At Goal & Successfully Maintaining. So Why Am I Doing This All Over Again?
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For my calorie reduction in pot pie I honestly just skipped the bottom crust. Yeah it's different but it works and it's stilly tasty and I still get some good crust with each serving7
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springlering62 wrote: »@littlegreenparrot1
Speaking of chocolate and mind games. Lidl sells a fair trade dark chocolate bar that’s wrapped in some that feels like newsprint.
Fi have no stinking clue why, but because it’s not in a glossy wrapper or Mylar that’s the one chocolate I don’t obsess over and actually can limit myself to maybe the bottom row. (OCD. Symmetry is a must.)
I’ve had one in the pantry since before Thanksgiving and it utters no siren call even though it’s first class stuff.
Maybe we’re conditioned. Maybe we’re self-taught to titillated by the crinkle and excitement of shiny packaging?Maybe Hersheys, Lindt, and Cadburys have subliminal messages hidden in their shiny packaging?
There’s something to being conditioned by packaging. I had a massive problem with Coca Cola and unfortunately hate the taste of diet drinks, and my husband wasn’t willing to give up coke, so I was constantly being tempted, there was literally one in the room with me at all times due to his habit. Then he agreed to put his cans in a coozie when he was around me. Problem solved!
Re: low calorie sweet treats. I put zint brand cacao powder in everything. So much more chocolate flavor than Hershey’s. Turns my oatmeal/stewed apple breakfast into basically chocolate cobbler. Delicious in yogurt.
I’m going to have to try Skyr now, I wonder where I can get it locally!5 -
"Old Me would always try to “eat it up so I can start tomorrow”, but tomorrow never came because there was a bottomless pit of treats and tomorrows."
Oh yes...I ate it up or tried to, before the first of the year---to the tune of regaining ALL the weight it took me a year to loose, in the last 2 weeks of Dec.
Nothing to be done about that now, just got to move forward, BUT I do need to look at it and not ignore the why's and how's because I did the same the year before, just not quite so bad.
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Happy New “I Want to Lose Weight So I Must Suffer” Time of Year!
Yep, it’s that time of year when new users show up, anxious and eager to bludgeon themselves into weight loss.
You do not have to suffer to lose weight!
It’s not necessary to have a restrictive super-diet, to eat only at certain hours, to only have shakes or smoothies, to “cleanse”, to drink a gallon of water a day, to take shots of apple cider vinegar, to commit to a difficult (or expensive) new exercise regimen, to give up all your favorite foods en mass, to exercise yourself to utter exhaustion, or to cut your calories to bare survival level.
It’s. Just. Not. Necessary.
You didn’t gain it all in a month, why would you expect to lose it all in a month?
It’s so simple. Eat less than you burn.
Set a reasonable rate of loss. Learn new habits you can practice a lifetime. Temper your expectations. Be patient.
Above all, don’t punish yourself.
I wish I could hold each and every one of your hands, shepherd you all to success, and tell you this does get better, that time will pass faster than you think, and that you’ll come out the “other side” faster and feeling so much better than you can ever imagine.
Please please please, give yourself 90 days to settle in, establish some habits and see that this does work and it doesn’t have to be a miserable experience unless you choose to make it so!!!!
Sorry for the extended PSA, but welcoming newbies who are gone chasing the next, shinier balloon within a week, it’s just so sad.23 -
springlering62 wrote: »Happy New “I Want to Lose Weight So I Must Suffer” Time of Year!
Yep, it’s that time of year when new users show up, anxious and eager to bludgeon themselves into weight loss.
You do not have to suffer to lose weight!
It’s not necessary to have a restrictive super-diet, to eat only at certain hours, to only have shakes or smoothies, to “cleanse”, to drink a gallon of water a day, to take shots of apple cider vinegar, to commit to a difficult (or expensive) new exercise regimen, to give up all your favorite foods en mass, to exercise yourself to utter exhaustion, or to cut your calories to bare survival level.
It’s. Just. Not. Necessary.
You didn’t gain it all in a month, why would you expect to lose it all in a month?
It’s so simple. Eat less than you burn.
Set a reasonable rate of loss. Learn new habits you can practice a lifetime. Temper your expectations. Be patient.
Above all, don’t punish yourself.
I wish I could hold each and every one of your hands, shepherd you all to success, and tell you this does get better, that time will pass faster than you think, and that you’ll come out the “other side” faster and feeling so much better than you can ever imagine.
Please please please, give yourself 90 days to settle in, establish some habits and see that this does work and it doesn’t have to be a miserable experience unless you choose to make it so!!!!
Sorry for the extended PSA, but welcoming newbies who are gone chasing the next, shinier balloon within a week, it’s just so sad.
This would work (well) as a standalone post, just sayin'. (100% endorsed, if anyone's wondering.)
I love this thread: It's like a lively travelogue of the weight loss process. You write so well!
Please continue . . . .14 -
Great post about not blungeoning ones's weight into submission in January!
Something that I've mentioned before is that it took me three years to lose 90 pounds. During that period I spent a lot of time at the gym. Its what worked for me because I could just stop on my way home from work. No decision to be made....it's just what I did. If I didn't go to the gym, then I went to a deep water running class instead.
Here's something that I observed while at the gym in those several January's. A lot of new faces would show up for a month or two. A lot of new faces of people who I would consider to be in fairly decent shape i.e. they weren't overweight and could kick my butt on the treadmill or stairmaster. And then after a couple of months they'd disappear. Then it dawned on me what I was seeing! This is what "normal" people do.....they indulge over the holidays, eat too much, drink too much, and spend too much time shopping and socializing instead of exercising. And then they buckle down in January/February and lose the five or so pounds that they gained. What a concept!! Because this girl here, well she just let those extra five or ten pounds ride. Year after year after year till there was an extra 90 of them to lose!
I guess my point is that we are in this for the long haul so I'm definitely in agreement with the "don't make it any harder than it needs to be" philosophy. It's all about checks and balances. And even people who we perceive as "well they sure don't need to lose weight" often have a system of checks to keep their weight from getting out of hand.
For me, January is a time of reflection and re-commitment. Its not about regret and self-flagellation over things I did or ate in the past. It doesn't need to be painful. I just need to be consistent and intentional.15 -
I agree with Ann...please keep writing this, I enjoy it so much!4
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springlering62 wrote: »You do not have to suffer to lose weight!
Say it louder, for the people in the back!!
And, +1 to @AnnPT77 comment. Keep em' comin'! This thread is gold.4 -
ridiculous59 wrote: »Great post about not blungeoning ones's weight into submission in January!
Something that I've mentioned before is that it took me three years to lose 90 pounds. During that period I spent a lot of time at the gym. Its what worked for me because I could just stop on my way home from work. No decision to be made....it's just what I did. If I didn't go to the gym, then I went to a deep water running class instead.
Here's something that I observed while at the gym in those several January's. A lot of new faces would show up for a month or two. A lot of new faces of people who I would consider to be in fairly decent shape i.e. they weren't overweight and could kick my butt on the treadmill or stairmaster. And then after a couple of months they'd disappear. Then it dawned on me what I was seeing! This is what "normal" people do.....they indulge over the holidays, eat too much, drink too much, and spend too much time shopping and socializing instead of exercising. And then they buckle down in January/February and lose the five or so pounds that they gained. What a concept!! Because this girl here, well she just let those extra five or ten pounds ride. Year after year after year till there was an extra 90 of them to lose!
I guess my point is that we are in this for the long haul so I'm definitely in agreement with the "don't make it any harder than it needs to be" philosophy. It's all about checks and balances. And even people who we perceive as "well they sure don't need to lose weight" often have a system of checks to keep their weight from getting out of hand.
For me, January is a time of reflection and re-commitment. Its not about regret and self-flagellation over things I did or ate in the past. It doesn't need to be painful. I just need to be consistent and intentional.
This is a fabulous observation! Thanks for this.
It reminds me of a time (in a previous weight loss period) when my husband and I realized that all the "skinny people" at restaurants leave with food boxes. Portion control, at its finest!
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The 'gain a little, lose a little' thing has been some kind of minor revelation to me. I'm in maintenance now. So I get up to 126-126 or so, then restrict calories with a small deficit, drift down to 122-123. Rinse and repeat. Realizing it's just a cycle of life - even with calorie counting and portion control/exercise that stays consistent most of the time - has been weird but kind of awesome. Like life/activity/business/etc vary. That means my weights going to fluctuate. Which means okay, I RESPOND to those fluctuations. Not just shrug at them.14
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Hello, wonderful, diligent losers!
Greetings from the left coast, where I am visiting the adorable, perfect, blossoming and blooming first grandchild.
Unfortunately BL couldn’t join me, since 1.) a girl needs her momma after her first is born and it then spends a traumatic week in the hospital (false alarm, thank heavens) and 2.) the recently rescued High Anxiety Dog was not equipped to cope with a sitter (i.e. his reputation discouraged potential sitters although there’s been promising progress)
I am totally off-piste with the meal plan this week, and I have only gotten in one or two exercises per day while here. Am I worried? Not too much.
All told, while it feels like I’ve been stuffing my face daily, it’ll only be a net 3-4,000 calories over for the week, which roughly translates to a “true” pound. (There will be water weight from travel, salt, carbs aka In-n-Out Burger and a local delicacy called Raisin Cane’s Chicken, but water weight passes-literally- within days).
I was also told to download some app before arrival which turned out to be a task organizer. 😬
I’ve done Herculean sanding and painting, put out landscaping, fixed a few things, pressure washed, turned a sliding door into a giant chalkboard, cooked large meals so they could tuck away frozen dinners, medicated cats, run errands, so have racked up about 25,000 steps each of the past few days. Not to mention holding that little babe and rocking her. Who needs “exercise” when you’ve got a task app and a baby to spoil, right?
Looking forward to getting home and comparing meals with BL and seeing how he’s done while I’ve been gone.
I could easily stalk him via MFP, but I’m learning that that’s not my job. There’s a lengthy thread elsewhere on MFP about unwelcome comments from “friends” about food diaries, and that pretty much goes for spouses, too.
My NSV this week is my daughter handing me a bag of clothes and telling me to pick what I want. To be able to wear my petite, beautiful daughter’s things is like fantasyland. She had this gorgeous red dress with a plunging neckline and jingling belly dancer type coins, with the tags still on it. I laughed til I tried it on. Y’all, it’s like it was couture made to fit me. I am so gonna do some jingling, somewhere, sometime, soon.
I’d share a photo, but I overheard her and another new mother having a serious discussion about how anti social media they were for their new babes. The other mom was quite angry that a sister had posted a picture of the baby, and indignantly demanded she remove it. My, how times change. Suffice it to say, my grandbaby is prettier and rosier than any you’ve ever seen before. Oh, and she may only be three weeks old, but I distinctly heard her say DaDa. 😂
Very much looking forward to getting back to the world of salads, simple wraps, and lighter grilled fare, not to mention BL and the H.A.D.18 -
If you can't post a picture of the baby, a picture of you modeling that dress perhaps? I'm so curious 😁13
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How fun is that, spring? That little girl is in for a wild time with her sparkling grandma!!2
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Last spring my daughter went through a devastating (at the time) breakup and I spent two weeks helping her get settled into a new house. Between cleaning, yard work, looking after a brand new puppy, and painting, I returned home at the lowest weight I'd seen in a couple of years. Who needs a gym when we have daughters?!?! LOL
Yep, the red dress requires a photo shoot 🙂11 -
I cheated and looked at BL’s food diary to see what he’d been up to while I was gone.
He’s been eating the “protein pancakes” (our own wierd but tasty recipe) I made for him to have for breakfasts while I was gone, a pimento cheese sandwich and chips for lunch every day, and Burger King, CookOut, Chik-Fila-a every night.
OMG! Gasp, right?!!! Stop the diet plan! He’s been eating fast food!
Nope.
Even with his easy-out fast food plan, he’s still coming in reliably within his calories.
You can have fast food and still be on track to lose weight.
It’s ALL about CICO - consistency being the hobgoblin of little behinds. 😂😂😂
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I was cleaning some stuff out on my phone while I was pedaling the recumbent bike this morning and found the old notes from my very first dietician visit. This was two weeks after I’d “had it” and decided to lose 40 pounds. I was totally at sea, no concept of “good” versus “bad” foods or even how to feed myself.
I ultimately lost 97, but put five or six back on because I felt I was dangerously thin.)
If you have the opportunity to visit a dietician, DO IT. Go armed with a list of questions and put your ego on the back burner.
My original gym -which was part of a large local hospital but open to the public- offered an RD for $25/half hour. Later I discovered my health insurance offered free phone visits with one. Both were very good. Just ask questions and write the answers down!!!!
(In the USA, an RD, or registered dietician, is a degreed professional. This is totally different from a nutritionist. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. Some are good, some are simply hawking whatever product they or the gym reap commissions on. Know who you’re dealing with.)
Anyway these are those first visit notes. Interesting because I’ve incorporated many of them since then.
BTW this is the RD who sixty days later during my second visit insisted I increase my calories from 1470/day to a minimum of 1700 because even at that time I was walking a little and doing yoga two or three times a week. Four months later my new trainer demanded (she’s sooo intimidating but good!) I increase to 1900 and then 2100. I still lost at a good clip during all those increases, however my activity level ramped up considerably. Movement became joy.
10-1-2018
More proteins at breakfast
Protein powder Vega brand
Trial packets add scoop one serving to smoothie
Eat something every 3-4 hours
Tuna and vegan-aise or turkey and chicken
Blackstrap molasses can add to smoothie. Specifically blackstrap.
Less almond butter, more sunflower or pumpkin seed
Vitamin c helps absorb iron: kiwi, strawberries, bell peppers, clementine
Mini bell peppers with hummus
Chicken and bell peppers
Spinach has iron and vitamin C
Chicken has vitamin c
Red meat once a week
Venison, buffalo
Coconut water to replace electrolytes
Nuun tablets in water to replace electrolytes
My fitness pal app by under armour
20% of calories as protein target 70g a day target (*I’ve increased this to 200 per day. Yes, unusually high but recommended by both my new nutritionist and my trainer because if my activity level)
App should show iron too
More seeds
Super seed chocolate protein balls
Hemp chia sesame dates
Eat dates with protein otherwise just sugar
Yogurt
Homemade granola with a lot of seeds
Sweet potato and tuna patties
Chia and flax seed eggs
Chicken breakfast sausage
Quinoa “oatmeal”. Lemon poppyseed blueberry
Black bean chips with guacamole
Feta should be ok
Pinterest for turmeric ideas
Make a tea of it
Golden milk
Limited honey ok
Turmeric gummies
Turmeric balls
Curries
Add to smoothy or oatmeal
1 Brazil nut a day and ashwaganda for thyroid. Iodine via seafood. Salmon best.
Smoked salmon packets.
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Great notes!! I incorporate a lot of the ideas in my diet (as in, the foods that I eat every day). And some of the things are good reminders. For example, I'd forgotten all about golden milk and probably still have all the ingredients in my pantry. I love that the RD recommended MFP to you!!0
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Just scheduled a coaching session with a nutritionist based on this. Never occured to me to check insurance! Thank you for this.1
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Can I comment, endorse, expand on a few things on that list? (There are some I don't personally enjoy so don't use, but it's a great list.) Imma snip to get just the ones I want to focus on.springlering62 wrote: »Blackstrap molasses can add to smoothie. Specifically blackstrap.
That stuff is great, IMO, if someone likes the flavor and has some food that they prefer a bit sweetened. I was stunned by how much iron and potassium is in a reasonable portion, even some calcium, if one picks a good brand - yes, blackstrap, for sure. I've also found that different brands taste very different - some just kind of burnt, unpleasant; other rich and good. I put it in my oatmeal every day.
It's a fun food for teasing people who excessively demonize added sugar, too: It's a nutrient dense added sugar. 😉
Pumpkin seeds/pepitas are great on salad, IMO. I've also toasted and blended a small amount of them (or sunflower seeds) into squash/pumpkin or similar soups, too, to add richness.More seeds
A thing I make to take to potlucks, especially snack-y finger-food ones, is good pitted dates, filled with a generous teaspoonful-ish of a neufchatel/ricotta/orange extract mix (maybe some orange liqueur too, if needed to thin the mix), and topped with a toasted whole shelled almond (or two, if the dates are big).Eat dates with protein otherwise just sugar
These are reasonably nutritious, not crazy calorie dense, and other people (even those not healthy-ish eaters) seem to love them.
Costco sells avocado mash in 2-ounce tubs (90 calories). Big box, but they freeze great. I mix that with a serving of cottage cheese, and some salsa, eat with the black bean chips, for a tasty light lunch (or even snack on a higher-exercise day). 318 calories, 19g protein.Black bean chips with guacamole1 Brazil nut a day
But not lots of brazil nuts routinely. It's good to eat one for the selenium, which is exactly the reason it's not so good to eat lots of them often. There's a narrow band of tolerance for selenium, and brazil nuts are very high in it. 5 or 6 nuts per day can exceed what US National Institutes of Health suggests is the tolerable upper limit. More nuts occasionally isn't a big deal, but routinely might be dangerous.
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional/6
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