EAT Thread Kick-off

[plutosmyfav]

OK, you asked for it ;)

Eating Accountability for Training Thead

The purpose of this thread is for us to post one or more targets we are aiming for to improve our eating to enhance our fitness and training. It seems to be a universal downfall of weight management to withdraw from your support group when you need them the most! This is a place to come when you need support or when you need a high-five for victory! Post often!

My latest discovery (or re-disccovery) is:

unmanaged stress = weight gain period

Notice I didn't say stress = weight gain. Sure there are stresses in our lives that we can eliminate with better planning and assertiveness, etc. But mostly, the stresses in our lives pop up without our permission and we have not choice but to live through them. Where we do have a choice, however, is how we react to them. Lately, my overwhelming stress has been my work situation. How I've dealth with it is miserably. First, I allowed the pressure to force me out of my normal routines. I've had more days than I can count of sitting at my pc 10 to 12 hours with no more movement that 3-4 trips to the bathroom. That's was a big mistake. Not only did I not move the entire day, the pent up stress lead me straight to the chocolate when I finally got home. The end result: I've gained 10 lbs.

So I'm considering this a lesson learned and trying a new approach. No matter what state my project is in I am going to take my lunch workouts. Now that the weather is pleasant I can double up some workouts with quality time with DS on his bike or at the playground, etc.

Most of all, I am going to make my fitness and health a priority again. How about you?

My accountability goal for now is to get at least 450 minutes of quality exercise per week and have fruit and vegetables with every meal. My breakfast veggies are peppers in egg-beater omlets.

Who's next :)

Lately, I've taken the slogan "its a journey not a destination" and rewrote it to "this is survival not arrival". I will survive!!!!!

Sunny

[Minnie]

Sunny - Thank you not just for starting the thread but for the inspiration as well. I need it so badly right now.

I recently saw a picture of myself and about cried :sad2: due to all that I had gained back from my loss last year. My DF (or not so dear right now) said a comment that struck to the bone and really hurt :guilty: so I know that I have to do something.

I restarted SBD today after a long break because it worked for me last year. I just need to make it not a diet but a lifestyle change. I also need to find a way to exercise so I will plan on at least a 30min on the dreadmill no excuses.

Today's plan:
B - Yogurt
S - Kashi bar
L - SBD wrap meal
S - Apple
D - Baked chicken/veggies
D - Sugar free chocolate bar
E - 1/2 hour on the dreadmill

[keenercam]

Sunny --
Thanks so much for starting the thread. I have also allowed unmanaged stress and difficult emotional times to completely derail my efforts. Fortunately, checking in with my WISH buddies has helped me stay somewhat accountable.

The exercise thing seems so out of my control right now just because of commitments that are absorbing my normal gym time. I have to take control again and make working out a priority.

I also have to stop spending so many of my WW daily points and flexpoints on snacking and work on using the points at normal meal times and 2 reasonable snack times.

My goal for this week is to allot no more than 4 points per day to snacks. I am hoping to see a real difference on the scale at my second WW meeting next week.

[msblrobs]

Thanks so much Sunny for re-starting this thread. I have recently got serious, for the first time in a very long time, about cleaning up by chronic overeating. I am following the Body-For-Life plan and I am feeling great about it. Being an endurance athlete leaves me struggling with an out-of-control appetite. It also tends to allow me to justify my overeating. NO MORE!! BFL really helps out with stabilizing blood sugar levels and keeping the cravings at bay. I've lost 6 lbs since I've been back from my cruise and only have 8 more to go to reach goal. My only real EAT goal is to follow the BFL principles and continue the weight loss while not allowing my training to suffer.

Sunny - Best of luck on removing the 10 lbs and managing your stress.

Minnie - Good luck on SBD. BFL is quite similiar. Exercise is key!!

[Minnie]

Darn it darn it darn it.

We had pizza catered in for lunch today that I didn't know of. I felt like I should eat with them so down the hatch went 3 pieces :guilty:

I can just imagine DF response to this one :sad2:

Sorry to be a drag on the thread so early but I think I need to see this so that I don't do it again :badpc:

[plutosmyfav]

Welcome back everyone :grouphug:

Minnie, don't worry about being a downer, that's what we're here for! In fact, your post brought up a really good point. There was a time in my journey when absolutely no social pressure would cause me to stray from my plan, but I would have been just like you today! I think you illustrated another point of taking back what is ours and that is the right to chose even if other's might be offended. Don't stress over it, keep moving forward, there's no reason to let it ruin the whole day :sunny:

Sunny

[Minnie]

Sunny - Thank you sweetie!!!!!!!

Your comment about not letting it ruin the whole day hit home and I managed to put back the chips and grap a package of nuts last night. No yesterday wasn't good but it is over ;)

Today's plan is to eat only what I brought to work and stay away from the junk. I do need to get in my afternoon apple so that I'm not starving after work. Today will be better!!!!!

Tomorrow I have a lunch meeting planned so that will be a toughy for me. I need to find a way to make good choices.

[keenercam]

I am happy to say that I stayed on track yesterday. The only non-fuel points I ate were a sugar free pudding with cool whip free (2 pts) and some pretzel crisps (1) last night after I went to the gym. And I had earned 5 APs doing stretching and then wogging 4.33 miles.

I feel very accountable to you guys! :grouphug: Thank you.

[andromedaslove]

Well, I promised that if you started it, that I would post. So here I am!! Though I have to admit that I am a little reluctant right now. Yesterday my 5 yr old and I spent the day baking chocolate cupcakes to take to his Nana and Papa for his birthday dinner. Do you have any idea how hard it is to stay away from Chocolate Cupcakes!?They have been calling to me all afternoon. Here's the deal though. We leave in less than 12 hours for our 1 night stay at AKL, and let's be honest I ain't passing up a chance at trying Zebra Domes while I am there!! So as soon as I get back on Sunday I will be in here keeping myself motivated to lose the extra weight.

Anywho, just wanted to let you know that I am here, and will be joining you all very soon.

Take Care,
Dana

[keenercam]

Yesterday wasn't as strong a finish as the day before, but I finished with .5 points left for the day. I used 4.5 points total on non-fuel foods -- 2 pts for pretzel crisps (seeing a pattern here -- big weakness. Have to put them in the closet. At least I stopped at one helping, though). 2 points for a weight watchers ice cream. Again, glad I had that option and didn't hit the regular ice cream at all. .5 for a taste of baked doritos. I gave the remainder of the bag of those to DH.

Hoping to get through the bulk of the day without using FPs in case I want any munchies on our 5.5 hour car ride tonight. We'll be visiting my ILs all weekend so I won't have much control over food choices. Will definitely control portion sizes.

[Minnie]

Yesterday I did the right thing and ate what I brougth to work. By 4pm I had only consumed 460 calories (Yogurt, kashi bar, SB meal, apple).

Then I went home and I sort of lost it but not too bad (natural pb and 3 wheat crackers, bag of popcorn, dinner - turkey, potates, corn) for a total of 750 calories so 1210 calories total.

I failed on the exercise though as my back has been causing problems again.

Today my problem will be lunch as I have a lunch meeting. Hope to make a good choice but I know the calories will be higher today.

The weekend also has me worried but with only 15 days till WDW I am determined to make good choices.

[Minnie]

Cam - Great job at staying within your points :cheer2:

I know traveling can make staying on a plan difficult so here is some :wizard: for a good weekend for you!!!!!

[plutosmyfav]

Yesterday was a bust for me :sad2: But today is going super so far!

I'm still way to busy :furious: But I'll try to get here as often as possible.

Feel free to talk amongst yourselves while I'm gone :teeth: :lmao:

Here's a great topic: Very few foods are really to die for. So next time au unexpected food jumps into your path, remember you can probably find it somewhere else when you have planned it into your day, so boot it right outa there!!!! For me, when the group cake appears (as it does just about every month for someone's bd, baby, leaving, etc) I know of a few really great places that I can get a single serving delicious cake or pastry when it fits, so I don't need to scarf down the cake just because its there.

Believe me, I'm speaking "hypothetically" at the moment. My talk is good, but my walk it another thing...

Toodles
Sunny :wave:

[Tiger Lily 03]

Sunny, your inspiration is wonderful. Thanks! I've been managing a bit better these few days. I've still consumed "bad" things, but at least I am doning somewhat better in my limiting. Two slices of pizza at lunch yesterday instead of many, and I love salad so we had that too and I really took my time to enjoy that.

[Jen117]

Hey all... After I just had ice cream, I check out the Dis Board and see this! Instead I feel bad, yet screaming YES at the same time. I am not in maintenance mode yet, I still have 50 ish pounds to lose (after 2 babies, I am way out there!) I have checked out the regular WISH threads, but I get so overwhlemed with keeping up on the number of threads daily!

Besides splurging on ice cream at work, I feel on program about the rest of my day. My two struggles are replacing bad snacks with fruits and veggies and drinking lots of water. I have no problem with the standard 64 ounces, but I really strive for 100 or more.

Prior to kids I was on WW and lost weight, after 1st baby went back on WW and lost weight. After baby 2 (who turns 3 tomorrow), I haven't made any commitment until now. Actually it was in January when I decided to get my act in gear and train for the WDW 1/2 marathon. I am now on a healthy lifestyle plan instead of counting points. So far I am down 10 pounds with about 50 more that I would like to lose.

Thanks for listening to me. I will try to check in regularily!

[perfectmatch300]

I so need to be here! Food is my problem, the old eating habits are back, and so are some of my hard lost lbs! This needs to stop now before it gets any farther out of hand because I still have so much more to lose, I certainly can't afford to gain back any more of what I have already lost!

The other thing I really need to do is get on a better sleep schedule! I get to bed way too late, night owl that I am. That would be fine except for the fact that the construction workers building the house next door are there pounding away at the crack of dawn and there's no way I can sleep through that! Since I have no control over the AM wake-up, I'd better start getting to sleep earlier somehow. At this point, anything before 2 AM is good!

I really need the support here, so I will be checking in as often as I can. That said, we will be away 3 days this week, so no computer access, but I will take with me the knowledge that I will have to report back in here when I cet home, and may even see some of you who are here for Minnie weekend!

[Minnie]

Hi everyone,

It is nice to see that more people have joined this thread :goodvibes

I did absolutely horrible this weekend. I won't go into it but wow was it bad :guilty:

I am back on track today however. I just finished my yogurt and will be having Kashi bar in a little while. I am trying to learn to spread the calories out a little better so that I am not starving when I finaly do eat.

Hope everyone is doing well. Stop in and let us know when you can :goodvibes

[andromedaslove]

OK, well I am glad I didn't start trying to eat better before we went to AKL, or I would have seriously failed. Anyway, here I am ready to go. So far this morning I have had: A Meal Replacement Bar,and 1/2 a Blueberry Muffin. I am getting ready to have an EAS Carb Control Shake for Lunch. Which will put me at a total of 389 calories so far for the day.

Here's the thing though. I am REALLY not good at any of this. I don't even really know what I should and should not be eating. So if you guys see me writing anything that I really SHOULDN'T be having please let me know. Goodness knows I am gonna need all the help I can get.

Take Care,
Dana

[andromedaslove]

Well, yesterday I finished up with more calories than I really wanted. I did great until it was starting to get late. That's when I get bored and start eating. I wish I knew how to get past that. At dinner time I had only taken in 1290 calories, but then I got hungry and had a banana. That didn't quite satisfy so I had a small bag of Doritos, a meal replacement bar, and a handful of M&M's. I topped out at 2022 calories for the day. Does anyone have any advice on how to stop the late night munchies?!

Today so far so good. I have had one of my EAS shakes, and plan on doing as good during the day as I did yesterday. I just gotta get through the night!!

Dana

[keenercam]

Hi, everyone! I meant to check in yesterday but a silly thing called "work" absorbed my time.
Dana -- I am struggling with late night eating too. The only thing that has worked for me in the past is actually moving upstairs to my bedroom with a huge glass of ice water and a good book. It also gives me a chance to wind down from my day early, so that I can get to sleep at a reasonable time. Maybe we can all try to do that this week, and it might force Nancy to get some more sleep! :hug: Hey, Nancy, are the construction guys cute, at least? Maybe some morning eye candy? ;)

I didn't do as badly over the weekend as I might have. And I wrote down every bite in my pocket journal, so that I would feel very accountable to my WISH friends here.

Our hotel had complimentary breakfast and I had the same thing both days: low fat yogurt, apple, slice of toast w/tiny bit of peanut butter, and one egg white. That really helped set the tone for the day both days.

Saturdays lunch was taco bell. I had been wanting a crunchwrap supreme, so I compromised and got one with NO CHEESE and NO SOUR CREAM. Essentially, it was meat, lettuce & tomato with the crunchy taco shell and the soft tortilla-- I added lots of jalapenos and hot sauce. Still not a great choice, but a not so bad one.

For dinner that night at a restaurant, I had steamed & seared asian dumplings and a garden salad. I really wanted fish and chips or buffalo chicken or steak or fried coconut shrimp. Sometimes, it is so hard to be good! I splurged and had a cookie for dessert.

Sunday, DD17 made lasagna for everyone for dinner and I had a small piece with a tiny piece of garlic bread and 2 plates full of salad.

I did pretty well until the long ride home during daylight hours. I ended up getting a scone at Starbucks and we were munching on baby carrots and combos and I had one of the new nestle dark chocolate stix.

This week was certainly better than last week,and I will show up at my WW meeting with about 14 flex points unused for the week. That feels much better than last week's disaster.

Yesterday the only non-fuel foods I ate were late afternoon soy crisps and for dessert some pretzel crisps spread with laughing cow light cheese spread -- total of 5 non-fuel points. I really am going to do better on this for the next 4 days so that I can justify taking 3 days off in WDW.

[Minnie]

Dana - You hit the nail on the head for the problem times. I can control my eating at work by only eating what I bring in. Simple choices and continually busy. Then I head home and the snack attack after work and the night time binges occur. I no exactly what you are going through. The only thing that has helped me is the 100 calorie bags of 96% light microwave popcorn. Those are very filling and at only 100 calories it works for me. I get both the butter and the kettle corn.

Cam - When I get bad binge eating urges late I head for the tub. A hot bath and a nice book help keep me away from the fridge. I am only 10 days from WDW so I hope to be good until then. At WDW all bets are off ;)

Nancy - I hope you got some sleep last night :grouphug:

Yesterday went okay. I manged to stay on plan and baked a couple extra chicken breasts for later in the week. I did eat way too much sf fat free pudding though. I need to buy the little containers as I ate way way too much last night. I did manage to walk on my dreamill and stretch though.

My challenge today is a lunch meeting. I hope to find a salad or something that will help me stay on play.

Good luck to everyone!!!!!

[andromedaslove]

OK, well I finished up yesterday with a total of 1501 calories. Here is a list of what I ate so that you guys can critique if needed.

Breakfast: EAS Carb Control Shake
Snack: Apple
Lunch: Turkey Sandwhich/Wheat Bread/American Cheese/Miracle Whip Light
and Mustard
Snack: South Beach Meal Replacement Bar
Dinner: Veal Parmigiana
BowTie Pasta with Tomato Suace

Not the best I am sure, but I was definately happy that I avoided the night time binging, and hit right at 1500. If you have any suggestions don't hesitate.

Nancy - I just got into the habit of going to bed at 10:30 every night. Before then I was like you. I was up until 2am easy. I wish I had some advice on how I did it, but I really don't. I just made it a point to start going to bed earlier and waking up earlier every day.

[keenercam]

andromedaslove -- great job on cutting your calories down so much compared to Monday. You must have been so proud of yourself by the end of the day! Keep up the great work!

Minnie -- that SF pudding is a big weakness for me. I splurged on the jello SF caramel pudding cups and do not allow myself more than one. I find if I make an entire package, I am too tempted. Having tiny little rubbermaid containers really helps. I got the really small ones that I used to use for baby food and now use for salad dressings. I think one of those completely filled is still a very reasonable portion size. I think it is 1 pt on WW, too. :love:

I am really excited to report that you guys have helped me stay on track this week. I finished my WW week yesterday with 14 FPs left and I really have been working on eating more substantial meals and spending less points on snack type foods. (I actually lost 2.4 this week, too, which is proof to me that the "food as fuel" philosophy is one I should really try to live by)

I didn't have much time to eat yesterday and had a ton of points leftover last night for dinner. Normally, I'd have spent quite a few on a dessert, but instead I ate all the real food I was craving: a lean cuisine french bread pizza; baked fries; a lean cuisine panini; and a hummus wrap. I didn't eat any dessert or snacks after dinner. So, the only non-fuel points I ate all day were a 100 calorie baked cheetos snack and a philly soft pretzel (this was the best choice I could make when I left my WW meeting so outrageously hungry!)

Hoping to do even better today!

[andromedaslove]

andromedaslove -- great job on cutting your calories down so much compared to Monday. You must have been so proud of yourself by the end of the day! Keep up the great work!

So, the only non-fuel points I ate all day were a 100 calorie baked cheetos snack and a philly soft pretzel (this was the best choice I could make when I left my WW meeting so outrageously hungry!)

Hoping to do even better today!

Cam -- Thank you very much. I tried really hard last night. Now I just have to get through the weekly family dinner tonight. Hopefully I can find a healthy choice for dinner.

I have a question about those 100 calorie snack things you guys have been mentioning. Where do you find them at? I looked while I was at my Publix today and didn't see any.

Dana

[keenercam]

All our grocery stores sell them now in the cookie/cracker aisle and we can even get them at stores like Thrift Drug, Eckert, Rite Aid, etc. They are pricey but are good for when I don't have time to buy a big bag and weigh and measure into ziplocks. Probably about the same price as a trip to the vending machine. My favorites are the baked cheetos, the oreos, and the keebler sandies shortbread.

[Minnie]

Cam & Dana - Great job :goodvibes

I made it through the rest of yesterday after the poor lunch choice by only have a very small SBD pizza. No other snacks which was important for me.

Today went very well so far except for the fact that I felt like I was starving shortly after lunch. I don't know what caused this but 1 piece of string cheese, sf gum and water allowed me to make it through. As soon as I was home though I ate a bag of microwave lf popcorn and that helped.

It's getting late so I won't be able to exercise and I am unsure of what I will be having for dinner.

Today's lunch that set off the hunger was:
Salad mix, ham, cheese

I am trying to go very low carb as that worked for me last year. However I have a problem with not feeling full or getting hungry early if I don't have some sort of bread product. I'm not sure what to do :confused3

Still I am on plan so that is a good thing :)

All of your hard work and posts makes me feel very accountable and that helped me this afternoon. Thank you :goodvibes

[Minnie]

Just a quick check in:

I was fine the rest of the evening and ended up only having the popcorn and a sf popsicle.

I don't know what caused the afternoon problem though????

Hope everyone has a great day :sunny:

[keenercam]

Great recovery on Tuesday, Minnie, and so glad you weren't hungry the rest of the day yesterday! Sounds like you are very in tune with your body and are learning some strategies to overcome difficult times. Thanks for sharing!

I did well yesterday and ended up using only one of my activity points. They had pizza at my meeting, rather than the sub sandwiches I was craving, so I ended up skipping the pizza. When I got home, I had a great dinner of egg beaters with salsa, 2 lite english muffins, and turkey bacon. Don't you love breakfast for dinner? I also had a weight watchers ice cream cone for dessert.

[andromedaslove]

Well, as good as I was doing at lunch time I really messed up after that. It started with the avocado I was going to have as a snack. I was planning on eating only half of it, but ended up eating the whole thing. Then for our weekly family dinner everyone decided to go to Golden Corral. One of my biggest downfalls has always been buffets. I had a fajita, a piece of steak, some hot wings, a piece of chocolate cake, and some banana pudding. I am not even going to list what my calorie intake was for yesterday. From now on I am just going to tell them that I can't eat there. At least if we had gone to a restaurant I could have asked them to split the meal in half before bringing it to me. Had them box up the rest and take it home for lunch the next day. You can't really do that at a buffet. So, to say the least I am really upset with myself.

So far today I have had a meal replacement bar, and an apple. I am getting ready to have lunch soon and I think I will just have a turkey sandwhich.

I am so glad to hear that everyone else is doing so good. I have never really watched what I ate so this is going to take some time to get used to.

Take Care,
Dana

[Minnie]

Dana - As several have told me - "today a new day" make it the best one you can :thumbsup2

Yesterday was an on plan day for me though I didn't exercise. My back is really causing problems again and with only 1 week until my WDW weekend I don't want to make it worse.

Menu was - Yogurt, kashi bar, spinich grilled chicken wrap, lf popcorn, 1pc small bean cupcake, lf hamburger crust turkey peproni pizza (both of the before our SBD approved) and no dessert. The larger lunch really helped so I know that I need to make sure I have some sort of carb at lunch.

Hope everyone has a great day!!! GOOD LUCK TO OUR MINNIE RUNNERS/WALKERS :cool1:

:cheer2: 1 WK UNTIL WDW & F&G SHOW :cheer2:

[Minnie]

I know that some of you were in WDW over the weekend so the thread is very slow. I just wanted to post what has been going on with me to keep myself accountable and in the hope that everyone else will come back when they can :goodvibes

I have managed to continue to stay on plan. The weekend is always hard but I made good choices and managed to make it through.

I need to buy a couple pairs of shorts for this weekends trip to WDW so I am waiting till the end of the week to do so.

One thing that has helped me is eating smaller meals more often. It keeps my blood sugar from lowering/spiking which is a major help for me.

Good luck to everyone! Post when you can :goodvibes

[msblrobs]

Minnie - That is exactly what is working for me also - being very diligent about keeping my blood sugar stable. Otherwise I am so very out of control.
I was at WDW this past weekend and did well staying on plan. I think my only cheat was a few Ghirardelli's chocolates. After a 9+ mile race, I'll chalk it up to refeuling.
Best of luck to everyone in meeting their goals this week.

[plutosmyfav]

Hi All :wave:

I haven't forgotten about you :goodvibes Life is still way to crazy. I've had some really great days (eating wise) and now I'm in a slump again as of last night. I'm sick again and I keep reaching for comfort food-- but it isn't comforting me :confused3

Keep up the great work :thumbsup2

Sunny

[Minnie]

Sunny - Hope you feel better soon :grouphug:

Sara - You definitely deserved the treat! I am planning on a splurge myself during my WDW trip this weekend. I don't think it is possible to keep myself on plan if I can't splurge every once and a while.

Dana - Check in when you can :goodvibes

As for me I get to post that I am still on plan :cool1: . That is one whole week for me cheat free :banana:

I am now only 2 1/2 days from WDW :cloud9:

[plutosmyfav]

Thanks, Minnie

Turns out I have pneumonia. So I'll reach for my comfort in the form of an anti-biotic!

How's everyone doing? Should I start a new thread or shall we keep this one alive and kicking?

Check in! If I'm brave enought to do it, you can to ;) :grouphug:

Sunny

[Minnie]

Sunny - Pneumonia - yuck! Take care of your self :goodvibes :wizard: :grouphug:

I'm headed to WDW tomorrow morning for the weekend :cool1:

I'll be back and ready to go on Tuesday.

Hope everyone has a great weekend :thumbsup2