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

Happy Thursday Everyone!

I've been reading the boards but haven't had a chance to write to anyone yet. I'm doing just okay with calorie counting so far. If I'm being honest with myself, my tracking has been for 8 days, but Wednesday was the first day that I've been honest with tracking and made the effort to stay within my goals. I keep having this back and forth in my mind about staying here or going back to WW. It's like they have a hold on me! I truly believe that staying here will help me eat less processed food and make better choices that I won't feel guilty about. But I just can't get WW out of my head!
My goal for the past couple of weeks was to do C25K Mon, Wed, and Fri and to do Bodypump on Tues, and Thurs. So a half hour of working out per day. And so far this week...I've done it!!! Tomorrow I have to do C25K once more and my weekly goal is accomplished! It feels really great!

@rickweinberg congrats on your loss! And on that new driver! My step brother got his license a few months back, he doesn't drive often but he's pretty good at it!

@tooworld nice job not eating any sweets! That is my downfall for sure! I love candy, cookies, and cakes! How is the Whole 30 going? I've heard of it but never tried it.

@mysticlizard moving in the snow is awful! I'm glad you got through it. We had to move my cousin in the snow once and it was not fun! I love your goals in your posts, that's such a good idea!

@theslightedgeforever nice job hopping on the treadmill last night! I did the same thing. I meant to complete C25K and I did, but I was having fun so I kept going for another 20 minutes! Never thought I'd say that!

Have a wonderful day everyone! ❤️

cathyfalcone9819 wrote: »

Thank you. It's inspiring. I'm retiring in about 9 to 10 weeks. There's lots to do but it's scary and I've been stress eating but today it stops. I've got my protein shake if I get jittery.

Today is the day you draw a line in the sand. We are here to help.

Hi All,

@theslightedgeforever - Yay for children who come to visit! Awesome with the treadmill, every little bit helps.

@cathyfalcone - When my mom and aunt retired they were busier than when they worked, but it was doing things they wanted to do. I wish you all the time to do what you want to do! Like Rick said, we are here for you.

@HappyBride917 - My logging has been crap the last couple of days and I have not been mindful of what I have been eating. But I know when I log everything, the good, bad, and ugly, I usually end up losing even if it is a little bit. Some days it is hard looking at the carnage, but I find the next day's eating and logging always shows some improvement. You are thinking about how you want to go about it and are working on it so that is a victory too. I can't help you on the WW thing, I have never belonged. My dearest friend has done WW for years and swears by it. It works for her but only when she is working the program. The same can be said for me using MFP, as long as I am trying it works.

@mmcjtink - Yay for you getting your exercise in! You are doing awesome!

@trooworld - I am glad you are over your gut ache. I know you will come up with an eating plan that works for you.

@rickweinberg - I have been thinking a lot about your two steps forward statement. I really think that I want to keep that front and center in my mind.

@cbabie - Hang in there. (((HUGS))) I am glad you got a decent night sleep.

@gemwolf110 - I am glad you are having a good break and the fur babies are enjoying your home time. The hockey game sounds like it was fun.

I didn't get to rest as planned as there was so much to catch up here. Hubby came home so I had help and that was appreciated. The youngest is laid out with this cold, I know she is sick, she didn't want to go to the mall with her friends lol. My knee is still giving me twinges, I don't think I will be doing squats any time soon. I am going to wait until Monday and try a walking video and a little peddling. I feel miserable not exercising and I miss my extra calories to eat back.

I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

Liz


January Goals
1 January 2017 239 CW 238
1. Log all food 26 out of 31 days Under calories 13 of 31 days Over calories 13 of 31 days Protein goal 6 of 31 days
2. Exercise 25 hours (1500 minutes) this month 1005 minutes
3. Managing stress 16 out of 31 days


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

Hi all - I cannot believe I've never seen this thread before. I am a former WW member, gave it up a year ago, and haven't regretted it even once. My backstory - I did 3 rounds of WW over the course of my adult life (currently 45). I saw success with all 3, but only hit goal the first time when I was in college. This last round started in 2008. I lost a bunch of weight, then gained some back after back-to-backleg injuries that had me on crutches & in PT for 2-3 months each injury. When they switched to the new program in Nov 2015, I gave it a real try, I truly did. I was hangry all of the time. I started crying about my struggle, which I hadn't done in YEARS. I felt miserable, and worse, I'd only lost about 5# in a full year. I talked to my doc about the fact that I was working so hard (and was able to prove it, with my WW diaries and fitness tracker logs to show that I really was doing what I was supposed to do), and she agreed that I should be losing more. I saw a dietitian. Thanks to WW, she was very impressed with my food logs, and said I was one of the healthiest eaters for a first time client that she'd ever seen. She is the one who had me join MFP, so she could analyze my macros better, since she had no idea what WW pts corresponded to in real-world terms. I dual tracked for a month. One day around Christmas I hit my WW daily target exactly after dinner. I immediately went into MFP to track to see what it meant in calories. Mind you, it was a great WW day, chicken, 7 servings of F/V, 2 or 3 serving of whole grain items, plenty of water) and I was only at 990 calories. No wonder I was hungry and emotional all the time. The new points system had me starving myself. That was the day I decided to cancel WW for good. I'd learned what I needed to from them. The meeting topics were the same ones that we'd had for the past 5 years, and I wasn't learning anything new.

I was part of a regular challenge group on the WW boards, and we set up a secret FB group to keep in touch in case WW shut down the boards, which of course they did a few months later. Working with others all trying to become healthier selves was the best part of WW, and now we can get that here *_*

I only had to see the dietitian for 3 months before she "graduated" me without really changing much of my diet. The habits I'd ingrained from years of WW really did pay off. I also saw an endocrinologist in January 2016 to see if there was an underlying cause to my slow loss, and yep, I was insulin resistant, which makes losing weight extremely difficult. After I went on the medication I started losing weight steadily, without a change of lifestyle, since my lifestyle was healthy to begin with. I lost 30 last year. I have another 25 to go and hope to reach goal by my birthday in late August. I love the freedom of MFP. That doesn't mean I don't struggle with motivation sometimes, but it's usually on the exercise front. I have tracked & complete every single day since I started 412 days ago. MFP also helps me more than the WW tracker did because now I need to pay closer attention to sugar & carb grams every day.

I do track my exercise, but don't try to eat them back, although it is nice that they are there if I am having a higher calorie day than normal. General consensus on the forums here is that if you are eating them back, that you only try to eat half of them, to account for the fact that most trackers overestimate burn.

My current goal is just to lose at least .5 each week, get to sleep before midnight so I can eventually wake up early enough to do morning workouts, and to hit my Garmin step target at least 4x out of any 7 day period. Currently I'm only at 3x for the past 7 because I had a work project that forced me to sit down for more hours in the day than my job usually requires.

My apologies for the novel LOL - I hope to keep up with this thread moving forward *_* Have a great day!

It was tough decision to leave WW and it has to be your own. I have been a member since about 1979. I actually attained life time the first time and maintained several years. I had left WW before but never with a good back up plan. I've done quite well with mfp but lately have been in a slump ( long story). I actually thought about going back but frankly I'm tired of spending so much money.

Do what works for you. I have friends who are still going and others who quit years ago. I may drop on a meeting while they are doing promotions. It's not generally well known but it is allowed . Feel free to friend

ITrack Bites is very very similar to WW. You have a choice of all the previous plans as well from just calories to the newest one Smart Points. They just call them slightly different names. I didn't find it as easy to use as MFP or WW but compared to WW the price is definitely




There are add on for restaurants as well. It does have a barcode scanner but does not interact with Fitbit or Garmin but I think that is in the works. That ability to sync with my device is the main reason I stopped using it.

Jeri

Hi all,

@HappyBride917 - When I go up in weight and I am doing what I should I remind myself that it could be a have a had a high sodium day or might be retaining water or something. I also remind myself that unfortunately weight loss isn't linear. Just keep plugging away it, you will see results.

@trooworld - I am sorry you gut is aching again. I hope it passes (sorry no pun intended) and you get to feeling better.

@NEOHgirl - I am glad you found us welcome!

@lore11a - Hi it is good to see you. My knee is improving, I am going to try some easy peddling today.

@cathyfalcon @fancyladyJeri and @gemwolf110 - Hi ladies!

@cbabie - I hope you have a peaceful Sunday.

Yesterday I spent most of my day in bed resting. The cold is feeling better today. I want to do some light peddling and see how my knee does. Food wise it was a bad week but I am feeling better and am motivated to get it turned around.

I hope everyone has a restful Sunday.

Liz

January Goals
1 January 2017 239 CW 238
1. Log all food 26 out of 31 days Under calories 13 of 31 days Over calories 16 of 31 days Protein goal 6 of 31 days
2. Exercise 25 hours (1500 minutes) this month 1005 minutes
3. Managing stress 16 out of 31 days


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

Yes. I know. I'm always positive but I'm disappointed that I gained the 3 pounds I lost last week. I gained them back. I did not sleep well last night and now I'm tired.

Weight loss is not always linear. I'm hoping that this is just one step back and next Monday it will be 2 steps forward.

Hello all - had a good OP day today. I stayed under my calorie target, and I earned 500+ calories shoveling my driveway to clear the 10"+ of snow that we go overnight. My goal this evening is to get a full night's sleep because I might very well have to shovel the darn thing again tomorrow morning. At least it gets my exercise in early *_* Have a good night.

My dh surprised me with a getaway and then came back to no internet. When I was sick this past month I forgot to pay the internet bill. Finally got that taken care of today and then MFP was down for maint. So here I am now.

Not even going to attempt personals 27 of them Welcome to the newbies of the group. Interesting info on insulin resistance and iTrackbites. I have used that app. When I was tracking both points and MFP but it got too much for me. Doc says I really need to watch my carbs.

My daughter is coming in tonight for 2 1/2 weeks. So the fun begins on combining healthy lifestyle and a break in my routine. In the past, I've not been very good at this. But I'm different now and I just need to focus on one day at a time. Remember my goals. Be diligent.

Good afternoon everyone,

@gemwolf110 - I am glad your fur baby is all right. Being so prepared is excellent. If for some reason you do not get the position, you know you did everything you could and you won't look back and say I could have, would have, or should have... I hope you are having an excellent first day back to work.

@NEOHgirl - Shoveling isn't my favorite form of exercise either, but it does give a great calorie burn.

@theslightedgeforever - Thanks for the clip. Have fun with your daughter.

@cbabie - Even if you don't have time to post personals, it is good to see you everyday.

@trooworld - I too am bipolar, most of the time it feels like I am going through life with one arm tied behind my back. Routines are so important. Your business trip sounds exciting, where do you get to go?

Yesterday I ate well, logged, and came in under my calorie goal and hit my protein goal too, yay! I got an hour of peddling in today. I am hoping I am back on track. I keep trying to work those two steps forward. January was a bit of a wash for me as far as my goals. I am down 3.4 pounds for the month, not quite the four pounds I wanted but close and I will take it. I am working on my February goals. On the 20th I am going to Phoenix to see my sisters for ten days. I am so ready for some fun and sun. But I know that I will not be as attentive to my journey while down there. The whole idea of eating decent Mexican food has my heart aflutter. But I can try to stay on the straight and narrow for the first twenty days of the month.

I hope everyone has a fine Tuesday.

Liz

January Goals
1 January 2017 239 CW 235.6
1. Log all food 27 out of 31 days Under calories 14 of 31 days Over calories 16 of 31 days Protein goal 7 of 31 days
2. Exercise 25 hours (1500 minutes) this month 1185 minutes
3. Managing stress 18 out of 31 days


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

HI everyone...had a crazy week...last weekend's convention was so busy, and I'm still recuperating. Hubby download the MFP app today. Yay! Hope this helps, both of us.
Going to bed...trying to catch up on sleep.
Karla

Heat Problems and Teen Age Girl Drama:

We found out that the gas line from the street to our house has a blockage. We are getting a new gas line and meter today. I hope this fixes everything.

Daughter is failing a class and we got a call from a teacher. We laid down the law even more and our daughter ran away for about 4 hours. No one knew where she was not even her friend. My wife and I started to worry sick about her. She came back and we are going to talk to her tonight. We are going to loosen up a bit. This parenting does not come with a guide book.

cbabie did you get on the treadmill?

trooworld Do you have plans in place for your business trip concerning healthy eating and exercise? Woohoo on ignoring girl scout cookies. That's a hard one.

mysticlizard January wasn't that great for me either being sick through most of it. But I ended up with a 2.8 loss. February will be a better month.

rickweinberg I hear you on the no internet thing. All my notes, planning, whole life basically is on the net. But I kept reminding myself there are people in the world that have worse problems and I tried to stay grateful for the things I did have. For me, an OP day was an on plan day. I had one of those today. Go me! So you hit a speedbump....keep pedaling.

gemwolf I hope all goes well with the interview.

karla Yaaay on hubby and MFP. Having support at home helps.

gotta stop there Dd needs something. I had a good day today regarding food. Stayed under my budget for carbs and followed my plan.

Good afternoon everyone,

@theslightedgeforever - Good for you staying on track eating!

@cbabie - No, I am from Colorado. I three sisters are in the Phoenix area. I am going down to hang out with them and we will spend a few days in Vegas. I have never been so I am excited to see sin city and the Hoover Dam. I have been in a casino once and it holds no lure for me, but I have heard that some of the best buffets in the country are there.

@trooworld - I hope your appt. goes well. Getting up with the chickens, I hope you don't fall asleep in you supper lol.

Yesterday I stayed within my calories and did not quite meet my protein goal. I got an hour of peddling in this morning. So I am on track so far.

I hope everyone has a good day.

Liz

February Goals
1 January 2017 239 1 Feb 234.8
1. Log all food out 1 of 28 days Under calories 1 of 28 days Over calories 16 of 31 days Protein goal 0 of 28 days
2. Exercise 16 hours (960 minutes) 60
3. Managing stress 2 out of 28 days


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