Living the Lifestyle (LTL) - Thursday, 12/01/16

leeless511

Everyone says it, but just how do you do it? How do you take the guidelines of the WW program and turn them into a lifestyle you can live every day...from now on? That is what we are here to explore. Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Newbie? Join in! Veteran? Join in! Your thoughts may be just what someone else needs to hear.

Monday --Jimb376mfp (Jim)
Tuesday -- misterhub (Greg)
Wednesday -- minimyzeme (Kim)
Thursday -- leeless511 (Lee)
Friday -- GadgetGirlIL (Regina)

Today's topic: Have you adopted planning when it comes to your weight loss and food consumption?
How much do you plan? And what don’t you plan that others suggest is a good habit, but it does not work for you.

To get your brain cells moving, some examples below:
Pre-track your day to manage your daily consumption of calories/points?
Schedule in your calendar workouts or other activities you feel lend themselves well to Living the Lifestyle?
Weekly food prep?
Set specific goals as you progress thru your journey and measure and/or document results?

If you really find one particular planning strategy effective, let us know.

leeless511

I do some planning…
I pre track the things I know I eat everyday each morning. If I know what I plan to eat I track the entire day…this is my most valuable planning.
I give myself small goals, revolving around habits I want to change typically things I want to do that week that maybe I have relaxed on recently. With the hope to continue doing them.
I occasionally chop and prep fruits or veggies for the week, but not always.
I own a 25 ounce bottle of water that I fill each morning and plan (but do not always succeed) to drink 2 each day.
I make a grocery list.

I don’t plan…
I run/walk opportunistically because my work schedule is fluid.
Not much meal planning, but my pantry and fridge are usually stocked well enough, thus no problem cooking/prepping meals on the fly.

misterhub

I try to cook healthy choices a week in advance. As such, I plan from that regard. But, honestly, that is about as far as it goes.

Rachel0778

I definitely plan. I batch cook my meals for the week on Sunday so everything is pre-made and pre-portioned. That way eating out is more inconvenient than my homecooked food. I also pre-track my day every morning so I know what to expect.

I also plan out what days I'm able to be active during the week so I can fit in my 5 workouts/week no matter what my social calendar looks like.

One thing I don't do are specific weight goals. My theory is as long as I employ my healthy habits my weight will follow. I don't want to get disappointed because my weight isn't at a certain number when my habits are solid.

myallforjcbill

Now that I have retired meal planning is one of my bigger priorities. In the past if I plan meals for the week I tend to only buy what we need rather than stocking up on stuff. It also makes it easer then to personally plan my days food. In the past I have found pre-tracking in the AM leads to more consistence success for me. It also helped me make better choices when plans were unexpectedly changed. However you will note most of this paragraph is in the past tense. My goal this month is to work on changing that.

podkey

I plan ahead reading menus before eating out. Also may plan to split entrees etc.
I don't do much "recipe food" but do cook extra protein as in skinless chicken breasts. Veggies always freshly cooked. Plan to have staples in the house to cook on the fly.

I agree that having specific weight loss rate goals doesn't work for me. Staying in the moment and in the WW style daily as routine works for me. That is not deprivation.

Planning and doing have led to a habit trail by the end of the first year and mostly there at end of 16 weeks.

I joined a WW group for how many minutes of activity daily. Something over 90' is reasonable and for sure an hour. NOT formal but includes lawn mowiing, raking, walking, biking for fun AND errands, yoga, whatever.
With the idea of daily activity minutes no pressure. No worry about motivation or the "if" as I only choose when and what to do on the fly. OK true usually walk before coffee pot.

gadgetgirlIL

My planning consists of making sure there are options for work meals in my freezer so I can just grab and go in the morning. I do bulk cooking on the weekends.

Sometimes I will pre-plan a day's worth of food if there is some reason that I feel it is going to be a tough day to navigate.

As far as activity goes, I do something nearly every day. I rarely plan for specific days but have a looser plan such as 3x swim/week, 3x weight train/week, 2-3 outdoor runs a week, etc. There is some seasonal variation as I bike ride outdoors much more in the summer, and try to get snowshoeing in during the winter, assuming we have snow (none so far here). Obviously paid-for events are planned for well in advance and I will adjust my training leading up to those accordingly.

imastar2

I plan to a certain extent in that when DW and I go grocery shopping we are always aware of what foods are WW friendly as well as healthy. We buy fresh but then freeze most of the meats and some veggies we but that are fresh frozen with no preservatives like broccoli, cauliflower, etc;. We buy fresh green beans, fresh brussell sprouts and a few other fresh vegetables that don't freeze well. WE have everything in the freezer so we plan the day before what we want to eat and take it out of the freezer. By in large most of the frozen foods are the meats like boneless chicken breast, Salmon, lean pork tenderloin and some lean beef cuts. We are definitely in a routine but this helps us keep me in check.

If we don't plan ahead I find we get off track and sometimes I go wack o with everything.

beachwoman2006

Planning has never been my strong point. BUT, I do usually know what I'll be having for dinner throughout the week so I guess in that sense I do a little pre-planning.

countcurt

The biggest planning I do nowadays is planning to have the componentry of good meal choices at home. Which means regular stocking up at the supermarket and Costco.

minimyzeme

I do very limited planning, mostly giving some general direction to my partner who does our shopping and cooking (yes, I have it easy!). We discuss menus for most nights and she makes sure we have a variety of plan-friendly stuff on-hand. I would not do well on a repetitive meal program but as long as I have options, I'm good to go.

My most meaningful planning is to keep doing this reduced food intake 'tomorrow'. Funny, it's the same starting point I used to use for when I was going to start my diet, but now I'm finally doing it.

88olds

Now I run mostly on habit. When I was in losing mode I planned every day but I thought it more in terms of storyboards. I'd take a couple of minutes and walk myself through tomorrow. Oatmeal for breakfast, Subway for lunch, snack, chicken & veggies for dinner. Snack.

Everyday's plan had a section I called "What can go wrong?"