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May 7
Mrs_Hoffer
Posts: 5,193 Member
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?
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day?
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank?
0
Replies
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WOW! I seriously loved the opener about your WHY yesterday and all the very detailed answers. So today now that we have done the WHY I am curious about each of us and our HOW.
For me my HOW is about counting calories and setting a top limit. I am in maintenance but have drifted up a little this past few months (age, less activity, a few more binges? who knows) so my how is defined as that I have a calorie limit which is maintenance for me and I would like to eat below that most days. But I know some days I just wont have the chutspa to do it so it's a long term drift downward based on when I can (mentally and physically) cut a few hundred a day.
Let us know your current how - no judgements - and if it is a repeat HOW or a new HOW for you. Mine is a new approach because dammit once you are in maintenance cutting seems harder than ever.6 -
My HOW is about counting calories, cutting 200-300 calories doing workouts and having dinner before 7pm. I don't drink alcohol, I don't snack and I don't eat sugary things. My problem is I love cooking 😍. I weight the food I'm going to eat to calculate the calories before sitting at the table. I will need these restrictions for the rest of my life so I allow myself to have some little slips sometimes.9
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Calories tracked ✅
Calories under budget ✅
Exercise ✅4 -
Yesx3
Awesome topic.. my how ATM is super simple but also a but of a essay too lol!!!... it's all about controlling the food as the working out comes much easier to me. So this month I'm just regining my calories back in, and learning from wat does not work. So this week I am going to try to hve our dinner on a plate and weighed ready to go in the morning. I usually always cook dinner in the morning but still find even just portioning it out at night time sends me on a habitual grazing session.... not sure why... maybe stress from the day, maybe I loose will power at night, maybe I get food envy seeing how much more hubby can eat than me or maybe trying to get it all done with a screaming toddler yanking at me causes me to graze like crazy..lol. whatever it is it doesn't matter its my weak time of the day so I need to over prep and set myself up 4 sucess!!! I am also going to try to eat slower at dinner, I notice some nights esp work days I inhale my food so quicky that it hurts at times. Again not too sure why I do this cld be a nervous thing, could be the anticipation of dinner, could be stress relief or maybe it's a I'm not in my body kinda moment? Not sure wat it is but am going 2 try to be mindful!xo8 -
My how:
-Weigh daily and record my weight on a spreadsheet.
-Against that weigh in, record my net calories consumed that day (eaten - exercise calories earned).
-Use this data to determine my maintenance calories.
-Up until recently I would then choose a deficit based on my weight (up to 1% of weight loss per week), and input that as my calorie goal. I reached my goal of losing 125 pounds in March and I'm now hovering around there. I am looking to lose about 4-9 more pounds and then switch to maintenance. At this point I have now set my calories at maintenance -10% in MFP and eat to that or just below and will use this method until I get to my maintenance range and hold there.
-I pretrack before I eat and track every bite even if I feel like it's a hard meal to track.
-I drink at least 64 oz of water daily if not more.
-I exercise by doing strength, Peloton, some outdoor cycling, and walking, with a few other things mixed in.
-I check in on various MFP community pages every day.7 -
SummerSkier wrote: »
Now that we have done the WHY I am curious about each of us and our HOW.
Let us know your current how - no judgements - and if it is a repeat HOW or a new HOW for you. Mine is a new approach because dammit once you are in maintenance cutting seems harder than ever.
Great topic!
In 2014 I was at a very low ebb. I had a worsening problem with one of my hips which meant that my mobility was affected, and I subsequently put on quite a lot of weight. I had to lose the weight so that I could have a hip operation done.
After trying unsuccessfully for over a year my daughter suggested that I tried MFP. Initially, I didn’t actually use the app.
At the end of the year I got an email. It was a 4 step plan from Jurgen Wolff, the author of “My Writing Coach“.
It was a turning point for me. It became my HOW. Over the years it has helped me create and adapt habits which support the person I choose to be.
I am a person who values the health and fitness of my body, mind, and spirit.
Over the years my primary focus changed from losing weight to becoming as fit and healthy as I could.
My 4 Step Plan for goal setting success
(AKA Jurgen Wolff, 'My Writing Coach')
🔹Step 1.
💡Imagine you are at the end of the year. Think of the one thing that you would like to be able to look back at, at the end of the year, and say 'I did that!'
📝 Write:
"At the end of this year I would like to look back and be able to say ....................."
💡This becomes your primary goal. (If you have an unused note book use the first page to do this.)
🔹Step 2
📝 Underneath that write:
Today, to help me achieve my primary goal, I am going to do............... (Write in one or two small things that you can do now to start you off.)
💡Now go and do them! You are taking the first step towards success!
🔹Step 3.
📝Now that you have taken the first step write out and complete the following sentences
Tomorrow I will ....................... to help me achieve my primary goal.
This week I will ....................... to help me achieve my primary goal.
Next week I will ...................... to help me achieve my primary goal.
Next month I will .................... to help me achieve my primary goal.
💡Please take the time to write these out. It reinforces your commitment to the goal.
🔹Step 4
📝Review your progress daily, weekly, monthly.
💡Adjust the steps as you progress.
🎉CELEBRATE EVERY SINGLE STEP YOU TAKE!
Below is what I wrote on the first page of my notebook. I am now into my seventh notebook.
🔹At the end of the year I would like to be able to look back and say that I had lost 1lb for every week of 2015.
I lost enough weight by September 2015 to have my hip op. I have never looked back.
🔹Today, to help me achieve my primary goal, I will:
💡start logging my calories on MFP.
~ I had been putting this off for far too long. I got the shock of my life when I realised how many calories I was eating. My dietician had said I should be eating between 1200 and 1500.
💡walk to the local shops.
~ This was a 2 mile walk. It took me over an hour, but I felt great afterwards.
🔹This week, to help me achieve my primary goal, I will:
💡park on the other side of the town park and walk to and from the activity centre instead of parking outside it.
~ This was a twenty minute walk each way as I took a roundabout route through the park.
💡weigh my food and log it on MFP and stay under goal.
~ I have done this almost every day now since I started logging.
💡do a minimum of 30 minutes exercise every day and log it on MFP.
~ I started walking around the neighbourhood after dinner if I hadn't done this earlier in the day. Now I 'Walk with Lesley' several times a day as well as doing my out and about stuff.
🔹Next week, to help me achieve my primary goal, I will:
1. weigh and log foods
2. increase my walking to a minimum of 60 minutes a day
3. do a minimum of 3 X 30 minute aerobics sessions
4. do 30 minutes of Tai Chi each morning
🔹Next month, to help me achieve my primary goal, I will:
1. weigh and log food
2. Join challenges on MFP
3. increase my aerobics sessions to 45 minutes
4. Extend my yoga/tai chi using YouTube vids
5. increase my walking to 90 minutes a day
6. Keep a diary of my progress.
8. Add other goals as the months pass, but never lose sight of my primary goal for the year.
8 -
Great job!Calories tracked ✅
Calories under budget ✅
Exercise ✅donna25trinity wrote: »Yesx3
Great job! 🥰 your response to the prompt2 -
3xyes. 4.3km freestyle3
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Excellent!Winner_in_Life wrote: »3xyes. 4.3km freestyle1 -
✅✅✅ 3️⃣ pass days left4
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SummerSkier wrote: »WOW! I seriously loved the opener about your WHY yesterday and all the very detailed answers. So today now that we have done the WHY I am curious about each of us and our HOW.
For me my HOW is about counting calories and setting a top limit. I am in maintenance but have drifted up a little this past few months (age, less activity, a few more binges? who knows) so my how is defined as that I have a calorie limit which is maintenance for me and I would like to eat below that most days. But I know some days I just wont have the chutspa to do it so it's a long term drift downward based on when I can (mentally and physically) cut a few hundred a day.
Let us know your current how - no judgements - and if it is a repeat HOW or a new HOW for you. Mine is a new approach because dammit once you are in maintenance cutting seems harder than ever.
One of my bucket list items was to run a marathon and so last year I joined a running club and finally ticked the marathon off last month. However I've discovered you can't out exercise a terrible diet. So eating mindfully, tracking my intake and being a part of this group is HOW I plan to keep healthy while still maintaining my exercise program .... and hopefully improving my run times too!5 -
✅ Exercise. 5 km walking to the cinema.
✅ Calories.
✅ Calories tracked.
0/3 pass days.5 -
Saturday
yes x 3
0/pass days used5 -
Tracked and logged.
Exercise all day moving and stacking firewood for the coming winter 🪵
My how? I just set a calorie goal and keep it for awhile move it around if needed.6 -
This is pass day 3/3. Today was college graduation day for my daughter in law and I enjoyed the food and festivities.
Had a lot of great food so tomorrow I will be back to my normal routine.6 -
✅✅✅5
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- Yes, 9,500+ steps, 118 zone minutes
- Yes
- Yes
3 -
SummerSkier wrote: »WOW! I seriously loved the opener about your WHY yesterday and all the very detailed answers. So today now that we have done the WHY I am curious about each of us and our HOW.
For me my HOW is about counting calories and setting a top limit. I am in maintenance but have drifted up a little this past few months (age, less activity, a few more binges? who knows) so my how is defined as that I have a calorie limit which is maintenance for me and I would like to eat below that most days. But I know some days I just wont have the chutspa to do it so it's a long term drift downward based on when I can (mentally and physically) cut a few hundred a day.
Let us know your current how - no judgements - and if it is a repeat HOW or a new HOW for you. Mine is a new approach because dammit once you are in maintenance cutting seems harder than ever.
Thank you for the opener.
I track and pre- log my day. I use my recipes and Meal entries in MFP since, I eat basically the same set of food. Learning to identify food items that does help my health journey. In addition, I exercise daily.6 -
May 7, 2022
Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? Yes, Iron Series by Caroline Girvan
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? Yes
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? Yes
Habits to maintain this month:
Kitchen Closed? Yes
Did you go "nuts" with nuts today? No (6 days -free)
Within Sugar macro today? Yes (5 days)
Pass day 0/3 (this is for accountability to myself and my records).4 -
✅ Exercise - 10.5 mile hike/backpack
✅ Calories -
✅ Tracking -
Closed all my Apple watch rings today
1 Pass days used
Documenting consistency (if there is a P=instead of number its a Pass Day)
UAC: P-2-3-4-5-6-7
This is what backpacking in Northern California looks like.
As to my how - I generally eat a lot of the same things that are already in my frequent or recent tabs for the food diary, so that makes tracking a much easier proposition. I also plan my exercise for the day and can adjust my afternoon walks to make sure I can hit my goals. Lastly, I weigh everyday which helps give me feedback as to how what I did/ate yesterday impacts me.
7 -
✅ Exercise: Lots of yardwork. My fitbit says I got almost 18,000 steps in, but I believe it over counted all the arm movements from cutting up an enormous amount of boxes for composting. I still think my arms are going to sore tomorrow.
✅ Calories
✅ Tracked
0 passdays used ( )
My how---
1. I am consistently tracking what I eat and focusing my attention on the best possible nutrition I can do, trying to strike a balance between limiting carbs and still making sure I get enough slow carbs for all the anti-oxidents, fiber, and resistance starch I need from a wide diversity of plants.
2. I am planning and preparing from scratch, real, whole food, with lots of attention to the quality, avoiding ultraprocessed food.
3. I am trying to eat 9 cups of vegetables per day, at least 3 cups of which are leafy greens.
4. I am staying active, making sure I get more than 7000 steps per day and also going to the YMCA at least every other day.
7 -
Exercise? Yoga
Under calories? Yes, 1,400 max
Tracked meals? Yes
Pass Days? 2/3
Water goal? No
Apple Cider Vinegar? Yes
I'm not sure of my why. So, I can't really define my how. I've been searching how to implement a good diet. Every time I read an article, the healthy food list gets shorter and shorter. Today my how is yoga and low cals.
4 -
@enlightenme3 Gorgeous.. have a blast on the rest of the trip1
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Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? Yes, two walks for a total of 62 minutes, a 48 minute Peloton ride, 5 minute post ride stretch, and 10 minutes of yoga for glutes
Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? Yes
Did I keep track of everything I ate and drank? Yes
Pass days used - 04 -
3x yes4
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Great next step @SummerSkier - thanks
And I hear you in how can dropping a lb or two (and staying) there be so elusive when we did so much more before! 😘
My HOW:
I’m really working to make maintaining & exercising EASY & efficient so I can do all the interests I’ve developed.
1st How: exchanging some nuts for veggies
Prepping cute containers of vegetables while I make my breakfast has been a game changer! Today I was a little hungry, and instead of my automatic nuts, I took a cold sparkling water & a container of 5 different cut up types of veggies. SO refreshing.
2nd How: Not feeling I’ve failed. This morning I was exactly a pound over my maintenance range. I tend to feel really fate hen this happens, so my 2nd How is being positive with myself. “You are doing great. This is a miracle. You’ve got this.”
3rd How
On days when my food is under control, for the first time in 5 years, I have skipped a day here or a meal there.
Yesterday, I finally realized what I’m doing. I’m shifting another giant step closer to eating moderately without the need for careful tracking. I’m not there yet, but I’m getting closer. I’m optimistic that this can be my reality for the first time in my life.
4th how:
I weigh & record & reflect upon my body weight each morning. So far, so good.
I also post my weekly trend weight.6 -
Saturday May 7
Thanks for the opening post today @SummerSkier and to everyone for sharing their “how”.
Since last August, my “how” has been simple. Measure and track everything that passes my lips, keep my intake under 1400 calories a day, pay attention to keep my protein and fibre intake up, and get 30+ minutes of intentional exercise each day. I have allowed myself, at times, to eat some of my exercise calories, though I have recently started doing this less frequently.
Since August, I have worked to ensure this experience is more a lifestyle than a restrictive eating regime. I do quite a bit of food prep, minimize the amount of processed food we eat, and have greatly increased our intake of whole foods — especially over the past 4 months. I love to cook; we rarely dine out, nor do we eat a lot of take out (but there are some favourites we don’t deprive ourselves of having). I find it pretty easy to pre-track quite a bit and have most of my recipes in MFP.
There are no forbidden foods, and I continue to enjoy my wine and have had no trouble making room for that when I wish to have it. I do try to restrict evening eating, mainly because I seem to do it out of boredom, and more importantly, I don’t sleep well if I have food to digest.
✅✅✅ Indoor treadmill exercise today. The high pollen count is a big problem for me right now, but it will pass. Bring on the spring rains and some more warm weather to speed this up. 🌧🌧🌧🌱🍃🌿5 -
TerriRichardson112 wrote: »
Excellent!Winner_in_Life wrote: »3xyes. 4.3km freestyle
Have to correct. The day turned into the 2nd pass day due to the late appetite 😊4 -
May 7th
Exercise no
Tracked yes
Calories no, but was close
Passes used up.
May 2022-UAC goals: 0/7 days. Hopefully, I will start to post some successful days of reaching the goals.
Darn! How quickly I forgot my "Whys"!
I had a weak moment at the grocery store while buying my Mom's favorite candies to put in a cute container for Mother's Day tomorrow. There are so many things that I cannot take her, anymore, and she used to love Mounds Bars & Reeses Peanut Butter cups. I bought her a small amount of the mini Mounds Bars & small package of the PB cups thins... but my eye caught the Toffee M & M Peanuts and it was past dinner time... and well, I bought them. Then, I ate some on the way home while driving. I completely forgot what I was trying to do... Ghah!
(by the way, my Mom is 85 with advanced dementia and can no longer walk or stand... I had just visited her & she didn't know me and was hallucinating some, yet she was smiling and was able to answer my questions -- she felt fine, and was not in any pain. I stroked her hair and kissed & hugged her. She cannot follow along with TV anymore although she does watch it. She gets mixed up often and thinks the people on the big screen TV are real and in the room and doesn't understand what they are doing or saying. While the other residents of the Group Care Home are in their beds taking a nap, my Mom is awake but is planted in front of the TV. It is very hard to watch and even be with my sweet, beautiful, Mom. She was a competitive tennis player, was very active her entire life. Loved to do Cryptograms which I've never been able to do those. She's developed allergies to flowers now, so I can't give her those. Tried that for her birthday a couple weeks ago. She used to love milk shakes and ice cream, but I can't bring those to her, anymore... so thought maybe I can give her one piece of the candy tomorrow and hopefully the caregivers at the Group Care Home will give her one a day... that wouldn't be too bad.)
Any way, I am now going to put a copy of my Whys in the car with me & place or tape them where I can see them. I already printed another copy & have it ready for the next time I'm in my car...
Linda8 -
May 8
Exercise: 20 minutes of resistance bands with my 6 year old from his "Handee Band" book. Probably not a lot of actual movement in those 20 mins, but I'm still going to count if for effort.
Tracking: Pre-planned the day, though not until the morning. Estimated for leftover Chinese food takeout (which I wasn't going to eat but then there were some dumplings nobody else wanted so I had to eat them - ugh). Then tracked the nibbles I had later
Calories: Under
It was really on the edge of a pass day, but I'm going to give myself the success.
How I do it. Currently:
- Try to make meals 100-200 calories of protein, 100-200 calories of healthy (whole grain or vegetable) carbs, and a whole giant heap of low-carb vegetables, and keep the calories in the sauce limited. Been following basically that template since I started losing weight - I started with that rather than counting calories, but it was 3oz protein and 1/2 cup healthy carbs.
- Pre-plan my day at a few hundred calories under my goal of 1650, and then track any nibbles I come up with throughout the day (or staying at the deficit would also be fine...)
- Try for 3 kinds of exercise most days a week: 15 minute MommaStrong D15, 20 minutes of stretching (including PT assigned stretches), at least 20 minute walk. Very minimal, but not nothing
- Check in here every day - ideally on the computer in the am so I have time to think and write, and then on the pm on my phone to do more reading.
- 1 treat every night before bed, no treats other times
Not that I manage all of those every day, but that's my goal.2
