Beautiful Behaviors - February 2017

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jessiquoi
jessiquoi Posts: 400 Member
in Motivation and Support
This thread will be for people who are focusing on creating a set of gorgeous habits that support a healthy lifestyle.

Weight loss is a byproduct, and not the focus. We will practice self-care by eating healthy foods, moving our bodies, drinking enough water, and other activities that make us FEEL GOOD without harmful effects.

For example, taking an hour with your current book on your favorite lounge chair is a great way to take care of yourself. Get a massage or facial, spend time with a friend, crafting… all good ways to make us feel good without the harmful effects of immediate gratification activities like overeating or indulging in other unhealthy activities. It’s all about taking care of ourselves and loving ourselves and making ourselves happy EVEN IF we are not at a weight we love right now.

Yes, we want to lose weight, but there’s more to life than that. Sometimes giving yourself a foot massage will keep you from the donut. Sometimes it won’t but you will still feel better.

This is a judgment free zone. Let’s support each other and leave the negativity offline. I’m tired of beating myself up about my size. I want to plan to do the best I can and not feel guilty about life getting in the way.

I’m a big believer in baby steps, and setting realistic goals, and celebrating every little success! No reason we can’t enjoy the journey to a healthier lifestyle, no reason we have to feel “wrong” because we are where we are.

If you like the way this sounds, please introduce yourself in this thread. Share whatever you like and come back often! I look forward to meeting people with similar attitudes towards life.
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Replies

  • DarkSinestra
    DarkSinestra Posts: 45 Member
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    @jasmarie24 It seems like so many of us do beat ourselves up just for being human. Awareness of the habit and a desire to change it are a great start! I'm glad you'll be taking this journey here and look forward to hearing more.

    @jessiquoi You really did accomplish a lot in January. Observing our own behavior and taking visible measure is a hard thing to do. Thankfully, technology is making it a lot easier than it used to be on the tracking side, but we're still the ones who have to put in the effort. As you said, baby steps, and one positive change leads to the next, and so on. I'm hoping your February goes well.

    January was the beginning of returning to calorie counting after many years of not doing so for various reasons and excuses. It went far better than I expected, although balancing macros is still a bit of a challenge. I learned that my portion control was way out of whack. I also learned that I was sabotaging my appetite (as in driving it out of control) by eating certain trigger foods and that when I avoid those foods, I have a much easier time of eating within my calorie limit. I started PT and a sensible walking program that wouldn't hurt my joints or back while I'm working on strengthening and dropping excess pounds causing alignment issues and pain.

    My goal for February is to get more organized and finish up a few projects that languished last year due to settling in from a cross-country move. I find that unfinished things drag on me, like they're always at the back of my mind demanding attention and energy even when I'm not consciously focused on them, so it's time to roll up the sleeves and clear those away to start new things in March. Nutrition wise, I plan to continue recording everything that I eat or drink and trying to balance those macros. I am not obsessing over either the scale or how my clothing fits, although I am regularly weighing myself and taking measurements to be sure I'm on track. For me a downward trend is more important than daily fluctuations, and if there is no downward trend, then at this point in the game, I'm doing something wrong. I haven't been at this nearly long enough to be hitting plateaus.

    I just got a fitbit. I'm looking forward to what it can do for me and learning all the ins and outs. Beyond that, I want to enjoy community support and give in return, and let's see where this Great Grey Beast of February, as Clive Barker termed it in one of his novels, takes us all!
  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
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    Good morning, all!

    Jess, you really had a very productive January! Good for you. I like what you said in your opening two posts and may go back to read them again. Also, I've been finding some great articles on the daily burn web site on how to get hunger under control. I like the site, just unsure about joining.

    @DarkSinestra - logging each food we eat can be revealing. Like you, I've discovered much that I thought was an okay portion. The calories reveal much, as do the macro nutrients. This process of self discovery is amazing. I hope we always love the journey.

    @hzl22! Welcome! Be sure to reply to this thread.

    @jasmarie24 , Jasmine, welcome!

    January was okay here. It was more of a month of discovery than a month of progress, but I have yet to step on a scale, so the result remains to be seen. My biggest struggle is that when I give up sugar, depressive symptoms begin. So much of February will be spent finding my happy place in sugar consumption.

    Good ooga mooga! I am carrying on!

    Have a Wonder filled day.

    Lea
  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
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    4 pounds! Wooooo. @Mithridites. Yeah my portions are consistently larger.

    Here is a link that I want to keep. http://www.whfoods.com/index.php
    It's for "world's healthiest foods". They let you look up and compare nutrients.

    Yeah. We got this :)
  • MerryMari3
    MerryMari3 Posts: 3 Member
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    Love this post! Always helps to look for the positive. We are human so no need to fret a whole lot over our mistakes, learn from it and move on. Baby steps are awesome! Thank you so much for sharing this! I look forward to my journey, the good days & bad days.
  • jessiquoi
    jessiquoi Posts: 400 Member
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    I have been struggling with food all day long. it's dinner time, and I'm not even hungry because I've eaten so much, and yet I still want to eat something. i'm still within my calories, but i don't know how long that's going to last. i'm trying to resist ordering in. off to find some veggies to eat!
  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
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    Hello to @MerryMari3

    I went over on calories, but all in all, my average is to stay at the allotment. I look at the 30-day report frequently, just to keep things in perspective. I also noted that I was going over, so I chose high fiber foods for supper. The World's Healthiest Foods website told me to eat more swiss chard. hmmm.. I don't believe I've eaten chard for decades!

    577 calories over is not bad, considering I got to this weight by stressful eating of 5 king sized chocolate bars a day. It's good!

    My son announced that I will need to get back to work on building wooden boxes soon. I know he is right. We have to have them ready by the first day of warm weather. I'm building boxes to be apartment complexes for bugs. I have about 120,000 honeybees as pets in my backyard. My winter rest is nearly over. The bees don't care that I'm not done with KonMarie-ing the house. I'm slow, but my boss (my son) let's me go slowly.

    Stay calm and eat nutritious food!

    Love to all

    Lea
  • KimF0715
    KimF0715 Posts: 114 Member
    edited February 2017
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    Will have to post tomorrow. For some reason the message board is not working with my phone.
  • jessiquoi
    jessiquoi Posts: 400 Member
    edited February 2017
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    Lea, how fascinating that you keep bees! john and i are talking about doing that after we finish working on the house, maybe NEXT year. how long have you been doing it? do you sell honey?

    hi, @MerryMari3
  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
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    Jess - my son took this up a couple of years ago. I was delighted to have five hives in the yard. Yes, he sells honey. My grandfather raised bees in a old fashioned willow branch hive and filtered honey through cheesecloth, or ate honey and comb together. My son uses a friend's honey house, with all the extractor gadgets he loves to use. Since I have been home, he puts me to work on the simple stuff. We actually live in town. I would love a small lot in the country.

    They are actually pretty easy to keep.

    Today, I am grazing on carrots and celery! I ate some trigger foods Tuesday. It will take about four days to get it out of my system.

    Love you all.

    Lea
  • fruitydelicious
    fruitydelicious Posts: 664 Member
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    This is awesome!!

    My Jan accomplishments:
    *completed a whole30 in January and currently in the reintroduction process
    *I lost 9.5 lbs
    *increased my water intake

    Feb goals:
    *keep consistent in eating whole foods after reintroduction process is over (which will be mid Feb)
    * increase steps slowly and begin to add some body weight exersices.


  • dlm4mom
    dlm4mom Posts: 252 Member
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    Hello everyone!
    My accomplishments for January were- i did not lose or gain, I learned what normal portions of breakfast cereals are- i was way way off on this one, I had 5000 steps about 25% of the time, I painted my laundry room, I became more aware of my calories and my lack of energy expenditures, I logged on to MFP almost every day.
    My goals for February are to get 5000 steps 50% of the time, to stay within calorie allowance 50% of the time, to complete one project requiring physical activity every week
    I have learned that most of the days when i am way over on calories are days when i run errands after work and am worn out when I get home and do not control my eating very well. Does this happen to anyone else and does anyone have ideas?
  • aleahurst
    aleahurst Posts: 325 Member
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    @dlm4mom - I agree that maintaining your weight while you learn about your dietary needs is an accomplishment! Good for you!

    I read an article that suggested high fiber when you cannot get past craving out-of-bounds foods. So, I ate celery and carrots and sunflower seeds. Today, I got sick of celery and considered buying a king sized Hershey's with almonds (my favorite). I put a scoop of baking cocoa, a dab of cream, and a scoop of sugar in my coffee. Wow. It helped. It was almost like eating a chocolate bar. So, I recommend increasing fiber and supplementing that with a lower calorie form of what you crave.

    @fruitydelicious , hello!

    Goodnight all. Sweet dreams.

    Lea
  • jessiquoi
    jessiquoi Posts: 400 Member
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    welcome, @jasmarie24! we're all about not beating ourselves up here!

    @DarkSinestra you had a great January! congrats!

    @Mithridites 4 lbs in a month is awesome! you must be doing a happy dance.

    hi, @happysherri. i played volleyball in hs and college, and think it's the best sport in the world.

    @KimF0715 you are ready to kick February's butt! good luck in the weigh in

    @fruitydelicious my daughter does whole30. i give you loads of credit, i don't think i could handle that.

    @dlm4mom yes, when i'm tired i go off program. i have gotten a little better at keeping only good foods in the house and plenty of them so that i can go off only in quantity and not in quality. it's helping a little.

    @SpicyGorilla skating sounds fun! good for you. i grew up in brooklyn and lived on my skates. now i live in the country with no sidewalks. :( not that i could balance on skates at this weight, but it would be nice to try!

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