Shrinking Assets Team Chat - NOVEMBER 2021
Replies
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Marni3369
PW: 236.6
CW: 237
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Cre804
Friday
PW 194.0
CW 194.0
The last of our guests left on Tuesday and I still haven’t been to the grocery because my husband wants us to drive up to Virginia to see his sister next week. So we’re eating out of the pantry or eating out until I know for sure because I don’t want to stock up on a bunch of perishables if we are heading out of town. There are still too many snacks here. My sisters sent us a lovely box of cherry treats from Michigan and it’s been hard to ignore. But I’m trying to recommit to logging my food and drinking more water. Those two things alone will be a big help.
It’s been interesting to read about all the locations y’all have lived or visited. I grew up in Michigan (also very fair) and now live in Fort Worth, TX. My daughter lives in Houston and spent a week in Finland in October!4 -
The December Habit Tracker is up and ready for you to plan and set up for success in December. Be sure to plan which days you won't worry about, and which days you hope to stick to the straight and narrow!
Go to https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10850312/december-habit-tracker#latest
Find your team, and go for it! It is up to you to update your own progress daily.2 -
leni1us
Friday
PW 150.1
CW 151.0
Weight is slowly creeping up. I need to focus and get back on track. Trying to follow a Mediterranean diet is new to me & it is proving to be a challenge. Any tips or insights?3 -
The December Team Chat is UP! Time for new month introductions, commitments, and starting off on the right foot. Continue final weigh-ins here, and head to the new chat to get December officially started, with your new teammates - go Shape Shifters!!
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10850333/shape-shifters-team-chat-december-2021/p1?new=10 -
@leni1us - It’s difficult to make big habit changes so I can definitely understand the challenge of adopting a new diet, which could include the need to adjust grocery shopping habits, recipes, and cooking styles. Whenever I am trying to shift to a more positive habit, I rely on the tenets of positive psychology by working to replace the unwanted behavior with a new behavior and build in a positive incentive.
So, it would help to know what the specific challenges are that you face while trying to eat more foods from a Mediterranean-style diet.
Years ago, I read the popular book by Charles Duhigg: The Power of Habit. There are some fascinating examples in the book but the author tells us to pay attention to three main components of each story when changing habits: the cue (or context), routine (what we do, behavior), and the reward (incentive, what we get).
It would also be important to clearly understand your reward (e.g., please the doctor, enjoy the taste of your food, improve heart health or another indicator shown to improve through the benefits of a Mediterranean diet). Once you have a good picture of the cue/driver and the reward, it helps to select a new behavior that will likely work to replace the previous habit. For example, if I really want to enjoy my food - and I’m trying to switch to a Mediterranean diet - I’d probably start by making a list of things I already like within the diet, such as fish, white meat, vegetables and olive oil. I’d start by eating those ingredients and building the habit of selecting fish and white meat instead of red meat.
Then, I’d select one context/cue - such as a specific meal time or ingredient - which I’d use to replace an existing behavior. For example, I didn’t grow up eating a lot of legumes. I love chick peas, lentils, and food made from legumes - like hummus - but it wasn’t my habit to buy, prepare, and eat them. So, I’d pick lunch as an opportunity to add legumes to my usual meal. Maybe I can add chick peas to make a salad more filling so I don’t feel the need to eat a piece of bread, or I could replace my regular yogurt with kefir. My sister’s husband is originally from Lebanon so she has a traditional Lebanese breakfast drink to start each day. My brother-in-law incorporates a lot of fruit and nuts in place of desserts, too. He would definitely turn to fruit after a meal instead of ice cream, which is probably a good habit.
It takes some time to make this kind of change so I hope you also give yourself grace. You don’t have to eat the perfect Mediterranean diet if your goal is to replace unhealthy fats with healthier fats, etc. I trust you’ll learn what balance works for you but I thought I’d just share some of the insights, from that long ago book, in case there is some takeaway you can use. Best wishes!3 -
Let's get those last weigh-ins done! Please post by 8 am Sunday, Eastern time. Thanks!
@TheMrWobbly
@peachplace
@toriirving
@thetigers0 -
peachplace
pw 231.5
cw 229.1
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PatriceFitnessPal wrote: »@leni1us - It’s difficult to make big habit changes so I can definitely understand the challenge of adopting a new diet, which could include the need to adjust grocery shopping habits, recipes, and cooking styles. Whenever I am trying to shift to a more positive habit, I rely on the tenets of positive psychology by working to replace the unwanted behavior with a new behavior and build in a positive incentive.
So, it would help to know what the specific challenges are that you face while trying to eat more foods from a Mediterranean-style diet.
Years ago, I read the popular book by Charles Duhigg: The Power of Habit. There are some fascinating examples in the book but the author tells us to pay attention to three main components of each story when changing habits: the cue (or context), routine (what we do, behavior), and the reward (incentive, what we get).
It would also be important to clearly understand your reward (e.g., please the doctor, enjoy the taste of your food, improve heart health or another indicator shown to improve through the benefits of a Mediterranean diet). Once you have a good picture of the cue/driver and the reward, it helps to select a new behavior that will likely work to replace the previous habit. For example, if I really want to enjoy my food - and I’m trying to switch to a Mediterranean diet - I’d probably start by making a list of things I already like within the diet, such as fish, white meat, vegetables and olive oil. I’d start by eating those ingredients and building the habit of selecting fish and white meat instead of red meat.
Then, I’d select one context/cue - such as a specific meal time or ingredient - which I’d use to replace an existing behavior. For example, I didn’t grow up eating a lot of legumes. I love chick peas, lentils, and food made from legumes - like hummus - but it wasn’t my habit to buy, prepare, and eat them. So, I’d pick lunch as an opportunity to add legumes to my usual meal. Maybe I can add chick peas to make a salad more filling so I don’t feel the need to eat a piece of bread, or I could replace my regular yogurt with kefir. My sister’s husband is originally from Lebanon so she has a traditional Lebanese breakfast drink to start each day. My brother-in-law incorporates a lot of fruit and nuts in place of desserts, too. He would definitely turn to fruit after a meal instead of ice cream, which is probably a good habit.
It takes some time to make this kind of change so I hope you also give yourself grace. You don’t have to eat the perfect Mediterranean diet if your goal is to replace unhealthy fats with healthier fats, etc. I trust you’ll learn what balance works for you but I thought I’d just share some of the insights, from that long ago book, in case there is some takeaway you can use. Best wishes!
Thank you so much for the insights. I've been on a low carb diet since February. This involved red meat, cheese, fish, vegetables, bacon, butter, berries, cream, etc. After routine bloodwork, my cholesterol was super high (300). High cholesterol runs in my family so.....my low carb diet shot my cholesterol to the stratosphere. My Dr. wants me to follow a Mediterranean diet to get my cholesterol under control ( I guess it's been proven to lower cholesterol). A lot of that way of eating is counter to a low carb diet - the focus is on beans, whole grains, fruits like pears, apples and bananas. Red meat, eggs, shellfish and high fat dairy are a "no go" or very limited. I'm not trying to be perfect just continue to lose weight and manage my health.
I ordered a couple of Med cookbooks. Hopefully, they will help me.1 -
This chat thread is now closed. Go to December!
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10850333/shape-shifters-team-chat-december-2021#latest0
This discussion has been closed.