JoLightensUp Member

Stir fries can be super quick and easy. If I'm in a hurry, I'll skip the chopping by using a bag of frozen stir fry veggies and beef or chicken strips. Sometimes I cook basmati rice in the microwave or rice cooker while I cook the meat & veg in an electric fry pan, or sometimes we'll have it with low gi noodles or pasta.…

Just did 24 laps of swimming = 600 metres, half freestyle and half breaststroke. I've only recently started back swimming and hope to build up to about double that, with more freestyle than breaststroke.

Awesome work Hannah! 👏 👏 Yes, you should be proud! P.S. I love your cat photobombing your first pic 😺

Welcome Tylena! I have found the MFP app is an excellent tool. These boards are a great resource too, and other users are happy to help with encouragement and advice if you need it. Wishing you all the best on your journey to better health. :)

I'm sorry that you're struggling and hope you can get some ideas and support here to help you get back on track. I have lost weight before, regained, and am now in the process of losing again. My one must-do every day is logging my food and exercise in MFP. If I commit to tracking, I find everything else flows from there.…

Thank you, @takinitalloff I might put a tracker on my Christmas list!

This is a bit of a different one, but my mini goal is to be more active when I'm home, like more housework and gardening and spring cleaning. I realised that I have developed a mentality of "conserving my energy" when home, partly in response to fatigue from prior health issues. I think it's become an unhelpful habit now.…

I went Christmas shopping today with my daughter - about three hours of walking around a large shopping centre. Afterwards, it hit me that we only sat down once in that time for about 20 minutes to have lunch. I didn't feel tired or achey or anything. All the walking I have done over the past few months is starting to pay…

I was slim in high school with a BMI of around 19. I naturally ate lightly during the day and Mum cooked nutritious dinners. I have always eaten fairly small meals. Funnily enough my parents owned a bakery; you would think it should have presented a challenge for our family's health and weight, but it didn't. The bakery…

Mangoes! It's mango season in Australia. I love them with vanilla yoghurt for dessert. Sometimes I add a mini meringue too. I read an article that said some of our R2E2 variety have been shipped to Los Angeles and are selling for $US8.99 each. Yikes!

Hmmmm. Interesting question. I did the Couch to 5km running program when I was about 40 (now I'm 54). I would have been a healthy weight. Never run in my life before that except when I had to for school, and I wasn't sure that I even could at the beginning. When I was up to running for about 20 minutes or more - well, slow…

You'll be back on track in no time, Loulee. The great thing is you know what's going on - a temporary fluctuation, a blip! I don't know about you but I often find coming home from a vacation to be a bit blah anyway, with or without weight changes. It seems to take me a day or two to readjust. Probably partly fatigue,…

I'm just starting to switch over to my summer clothes (Aussie summer). I picked out a favourite work blouse and discovered it no longer fits - the sleeves are far too tight. :/ So my mini goal is to fit back into that blouse!

I know I'm calling you out here, but you asked the same question back in 2015. :# I recognise that it can be challenging to cut down on alcohol if you tend to use it to help wind down and relax, which is how it comes across in your post. It's obviously been on your mind (at least some of the time) for quite a while. If you…

I love eggs. We have chooks, so I can get lovely fresh eggs. :) I sometimes make mini frittatas in a pie maker or a muffin tin. For each frittata, use one egg, a dash of milk and whatever else you like. I might add chives or spring onions/scallions or chopped ham or leftover veggies. Top with grated cheese if you want.…

Planning snacks into my day works helps me. Three meals and three snacks, so that I have eating time and non-eating time. I find the structure helps me think about food less. Otherwise my day can turn into a snackathon. I've pretty much worked out which snacks keep me satiated until my next main meal. Fruit is my friend.…

I agree with a lot of the above, especially that your SO might be simply unaware of the impact of their behaviour. I would also consider what role food has in your relationship. For example, if Friday night takeaway or Saturday night drinks has been an enjoyable ritual for you both and you announce that you can't do these…

I'm not the OP but appreciate all the good info and links. My doctor has given me until March to see if weight loss, diet modification and exercise is enough to bring my cholesterol levels down. A few close family members have been on statins without side effects, so I have no hesitation in starting them if my efforts are…

Yes, be patient and stay the course. You are doing really well! My weight loss is always hover, hover, hover, drop, hover, hover, hover, drop, with a few extra unexpected ups and downs thrown in just for funsies. If you're not using one already, it might be worth trying a weight trending app like Libra (Android) or Happy…

Hi Nichole and welcome! All the best to you as you work toward your goals.

It might help if you could mention some of the sugary foods that you now enjoy but would like to reduce or replace (if that is your aim)? I have a sweet tooth but don't like most lollies/hard candy or rich desserts, and I can take or leave ice cream. Chocolate and cookies, however...just hand 'em over and nobody will get…

I'm down one notch on my belt and my waist is reappearing. :) I also realised that I have started looking in the mirror again after months of avoiding it. Just as well because there's a giant one in my hallway that's hard to avoid lol!

The value of patience. I'm still learning it and reminding myself! If I'm prepared to be patient with losing weight, I'm less likely to make silly changes to my diet, exercise or lifestyle that just end up being unsustainable.

Two NSVs for me this time: 1) I've started walking around the block once or twice most days. There's a fairly long and steep hill included - gets my heartrate up! Yesterday I realised that I was finding it easier to walk up. 2) My clothes are a bit looser and more comfortable. I'm very happy with both of these!

Yes, all that Yirara and Lietchi said. 🙂If you enter your weigh-ins so far with their dates, you will see a trendline appear. The time I really find this valuable is when I feel like I'm "stuck" on the same weight for a while - it's actually happening to me now. Even though my weigh-ins have been the same for quite a few…

I'm interested. :) I've been reading along to see how you're going. I don't think TRF/IF would benefit me, but I appreciate that it has helped others. I do find it useful to think "eating time is over - kitchen's closed" after dinner. Brushing my teeth after dinner helps reinforce that. So I guess I am trying for a tiny…

Try checking that your starting weight is correct. In the app, go to More>Settings>My Goals>Starting Weight I only just found this myself because I also had "0" weight loss...it was because I hadn't updated my goals from a previous weight-loss attempt. My recent loss is now showing correctly and I still have my old…

Now that I am eating better, I crave snacks a lot less. Snacks have always been a problem for me and I used to crave chips (crisps), cookies and chocolate all the time. I'm surprised at how little I think about or want them now. It is interesting and unexpected, but very welcome!

Sounds like you are already adjusting your goals to something more sustainable, which is great! I'm the same height as you, 54 years old and aiming to lose about 14 kgs (about 30 pounds). I find that averaging a pound a week is about right for me. It's fast enough for me to notice encouraging changes in my body but not so…

I weigh every morning and record it in the Libra app. I lost weight steadily a few years ago and watched my daily weigh-ins bounce around all through that time. I can understand not weighing daily if it messes with your head. I've just started adding short notes in Libra when I record my weight and I'm finding it useful. I…