What's On Your Mind Today?
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Winner_in_Life wrote: »jamcnewman wrote: »
He is really a very good looking Guy ☺️
Ahhhh thanks Svetlana 🌷He was a muddy disaster this morning after digging up my garden. Today he was at the groomer and his fur feels like velvet. He is a character. 🥰@Winner_in_Life2 -
I am planning a 5 day trip away with my family in 1 week, to NYC. Our plan is to do a lot of touristy sightseeing as well as seeing family. And we will be eating mostly takeout food. I need a plan for how this won't derail my weight loss entirely. But I also don't want to spend as much energy as I usually spend on weight loss when I am on vacation - I need to spend that energy on managing my kids (10 and 6) and myself to have a good time (my wife will be there too but mostly manages herself
).
I am reflecting on things I can/might do today. Please tell me if you have any ideas or similar experiences.
This is the most vacationey-vacation I have had - well, probably since having kids. So kind of a new thing.
Here are the ideas:
- Work out a schedule where I get to do MommaStrong a few days and stretch every day. I think that will keep my body feeling so much better. And I will be doing plenty of walking built into the day, so that's good.
- We will be eating breakfast at our home away from home, and I will eat my standard breakfast except with half a whole wheat bagel instead of my usual toast
- When we eat lunch out, I will try to make the healthiest choices I can from the menu. I will sometimes order appetizers instead of main course. I will not hesitate to waste food as necessary (I hate having leftovers when I can't bring them home and we'll be out for many hours after lunch and can't carry the leftovers around - but I will get over that). Once those decisions are made I will enjoy my lunch and not worry about the calories.
- We will be getting lots of junky snacks with the kids - part of keeping them happy and experiencing NYC. I will sometimes eat a small something if I feel it is really worthwhile. I will also keep some nuts and an apple in my bag so if I am hungry but don't really really want the junky snack I have another option.
- We will be eating takeout dinners at our home away from home, and I will supplement with frozen cauliflower and frozen broccoli, as well as get some takeout that has a lot of good veggies and protein early on and eat that to supplement the worse takeout (and only eat a small amount of that) (i.e. pizza).
- When I hang out with my parents after the kids' bedtime while they have their dinner, I will not eat a second dinner. I will have my usual bedtime snack of some milk and/or decaf tea and a small cookie.2 -
@jamcnewman LOVE the tie!! I feel your garden pain my 2 keep trying to get to the mud patch in the yard where there is a little snow left!1
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@MadisonMolly2017 hi I have an iPhone the free version of mfp and have not had too much trouble with this change of platform. When you enter on your phone for foods there are choices at the top if you have the upc hit scan if not type it in the box what the food is. I still use it in the grocery store to check out some items. Good luck you will get it.
I don’t ever use our Mac for my entries on occasion I use my iPad but it’s all on my iphone and I don’t use the premium version this one has all I need and sometimes the ads are funny.2 -
I have just determined that the house I was staying in for the last 2 weeks of March is not only 3 x larger in square footage than my own home (and as I mentioned ... with 10 foot ceilings and correspondingly taller staircase). It also stands about 50 or 60 meters ( nearly 200 feet ?) above the river valley that the town grew around - where the High Street is located.
No WONDERS the "flight of stairs" daily count was soooo high during that trip - between getting around the house and at least one (sometimes 2) trips down to the town's High Street area most days! 👣👣👣👣👣👣👣6 -
UAC friends that have MFP Premium - what vitamins can you track with the premium version? I'm specifically looking to track magnesium and Omega3s. Have you found it's really worth the upgrade?
Hi, what you have to remember is that the same database is used for both versions so if you can't track it in the free version it won't be any better in the premium version.
Also, tracking these vitamins and minerals depends on the information being available on the product labels. For instance I track calcium but it is not mandatory on labels and lots of items such as cheese and yogurt that I know contain calcium do not have it on the label.
You may have to create an awful lot of foods from scratch using the USDA database if you want to track vitamins and minerals - and I don't think Omega3 is an available data point in the database.2 -
@Caroline_slowandsteady -so I live an hour outside of nyc so we go in a couple times a year (sorry not sure where you are located so you might know this ). There are a lot of little delis and small food places where you could probably get a salad or something close to what you usually eat. There are street vendors with nuts, gyros, hot dogs but lots of options and most of the big chains (bk, McDonald’s, Wendy, Dunkin)1
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snowshoe072 wrote: »@MadisonMolly2017 hi I have an iPhone the free version of mfp and have not had too much trouble with this change of platform. When you enter on your phone for foods there are choices at the top if you have the upc hit scan if not type it in the box what the food is. I still use it in the grocery store to check out some items. Good luck you will get it.
I don’t ever use our Mac for my entries on occasion I use my iPad but it’s all on my iphone and I don’t use the premium version this one has all I need and sometimes the ads are funny.
Thank you @snowshoe0720 -
Feeling rather pumped - have been on plan now for 3 days, today being day 4 - and when I stay true to my food plan I feel better and I lose - and it looks like when I officially weigh in on Tuesday that I will be down at least 1.2 pounds which is what my weekly goal is9
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Caroline_slowandsteady wrote: »I am planning a 5 day trip away with my family in 1 week, to NYC. Our plan is to do a lot of touristy sightseeing as well as seeing family. And we will be eating mostly takeout food. I need a plan for how this won't derail my weight loss entirely. But I also don't want to spend as much energy as I usually spend on weight loss when I am on vacation - I need to spend that energy on managing my kids (10 and 6) and myself to have a good time (my wife will be there too but mostly manages herself ).
I am reflecting on things I can/might do today. Please tell me if you have any ideas or similar experiences.
This is the most vacationey-vacation I have had - well, probably since having kids. So kind of a new thing.
Here are the ideas:
- Work out a schedule where I get to do MommaStrong a few days and stretch every day. I think that will keep my body feeling so much better. And I will be doing plenty of walking built into the day, so that's good.
- We will be eating breakfast at our home away from home, and I will eat my standard breakfast except with half a whole wheat bagel instead of my usual toast
- When we eat lunch out, I will try to make the healthiest choices I can from the menu. I will sometimes order appetizers instead of main course. I will not hesitate to waste food as necessary (I hate having leftovers when I can't bring them home and we'll be out for many hours after lunch and can't carry the leftovers around - but I will get over that). Once those decisions are made I will enjoy my lunch and not worry about the calories.
- We will be getting lots of junky snacks with the kids - part of keeping them happy and experiencing NYC. I will sometimes eat a small something if I feel it is really worthwhile. I will also keep some nuts and an apple in my bag so if I am hungry but don't really really want the junky snack I have another option.
- We will be eating takeout dinners at our home away from home, and I will supplement with frozen cauliflower and frozen broccoli, as well as get some takeout that has a lot of good veggies and protein early on and eat that to supplement the worse takeout (and only eat a small amount of that) (i.e. pizza).
- When I hang out with my parents after the kids' bedtime while they have their dinner, I will not eat a second dinner. I will have my usual bedtime snack of some milk and/or decaf tea and a small cookie.
Caroline - I just got back from a week in Washington D.C. (I know - not NYC ), and despite not doing any formal workouts, we walked at least 6-10 miles a day. Now that might not be possible with the kids, but it definitely helped offset the eating out calories. I also banked most of my calories for the evening meal. For breakfast I had a non-fat greek yogurt and lunch was usually a protein bar of some sort. Part of this was because we were in museums most of the day and they don't allow you to eat inside of them. Once again, may not be feasible to do this with the kids around. Last thing, I changed my goals to maintenance for the week and gave myself the grace of an extra 300 calories everyday.
I ended up taking a few pass days while we were gone, but the good news was there were a couple of days that weren't passes! Net result was I came back weighing 1/2 pound more than when I left.
It sounds like you have a great plan already in place though. I hope you and the family have a great time!!!6 -
@Caroline_slowandsteady
I agree with Marisa - her and I were on holidays at almost the same time so I have recent experience with this as well (although I don't have kids).
My biggest advice is to balance your desire to try food as part of your vacation with just trying it just for the sake of it. So like you said - decide if the treat is worth it.
I also make sure my calories are set to maintenance for vacations. Trying to lose weight out of my routine is next to impossible!
I also make sure I continue to track everything (even if I know I've gone over) so I have good data on how much I truly overate (and I'm not making it into more of a disaster than it actually was).
Have fun! The steps you'll get walking around NYC are going to be super helpful.2 -
Thanks @bookieNJ. I do know that you can get whatever food you want in NYC, and so it probably seems like worrying what I am going to eat there is absurd. The whole problem is that I will be with family and not always able to get what I want vs. what they want due to time constraints because of supervising children and trying to enjoy the rest of our vacation.
@enlightenme3 thanks for sharing your experience! That sounds like a great experience. Some of the things will not be possible because of kids, but I think overall I will be getting more exercise than usual and that will help.
@ashleycarole86 thanks for the advice. Tracking is probably good advice but I think I am going to give up on that for the time I am there. With managing the kids and trying to spend time with my parents and trying to have fun... all just too much. But you're right that I will need to remember that not everything has to be an awesome foodie experience. With the kids, probably most of the meals really won't be.0 -
@Caroline_slowandsteady -I get it! I end up splitting food or avoid fries or whatever to do the best I can. Have a great trip!2
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Just want to share the post of the lady whose blog I personally followed for a long time. She made me lough and cry so many times
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10861749/156-pound-weight-loss-and-so-much-more4 -
I am awed by the dedication of all the MOMs and caretakers in this group!3
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Thanks @Winner_in_Life! That was awesome1
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Hello All
Not keeping up here, logging or counting my cals. 5 pass days...but I’m ready to get back at it. See you tomorrow!8 -
I DO miss having the variety of so many options of routes just outside the front door, and also the aerobic push of such a large change in elevation over such a short distance. I am finding the local terrain sooooo unchallenging.2
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@BMcC9 Where did you say you were in the UK? Was it Winchester or am I misremembering that?1
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Hoping to be back in the next day or two to finish out the month. Finally feeling better after what? 2 weeks? Lots of OJ, oranges liquids, and lots of sleep. All I wanted to do is sleep. Still blowing snot/coughing up yuck, but sore throat is gone, " run over by a truck," body ache is gone.10
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Bill70sStrong wrote: »Hoping to be back in the next day or two to finish out the month. Finally feeling better after what? 2 weeks? Lots of OJ, oranges liquids, and lots of sleep. All I wanted to do is sleep. Still blowing snot/coughing up yuck, but sore throat is gone, " run over by a truck," body ache is gone.
I am glad that you are now on the mend Bill. Continue to take good care of yourself. @Bill70sStrong2 -
Does anyone follow a low-carb plan, or have you done so in the past?
I was having a look through my food diary and noticed the foods I eat are really carb-heavy. I’m going to work on reducing my carb intake but I’m just wondering if anyone eats low-carb and if so, what has your experience been with regards to weight loss and overall well-being? Any tips or advice for someone who is keen to try eating low-carb is welcome. Thanks 😊1 -
@kodakslim
I started trying low carb last Fall after finding out my blood sugars were almost at diabetic level. I had previosuly avoided trying it due to concerns about whether it would be healthy in the long term, but it has been an exceptional good experience for me. When I do eat carbs I make sure they are ¨slow carbs¨(low on the glycemic index.) My last blood work came back with all my insulin and glucose related measures in the normal range--- I am not even pre-diabetic anymore and my triglycerides and cholesterol also decreased. Most of my 50 pound weight loss has also occurred since switching to low carb in September. It has also worked great for my husband, who has lost about 40 pounds in that time frame without any tracking or dieting, just eating a little closer to what I am doing. He just avoids potatoes, refined flours, ultraprocessed seed oils, and sugars.
What we have both noticed is the lower carb we go, the less hunger is an issue. It is amazing how much easier it is to diet when you are not really hungry!
However, for health reasons I do not try to take it all the way down to keto level and am gradually experimenting with whether I can do as well adding back in a bit more legumes and complex carbs to have greater diversity of fiber/plants in my diet. The thing to watch out with low carb dieting is that you are still getting the amount of fiber and resistant starch that you need, otherwise, low carb tends to stop working because the lack of food for your gut microbiome will change your metabolism and they will also not be able to provide some of the vitamins that your gut bacteria make and you will not absorb nutrients as well. So instead of super low carb, I try to eat between 100 - 150 grams of carbs and get at least 30 (hopefully 40) grams of fiber per day-- which is usually considered a liberalized low carb diet.
Personally, what I find easiest is a liberalized low carb, keto fusion type diet, combined with time restricted eating, as described here https://parade.com/1044659/nicolepajer/dubrow-keto-fusion-diet/ The advantage of doing it is that it is very effective against hunger and has many of the positives of a keto diet, but you still can eat a lot of the things you normally might during supper and the hours that are most likely to include eating at restaurants or other social eating. The ability to eat things in the late afternoon or evening that people on strict keto diets would avoid at all times, make this much easier to stick to without feeling deprived.2 -
@kodakslim At home I tend to eat lower carb preferring protein with vegetables and/or salad. When I add grains they are small portions. In the past I ate low carb (paleo/whole30) and lost a lot of weight quickly but that restrictive a diet isn't for me. The thing is I was eating far less calories. At restaurants I eat whatever sounds good the majority of the time.
I personally don't think it matters what you eat for weight loss. Many people say they lose weight when they switch their way of eating (paleo, low fat, vegan, whatever) but I believe it is because they pay more attention to what they're putting in their mouth and cut out the more unhealthy caloric foods.4 -
Recipe Share- Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Spread. I made this recipe today and it's yummy. I put it in my oatmeal this morning. It would be yummy on apples, or on toast.
https://joybauer.com/healthy-recipes/peanutella-chocolate-pb-spread/2 -
I don't know what happened to my determination and motivation. I've had more pass days than not. This lazy girl needs to SNAP OUT OF IT and get back at what I need to do - and KNOW that I can - to preserve and improve my health and happiness. Yes, I have been lazy - it's a choice - Words of wisdom are welcome!4
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@MizSpiffy I am going to tell you the same thing that a person in another group just wrote, which I totally agreed with. Motivation wanes. You can´t rely on motivation to keep you at it. What you need to focus on are building habits. So my advice is use whatever amount of motivation you have and focus it on how you are going to build habits and systems that make the behaviors you want more automatic.
To not have many pass days, you would need a habit of exercise (most likely working on a routine that makes you not have to make a decision about it much after awhile), you would need a habit of tracking, and you would need several habits related to menu planning and food preparation. You might start by looking at why the pass days happened and what habits would have prevented them.5 -
lesdarts180 wrote: »@BMcC9 Where did you say you were in the UK? Was it Winchester or am I misremembering that?
Yes, Winchester UK (sorting out a house on the top of St Giles Hill - south-facing towards St. Catherine's Hill)0 -
Hi Knowing it’s the middle of the month and no chance at the Winner’s Circle . I still would like to take part of the challenge as I establish my food list in the next few weeks and be better prepared for May.
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Thank you @ideas2. I really appreciate your advice. Especially 'You might start by looking at why the pass days happened and what habits would have prevented them.' I know what I'm doing that's sabotaging my best intentions. Am going to work on better habits.3
