Daily check in for support and accountability

Good morning,
I've been able to get back on track the last few days- the weekend wasn't terrible but going out to eat multiple times definitely made it challenging. One way my thinking is changing is that I used to look at "food events" (celebrations, holidays, etc.) as once in a while, when I'm starting to see that I have to deal with these things all of the time. Previously I would either say to myself, "but this is a special occasion and I can have some treats and get back to it tomorrow." Or I would refrain from eating the treats and then go home feeling deprived and eat through the cabinets . The problem is these "food events" occur too often. I am now trying to learn to have a healthy attitude about them. Working in some treats but not over doing. It's a work in progress.
Have a great day All.

HW 272
CW 264
GW 150

Checking in! Still in the zone at week three. I am trying to figure out how to mention people in my post... but i can't figure out the link others are doing. I will figure it out eventually! Plotting Turtle: good job and I am joining you in this early euphoria. We need to bottle it and save it for later when we are tired, hungry and hitting a plateau! (been down this road a few times lol). Also enjoying the endorphins from regular exercise and already seeing a difference in my energy level. Focused on the moments of the day, one minute at at time. Would love to hear anyone's tricks they are doing. This week I prepped chicken and veggies to make easy salads and I am allowing one serving of chocolate a day... or one glass wine.... but not both!

@KeJeBeh1248 That's the truth. On those low points it's really hard to remember the high from the good days.

@PloddingTurtle I'm so glad the scale finally showed fruits of your labor.

I didn't make it to Zumba last night. However, that's because my belly decided it didn't like something and I had multiple bathroom stops from about 2pm until 7pm.

My neighbor works for a bagel shop and occasionally brings me anwhere from 1 to 2 dozen bagels that are left at the end of the day. Yesterday he brought me 15 fresh made bagels from that morning. I'm going to squeeze one (or half of one) into my calories for the next few days. Then I'll either give the rest to another neighbor or freeze them for a rainy bagel craving day. I did use one of them for a turkey sandwich last night and it was soooo good. I don't really buy bagels any longer since it's so calorie and carb dense. However, whenever I'm gifted a big bag of fresh made that day bagels I can't bring myself to say no. Instead it becomes my treat for the week.

Tonight I have a trivia night with my book club. They have a private room at a local BBQ restaurant for this event so I'm going to try and eat somewhat light through the day so I'll have those calories for the event.

Have a great day!!!!

Good morning!!!

I need to do better. I’ve slacked more often the last week of March and throughout April. Haven’t lost anything. I mean, I’m not gaining it all back either but I’ve been letting circumstances and excuses reign. I did pretty well all last week. Then on Friday night I went to the book club trivia night and ate an entire basket of tater tots. On Saturday I ended up not tracking anything at all for movie night. Not that I'm ever perfect on movie night, but I KNEW I was way over and kept eating.

I've been in the same 3 lbs for the past month or so. It's maintenance. It's not horrible but it isn't where I'm ready to be at either. That 3 lbs is literally 11 to 14 lbs from my goal. In my head when I'm falling down the rabbit hole it's like I can hear myself saying it's good enough. I don't want to be good enough. I want to crush my goals and be healthy. Self sabotage and being in my own head and letting all the stress bug me out needs to stop.

I have my neighborhood book club tonight, trivia at the tea shop tomorrow night, my big book club on Thursday, and Disney themed trivia at a distillery on Saturday. There will be food at all of these. Obviously, there will also be adult beverages on Saturday as well. Time to pull that self control back in place. I love these events. I just need to remember that being out isn't an excuse to behave badly.

On a more positive note, I took my daughter out on Saturday morning to Chick-fil-A for a mother/daughter date. They also had Encanto characters Mirabel & Isabella there decorating flower pots, giving starter bags of seed and soil. It was fun to have some one on one time.

@pamperedlinny: Do not give up on yourself! You can do it. You are so close to goal, don't let life circumstances get the best of you (PS I love how active your social life is! How fun!). You have been through so much lately, I was about drawn to emotionally eat just reading about it! (your parents and your daughter and the puppy... OY! this takes some recovery time!) I love that you are able to forgive yourself though! That is a huge achievement. What will you do when you hit your goal? Think FORWARD! You can do it. I am with you on the plateau thing. Lots of challenges. My parents were here this weekend and I struggled to stay mindful as well. They did not bring my daughter a puppy, thankfully, but immediately, there was judgement and condescension... My internal voice "I'll never be good enough" and my emotional response to just chug a glass of wine and stuff my face with cheese. I did not do those things but I struggled and I went over. Staying mindful helped me recognize my pattern, my emotional response to these triggers. Thank you (everyone!) for sharing. It feels good to not be alone. PS- speaking of being alone, my husband started this journey with me and lasted 1 week. He dropped seven pounds, of course he did! But this weekend he was into doughnuts, pizza, beer, you name it. How he can still eat like he is in his 20's is beyond me! I have much more to lose than him, so he plans to join me again later when he is "ready." Insert Eye Roll! I will be back to check in on wednesday!

Morning all!

Yesterday went pretty well. I still have party leftovers in the fridge so I had a couple garlic knots for lunch... except I heated it up a bit too much and actually burned (blistered) the roof of my mouth. It feels so weird! Then again, it did make me stop eating for an hour or so. I also had my small book club last night. I took a veggie tray that I threw together and a big bottle of water. Most of the other goodies were also pretty light fare so that made it easy to stay within my goals.

I also got my newest recipe blog up this morning. If anyone wants to read it they can find it at https://www.healthyeatingwithlinda.com/post/protein-mini-donuts

@KeJeBeh1248 I will continue on as I have been when I hit my goal. I actually calculated my TDEE as if I was already at my next goal and have been mostly eating that way. I figure that it might take me longer to lose but I'll have already learned how to eat at the new maintenance instead of trying to learn once I'm there.
Great job not chugging the wine! My husband has been working at losing weight after a cardiology incident. However, his approach is so different than mine that I can't really say we're in it together. I tend to have the self control to measure a serving from a big bag or a leftovers and put the bag away. He can't even open the bag because he'll eat it all in a sitting. It makes it a bit difficult but at least we're both trying to work our journeys and support each other.

@harringtona1 I tend to stop eating, except when there is an event, at 8pm. Then I don't have coffee with anything in it until 8am. That one cup is all I allow until after 10am. I tried to go until 10am for the milk in my coffee except I'm working starting at 8am and if I don't have a decent coffee when I start emailing it doesn't go very well. Also, I tried to not eat until noon but on days I maybe exercise a bit earlier or that my blood sugar drops a bit I felt horrible. So I started giving myself that extra 2 hours as needed. Listening to your body is a hard trick to learn though. I had a lot of not great days when I was trying to figure out when to stop and start for IF. I've been doing it for almost 2 years now and it certainly helps to have those boundaries in place.

Yesterday was a good day. Logged, under and my husband and I went for a 37 minute walk when the rain stopped. Today, however, is cold and rainy and I am exhausted! Woke up too early and could not get back to sleep.... a recipe for disaster! So far, so good, though. Fingers crossed I can find some focus! Today the scales read 209.4, which is coming back down!

I'm with you @HASWLRS with the out of shape stuff. I stopped PT because my back was getting zero better. Then it got slightly better and I stopped walking and it got better. Now I'm not doing PT or walking and it's worse again. I have to think it's just that weak. Gonna be a long haul to getting our bodies strong again. But if we focus on the things we're doing more than the numbers, we're behind to feel like we're getting somewhere. I plan to get back to walking every day. If I don't lose weight, at least I'll be walking every day. Then I'll add core exercise...

maybe I'll getting annoying taking about this. But I still find focusing on developing habits (a) works for weight loss if I allow myself the time it really takes to lose, a year for me, instead of 10 pounds by May or whatever I used to do and (b) I can actually win by doing actions to make habits, whereas the scale is not controlled by my decisions. Waiting for the scale makes me beat myself up. But fasting for 14 hours or whatever... That is a success if I do it. No scale needed. Floss each day check. Walk each day check. Lose 2 pounds? I have no idea. I just wanna be healthier.

Morning all! Sorry I got quiet again. Got busy again. One day maybe I'll find time for a real break.

I have the last bible study for the current book tonight. Then I won't be having bi-weekly dinners at church again until the fall. I have a work party on Thursday night with food and drink. Then I think we're all going out as a family for the day on Saturday and that usually means lunch out. Pretty much every other day is something this week.

@harringtona1 I recruited a couple of my neighbors to walk with me most days. Since working from home I found I had to have that accountability or there would be a full week without my walking at all. Once I get up and move I always feel better for it. But I definitely would rather just sit and do nothing.

@HASWLRS Sunday night I couldn't sleep at all either. It makes for a rough day whenever that happens. I hope it went well.

harringtona1 wrote: »

I don't know how you moms possibly stay fit with all the stuff the kids want to eat. While my sister, the entenmanns and peanut butter m&m's queen, lived with us, that magnet would've only worked 5% of the time. Hats off to moms trying to get healthy out there!

My husband can't look at it or even eat a single bite of something without eating an entire family size bag. It's all or nothing. I can usually have a bite or two and be ok. However, when I do fall it tends to be a big fall since there is all the kid food in the house all the time. Also, I keep a lot of single serve snacks in the house. It means I can tell my daughter and all her friends to only grab one vs a big bag. It also means when I can feel those cravings I can tell myself only one bag as well.