Over 200 Club Losing it for the Holidays!!!(Open Group)

Momma2four

jlb, Sorry to hear about your roof, Hope it continues to have no leaks.

Jenn, what an accomplishment. You are doing your family a service by making these changes and it is really a good thing. I hope your decorations look great. Share them with us. I loved your button Christmas tree. I can only imagine that your house looks soooo cute.


lildebbie, you can have pizza you just have to make sure you have enough calories for it. We can't restrict ourselves all the time because then we will want to quit. We CAN'T quit. And We are NOT Going to quit. okay?:flowerforyou:

awestfall, glad to see that 30 on your ticker. Keep up the good work.


snowflakes, great job!!!! You are going to do it.

I am proud of my self this morning. Got up and found out I was out of cereal. Only had oatmeal and my son does NOT like oatmeal. Never has even as a baby when I introduced it to him he acted like I just tried to kill him. Made the funniest faces and cringed and cried. Anyways does NOT like it. So we were running around began to realize he needed to eat and bought him a donut from the grocery store bakery. Key word HIm and HIm only. :laugh: He told the cashier "mama can't have some" in his broken speech. So I am proud that I resisted that because I wanted it. Part of my strength is knowing I am eating out today and need the extra calories to make it.

lstpaul

momma2four: good job on resisting the doughnut!
snowflakes: you and your friends are doing great! inspirational!
lildebbie: Hang in there! I've been fighting through a few bad weeks too...
awestfall: Great job on getting back to 30 pounds lost!:drinker:
job123: that is a pain with your roof, good luck!
jennbarette: Christmas already ... yikes is fall going fast! that is great to see the lifestyle changes!
zorahope: I hope you did better than me with your planning ... I didn't get a chance to do any and it shows with my check in for yesterday.

yesterday's check-in:
calories: over ...at about 2000
exercise: none
water: good - 64 oz
proud: I made my usual bad habit mistake of being too hungry by the time I got around to making dinner and I snacked like crazy while cooking .... BUT at least I made the decision to not eat dinner on top of all my snacking (which I normally would have done) ... so my calories could have been much worse. I really NEED to make that meal plan!

LittleSpy

For anyone looking to make a meal plan, I have some suggestions. Spontaneous meals is one of my downfalls, too and I recognized that from the beginning. These things are *staples* for me (and I try to always have them on hand):

FROZEN VEGETABLES, all kinds. I love broccoli so I think I have 3 bags of that in my freezer right now. :laugh: I also keep green peas, green beans, brussel sprouts, carrots, onions, spinach, etc. all on hand. It stays good for a long time, very unlike fresh produce, but it's just as (or more) nutrient-rich.
FROZEN BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN. I prefer breasts or tenderloins.
TONS OF HERBS AND SPICES. They can spruce up a frozen chicken breast and frozen veggies immediately!
LIQUID EGG WHITES. Use it for baking, use it for omelets, use it for anything involving eggs.
2% SHREDDED CHEESE. Yum & fast.
RAW POTATOES. Wash one, poke it with a fork, throw it in the microwave for 5 minutes and you have a super fast side (regular sour cream is another staple of mine, but unfortunately I can't include it in the list of *healthy* staples :laugh: ). A healthier alternative to butter & sour cream is salsa. I also often top my potatoes with broccoli, chicken, and cheese for a meal. Potatoes are just really versatile and can be super healthy if you watch what you put on top.
RAW ONIONS. I buy the cheap bags of yellow onions. Onions perk up the flavor of most dishes & I use them in almost everything. I just always keep them on hand.
GARLIC. I keep a jar of minced garlic in my fridge. Although I love fresh garlic, it's more expensive and much more of a PITA to mince every time I need it. Plus, the jarred garlic stays good longer. Kind of like the onions, I throw it in most things I make.

Okay, so I guess that's my list of absolute must haves. That way, if you're in a pinch and you need a quick healthy meal, you just grab some chicken and veggies out of the freezer, pop the veggies in the microwave or pot, and pop the chicken in a skillet. Season them with some of your awesome spices and herbs, and Voila! In 10 minutes, you have a yummy healthy meal. You can change up the spices/herbs and veggies each time so you don't get so tired of the flavors and it won't seem like you're eating the same old chicken every time. I like my food with a lot of flavor.

I try to plan meals ahead but I never get too far in advance. For example, I just texted my bf to ask "Salsa Chicken or Meatloaf Muffins?" He responded "Meatloaf Muffins" so I know I'll be making Meat Loaf Muffins (adapted from Cooking Light), buttermilk mashed potatoes, and green peas for dinner. I know I have a bag of potatoes & green peas at home, so I'll go by to pick up buttermilk and extra lean ground beef from the store on my lunch break. And I also know I have all the ingredients for Salsa Chicken tomorrow except I need frozen green beans (because I used them in all in yesterday's soup) so I'll pick those up while I'm at the store so I can make that sometime this weekend.

Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to share what works for me. I'd never make it if I thought I had to sit down and plan all my meals for the next week or 2! I just have regular meals I make that I keep most ingredients on hand for, I have my fall-back chicken & veggies in case I really goof or if I need a meal FAST, and I have recipes for when I want to try new meals to see if I want to add them to the regular rotation.

jennbarrette

Awesome list of staples jlb. I actually do a lot of the same things! One thing I do to save time is when I get my chicken breasts, I season them with just salt and pepper and grill them on my George Foreman type grill thing, and then freeze them. Then I have some chicken ready set, just defrost and then I use it for pasta, homemade pizza, chicken tacos, soup etc.

lstpaul

jlb123: Thanks for the great list! I think that is a good idea too to not plan too far ahead - probably just 1 day or meal in advance. It's been too daunting trying to make a big meal plan.

My biggest problem has always been that I LOVE cheese - especially with some raw onion, and I tend to eat 500-700 calories of it while I'm making supper because I'm always soooo hungry at that time of day. If I'm really being bad I'll have some potato chips at the same time. And the raw onion just serves as a trigger for more eating because I don't like the 'onion-breath' after-taste so then I start looking for sweets to get rid of that taste.
I have always had cheese on hand as a 'healthy' snack - but it's only healthy if I could keep it to 1 or 2 servings. I may have to just keep shredded cheese on hand from now on because that doesn't tempt me like string cheese or cheddar slices. I used to try to eat some fruit or crackers and just 1 slice of cheese on my way home from work ... I think I need to get back into that habit because it was helpful to not be so starving when I get home.
Any other suggestions?

snowflakes

Oh how I worry about my brain:embarassed: All day yesterday I thought that today we weigh in. :laugh: With that confession, I hope everyone has the results you want to see tomorrow.:flowerforyou:

In addition to what the others have said about staples; I try to always have a bag of frozen salmon, or tilapia. And I always have cooked ground hamburger in 2 cup portions for taco soup, taco salad, tacos, sloppy joes, etc. (I buy several pounds at a time in the bulk and brown it up and freeze. I keep a couple of pounds raw then freeze) The crock pot is a time saver. (If I plan a head) Put your meal together the night before in the fridge then in the morning just put it on to cook.

LittleSpy

I forgot to list my most recent staples:
frozen fruit (definitely strawberries, pineapples, and blueberries)
bananas
nonfat plain yogurt

These are smoothie staples. If I'm replacing a meal with a smoothie, I also add some whey protein powder. Man, I love smoothies. :laugh: I had one for breakfast today. Strawberry, blueberry, banana. YUM!

jenn - good idea to cook the chicken and then freeze it. I hadn't even considered that but I may start doing it. Thanks!

Istpaul - I'm right there with you when it comes to cheese. I love the stuff. Any kind and every kind. I had gotten into the habit of buying a different cheese to try every time I went to the grocery store! And I wouldn't have just 1 serving, I'm talking I can easily split a package/block/container of cheese with my bf and still want more. So, I mainly just buy shredded 2% cheddar, feta, & wedges of parmesan reggiano now. Those 3 all have super strong flavors that I can taste easily so I don't have to use as much.

Snowflakes - the frozen fish is a great addition to the list. I have never liked seafood. Ever. I mean, I get the willies even thinking about eating shellfish or shrimp. Blech. But I decided to give a salmon filet a try a few weeks ago and I thought it was alright (you should've seen me trying to peel off the skin. Ew. My dog Mo really liked it though! ). Fish would definitely would break up some of the chicken monotany. And I definitely agree about slowcookers. For some reason, I just can't seem to get myself together enough to do anything other than chili in the slowcooker while I'm at work. I made soup in mine yesterday that turned out well but I was home all day.

lildebbie

I am there with yah on the cheese. We started getting the laughing cow cheese , the ones that are like round they are from 50-75 cals and they are good. ...much better than a cheese stick or something for the same cals.

I started eating a diff ceral this week, and since then i am starving by lunch, before i may of been hungry but now my stomach hurts for being hungry. My old ceral was a spec k cin and pecans and the new one was maple minwheats, you with think the min wheats would feel you up more...weird....maybe it is is just this week had been wack...dunno. I have a morning snack too and my stomach is hungry...I am going back to my old ceral next week.

I am hoping i can get some strength back, i just want to go to sleep...zzzzz.zzz...I didn't want to but i got on the ellipticla, only did 10 minutes but at least i did that. I may try to do more later.

I like the idea for a smoothie...does that feel you up? I was thiknking of doing that i was just worried i would be in the world of hunger all day.

snowflakes

ljb123: tilapia is much milder in flavor than salmon. No fishy after taste ( at least to me). That would be a good one to try since fish is new to your palate. And it cooks in about 12-15 minutes. Definitely a quick meal.

lildebbie: you can do this. you have shown your determination you have it in you. If you need a nap take one if that will help you be more productive and not so tired. (sometimes a nap just makes me more tired) I spent many of the past 16 years absolutely exhausted and at TOM forget it I was toast. Just listen to your body. This next is just my opinion for being the expert that I am not.:laugh: but I feel that is you are really that hungry eat something so that your body doesn't think that you are in starvation mode. I recently tried the laughing cow cheese for the first time and they are good. The ones I have are only 45 calories for a wedge so there must be a bigger variety than what our grocery store carries.
Hang in there.

LittleSpy

Lildebbie: Check the boxes, I wonder if the Special K cereal has protein added and the miniwheats don't. ? I know Special K loves to add protein to everything (I mean, really, protein water? C'mon! :laugh: ). If so, my guess is you feel full longer because of the extra protein. If not, then I don't know, but by all means go back to eating what works best for you.

I like the idea for a smoothie...does that feel you up? I was thiknking of doing that i was just worried i would be in the world of hunger all day.

If I put half a scoop of whey protein powder in my smoothie it does fill me up & keep me full for several hours. I bought the brand "Naturally Preferred" because it had less junk in it and the least amount of calories in comparison to protein amounts with the other brands. I had a smoothie with protein powder for breakfast. I used 200 grams of fruit, 114 grams of nonfat plain yogurt, that's 4 oz, 10 grams of protein powder and about half a cup of water (agh, stupid 2 different measurement systems making everything harder than it has to be). That brings the calorie count to around 200. The key for me for breakfast is to eat carbs and protein. Carbs for immediate energy and protein for long-lasting energy. So, an egg and fruit, oroatmeal and veggie sausage, or fruit and peanut butter, or fruit smoothie with protein powder, etc. I'm sure different things work for different people, but this is what works for me. Normally about 2.5-3 hours after breakfast, I have a snack & use the same concept (good carbs & protein).

Snowflakes - I'll try tilapia next, thanks!

And yep, I keep laughing cow wedges on hand, too. I use them in place of butter and cream cheese and all kinds of stuff. I also loooooovvvve those little round cheeses, lildebbie. I've never seen ones by Laughing Cow but we have those little round Baby Bel cheese here. But I could eat about 10 of them at once so they're a no-go for me. I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself. :ohwell:

Man, I'm gabby today. :blushing:

lstpaul

Thanks for the cheese advice everyone! Next shopping trip ... no more cheddar slices and string cheese ... I'll get laughing cow (which I do like ... but not enough to cause a binge), and I'm going to try some parmesan reggiano too.

Momma2four

I had fun reading all your posts and your ideas.

Jlb, I agree with snowflakes get tilapia it is very mild. I get a pc. a foil, a tilapia fillet, put salt, pepper, a little bit of olive oil, some fresh dill and sprig of fresh thyme and a squeeze of lemon. wrap it with the foil and cook. Real quick cooking time and it is mild in flavor.

Great ideas everyone. We are eating out tonight so my cals are going to be quite high but under 2000 hate to do that the night before weigh in. I am also on tom a week early:explode: Does not seem fair. I am usually very regular so this was quite the surprise.:sick: :explode: :mad:

Having trouble drinking my water, I am not usually like that but I have been sooo busy the last few days. Also a very short slow walk with my son was the extent of my exercise and my time is not freeing up for the day so not sure that is going to happen.

Thanksgiving goal is looking a lot harder. I had plenty of time when I put 50 pounds by Thanksgiving. I will keep trying though.

Stephanie08

Oh I like this new thread, I'd like to join:

W: 22oz by 4pm EST 30 more at gym tonight
E: personal trainer at the gym tonight
C: at 900 by 4pm EST

I'll weigh in with the group tomorrow.

Momma2four

Hey Stephanie08 welcome to our group!!!!!!!:flowerforyou:

bluenote

Hi all! Thank you all for your great quick healthy meals advice. The common thread seems to be to have something healthy available at all times in that freezer! LOL I will go to the store tomorrow and pick up some of your suggestions.

I am PETRIFIED to weigh in tomorrow. It is my first weigh in with you gals and I have not had the best week. :explode: I will be so embarrassed if I gain on my very first weigh-in! :sad: I know I am going to gain, too. Ugh.

This fear of failure always drives me to eat. My goal for tomorrow is to NOT binge if the scale doesn't say what I want it to say.

Cals: stayed within limits today FINALLY (but I am STARVING)
Water: 32 going on 64
Exercise: 10 mins walking
Proud: I am proud of not blowing it today with my food intake! :happy:

lildebbie

Hello girls

Welcome stephanie.

I thought those baybel cheese were laughing cow...see how much i know

They are good...I haven't tried the wedges you get more on these.

Snowflakes - Thanks for the motivation...I have done so good the last few weeks and then week just bad, i think a lot of it has to do with I am sooo stressed with work. I have been working constintly and it isn't going to be any better before the end of the year, so I have to figure out how to deal with this and not make me soo stressed out.

I will have to look it may have extra protient. it does have pecans in there so assuming that will be more protien. my problem is have my cals planned out for the day and during the day i am afraid to snack too much....i need to get over that and get some carrots or apple or something...I will get the hang of it one of these day

Zora - I hope you have a good 1st weigh in.

lildebbie

Here are my stats for today
Calories 1765 -
Exercise - 10 min on elliptical
Water - 16 oz not very good.
Proud of today : THat I actually got on the elliptical even though it wasn't much it was something.

I am done with feeling sorry for my self....tomorrow starts a new week and next week I will have wait loss.

My orginal goal was to be 292 by thanks giving...we will see if i can make that, i am going to really try.

LittleSpy

11.12.09
Calories: 1315
Exercise: 30 minutes stationary bike; 30 minutes walking/running on treadmill; 933 cal burned
Water: 104 ounces and counting
Proud: I noticed my tastes/habits have really changed when instead of eating the diet cupcake and diet hot chocolate I had planned after my dinner and run, I wanted a healthy yogurt & fruit smoothie instead. Really, self? Fruit and yogurt over chocolate? That may be the first time that's ever happened in the history of me. :laugh:

jennbarrette

Welcome Stephanie!


check in -
calories - good
water - working on it, going for 64 oz
exercise - 1.25 hour walk 503 calories burned

I checked the scale today, and it tried to tell me I have gained a pound this week, which is sucky because I did really well this week. Hoping it changes tomorrow.

Momma2four

Hi all! Thank you all for your great quick healthy meals advice. The common thread seems to be to have something healthy available at all times in that freezer! LOL I will go to the store tomorrow and pick up some of your suggestions.

I am PETRIFIED to weigh in tomorrow. It is my first weigh in with you gals and I have not had the best week. :explode: I will be so embarrassed if I gain on my very first weigh-in! :sad: I know I am going to gain, too. Ugh.

This fear of failure always drives me to eat. My goal for tomorrow is to NOT binge if the scale doesn't say what I want it to say.

Cals: stayed within limits today FINALLY (but I am STARVING)
Water: 32 going on 64
Exercise: 10 mins walking
Proud: I am proud of not blowing it today with my food intake! :happy:

zora, DoNOT be embarassed if you gain. We are not here to judge. Every single one of us can relate to having a week when we gain. You do not be discouraged or embarassed. You just keep trying. This is not an easy journey. It is hard to make a lifestyle change. You can do it though. You really can. Post tomorrow and remember we are starting a new week. You will lose weight if you keep on chugging along. If you are only able to make small steps at this time then that is what you do. As long as you keep taking steps towards the healthy direction.