Just for today --- daily commitment thread

druidkat7 wrote: »

slittlemeister wrote: »

slittlemeister wrote: »

Today's commitments:

1) run before work
2) do exercise class after work
3) no eating of team snacks!
4) eat a healthy dinner
5) log everything i eat / drink
6) stay within calories (including run) - but have a little surplus if possible

Hmm, I didn't do so well... I did both sets of exercise, and had a reasonably healthy dinner I think, but I forgot to log my food and hence have no idea if I stuck to my calories or not. I probably did though as I did a LOT of exercise and didn't eat that much. I did also fail to meet (4) and had a chocolate biscuit, plus I had a beer, but I still think I'll have been within it.

Exercise is brilliant, when I actually make the time to do it it sorts everything out... It gives me more freedom on calories but also makes me feel energised and gives me more willpower to be good as well! My class yesterday was 'improvised dance', it was brilliant... I'd really recommend it if people are looking for enjoyable forms of exercise.

Today I'm going for lunch with colleagues so there will be challenges. I have already chosen my food, so no options there. I think I chose something healthy (pre ordering is good - you choose when you have willpower not when hungry!) But not sure.

So commitments are:
1) log everything I eat/drink
2) no calorific drinks at lunch (including alcohol!)
3) exercise class after work
4) moderate size of dinner to fit calories left - to stay within 250 calories of goal max
5) NO SNACKING AT WORK!!!!

The last one is in capitals because of my frustration with this constant barrier to weight loss... my team has a real culture of snacking on sweet stuff and there are always treats available. They sit just next to my desk and it's a constant battle! Often I manage to avoid them, but equally often I give in, particularly when I'm stressed. Anyone got any tips for not giving in?!

Instead of you worrying about giving in, which I do understand, there are some action steps you can make:

1) Ask your team-mates to do you a favor of either not bringing in sweet stuff, OR, someone else needs to keep it at their desk instead of next to yours, if they cannot bring themselves to cease eating sweet stuff right along with you.
2) Bring in your own healthy options if you find yourself getting truly hungry (baked crisps, veggie straws, even an orange or apple).
3) Take a brief moment to write down when you are feeling stressed and why. The action of writing--however briefly--about your stress levels will get it all off your chest, and perhaps help you see solutions to the work issue that stresses you. On top of this, noting when you are stressed might help you break the cycle of emotional eating. Ask yourself, "am I truly hungry, or am I eating 'cause I'm stressed?" (This is a tip from my own physician's assistant, Deb. I wish you could know her. She is so sweet, and really truly hears what her patients have to say.)
4) Find a fitness role model. Someone you really, truly admire for whatever reason along with their fitness regimen. Get a cheap notebook to use as a hard-copy fitness journal (even if you simply record what you're feeling as a way of breaking the emotional-eating cycle), and find a couple images of that role model, print them out and tape them to the inside. Think to yourself the next time you reach for something that is not that healthy, "Is this the food that this person would eat and still stay fit?" If the answer is likely "no," then don't eat that food.

The last method is what has helped steer me away from a lot of the sweet stuff. This said, I know I need to do better if I want to feel like I've not let my role model down. It's why I came back here to MFP after falling off the fitness wagon.

I hope my action suggestions were somewhat helpful and inspiring. :-)

Blessings on the journey,
Kat ^.^

OConnell5483 wrote: »

JFT/Monday:

Eat only pre-logged food
Drink 8 glasses of water
No carbs after 3 p.m.
Try to find the positives in work situations today
Pack tomorrow's lunch and pre-log kind of...
Go to bed early and read I did read, but stayed up later than I wanted to!

• Stick to my planned menu for Day 2 of 17-day diet
• Activity today...no excuses. Even if it is only for 15 minutes.
• Look for a fitness center with a pool
• Set up sewing machine in office
• Send cards to some of my friends who need a pick-me-up
• Keep a smile on my face at work today
• Be present and be kind

OConnell5483 wrote: »

slittlemeister wrote: »

slittlemeister wrote: »

Had my 30th this weekend and massively over indulged.... I don't regret it (you only turn 30 once!) But definitely now time to get back on track!

On a course this week, and going out for dinner tonight, so today will be challenging. Having said that, I'll still do the following:

1) not have sweet snacks - buy an apple in case hungry
2) go for a healthier option at dinner - potentially steak and salad
3) go for a healthier option at lunch, if poss - more protein/ veg than carbs/fat
4) no booze at dinner
5) plenty of water - one for each tea/coffee
6) log everything I eat

So I managed some of these - 1 and 3.

Some others were thwarted by the useless restaurant I went to - my friends ordered tapas and I ordered a steak, but they were so slow at bringing the steak that we had to leave and I had to have some of their tapas instead! I then lost the motivation to log as I had no clue what I could add for 'various bites of other peoples' tapas'... I've had a go this morning but I don't think it's at all accurate.

I do find it difficult to bother logging when I don't really know how much stuff is. I know it's important to have a go anyway, but I often don't bother. Maybe I should incentivise myself to do it? (E.g. If I log my foods properly for a full week I get *insert non food rewards here*)

The others I just failed because of lack of motivation/willpower... I had a glass of wine (breaking 4) and also had 2 bags of crisps for no apparent reason.

I've realised though that the reason I keep slipping is because really, I don't have a clear idea of what my motivation to lose weight or eat healthily is. I've got genuine motivation to exercise - it reduces my stress and I love feeling fitter. But I'm not that bothered about my diet apart from to lose weight, which even that I don't care about that much - I'm not that heavy for my frame and look ok in most clothes. So in most situations where over eating is possible, I tend to do so.

I think I need to give this some more consideration to find my REAL reasons for wanting to do this.... I'm pretty sure I can find motivating reasons but clearly I haven't done yet.
I may start a separate thread about this....

So anyway, today:

- No unhealthy snacks outside meals
- log everything I eat
- run after work
- stick within calories

I find that I do this a lot myself. I have trouble getting myself to log when I know I've been bad or if I've just had one of those little tiny Snicker bars. So then I don't log my dinner at all and lots of times skip the next day because I'm then in a funk.

However, I do have a reason that I want to lose weight. I want to get and feel healthy. I am 4 years out from cancer treatment and never felt good after chemo and radiation. I'm told the best things I can do for myself to try preventing recurrence is to eat healthy and exercise. So, that's why I keep getting back in the saddle. I don't ever want to go down that road again. So, why do I let myself go backwards? It's a pretty darn good reason to want to change my lifestyle, right? Well....I have that little cartoon devil sitting on my other shoulder telling me "you only live once! Eat what makes you happy!" So yeah...there's that. Good luck with your soul searching. I hope you find what works for you!

Tracie in WI

Oberon21 wrote: »

joan6630 wrote: »

slittlemeister wrote: »

I'm slowly coming up with a few reasons that I feel strongly about.

One is that I made a list of the items of clothing that I feel uncomfortable in, or avoid wearing, at the moment. The list was longer than I thought! This made me realise that actually I really don't like my body - I don't always realise that as I'm quite good at picking clothes that are flattering - but actually I really don't like lots of things about it and want to change them. I'm hoping that visualising the specific items I want to wear again will help!

The other is more health related, and that's energy - it's harder to move when you're bigger and although I don't normally notice, I do when running, climbing stairs. I genuinely want to feel more energetic, so need a body that makes that easier!

Those are just a couple.... I'm sure more will come to me if I think about it....

THANK you for giving me more ideas of why it is so important to lose weight. I LOVE your idea of writing down a list of items of clothing. I too have so many nice clothes in my closet that I used to wear, and can't get into them.

I love hearing how others are keeping motivated-- thank you for sharing!

I've made a promise to myself to keep getting on here - no matter how bad my day has been. Maybe by all of us sharing not only our good days, but our bad days as well -- we can encourage each other along the way!

First I want to say the support here is so wonderful. This is why I was attracted to this thread. You guys are great.

Secondly the clothes are a great motivation. I hang one goal piece of clothing in my room and keep it in a conspicuous place. Something I love but that isn't unachievable with a small loss. It keeps me going and makes me feel successful. I hope it works the same magic for you it did for me.

And make sure you celebrate that success with some reward and then hang out the next goal piece.