Downsizers - January 2021 Team Chat
Replies
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SW: 278
LWW: 239
CW: 237.8
WWL: 1.8 pounds
LTD: 40.2 pounds
Steps:
1/10: 3,686
1/11: 4, 274
1/12: 9,108
1/13: 7,495
1/14: 7,748
1/15: 10,731
(I will be back later after my walk to update my steps for today!)
Okay, guys so I missed last week's weigh-in. This COVID thing is KICKING MY BUTT! We have no beds so we have been holding patients in the ER for DAYS! Lots of crazy stuff coming with it too! Heart attacks, lots of intubations, strokes, and all the ER stuff on top of having inpatient patients. It has been draining. I have also been given a much stricter schedule at the surgery center as well and will be doing more hands-on patient care which means that those low step days up there, ^^^^ are no more. (YAY!!!!)
I finally think I got a grasp on my diet though and have been bringing my lunch and dinner with me on my hospital days so that I am not eating after 8 pm or stopping at the local fast food joint to fuel up before my hour ride home. I haven't had much energy to go to the gym but I did order some flat bands and did that the other night I will probably do it again here in a but before I go out for a walk. I am starting to feel decent again, and hoping to stay that way! I have been getting some good ideas for workouts and such from NerdFitness. (Also some great recipes as well!) I did splurge a bit this past week on a new cast iron pan, a veggie chopper, and a mandolin. I have been trying to eat much cleaner where I can. Today I had a 4oz steak with sweet potato with cinnamon and a little bit of butter. It was soooooo good!
Ohhhh and I also got a nice BIG lunch bag where I can put my supplements and my lunches and dinners in!
I am REALLY going to try to get in here more often now that my energy levels are increasing again. I used to just come home and crash whereas now I kinda hang around a bit or do a quick 15-minute workout before shower and bed. I can't do a whole lot on days where I work back to back because otherwise, I would get no sleep but you get the point lol.
Anywho, gonna go get this workout in and hopefully check back in later. I got lots of stuff to catch up on I see!
6 -
Here are my biggest problems that I need to address. Any suggestions are appreciated.
1. Not getting enough sleep. Get up around 5:45am to leave by 6:30 and not getting home until 6:00pm. In order to get 8 hrs, I would need be asleep by 9:30pm which is not enough time to make dinner, spend time with the family and shower. I have trouble falling asleep knowing that I need to wake up early.
2. Not quite awake (well rested) in the morning and forget to weigh-in or I snooze too much and don't leave enough time to make my sandwich for lunch. Making the night before is not an option because, I don't like soggy lettuce.
3. I am not a morning person and cannot eat as soon as I wake up. When I am working I may or may not get a break depending on my assignment that day. So, I am completely skipping breakfast most days but I still have coffee with cream so it's not quite IF. This has led to me being hungry at lunch and heading for the free food which is not as healthy as what I have packed.
4. Get home too late to cook.
Here is my plan for this week:
1. Don't snooze.
2. Pack my lunch every day and eat it.
3. Make extra chicken on Sunday to have for dinner on Monday and Tuesday. Repeat on my day off, Wednesday, for Thursday and Friday.
4. Stop at Starbucks on my way home and get a trenta green tea.
I didn't mean to write a novel but I needed to get all of that out. Hope everyone is doing well.
azkunk - Sounds like a real challenge but I'm sure everyone appreciates your sacrifice. Just a couple ideas for consideration:- As far as not having a lot of time to prep breakfast or wanting to eat right away, consider some options you can make ahead of time such as a hard boiled egg, overnight oats, fruit you can take with you (apples or bananas) which you can either eat when you arrive to work if you can get there 5 minutes early or during a break.
- For lunch, I try to keep things simple which usually means a modest portion of left-overs supplemented with raw veggies and some type of fruit. I'm not sure if you have access to a refrigerator (maybe it's cold enough where you are it would be OK in your car trunk for 5-6 hours?) or microwave but if they provide some kind of food there, maybe just eat a smaller portion along with your veggies, etc. If you have to have something with flavor, just bring a small container with a little peanut butter or ranch dressing and see how far you can stretch it out (a little game I play).
- As far as dinners, we've made one weeknight a 'support local business' by having a meal picked up or delivered. We rotate it around to different restaurants but if you make a salad or heat up some frozen vegetables as a side and just drink water it reduces the calories a bit over what you might normally get if you went out. I look at the menu in advance (when I'm not hungry) to try and pick something that looks healthier and by putting in the order ahead of time (letting my wife know since she usually calls it in for the family), I'm not tempted to get the kind of food that blows my calorie count for the day. We also rely on the crock-pot for busy days/nights when the kids have activities and everyone has a different eating schedule.
- I'm not sure if you have kids or if they're old enough but another dinner idea is to have them prepare the meal once a week. They get to pick the meal but you get to approve it. Our kids like making spaghetti and tacos and if you are creative (Spaghetti squash or whole wheat noodles, or shrimp or ground turkey instead of beef for taco meat), you can keep it somewhat healthy.
I'm sure you'll get some other ideas from the group. Good luck!5 -
^^ I really like Jim's suggestions to you @azkunk.
I try my best to keep eating as simple as possible during my work week. It may be boring during the week, but it keeps things easy and therefor reduces my stress and lends me more time to exercise, work and be with family, etc.
Sunday is my food prep day. I make a bunch of chicken, burger patties, any protein I can bake, grill or broil, and boiled eggs. I buy bagged salad kits that I can just add tuna, steak, chicken, egg to. I also keep protein bars ready and other easy to grab snacks like, fruit, nuts, yogurt. Pre-portioning them into snack size baggies helps also. My meals only 10 minutes to slap together. That keeps me from picking at things while prepping when I am most hungry.
Sandwich packing; you can pack it up separately (lettuce in a zip lock) the night before and then put it together at work, maybe?
Overnight oats or a smoothie the night before, to quickly blend in the morning and take with you. I'm like you and don't like eating first thing in the morning, so I eat a boiled egg and a protein (collagen) coffee in the late mornings instead, and workout fasted most days.
I hope you can find a good plan. I think once you find a way that really works, you get into a groove and it will start to feel easier on you.
PS: Paper plates are also helpful. Less clean up.2 -
Here are my biggest problems that I need to address. Any suggestions are appreciated.
1. Not getting enough sleep. Get up around 5:45am to leave by 6:30 and not getting home until 6:00pm. In order to get 8 hrs, I would need be asleep by 9:30pm which is not enough time to make dinner, spend time with the family and shower. I have trouble falling asleep knowing that I need to wake up early.
2. Not quite awake (well rested) in the morning and forget to weigh-in or I snooze too much and don't leave enough time to make my sandwich for lunch. Making the night before is not an option because, I don't like soggy lettuce.
3. I am not a morning person and cannot eat as soon as I wake up. When I am working I may or may not get a break depending on my assignment that day. So, I am completely skipping breakfast most days but I still have coffee with cream so it's not quite IF. This has led to me being hungry at lunch and heading for the free food which is not as healthy as what I have packed.
4. Get home too late to cook.
Here is my plan for this week:
1. Don't snooze.
2. Pack my lunch every day and eat it.
3. Make extra chicken on Sunday to have for dinner on Monday and Tuesday. Repeat on my day off, Wednesday, for Thursday and Friday.
4. Stop at Starbucks on my way home and get a trenta green tea.
I didn't mean to write a novel but I needed to get all of that out. Hope everyone is doing well.
Hi @azkunk
Let me think about what I can suggest...
1) Is it possible to have one cooking day or part of a day. I think you mentioned this above. However, I wonder if you could instead prepare 3-4 meals and freeze them. So, for example, you could make big lasagna or some stew or some casseroles and then freeze them, perhaps even into readily usable portions. If you made say 3-4 meals then you would have enough for the week. You may need to repeat some meals, but I would think this would be fine. You could rotate the three and then the next weekend make three different meals and rotate them. Perhaps this long afternoon of meal making could be a family time? It wouldn't hurt your kids to learn how to cook and they might enjoy doing it. It is a way to spend time together.
2)If dinner is premade as above, you should be able to just unfreeze and reheat the dinner and perhaps then you would only need to make a salad. I might even suggest assigning this task to someone else in the family ( on rotation) so that you could take a shower while the food is being reheated and somebody could be on salad duty. When I grew up, we had rotating chores. I didn't mind chopping things for my mother. Making a salad is fairly easy and doable by most people, even those with no real cooking knowledge.
3) As far as lunch. I would again potentially pre-make your lunches for the week. There are foods such as nuts, cheeses, fruit, yoghurt or cottage cheese, cut up raw veggies and perhaps a dip like a hummus that you could pack into a lunch pre-made and just bring it with you. None of these foods would get soggy, especially in containers.
4) For mornings, I might suggest a smoothie. Since it's in liquid form, you might find it easier to take down. Also, some smoothies can be quite delicious and so you may be more motivated to eat them.
5) I'm not a very good sleeper, but a friend mine is and she has a set of rituals and routines which help her sleep. I believe she turns off all technology some time before sleep, does a crossword puzzle, spends time with her cat etc etc. Because of the routine nature, her body automatically then understands it is preparing for sleep time. She says she starts yawning as she moves through her routine and readies for sleep.
I hope some of these suggestion might help. Before sleep listening to a guided meditation may be relaxing as well.
Best of luck,
Laura
3 -
01/15
Food logged.
Way over calories!
Drank 96. oz water.
Steps: 1,439
Had a binge episode tonight. Am feeling quite angry, and not to mention sick to my stomach. Not sure why it happened since no emotional upset or stressor which are the usual triggers. Well, I have't had a diet break since October so maybe am a little overdue. Will raise calories to maintenance for a week or two and see where it leads.
2 -
@jimboden3 , @iHUSTLE4MUSCLE & @lelbarou - thanks for the suggestions. I love all of the ideas and I already bought fruit, veggies, eggs and protein shakes. I plan to prep tomorrow and might even try to make my sandwich at night with the tomato and lettuce on the side.
I have a stupid question - are you supposed to eat overnight oats cold or heat them up? I tried them once (cold) but I wasn’t crazy am them and I love oatmeal. Maybe it was the recipe. I really do want to like them.3 -
SW: 278
LWW: 239
CW: 237.8
WWL: 1.8 pounds
LTD: 40.2 pounds
Steps:
1/10: 3,686
1/11: 4, 274
1/12: 9,108
1/13: 7,495
1/14: 7,748
1/15: 10,731
(I will be back later after my walk to update my steps for today!)
Okay, guys so I missed last week's weigh-in. This COVID thing is KICKING MY BUTT! We have no beds so we have been holding patients in the ER for DAYS! Lots of crazy stuff coming with it too! Heart attacks, lots of intubations, strokes, and all the ER stuff on top of having inpatient patients. It has been draining. I have also been given a much stricter schedule at the surgery center as well and will be doing more hands-on patient care which means that those low step days up there, ^^^^ are no more. (YAY!!!!)
I finally think I got a grasp on my diet though and have been bringing my lunch and dinner with me on my hospital days so that I am not eating after 8 pm or stopping at the local fast food joint to fuel up before my hour ride home. I haven't had much energy to go to the gym but I did order some flat bands and did that the other night I will probably do it again here in a but before I go out for a walk. I am starting to feel decent again, and hoping to stay that way! I have been getting some good ideas for workouts and such from NerdFitness. (Also some great recipes as well!) I did splurge a bit this past week on a new cast iron pan, a veggie chopper, and a mandolin. I have been trying to eat much cleaner where I can. Today I had a 4oz steak with sweet potato with cinnamon and a little bit of butter. It was soooooo good!
Ohhhh and I also got a nice BIG lunch bag where I can put my supplements and my lunches and dinners in!
I am REALLY going to try to get in here more often now that my energy levels are increasing again. I used to just come home and crash whereas now I kinda hang around a bit or do a quick 15-minute workout before shower and bed. I can't do a whole lot on days where I work back to back because otherwise, I would get no sleep but you get the point lol.
Anywho, gonna go get this workout in and hopefully check back in later. I got lots of stuff to catch up on I see!
I absolutely LOVE your energy and attitude. You are in the thick of this COVID battle and you are inspiring. I know exactly what you are going through and I feel bad that I can’t do more to help my colleagues on the frontline. I know the exhausting shifts with code after code and holding patients for days must be physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting. Yet you are rocking it. This week, when I am struggling this week to stay on track, I am going to think of you and your positivity and not give in to my self sabotaging thoughts and behaviors. Thank you!
4 -
CHECK IN: Week 2 (Saturday)
🏋🏻♀️ Exercise ✔️
🥤 96 oz. Water ✔️
🍽 Under Calories ✔️
💤 Sleep ✔️
👣 STEPS
SAT 1/16: 21,071 + (bootcamp) 13,350 = 34,4213 -
2
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@Megan_smartiepants1970
1/10; 7330
1/11: 6581
1/12: 7830
1/13: 6186
1/14: 7386
1/15: 6463
1/16: 81852 -
The new challenge is up ....https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10821618/january-week-3-challenge-ladder-up#latest1
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Happy Sunday everyone. Quick check in for me this morning.
Not really resting as much as I would like. Chores don’t get done when you rest am I right. So doing what needs to be done and trying to find the time for a quick sit down. Not sleeping well as I’ve got a poorly teen at home. He’s not getting much sleep so I’m staying up with him. His fever keeps spiking and he’s got some bad diarrhea. Keeping him hydrated and trying to keep his temp under control. Not much we can do but wait it out. He had a Covid test done on Friday and it was negative so all good there.
@Megan_smartiepants1970
Sunday - 12,771
Monday - 17,196
Tuesday - 13,554
Wednesday - 19,934
Thursday - 13,981
Friday - 15,812
Saturday - 11,535
3 -
Username : azkunk
Weigh In Day: Sunday
PW: 178.8
CW: 177.4
LTD: 29.6
I am pleasantly surprised at the scale today. I did not track much last week nor did I follow my plan. I did try to make good choices and mentally kept track so I guess that this all is starting to become hard-wired. I definitely could have done better and I will this week!
Goals for this week:
1. Prep breakfast, lunch and snacks the evening before work.
2. Make big meals on Sunday and Wednesday to have leftovers for 2 nights
3. Ladder up my steps with a goal of at least 8K
4. Minimum of 70 oz of water each day
5. Track everyday
6. Quick check-in here everyday
Have a great week everyone!4 -
mari_moulin wrote: »Happy Sunday everyone. Quick check in for me this morning.
Not really resting as much as I would like. Chores don’t get done when you rest am I right. So doing what needs to be done and trying to find the time for a quick sit down. Not sleeping well as I’ve got a poorly teen at home. He’s not getting much sleep so I’m staying up with him. His fever keeps spiking and he’s got some bad diarrhea. Keeping him hydrated and trying to keep his temp under control. Not much we can do but wait it out. He had a Covid test done on Friday and it was negative so all good there.
@Megan_smartiepants1970
Sunday - 12,771
Monday - 17,196
Tuesday - 13,554
Wednesday - 19,934
Thursday - 13,981
Friday - 15,812
Saturday - 11,535
I hope your son feels better soon. Having a sick kid is no fun at any age. Those steps are very impressive, you definitely deserve a day to of rest. But I suspect rest is not something that comes easy for you. You are always on the go and can’t justify sitting around when there are chores to be done. Give yourself permission to let the chores wait a day. Your body needs a break every now and then. If you are feeling exhausted, it is telling you to take a break. Listen to it.
0 -
Megan_smartiepants1970 wrote: »The new challenge is up ....https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10821618/january-week-3-challenge-ladder-up#latest
I love this challenge and it’s exactly what I need for my steps this week!
1 -
Steps 11,373
Completed core workout. I cooked salmon for myself last night. I usually eat fish mostly in restaurants. My hubby hates salmon and swordfish so we don’t make those at home but he was out with my son last night.3 -
@jimboden3 , @iHUSTLE4MUSCLE & @lelbarou - thanks for the suggestions. I love all of the ideas and I already bought fruit, veggies, eggs and protein shakes. I plan to prep tomorrow and might even try to make my sandwich at night with the tomato and lettuce on the side.
I have a stupid question - are you supposed to eat overnight oats cold or heat them up? I tried them once (cold) but I wasn’t crazy am them and I love oatmeal. Maybe it was the recipe. I really do want to like them.
I think you are supposed to eat them cold but can also heat up. I didn’t like them at first cold either and I am still on fence about them but the dislike is a little less.
3 -
@jimboden3 , @iHUSTLE4MUSCLE & @lelbarou - thanks for the suggestions. I love all of the ideas and I already bought fruit, veggies, eggs and protein shakes. I plan to prep tomorrow and might even try to make my sandwich at night with the tomato and lettuce on the side.
I have a stupid question - are you supposed to eat overnight oats cold or heat them up? I tried them once (cold) but I wasn’t crazy am them and I love oatmeal. Maybe it was the recipe. I really do want to like them.
I think most people eat it cold and I agree that it does take some getting used to but there's no rules against warming it up in a microwave later in the morning when you're ready. Since there are so many different ingredients you could add, you may want to experiment. Depending on what you mix in it can taste like anything from wallboard paste to a dessert so just try different things until you find a combo that you like. We usually buy the berry type fruit at Sam's club (Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Strawberries) but sometimes I'll pick up a pineapple or pre-cut mango, kiwi, etc. and change out different fruits for variety. I don't eat overnight oats too often because I'm usually up early and currently working form home but it is convenient and good every now and then. If you don't have any fruit on hand, I've added nuts and a little squirt of honey or if you're feeling hardcore you can add chia seeds, etc but honestly there's a point where you can overboard on the health factor and sacrifice the enjoyment aspect. As far as I'm concerned, life is to short to eat something that taste like spackle so I'd say explore different recipes until you find what works for you. This is something I could see burning out on so maybe try it out on a Tuesday and Thursday with some variety on other mornings.4 -
@azkunk - You may want to have a look at this article 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Making Overnight Oats3
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Yesterday’s steps 2409
Sw 217
Cw 213.54 -
-
SW: 278
LWW: 239
CW: 237.8
WWL: 1.8 pounds
LTD: 40.2 pounds
Steps:
1/10: 3,686
1/11: 4, 274
1/12: 9,108
1/13: 7,495
1/14: 7,748
1/15: 10,731
(I will be back later after my walk to update my steps for today!)
Okay, guys so I missed last week's weigh-in. This COVID thing is KICKING MY BUTT! We have no beds so we have been holding patients in the ER for DAYS! Lots of crazy stuff coming with it too! Heart attacks, lots of intubations, strokes, and all the ER stuff on top of having inpatient patients. It has been draining. I have also been given a much stricter schedule at the surgery center as well and will be doing more hands-on patient care which means that those low step days up there, ^^^^ are no more. (YAY!!!!)
I finally think I got a grasp on my diet though and have been bringing my lunch and dinner with me on my hospital days so that I am not eating after 8 pm or stopping at the local fast food joint to fuel up before my hour ride home. I haven't had much energy to go to the gym but I did order some flat bands and did that the other night I will probably do it again here in a but before I go out for a walk. I am starting to feel decent again, and hoping to stay that way! I have been getting some good ideas for workouts and such from NerdFitness. (Also some great recipes as well!) I did splurge a bit this past week on a new cast iron pan, a veggie chopper, and a mandolin. I have been trying to eat much cleaner where I can. Today I had a 4oz steak with sweet potato with cinnamon and a little bit of butter. It was soooooo good!
Ohhhh and I also got a nice BIG lunch bag where I can put my supplements and my lunches and dinners in!
I am REALLY going to try to get in here more often now that my energy levels are increasing again. I used to just come home and crash whereas now I kinda hang around a bit or do a quick 15-minute workout before shower and bed. I can't do a whole lot on days where I work back to back because otherwise, I would get no sleep but you get the point lol.
Anywho, gonna go get this workout in and hopefully check back in later. I got lots of stuff to catch up on I see!
I absolutely LOVE your energy and attitude. You are in the thick of this COVID battle and you are inspiring. I know exactly what you are going through and I feel bad that I can’t do more to help my colleagues on the frontline. I know the exhausting shifts with code after code and holding patients for days must be physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting. Yet you are rocking it. This week, when I am struggling this week to stay on track, I am going to think of you and your positivity and not give in to my self sabotaging thoughts and behaviors. Thank you!
Awww shucks 😍 thank you! I'm trying really hard! We got this!!!! 💪2 -
Tazaria87
Saturday
PW 193.6
CW 191.2
Loss w/ MFP since 4/17/20 78.8lbs
LTD 131.8lbs
Awesome loss! You stick to your plan and it is working.Weigh Day Saturday
CW: 155
PW: 156
YTD: 1.0
LTD: 100
Stayed under my calories of 1200 all but two days, so thinking I need to manage that more. I really would like to lose two per week during the challenge but I will take the one.
Congrats! It must feel so good to hit 💯 pounds. I think at your weight right now you can expect to lose 1 pound or less a week. You won’t be long getting to goal.iHUSTLE4MUSCLE wrote: »lindamtuck2018 wrote: »
I think if I am remembering correctly Friday is your cheat day. If so, tell us what a cheat day means for you if you?
I did have my cheat meal for dinner last night. With my walking workout deficit yesterday, it still put me over calories. Today I am back on it though.
I had beef tacos last night. I make the meat in the pressure cooker (on saute mode) and it's so fast and easy. I add olive oil, black beans, kidney beans, mushrooms, spinach, onion, tomatoes and jalapeño in with taco seasoning and some nutritional yeast flakes (to bind it). So my kids get a big hit of vegetables without knowing it! I used low carb, high fiber soft tortillas, top it with some spicy salsa, avocado and swap out sour cream with fat free plain greek yogurt.
Have a great weekend😁
That sounds delicious. I have to get my instant pot out this week. I have seen some got instructions for beginners on the 2 Facebook groups joined. Anyway, I am adding this recipe to my meal lineups.User: cesse47
Weigh-in Day: Saturday
Previous weight: 297.6
Current weight: 298.1 gain 0.5
STEPS -- 3000 each day this past week
Last week reorganized my exercise area so it's usable again. started back up with Richard Simmon's stretches and chair yoga with Sherry Zak Morris ... did every day. Thought my eating was on track ... but, evidently messed up somewhere. Bummer!!!
Plan to meal plan for next week today; order needed groceries for delivery. Then, strict enforcement of weigh, measure, drink water, exercise ... yada yada yada. Still a major struggle. What's different is that I haven't quit; keep trying.
Have a great week y'all!!
You got this as you have a great plan for next week. I am so proud of you for sticking with this.1 -
check in for Jan. 16
Logging - yes.
Exercise - no ( not steps)
So, I decided to take a Covid test this morning. and I'm awaiting the results.
I am hoping that I just have some kind of sinus or allergy issue since I am prone to that,
but I should know for sure by tomorrow. If so, I can go out instead of waiting another week.
I hope everyone is keeping safe and well.
I hope your result is negative.1 -
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I will read the posts and do my checkin in a bit. We are off for a short outdoor visit with our granddaughters. It’s cold out so it will be very short.1
-
Steps 1/16: 16,7400
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Would the following people please get their steps in:
@shortyjmorgan1 1/11-1/16
@scribb 1/14 and 1/15
@DawnCumm 1/14-1/16
@363days 1/12-1/16
@draby2011 1/16
@Sripalbhansali 1/10, 1/12,1/13, 1/14, 1/15 & 1/16
@Z1ORtza 1/15 & 1/16
@eaturpasta 1/15 & 1/16
Thank you
0 -
Daily Post January 16
Tracked Yes
Under Calorie Yes
Water 128oz
Steps 9063
Exercise 29min Inc Dance Fit Video
Had another mom from my son's preschool ask me what I've been doing cuz they noticed I look different so that was nice. Also had a family member I saw last week text and ask for my workout videos as they wanted to start them haha. That one really surprised me.4
This discussion has been closed.