EmmaFitzwilliam Member

[quote="JoRocka;33275483" think about it as currency- and you have a budget. You can chose to spend it more wisely- or you can splurge. Somedays you splurge and make it work (bonus from work or 20 bucks you found on the floor) or somedays you say eff it and put it on the CC. Is it a wise desicion? no- but those shoes…

I'm not there yet - I still have 20 pounds to go - but I'm fully reconciled to two points. 1) It will always be important to log what I eat, lest my inner four year old go wild and want three lattes, and two pastries, and a bowl of rice each and every day. Knowledge is power, and I expect to always need to pay attention to…

*shrugs* I'm going to buck the trend. Yes, it's arguably better to weigh foods before you cook them. I don't bother. My success is sufficient to my purposes. I would say consistency is equally as important. Just pick a method and stick with it. Weight loss isn't an exact science; failing a "best practice" isn't going to…

My feeling is, "thank you *so much* for sharing your personal soundtrack with me". <eye roll>

You need to have an honest conversation with him, and ask him how much communication he wants on the topic - then respect that.

If you're prepping for meals to take away, I have this perspective. The hardest part for me, seriously, was finding a lunch tote I could carry easily and held my "to go" containers. You can prep all you want; if you can't comfortably take it with you, it's going to be much harder to make it work. (I commute on transit, and…

I've had a year, but I remember where I started. Trying to *start* with practices you develop by the time you reach the "end game" is just a setup for heartbreak and frustration (and it's what so many of us were told to do so many times in the past!).

I did it all with smaller portions of foods I like and developing - over the course of a year - a taste for healthier foods. Don't try to start with an "end game" food plan. Start where you are, see where you can cut portions, and then see which foods you want to add in. Experiment with produce and find things you like.…

Well . . . I 'm 49, and I've lost 75 pounds, so #3 has some counterpoint. :) I'd tried for 30 years, so had a lot of failure behind me. I was worried about sliding back into anorexic tendencies (which I am still worried about and at risk for, but I have a good support system, so that one doesn't scare me as much). I was a…

I go out for fancy tea once a month. The afternoon tea typically includes very small portions of five or six items. Maybe because I eat them slowly, as I'm socializing, and because I'm mindful that these are high calorie foods, for all that they are small portions, I feel completely sated with a small variety plate as…

Packaged goods - I bought a box of (loose) pastries. A serving was advertised as "2 pieces" or "85g". 85g, weighed out, was 1.5 pieces, not two. With an extra third of a serving in "2 pieces", came and extra 30% calories. Knowledge is power. Real information is important.

Real life has social gatherings and special occasions. Working out a strategy for either letting one day be no big deal or for how to manage your choices on those days is a good way to build long term success.

Congratulations!

Eat slowly. Make returning for seconds inconvenient. Use a small plate. Develop an eye for portion size. Eat lots of fresh produce with no dressings or toppings. Drink lots of water. Eat mindfully and think about your choices.

Real life includes special occasions, and special and social occasions usually involve lots of high calorie food. There are several options, and they do not have to be exclusive: 1. Just roll with it, and do as you please. One day is not going to make a significant difference. Stress and drama about what you eat are,…

For dinner, I make large batches of baked chicken - Oven 400; coat glass pan with oil, season chicken breasts, cover with oiled parchment paper, bake for 25-40 minutes depending on thickness of breasts (temp at thickest part 165). I portion that into 12-14 oz batches, then dice and stir into diced tomatoes, simmer sauces,…

My first suggestion would be to swap out the cereal for 3/4 cup Greek yogurt with 1/4 cup muesli and 1 cup fresh berries. Dried fruit and grains both have astonishing calorie counts. :neutral: I eat my first meal of the day between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. - Greek yogurt with muesli and berries. I eat a super light, high…

I eat mostly raw vegetables (snap peas, cucumber salad, bell pepper strips) for lunches. If I want hot food, I usually opt for soup. I made minestrone a few weeks ago. I made a 2 gallon batch, and was still pleased with the texture of most of the vegetables by the end of the batch.

Knowledge is power, and being aware of portion size is one way you take control of your health and fitness. If that's a problem for either of you, there may be underlying matters which also need to be addressed. Since my instinct is to serve myself a double portion of some foods, I anticipate I will weigh and log my food…

You might try sparkling water, preferably with only lemon or with fruit juice to flavor it. Flavor packets are just a different source of many of the same chemicals, so I don't think they're functionally any different. I found I actually started to enjoy water once I started drinking more of it.

I've had a lot of practice learning what works and what doesn't. It's just part of the process. There are charts on how long to keep fresh foods and leftovers, and how to store various ingredients. It's a body of knowledge we don't necessarily develop naturally any more, so it's worth looking them up. Just google "store…

It all depends on what works for you. Personally, I'm willing to invest an hour on Sunday night to make a giant cucumber salad for the week. 3 cucumbers, 4 roma tomatoes (seeded!), 2 bell peppers, 1 small red onion. Cut cucumber lengthwise into 4 pieces, then crosswise into coins; dice everything else. Mix in a 1 gallon…

Trends, not days. Knowledge is power. Ask yourself, "Does this choice support my goal? If not, why am I wanting to choose this?" Understanding why is actually pretty important.

Same here. I log my weight, and consider the data in relation to other factors (sodium intake and other factors affecting water retention, previously recorded weight, low to date weight, relative activity). I celebrate the "low to date" (and especially the 5 and 10 pound mini-goals!), consider the affective factors if the…

Congratulations!

As part of the set dressing for the Monsters, Inc. ride, there is a vending machine offering a bag of "Sugar, Salt &Fat" and "Bag O'Calories". Pretty soon I started to replace the way I saw most junk foods and saw "bag O'calories" instead of (cookie) or "Sugar, Salt & Fat" instead of (chips).

So have them - without drama, without self-recrimination. But have them *mindfully*. Make time to sit down and really taste each bite. Look at the baked good and say to yourself, "Okay, that (cinnamon roll) is (using the Cinnabon roll as a comparable) about 1000 calories. I am going to enjoy 1000 calories worth of cinnamon…

For nutrition values, I estimate comparables. Cheesecake Factory values can't be that much lower than Disney values. :D or I estimate by ingredients and call it "good enough for rock and roll". My world won't end if my guesses are off by a few hundred calories. It's a setback of a few days, at worst, and non-conclusive…

I go to Disneyland once every three to six months. My strategy is to not worry about it too much. If you will really *enjoy* it, go for it. If you won't *really* enjoy a high-calorie choice, why bother making that choice? There are other, lower calorie, choices available. Disney food options have *vastly* improved over the…

Exactly - that's what I meant when I acknowledged the spectrum. I didn't have great expectations for the ravioli - it satisfied the options in play at the moment, and it absolutely lived down to its potential. Sure, under other circumstances leftovers from a dish I prepared with dried pasta would have been preferable. That…