Every. Day.

Day 12 for me
258.6 (-0.2)

Today was weigh in day for me, happy to see the number go in the right direction... little by very little haha. Thanks so much for everyone's kind and supportive words. I was feeling down because someone at work made a discouraging comment to me about having signed up for a 5k that my company is participating in. Trying to rise above and put it out of my mind.

Today's goals
stick to planned meals and snacks
complete C25K week 3 day 2
show myself that I can do hard things (and while showing myself, maybe others will see too)

Yesterday was good. We had a work luncheon and I ate sparingly before that; then at the luncheon I stuck with the mahi mahi and one small slice of pork loin, roasted corn, salad, a small scoop of red potatoes that I did not eat, and a dinner roll. I had a glass of iced tea and a water. I felt very satisfied for a couple hours, actually.

And then I went skating with my friends after work for 2 hours! I burned a ton of calories, and decided to have a nice glass of chocolate milk (2% organic and Hershey's syrup) at home after, because I'm an adult! MFP says I could still have like 1400 more calories due to all the ones I lost skating; but I couldn't conceivably eat those right before bed. I stuck with the chocolate milk instead.

Feel good today.

The last concert of the year was super. Now nothing until fall🙁 Today pretty much a down day. Nothing on my agenda except walks and some chores around the house. Should even have time to read and maybe a movie tonight. Dog will be happy that i am not running off to something tonight. Speaking of tonight ... I am having mystery meat for dinner. Literally. I was organizing the freezer this week and came across a frozen "something". I usually label things I put in freezer. Not this time. Will be fun to figure out what I am cooking ... or not.

@krabuck "was feeling down because someone at work made a discouraging comment to me about having signed up for a 5k that my company is participating in." ... this really made me angry. People can be such jerks. I think it is WONDERFUL that you are doing this!!

@aweggo05 Hugs. I hope today is better for you.

@kaferine69 Sounds like you had a great day. Skating sounds like fun.

@wewillbskinny Congrats on your weight loss. You are doing great!

Mystery meat solved. It was a package of tamales that my friend's daughter in law brought for Christmas. I was given a package and stuck it in yhe freezer. TOTALLY forgot them. Very different from any I ha e ever had. Very surprised to find a whole chicken leg inside! Unfortunately, did not care for it. At least met my goal of trying something new every week!

Other than that, an uneventful day. Off to help at a fund raiser this morning. Tomorrow having HVAC system replaced.

@krabuck you are doing a great job in being consistent in your 5k prep. When does this take place?

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Monitored my calories carefully yesterday so that I would participate in my husband and I's weekly hot pot meal. We do it every Saturday and it's our date night ritual. We purchased a convection burner, a dual sided hot pot pot, and visit the Asian market every week to grab our favorite meal items.

Typically I will have a pork or mushroom soup base on my side with some ginger and garlic paste and add water & broth. I include broccoli and mushrooms as my veggies, and add shaved pork belly, shaved ribeye, and pork & beef balls in there for protein. I also usually have a whole cube of ramen with it. It can be a very large carb and calorie sink if you're not careful, so the past two Saturdays I have carefully configured all the totals and made some moderations. I tried a sweet potato rice noodle last Saturday that comes in at 70 calories a serving (instead of the 190 calories for HALF a serving of ramen!) and stuck with two pork and beef balls, and a double helping of broccoli and mushrooms instead. Yesterday I tried a different noodle (buckwheat) that had comparable calories to the sweet potato ones, but they tasted AWFUL! Like soggy cardboard! I ended up ditching them and going with half a serving of ramen instead and lowered the meat intake.

Today I had avocado on toast topped with balsamic glazed caramelized onions for lunch and I got in 30 min of outdoor biking! It was very windy today, so I had to push myself to get that 30 min in. I'm recovering now with some chocolate milk and water. Husband is making homemade shepherd's pie tonight and I'm looking forward to that!

jan110144 wrote: »

@kaferine your weekly Hot Pot ritual sounds lovely. So does the avocado toast!

I'm finding myself really infatuated with the avocado toast. It's really filling, the balsamic glaze is lovely, and I feel satisfied for hours, which is a struggle with work meals & snacks. At work it feels like I am eating something every 2 hours or so.


This morning I weighed myself to get an accurate number for the Big Doctors Appointment on Thursday, even though I decided to move my weigh-in days to Fridays. I'm down to 256! It's really strange seeing the number fluctuate so much. Some days I am over 260, some I am 5 less. Bodies are weird!

Hope everyone has a nice Monday.

Day 14
258.2 (+1.0)

Good morning! Ready for another week of commitment.

Goals for the next few days:
stick to planned meals and snacks
continue C25K, hopefully start week 4 this week
keep the kitchen clean - I've noticed how this relates to staying on track for me, when my kitchen is clean I am more likely to cook and meal prep!

@wewillbskinny thank you!!! Not too worried about the fluctuation today!! I agree with @kaferine69 that bodies ARE weird haha

@jan110144 the 5k is this Saturday 5/04. Last year I told myself that this year I would do it. I know I will not be able to run the whole thing, I am good with walking and jogging some. Just excited to be participating!

@Awegg05 glad you're feeling better!! You got this!

Good morning! Yesterday was pretty boring. Stuck inside most of the day while they installed my new furnace and because it rained most of the day. Did manage to get two walks in for Abby between the showers. Installation continues today with the air conditioning install. Last day of month 1 today. Since I am stuck inside most of the day again, it is probably a good time to focus on my progress to date and what I want to focus on/change for May.

@kaferine69 Good luck on your doctor's appointment. Yep ... bodies insist on just doing their own things. The scale is a really a challenging way to measure success in the short time because of these weird fluctuations. I try to focus on consistency and consider it a win every day that I do what I plan to do. I trust the process and am pretty sure that if I do what I need to do every day, it will all work out in the end. In the end, there is no quick fix and consistency over a considerable length of time is the only answer I have found.

@Awegg05 Glad you're feeling better. Hopefully things will slow down a bit for you soon. You are definitely going through a really stressful, busy time. Be gentle with yourself!

@krabuck Like your weekly focus! I tend to like things orderly and find it easier to stay focused when they are. Never thought of it quite this way before ... Not sure if the orderliness helps to stay on track or if disorderliness is one of the first signs that I am slipping.

kaferine69 wrote: »

Do any of you own kitchen scales for measuring food quantities? We do have one, but we're realizing that it's kind of small. Any plate size on it covers the numbers. We're looking for one that has a wider surface area so it can hold a plate and still be able to be read.

Temporary expedient until you get a new one: Put a bowl on the scale as a riser.

Even though my weight has been fluctuating so much, I can tell my measurements are changing more. Yesterday I wore a blouse and slacks to work that normally are roomy, but yesterday I felt like I was swimming in them. Today I have on tighter slacks and they feel like they are fitting a little better. And... my rolls seem a little more manageable. I'm counting these things as success!

Yesterday was a stressful work day. A lot of stupid office drama. I let the stress follow me home and consequently made poor food choices. Had a half sub on wheat instead of a wrap, and had a slice of chocolate cake. My husband brought it to my attention that I always feel sluggish the next morning after an evening of carbs and sugar, so he (nicely) insisted that I do some stationary biking at home before bed to try to help alleviate that. I was grumpy at him about it, but I did it anyway. And I'm not feeling so bad today.

Day 16

Happy to be on the other side of 2 weeks!! Happy to be starting a new month and leaving poor health choices behind with April. I caught myself daydreaming last night about how good I could feel at the end of this month if I just stick to it. I also was thinking about how much has already changed in 2 weeks as I was tidying up the kitchen last night to cook for lunches the rest of the week and prep breakfasts, after I had come back from a jog! Not that long ago I could not imagine having that motivation…

Today’s goals
Stick to planned meals and snacks
Walk on my lunch break
Keep the kitchen clean

@jan110144 the clean kitchen is kinda like which came first - the chicken or the egg 😆😆 is Abby your dog?

@kaferine69 it’s an amazing feeling to notice changes like clothes fitting more comfortably! Such a motivator! Great job! Your husband sounds like a great supporter!

Sorry – long post - feel free to skip.

Journey Month 1

I started the IE "intuitive eating" journey one month ago today. I had tried this before, but did not succeed. This time it was probably not a typical start, as I began by the normal ‘dieting’, tracking, etc. I did it knowing that I wanted to move toward IE and just took this period to read and understand what I was about to do. During this time, I also concentrated on making sure I got adequate sleep, exercise, hydration and made an attempt to do more things with friends. These three issues were key, because I frequently struggle with trying to figure out whether I am tired, stressed, bored, thirsty or hungry! Fundamentally, I needed to cut down on the ‘noise’ if I was going to be able to listen to my body and try to understand what it needs.

After about two weeks, I decided to switch over to IE. By this time, I was MUCH MORE attuned to what I was feeling. Turns out that much of the time my eating was a response not to hunger but to one of the other issues. Addressing those has been absolutely essential to being able to recognize and respond to my hunger cues.

Once I started IE, the only real change I made (besides no longer tracking and obsessing about what I was eating) was to focus on variety. Instead of eating the same things over and over again (typical diet mode), I made sure that I was digging out old recipes, trying new ones, etc. The only ‘rule’ for me, was that there were no rules. I do tend to have the same thing for breakfast most mornings, but lunch and dinner are as varied as I can think of and have time for. The only time I eat the same thing twice is if I make something that has left-overs that don’t freeze well. Otherwise, into the freezer for future meals leftovers go. This variety has proven to be my ‘magic cure’ for cravings. So far, I can honestly say that cravings have not not been an issue.

One other key change for me, that seems to have really resolved bingeing, is the concept of granting permission to myself. When I have people over for dinner, or o out to dinner, and I know that I will be eating/drinking special things (i.e., dessert, richer than normal daily foods, drinking a glass of wine), I no longer try to plan just how much I can have to ‘stay on plan’ (old behavior). Inevitably, that would never work. Instead, it would tend to lead to overindulgence, disappointment, feeling ashamed of myself, and several days of highly "bingy" behavior following. Or, if I managed to ‘regulate’ myself, I would end the evening craving and giving in to eating, which, again, often led to a binge. Now going into such a day/evening, I tell myself that I am going to eat (whatever), have a good glass of wine, enjoy dessert and savor the entire experience. Doing that, I end the day feeling satisfied and content … and best of all a return to ‘normal’ eating the following day. And, pretty much I am quite happy with just a ‘normal’ amount of food. Amazing how the messages you give yourself can have such a powerful impact on behavior.

My goals for April were to walk at least 10,000 steps per day, a FitBit sleep score of at least 80, and to adhere to my eating plan. Results
Steps – 29 days at 10,000 or more Average steps/day – 13,500. Total miles – approx. 160
Sleep – 25 or 30 days with sleep score over 30 (never lower than 78)
Food – Started tracking and then moved to ‘intuitive eating’ after two weeks. “On Plan” – 30 of 30 days.

All in all, an excellent start. May will be much the same. Only changes will be 12,000 steps a day (vs 10) and add more variety in fruits and veggies.

May off to a good start. New hvac system installed yesterday ($$ - ouch!).Window replacement scheduled for end of month ($$$$ - OUCH!).

@kaferine69 best wishes for your doctor's appointment today. Please let us know how it went. Just a thought ... with your job being so stressful, have you thought about doing something as soon as you get home tobwind down? Not sure what would work for you, but I find going for a walk is really good. If the weather doesn't cooperate, then putting on some favorite music and just closing my eyes and listening for 15-20 minutes is very helpful for destressing.

Today is the day!! I'm at work, but finding it really difficult to motivate myself and focus. I ate well yesterday and did 20 min on my recumbent bike.

Awegg05 wrote: »

I'm realizing since we moved that I've been in a mental/emotional rut... I'm scared to label is as depression, but it just might be.