@Greygirl915 i must admit i dnt personally track my macros, i def shld but its all a bit too much for me to manage atm. I will say that similar to @SModa61 i use Greek yougurt to beef up my protien which i love the taste of and i find it keeps me fuller for longer. Ill use it to make sauces or use it as a dip with veggies or eat it as a full meal with chia seeds fruit and cinnamon etc.

donna25trinity wrote: »

5th Feb
Yes alot of housework no walk as very windy. Yes and yes.
I have a xmas party to attend tomorrow, was postponed in dec due to covid. Any tips u guys can give on how to stay within my budget limit? I dnt know wat food they will be serving so i can't pretrack like i normally wld do. How do u guys manage this? I know skipping meals in the morning and at lunch is not the trick as ive done this in the past and i just get too starving and over eat.

@DonnaTrinity If buffet, one solution I will offer is to only make one plate of food with normal portions on it. No seconds. Take a mental picture, or real pic even better and track later. You still might go over, but not bad.

Cocktail party setting is harder to keep track. Keep hands full with seltzer and the like so you can't pick with at least that one hand. I then try and keep mental notes and repeat countable items - I eat 3 meat balls, and make note of size (quarter, golf ball, etc).

If you are willing to be open with others, you publicly track it as you eat it. I have no issue doing what in front of people, but not everyone feels that way. I typically can find something in the MFP food lists that I feel is comparable to track. For instance, if you ever look in my tracker, you might see an "eggo waffle". Well, that is actually my MIL's thick style pizzelle. Once, I weighed one of hers and found is was a similar weigh to an eggo waffle. Good enough for me and the intent of my tracking.

donna25trinity wrote: »

5th Feb
Yes alot of housework no walk as very windy. Yes and yes.
I have a xmas party to attend tomorrow, was postponed in dec due to covid. Any tips u guys can give on how to stay within my budget limit? I dnt know wat food they will be serving so i can't pretrack like i normally wld do. How do u guys manage this? I know skipping meals in the morning and at lunch is not the trick as ive done this in the past and i just get too starving and over eat.

@donna25trinity
I’m not allowed to eat at buffets due to suppressed immune system.
So I find out in advance & will bring food or just let the host know I won’t be eating.

I know this sounds odd. But I’m keeping this kidney as long as I can!

Everyone understands - actually one person doesn’t... so I will only meet her away from her home as she continually offers me food & even when I keep politely refusing, puts it out & I admit I’m like an alcoholic with food & now I can concentrate on what we were talking about I’m just using all my energy not to dive into the treats. Taxing to say the least. I won’t put myself through that again.

With COVID, we are not attending gatherings, eating out, or getting take-out.

If I was or could eat, I’d do as you & others have suggested.

Lots of water- sparking with lemon
Half plate veggies

Decide on bread OR dessert OR skip both “Too full, thanks though” I notice thin people don’t say sorry & don’t offer a reason for not finishing food or declining dessert...
“None for me.”

Avoid cheese, fried foods
Get all sauces on the side
Ditto dressings

Other strategies
Eat half of everything
Eat the items & at the pace of the healthiest person at the table.

And as you said eat your normal meals leading up to event. Just because someone decided to have a party doesn’t mean our bodies need a Lot more food & a Lot more sodium, saturated fat etc.

There will always be an occasion to overeat...celebrations, BBQ’s, happy hours, etc.

I decided - quite consciously- to separate the celebration/social from the food. I focus on the people. I use the alcoholic analogy a lot. Would it be ok for an alcoholic to be sober except during social occasions....
Unlikely, if it triggers a relapse?!

So if you were hosting a party, and a recovering alcoholic called you to let you know they were going to avoid all alcohol, you’d say “Great, good for you! Several others will be doing the same! Thanks for the heads up!”

great strategies as always Maddie. I too hate that people feel like they can't be social without a lot of food or liquor. My go to is to sip a cup of coffee and hang out with the veggie tray. In the past I might often actually eat a small meal of my own choosing before going to someone's house. For a sit down dinner it's a little harder but usually after logging for years and years you can make an estimate and stay away from the dishes with 10000 ingredients in them.

Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? yes
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? yes
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? yes

Summer

@SModa61 We do have the Friendship brand, so I'll have to try it out. Thanks!

Great strategies everyone! While I'm remote right now, we have a lot of food based events at my work so these will be very helpful.

Exercise: Yes (yoga 30, Bike Bootcamp 30)
Calories: Yes
Tracking: Yes

February 05

Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? Yes, 1h and 14 min of walking ( untill I reached 10,000 steps).
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? Yes, 1,190 / 1,200.
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? Yes, 2,220 of fluid, I do still have a bottle of water to keep by the bed, so, it's okay so far.

Today I had the obstacle of family gathering. They kept offering me food; " just a bite ", " this is healthy and count as diet". Even though I kept telling them I already have eaten dinner and I'm done for the day. Thank god I managed to ward them off and it's all thanks to this group. If it was last month ( which actually happened ) I would have taken it easy and ate whatever they offered.

@RangerRickL I'm the same here, at the start I always feel tired and exhausted, but once I'm on it, it feels so easy as if I'm using different body.

Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? Yes
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? Yes
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? Yes

Date: 2/5
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? ✅
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? ✅
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? ✅

PASS: 1/3 (for my own accountability)

Pass day 1/3

Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? Yes
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? Yes, under
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? Yes

@SModa61 thanks for the recipe for getting more protein I love cottage cheese and yogurt. Have to pick up chia seeds and a high fiber cereal. I definitely need a more substantial breakfast than I'm having now.

@Bovaryoo I might try the cottage cheese and scrambled eggs and see how it goes. Right now I use Good Culture CC, 14g protein. Honestly, I'm not a big eater so making 1,300 calories a day is an effort but tracking helps me see how undernourished I really have been.

@donna25trinity keeping track of macros is easy I just checked the box and it shows up on top of my diary. Otherwise, I wouldn't pay attention to it either lol As far as the Xmas party goes I agree with @SummerSkier I would always have a light meal before any social event because you never know what your walking in to when it comes to food and drink. Besides, I like my food better than catered anyway.

Thanks ladies for all your help