7 Day Motivational Thread starting April 22: We Can Do This!
 

Starting us off for the week! Let's make it a great one, folks -- we can do this!

Goals for the week:

• Log everything, no exceptions (nibbles and "tastes" count!):
• At least 1500ml water per day:
• At least 15g fiber per day:
• Maintain 7-day calorie rolling average under 1550:
• Maintain 7-day sodium rolling average under 1400mg:
• No red entries on this report:
• Study every day:

Time for me to kick it up a notch (or, in the case of the sodium, kick it down a step). Starting today, I'm tracking fiber. That's going to be a difficult one for me and I anticipate a red entry or three before week's end. 15 is far lower than what I should have but I figure if I set the bar low to start, there's a better chance of making it :). I'm also lowering my sodium stat. As of today, I'm aiming for a rolling average of 1400 instead of 1500. I toyed with the idea of upping the water from 1500ml to 2000ml, given that I averaged close to 2400ml per day last week, but I think two changes in a week is enough.

Hey, has anyone experimented with different sized plates? I switched us over to smaller plates last year and everyone has been pretty happy with it. My husband and I are both of the "clean plate" generation, so smaller plates give us the satisfaction of doing a "good job". The one thing I didn't switch was bowls. That changes officially today.

I bought smaller bowls last year but never started using them. Over this past weekend, however, I use one for cereal. That 1-cup of cereal used to look so lonely in the bigger bowl (and therefore ALWAYS had to be kept company by a second cupful); in the new smaller bowl, one cup filled it to nearly overflowing. Sweet!

Anyway, let's go, everyone! Happy Monday, and Happy Earth Day for those of us in the US (I'm not sure if it's recognized in other parts of the world)!

Goals:
1) plan food (except maybe Friday)
2) stick to plan (except maybe Friday)
3) 6 glasses of water
4) lower sugar (except maybe Friday unless I find a sf dessert)
5) stretch
6) move, even small amount
7) practice Spanish
8) meditate
9) don't give up


Plan:
1 c Cheerios with almond milk
1 egg, 1 egg white with 2 slices no nitrite bacon
grilled salmon with broccoli
apple
orange
12-14 pecans
1 serving smoked salmon
2 no nitrite turkey, organic chees roll ups
1 Vitamuffins

all that comes in under 1200 calories

Epixi, thank you, thank you for starting us out!!!

Where is everyone?

Spent the day Saturday taking oldest son (16) to rent his tux & shoes and pre-order the corsage to take his friend (18) to her senior prom next Friday night. I didn't even know he had a girl he was interested in until I heard that she asked him to take her to her prom. :) ... Then it was home to watch movies and make home made pizza. Not the best of dinners. But it was well spent family time so I'm over the negative of it.

Stayed awake Sunday when hubby left for work at 6am and cleaned pretty much all day and make dinner until 5pm. Got all three bathrooms nice and clean, did about 5 loads of laundry, made the kids clean their rooms, dusted the whole house thoroughly including anything hanging on walls (we just did new flooring in the fam room and it created so much dust), washed & rehung every curtain in the house, swept all floors and the garage where we walk through the come in the house, chased the dogs over to the neighbor's house, etc. etc. Then spent the evening laying around watching tv.

Tried a new recipe for dinner last night. It was very good. 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1/2 cup greek nonfat yogurt, 1/4 cup each parmesan cheese & italian bread crumbs. Mix the yogurt & parmesan in a bowl, Spread mixture evenly on top of chicken on a baking sheet. Top with breadcrumbs. Bake at 425 about 20-25 minutes or till cooked through. Yum! Even the picky kid liked it!

Goals for this week....
1. Lots of water
2. Exercise 2 times before work
3. Exercise 2 times after work
4. Take Chloe for 1 walk (30 mins)
5. Planned foods during work & snack
6. Walk 9 miles on lunches

Life Goals...
1. Be honest (even the white lies)
2. Do something to the rest of the laundry daily
3. Wipe down kitchen cabinets

Hope...I am sorry to hear you are in so much pain lately. I wish a healing for you soon.

Slacker...

(just kidding- you did more in a day that I typically do in a week! :D)

Good morning, Hope! I'm wondering if folks are having problems logging in today. I know Fitday freaked out a bit for me this morning. I was logged in for my Food Log but as soon as I went to Forums, I wasn't. That resolved itself eventually, but later, as I was in the process of making a reply to you, it freaked out again. So, who knows -- they may all be there, champing at the bit to post and simply can't get through the gate.

Anyway, Hope, great goals for you again. I especially like Don't Give Up. Hope you're feeling better. Hey, there's a Positive Mental Image for you: Hope, you're feeling better :).

April, I love your goals. I love the oneaobut lies. Thank you for your sympathy and compassion. I start out every day ambitious, then the pain just overtakes me. I am really struggling with it here. It helps to have you guys!! I am also lucky to have friends and family but I hate to keep complaining to you all. So cute about your son and prom. The dinner sounds like it came out yummy!!!

Epixi, let us know if the plate size continues to be successful. I've heard from others that it can be. The author of a funny book on diet and health Drop Dead Healthy claims it was for him too.

I wondered about the log in too.

I love the mental image!!!

I may have to go write in bed... having trouble sitting in this chair... too painful...more later...

I'm back, after a week of slipping and sliding.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...psb7b93ce1.jpg

Monday 3/11/13 - 197.4
Monday 3/18/13 - 188.8
Monday 3/25/13 - 184.0
Monday 4/01/13 - 186.0
Monday 4/08/13 - 183.4
Monday 4/15/13 - 180.2
Monday 4/22/13 - 183.0

1) Lose 3.2 pounds (gotta get in the 170's)
2) 100+ ounces of water per day
3) post daily
4) take all vitamins daily

Hi and yes Epixi, log in problems today. I love your smaller plate idea I always thought of it but didn't try it.

April, I already went to the store and bought the ingredients to make those chicken breasts. Sounds really yummy.

Mike- I really thought you were going to make the 170's last week, at least you know exactly where you are at and why (Fitday huh- nothing like tracking).

I haven't decided on my goals yet but I think I am going to try to get to the gym for weight training. Did sun salutations yesterday and they definitely could have been better- time for some serious muscle building :)

The small plate thing does work. There have been numerous studies that have confirmed it. People feel fuller eating the same amount of food off of a small plate versus a large plate.

A similar effect: People eat less when served from small containers. If you set someone down in front of a bowl that contains 10 1-oz bags of potato chips and tell them to eat as many as they’d like, they eat less than if given 1 10-oz bag of chips.

I saw a show once where they sat people down in front of a large bowl of soup and told them to eat until full. Half the people had normal bowls of soup, and they’d eat the soup down one or two inches and quit. The other half had bowls that were being constantly replenished (soup was being pumped up from beneath the tale into the blow as they ate), so the soup level went down at a miniscule rate. That group ate about twice as much soup. It’s interesting how we rely so much n external cues to help us gauge when we’re full.

***
1. Calories under 1300:
2. An hour extra movement a day:
3. No sugar, white flour:
4. Small bites and put fork down between bites.- getting better at stretching snacks and meals out

Goals for this week....
1. Lots of water
2. Exercise 2 times before work M: no,
3. Exercise 2 times after work
4. Take Chloe for 1 walk (30 mins)
5. Planned foods during work & snack
6. Walk 9 miles on lunches M: 3miles,

Life Goals...
1. Be honest (even the white lies)
2. Do something to the rest of the laundry daily
3. Wipe down kitchen cabinets

Got 3 miles in today on lunch. My boss lives at the top of the stretch of road that I like to walk. She said she can't believe that I walk to the top of there because it is so steep. It gets easier every day though. Till I get there and back it is 1-3/4 miles so I spend the rest of my time making 5 laps around the building to get to 3miles total and usually have 3-5 minutes left in my hour.

LOL! Sunday is the day that hubby works and I don't so it is always cleaning dady. I haven't taken any time off to do spring cleaning this year and with construction still in progress it is kind of pointless so I have just been going at it hard every Sunday.

I hoped nobody would think badly of me for needing to make that a goal. Sometimes it seems like I let them sneak in to avoid confrontation.

My greek yogurt happened to be vanilla so ours had a slightly sweet taste. :)

epixi - “(nibbles and "tastes" count!)” LOL. Yep. I just logged 2 almonds. I’ve been trying to do that all along - I’m sure I forget to log a few though. I
find it very motivating sometimes. If I eat one chip and log in 14 calories, it’s not much in terms of overall calories, but it makes me see how just 9 more chips would be 140. Good for you for tracking your sodium. I’m going to start doing that at some point.

April - how fun doing the prom stuff with your son! I hope you entered all of your cleaning into your activity log. The chicken sounds delicious. But I’m all for white lies. A neighbor gave us some bran muffins. They were on the dry side, but I just thanked him and told him they were delicious and didn’t mention anything about them being dry. If someone asks how I like a new outfit they’re wearing and I think it makes them look heavy around the hips, I’m not going to say that. I’ll instead compliment them on the color of the outfit or something. I think it all depends on the situation, how well you know the person, and whether telling the truth will make a difference. For example, if I was shopping with a friend who tried on an outfit and asked how I liked it, I’d tell her I thought it made her look heavy around the hips because being honest at that point could have an impact.

Hope - Complain to us all you want. We want you to tell it like it is. I have a guided-imagery CD “A Meditation to Help Ease Pain” by Belleruth Naparstek. Check out the description on Amazon. Last year my 90-yr-old MIL was diagnosed with out of control ovarian cancer. She came to live with us for hospice care. I bought this CD for her and she liked listening to it and it seemed to help. If you’d like to try it, just PM me your address and I’d be happy to mail it to you. It's just sitting unused here.

Robin - walking, gym, yoga - you do it all!

Mike - this is going to be the week of the 70s for you.

***
1. Calories under 1300:
2. An hour extra movement a day:
3. No sugar, white flour:
4. Small bites and put fork down between bites.- getting better at stretching snacks and meals out

Yeah, I sabotaged myself last week. I actually haven't logged in a month. I was so deficient, I had no reason to log. I'm only eating apples today so I may start logging tomorrow.

Hi everyone, here I am from Sunday.

Calories - Under 1700 - Sunday Monday
Fruit & Veg - 3 or more - Sunday Monday
Exercise - 30 mins a day - Sunday Monday
Exercise - 10 sit-ups a day - Sunday Monday
Exercise - 12 minutes on the Ab Circle Pro - Sunday Monday
4 Glasses of Water - Sunday Monday
No Fizzy Pop - Sunday Monday


I am determined to look like my mind thinks I do already, maybe without the six pack :)

Hope everyone is sticking to their exercise, I have started to walk the dog, I have 4 so eventually I will be walking for 2 hours a day.

Amy

Goals:
1) plan food (except maybe Friday) - yes
2) stick to plan (except maybe Friday) -yes
3) 6 glasses of water -6
4) lower sugar (except maybe Friday unless I find a sf dessert) - yes
5) stretch -yes
6) move, even small amount -yes
7) practice Spanish -si
8) meditate - yes
9) don't give up -yes

PLan:
Ezkiel English muffin with lf swiss
ham
veg and black bean soup
small slice of sf bread
steak and broccoli stir fry
2 clementines
1/2 c blueberries
Vitamuffin

Monday, I did everything in small increments, then I went on errands for too long and could feel my back pain in my teeth. I went to a community meeting where I think my pain made me even angrier than I was over what was going on regarding dishonest practices of developers. I cancelled a visit with my friend/writing partner I planned for today because the long drive would cripple me. I am trying to listen to that little voice of reason I have and short of that, that loud cry of pain.

Who had the back pain recently? My heart- and back - go out out to you.

Wishing all well. I will stretch and take it all a little at a time. I resisted meds, even OTC ones, yesterday. I will use deep heat today. I am trying.

Goals for this week....
1. Lots of water M: yes,
2. Exercise 2 times before work M: no, T: no,
3. Exercise 2 times after work M: no,
4. Take Chloe for 1 walk (30 mins) M: no,
5. Planned foods during work & snack M: work yes but snack no,
6. Walk 9 miles on lunches M: 3miles,

Life Goals...
1. Be honest (even the white lies) M: yes,
2. Do something to the rest of the laundry daily M: yes,
3. Wipe down kitchen cabinets M: nope,

I have to clarify my honesty goal. I am not talking about the lies like someone mentioned where you don't say someone's dress makes them look wide in the hips. I am talking about the little ones that don't matter but really do matter when they are discovered because they are to the one person in the world who you should never lie to. So no matter how trivial, always be honest.

Really wanted to work out last night but I was just too tired. Up late the night before and working all day plus walking three miles on lunch just wore me out. I did take laundry out of the dryer, put another load in the dryer and one more in the washer though. Folding is another story but my goal says do something with the laundry and I did. :rolleyes:

Tori, Cassie & Mern ... Where are you girls???

Monday
 

This seems to be the right recipe:

• Workout > 150 min/wk: 55
• Calories Avg. < 1400 /day: 937
• Cholesterol < 200mg: 176
• Vegetables > 3 / day: 3
• Protein > 50 g / day: 38

Plus one:

• Do something I've never done before:

Epixi: I'm with you in the 'log everything' camp! That is the number one thing that worked for me. & I mean everything. Well, except water and mustard (calories negligible). I try to log within two hours of eating, but sometimes I don't get to it that quick. I just estimate things, but by now I estimate pretty well. I've been within an ounce whenever I weigh things to test my assumptions. I never tended to use big bowls/plates, but I do know that the bowls I use hold one cup.

Mike: This is your week to drop into the 170s! There's no excuse for not logging those apples! If nothing else, you'll know what micro nutrients you're lacking, or if you're over on sodium (but not sugar ;-). I think you should do twenty extra pushups for every day in the past week that you didn't log. (Maybe not all at once.)

April, I know how worn out you can get when cleaning up from renovation work. You had a well deserved day off, & even got in some laundry.

Amy: Doing fine on the calories. Sometimes it's good to take a day or two off from exercise. Helps your muscles recover.

Speaking of recover: Hope, wishing you a quick recovery. Almost time to get the party started!

Robin, Weren't you having back issues about a month ago? Perhaps also Mern, & maybe ... Cassie?

Back to work everyone, and ... lets see those push-ups, Mike!

- Donna

Goals for the week:

• Log everything, no exceptions (nibbles and "tastes" count!): yes
• At least 1500ml water per day: 2500
• At least 15g fiber per day: 21
• Maintain 7-day calorie rolling average under 1550: 1237
• Maintain 7-day sodium rolling average under 1400mg: 815
• No red entries on this report: Monday
• Study every day: yes

An all Blue Monday is a good start for the week. I'm especially happy with the fiber number. I looked back over the past few months; my average daily fiber a few weeks ago was a measly 7. Can you believe it? It will probably take me a while to really beef up the fiber but I'm making progress. I want to do it with all food, too, as opposed to fiber tabs. That poses a tricky compromise -- more fiber could mean more carbs and more calories. I'll have to figure out how to make them all live happily together.

I'm down 2.8.:D I have learned that apples are a natural diuretic. Yesterday I only had 5 apples and water. A lot of my bloating is gone. I started today with the breakfast of champions, a PB&J sammich!

Monday 3/11/13 - 197.4
Monday 3/18/13 - 188.8
Monday 3/25/13 - 184.0
Monday 4/01/13 - 186.0
Monday 4/08/13 - 183.4
Monday 4/15/13 - 180.2
Monday 4/22/13 - 183.0, Tues. 180.2

1) Lose 3.2 pounds (gotta get in the 170's)
2) 100+ ounces of water per day yes
3) post daily yes
4) take all vitamins daily yes

Amy - good going on the calories and no fizzy pop. After a couple of weeks of no fizzy pop, you probably won’t miss it.

epixi - congrats on your Blue Monday! Keep it going!

Hope - Unscrupulous developers....and politicians...grrrr. I still get upset thinking about something in the past. About 30 years ago, when Barbara Boxer (now US senator was my county supervisor), there was a development near us that a county engineer told me never should have been built in the first place. It was in the bay, on fill. The engineer said below the homes was like jello. The supes had allowed them to build with the proviso that they include a public park and some other amenities. They never put in the park and made the other upgrades to the area, but the supes allowed them to expand the development anyway. Money talks.
***
1. Calories under 1300: 1286
2. An hour extra movement a day: N
3. No sugar, white flour: N (ate 4 potstickers)
4. Small bites and put fork down between bites.- getting better at stretching snacks and meals out

Great job so far. My back has been really good lately. I guess al this bike riding is helping.

To be honest you'd have to say "it's not the dress... it's you" hahaha. Just Kidding.

Nah, it actually feels great to not have to log AND still lose weight. Besides, all I had was apples and water. NOTHING else. It wouldn't matter if I had 1 apple or 500, the macros wouldn't change. ;) So no pushups.:p

Goals for this week....
1. Lots of water M: yes,
2. Exercise 2 times before work M: no, T: no,
3. Exercise 2 times after work M: no,
4. Take Chloe for 1 walk (30 mins) M: no,
5. Planned foods during work & snack M: work yes but snack no,
6. Walk 9 miles on lunches M: 3miles, T: 2miles,

Life Goals...
1. Be honest (even the white lies) M: yes,
2. Do something to the rest of the laundry daily M: yes,
3. Wipe down kitchen cabinets M: nope,

It is so beautiful outside. Wearing a skirt today so stayed in the parking lot at work instead of going out on the road. Where I work there are a ton of big trucks across the road and I don't like the chance of showing the drivers more than they need to see LOL ... I was walking & texting and walking & texting and before I knew it, my time was up. I must have missed counting a lap or two but I am only logging what I counted.

Must do some exercise tonight. Or yard work that I will accept as exercise.

BTW I think one day I'm going to put myself on a PB&J sammich diet for a week. IMO it's the perfect food, you can get some good carbs from wheat bread and the PB. The PB is also loaded with healthy fats and protein, a sugar free Jelly (actually preserves, PB&P sounds funny) is a nice added touch. Four a day would put be at just over 1000 calories. I could eat six of this wonderful super-food and be around 1500 calories! This would still allow me to get 90g of protein a day, 72g of HIGH quality fat and 192g of carbs to get me through my workouts. It's a great source of Omega-6 and has more Omega-3 in 2tbsp of the PB than in 2.5 pounds of tuna. I found this out a long time ago. http://www.fitday.com/fitness/forums...html#post39364

Sounds like a plan. And you do love your PB&J's. ;) Why not eat something you love and benefit from it? At least short term.

So true! What you relate is unfortunately too typical. Years ago, a group I was in stopped an irresponsible development and got an environmental group to purchase land and build a nature preserve and museum. One of the same unscrupulous developers that was behind that plan (and others which went bankrupt) is behind this one. They submitted a proposal for senior housing, which was approved, and now are trying to push through something totally different without having to be re-reviewed, claiming there will be no change of impact, which is so untrue since the new plan is three times bigger and would be a total drain on all this community's resources. They also promise to build schools, for example, at some date in the near (but we all know non existent) future. Grrrrrr. Thing is the protest group in my town has to be patient and persisitent, not my strong suits.

Can we put out the marvelous health benefits of pizza? Please? I could do five slices a day, with veggies. Hey that would be five servings of veg right there... Protein from cheese... Fat shmat...I could do a whole wheat crust.... please?

The least you could do is make a cauliflower crust.

No, that's the most I could do... too much work. Would you eat your PB and J on cauliflower? I'll be my ww crust matches your bread.

Calories - Under 1700 - Sunday Monday Tuesday
Fruit & Veg - 3 or more - Sunday Monday Tuesday
Exercise - 30 mins a day - Sunday Monday Tuesday
Exercise - 10 sit-ups a day - Sunday Monday Tuesday
Exercise - 12 minutes on the Ab Circle Pro - Sunday Monday Tuesday
4 Glasses of Water - Sunday Monday Tuesday
No Fizzy Pop - Sunday Monday Tuesday

Walking the dog is really fun, I even let my son out of his pram to walk down the path.

Playgroup today, 30 mins walk instantly, then walk the dog and I will be upto 90 minutes walk today.

Must drink water.

I am eating around 1200 calories a day, is this sufficient for my body or do I need to eat more?

Keep up the good work, Today is measuring day.

Amy

Amyrose you are doing so great with the exercise! Only you can know if you are getting enough cals. 1200 seems to be pretty standard for women who are trying to lose weight. Are you hungry (not cravings)? Do you feel good/energetic (sounds like you do)?

Mike I love PB. I have some on toast if I have cals left in my budget. Nothing satisfies more.

Well today I am going to the gym to do weight training. It's been several months since I have been and the torn ligaments in my back are not fully healed. But now I have gotten over that crazy "work through the pain" idea I can do gentle on my back weight training. My weight loss is so slow right now I am hoping this will help. Looking forward to breaking into the 160s.

Goals for this week....
1. Lots of water M: yes, T: yes,
2. Exercise 2 times before work M: no, T: no, W: no,
3. Exercise 2 times after work M: no, T: no
4. Take Chloe for 1 walk (30 mins) M: no, T: no,
5. Planned foods during work & snack M: work yes but snack no, T: Yes,
6. Walk 9 miles on lunches M: 3miles, T: 2miles,

Life Goals...
1. Be honest (even the white lies) M: yes, T: yes(didn't want to a few times but I did),
2. Do something to the rest of the laundry daily M: yes, T: yes,
3. Wipe down kitchen cabinets M: nope, T: No

Bombing on my exercise goals this week so far. Thing is, I feel like I am losing so walking & eating right are working for me. Now to put the whole thing together. Seems lately like when I am exercising right, I eat bad. Then I eat right and don't exercise. I am really tired again this week so maybe the walking will have to be the exercise I need for the week. I will keep trying though.

Tues
 

This seems to be the right recipe:

• Workout > 150 min/wk: 55, 15
• Calories Avg. < 1400 /day: 937, 1130
• Cholesterol < 200mg: 176, 67
• Vegetables > 3 / day: 3, 5
• Protein > 50 g / day: 38, 40
• Do something I've never done before:

Well, I log every day and don't lose weight. Except for that 2.5 pounds of water weight dropped between Monday and Tuesday. (~ 2% of body weight.) Apples & PB&J doesn't sound like an especially balanced diet, but, Whatever.

You are rocking it, April! I'm often wiped out if I've worked hard over the weekend. It takes a few days to recover. And ... It's beautiful here too, folks. Going out to enjoy the weather!

- Donna

Goals:
1) plan food (except maybe Friday) - yes, yes
2) stick to plan (except maybe Friday) -yes meh but I stayed at 1260 or so, lost weight at first and then gained half a pound back. I need to not get too crazy about this stuff or I will wind up weighing myself on the mantle
3) 6 glasses of water -6 4
4) lower sugar (except maybe Friday unless I find a sf dessert) - yes ish but not low carb5) stretch -yes, yes
6) move, even small amount -yes meh back bad
7) practice Spanish -si no
8) meditate - yes no
9) don't give up -yes, yes

Plan:
Cheerios and almond milk
one egg, one egg white, bacon
steak and broccoli
clementine
banana or apple or prunes
lox
ham
100 calorie nuts
sf Vitamuffin or agave sweetened truffles

Goals for the week:

Log everything, no exceptions (nibbles and "tastes" count!): yes, yes (and goodness, it was a whopper...)
At least 1500ml water per day: 2500, 2500
At least 15g fiber per day: 21, 15 (14.8 but I'll take it as 15)
Maintain 7-day calorie rolling average under 1550: 1237, 1537 :eek:
Maintain 7-day sodium rolling average under 1400mg: 815, 1177 :eek:
No red entries on this report: Monday, Tuesday (but just barely)
Study every day: yes, yes

My report for Tuesday isn't a diet report. It's a Damage Report. You see, there was a major collision between my lips and a whole mess 'o food. To the tune of 2600+ calories for the day :eek:! Fortunately, I had insurance -- the past 7 days were safe (average = 1237), so the total impact of this one day gorgefest won't derail the entire train, as long as it's just one day (and it will be just one day).

Did I at least enjoy the gorgefest? Oh you betcha!!! It was DE-LISH-OUS! No guilt whatsoever. It was my choice, my decision, I'm quite content with it and am mentally prepared for the repercussions that may follow. I already saw a bigger scale number this morning; I assume it's sodium-related water retention, because I doubt fat can develop overnight.

So, will it be a totally blue week? Only time will tell.

Hi everyone. I have been reading the posts. Everyone is doing so well.
Me...not so much. I'm maintaining my weight (which is good) but I am slacking on exercise and fruits and veggies.
I realized I need to come back and get some motivation--which has totally left me.

Hope I am working on a couple of poems and when I feel like they are finished I will share.
I also made a HUGE dent in cleaning out spare bedroom :D

Jenn

I am looking forward to the poems. I was just thinking how I miss them.

I love that: damage report, not diet report and the "collision." Best of all? Lack of guilt!!! Yeah baby!!!