NON WW & WW NEWBIES, OUR NEW LIFE, THE START OF SOMETHING WONDERFUL

Hi everyone, I hope you are all having a good weekend.

@bugmom92 - I am sorry you have been sick, glad you are on the mend. It is good to see you.

@rickweinberg - I really like #4. That is one I am going to have to remember. It also transfers over to when I am cooking something that I don't cook that often. Yay for getting your workouts in! I weigh myself on Mondays too. The trout sounds amazing.

@cathyfalcone9819 - I am going to try that.

@lore11a - Stay warm and dry.

@gemwolf110 - The new fridge is so pretty. How exciting getting your rings. I will keep you in my prayers and send positive thoughts for you to get the position.

Last night I wasn't paying attention and the stress got me and before I thought about it, I ran amok and binged. I really need to work on being more mindful in situations like that. So today I extended my exercise, I walked an hour and peddled an hour. That should help some of the damage from last night, but I know I can't out exercise a bad diet. Hopefully I am back on track today.

January Goals
1 January 2017 239 CW 238.2
1. Log all food 13 out of 31 days Under calories 10 of 31 days Over calories 3 of 31 days Protein goal 6 of 31 days
2. Exercise 25 hours (1500 minutes) this month 825 minutes
3. Managing stress 11 out of 31 days


I am being purposeful in my daily actions to become the healthy active balanced person that I want to be.

mysticlizard wrote: »

Hi everyone, I hope you are all having a good weekend.

@bugmom92 - I am sorry you have been sick, glad you are on the mend. It is good to see you.

@rickweinberg - I really like #4. That is one I am going to have to remember. It also transfers over to when I am cooking something that I don't cook that often. Yay for getting your workouts in! I weigh myself on Mondays too. The trout sounds amazing.

@cathyfalcone9819 - I am going to try that.

@lore11a - Stay warm and dry.

@gemwolf110 - The new fridge is so pretty. How exciting getting your rings. I will keep you in my prayers and send positive thoughts for you to get the position.

Last night I wasn't paying attention and the stress got me and before I thought about it, I ran amok and binged. I really need to work on being more mindful in situations like that. So today I extended my exercise, I walked an hour and peddled an hour. That should help some of the damage from last night, but I know I can't out exercise a bad diet. Hopefully I am back on track today.

January Goals
1 January 2017 239 CW 238.2
1. Log all food 13 out of 31 days Under calories 10 of 31 days Over calories 3 of 31 days Protein goal 6 of 31 days
2. Exercise 25 hours (1500 minutes) this month 825 minutes
3. Managing stress 11 out of 31 days


I am being purposeful in my daily actions to become the healthy active balanced person that I want to be.

I like your words. "Can't out exercise a bad diet." That is so true.

@trooworld Thank you…I love your visual about the flat tire. I have been slashing the rest of my tires for years….wow, what a realization. I’m printing that quote out and putting it up on my front door. I have motivational weight related things that speak to me on my door. I couldn’t figure out where to put them so I’d see them but not be embarrassed by them being “public”. I decided I didn’t care anymore…it’s my house…I’m putting quotes up where I can see them to help me. If visitors don’t like it, oh well, lol. (And maybe my hubby will get motivated too….or at least understand where my head is at a little better!)

@lore11a My garden is pretty much all in EarthBoxes. They are self watering containers. A little pricey, but I’ve had them a few years, and have gradually added to my garden. I get great results with them. I didn’t get the lettuce and spinach seeds in yet. It got dark while I was typing that, and I didn’t get to it today. Tomorrow, for sure. I’ll try to find a photo of the garden to post. I have raised beds too, but I’m not using them now. One has lavender and artichoke in it. I want to put onions in one bed that I have that is truly a “raised” bed…it’s a wooden box…3 feet by 8 feet…up on a metal rack. A friend’s grandpa made it for his wife, and they moved to an apartment and she gave it to me! I’ll have to get to the onion sets this week. I bought the sets last year….so I’m hoping for the best.

@cbabie Our anchor! Good to be back. I missed you too (even though I "see" you on FB!)

I'm feeling much better. Still stuffy and a bit tired, but on the mend. Last night my daughter cleaned the whole kitchen AND made gluten free double chocolate cookies, and made me take her to the movies today, which was fun, lol. She deserved it! And it was nice to go and relax. I have a bit to do tomorrow to prep for my class on Monday, but not too much. One of my goals/dreams for this year is to be ready to do the things I need to do without stress...no last minute panicking. I set up a Trello board that a few of you were talking about, and one is for class prep, that I can use and reuse each week. Another board I set up is for preparing for a convention coming up in February (it's convention season again...wow!). I put deadlines for every step (either my own deadlines or real deadlines). I think this Trello can be a good tool. I might have my daughter use it. She's always had trouble looking at the big picture, organizing her steps, and meeting deadlines. Made a wonderful Black Eyed Pea and Collard Stew tonight, which I think tasted great (still hard to taste stuff, lol). I've tracked my food 2 days now...go me! lol.
Have a great Sunday everyone!
Karla :-)

bugmom92 wrote: »

@mmcjtink I think you got some good answers to your question, but I can share what I do. Besides the fact that I want to stay on track, I have dietary limitations (my daughter and I both have celiac disease, so that means absolutely no gluten). I tend to eat at places that I know I can eat at safely. I know their menu, I know how careful they are about cross-contamination…and I still ask a thousand questions when I order, lol. When I eat somewhere new, I try to look up the menu online first, including allergen info. I also ask friends who are in the same boat, or at least are familiar with my problem, what they suggest. This also goes for finding out what foods are “lighter”. One of my go-to places is Pick Up Stix. I usually eat just ONE thing there. I could get a salad (which I could do anywhere, so what’s the point?), or I could choose a higher-caloric entrée (which I do occasionally). Their entrees are actually 2 servings worth, so when you look at the calories the menu is only showing half the calories. I know when I go there I will automatically take half my food home for the next day. Also, I am not shy about ordering my food special. You are the customer, order your food how you want it. I learned that in a WW meeting years ago. It empowered me! And…welcome to our board!

@rickweinberg Do you do aqua aerobics too? My endurance is non existent while swimming, but I love exercising in the water. We have a class offered by a local community college for free…but it’s outdoors, in a warm pool, but the air is cold and I’m a chicken. When it warms up in the spring I will go back to it. Thanks for the welcome back…it’s nice to meet you! My problem right now is NOTHING fits. Every once in awhile I go through the “too small” clothes I’ve been storing and get rid of stuff that I don’t totally love. I have too much stored! I go to a certain game convention that meets 3x a year, and every con I look at my cute/funny/geeky tshirts and say “next con I’ll fit back into this”. Then next con comes, and…nope. So tired of that. I’ve got a month before my next con, and I just want to be able to not look like a sausage stuffed into my largest shirts…ack! I don’t know what’s wrong with my brain. I know what I have to do, I know why I want to do it, and I sabotage myself at every turn. (Like staying away from this board, therefore not tracking, therefore eating everything in sight, for the last month.) I like your reward ideas you gave to mmcjtink. Also, sent you a friend request…I didn’t want to be left out, lol.

@mysticlizard @gemwolf110 Thank you for the welcome back! It’s good to be “home” as cbabie has previously mentioned. Gemwolf, your fridge is gorgeous!

(cont...)

@bugmom92 your advice to @mmcjtink is spot on. We are all talking about planning. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Or for me, a pound to my gut.

I do not do aqua aerobics yet. I just get in the pool and move as much as I can. I'm really in pretty good aerobic shape. My biggest problem are transitions. Going from fall to winter I have the hardest time changing from fall exercises to winter. So this past fall from November to January I did not track points or exercise pretty much at all. I had some other health issues that I blamed for my weight gain. But now, I'm back in the game.

Also, I totally understand your game convention issue. I'm part of my high school class reunion committee. I want to look as close to how I looked in high school as much as possible. Probably for most people, how we want to look is overly idealistic. Some one said this in this group. We need to be as kind to our selves as we would to a friend. Being realistic is a part of it.

I got your friend request and all is accepted.

We all need to remember that this journey is day by day and the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. Just remember this journey does not stop at 1000 miles.

trooworld wrote: »

Hello all! This is day 9 of my Whole30 diet. The website says that "Bloating, constipation, diarrhea, or all three may appear as your gut starts to heal, rebalance, and process this new food effectively". I have been a little bloated yesterday and my rings are a little bit tight today but overall, I feel great. No nap yesterday which is really unheard of, I always get tired and take a nap sometimes as early as 11am on a Saturday! I've even taken 2 naps in a day on the weekend. We'll see if I need a nap today.

I'm going to prep food for Monday-Thursday today, and do my nails. I dyed my hair yesterday which was desperately needed.

@rickweinberg I was glad to get your friends request and accepted. Good job on the exercise! That's cool that you caught your dinner, it sounds delicious. Have a nice day off Monday, I wish we got it off. A hike with the pooch sounds great.

@lore11a thank you. I'm doing great with it, no cheating not many cravings. I'm sure a lot of people have a problem with the increase in the kitchen time, but we always have cooked and so it wasn't really an increase. The only thing I'm doing that I didn't use to do is making mayonnaise and ketchup when I need it. My husband's stomach issues are a little better and I didn't need to take a nap yesterday which is unheard of on a Saturday! The weather sounds terrible, stay safe! I hope you enjoy your time with your grandchildren. I'm sorry to hear about your granddaughter's illnesses. That will make eating a challenge, but hopefully when she avoids those things, she'll feel better.

@gemwolf110 what a nice fridge! I'm totally jealous. Have you filled it with good healthy foods yet? Congrats on getting your bands!!!! I had a small intimate wedding and I wouldn't change it for the world. I really like the whole30, I feel great, I'm less tired during the day, and my husband's stomach problems are better. I haven't had any acid reflux the whole time. I hope you enjoy your time off. I'm sending you good thoughts on the job application.

@mysticlizard that's great that you tried to do damage control today. That should definitely help.

@bugmom92 I love the idea of putting up quotes on the door. I think I will do that. I'm glad you are feeling better. I'm going to a sort-of convention in February myself, not looking to eating out for 4-7 days! I love Trello. It's very helpful to see the big picture, I hope it helps your daughter. Great job on tracking! Woot woot!

@trooworld Never took the pooch on the hike. We have book group tonight at our house so I used cleaning as my exercise. My wife appreciates the help and all I've done. Funny but we have to invite people over to clean the house.

It is really good that you make your food for the week ahead. That is great planning. People like us with busy lives need to plan and do things ahead.

I'm so glad that everyone accepted my friend request.

@mysticlizard thanks for mentioning my words. Remember, we all take steps backwards. We can lose battles as long as we win the war. With that said, instead of taking one step forward and two steps back, reframe it. Try to take two steps forward and one step back.

No one should beat themselves up. It does not help. We need to forgive ourselves. Healthy eating is not in our stomachs; it's really between our ears. I'm one to "eat my feelings."

@rickweinberg Being in So Cal, I don't have to do too much seasonal transitioning for exercise. Mostly I walk. I want to start taking my friend's pilates classes, but I need to get completely over this flu first, so I can breathe, lol. What you said about only cleaning the house when people are coming over....I soooo relate. I have too much clutter, which is a big problem with cleaning. Years ago we were meeting with friends at fast food restaurants to play games, which was tough on my youngest child (then a three year old) and tough on the waistline. I finally decided that for both reasons we will have the group over to play at our house. We were gaming every weekend. So we whipped the house into shape and it stayed pretty darn clean (at least surface clean, clutter hidden) all the time. But then we drifted into only gaming with the group monthly...the house became a disaster and it was always rush rush rush to clean. This last holiday season I wasted so much time cleaning. I have a journal I got called The 52 Lists Project. Each week you make a list. The first list of the year was "List your goals and dreams for this year". I was in a bit of a funk having spent more time either cleaning or sick than enjoying the holidays and friends. I was having people over for D&D the next day, and I was cleaning. A group of friends was meeting at a game store/club the night before and I would have loved to meet up with them. I couldn't because ... cleaning. I have quite a few things on my list, but the first few are: To not be tied to the house; To go meet friends rather than "I have to clean for game day"; Have friends over whenever; Relax (!) at home; Be ready for classes, outings, etc, without rushing. - Do you sense a theme here? lol. There's more, having to do with health, etc, which is probably connected. At the bottom of the list page it says "Take Action: What is the first step toward achieving your biggest goal? Pick one thing you can do this week to get started!" I did 2 things. One was set up a Trello board, some of the folks here were talking about it. Seems like a good way to organize the "to do" list without having it be a "list". The other thing...well, my 19 yo daughter actually did it/got it started...was to get back on top of the living room and the kitchen. She loves to eat and cook, and got tired of not having work space in the kitchen. She made cookies, and while those were baking she started cleaning and decluttering the kitchen. She wouldn't let anyone in. Then she had me come in to dry the dishes she'd hand washed, and I just started helping her with the organizing. Since then, we clean up after our cooking immediately, and we aren't leaving anything in the sink overnight. Being able to cook and eat easily has already had an effect on my total productivity. We just need to keep it in practice to make it a habit. I'm glad you help your wife with the cleaning, I bet she appreciates it immensely. My husband is so awesome about it, and doesn't complain...he's a life saver to me!
Karla :-)

OK I'm back. I had to go out of town on Wednesday for a family wedding. The cold turned into an infection along with a sinus cyst that burst and I'm on antibiotics now. Then along came an asthma attack. well I'm still not 100% but I'm upright now and moving around. I think I'm well enough that I can begin exercising tomorrow.

cbabie Have you started exercising again? you were talking about being short compared to your grandson. Is he just tall? I've been learning about perspectives and how we view the world around us based on other things. For instance if you put the same amount of food on two plates, one small one big, your mind would see the big plate as not enough food and then you would be hungry later because you told yourself you didn't eat enough. Ok go challenge yourself and find a zumba class. or there are great online zumba videos. I follow this one gal.

trooworld How goes the whole30 program? Glad your bil is okay.

@rickweinberg I'm late on this since I've been gone but welcome to the group. What is tabada I laughed when you said you have to invite people over to clean. That used to be me. some days I would just be in a cleaning mood and dh would ask who came over today? I would say can't I just clean cause I want to? He says usually you just don't want to. lol True I'd rather read a good book. Now no kids at home to mess it up. For me, a clean house is part of this journey. Knowing I can be successful in another part of my life helps me believe I can be successful here too.

mysticlizard Looks like you are doing well with your goals. I think I'm going to make that pumpkin soup tonight. I think I have all the ingredients in there.

gemwolf You can tell its January when all the WW meetings are packed. Same for the gyms. Then about second or third week of February people start to fall off. We just can't let that happen to us. yaaaay on the new fridge. yeah don't break the bank on the wedding.

@mmcjtink I have learned across time that your 20 lbs to lose is just as hard as my 60 lbs. Struggle is struggle. Okay when I go out with friends or hubby was your question.... I am on a modified carb plan for my prediabetes. Instead of same number of carbs everyday of the week, Two days a week I allow myself higher carbs for those days that I'll be going out and then I have reduced my carb allowance other days to make up for that Then I have three days of just a normal budget. Beating myself up doesn't help as I'll just go eat more. I'm trying to look at this as nothing but data and my health journey is an experiment. Take all of the emotion out of it. Today's experiment didn't go as planned but tomorrow will be better.

Karla What did we talk about before regarding falling off the wagon guilt and not checking in. No guilt. You learned what didn't work and jotted it down and you try again something else. I've been sick since Christmas and just now getting better. Baby steps, baby steps I love my Trello but when I got sick it went by the wayside. So this is just another part of my learning experience. I need a plan to keep using Trello while I'm sick. One of my books was talking about Boundaries. It said we have narrow roads and wide roads. So when life isn't going as planned we need to be on a wider road as we can't pay as good attention as normal. Then it asks you to list your bare minimums for the wide road. I need to add my Trello into that now.

cathyfalcone I think you are right on the quick lunches. How are you doing with your program?

lore Enjoy your time with grandchildren. One day at a time and those 12 lbs will be gone.

yaaay finally caught up So back to my goals for January.

Hello Everyone, I have just had a quick look at your group posts and I would love to join this group if that is ok with you all. I definitely need motivation and support. I love MFP and I am also a WW member and I am trying my best to lose weight and become more active.

theslightedgeforever wrote: »

OK I'm back. I had to go out of town on Wednesday for a family wedding. The cold turned into an infection along with a sinus cyst that burst and I'm on antibiotics now. Then along came an asthma attack. well I'm still not 100% but I'm upright now and moving around. I think I'm well enough that I can begin exercising tomorrow.

cbabie Have you started exercising again? you were talking about being short compared to your grandson. Is he just tall? I've been learning about perspectives and how we view the world around us based on other things. For instance if you put the same amount of food on two plates, one small one big, your mind would see the big plate as not enough food and then you would be hungry later because you told yourself you didn't eat enough. Ok go challenge yourself and find a zumba class. or there are great online zumba videos. I follow this one gal.

trooworld How goes the whole30 program? Glad your bil is okay.

@rickweinberg I'm late on this since I've been gone but welcome to the group. What is tabada I laughed when you said you have to invite people over to clean. That used to be me. some days I would just be in a cleaning mood and dh would ask who came over today? I would say can't I just clean cause I want to? He says usually you just don't want to. lol True I'd rather read a good book. Now no kids at home to mess it up. For me, a clean house is part of this journey. Knowing I can be successful in another part of my life helps me believe I can be successful here too.

mysticlizard Looks like you are doing well with your goals. I think I'm going to make that pumpkin soup tonight. I think I have all the ingredients in there.

gemwolf You can tell its January when all the WW meetings are packed. Same for the gyms. Then about second or third week of February people start to fall off. We just can't let that happen to us. yaaaay on the new fridge. yeah don't break the bank on the wedding.

@mmcjtink I have learned across time that your 20 lbs to lose is just as hard as my 60 lbs. Struggle is struggle. Okay when I go out with friends or hubby was your question.... I am on a modified carb plan for my prediabetes. Instead of same number of carbs everyday of the week, Two days a week I allow myself higher carbs for those days that I'll be going out and then I have reduced my carb allowance other days to make up for that Then I have three days of just a normal budget. Beating myself up doesn't help as I'll just go eat more. I'm trying to look at this as nothing but data and my health journey is an experiment. Take all of the emotion out of it. Today's experiment didn't go as planned but tomorrow will be better.

Karla What did we talk about before regarding falling off the wagon guilt and not checking in. No guilt. You learned what didn't work and jotted it down and you try again something else. I've been sick since Christmas and just now getting better. Baby steps, baby steps I love my Trello but when I got sick it went by the wayside. So this is just another part of my learning experience. I need a plan to keep using Trello while I'm sick. One of my books was talking about Boundaries. It said we have narrow roads and wide roads. So when life isn't going as planned we need to be on a wider road as we can't pay as good attention as normal. Then it asks you to list your bare minimums for the wide road. I need to add my Trello into that now.

cathyfalcone I think you are right on the quick lunches. How are you doing with your program?

lore Enjoy your time with grandchildren. One day at a time and those 12 lbs will be gone.

yaaay finally caught up So back to my goals for January.

@theslightedgeforever Thanks for welcoming me to the group. I'm really enjoying our conversations. Here is a link to Tabata. It is named after an Olympic coach. It can be a way to get a quick and effective work out in.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training#Tabata_regimen

One of the things I like about it is it has been proven that you continue to burn calories up to 30 hours after you worked out. I can tell this is true because I'm more hungry than usual hours after I workout. I even upped my calories because of the work out.

Currently the house is still clean. We had book group last night. The book was "Remember Us." Since the house is clean I went mountain bike riding. I went for an hour. It was 38 degrees. It was enjoyable. Burn a lot of calories. There are dishes in the sink. I should work on them. Dinner is in the crock pot.

I honestly think my wife and I should invite more people over. It is good to be social and it does cause us to clean the house. Negative by product of last night was my over indulgence in good food. I was actually up .4 this morning. I am disappointed but I'm not giving up. Just a set back. Water only boils at 212 degrees. This journey always has peaks and valleys. I am continuing to journal and exercise.

I also like your answer about having a clean house. You said that having a clean house gives you confidence that you can achieve in other parts of this journey. I more than respect that. I have a similar thing. I work in Tech Education and I do many state-wide presentations and after 10 years I've gotten pretty good. The great feedback I receive and the confidence I get standing in front of 40-50 people who really listen and respect what I have to say excites me. It does basically for me what your conquering your house and keeping it clean does. Hope that makes sense. I guess we all get inspiration in different ways.

mysticlizard wrote: »

Hi everyone,

@rickweinberg - I think I will make that my new mantra, take two steps forward. My youngest daughter and her boyfriend were making supper in the kitchen on Friday. Her BF was mimicking his father, "If you clean up as you go, there will be less to clean up after you are done eating..." My daughter, "Ak don't you just hate that, my mom is always saying the same thing..." I taught all five of the kids how to cook and clean and have had them keep the public areas of the house clean. Shared areas, living room, kitchen, and bathroom have to stay clean because no one should have to look at someone else's piles. I can close the doors to their rooms and do not use the family room in the basement so those areas can look trashed if it doesn't bother them. I conned them telling them it was a life skill they had to have and I wouldn't be doing my job as a mom if they moved out and were not proficient. I remind them when they move into their own digs their public areas can look however they want them to. They ask me what I am going to do when I don't have anymore kids in the house, I tease them I will get a maid.

@theslightedgeforever - It is good to see you back. I am glad you are on the mend. I hope you enjoy the pumpkin soup.

@trooworld - Some times the lazies are what our body and mind need.

@Elaine352962 - Welcome! This is an awesome and very supportive group. There is an outline of a star at the top of the page, if you click on it, it will turn gold and bookmark the page so you can find the thread easier.

It was my day to weigh so at 4:30 I stumbled out of bed and onto the scale and I am down 1.8 pounds. I am more than pleased with the lousy eating week I had, in fact you could say I am damned skippy!. I was up early to take my oldest daughter to the Cities to catch a flight to CO to see her grandmother and aunt. When I got back I went back to bed. I don't really have the energy to work out and I am ok with that. Maybe a little later I will feel like it. I'll wait and see.

I hope everyone has a good Monday.

Liz

January Goals
1 January 2017 239 CW 236.4
1. Log all food 15 out of 31 days Under calories 12 of 31 days Over calories 3 of 31 days Protein goal 6 of 31 days
2. Exercise 25 hours (1500 minutes) this month 915 minutes
3. Managing stress 13 out of 31 days


I am being purposeful in my daily actions to become the healthy active balanced person that I want to be.

@mysticlizard My kids rooms are a mess. I am really going to try to get them to just keep our living room neater. Often they will eat and leave their dishes. I always clean them and take them to the kitchen. I am probably not teaching them to be respectful of our space. To take it one step further, I'm probably enabling them. My daughter just wrote holiday thank you notes for gifts she received. Yay. Good for her. But she left the box of cards on the coffee table and never put them away. That is just one example.

Thanks for your words. I'm going to try.

@theslightedgeforever I too am glad you are feeling better. Sounds like you've been sick for over 2 weeks. Hope the antibiotics are working. I also hope that you got your work out in that you suggested you would try. I think just communicating in this group is a good first (or just a good step) step to this journey.