Report:

I did pretty well for my first day on my new eating plan. Went over in sat fat by the fat in 1/2 oz. cheese and by 1/2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate that I ate to satisfy a chocolate craving. Over in carbs by the 2g in the baking chocolate.


Calorie range 1200-1800 1404
Follow 21 Day Mindset Makeover guidelines for meal and snack content and spacing, calories, fat, etc. with my health management tweaks. B+
Saturated fat 10% or less of total calories 14%
Cholesterol 250mg or less 155mg
Protein minimum 100g (plan is has unlimited protein) 110g
Net carb limit average 25g (total carbs less fiber) 27g
Dietary fiber minimum 25g 40g
Water 64 oz. YES
Snack 30-40 minutes before workout and meal or snack within an hour after exercise YES
Exercise 5 days YES

canary52

Donna, Robin, everyone thanks. Little nerovus but I got this, right?

Ama, love the no packaged food, limited ingredients goal. Love it. I know it's hard.

Exhuasted, can't read posts. Big day tomorrow, class trying to work out this piece and be done.

Tawk soon, Hope

canary52

Goals:
1) plan meals (seems to be working) - yes
2) stick to plan or reasonable substitutes - ish
3) water, gotta do it, 6 glasses c'mon - yup
4) stretch -yes
5) meditate (also working) -yes
6) practice Spanish - no
7) write 5 days this week - yes breakthrough!!!
8) do not get discouraged (health, writing, family, etc.)- trying