04/11/2021

Exercise - yes, beautiful autumn colours on my bike ride!
Tracked – yes, every mouthful
Calories – yes

@kamcnewman – great post with research included!
I do track to the gram when I’m at home but it is difficult when I’m out.
Like others I have the same breakfast every day at home and lunch is a big salad with one of three or four different protein sources so both meals are copy from yesterday. My evening meals that I cook at home are pretty straightforward and often include something I have batch cooked and frozen in weighed portions.
My big problem is eating out, but now that I’m maintaining not trying to lose, I have more wiggle room.

Nov 4
Exercise -30 minutes walking
Tracking - Preplanned, followed the plan
Calories - Under

Great topic starter @jamcnewman . I have tracked points and calories frequently over the years at various points in my weight loss journey. When I started back on MFP I started tracking. I agree the copy to date is awesome - I tend to eat a lot of leftovers or come up with an awesome salad (this week = lettuce, cucumber, red cabbage, lemon chicken, lemon hummus, and kalamata olives with lemon juice) and eat it until I am sick of it or run out of ingredients. We also have a menu plan where we rotate through the same things every month or every other month, and I have all of those saved as meals or recipes. I've also found that many of the recipes we use are already in the system.

I try to always track my meals for the next day the night before. That also allows me to think through the meals and take anything out of the freezer (this week has been frozen mango as a lunch desert, which is so much better if I put the portion in the fridge the night before). It feels like taking care of myself.

What I have been working on thanks to UAC learning and encouragement is:
- Adjusting my plan on the fly, but before I eat something, rather than just either figuring it'll fit in or figuring that taking a break occasionally is OK. I was very proud of myself earlier this week for doing the math in the app for the cookie before I ate it.
- Not giving up tracking on takeout days. Having my one 2000 calorie "takeout day" a week has given me a lot of wiggle room. And having people here coach me through estimating, and that it's OK if it's not perfect, has been very helpful. I think that has made a big difference, actually, vs. having the whole day be a free-for-all "pass day".

Speaking of that, I am a bit nervous for this weekend because we have family visiting. Today they are getting here for dinner and it is home cooked so I hope I can do that without too much trouble. Tomorrow will be the takeout day and they are also bringing bagels and that may turn out to be a pass day but I am going to try hard to find time to track and fit it under 2000 calories.