WISH Away the Pounds -- Fantastic February Challenge -- Everyone Welcome!

[lisah0711]

Good morning all!

There is nothing like a brand, new shiny challenge to make you feel all happy and hopeful about meeting your goals this month.

Thank you, Pamela, for coaching this week!

I am catching up on all my PMs and updating the spreadsheet. I will have the participants list updated later this afternoon. I do try to catch comments as they are made in the thread but the best way to ensure I know that you are in and what your goals are is to PM me.

Please send your starting weight and your goals today. First weigh in Friday, February 8th!

I think we are going to have a great month! We can do this!

[3Gsandme]

Originally Posted by pjlla

QOTD for Friday, February 1, 2013:

What are your favorite top 3 healthy packaged food products? Things that you always keep on hand.... treats that are healthy and low cal/low carb. Anything that is HEALTHY but still delicious and helps you stay on track would qualify!
.................................P

I'm another one who always has string cheese in. Paired with fruit, it's a really good snack and would be allowable on any diet except for people who are doing Atkins induction or something of similar carb restriction.

I also like laughing cow light Swiss cheese. You can get different flavored and it's really good for putting on your raw veggies to give them more flavors.

Lastly, I'm not shilling for Weight Watchers, but I do try to keep a few packages of their snacks in as well. They're premeasured and low point and good for if I need salty/crunchy.

[nocomment711]

Originally Posted by pjlla

QOTD for Friday, February 1, 2013:

What are your favorite top 3 healthy packaged food products? Things that you always keep on hand.... treats that are healthy and low cal/low carb. Anything that is HEALTHY but still delicious and helps you stay on track would qualify!
.................................P

I do the string cheese and fruit too! I'm new to all this so I can't wait to hear answers to build my healthy snacks. I also will have a yogurt as a snack every now and then. Or a serving if Special K.

[DisFam95]

I'm back on track today - hopefully!! Last month started off well but had so many unexpected outings I kind of threw in the towel which I know is bad.

Good news - I just made our reservations for DL last night. We've been to wdw numerous times but never DL. I've been w my BFF but now I've talked the family/dh into it. It's much easier for a shorter trip. We have a 4 day weekend in October. So I have some more motivation (plus a trip to Canada in August coming sooner).

I indulged in too much pizza last night at cici's buffet. Compared to some others in the place with plates piled nearly 8" tall w pizza slices I guess my 4 slices was not that bad. And their ranch dressing soup w some lettuce floating on top. Sorry but seeing that was a real turn off. I've had my binges too for sure I'm just sort of glad that seeing that made me SEE how bad it is.

Hope everyone has a good day today and keeps their focus. I know I need some help in that area. Come afternoon I get the munches!! Keep those healthy snack ideas coming.

I'm loving the baby bell cheeses right now. I'm making fruit smoothies in my vitamix too at night for my desserts!

Done my workout today!

[pjlla]

Howdy all!

I was going to do read and replies on my lunch break here, but this is the most painfully slow computer that I've had the displeasure of using in a very long time! It literally took me 4 minutes to get the appropriate page loaded just to do this reply!

I'll be back at about 1pm when the kids go to P.E. to chat more! TTYL.....P

[mandac]

Hi all
I am hoping to join you all this month and hopefully get my health back on track.

[fitgirl36]

Hi! I decided to join in again for February. I'm not so good at replying, but like reading everybody's progress. It's so motivating! As for the QOTD for Feb. 1st:

I like special K popcorn chips, they are my new fave!

Also, have any of you heard of the company Graze that sends out snack packages for $5.00/week? You can choose the healthy snack option and I believe you get 4 different snacks for the week delivered. I haven't tried it but received a banner ad from some website I was on so I looked at their website but haven't decided if I am going to try it.

[momofdjc]

I'm in again for February. I'll send my pm tomorrow with all the needed info. The scale was not working correctly this morning - I know I didn't lose 5 lbs since yesterday. I'm going to try and be better about posting. I read along but don't post too often.

Originally Posted by pjlla

Happy Friday and Happy February!!

I am your coach this week. My name is Pamela and I am happy to be here with you this morning!

QOTD for Friday, February 1, 2013:

What are your favorite top 3 healthy packaged food products? Things that you always keep on hand.... treats that are healthy and low cal/low carb. Anything that is HEALTHY but still delicious and helps you stay on track would qualify!
.................................P

My favorite packaged food products are:

1. sliced apples - I buy them at Costco each week for us to put in with our lunches.

2. Cheese sticks

3. Fruit cups

[pjlla]

Originally Posted by Rose&Mike

Hello all!

And now a little shameless bragging...

In January I ran or walked 101.1 miles in either a workout or race setting. I ran at least 1 mile every day in January. I am really proud of myself!

I am not going to go as many total miles in February, but I do plan to continue my mile a day challenge and hope to get close to my weight loss goal!

WOW! That is a lot of mileage for January!! Glad you are proud of that !

Originally Posted by lovetoscrap

I'm in. I know I kind of fell of the earth in Jan but I have been so busy and tired I just haven't been up to posting. The time I have been online has been spent. . .

wait for it. . .

wait for it. . .

Tracking my food!

And I still hate doing it. But since I have the Fitbit and have been trying to analyze what I am doing wrong, and right, I figured I should see what is going on with my intake.

I"m sorry that you continue to hate it, but I'm so proud of you for keeping up with it!!

I really am not sure what is going on. I only lost one pound in Jan, and that was a hard fought pound! It is really hard to figure out if I am getting the right balance of things (protein, fat, carbs, sugar etc) when the plan I follow doesn't match all the available online calorie counters recommendations and there are no numeric guidelines for it (because we aren't supposed to track! ) One thing that has been consistent is that I have been eating on plan (for the most part, a few extra treats but even they are allowed), and I have been eating meals and snacks and not hungry. Eating until I am full, sometimes over full. And in the 2 weeks I have tracked it has said that I am UNDER my calories every day. I know that whole thing about needing to eat the recommended minimum of calories or body goes into starvation mode blah, blah, blah but the idea of eating more when I am not hungry seems silly. And I am not eating "low calorie" items, in fact some are pretty high. I think the fact that I am limiting carbs probably contributes to that-- my meals are usually about 5-6 oz of protein and veggies with no carbs or very limited amounts (usually beans).

The stupid site will tell me that "if every day were like today you would weigh *6-10* pounds less in 5 weeks". But in 2 weeks I have barely lost a pound.

I am not really sure what to do with the information I am getting. I will probably try to get a few more weeks of data and see what I can figure out from it.

Just some thoughts here....

Fluid or constipation issues maybe? And if you are really eating UNDER your calories on a consistent basis, your body will be fighting to cling to every single pound!

Are you really counting every bite? Weighing/measuring portions.... especially on some of the higher calorie foods like oils, dressings, nuts, and cheese?

Here's hoping that February will see a big "whoosh" for you on the scale?

Originally Posted by myweegirls

I'm in! Still maintaining, although January was a struggle. I was sick for so much of the month that I didn't know which end was up half the time.

Saturday kicks off my training for my next (my second!) half marathon - the Nike Women's Half in DC at the end of April. I need to build back up after feeling so weak from the bronchitis. And j need to stop the mindless snacking I've let myself do a bit of lately. Here goes!

XO
Liz

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Sorry you've been sick so much this year. Hope it doesn't take long to build back up from the bronchitis.

Originally Posted by donac

Good Friday morning everyone.

I will be trying to come on more oftern than I did in Jan.

I did reach my goal of 4 pounds in the month of Jan.

For Feb I want to get back into exercising. I slacked off in Nov and Dec with two sprained ankles and a sprained writst. THis month I want to get back to working out besides the good eating I have been doing.

We will be happy to have you back more often! I presume that the sprains are all better??

An other day of exams today. The department is going out for pizza this afternoon and I told them no. Pizza is the one treat I allow myself during the week. We always have it on Friday night. It is our treat for making it through the week. So I was not going to eat it twice in one day. I know I could have had a salad but their salads are small (yes I have had them before) and the tables are so small there is not way I could sit so close to pizza and not have any.

Good for you for being strong and making the HEALTHY decision and taking yourself away from a temptation.

Off to do my plank for the day. Yes I am in the plank a day challenge.

Have a happy and healthy day.

WOOHOO that you are joining our plank-a-day challenge! I got so caught up in the missing binder drama at home this morning that I totally forgot to do mine, so will do it tonight when I get home..... although I suppose I could do it right now while the kids are at P.E!

Originally Posted by pjlla

QOTD for Friday, February 1, 2013:

What are your favorite top 3 healthy packaged food products? Things that you always keep on hand.... treats that are healthy and low cal/low carb. Anything that is HEALTHY but still delicious and helps you stay on track would qualify!
.................................P

1. Olivia's organic salad mixes (prewashed and ready to eat!) .... mostly organic spring mix and baby spinach, but sometimes baby romaine. I can throw a handful into anything (eggs, soup, sandwich, etc) without thinking twice!

2. Joseph's flax seed and oat/wheat bran lower carb products (pitas, wraps, tortillas).... but primarily the "sandwich thins". Very similar to traditional Sandwich Thin products, but much lower in carbs!! Great treat... toasted with peanut butter or Laughing Cow cheese, with a veggie burger or salmon burger.

3. 100 calorie packs of almonds! Built-in portion control, easy to grab, throw in a purse or lunch sack. Sure, you pay a bit more for them than buying in bulk, but it eliminates overeating of these yummies!

Originally Posted by Rose&Mike

Thank you Pamela for coaching.

You are SO welcome!

String cheese, apples (not low carb, but very portable), hummus

I also love hard boiled eggs, grapes, carrots with peanut butter, and a small serving of nuts

This was a good question and I am excited to see other people's replies. I was just thinking about this yesterday, because I think part of my gain is from getting back into a bad habit of seeing snacks as treats and only eating junk.

Have a great Friday!

Cheese and apples together.... yum! I've never tried carrots with peanut butter... but DD and I both love "ants on a log" (peanut butter stuff in celery and topped with raisins).

Originally Posted by The Mystery Machine

Good morning Pamela and thank you for being our host for the week!

You are welcome too!

I am trying to go for nutritionally dense foods right now. Not sure what is considered "healthy package treats". I cannot wait to see everyone's else's choices.

1) Fruit for starters. I have many choices available. My staple is strawberries right now. I just cut rinse them, cut the tops off and leave on the counter. DH eats Cuties.

2) Nuts. Right now we are eating pistachios and peanuts. 160 calories for 28grams, 7-8g carbs.

3) Can't say really. I don't have a 3rd "go to" nutrient dense, prepackaged food yet.

I usually steer away from packaged foods as well, but there are a food good ones out there if you can find them! My fourth (if I were to be so bold as to do a 4th) would be either veggie burgers (so many good ones out there!) or the Ocean Beauty salmon burgers that I have talked about before.

Originally Posted by Rose&Mike

Oh--I missed the 'packaged'.....I am trying hard to avoid packaged cause that's where I get in trouble and stick with portable.

I hear you on that! But if you look long and hard, sometimes there are some okay packaged stuff out there. I'm sure it is all a bit more of a struggle for you with the GF issue and vegetarian eating. BTW, did you see that DD and I are contemplating going completely veggie?? We are about 75% there now, but still thinking about making it 100%.

Originally Posted by lisah0711

Good morning all!

There is nothing like a brand, new shiny challenge to make you feel all happy and hopeful about meeting your goals this month.

I agree!

Thank you, Pamela, for coaching this week!

For you.... of course!

I am catching up on all my PMs and updating the spreadsheet. I will have the participants list updated later this afternoon. I do try to catch comments as they are made in the thread but the best way to ensure I know that you are in and what your goals are is to PM me.

Please send your starting weight and your goals today. First weigh in Friday, February 8th!

I think we are going to have a great month! We can do this!

We WILL have a great month!

Originally Posted by 3Gsandme

I'm another one who always has string cheese in. Paired with fruit, it's a really good snack and would be allowable on any diet except for people who are doing Atkins induction or something of similar carb restriction.

I also like laughing cow light Swiss cheese. You can get different flavored and it's really good for putting on your raw veggies to give them more flavors.

Lastly, I'm not shilling for Weight Watchers, but I do try to keep a few packages of their snacks in as well. They're premeasured and low point and good for if I need salty/crunchy.

Laughing Cow has some really good flavors.... but I wasn't fond of the "bleu cheese" flavor they came out with a while ago. I love stuffing the light swiss into a piece of red bell pepper!

Which WW product(s) do you like best??

Originally Posted by nocomment711

I do the string cheese and fruit too! I'm new to all this so I can't wait to hear answers to build my healthy snacks. I also will have a yogurt as a snack every now and then. Or a serving if Special K.

I like yogurt as well, but tend to stick with the bigger tubs. The little single servings can be so expensive and usually contain too much sugar for my taste... although I do buy them for DD's lunches.

Originally Posted by DisFam95

I'm back on track today - hopefully!! Last month started off well but had so many unexpected outings I kind of threw in the towel which I know is bad.

Good news - I just made our reservations for DL last night. We've been to wdw numerous times but never DL. I've been w my BFF but now I've talked the family/dh into it. It's much easier for a shorter trip. We have a 4 day weekend in October. So I have some more motivation (plus a trip to Canada in August coming sooner).

WOOHOO for a DL vacation! We did it once and would LOVE to do it again!

I indulged in too much pizza last night at cici's buffet. Compared to some others in the place with plates piled nearly 8" tall w pizza slices I guess my 4 slices was not that bad. And their ranch dressing soup w some lettuce floating on top. Sorry but seeing that was a real turn off. I've had my binges too for sure I'm just sort of glad that seeing that made me SEE how bad it is.

Really glad we don't have the temptation of that restaurant around here. The way DS loves pizza, I'm sure it would be requested often!

Hope everyone has a good day today and keeps their focus. I know I need some help in that area. Come afternoon I get the munches!! Keep those healthy snack ideas coming.

I'm loving the baby bell cheeses right now. I'm making fruit smoothies in my vitamix too at night for my desserts!

Done my workout today!

Wish I could afford a Vitamix. I'm thinking of splurging on a Ninja right now. DS enjoys a smoothie most mornings for breakfast and my blender is ready to bite the dust. We do have a juicer, but it doesn't do well with greens, so I was thinking I could make juice with the majority of my veggies and then throw the juice, greens, a some fruit in the Ninja for a smoothie. What kind of smoothies do you make?

Originally Posted by mandac

Hi all
I am hoping to join you all this month and hopefully get my health back on track.

WELCOME! We are so glad to have you here! Please send your information to lisah0711 (information on page one). Then feel free to jump in with both feet!

Originally Posted by fitgirl36

Hi! I decided to join in again for February. I'm not so good at replying, but like reading everybody's progress. It's so motivating! As for the QOTD for Feb. 1st:

I like special K popcorn chips, they are my new fave!

Also, have any of you heard of the company Graze that sends out snack packages for $5.00/week? You can choose the healthy snack option and I believe you get 4 different snacks for the week delivered. I haven't tried it but received a banner ad from some website I was on so I looked at their website but haven't decided if I am going to try it.

Sounds interesting. I'll have to look into it.

***************

Phew! I made it through everything, even with this slow computer! I have just a bit of time left to chat, hit the bathroom, and then pick up the kids at P. E.

DD and I are going to a bridal salon after school. She fell in love with an Alfred Angelo dress from the Disney collection a few years ago. I humored her and took her to a salon in MA that had the dress and they very kindly let her try it on over a year ago. This salon up here is having Trunk Show of the Disney gowns, so she wants to pop in and see it again. Again, I will humor her and we will go check it out, since she doesn't have practice this afternoon. It is a beautiful dress and looks great on her... but she is so many years away from her Disney dream wedding! But no harm in looking, right??

Dinner is pot roast in the crockpot, so we won't linger after seeing the dress. No excuses to stop for Chipotle on the way home, right??

For some reason I have been craving peanut butter M&Ms like a mad woman for the last few days!! I want to go see a movie... any movie, for an excuse to have popcorn and M&Ms!! Maybe I'm craving salt?? I am old enough that I am no longer "regular" and can't always predict the PMS cravings. Hoping that this will pass without a mindless eating incident! I will make myself some light popcorn tonight in the hopes that it will take the edge off the craving! Any suggestions for a healthy substitute for the M&Ms? Maybe just a piece of toast with my healthy all-natural sugar-free organic peanut butter??? Not quite the same, but maybe it would help.

Just 5 minutes left for a bathroom break, so I had better dash! I'll be back tonight to check in on everyone!.............P

[pix13dust]

Favorite snacks..........

Doritos and beer

Favorite snacks I feel good about eating and are low cal:

Cottage cheese: 1/2 cup
Microwave popcorn
Baby carrots
Blue berries - yum!

[3Gsandme]

Originally Posted by DisFam95

I indulged in too much pizza last night at cici's buffet. Compared to some others in the place with plates piled nearly 8" tall w pizza slices I guess my 4 slices was not that bad. And their ranch dressing soup w some lettuce floating on top. Sorry but seeing that was a real turn off. I've had my binges too for sure I'm just sort of glad that seeing that made me SEE how bad it is.

Hope everyone has a good day today and keeps their focus. I know I need some help in that area. Come afternoon I get the munches!! Keep those healthy snack ideas coming.

Congrats on having your trip booked!!

Comparatively, four slices of CiCi's pizza isn't that much. Their pizza and slices are pretty small, so don't feel too bad about it. When we were at Great Wolf Lodge last year, I planned on eating there because it seemed like the best, smallest splurge.

[3Gsandme]

Originally Posted by lovetoscrap

I'm in. I know I kind of fell of the earth in Jan but I have been so busy and tired I just haven't been up to posting. The time I have been online has been spent. . .

wait for it. . .

wait for it. . .

Tracking my food!

And I still hate doing it. But since I have the Fitbit and have been trying to analyze what I am doing wrong, and right, I figured I should see what is going on with my intake.

I really am not sure what is going on. I only lost one pound in Jan, and that was a hard fought pound! It is really hard to figure out if I am getting the right balance of things (protein, fat, carbs, sugar etc) when the plan I follow doesn't match all the available online calorie counters recommendations and there are no numeric guidelines for it (because we aren't supposed to track! ) One thing that has been consistent is that I have been eating on plan (for the most part, a few extra treats but even they are allowed), and I have been eating meals and snacks and not hungry. Eating until I am full, sometimes over full. And in the 2 weeks I have tracked it has said that I am UNDER my calories every day. I know that whole thing about needing to eat the recommended minimum of calories or body goes into starvation mode blah, blah, blah but the idea of eating more when I am not hungry seems silly. And I am not eating "low calorie" items, in fact some are pretty high. I think the fact that I am limiting carbs probably contributes to that-- my meals are usually about 5-6 oz of protein and veggies with no carbs or very limited amounts (usually beans).

The stupid site will tell me that "if every day were like today you would weigh *6-10* pounds less in 5 weeks". But in 2 weeks I have barely lost a pound.

I am not really sure what to do with the information I am getting. I will probably try to get a few more weeks of data and see what I can figure out from it.

I think it's really important to stay the course. Plateaus happen. A half pound average week really isn't bad. It's good! Go grab a couple sticks of butter and see how much of a difference half a pound makes!

One thing about me is that 1) I'm very sensitive to sodium and 2) I carb bloat like cuh-razy. A proper portion if pasta for dinner will always see me gaining some weight the next day. Always. It's really annoying.

[3Gsandme]

Originally Posted by pjlla

Laughing Cow has some really good flavors.... but I wasn't fond of the "bleu cheese" flavor they came out with a while ago. I love stuffing the light swiss into a piece of red bell pepper!

Which WW product(s) do you like best??

I really like their baked multigrain salsa chips. They're not too spicey, but they have a good flavor and you get a decent sized serving for your points. I try to steer away from the sweets because they're highly processed.

Originally Posted by pjlla

Dinner is pot roast in the crockpot, so we won't linger after seeing the dress. No excuses to stop for Chipotle on the way home, right??

For some reason I have been craving peanut butter M&Ms like a mad woman for the last few days!! I want to go see a movie... any movie, for an excuse to have popcorn and M&Ms!! Maybe I'm craving salt?? I am old enough that I am no longer "regular" and can't always predict the PMS cravings. Hoping that this will pass without a mindless eating incident! I will make myself some light popcorn tonight in the hopes that it will take the edge off the craving! Any suggestions for a healthy substitute for the M&Ms? Maybe just a piece of toast with my healthy all-natural sugar-free organic peanut butter??? Not quite the same, but maybe it would help.

Just 5 minutes left for a bathroom break, so I had better dash! I'll be back tonight to check in on everyone!.............P

I adore chipotle.

One of the nut companies, either blue diamond or emerald, makes a chocolate peanut butter but mix. I'd suggest being careful about the portion, but they're really good.

[3Gsandme]

Today is going well. Yesterday I wanted to eat everything. I think I'm dealing with TOM issues, so I'm trying to be good and not totally stuff my face.

Exercise is done for the day and two healthy meals are down. Dinner tonight is NOT so healthy, but that's okay.

I wanted to share this recipe for yummy, easy healthy soup. It should be okay for people on any diet.

http://cookingwithfamilyandlaughter....do-lime-salsa/

Dh and I had it for lunch today. It comes up to 4ww points per serving. Today we had ours with a slice of good pane bread from Trader Joe's. Delicious!

[nocomment711]

So far, I'm down 5 pounds from my starting weight and hope to lose 15 more this month. Hoping. 2 lbs a week would be 8. So that's my honest goal. If I can lose 2 every week until my trip, I should be in better shape.

Might go walking again tonight. Dunno for sure.