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

RetiredAndLovingIt wrote: »

Hi all..well, now gd in OK has influenza, too! Dd asked if she should put off surgery & they said just hope you don’t get it! So if no fever by then, it’s still a go for her, so we are leaving in the am for there. Kinda thankful the gkids are staying at their dad’s this time. 😂 Probably won’t be on much until we get back.

Hope everything goes alright with the surgery! Between the flu and the other bugs going around not a fun time of year!

mswatson0777 wrote: »

@gemwolf110 I hope the next salon has more options. I hate it when places aren't size inclusive! I'm going for my doctorate in higher education administration, and being a returning adult student is ROUGH! I'm just finishing up my current classes in organizational theory and qualitative analysis (which are just as exciting as they sound).

@TeresaW1020 My issue was it always set off my binging (when 1 snickers is 1/2 my daily allocation, it was easy for to go over and then just say &*$^ it!). I hope the green plan gives you the accountability you need! I hope you have something fun planned for your 54th birthday (you look WAY younger than 54 in your photo by the way, total fountain of youth!). I'm sending you lots of positive thoughts that this upcoming week goes smoothly for you.

@RetiredandLovingIt I hope everything goes smoothly with the upcoming surgery! It's so nice you're able to drive down and help. I don't skate much anymore either for those same reasons. I'll hit the trail every once and awhile (with wrist guards, knee pads, elbow pads, and a helmet) but I had a friend fracture both wrists at a skake park so I'm not taking any chances!

@joannadavison I hope the physio appointment helps, back pain is no joke! And I remember being stressed in undergrad with working 30 hours a week and 18 credits, but I also never had time to drink at four in the afternoon since I had to cover my tuition! Current me is thankful that 20 year old me took things so seriously, because I was able to take out minimal student loans and I'm not trapped paying them back like a lot of my friends.

@its_cleo Sorry you have to work on the weekend Take care of yourself!

Happy Friday! I ended up having 8 meetings in 6 hours yesterday so I was completely wiped by the end of the day. Today is a little more reasonable so I can hopefully get caught up on paperwork around the office. I was definitely sore after my back to back jiu jitsu classes last night, so I spent some time this morning doing light yoga instead of the elliptical like I planned. I'm grateful I'm in a healthier place now than I was 8 years ago and I actually listen to my body and rest it as needed. I hope you all have fabulous weekends!

The next salon was perfect we got the MOH dress and my dress. MOH had to order hers and because the wedding is in the near future they had to rush the dress. I was fortunate, I got to buy mine right off the rack! the other bridesmaid couldn't make it and tried to order over phone but due to size and rush it was going to cost much higher than the MOH was going to pay. So got 2 or the 3 dresses. Crazy how the wedding/bridesmaid dress business is. And it's probably worse now with the current coronavirus going around. It's a bit concerning...

Hi All, I was drawn to this thread because I am a WWer and lost 48 pounds on it and then not doing much different (probably more exercise), I have been gaining for 6 months. My doctor wants to know how many calories I eating and I have no idea. I stopped counting cals when I joined WW. So he wants me to track cals and I don't know about giving up WW. I love/loved Connect on WW but since I am doing the program and gaining, I'm not comfy there anymore. So here I am and I I'm starting to like MFP and cals again. Amazing how counting cals opens up some of the foods I love but are higher in points than those of equals calories. Any words or wisdom or other WWers/former WWers that have had my experience would be so welcome. Dr can't find a reason I'm gaining other than maybe eating too few calories and I've killed my metabolism. Any thoughts?

@cbabie So next time you can't figure out what you want, grab an apple or whatever fruit you have in the house. You grabbed the popcorn cause it was easy to fix. So make the fruit easy to fix. Either keep some cantaloupe cut up or use one of those apple slicer/corer things so you get 8 wedges. That's easy.

@bevsargent66 Welcome to the group! Recently I lost about 24 lbs from August til end of January. Then had to take some prednisone and put on 7 lbs. Now I'm working on going back down again. I'm doing carb cycling (med-high carbs) and tracking all my foods everyday. While I consider myself OP if I stay within my carb range, I also really try and stay within my calorie range which is about 1450-1660 right now. Plus I was consistent. My exercise consists of walking about 30-45 min depending 5 times a week. Preplanning my meals in my tracker each morning is a must and then following that plan. Sometimes my hubby comes and changes my plan so I learned to change and pick foods that still fall within my numbers. It's all about the numbers for me. I am currently trying to eat more whole foods and still make my numbers work out.

@trooworld You can do this. Just keep tracking and staying within your points. Yes popcorn has alot of fiber but usually popcorn in a bag has trans fat which isn't healthy for us. Do I eat it at times? Yes. I was doing really well with my microwave silicone popcorn bowl where I just add popcorn. No oil needed. Then I would sprinkle seasoning and some salt on it. But then would think does the microwave and silicone give me cancer and I'm better off with the trans fat? Who knows. lol I was doing well for a while eating half a bag and putting the other half in a Ziplock or cookie tin for later. Lately it's been the whole bag and I track it.

@mswatson0777 Are you tracking and staying within your boundaries? Exciting the wedding plans are coming along. Yes B's get degrees. How competitive is your field

@gemwolf110 Is purple simply filling or freestyle? I'm learning that when I'm craving something and can't figure it out I really don't need food. I'm craving something else. What will fill that hole? Having a list of distractions is helpful. Usually then the craving passes and mealtime is just around the corner. Or I go have a hot cup of tea. So I'm stumped on MOH. I've got mother of husband, man of the hour, oh just figured it out. Maid of Honor. DUH! You can tell I eloped. lol I make a cheesy cauliflower rice bowl that I like now. I've made cauliflower tater tots. I've thought about making the cauliflower grilled cheese. Just haven't tried it yet. Now when recipes call for rice I just used riced cauliflower. Family doesn't seem to notice the difference if it's in a casserole type dish.

Good morning! I read all your posts but going to skip personals today so I can get caught up with my life. My trip to get mom from Florida went very well and she is getting settled into her new room and loves how much bigger it is then what she had at my sister's. There is still a lot of details to take care of but we are just going to do one thing at a time until it's all done.

Yesterday, was my birthday and hubby took us out to dinner and then we had cake and ice cream at home. It's a good thing that one of my gifts was the 15 lb. dumbbells that I've been wanting. With the last two weekends of eating out and not exercising the scale is wayyyyy up! I'm back on track starting today with my WW tracking and getting back into my workout room. I'm going to do another round of 21-Day Fix because the workouts are shorter but still really intense. OK, I'll be back to talking with you all tomorrow!

theslightedgeforever wrote: »

@cbabie So next time you can't figure out what you want, grab an apple or whatever fruit you have in the house. You grabbed the popcorn cause it was easy to fix. So make the fruit easy to fix. Either keep some cantaloupe cut up or use one of those apple slicer/corer things so you get 8 wedges. That's easy.

@bevsargent66 Welcome to the group! Recently I lost about 24 lbs from August til end of January. Then had to take some prednisone and put on 7 lbs. Now I'm working on going back down again. I'm doing carb cycling (med-high carbs) and tracking all my foods everyday. While I consider myself OP if I stay within my carb range, I also really try and stay within my calorie range which is about 1450-1660 right now. Plus I was consistent. My exercise consists of walking about 30-45 min depending 5 times a week. Preplanning my meals in my tracker each morning is a must and then following that plan. Sometimes my hubby comes and changes my plan so I learned to change and pick foods that still fall within my numbers. It's all about the numbers for me. I am currently trying to eat more whole foods and still make my numbers work out.

@trooworld You can do this. Just keep tracking and staying within your points. Yes popcorn has alot of fiber but usually popcorn in a bag has trans fat which isn't healthy for us. Do I eat it at times? Yes. I was doing really well with my microwave silicone popcorn bowl where I just add popcorn. No oil needed. Then I would sprinkle seasoning and some salt on it. But then would think does the microwave and silicone give me cancer and I'm better off with the trans fat? Who knows. lol I was doing well for a while eating half a bag and putting the other half in a Ziplock or cookie tin for later. Lately it's been the whole bag and I track it.

@mswatson0777 Are you tracking and staying within your boundaries? Exciting the wedding plans are coming along. Yes B's get degrees. How competitive is your field

@gemwolf110 Is purple simply filling or freestyle? I'm learning that when I'm craving something and can't figure it out I really don't need food. I'm craving something else. What will fill that hole? Having a list of distractions is helpful. Usually then the craving passes and mealtime is just around the corner. Or I go have a hot cup of tea. So I'm stumped on MOH. I've got mother of husband, man of the hour, oh just figured it out. Maid of Honor. DUH! You can tell I eloped. lol I make a cheesy cauliflower rice bowl that I like now. I've made cauliflower tater tots. I've thought about making the cauliflower grilled cheese. Just haven't tried it yet. Now when recipes call for rice I just used riced cauliflower. Family doesn't seem to notice the difference if it's in a casserole type dish.

HI! It's freestyle, but the one that all fruit, veggies (including starchy ex. sweet potatoes), lean proteins, and whole grains are zero points and I get 17 points a day and 48 weeklies. I liked the riced cauliflower that my aunt served. I got a few different flavors of it.

mariechinander wrote: »

@theslightedgeforever I made it to day 12 of tracking on both. On WW I tracked every day for 2.75 years except maybe 3 or 4 days. That said, your words are wise because it is amazing how easy it is to overeat!
@gemwolf110 I've been eating for the last nearly 2 weeks about 12-14 points above my dailies (unheard of before for me on WW) and this morning was a weight loss. Not a maintain or gain (gain was more frequent) so just maybe my dr was correct to tell me to track calories. His guess was I wasn't eating enough for my exercise. But, why would I gain? That I don't have an answer. But a lower number on the scale was my happy dance morning.
@mswatson0777 Yes yes yes on the flexibility. Last night I told DH what I wanted for dinner "because I like it and I haven't had it in forever". I tracked every calorie and ended at 1500 cals. Right about where I needed to be.
So I cancelled my WW subscription and it will end in a week. I did collect my wellness wins in 3 pairs or gym socks and donated the rest to their in need food bank. Because I looked further at MFP and found you all, I won't miss Connect, the part of WW I still liked. I was doing WW online only so I won't miss my group.
For the popcorn discussion, I found some Winona's 0cal popcorn spray and Kernel Seasons flavor sprinkles. Is it yummy like theater popcorn? Nope but I do like my air popped corn much better than with Pam and Salt.
@mswatson0777 I have to agree with not going Keto. I know some that swear by it but based on my experiment with Atkins 25 years ago, there is no way I can ever try something similar again. I was in ketosis and while my DH lost 15 pounds in 6 weeks, nary an ounce left me. And I'm not a protein fan so I started to hate all protein and fat while I dreamed about carb foods. Nearly the same issue with WW but fat is a no-no and there were some carbs so it was a reasonable plan for me. Counting calories has been a winner in the past so I need to get to that and not any fad.

You were probably gaining because you weren’t eating enough to fuel your body so it went into starvation mode. If I didn’t attend WW meetings I’d probably cancel and just track here.

@teresaw1020 Glad you are all back safe and sound. As I'm typing out that sentence I was thinking what does it acutally mean to be "sound". lol If you are of sound mind that means you aren't crazy. Interesting how words and phrases we are taught when we are little are still used and before I never really thought about it. Unless I'm in a contemplative mood. Have a happy bday and I'm glad you got your weights.

@trooworld Oh I can eat a whole bag of Doritos. Now I wouldn't with Lays. Ruffles maybe if I had French Onion Dip. But I've stopped buying Doritos. For a while I would portion the bag into thirds and put each portion in a ziplock and then back into the original bag. So when I reached in, I could "finish the bag". But really I don't even need 1/3. It's nothing but processed food filled with salt and preservatives and won't do a thing for my health. Tastes really good though. So they have been added to my special list of I can eat them but probably won't unless it's a special time.

@mswatson0777 Hooray for you getting back on track right away. That's the key to not gaining weight. I'm carrying a bit of water too today. I was really bloated and rings were tight then I was happy because I could finally get them off and today back to being bloated. Such is the life of a perimenopausal woman I think. I'm learning to roll with it. I think you made the right decison regarding counting calories. At some point we know what works for us but we want to keep trying the things we think that will work faster. But then we can't/don't stick to it so it ends up not working for us in the long run. So now my motto is lose weight but consistently; even if it's slowly.

@gemwolf110 Thanks on the freestyle info. That was the one where everyone was happy they could return to eating eggs and corn for zero points. I don't know which one I would pick if I rejoined but probably green because I could see myself eating lots of the zero point foods. But also I'm a control freak. On the other hand, the zero point foods are probably more healthier for you. It's a toss up. Just the thought of 17 points daily messes with my mind. I know I could eat all of the other foods for free but...... good thing I'm doing carb cycling here on MFP. You got this.

@mariechinander I started tracking on both and didn't keep up. I got tired of double tracking. That's awesome you kept up with tracking for almost 3 years. It really has become a habit for me. As I was sitting down to dinner tonight my hubby kept trying to tell me a story and I was on MFP trying to see how much food I could eat. We have a phones down rule at dinner. He kept saying phones down phones down like a parrot. I was saying I'M TRYING TO SEE HOW MUCH OF THE MASHED POTATOES I CAN EAT. lol I usually preplan and so don't have this scenario but I didn't. So lesson learned for me. Preplanning is so much better. I was happy I could have 1/2 cup of potatoes but then that left me room for only 4 baby carrots. Your question of why would I gain....it made me think of a person who has diabetes. Sometimes when they try to control the amount of sugar and it's less than the body thinks they should have, the liver can dump some of the stored glucose into their bodies and then they wake up with a higher fasting glucose number. The body is trying to protect itself. It doesn't know the intention of the person who is trying to get of diabetes meds. So back to weight gain, the body thinks uh oh less calories, food must be scarce so it is hanging on to everything you eat in case food supplies continue to be low. It is protecting itself not realizing that the person is trying to lower calories to have better health. They know they can go to the grocery store and get more but the body doesn't. Now that's just my two cents. I'm neither a dr nor a scientist. But I have seen it in practice before. With myself and friends. I know my sweet spot is between 1450-1660. It was a bit higher but then when I kept losing I realized I need to drop my cals just a bit. So I did it by 50 on one day and then the next week I would choose a different day and do 50. I'll probably keep my 1660 (I get that two days a week on Thursday and Saturday for social reasons) Thanks on the popcorn spray info

@renaegry I totally agree with your hubby 80/20 Pareto principle March will be so much better than my February. Shoot it will be better than January too when I got sick. Do NOT want a repeat of that. If you work and work and still see yourself going over carbs maybe try boosting the carbs to 35 and lowering either your protein or fat by 5. Just seeing yourself be successful every day is motivating versus always watching yourself miss the mark on the carbs.

Red Day- 100/100 Exercise -did nothing. booooooo

March Goals- Drink 3 glasses of water Decluttering

theslightedgeforever wrote: »

@teresaw1020 Glad you are all back safe and sound. As I'm typing out that sentence I was thinking what does it acutally mean to be "sound". lol If you are of sound mind that means you aren't crazy. Interesting how words and phrases we are taught when we are little are still used and before I never really thought about it. Unless I'm in a contemplative mood. Have a happy bday and I'm glad you got your weights.

@trooworld Oh I can eat a whole bag of Doritos. Now I wouldn't with Lays. Ruffles maybe if I had French Onion Dip. But I've stopped buying Doritos. For a while I would portion the bag into thirds and put each portion in a ziplock and then back into the original bag. So when I reached in, I could "finish the bag". But really I don't even need 1/3. It's nothing but processed food filled with salt and preservatives and won't do a thing for my health. Tastes really good though. So they have been added to my special list of I can eat them but probably won't unless it's a special time.

@mswatson0777 Hooray for you getting back on track right away. That's the key to not gaining weight. I'm carrying a bit of water too today. I was really bloated and rings were tight then I was happy because I could finally get them off and today back to being bloated. Such is the life of a perimenopausal woman I think. I'm learning to roll with it. I think you made the right decison regarding counting calories. At some point we know what works for us but we want to keep trying the things we think that will work faster. But then we can't/don't stick to it so it ends up not working for us in the long run. So now my motto is lose weight but consistently; even if it's slowly.

@gemwolf110 Thanks on the freestyle info. That was the one where everyone was happy they could return to eating eggs and corn for zero points. I don't know which one I would pick if I rejoined but probably green because I could see myself eating lots of the zero point foods. But also I'm a control freak. On the other hand, the zero point foods are probably more healthier for you. It's a toss up. Just the thought of 17 points daily messes with my mind. I know I could eat all of the other foods for free but...... good thing I'm doing carb cycling here on MFP. You got this.

@mariechinander I started tracking on both and didn't keep up. I got tired of double tracking. That's awesome you kept up with tracking for almost 3 years. It really has become a habit for me. As I was sitting down to dinner tonight my hubby kept trying to tell me a story and I was on MFP trying to see how much food I could eat. We have a phones down rule at dinner. He kept saying phones down phones down like a parrot. I was saying I'M TRYING TO SEE HOW MUCH OF THE MASHED POTATOES I CAN EAT. lol I usually preplan and so don't have this scenario but I didn't. So lesson learned for me. Preplanning is so much better. I was happy I could have 1/2 cup of potatoes but then that left me room for only 4 baby carrots. Your question of why would I gain....it made me think of a person who has diabetes. Sometimes when they try to control the amount of sugar and it's less than the body thinks they should have, the liver can dump some of the stored glucose into their bodies and then they wake up with a higher fasting glucose number. The body is trying to protect itself. It doesn't know the intention of the person who is trying to get of diabetes meds. So back to weight gain, the body thinks uh oh less calories, food must be scarce so it is hanging on to everything you eat in case food supplies continue to be low. It is protecting itself not realizing that the person is trying to lower calories to have better health. They know they can go to the grocery store and get more but the body doesn't. Now that's just my two cents. I'm neither a dr nor a scientist. But I have seen it in practice before. With myself and friends. I know my sweet spot is between 1450-1660. It was a bit higher but then when I kept losing I realized I need to drop my cals just a bit. So I did it by 50 on one day and then the next week I would choose a different day and do 50. I'll probably keep my 1660 (I get that two days a week on Thursday and Saturday for social reasons) Thanks on the popcorn spray info

@renaegry I totally agree with your hubby 80/20 Pareto principle March will be so much better than my February. Shoot it will be better than January too when I got sick. Do NOT want a repeat of that. If you work and work and still see yourself going over carbs maybe try boosting the carbs to 35 and lowering either your protein or fat by 5. Just seeing yourself be successful every day is motivating versus always watching yourself miss the mark on the carbs.

Red Day- 100/100 Exercise -did nothing. booooooo

March Goals- Drink 3 glasses of water Decluttering

I think it's the 17 smart points that get me...it's totally a mess with thy mind thing. I like tracking here because it tells me which categories i am eating more in and there's lots of carbs... I have been eating better the last 2 days getting in 2-3 servings of fruits and veggies. Goal is to have at least 2 servings each everyday of both.

March Goals:

Eat 2 servings each of fruits and veggies, NO ice cream and soda (at least during the workweek), no candy at all (gave it up for lent). get adequate sleep and exercise minimum of 3 times a week. be under 210 lbs by March 26th.

@cbabie, yayyyy for the new job!! I have been up close and personal with God’s timing and sometimes it can be very fast! The good news is that you did what you had to and now you can enjoy your new routine.

@mswatson0777, how low carb are you going? Keto is under 20 grams and it takes longer than a week to get to used to it. Don’t let him push you farther than you are willing to go and still feel good. Having said that, I am also going to try to watch my carbs more closely and up my protein.

@gemwolf110, you have a good plan to reach your goal by March 26th. I’m 3.4 lbs away from 210 and I would very much like to be at 210 lb. by March 26th too! How about a little fun competition to see who gets there first?

@theslightedgeforever, no mom is not going to cook! Cooking was never her thing either except for a very few recipes she has mastered over the years. I love to cook and she and DH can fight over doing the dishes. I’m making chicken fajitas tonight for dinner. How nice to have a picnic for your friend.

Good morning! It’s early and I’m about to head off to work. I haven’t been in since last Friday and I have a ton to do. I took mom to her first church event last night and she had a really good time. She is in terrible shape and has very bad stiffness in her legs so I’m hoping that living here and eating a better diet and walking on my treadmill will help to get her in better condition. I started back on 21-Day Fix and my legs are VERY stiff too!!

@gemwolf110 I like your goals for the week! They seem very actionable and doable without being too restrictive

@cbabie I'm sure the sodium will cycle out soon, I hate feeling bloated too. And I agree with your points on fear and the virus, a lot of it has been blown out of proportion and we need to look at what we can control.

@TeresaW1020 I'm not doing true keto cause I don't think I can realistically live under 20 grams, but I'll try under 50. And I may extend it to a few weeks to see how I feel. I made a grocery list and a meal plan which is making it seem more actionable. He's pretty excited because I'm a meal prepper so I'm making a bunch of new things that he definitely wants to try!

@theslightedgeforever That picnic sounds wonderful, I'm so glad you were able to support your friend. I hope you're able to find some time to get some movement in today.

@trooworld I love pre-planning and pre-tracking food, it makes things so much less stressful! And I'm intrigued to see how next week (and possibly the following week?) go. I'm hoping it helps with my hunger levels because right now they're too high for me to feel this is sustainable.

I'm so excited that it's Thursday! I handed in my final for one class, and then handed in my midterm for another, so I have the weekend to relax before I have to dive in again. This break is SO needed! I've got some college friends coming down to visit. We're going to have a movie day and spend the day relaxing, it will be fabulous! Then Sunday, I'm going to dive into my 1-2 week low carb challenge with my partner. It will be a good gauge on how my hunger levels are and what I need to adjust. I found some great recipes so I'm feeling pretty good about it. The goal is to find a balance with my hunger levels since they've been too high lately and I think it's sabotaging my long term success.

Quick check in. Went over on my calories right at the end of the day. I want to ask myself what was I thinking? No exercise either. But I did lose 1.9 lbs this week. So if I want to keep that going I need to keep my head in the game tomorrow.

March goals: Drink 3 glasses of water Decluttering I did something right today

@theslightedgeforever Way to go on the loss, you've got this!!!

@trooworld Keep us posted on how the 5K goes! And I hope your favorite WW leader is there!

@joannadavison Good to hear from you! I hope life calms down for you a bit!

Happy Saturday! We had a bunch of friends over last night for drinks and it was a blast. I ate entirely low carb and it wasnt as challenging as I thought, which was a good sign. I didnt sleep enough last night so I'm hoping for a nap today before I get together with my college friends. I hope your all your weekends goes smoothly!