vanmep Member

To me, phrasing is super important. When I first started out, my goal was just to lose some pounds. But I quickly started to realize that the mental aspect of weight loss carried far more weight (pardon the pun) than I ever knew. Challenging my subconscious thought patterns, my language and the mind games I played with…

I miss going out for breakfast! We used to do that every Saturday. Restaurants here are still closed except for takeout, so that’s not on the agenda for awhile. The one permanent change Will be my coffee. I used to get my Timmies every day. At the beginning of covid they stopped taking my refillable cup and I didn’t want…

There are lots of other ways to measure your journey besides a scale. Maybe time to focus on things like inches, clothing fit, strength, endurance etc. A good way to identify all the other goals of weight loss besides a scale number is to go to the thread called NSV (non-scale victory) in the Success Stories forum.

I usually make a large main dish in the weekend - chili, soup, lasagna etc. I freeze a couple of lunch sized portions and then we eat the rest for dinner. I always have a few from previous weeks in the freezer So there is variety. On the days I don’t want a hot lunch I make a nice sandwich.

I find that if I restrict myself too much and never eat the things I enjoy, then I am more likely to go wild especially during I time of stress. I try to be moderate every day and make sure I include a few treats every day

Hmm how do people get to be 800 pounds then? And how do people starve to death?

I weigh the whole thing and put the number of grams as the number of servings ie: 576 servings of soup. Then when I dish out my bowl of soup I can weigh it and enter 100 servings (grams) of soup.

But they usually come with a warning to drink fluids to avoid kidney injury.

I usually make a big main dish on the weekend and freeze a few portions and save the rest for dinners that week. I have a few in the freezer from previous weeks. So I can grab whatever I feel like. It keeps my lunch bag cool and will defrost by lunchtime.

I get what you’re asking, but just a thought that I used to substitute reading and watching for the real thing of doing. It was a strange mind game that if I thought about it enough I almost felt like I was doing it.

I like original fudgesicles. A nice chocolate hit at only 80 calories

“lol. I actually have such a book! Sponsored by Jello from the 1960's” I have my mother’s old Purity Cookbook from 1932 which has a whole chapter on jello. It also has a number of savoury recipes that use either jello or gelatine. How about Jellied Tomato Salad? “Slice layer off blossom end of tomato. Scoop out pulp.…

Just find yourself a 50’s cookbook. There is jello in everything 😆. I do remember the jello with whipped cream mixed in - we had it at birthday parties as kids. Nice memory 😊

Who you gonna cheat on?

There are lots of built in rewards- being stronger, faster, brighter, more energetic, fitting into things etc. I am a bit hesitant about “rewarding” myself because it seems like that would make my regular, disciplined life seem dreary or painful while the “bad” times are fun and enthusiastic. I’m not a fan of that dynamic.…

On your phone, while on your diary you can turn your phone sideways to get the day’s breakdown. Or you can hit “more” and then “nutrition” to get your net. There are different data and views to play with. On your computer you can go to “Reports” and you can select total or net calories etc

I'm not sure what you are asking - what is the problem? You are eating more of it than you want?

Learning to love apples 😆😆 But seriously - the biggest encouragement for me, is that I saved the belt I used to wear. On days when I feel like I still have a big belly, I put that belt on and it easily slides right over my boobs - so that's encouraging! My stomach used to stick out further than my boobs and now it doesn't…

My favourite thing about MFP is that when I build in room for some snacks, I thoroughly enjoy them - no feelings of guilt or regret or shame. They’re in my budget and I will savour!

I just got a rebounder. Just be wary of how many calories burned you are counting. There seems to be a wide range of estimates online but the most reasonable assessment imo seemed to be 4-5 calories burned per minute. Not sure how that compares with a full size trampoline though.

I didn’t do exactly that. But I did set it for a modest weight loss of 1/2 pound per week. Like you, I was not interested in the quick loss per se, but wanted something I could keep doing in the long haul. And something that would be a lifestyle change.

I started piano lessons, I started hand piecing a quilt (portable!), I read a fair bit, I ride my bicycle when the weather is good, I just bought a rebounder off kijiji and I’m thinking about using it while I watch tv.

I really struggled with this. Why does it feel so much more virtuous to eat food we don’t want or need (and probably doesn’t even have nutritional value) than to toss it? I wonder if it is childhood messaging about wasting food? Nowadays I tell myself that I am feeding the rats and other critters that live in the garbage…

I always envision it in bags of potatoes 😆. That’s 1 1/4 bags of potatoes you are not carrying around anymore OP!

Also, you are losing a pound a week! That’s awesome! If you take the slow and steady approach, you will be more likely to maintain.

Have you entered any of your info into the MFP calculator? Do you have any idea how many calories you need in a day or how many you actually eat? I started by just tracking without trying to reach any goals for the bff it’s few weeks. It was very educational about what I need, what a portion size is, how many calories are…

Low sodium v-8 juice is a good source as they use potassium chloride in place of the sodium.

Am I missing something here? The calories wouldn’t change just because you whipped a bunch of air into it, would it? To my thinking, measure how much before you whip it and count that.

In some ways I agree with you. But on the other hand I do have a much more mature and measured approach to things. I also have a much better sense of looking at the big picture and being patient with myself.

I think weight loss is full of mind tricks. There's a thread on here of how people essentially trick themselves into exercising too. Humans are kind of dumb and easy to trick :wink: It took a lot of mind games to gain weight and I think if you find success in using games to lose it, more power to you!