Living the Lifestyle - Wednesday, 7/20/16
minimyzeme
Posts: 2,708 Member
Everyone says it, but just how do you do it? How do you take the guidelines of the WW program and turn them into a lifestyle you can live every day...from now on? That is what we are here to explore. Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Newbie? Join in! Veteran? Join in! Your thoughts may be just what someone else needs to hear.
Monday -- MANLADDVM1 (Lee)
Tuesday -- 60IN2017 (Millie)
Wednesday -- MINIMYZEME (Kim)
Thursday -- IMASTAR2 (Derrick)
Friday -- MYALLFORJC (Bill)
Today's topic: Weeks jammed with eating opportunities
This week is more jammed up than usual with eating and socializing for me. Normally it might happen once a week but this week there's three different outings on the docket. How do you handle weeks with multiple socializing / eat-outs and still stay the course?
Monday -- MANLADDVM1 (Lee)
Tuesday -- 60IN2017 (Millie)
Wednesday -- MINIMYZEME (Kim)
Thursday -- IMASTAR2 (Derrick)
Friday -- MYALLFORJC (Bill)
Today's topic: Weeks jammed with eating opportunities
This week is more jammed up than usual with eating and socializing for me. Normally it might happen once a week but this week there's three different outings on the docket. How do you handle weeks with multiple socializing / eat-outs and still stay the course?
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Make the better choice...small portions...no seconds...lots of water.0
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All of the above. Plus, set some priorities. Some social events just don't lend themselves to really WW-friendly choices. Others do. And, they don't all require that I eat (or eat much).
The most challenging setting is usually a sit-down function with a pre-set menu of mediocre food when I'm truly hungry. I make do.1 -
I play the "is it worth it game". A lot of social events have so-so food that I could usually make at home myself, except for better with a higher nutrition quality. I choose the healthiest options to fill me up when I am hungry and only eat the less healthy food if it's really worth it (I'm looking at you homemade caramel chocolate chip blondie bars).
Also, since a glass of wine is only around 150 calories I can sip it slowly and still fit in to the party atmosphere. I love red wine so it feels like a treat to me
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Yesterday morning I met some friends for breakfast, but when we go there at 6:00 am we discovered that they don't open until 6:30. One of the guys suggested Dunkin' Donuts which was close by. I've only gotten donuts there so I wasn't looking forward to the change of venue on just my second day of mindful eating. Fortunately they now have options other than donuts, so I made the better choice. Turkey flatbread something or other. Not good, but better than donuts.0
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I always have trouble on weeks like that. Need to really work on that.0
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I haven't handled it very well for the last year or so. I'm finally (I hope) back on track, and my priority is to get the weight I gained (when on lots of meds) off. I have 10 off, with 20 to go. So when faced with challenging situations, I try to keep my priorities in mind, to get my weight down! I also want to regain the feeling of being proud of myself. I had a lightbulb moment at a meeting recently ...
We were talking about getting back on track at one of my WW meetings. I said something that came together as I spoke, and I've been holding on to it since. Here's the story ... My 2 year old grandson 'went' on the potty. He called me in to show me
and he asked "Grammy, are you so, so proud of me?" Of course I was! And I got to thinking, I want to be so, so proud of ME too! And I am proud of myself when I have the 20 extra pounds off. A visiting leader was there and asked me if I was proud of myself when I was in the process (on program) too, and I realized that I am! So, when faced with goodies or booze, I'm trying to focus on doing what makes me proud of myself.
I'm also really wanting to get back into ALL the clothes in my closet! I really love some of those outfits LOL1 -
It seems there are three potential approaches to a week like this:
- Oh, crap, I'm screwed. Might as well get all four feet in the trough.
- Well, I'll make the best decisions I can and deal with the consequences.
- This is a great challenge; let me plan how to get through this within my points/calories.
My point here isn't to advocate for one particular choice, but rather to emphasize what you probably already know - it is a choice, and it's yours to make. I've taken all three approaches at different times, depending on the situation and my mindset at the time. Here are the headlines from that experience:
The first is easy; it takes all the pressure off. It also sets you back in your progress. I've generally been unhappy with myself when I do this.
The second is a tough one, because it requires voluntary restraint. It also requires a willingness to accept the consequences of your decisions. Making the better choice in all those less-controlled situations generally means going over your intake allotment.
The third? I've done that, too. I went on a two week cruise and came back weighing a pound less - and then ate everything in sight for the next week. In other words, for me that "strait and narrow" approach carries a risk of "rebound behavior" later.
So the short version of that long-winded answer is that I've done all three - but the key is to make it a choice and surrender your whining right if you don't like the results.1 -
My food intolerances and general pickiness about foods tends to be helpful in these situations. Unless, of course, someone brings GF brownies, then all bets are off ;-)
But seriously, I do try to focus more on the people and less on the food. Many of the events that I've been at this year had catered food that was marginal in appeal (my university's food provider does not win any culinary awards).
The rebound behavior that Charlie describes is something I have to be careful of. The typical GF "dessert" offered at our university events is a fruit cup consisting mostly of melon (I detest melons of any type). Seeing my other tablemates indulging in seemingly luscious chocolate desserts can be triggering. This past May I survived two consecutive days of events by bringing my own dessert. Problem solved, no rebound, and from what my tablemates said, it sure sounded like my dessert was better. As it should be, I made it!
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Just went through this late yesterday afternoon. Birthday party for a close friend with a party at a bar with drinks, deep fried chicken tenders, Tortilla chips and lots of creamy crab dip then not one but three cake choices. Chocolate cream filled with Icing cake then traditional white birthday cake with icing and pound cake on top of that. No ice cream than goodness. Earlier in the day I had weekly Civic group meeting luncheon that is always a buffet and I did quite well at that one as usual. At the end however one of our members had his 93rd birthday so there was a huge white style cake with icing and vanilla ice cream. So I did OK with a very small portion of cake and like a 1/4 cup of the vanilla ice cream. Just watching it you know. But to do that again at the dinner hour and have more cake just kinda blew my day.
I've yet to add it up on MFP but went over my DP by 10 pts. I'll pay for it on Friday but what the heck after 5 years of working the weight loss system I'll deal with it today get back on track which I already have and move on. I'm sure it will effect me on Friday (my weigh in day ) but I'll deal with it then whatever the out come is.
So in the end Charlie really summed it up with the three approaches and I made my choice and did I enjoy the two small pieces of cake and the ice cream was quite a treat so now requests but again i'll deal with it and move on.0 -
Went out to eat with a friend last night and MTBC for most of it. They were out of the two veggies that I really liked, so I had to adjust.
I vacillate, depending on the situation and circumstance, between the three options Charlie outlined. I know going to CA in a few weeks for a week of work, there will be times I may eat more than I should, but I know that going in and I plan to keep up with cardio at the hotel.
By the same token, I visited my DPs for almost a week at the start of July and ended up down a pound without much tracking and just going with the flow.0 -
Helpful insight, thanks everyone. Up to this point, one of most helpful and compass-steering concepts was to make informed choices beforehand and I've been practicing that for a couple years now. I think what sends flags up for me with these three events is that they're likely good food (and drink) and they aren't far from the type of events that helped get me into WW to begin with. As I mentioned, three in one week is not typical for me.
I have no plans to go off the rails. In fact, I often look at our / my day-to-day conduct as 'training' for situations like this. Clearly, I'm in charge of what goes in my mouth and it doesn't matter whether it's a social occasion, a special occasion, or whatever.
Anyway, thanks for playin'. I'll keep it in mind as I navigate through the next few days. By the way, I already got through tonight with no harm done. The next two are single meals only. I think I've got this. We'll see...0 -
Good discussion0
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