August - JUST DO IT!

Snooozie

Welcome to August Hatters!!

This month's theme is JUST DO IT!

I had an awesome weekend way at a friend's cottage on Lake Simcoe; amazing weather, great friends, sunsets on the dock and bonfires at night with our own fab guitar player for entertainment (the kids (well, 30 yr olds lol) were camping out in the back at the cottage and at night we old folks joined em around the campfire for great music and a little vino!! I'm somewhat afraid to hop on the scales tomorrow as I'm sure I drank my entire calories each day lol.. so i'm primed and ready for this month's challenge - JUST DO IT!! I'm gonna put the pic on my phone screen saver and every day... just DO IT.. something, anything whether better food choices or moving my parts, or drinking my water; every damn day just reminding myself to JUST DO IT. Seems almost like the KISS theory, eh?? lol Don't we wish it was that easy!

But it's a good time to remind ourselves WHY we are here on this site.. why we came here in the first place and to remember what we want for ourselves.... and to just DO whatever it takes to get there! Big goal, little goal, baby step, giant step.. doesn't matter what we DO, as long as every day we just do something.. whatever IT is ... that will get us closer to what we WANT.

As someone once said... (I dunno who lol)... the time will pass whether we do something or not... so we might as well make it count, right?? soooooooooooo let's....

Vailara

Welcome back! Your weekend sounds lovely.

I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do, but I'm just going to do it! Later this month I have some time off work, which should make things easier as I'll be more relaxed (no work stress, no finishing late and having to cook meals in a rush, etc.). But I know from experience that I'll probably be TOO relaxed and will want to keep treating myself because it's my holiday. I need to keep that in check.

Snooozie

Morning Vailara...

I can totally relate; I've had so much vacation this summer i'm not sure anymore how transitioning back into work is gonna go!! I normally split up my vacation thru the year so I've kinda forgotten how much harder it's gonna be when I'm back to work next week LOL..

And I also agree 100% about it not being so much about WHAT we're gonna do this month - it's just about doing SOMETHING every day!! work day, holiday day..... I really have to start realizing that it's not about just doing it when it's convenient or allowing myself to go hog wild on vacay... because (hopefully) the rest of my life is going to be filled with all those things; special occasions, work, play, etc... and I appear to be struggling with still fully "thinking" of this as an actual lifestyle.. that as long as I DO every day pay attention, then I will eventually no longer have to differentiate between "those days" - it will just come naturally to indulge occasionally and simply return to healthy at the next meal...out of pure habit. I want that to become a HABIT for me, instead of having to think as I do now.. ok ... you indulged now time to get back to good stuff".. not sure if that makes sense as I've written it.. I just kinda had a light bulb moment reading your post lol...

I did weight myself this morning, but I'm not going to change my ticker until I get back to the weight I currently have logged from when I hit my 1% in July; if that takes me the whole month so be it but until I get there I can't count the loss - it would be double dipping LOL!

So I guess my primary goal for this month's theme... it just to be able to say at the end of each day... I did SOMETHING to get me closer to my ultimate goal! Secondary will still be to get my 1% for this month!
So... here's to us...

Snooozie

Susan - I was going to move your last post over here, but didn't wanna be presumptuous lol!!


I know I posted this in last month's thread, but I think it's a great reminder for this month too.. at least for me so figured it couldn't hurt - interested as to the groups thoughts as well?

THE PROBLEM WITH CHEAT DAYS
======================

You’ve committed to eating healthy. You want to look and feel great, and you’ve stuck to your diet an entire week already. You feel good about how you’ve done and think you deserve a gold star… or that cupcake that’s calling your name (especially the one with the extra layer of frosting on top). Maybe you even think you deserve a day off—a designated “cheat day.”

But are “cheat days” a good idea? Do these special days of indulgence help you reach your health goals? Or do they set you up on a seesaw of destructive eating habits?

The Argument for Cheat Days: Rewarding Yourself

Some say that giving yourself days of indulgence is giving yourself a needed break from your diet. These cheat days are a relief valve that help you stick to healthier foods.

The philosophy behind this basically goes something like this: Healthy eating requires some willpower—willpower you’ve used to keep yourself from forbidden foods—so to reward your constraint, it helps to have one scheduled day (or meal) per week where you’re allowed to eat some of the treats you’ve been avoiding. When you give yourself a window to enjoy these off-limit foods, it’ll satisfy your cravings, replenish your depleted willpower, and, some studies suggest, even increase your production of the hunger-dampening hormone leptin while boosting metabolism.



The Argument Against Cheat Days

So cheat days sound like a good thing, right? Not so fast. The the logic behind these days has more than a few flaws, and it’s due to the psychology and physiology behind them.

The Name Is to Blame

The trouble with cheat days starts with the wording.

“The very phrase ‘cheat day’ sets up enjoying a meal as something forbidden,” says Sondra Kronberg, R.D., executive director of the Eating Disorder Treatment Collaborative. “Separating foods into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ categories encourages you to associate eating with guilt and shame.” This means that instead of enjoying everything we eat, we feel bad about ourselves when we eat something we consider “bad.”

What’s more, when we deem certain foods “bad” or “cheating,” the negative name doesn’t help us pump the breaks.

“When a food is off-limits, it can develop a specific, emotional charge,” explains Melainie Rogers, RD, a nutritionist and eating disorder specialist. “You begin obsessing over it, fantasizing about, and looking forward to that ‘indulge day’ all week. Then, when you finally have access to it, you overeat.”

On the flipside, labeling foods as “good” or “healthy” can also backfire. Science shows when we think something is healthy, we’re not concerned with portion control and thus overdo it—whether it’s a “normal” day or a “cheat” day. Yes, there can be too much of a good thing.

Along these same lines, thinking of a meal or snack as “healthy” can have a surprising affect on our hunger. Studies show merely considering items we put in our mouth as “healthy” can literally make us feel hungrier—especially if we select a “good-for-you” item out of obligation over something we’re truly hungry for.

Attack of the Calories

Folks who assume they can compensate for giving into temptations—say, by holding themselves back on all days except their cheat days—are actually less likely to reach their dietary goals. This is because they’re more likely to consume a greater number of calories, not just on their cheat day but on the days following it.

Restricting ourselves throughout the week and then slamming our bodies with sugar and fat once our cheat day rolls around, can have “a massive impact on blood sugar and insulin levels,” Rogers says. “You’ll wake up the next day craving more sugars and simple carbs, and you’ll find yourself feeling pretty ragged. And if you repeatedly increase your caloric intake above baseline, you may inadvertently end up gaining more weight over time.”

Cravings serve as a sign that your nutritional approach isn’t sound. “Most cravings come from overly restricting your food intake, using food as a drug, or over exercising,” Kronberg says.

Binging Leads to Extra Cheat Days

There’s a very fine line between a cheat day and a free-fall into food binging, especially if you’re, “white-knuckling it during those other six days of sticking out a meal plan you don’t particularly like,” says Ryan Andrews, R.D., author of Drop The Fat Act and Live Lean and coach with Precision Nutrition. Once that day of indulgence comes, it’s not about enjoying the foods you haven’t had all week. Instead, you’re approaching it out of a need to consume all you can before the day goes away. “It feeds into a feast-and-famine cycle,” Andrews says.

We can thank our biology for cheat days turning into these all-out food fests. We’re wired to chase down food when we’re caught in the feast-and-famine cycle. “People will eat beyond satiety when they’re coming from a fear of scarcity,” Rogers explains.

Binging on a cheat day also makes it challenging to confine cheat-day foods only to that designated 24-hour window. “It’s very hard for people to compartmentalize their diets,” Rogers says. “‘I’m only going to have those cookies on Saturday’ can easily spill over into ‘I’ll only have a few cookies Sunday too.'”



The Solution: Stop Restricting, Start Enjoying—in Moderation
======================================

So if cheat days don’t work, are we all better off eating whatever we want, whenever we want?

Well, not quite, says Corby K. Martin, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and food intake researcher at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. “Following a healthy diet means including a number of foods—all of which are consumed in moderation,” he says. “If weight loss is the goal, this usually means three square meals a day with planned snacks, incorporating treats but in smaller portion sizes.”

Research suggests eating a balance of foods—with none of them off-limits or labeled “bad”—is the best way to reduce the kinds of cravings that can lead to a binge.

During the first week of a new diet, most people experience an increase in hankerings for coveted foods, but when people stick to a balanced weight loss diet, the tendency to occasionally overeat actually goes down over time, Martin says.

So what does a game plan for a healthy eating with no cheat days look like? Remember these three things:

1. Listen to your appetite.
“If you want to eat spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, have it!” Andrews says. “Don’t find the low-carb version with the fat-free sauce. If you actually eat what you want, you’ll likely end up eating a more reasonable amount of it.” Eating in tune with your hunger is a principle of intuitive eating, and it’s shown to have a positive effect on both your weight and your wellbeing.

2. Enjoy treats from time to time.
Research shows (and experts agree) that sprinkling reasonably sized desserts or treats into your daily diet encourages you to find pleasure in meal time again—and that pleasure will help ensure you don’t feel the need to go overboard.

So instead of confining your treats to one single day, drop them into places throughout the week. For example, enjoy: “a cookie or a few pieces of chocolate after dinner on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,” Rogers says.

3. Savor every bite.
Once you place any item of food into your mouth, take a moment to: “taste, smell, and experience it as a whole,” Rogers says. “When you take the time to be mindful about what you’re eating, you tap into your satiety cues.”

The Takeaway

Forget about designating a cheat day to reward yourself. Denying yourself most of the week and then indulging like crazy on your one day “off,” just promotes guilt, anxiety, and shame around eating—which means you won’t likely get to the health outcome you’re looking for. Instead, make every day a great day by listening to your appetite, periodically adding in some of your favorite foods in small portions, and savoring each and every bite of everything you eat. This sustainable approach will help you think of all of your eating as enjoyable, and that’s what gets you down the road to where you want to be.

Time2LoseWeightNOW

Love the Cheat Day read. I agree I don't think a cheat day is good for me.. but an occasional treat is much better. As long as I know I have been doing everything right.

I just better Damn well DO IT!! this month. I too, have to get back to my 1% and then another, Snoozie.
Restructuring my dinners is my main objective this month.... Mostly veggies. Little to no carbs. Maybe the occasional squeeze of the little RED can of whipping cream ...Does anyone else do that? My husband says he can hear me a mile away sneaking a squeeze of it....lol ...so it's not really a sneak, is it.

OldWomanRuns

What The Hell happened to June and July???!!! August? What? Okay - well it is what it is and now I need to concentrate on the here and the now of Just Doing It!!

To Do -- Stop Drop and Roll away from the Chips -- all chips, any chips, and particularly Tostitos!! Do It!
To Do -- Stress should not automatically constitute Chocolate Cake!! Step Away -- Do It!!
To Do -- No more cheating! No more!! Those occasional cheats are adding up to Big Calories -- Do It!!
To Do -- Log it, don't care what it is - Log it! Yes, it did happen even if I don't log. Do It!!
To Do -- Water, Water, Water -- these dehydration headaches need to go away.... Do It!!
To Do -- Step on that Scale -- NOOOOOO -- Yes -- Do It!!
To Do -- Be Smarter about how I am making my body feel by pouring crap into it.... Do It!

Be Honest with myself!! Stress is going to happen. Face it head on - figure it out and get it done.

Wow -- seems like a *kitten* whooping in the making - However, they are really small items that will add up to giant rewards. I feel the most important item on that list is Honesty with myself. Quit hiding.

Time2LoseWeightNOW

Oh my!! how precious he is.. OWR Hoping he is healing more each minute. Prayers & {{{{ Hugs}}}}

Time2LoseWeightNOW

I forgot, OWR ...Love your To Do post....
We should start a Chip-aholics group . I know a few (especially Me!!) who could be members, ....lol

Time2LoseWeightNOW

With August being our ....Just
DO IT month, I changed my ticker to reflect my weight loss from August onward...the past 32 lbs are ancient history...and I need to see what I can do from this point on. I have 38 lbs to go to hit my first goal of getting under 200lbs. I have been acquainted with #200 for over 20 years. It's time to do something about it , EVERY DAMN DAY!!

Goals:
Got in my 30 minutes of bike w/ upper body exercises with a 5 lb weight.
Only ate half of my herb grilled vegetable and goat cheese, turkey wrap, leaving the other half to eat for dinner ...learned that one from a wise friend( Snoozie)
Water drinking ....in process.

Snooozie

OWR.... lmao @ the wording in your goals - LOVE IT!! just don't be hiding those bags of "that which must not be named" at my house - they're my kryptonite too!! GREAT plans - and indeed great reminder about why we are all HERE!!

I have to say I particularly liked THESE parts of your post:

1. Do it -Be Smarter about how I am making my body feel by pouring crap into it.... Do It!
(THIS one really struck a chord with me - that's what I want to remember when I am tempted by crap; WHY would I want to do that to my body?)

2. Be Honest with myself!! Stress is going to happen. Face it head on - figure it out and get it done.
(This one because I am still finding myself turning to food for comfort - not as often as before but still have to remember food is for nourishment and fuel for my body - it does NOT bring me comfort in times of stress/etc)

3. Wow -- seems like a *kitten* whooping in the making - However, they are really small items that will add up to giant rewards. I feel the most important item on that list is Honesty with myself. Quit hiding.
This one because it's become way too easy for me to pretend it's just one little thing - but end up doing that 12 times a day!!!)

Thanks for sharing - gave me some food for thought as well!

Snooozie

ARRRGHHHHHH... Gail I had a post 1/2 way done for you and LOST IT!! grrrrrrrr will try again!!

I was SO impressed when I read your post - I know we can't actually "hear" a tone in a typed post, but honestly I swear I could hear the conviction in your "voice" (ok typing) of the line "I have 38 lbs to go to hit my first goal of getting under 200lbs. I have been acquainted with #200 for over 20 years. It's time to do something about it."

Honestly I got goosebumps! Your post made me feel like YOU now believe you can do it (we already believed in you LOL)...and you've done great with increasing your exercise so much and in having made so many awesome changes.... for me, the turning point was truly when I finally started to actually believe I could lose the weight....because to be honest for years I never really deep down believed I could really do it - it was just try and try again... but I honestly don't think I ever really believed in myself before it really started happening here at MFP.. so reading your post I just wanna throw my arms around ya and hug ya and say IPOU X 10!!!!

And then I read that you've already started DOING the things that will get you where you want to be; huge congrats on the bike and weights; AND on the 1/2 and 1/2 sammich idea (thanks for th reminder for that too... to eat 1/2 then wait til I'm hungry again for the other half!) and with the water; something I struggle with too so appreciate your efforts, believe me!! WELL DONE YOU GAIL!!!!

Snooozie

one JDI down for today - walkies!

Time2LoseWeightNOW

Damn...what is up with losing posts!! I feel you, Snoozie, I just lost mine....and it was so good!! It was my fault, I was trying to add a smiley face...lol

Let's see, I was thanking you for your admiration. I will try to be worthy.

Meds are still going down without running out.. I hope the numbers are better. I ran out of test strips.

Exercise is paying off.

I can see definition in my arms and Batwings are smaller!!

Legs are still a bit jiggly when I wiggle, but there is muscle there , too..

Bum is riding a bit higher....always a good thing.

So I feel I have accomplished a good bit,
even if weight loss is sketchy...

We all know it isn't always about the number, but how you round out those numbers..

Hope you all have an awesome day!!

OldWomanRuns

5 Days in and will have to confess - flailing about like a fish out of water.... my mind says Just Do It - my tired, worn out, old body says...Naw, sitting on the couch is good. Not sure what will kick it back into gear for me.
As much as I am looking forward to flying down to NC again tomorrow to rock, walk, sing, read, feed, and rock some more that tiny little dude - this is wearing Grandma OUT! Must add to list of JDI - Sleep! Sleep as much as I can. Must go to bed earlier when I get back home. Yes, I'm whining -- sorry about that!

Time2LoseWeightNOW

QWR, You're not whining. You may need a bit "Let's just do it next month " until Little Dude gets better. He is going to need all the strength you have.

cbmcphillips

ugh... someone please yank the chocolate away and get my *kitten* out the door to the track...

enough whining... off to the track at the rec center behind my house... off the behind and out the door....don't need to watch "yes to the dress" any more... gotta get back to 180ish by 28 Aug....

damn chocolate and other junk crossing the lips....

gotta shake the hips and wiggle the *kitten* ...

TTYL
Carol

cbmcphillips

look at the note on my page... lol...:)

seehe

Good morning ladies! So sorry to have been MIA. I have been dealing with a few non serious but annoying and painful health issues including pain from an eye infection for a week in my only eye with usually good vision. It wasn't responding to antibiotics because it turns out it was a blocked tear duct which is finally unblocked-yay!!!
In the meantime I have been a slug and eating way too many carbs and sugar and now I'm feeling the effects of elevated blood sugar or something cause feel crummy overall. SO time to DO something about all this now that my eye is better!! I am leaving for Michigan Friday-yes again!- for a wedding this time, so for the next four days, borrowing your awesome format OWR if I may...I commit to:
DO it- Log my food
DO it- Stay in the green
Do it- Keep my carb and sugar intake within my goals
DO it- preplan my meals, go to the grocery store, eat at home more and out less!

OldWomanRuns

Back from the South.... Little guy is getting stronger everyday and we feel so blessed to have him home with his mommy and daddy - just wish they lived closer! Pulled night duty for them so they could finally get some rest. Glad to do it! Got home Sunday night - slept fairly well (like a dead person ) however, Monday was foggy. I did force and JDI and got on ole' Mr Treadmill since it was raining elephants and hippos outside. Walked for about 1 hour - not very fast. Felt good though! Made a much healthier supper of zoodles marinara and got all my water in for the day; also slept over 7.5 hours last night Woohoo! Well then, I guess I did get more JDI than I thought! Yay Me! On to another day and getting this all DONE!

Vailara

Welcome back, Becky! It's so good to hear the little guy is doing well. You are such a great grandma helping with the night duty! I also admire you for being able to stick an hour on the treadmill, no matter what the speed! I'm always looking for excuses to get off after 5 minutes. Sounds like you are doing great!

Susan, I'm sorry about your health issues - glad they're getting sorted out. I think minor issues can throw you off track just as much as more major ones sometimes. Have a lovely time at the wedding!

I'm still not sure what I'm just doing, but trying to just do it. I have been craving food like nothing on earth recently, and having some peri-menopausal related problems - nothing at all serious, just making life that bit harder. I'm sure you ladies know where I'm coming from. However, I can't go making excuses for myself all the way back up to morbidly obese, so trying to at the very least avoid gaining. I know my major weaknesses are wine and evening snacking, so I'm going to try to just don't do it. Or do it less often.

Snooozie

Morning Hatters -
Just a quick note; back on dayshift; bit of culture shock being back to work after so much time off lol.. missing my morning lake walks but found a nice trail only 2 blocks from home so have been stopping there on the way home for walkies; even has a little creek and a few ducks LOL.

Am working my way back into a good routine; reminding myself of JDI every time I eat something; have passed on some crap at work without too much difficulty simply because they just really weren't calorie worthy! I am choosing my not so healthy treats more carefully; I am adhering to the "why cheat days don't work" theory and just looking at choices every time... it's almost as though i'm challenging the crappy stuff to be good enough for me to want hahaha.. enjoying a bit of my dark choc and a glass of wine usually as my indulgences and moving during the day at work now; have an email reminder still that comes up every hour saying GET UP!

Not quite used to bedtime at 9 and get up at 330 again tho.... and of course I was up at 2:30am this morning cause I fell asleep on the couch early; and because i'm playing on the computer I'm still going to be running late this morning HAAAAAAAAA.. oh well... better get this butt in gear !!

Susan - glad to see you back and more glad you're feeling better!!! Welcome home OWR and so glad to hear harry is improving every day; agree with Vail huge congrats on the treadmill; I hate them with a passion so more than 30 seconds is a huge win in my opinion!! And remember a mile is still a mile no matter what speed you move at!!

Vail - I totally hear ya on the menopause stuff. lordy could we talk!! lol I had a feeding frenzy last week; it wsa like I couldn't get enough and from actual hunger, not boredom! I snacked a lot... small bits.... some laughing cow cheese on crackers saved me more than once!! hang in there and you've already won the biggest part of the battle identifying where the triggers are for you!! Well done

ok.. second backup alarm just went off.. think THAT'S my exit cue!! later taters