New Group...Daily HEET (Healty Eaters and Exercise Team)

Options
VeggieTart
VeggieTart Posts: 140
in Motivation and Support
Welcome to the Daily HEET, Healthy Eaters and Exercise Team!

This is a Motivational and Support Group. There are no specific challenges or weigh-in dates. This is a Work at Your Own Pace, Do Your Own Thing group and each member will be responsible for accomplishing their own goal(s) in their own time. We are all at different levels and each have different goals. However, as your Team Leader, I may gently prompt or remind you from time to time to make sure you are focusing on your overall health such as getting enough water to eating enough fruits and vegetables to making sure you move your body in some form or fashion at least a few times a week.

As a HEETer, I ask that you reply to this post at least once a day to not only *receive* motivation but *give* it to your Teammates as well. While there are no requirement to open up your Food Diary, I do ask that you give a quick, general post of what you will be eating for the day and what exercise you have planned or accomplished. In addition, post the challenges you might be faced with each day or the things you struggled with during the day, as well as those things you overcame and how you did it. As a Team, we may be able to get ideas that can help us all reach our goals faster.

A little about me…I started this group several years ago when I was recovering from major surgery. I had to take things slow and do things my way and at my own pace. At the time, there were no groups that fit my needs so I started my own. As it turned out, I had to have a second major surgery less than four months after the first. Through each surgery, two long and hard recoveries and almost a full year leading the HEET I was able to lose over 20 pounds and multiple inches with the help and support of my Teammates. That was a Victory to me but mine was small compared to some of my fellow HEETers at the time and they are my inspiration today. No matter your size or activity level, losing weight and achieving better health CAN be done with a little planning, wise food choices and getting in some form of exercise as often as you can.

If you are ready to start eating healthy and start moving your body, then feel free to join in anytime!
«134567…12

Replies

  • arfdemob5
    arfdemob5 Posts: 109 Member
    Options
    This sounds awesome! Count me in!!!!
  • tiffsNEWlife
    tiffsNEWlife Posts: 145
    Options
    I could use all the help I can get! Count me in!
  • VeggieTart
    VeggieTart Posts: 140
    Options
    Yayy!

    Welcome Arf and Tiff! I'm signing off for the night but I'll be checking back in tomorrow morning. Thank You for joining and here's to much success this year!! :drinker:
  • VeggieTart
    VeggieTart Posts: 140
    Options
    Good Morning!

    It looks like we all did well yesterday! That's great!!

    I'm off to make a cup of coffee but will check back soon and post my plan for the day.

    See you soon!
  • VeggieTart
    VeggieTart Posts: 140
    Options
    Ok, coffee in hand. I'm really not much of a coffee drinker but it's freezing here this morning and it just sounded kind of good. It's a mix of regular and decaf so I won't get all amped up, just enough to get me jump started on this cold morning.

    My plan for the day...after I finish my coffee I'll have an Eggbeater with cheese and toast. Undecided on lunch at the moment but for dinner we are having a Broccoli, Beef and Potato Hotdish that I found on Eatingwell.com and is also in the MFP food database so that was a bonus! It's become my new favorite recipe website. I've been a menu planner for years and this website fits right in with trying to eat lower cal/healthier meals without me running across a bazillion different recipes that are too high in calories for me at the moment.

    Undecided on my exercise for the day. I've been walking almost everyday to a Leslie Sansone dvd I got a few weeks ago. I LOVE it! But I've also been DVRing some Yoga and Bellydancing shows from FitTV. I did one of the Bellydancing shows last week and really enjoyed that as well. Not that I was good at it or anything but I had fun trying and found it was a great way to stretch out my poor old body.

    Since I'm just getting back in the swing of things this year I'm having trouble getting in all my fruits, veggies and dairy each day. Right now I'm just focusing on *eating better* than I have been and staying within my calorie goal each day. I am slowly purchasing lower calorie/fat type foods like bread, wraps, cheese, etc., as I find them on sale because I can't afford to run out and purchase everything at once. I am good at getting all my water each day though and that has already made a huge difference in how I look and feel. As soon as I finish up my routine in the back of the house each morning I head to the kitchen and fill my water jug and start chugging. Even before I had my coffee this morning I had already downed 16 ounces.

    So, how about you? What's your plan for the day?
  • VeggieTart
    VeggieTart Posts: 140
    Options
    Shame on me!! I got all wrapped up in something and by the time I looked at the clock it was a little too late for me to eat breakfast so I decided to get my exercise in and then have lunch. I couldn't decide between walking and Bellydancing so...I did both, lol! I did a 30 minute session of Bellydancing (well, I wouldn't exactly call it dancing but my HRM said I burned over 100 calories so at least I know I was doing something!) then went straight to my walking dvd and got in another 3 miles. I can't believe how GOOD I feel!!

    Lunch was delicious. I decided on a Boca Burger with a Tomato salad using both a red and a yellow tomato from our garden. Sooo sweet and yummy! And...that gives me some fruit for the day with plenty of room left over to get some veggies and dairy through the rest of the day. :bigsmile:

    Looking for my Teammates today and anybody else who wants to join in!
  • tiffsNEWlife
    tiffsNEWlife Posts: 145
    Options
    Today was a bit of a rough day. Well, thats not really true. I work the night shift, and when I got home my 4 year old was still up and my husband (who plows snow) was a sleep on the couch. So, once we finally got to bed it was exteremly late. So, i didn't get up until 11:00am this afternoon. Shame on me (but if felt soooo good) After my morning cup of coffee, I decided Jillian Michaels here I come. I can not stand her personally, but love her work outs!! Popped in the DVD and chugged along for the first time in almost 3 months. If I didn't hate her before I really hate her now!!! But, once it was done I felt really great with it!!

    Then it came time for lunch. Now this is where I usually go really wrong. Because i have a four year old who is very picky and tomorrow is grocery day. So my house is pretty barren. So, it ended up being chicken nuggets and french fries. But, I STUCK to the serving sizes of everything and it didn't end up being tooo bad. But, still not what I should have eaten today. Now tonigh is homemade pork and sauerkraut. Which is not that High in calories either. According to my diary I still have about 400 calories to go. I usually leave out about 100, because I want to leave room for error or incorrect measures.

    I feel really great today, and I'm really happy that I'm still here chugging along with this weight loss/getting fit thing.

    Anybody else, just feel really happy with themselves?
  • VeggieTart
    VeggieTart Posts: 140
    Options
    Great Job Tiff! No worries on the chicken nuggets and fries as long as you stuck to the serving sizes and they fit in your daily allotment!

    I am feeling incredibly proud of myself!! I'm also feeling incredibly GOOD, overall. I feel stronger, more fit (still a long way to go but I feel better than I did just a few weeks ago), my head is clear and I feel more alert. Even though yesterday was my weigh-in day and I actually gained a pound (even updated my ticker to reflect it) I know my body is already changing. My clothes are fitting different and DH is noticing as well so that's a bonus. It's all helping to keep me motivated. I'll see that loss on the scale soon enough but I'm happy right now with the physical changes I'm seeing.

    I'm still chilled from this morning even though we have the heater running so I think I'm gonna head off and take a hot shower and put on my jammies. I'll check back a little later this evening...
  • Ready2lose4ever
    Ready2lose4ever Posts: 523
    Options
    Hi Julie, you can count me in. I like the sound of this group. No pressure and no weigh in days or challenges. Just what I need right now. I need support and motivation and I believe this group can give me that!!
  • VeggieTart
    VeggieTart Posts: 140
    Options
    Welcome Laura! I'm so glad to see you here! You are doing an amazing job and are sure to be an inspiration to all of us!

    I've got a few things to take care of first thing this morning but I'll be checking back soon with my plan for the day. :smile:
  • Buterphly
    Buterphly Posts: 112
    Options
    Hey I'm in, sounds good, and I can use all the support and honest truth I can get=)
  • VeggieTart
    VeggieTart Posts: 140
    Options
    Welcome Buterphly! "Honest Truth"...I love it!

    So with that...here's my honest truth...I didn't get around to fixing the Beef dish I had planned on making for dinner yesterday. I don't have any frozen hash browns but had some regular potatoes and didn't feel like going through the whole process of shredding and cooking them for the dish. So, since I had the calories to spare I ended up fixing Hamburger Helper. Well, let me just say...my tummy did not appreciate that one bit.:sick: As soon as I got out of the shower last night I started feeling *blech*. Still, nothing wrong with what I ate because I measured out my portion and still had calories to spare but it just goes to show how fast our bodies can adjust to better eating, more wholesome foods and when you go back to a processed food you may end up paying the consequences.

    So, because of that, I'm just going to have a couple pieces of toast for breakfast then I'll decide on my lunch when I get back from running my errands and depending how I feel. I'm also going to get in another couple miles with my Leslie dvd. Dinner tonight is going to be Baked Subs with some ham lunchmeat that was in the deep freeze and a few slices of pepperoni and loads of veggies.

    Since it's Friday, has anyone made a plan on how to get through the weekend? I know a lot of people struggle on the weekends and sometimes just giving it a few minutes of thought can keep you from falling off the wagon. I'm already set with healthy foods and snacks and plan on doing some exercise at least once. Tomorrow we will be Canning more Salsa because we are still loaded with Tomatoes but since we lost all of our Pepper and Chile plants in the freezes last month I have to go out today and get those from the store this morning.

    Got my water jug filled and am going to fix that toast then get my errands done. Hope you all have a healthy day! See you later!
  • Buterphly
    Buterphly Posts: 112
    Options
    Sorry your not feeling well, but I know what you mean. I personally have no Idea what i am going to do about the weekend except excercise alot. I have a hard time eating rite when my family likes to snack. (5 of us in total) Nothing wrong with that. but it's just NOT REALLY HEALTHY STUFF, So I try yo work out at least an hour on the weekend days, to try to make up for it.
  • Ready2lose4ever
    Ready2lose4ever Posts: 523
    Options
    Good Morning everyone, I have my daughter Anna Grace, home today for another Snow Day and she won't be going back to school till Tuesday. I will miss her when she goes but then I will be able to do more exercise when she goes back since I will only have my son Jacob here with me. So, my plan for today is:

    To eat great today and do at least 30 minutes of exercise. Kind of hard to do more than that with Anna Grace being here. Her and her brother fight all the time, but we will see what I can get in today. I will drink my 96oz. of water and I will do great!! I just know that all of you will too! Julie I hope you feel better soon.
  • VeggieTart
    VeggieTart Posts: 140
    Options
    Hey Gang,

    Thanks for the well wishes. I'm feeling fine now. It was just a little upset from dinner last night.

    Got all my errands done and am eating a Boca Burger and a serving of Sun Chips for lunch.

    Hey Butter...as far as the snacking...here's an idea...right after you eat dinner tonight, or at least at a time when you're NOT hungry...take a couple of those family snacks and measure out some servings for yourself and get them added to your daily planner in advance. That way, when it becomes snack time this weekend, you can join in but you'll know exactly what and how much to have. And you don't have to eat the whole serving in one sitting. If Person A wants a snack now and that throws a craving on you, grab a few from your baggie and put them back. If Person B comes in a couple hours later and wants a snack, do the same thing, or save them all for later in the evening if you have a movie night or something similar. It might make it easier to see your *rations* for the day and make you really think before you put something in your mouth or maybe you can hold off a little while longer. And definitly get that exercise in!

    Curiosity question for the group...do you eat your exercise calories back? I was reading a totally different weight-loss board yesterday and only one person out of about 15 or so eats them while quite a few people on this board do eat theirs back. I eat mine, or at least the majority of them. I was thinking about it this morning and I likened it to this...if I was a car with a full tank of gas and I needed to idle for 24 hours I could do it. But if somebody got in and revved my engine for hours I might run out of gas before the 24 hours is up. Anyway, I'm curious to see what this group is doing.

    Gotta run, lunch is done and just about settled. Time to get some laundry, housework and exercise done. See ya!
  • Buterphly
    Buterphly Posts: 112
    Options
    I would like to say thatnk for the idea, i'll try it! And as far as the calories go I eat mine back, and am loosing about a pound a week.
  • tiffsNEWlife
    tiffsNEWlife Posts: 145
    Options
    Went to breakfast today, I didn't realize how many calories were in a "normal" breakfast! I ate almost half my calories today at breakfast!! I'm really sore from the Shred yesterday, but I'm going to do it!! Other wise I can't eat dinner... LOL

    As far as snacking over the weekend, it's really hard for me to. But, I try to chew gum. This helps me out alot. I don't want eat if I have mint gum in my mouth.

    The weekends are the hardest for me to get thru, because my husband loves "gross" food ALL THE TIME. Plus we have a party to go to this weekend. I'm thinking with The Shred I should be OKAY.

    Good Luck to everyone tonight. If you need some assistance I'm usually on.
  • cocopebbles
    cocopebbles Posts: 8
    Options
    For the past couple days I have been finding it hard to eat. I almost had to choke down my food yesterday! Now today, i have only been able to eat a special k 90 calorie bar which I really did not want. We already know it's not good to skip meals and go w/out food, so what do you do when you just don't want to eat! Is that normal when you first starting eating healthy? I really dont know what's wrong. So when you find yourself like this what to do you do? Do you make yourself eat?


    As far as snacking over the weekend, I keep everything pre-measured and ready. However, even though my family (there are 4 of us) are very thin and healthy already they just eat what I eat. I do not keep too many unhealthy snacks in the house, that way I am not tempted and my family is pretty supportive of that.
  • Buterphly
    Buterphly Posts: 112
    Options
    So I have a question, my husbandhas been doing really good but tonight he wants my homemade fried chicken...How do you figure out how manny calories get added when you deepfry something?
  • VeggieTart
    VeggieTart Posts: 140
    Options
    Good Evening HEETers! We are growing in to quite the nice little team and it's very exciting!

    :flowerforyou: Laura - Is it OK if I stick with R2L for you? For some reason, as much as I hate the new abbreviated, texting type lanquage that our society is coming to - the R2L just fits you in my own mind. It reminds me of my younger brother when he was just a little kid and we saw Star Wars. He couldn't say R2D2 and called the little robot RTdooter, lol. It still makes me giggle and that's all I've ever called that robot. He passed a long time ago and I enjoy the word association but I don't want to offend you in any way. Congrats on getting in your exercise between the two youngens and I really hope DH can fix your exercise bike!

    :flowerforyou: Buterphly - I referred to you earlier as Butter but with your permission I'd like to call you Phly. Kind of like a "Fly-Girl", even though that term is so far out of my particular age range and as far as I know, soooo 90's, lol! But I love your play on words and think it's really cute. Congrats to you on your 1# a week. That's the way to do it!

    :flowerforyou: Tiff - not laughing at you...just laughing...isn't it absolutely crazy when you find out the real calories of some foods when you actually start tracking them or reading labels? Some things still blow my mind! Put that together with portion size and sometimes I just stand there thinking "You can't be serious...this is a joke right?" And to think of all the times I put those things in my mouth without a second thought. But you are doing an amazing job, your profile pic is adorable. You WILL reach your goal. I still don't know what Shred is and frankly, I'm not mentally ready to find out yet, lol. I'm just happy and content to be doing what I'm doing at the moment.:wink:

    :flowerforyou: Pebbles - what's up with you? How come you're not eating? Are you coming down with a bug? Are you stressed? Are you excited or anticipating something? Are you not liking the foods you've chosen? Have you made too many changes at once? Without knowing any specifics, I'm gonna shoot from the hip. The last one can be a big one. If you're trying to do it all at once...stop. Take a step back and re-evaluate things. Baby steps. Focus on one thing at a time. Water first. Make sure you get enough water each day to keep your system flushed and your body at proper hydration levels. Then maybe look at lean proteins and start working them in. Proteins will build the muscle we need and provide the engine to burn the fat if we keep our metabolism up. Then start adding your veggies, fruits and dairy, in whatever order you like. Now, having said that, sometimes I just don't feel like eating either but I've come to realize it's usually because I'm excited or anxious about something. Caffeine does this to me and that's one of the reasons I gave up Pepsi and why when I do drink coffee, it's a mix of regular and decaf...so I don't get too amped up and kill my appetite. Believe it or not, sometimes cleaning house can kill my appetite. I enjoy cleaning and usually put on the stereo and find myself so amped up and in such a good mood that my hunger trigger has been turned off. Pay attention to your body and ask yourself some questions. Sometimes it's not good enough to question ourselves about why we eat so much but rather, why we are not eating enough. When we come to the right conclusions we can feed our bodies what it wants, when it wants, in a healthy way. Sometimes my body tells me "I just don't need that much food today." And if I'm totally in tune with what it's telling me and not under some kind of misconception I just let it play out and don't eat. Does that make sense? HEETers...please chime in here with any of your thoughts!!

    As for me...my day went pretty well. For the first time I did a 4 Mile walk with my Leslie dvd!! I did my first 3 Miles yesterday (in addition to my Bellydancing) and told DH I was gonna stick there for a couple of weeks until I got the hang of it but when the 3 Miles were done I knew I could get in another mile so I went for it and I did it! I had to let go of my Mileage Ticker because I'm having problems with my wireless mouse on my regular computer and can't select text, copy and paste and I haven't figured out how to do it with this new little Notebook I got for Christmas so I just deleted the thing and will update my mileage manually in my signature as I complete it. Overall, it's easier anyway. And...if you noticed...I've walked 29 miles since the first of the year. I'm pretty impressed. Actually, I'm really kind of stoked, lol!

    When DH got home from work he went out to the garden and picked 21 pounds of Tomatoes! Last weekend was about 15 pounds and we got 10 Pints of Salsa so we figure we got another 15+ Pints to do this weekend. And there's plenty more right behind those. And, I also have some baby Broccoli's coming in. I had some a couple weeks ago and only got one head before the rest went to flower and had to be pulled. AND, it looks like I may actually get a couple heads of cabbage. They've been growing like crazy but producing nothing but leaves and no heads. Finally, it looks like I may have a head or two forming! There's also a few other things out there but after everything we went through to save those dang Maters last month, we are mighty excited! Yay for garden fresh veggies!

    That's about it for me for now...I'll try to check back one more time later this evening. :smile:

Categories