7 day motivational thread 3/4/13
 

I guess someone has to start us (y'all) off.:o

What's the saying? You build it, they will come? Lets see.

I'm in (after 6 months)

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

Thanks, Mike.

Nobe, it's really good to see you again!

My goals this week:

1. <1300 calories.
2. Exercise 5 hours for the week.
3. Balance pie chart.
4. Take vitamins and supplements.
5. Sleep enough.
6. Send an email I've been putting off.
7. Update online professional profile I've been putting off.
8. Log it all and post daily.

Nobe, blankets and comfort food in the winter sounds great to me--which makes me not want to exercise. But maybe I use that as an excuse--I don't know for sure. LOL on not counting donuts, tarts, and croissants at work--calories only reside in the home, eh? :D I'm ready for nice weather and more activity now. Best wishes on your nice goals this week.

Robin, kudos on your early morning exercise and I'll add my eek! to the big black creature in the trail.

Donna, did you get in your workout?

Mike, I'm coming out of the cornfield since you built the place for us to congregate. Thanks for starting us off.

Cassie, nice goals this week. I hope you get enough sleep this week.


My goals this week are same as always:
Calories 1200-1800 per day
Sat fat average 10% or less of daily calories
Net carbs (after deducting fiber) average 25g
Fiber average 25g
Protein average 100g or more
Dietary cholesterol under 250mg each day
Exercise 5 days
Water 64 oz.

Today's planned menu:

Brunch (had to fast before this morning's routine blood test) turkey and spinach low carb tortilla wrap, coffee with creamer

Snack: protein shake with flaxmeal

Dinner: cheeseburger and spinach chef salad with ranch dressing, flaxmeal muffin

Evening snacks: another protein shake and some chocolate almonds (unsalted almonds drizzled with a wee bit of imitation honey or butter spray and artificial sweetener and then tossed with unsweetened cocoa powder--ooh, so yummy)

Robin :eek: to animals in the woods but still nice start to the morning I will take your motivation and go walk its cloudy here but no rain. I have a dentist appointment and groceries to get so I will check in this afternoon with my goals.

Have a great day everyone.

New week, same old goals for me:
1. Calories under 1500
2. 1 hr extra movement a day
3. No white sugar, white flour

Hi Nobe. I'm also here after meeting my goal in the past - and then gaining it back (and more :( ).

Edited to add: Mern, I want to go into hibernation mode in the winter too. I always thought I should want to move more in the winter to keep warm, but it's warm weather that makes me want to move.

I'm here in the cornfield, feeling we can win

1) 8 glasses of water
2) walk or move, stop being a slug
3) plan meals
4) do not say what plan?
5) stretch
6) meditate
7) do not give up (writing, diet, health, etc.)

Thanks Mike!!! Hi Nobe!!! Morning all!!!

Plan:
sf cereal and almond milk
ham and cheese sammie (so called in honor of Mike)
or if we eat lucnh out, gumbo or something small
seafood ww pasta (made with crawfishies from Mike's boil)
Snacks
fruit
12-15 nuts
kale chips

it's a sammich. Damn yanks.:D

Darlene, hope you had a good dental visit.

Carolyn, your same old goals look great. :) Hopefully the warmer weather ahead will coax more of us out of hibernation.

Hope, LOL on being a slug in the cornfield. You have a lot of company this week getting back to exercise. WE CAN DO THIS! Your menu looks yummy.

Got in a mile of aerobic walking and have to go pick up a grandkid. Will do another mile later today.

way to go Mern!

Thanks for starting us off Mike!
Good going Mern! Fingers crossed for good bloodwork results (how was the dinner last night?)
Hope I'm working on memoir too. I've gotten away from writing too much lately though. Wrote a poem (with help from a friend) for my niece. Will probably put it in her bday card. It just sort of came to me.

Jenn

I guess I should come up with some goals

1. Exercise at least 3X for 30mins
2. 6 glasses of water
3. 4 fruits and veggies
4. Carbs 120 grams

Jenn

Daily goals!
1. Check-in to FitDay
2. 6+ Pints of water
3. Log everything
4. Take Vitamins
5. At least 100 grams protein
6. At least 4 Fruit/Veg
7. Have a 500+ calorie deficit

Weekly goals!
1. 420+ minutes of cardio/strength training
2. Record a loss (Wednesday)


Not many for now, but will be tough to achieve either way!

weightlossboo - wow! Brilliant results over the last 6 or so weeks. Whatever you’re doing, it’s working! I have no doubt you’ll make your birthday goal.

Jenn - hope your bloodwork numbers are good.

Mern - all that walking - fantastic!

Time to set some goals. I was told that I needed to make some goals for my imaginary friend, Tori. I figured while at it, I would make some for my real friend Stanley.

Me:
1) no fried foods
2) 100 oz. water
3) take all vitamins (etc)
4) write 2 policies
5) 2 RAKs
DONE 6) update my sig :(

Tori:
1) plan ahead
2) no fried foods
3) at least 4 bottles of water
4) post something nice daily
5) 2 RAKs

Stanley:
1) have fun
2) make others smile
3) try your best not to charm the ladies

ok I figure it's a time zone thing
 

I am totally clueless as to how time zones work but what I have discovered is this. I get on this forum first thing in the am and "nothing new" then I get on again at suppertime and Kerpow!! there are so many posts! So I am thinking that I must be getting up and at it while most of you are still sleeping. I think I will take the time to verify this hypothesis (maybe at 48 I should understand the time zones).

In the meantime however, I am going to add a goal for this week..I am going to exercise (walk or snowshoe) first thing in the am and post it. That way when you guys get up it will be there. (If that's what's going on). Plus my dog will love me.

My husband (dependent as he is right now with his broken leg) is quite enjoying our healthy eating kick. Given that I am working less and paying far more attention to cooking. He's liked everything so far except the flatbread pizza :(. However not long ago he was pretty much begging me for a cupcake and I gave him green tea haha. I told him the green tea would take the craving away (works for me).

This week:

1. Exercise every am and post
2. Drink green tea
3. Lotsa water
4. Cook healthy meals, try new things.

There has been some great losses on here. Weightlossboo way to go! And Mern, good walk today!

Robin I feel the same way at night I log in and everyone has posted and gone to bed lol. I am 4 hours behind you its 7:30 you have eaten and logged your actuals and its 3:30 here and I haven't even figured out what to cook tonight. I managed to walk 3.7k today it was lovely out I was aiming for 4k but I ran out of time before my dentist appt, I am unsure whether I will get a walk in tomorrow but I will do my best.

Mern Great job with your walking today.

Weightlossboo Nice scale drop that's fantastic!!

Tried my hand at kale chips (sample size) in the actifry Hope. Ok they were so-so. I didn't cook them enough and I put too much salt. A work in progress. I am looking forward to making them again. I could taste the potential :)

Imaginary? Have I been MIA that long???

Okay, so here I am. Another attempt to climb back on the wagon. We'll see how it goes.....I'll update everything tomorrow. I do know that I'm gonna tweak the goals just a smidge, but Bubba knows that already.

Nobe-I'm still here. Been off the wagon for way too long, and the scale shows it. I'm just too chicken to update my sig to prove it :o WHN (my fella) came home in mid October, and life is as close to perfect as it can be. Aside from a lazy landlord who won't fix anything or let my poor kitty (AKA the Jassimonster, the Jassi Cat, Jasmine) live with us. So I shuffle between here (WHN's) and my parents. The parentals are kind enough to let Jassi stay there until WHN and I can find a home to call our own. I usually leave home in the morning for work, go by Momma and Deddy's after work, and then back home some time around or just after supper. That's Monday-Friday. Weekends are mine and WHN's time. He also works M-F, but on an opposite shift. I work first, he works second. So we don't really see much of each other during the week. He's still asleep (usually) when I leave for work, and I'm usually asleep when he gets home. It seems to be working for now, the back and forth, just doesn't leave a lot of time for planning meals. I also have issues with not having time or space to exercise. We're currently in a single wide mobile home (Bub, that's a trailer) and the living room doesn't have a lot of room to do my DVDs and it's still too dark to walk when I get home in the evenings. I didn't mind walking at night at my parent's (or the house I was living before there) because there were street lights and my parents have about 1/3 of a mile of paved "driveway". So I made laps. Out here in the sticks...IT'S DARK!! And there are deer every fricking where. I've seen them at all hours of the day, in all seasons. They just don't care. I almost hit Bambi and his momma tonight on my way home. Anyway.....that's about the wrap up on why I've been MIA. Good to see you again!!!

Everyone, thanks for your encouragement on my walking today. :)

Mike and Stanley :p nice goals.

Jenn, best wishes on your goals this week. Dinner Sunday was great, thanks: grilled chicken, steamed broccoli, tomato & mozzarella salad, diet cola. Should get my bloodwork tomorrow. I'm crossing MY fingers, too, as I may have cheated on carbs too much, so blood sugar might be a little high. Cholesterol should be fine, though.

Hi, Boo! Wow, nice goals! Best wishes on those!

Robin, the time zone thing can be really confusing. I don't know what part of Canada you're in. I'm in Ohio, USA and Eastern Time Zone and am posting this at almost 9:00PM. What time is it where you live when it's 9:00PM here? Aw, that's sweet that your dog will appreciate your outdoor exercise in the morning. :) I love green tea but all the tea in the world wouldn't take a cupcake craving away for me. LOL Enjoy the special sharing and cooking of healthful food for your DH. I tried to make kale chips in the oven. It called for just a small bit of olive oil--like a tablespoon for the entire bunch of kale--but maybe the recipe had too much for the size of the bunch. They were good when right out of the oven, but became limp when cooled. If I had a dehydrator, I'd try that.

sammie is cuter, my redneck friend lol

Best gift, Jenn, the poem. She can keep it and save it. Relatives of mine saved a poem I wrote as a kid. I've been slacking off a bit too. Good luck with your work!!!

Tori, my bad. When I saw Mike wasn't making goals and I hadn't seen you around, I ummm might have said something to the effect of: Make goals, slacker (to Mike) and I am beinning to think Tori is your imaginary friend. SORRY!!! :(
Mike, you troublemaker!!!

Goals:
Walk 10k: M=3.7k
Calories less than 1500: M=1417
Calorie deficit of 5000: M=-712
Squats twice:

Stupid bread man at work with his treats foiled my good intentions yet again! After two big hunks of cake:

<1600 calories - 1739
>64oz water - yes
>20% protein - 17%
walk on days off - worked
weights/calisthenics on days off - worked

(I don't plan on exercise on my work days because I am walking very fast, carrying armloads of stuff for most of the day, and I figure that's good enough, and I'm tired when I get home)

I like that: I could taste the potential. I cheat. I buy them.

Fab walk!!!

Whoops! Oh well, lesson learned for next time. :p

Daily goals!
1. Check-in to FitDay M=Y
2. 6+ Pints of water M=9
3. Log everything M=Y
4. Take Vitamins M=Y
5. At least 100 grams protein M=99
6. At least 4 Fruit/Veg M=5
7. Have a 500+ calorie deficit M=1305

Weekly goals!
1. 420+ minutes of cardio/strength training M=120
2. Record a loss (Wednesday)

Almost there on the protein. Can't be too disappointed. :rolleyes:
My deficit might seem huge, but after doing 2 hours of exercise it meant I earned an extra 1030 calories. I ate 1,655 calories yesterday.

Getting such a kick out of the banter between Mike, Tori, and Hope. :D

Darlene, WONDERFUL Monday report. :)

Nobe, my day wasn't perfect yesterday, either. We'll do better today. Looks like you get PLENTY of exercise at work. That's great.

Hope, I'll look for kale chips to buy. Thanks for posting that. I mistakenly thought you dried your own. LOL

Boo, wow, your Monday report was fabulous, too. Kudos on your protein being so close to your goal. :)


Monday report:

I did not do well yesterday because I didn't log my food as the day progressed. I had to reconstruct from memory this morning and tried to err on the side of overstating what I ate, so I'm 95% sure I can give myself a green on calories as "close enough." My sat fat is outrageously red. The blue numbers mean I still could get my average in the green zone by the end of the week.

I'm going to try to get back in the habit of pre-logging the portions of my planned menu, printing it out, and hanging it on the fridge, checking it off as I eat it. I did it this morning.

Monday Report:
Calories 1200-1800 per day Close enough at 1823
Sat fat average 10% or less of daily calories 19%
Net carbs (after deducting fiber) average 25g 28g
Fiber average 25g 28g
Protein average 100g or more 108g
Dietary cholesterol under 250mg each day 256mg
Exercise 5 days YES
Water 64 oz. YES

Today's Planned Menu

Breakfast: spinach omelet with roasted red pepper sauce (I need to get out of the omelet rut)

Snack: sugar free jello and protein shake with flaxmeal

Lunch: tuna salad made with ranch dressing on a bed of fresh spinach

Snack: almonds

Dinner: cod (yeah, fish again, but I love fish) stir-fry veggies (no sauce), mashed cauliflower

Evening Snacks: Laughing Cow cream cheese rolled up in preservative free deli sliced turkey, protein shake

• Workout > 120 min/wk: 20
• Protein > 50 g / day: 68
• Vegetables > 3 / day: Y
• Calories < 1500 (M-Th): 1254
• Calories < 1800 (F, S, S):

Mern: No, I didn't get that last workout in. Missed the total by 10 minutes.
That's why I changed the goal this week to total minutes per week, instead of minutes per day on 3 days. I think 20 mins should be a minimum to make it count, though.
Good luck on your blood work! I'm really curious how it will turn out. I should probably get some done too, just to see where I'm at. I think I'll do one more week of having low cholesterol as a goal, and then take the test.

Boo: An hour a day of workout! Quite ambitious if you ask me! You say 'Not many for now,' but your daily goals are more than most, and Weekly # 1 is a biggie. Go Boo!

Mike: Thanks for the follow-through. This is a 'motivation' thread after all, so I don't abide no delusional sigs!

- Donna

Mern - How do you keep your carbs so low? Mine was 200grams yesterday, and 100 of that was sugar (mostly from fruit).

You think my exercise goal is a bit too ambitious? :o

NO, definitely not TOO ambitious! But ambitious, yes. I've done a regimen like that before. Weights M-W-F, swim T-Th., S-S: 'House'work. The results didn't stick that time.

For me, this time it's different. I'm sure it will be different for you.

- Donna

Morning walk
 

Well I did my am walk but I was a little slow getting started (got up late) and visited my neighbour before coming home. So the goal was met but not exactly how I envisioned. I walked the trek to the store today and it was the first time I tried it that no dogs ran out at me. The trip is 4.32km and it took me exactly one hour. I am definitely speeding up. Still wearing heavy winter boots, it was snowing and slushy again today.

Weightlossboo, I think your exercise is very ambitious. If you like it, if you have time, and you can maintain it good for you. Normally I am very active and the food is my problem. I've recently been inactive due to illness. I think it's great to be interested in a variety of physical activities not just for weight loss purposes.

Mern I am in Atlantic Standard Time Zone, 1 hour ahead of you.

Darlene......when you get up, go for a walk lol.

Just call him the death dealer..........like a crack dealer or something. Seriously that stuff is addictive!

Got yesterday's blood test results back already--takes only one day for them to show up in my online health management account with my doctor's network. Yesterday's tests confirmed that I have now kept my blood glucose reversed from pre-diabetes to normal without medication since August 2011. My cholesterol has now been normal since August 2012 without medication. Triglycerides have come down a lot from my record high of 286mg per deciliter of blood to 272 August of 2012, to my new record low of 227 yesterday--again without meds. :) Still a long way to go to normal of 150, but yahoo on my improvement. :D

Donna, kudos on your exercise anyway, even though you didn't get in the last workout. I like the idea of your weekly goal. My unwritten goal is 30 minutes per day, but for the record I go by exercising 5 days.

Boo, when I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes a while back but wanted to manage my blood sugar without medication, my doctor helped me learn to eat 25 grams net carbs per day, but that's after deducting grams of fiber which are carbs that don't impact blood sugar. I am not perfect all the time--I have been known to indulge in many carb fests, but for the most part:
--My grain is flaxmeal and textured soy veggie powder, and Dreamfields pasta which is touted to have "low digestible carbs." My "bread" is 5g net carb high fiber tortillas or flaxmeal muffins.
--I don't eat potatoes or starchy veggies such as corn or beans except for black soybeans which are only 1g net carbs per 1/2 cup serving.
--I eat a large variety of low carb veggies--mostly green leafy ones, plus cabbage, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli, bean sprouts.
--My fruit is pretty much limited to any kind of berries (except grapes) and any kind of melon (except watermelon). Occasionally I will indulge in half a peach. Grapes, oranges, bananas and apples are way too high in carbs for me, so I stick to melon and berries.
-- I don't drink milk but get more than enough calcium from yogurt, cheeses, sour cream and sometimes cream in my coffee
--I strive to eat low carb, sugar free treats

Robin, you exercise goddess! Kudos on your walk again today. You set such a good example for the rest of us! :) Oh, we're not that far off on the time, then. You just get moving way before the rest of us drag our sorry butts out of bed. LOL

LOL. Love it! Nice walk this morning.

Mern - great news on your blood numbers. I was eating a diet pretty much like yours (South Beach Diet) when my diabetic mother came to live with us after she had a stroke. I fed her what I was eating. A couple of months later at the check-up with her doctor, her AC1 test was in the normal range for the first time ever since diagnosed with diabetes. Mern, it's wonderful that your doctor worked with you like that. I don't think my mother was ever given guidance like that.

Wow, good results Mern!!

I got 15 mins exercise in yesterday--did the boxing exercise to help tone arms. I was over a little on carbs but didn't do too bad overall.

Went for coffee this morning and I was "a good girl" and only had coffee--no muffin or donut! YAY ME!! I have learned a lot this past year that I tend to eat out of habit or if I'm bored. I can always have a snack later but I don't HAVE to have a muffin. Now that I am losing weight a little more steadily I would like to keep the momentum.

Jenn

Carolyn, glad you had a nice walk this morning. Thanks for your congrats on my blood test. Way to go getting your Mom's A1C down with the help of South Beach! You should be really proud of that! :) It surely is a well-balanced program with delicious food. I dropped two other doctors who just wanted to put me on medication. I finally decided each of them was either not educated enough or didn't care enough to take the time to help me. My current doctor, who is a general family practitioner, sat down and went over my FitDay food logs with me to see what I was eating and we formulated my nutrition goals together. And she didn't charge me or my insurance company an extra nickel. She said she doesn't mind at all helping people who are willing to do the work to avoid completely or reduce their dosages of medication.

Jenn, thanks for your cheer, too. :) Great job on your exercise yesterday. Major kudos on going for coffee and not getting a muffin or other goodies! You deserve a gold medal for that! Looks like you know what to do and how to do it to keep your weight loss momentum going. :)

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I'm here in the cornfield, feeling we can win

1) 8 glasses of water- 6?
2) walk or move, stop being a slug- walked
3) plan meals - yes
4) do not say what plan? ate more than planned
5) stretch - yes
6) meditate - yes
7) do not give up (writing, diet, health, etc.) ok with diet, the rest meh...