Marching Our Way to a Healthy Lifestyle ~ March 2016 WISH Challenge

[Swilcox]

I just finished 30min with my 10k trainer app.

140/510

 

[JacknSally]

DH got home from work #2 and I got him to go on a walk with me even though it was 11pm - by the end of it I was at 10,780 steps. Super disappointing considering I was at 6,000 steps when he left for work at 7am, lol. Oh, well.

 

[4Mickeys]

I think my brother would disagree wtih that statement, but ... thanks

Don't worry I have a brother like that .... oh well that's his perception and loss.

If my bladder would cooperate, that sounds like GREAT fun!!

OMG this is so me as well.

That was beautiful and I want to cry because those are some of the nicest things I've been told.

I am going to take these to heart and remember them. I am smart, driven, and a fighter.

It's hard for me to sometimes look into myself and see these things. I love supporting others yet I don't see the awesome inside me. Perhaps that'll change as I continue in my life journey.

Pjilla hit it just right - I hope you do start to acknowledge what a wonderful woman you are and will continue to grow into.

I'm having a hard time coming up with things without qualifications.


"I am this, but."
"I have this, except."
"I can do this, only."

to you too. I agree with Sarah's comments in the quote below a hundred percent. It is brave to start a new business that is so tied to your creative talent as it is really putting yourself out there personally.

First of all ... I disagree. Just because you want to attach a "but" to something, that doesn't mean the first part of the statement isn't true. It just means you're trying to doubt yourself - and part of the purpose of today's QOTD is to help you realize that you don't have to doubt your good qualities.

Second ... here are three that I have for you:
1 - You are insanely creative (have you seen your etsy shop??)
2 - When you commit to a goal, you work hard to make it a success (again, etsy store - you're putting more work into this store than most people would because you're determined to make this business work)
3 - You are such an amazingly caring person. You're always here to support other people in the group, and I can tell that you truly care about other people!

 

[pjlla]

That was beautiful and I want to cry because those are some of the nicest things I've been told.

I am going to take these to heart and remember them. I am smart, driven, and a fighter.

It's hard for me to sometimes look into myself and see these things. I love supporting others yet I don't see the awesome inside me. Perhaps that'll change as I continue in my life journey.

I hope it does change for you..... and I think, in some ways, that it has without you realizing it. It would have been HARD to make these positive health changes in your life if you didn't see that you are WORTH IT!

@courtneybeth, you can totally sith with me.

I'm having a hard time coming up with things without qualifications.


"I am this, but."
"I have this, except."
"I can do this, only."

And I feel like, if I can qualify it, then it doesn't count. Kind of like "If part of this statement is false, then the entire statement is false."

On a 1-10 scale, my stress level is around 30 right now. I know the lack of sleep is having an impact on that, but it's not the root cause. Blah.

Haven't hit my 10,000 steps - yet. I've just had too much to do that has required sitting. I'm going to try to hop on the treadmill at some point before bed though and knock the rest of it out. My focus has been pretty much nil today, though, and I am so far behind on my to-do list. UGH! Hopefully there is a bed in my future tonight!

I see that someone else came on to REMIND YOU that you are worthwhile and you do have some great gifts and traits.... but I want to second the motion! You are incredibly POSITIVE and UPBEAT most of the time, even when busy and stressed. You are incredibly BRAVE to be starting your own business.... another thing that many folks dream about but never get brave enough to try. And you are truly BEAUTIFUL.... you are one of the prettiest ladies I know!

GET YOURSELF some sleep!!! BELIEVE ME.... everything in lie will seem MUCH BETTER if you are rested. I promise that if you get ONE good night's sleep (7-8 hours of solid, eyes-shut, dark room sleep) that stress level will drop by HALF!!

Before I get to my answer, I wanted to talk about the origin of today's QOTD:
I usually write the QOTD about a week in advance - I have a week's worth of questions prepared, and a few hours after I post the QOTD in the morning, I start working on the QOTD for that same day the next week.
Last Thursday was a very rough day for me. I don't really know what triggered it, but suddenly in the middle of the day I just started to feel really crappy about myself. When I finally got around to writing the next QOTD ... I was looking at pictures of Festival of Fantasy while at the same time thinking about questions that had been used in the past. I kinda remember a previous host asking us to share something good about ourselves ... and suddenly I knew I could connect it to the fairies. Somehow, thinking about past challenges brought my out of the dark hole I was in that day and gave me a little bit of goodness on a day that was not at all great.
So thank you to everyone here for letting me be your hostess and encouraging me to think of good QOTDs by being such active participants - sometimes creating the QOTDs help me as much as answering them helps others!

Anyway ... yeah, this question is very hard for me. But with everything I've had going on, I think it's good for me to sit down and think about a few of the ways in which I don't suck.

So here's what I've got:
1 - I love helping people - I'm not the biggest people person in the world, but I do love having the opportunity to help others, whether that's helping my family around the house or supporting others on their journeys
2 - I'm very organized - I have lists and spreadsheets and to-do lists for everything, which gives me some semblance of normalcy in very chaotic situations.
3 - I can learn anything - I've always been able to learn new things quickly (both in school and life skills), and I'm fairly certain that I can learn to do pretty much anything. Right now I'm trying to learn javascript ... I'm having trouble figuring out some of the real world applications, but I'm learning the code, and I'm sure I'll get to the real world implications soon enough.

I have to admit ... as I was thinking about this, I did come up with a few things in my head. But then when I sat down to type them ... I couldn't. It just felt wrong.
I think I know now how some of you felt about a few of the other QOTDs. There are some things you just don't want to think about. But I guess it is important.
So I learned a lesson from today's QOTD.

Thank you for sharing all of that with us. And thank you for coming up with so many THOUGHT PROVOKING QOTD.... I think it is important to ask ourselves the HARD questions (and of course, think about the answers) before we can make REAL CHANGE in ourselves!

Consider yourself LUCKY that you learn quickly.... it is truly a BLESSING!!

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

Hey friends.... just finished up my early morning 24/7 shift and I am not (so far) scheduled to work at school today! Wow! Not sure exactly what I'll do with my day. I do need to go shopping for a bridal shower gift for next weekend, so it may be a good day to get that done. And I need to buy some snacks and drinks for the men to bring along for next weekend's marathon robotics tournament days. So may be today will be an errand day. Otherwise it will be a cleaning day.

I pushed myself to take a short walk around the neighborhood when I got home yesterday (it rained for a bit, but thankfully not for long) and managed to end yesterday with over 20K steps!! Not bad for a day when I worked two online shifts PLUS a full day at school!

Not happy with today's number on the scale.... it is exactly the same as last Friday's... which was not a "happy" number. I'm still up nearly a pound over where I started March. But I know (as I always say) that I'm not eating enough and I'm not exercising enough. I ended yesterday eating just 17 SmartPoints... and that was with throwing in a 2 SP snack bar at 8:30 pm. I need to work on this more. But I did get more steps and more water last week, so I'm making baby steps! I'll take a "do over" peek at the scale tomorrow and will report in, regardless of what it says.

I've climbed back in bed with a cup of coffee.... gonna give myself a short break this morning, since I've been working quite a bit lately. I'll toss in some laundry while I get DS out of the door and then perhaps relax for a few minutes before jumping into the rest of the day.

BBL to answer the QOTD..... and HAPPY FRIDAY friends!!..................P

 

[bigsis1970]

Actually this is quote from a movie I recently watched and it applies to EVERYONE on this thread and the 3/17 QotD ..

YOU is Kind
YOU is Smart
YOU is Important

Thank you all for being my friends, Wishing you all great WI's and Success on your goals this week.. Xo Michelle

 

[pjlla]

Actually this is quote from a movie I recently watched and it applies to EVERYONE on this thread and the 3/17 QotD ..

YOU is Kind
YOU is Smart
YOU is Important

Thank you all for being my friends, Wishing you all great WI's and Success on your goals this week.. Xo Michelle

Thank you for that..... and right back at you! I know you aren't around here on the weekends, so I'll say Happy Friday and have a great weekend. Hope you don't get that storm that they are talking about!.............P

 

[SarahDisney]

Wildcard Weekend – Friday March 18th:

This weekend we’re celebrating a parade that has been retired from two Disney parks – Block Party Bash!

Block Party Bash (BPB) was introduced at Disney California Adventure in May 2005 in conjunction with Disneyland's 50th Birthday "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebration. Advertised as a "high-energy party," Block Party Bash features characters from and units inspired by the Pixar films released to that point: Toy Story, The Incredibles, A Bug's Life, and Monsters, Inc. In addition to the characters, Block Party Bash featured a large number of dancers, bikers, and trampoline artists. The parade closed at DCA in January 2008 and was relocated to Disney's Hollywood Studios, where it ran from March 2008 through January 2011.

Have you seen this parade? Share your pictures!

With the Block Party Bash as our theme, let’s talk about parties.
Do you host parties at your home? Do you try to keep the menu healthy? How to you keep yourself from overindulging? How do you stop yourself from overindulging when you attend parties and gatherings hosted by friends and family?​

 

[SarahDisney]

Weekly Challenge – Week 3:

We’re introducing something new this month – weekly challenges! Every Friday I’ll post a challenge, and you’ll have until the following Thursday to answer the challenge. Challenges are about sharing with your fellow participants and bringing everyone closer to your favorite parts of living a healthy lifestyle.

Thanks to all those who participated in last week’s challenge – it’s always nice to see people sharing beautiful food pictures and healthy recipes!

This Week’s Challenge:

Let’s get back to talking about working out. Some people love to “dress up” to workout, while others prefer to workout in whatever clothing they have around the house. Anything can be workout clothing – the most important thing is that you're comfortable and feel strong during your workout.

For this week, your challenge is to share the outfit you were wearing during your favorite workout. Did you have a run where you went faster than you thought you would and felt strong from beginning to end? Did you finally start lifting more weight in a session at the gym? Are you starting to feel more comfortable in a new class you just started recently? This week your challenge is to take your workout to the next level – and show us what you were wearing while you did that!

It doesn’t matter whether you were wearing old sweatpants and a ratty t-shirt or a color-coordinated outfit inspired by your favorite character. We just want to hear about your awesome workout and the clothes you were wearing that helped you get there!

(I apologize to the non-clothing-obsessed people here, because this challenge may be a little awkward for you … but I’m hoping that this topic encourages people to go out there and rock your next workout so that you have an awesome picture/story to share with us!)

Challenge Due Date: Thursday, March 24th ​

 

[tortilla24]

Wildcard Weekend – Friday March 18th:

This weekend we’re celebrating a parade that has been retired from two Disney parks – Block Party Bash!

Block Party Bash (BPB) was introduced at Disney California Adventure in May 2005 in conjunction with Disneyland's 50th Birthday "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebration. Advertised as a "high-energy party," Block Party Bash features characters from and units inspired by the Pixar films released to that point: Toy Story, The Incredibles, A Bug's Life, and Monsters, Inc. In addition to the characters, Block Party Bash featured a large number of dancers, bikers, and trampoline artists. The parade closed at DCA in January 2008 and was relocated to Disney's Hollywood Studios, where it ran from March 2008 through January 2011.

Have you seen this parade? Share your pictures!

With the Block Party Bash as our theme, let’s talk about parties.
Do you host parties at your home? Do you try to keep the menu healthy? How to you keep yourself from overindulging? How do you stop yourself from overindulging when you attend parties and gatherings hosted by friends and family?​

I don't host them, sadly. Because I'm living in a studio apartment there's not much space. However, I'll have had a friend or two over for drinks and things. Usually, the more I cook, the less likely I am to want to eat. I also intentionally make things I don't much like. For example, in December I had a friend over for mulled wine (which is so yum). I made chocolate chip cookies and ate maybe a bite - if that - and then made her take the cookies home (I really don't care for chocolate chip in the slightest... I know I'm crazy). I imagine I would do the same with a bigger party and even with food I love... I'd eat what I wanted but then make sure the food is out of my house completely!

When I'm over at other parties, it's very hard. Good chips/dip can really be my weakness. I try to eat a little something before I go to parties so that when I show up, I'm not ravenous and can instead just pick around at the food options at the party. I'll admit, it doesn't always happen so I also try to avoid anything mayonnaise-y (pasta salads, coleslaw, etc.) and it makes me feel better about the other stuff I'm indulging in.

 

[Dr Gunnie]

Do you host parties at your home? Do you try to keep the menu healthy? How to you keep yourself from overindulging? How do you stop yourself from overindulging when you attend parties and gatherings hosted by friends and family?​

This is my #1 problem.

We host parties, and we also go to parties at friends homes where I overindulge often. The menus might have a few things that are ok, but mostly its chips and dip, pizza, bbq... the good stuff! I have to figure out a way to do better in these situations. My first instinct is just not to go, but that's not fair to the rest of my family. I know it's only going to get worse with the weather warming up and I need help. I've tried to eat something healthy right before we go so I won't be hungry, but that still doesn't totally fix it.

During the football season it's even a bigger problem because there is always a coach’s party after the games. They are my kryptonite. I can't help but have a few beers and half a pizza or a few Italian beef sandwiches.

For next season, I volunteered to do a job with our game film that needs to be done right after our games that will have me working instead of attending these parties. While I'll miss hanging out with everyone after, at this point I'm just not strong enough to be able to go and control myself. I've tried the last two seasons and failed big time. It sucks, but in the long run I'll be better for it. I wish I didn't have to do it (and the film job is a pain in the @ss), but losing weight and being healthy > hanging out after the game.

 

[Lady Marie]

We owe you one! We had the gnocchi meal tonight and we only used half the lemon that they recommended. Both my wife and I agreed that if we would have used the whole thing, it would have been major overkill. I thought it was a little strong with just using half - but not to the point where it ruined the meal or anything.

Anyway thanks!

That's great! Glad to have helped

Do you host parties at your home? Do you try to keep the menu healthy? How to you keep yourself from overindulging? How do you stop yourself from overindulging when you attend parties and gatherings hosted by friends and family?

Well this is timely....... Last night was not so good. I was great on the alcohol front (only had one!), but his mom bought those disgustingly delicious sugar cookies with the mound icing on top which went straight into my mouth. We NEVER buy those because they are sooooo bad and neither DH or I can resist them. So on that front-- I don't stop myself. I haven't mastered that yet. But with alcohol, I have gotten a lot better. I just take small sips and nurse one drink rather than have a second or third. I've also started getting a glass of water along with my cocktail to quench my thirst and to have after bites. Then I really can savor my gin and tonics!

We don't host parties since we live in a condo. The few times we do have dinner parties, DH makes a cottage pie that we've modified to not be too bad. Like someone else before me mentioned, when I do the cooking, I'm not as eager to over indulge.

 

[piglet1979]

Wildcard Weekend – Friday March 18th:

This weekend we’re celebrating a parade that has been retired from two Disney parks – Block Party Bash!

Block Party Bash (BPB) was introduced at Disney California Adventure in May 2005 in conjunction with Disneyland's 50th Birthday "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebration. Advertised as a "high-energy party," Block Party Bash features characters from and units inspired by the Pixar films released to that point: Toy Story, The Incredibles, A Bug's Life, and Monsters, Inc. In addition to the characters, Block Party Bash featured a large number of dancers, bikers, and trampoline artists. The parade closed at DCA in January 2008 and was relocated to Disney's Hollywood Studios, where it ran from March 2008 through January 2011.

Have you seen this parade? Share your pictures!

With the Block Party Bash as our theme, let’s talk about parties.
Do you host parties at your home? Do you try to keep the menu healthy? How to you keep yourself from overindulging? How do you stop yourself from overindulging when you attend parties and gatherings hosted by friends and family?​

I host a few a year. I have one for each of my kids (2) and them I host Christmas Eve for my husbands family. This past year I also did Thanksgiving for his family. I feel you should have fun at a party and I do not watch what I eat at them. I also don't over do it either. At birthday parties I do have a peice of cake and a scoop of ice cream but that is all I need. My down fall is when my mom has parties because she always has candy out. I will just keep grabbing more.

The parties I have for the kids are super low key. We buy fried chicken from Giant Eagle and pizza from Marcos. I make a fruit salad and usually macaroni salad. For Christmas I make a big Thanksgiving dinner. I am on my feet most of the day, but I love it as long as my father in law stays out of the kitchen. He stresses me out.

 

[mamattorney]

Do you host parties at your home? Do you try to keep the menu healthy? How to you keep yourself from overindulging? How do you stop yourself from overindulging when you attend parties and gatherings hosted by friends and family?

I host holidays; I host meetings; I host bookclub once every so many months, but I haven't hosted a party in a long time! We "host" the kids' friends all the time (I'll have six 7th graders over here tonight) and I'm always secretly happy when the house is just our family so that I don't have a huge craving to plan a party!

When I do host an event with food, I try to do a little of each. Always a healthy choice, but treats as well. I'm hosting Easter this year and it's a bit more of a pot luck. I'm going to have chicken as the main protein and I'll make an appetizer and a side dish, but everyone else will also bring a side dish and an appetizer or a dessert. I'll have no control over those.

To stop myself from overindulging, I do one of two things. Either I refrain from eating at all (often at meetings), or I skip meals and leave a ton of calories in my day so that I can indulge. For example, I never eat dinner before book club because I like to snack with the conversation. I try to go back and enter everything in MFP afterwords and hope that it doesn't equal more than dinner! If I am going to skip a meal and eat quite a bit, I rarely drink alcohol - I stick with water or diet coke so that I can have all my surplus calories for food.

 

[piglet1979]

Last night did not end good for me. I did really good during the day with eating healthy. I even had a salad for dinner when we went out. Well I finally got my girl scout cookies I ordered awhile back. I thought I only bought a box for me and one for my husband so I took my kids to the girls at the store and let them pick out what they wanted. They each got 1 box. Well I had ordered boxes for the kids too. SO now I have a total of 3 boxes of Tagalongs and 3 boxes of Thin Mints. Thin Mints are no big deal for me. I don't like them but the Tagalongs are my down fall. 1 box is my daughters so I will not touch them (unless she leaves around too long) I have 2 boxes for me. Well I ate one whole box last night. That is 15 cookies. And today was weight in day for me for another group I am with a group of friends. I gained a pound. So this weekend I will work a little harder and try to work that off by our check in day here. I just need to control myself with this other box. On the up side I am off of work for the next 10 days. I go back the Tuesday after Easter. I am not going anywhere but I get to spend more time with my kids since they are on spring break. I have really been feeling like I haven't been doing much with them. Also work has been super stressful with the hiring of a new girl to help out since I had way too much to do to get anything done. She started in November and she is just not catching on. I spend more time training her then I do getting my stuff done. I really needed this break. It will also give me more time to work out.

Sorry for the long post. I am really loving this group. I feel that it is holding me more accountable and everyone is supper nice and supportive. I know I also won't be judged for telling you about my night last night.

 

[Oneanne]

Wildcard Weekend – Friday March 18th:

This weekend we’re celebrating a parade that has been retired from two Disney parks – Block Party Bash!

Block Party Bash (BPB) was introduced at Disney California Adventure in May 2005 in conjunction with Disneyland's 50th Birthday "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebration. Advertised as a "high-energy party," Block Party Bash features characters from and units inspired by the Pixar films released to that point: Toy Story, The Incredibles, A Bug's Life, and Monsters, Inc. In addition to the characters, Block Party Bash featured a large number of dancers, bikers, and trampoline artists. The parade closed at DCA in January 2008 and was relocated to Disney's Hollywood Studios, where it ran from March 2008 through January 2011.

Have you seen this parade? Share your pictures!

With the Block Party Bash as our theme, let’s talk about parties.
Do you host parties at your home? Do you try to keep the menu healthy? How to you keep yourself from overindulging? How do you stop yourself from overindulging when you attend parties and gatherings hosted by friends and family?​

There's this thing called "The Seattle Freeze"... folks round here are cordial and friendly but it is a challenge to break in to a new social group. I read an article on the local dating scene that summed it up perfectly: the author was from New York and said there a coworker would invite you to a dinner party because "there would be a lot of new people you don't know and you might make some new connections" whereas in Seattle the co-worker would not include you because "you won't know anyone there and I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable". Another example... I belong to a national women's glamping/vintage trailers group, I've joined about 3 Facebook groups for Texas chapters and during my trip will be meeting up with a group having a monthly dinner and another group is throwing a meet-and-greet for me.... The Pacific Northwest Chapter? Doesn't even have a Facebook group . Have to own it - I'm that way... friendly but don't expect to get invited to my house. So no, I don't have dinner parties, except to host holidays for family, and for those I think I've already confessed my total lack of control!

 

[Oneanne]

Weekly Check-in... holy cow, what's going on here?

March Weight Goal: 194
CW: 194.6!!! That's -2.9 for the week, totally out of the blue and believe me I got on the scale multiple times because I couldn't believe my eyes!!!
100% to goal

March Step Goal: 125 miles
Current: 82.12
62% of goal --- Was actually thinking this would be a little bit higher, but if I average 13,000 per day for the next week, I'll hit 100% next Friday.

 

[MochaDrinker]

Weighed myself-20% of goal.

 

[SarahDisney]

I just finished 30min with my 10k trainer app.

140/510

Yay! You're doing awesome!

DH got home from work #2 and I got him to go on a walk with me even though it was 11pm - by the end of it I was at 10,780 steps. Super disappointing considering I was at 6,000 steps when he left for work at 7am, lol. Oh, well.

Yay for 10,000 steps again! It may not be as many as you had hoped you'd get, but it's still better than not reaching 10,000 steps!

Thank you for sharing all of that with us. And thank you for coming up with so many THOUGHT PROVOKING QOTD.... I think it is important to ask ourselves the HARD questions (and of course, think about the answers) before we can make REAL CHANGE in ourselves!

Consider yourself LUCKY that you learn quickly.... it is truly a BLESSING!!

Thank you for your kind words!

I pushed myself to take a short walk around the neighborhood when I got home yesterday (it rained for a bit, but thankfully not for long) and managed to end yesterday with over 20K steps!! Not bad for a day when I worked two online shifts PLUS a full day at school!

Yay for 20K steps - it's always nice to have an unexpectedly high step count!

Not happy with today's number on the scale.... it is exactly the same as last Friday's... which was not a "happy" number. I'm still up nearly a pound over where I started March. But I know (as I always say) that I'm not eating enough and I'm not exercising enough. I ended yesterday eating just 17 SmartPoints... and that was with throwing in a 2 SP snack bar at 8:30 pm. I need to work on this more. But I did get more steps and more water last week, so I'm making baby steps! I'll take a "do over" peek at the scale tomorrow and will report in, regardless of what it says.

Sorry to hear that the scale's not giving you a happy number, but it's great that you're aware of what you need to work on!

Actually this is quote from a movie I recently watched and it applies to EVERYONE on this thread and the 3/17 QotD ..

YOU is Kind
YOU is Smart
YOU is Important

Thank you all for being my friends, Wishing you all great WI's and Success on your goals this week.. Xo Michelle

I love this! Thank you for sharing! You are amazing!

Do you host parties at your home? Do you try to keep the menu healthy? How to you keep yourself from overindulging? How do you stop yourself from overindulging when you attend parties and gatherings hosted by friends and family?​

We have big get togethers at our house once or twice a year. With themed menus and everything. There's a lot of food. Over the past few years I've tried to make sure that there is some healthy food in there, but since we are known for our entertaining, the theme is more important than the healthy (which I know sounds terrible, but ... now you know why I have such a weird relationship with food).
It's really easy to overeat at these events unless I'm busy in the kitchen, so I try to stay busy. Of course, I still manage to eat all the leftovers after everyone eats. We do this so infrequently, though, that I try not to worry even when I do eat too much. If I overeat a few times a year, I can recover from that.
Basically, I try my best to manage how much I eat, but I don't worry if I eat too much.
I'm basically a hermit, so I don't really go to parties or other people's houses, so I don't have to worry about that much, but when I do ... I try to do the best I can and not worry about it.

I don't host them, sadly. Because I'm living in a studio apartment there's not much space. However, I'll have had a friend or two over for drinks and things. Usually, the more I cook, the less likely I am to want to eat. I also intentionally make things I don't much like. For example, in December I had a friend over for mulled wine (which is so yum). I made chocolate chip cookies and ate maybe a bite - if that - and then made her take the cookies home (I really don't care for chocolate chip in the slightest... I know I'm crazy). I imagine I would do the same with a bigger party and even with food I love... I'd eat what I wanted but then make sure the food is out of my house completely!

I like the idea of making things you don't like so that you're not tempted by them! And it's always nice when you can dump the leftovers on someone else.

When I'm over at other parties, it's very hard. Good chips/dip can really be my weakness. I try to eat a little something before I go to parties so that when I show up, I'm not ravenous and can instead just pick around at the food options at the party. I'll admit, it doesn't always happen so I also try to avoid anything mayonnaise-y (pasta salads, coleslaw, etc.) and it makes me feel better about the other stuff I'm indulging in.

Parties are definitely hard, but you have some good strategies!

---

I had hoped to make more of a dent in the replies, but ... taxes. I forgot to send my accountant a particular form that he needed, so I had to find the form, scan it in and send it to him, which took longer than it should have because my scanner is having issues. Yay, another problem. Oh well, at least its Friday.
Hopefully I'll be back later to finish reading through, but in case I'm not ... have a great weekend, everyone!

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

Hello everyone, I've been a little busy this week and have 0 change to report weight wise.

I did not get in as many steps as I would have liked- about 6/7 k instead of the 9/10 I try to do each day. There has been a bit a stress eating-not to bad but I really cant cheat much more than a few bites of cookies/bread/pasta and not have it show. I just had to have another biopsy on my thyroid (second in 4 months) and I was just caught off guard and the now the waiting...thus nerves and extra munching.

That and trying to stalk the boards on waiting for ADRS for the new Rivers of light dinner/show Fp+! We are going in May and I would really like to see it. Anyone else on that thread?

QOTD- We do almost all the parties, holidays here. I even had my BIL wedding here a few yrs ago. We have scaled back a lot now that the kids are older. The amount of food is always crazy. My DH family has a restaurant/deli so they sometimes bring food but usually it's me and DH doing it all. Everything from sausage sandwiches, skirt steak, kaboobs, chix cutlets, wings, all the sides, always more than 1 dessert, salads, fruit,even apps a lot of times. Dont get me started on the holidays like Easter, 4th, Christmas.

I also have 2 DS(17 and 1 just turned 20) and their friends around. Wow can they eat. So I have usually a lot of the food they want as well. Soda, ice crean, juice, nuts, cheese, lunch meat, pizza...

I try to keep the food in the pantry, out of sight. Some in the 2nd frig in the garage. I am usually the last one to eat at parties as I am too busy hosting but by then I am starving and often go with cravings. I do tey to send alot home , especially desserts but that is usually what the other women do not want going home with them!

 

[SarahDisney]

This is my #1 problem.

We host parties, and we also go to parties at friends homes where I overindulge often. The menus might have a few things that are ok, but mostly its chips and dip, pizza, bbq... the good stuff! I have to figure out a way to do better in these situations. My first instinct is just not to go, but that's not fair to the rest of my family. I know it's only going to get worse with the weather warming up and I need help. I've tried to eat something healthy right before we go so I won't be hungry, but that still doesn't totally fix it.

I think it's really important that you understand that this problem exists. It's definitely hard to find a solution, but it's something you know you need to work on, and that's an important first step. You just have to keep trying until you find something that works.

During the football season it's even a bigger problem because there is always a coach’s party after the games. They are my kryptonite. I can't help but have a few beers and half a pizza or a few Italian beef sandwiches.

For next season, I volunteered to do a job with our game film that needs to be done right after our games that will have me working instead of attending these parties. While I'll miss hanging out with everyone after, at this point I'm just not strong enough to be able to go and control myself. I've tried the last two seasons and failed big time. It sucks, but in the long run I'll be better for it. I wish I didn't have to do it (and the film job is a pain in the @ss), but losing weight and being healthy > hanging out after the game.

This is a huge step - knowing that the best way to handle the situation is to avoid it. Hopefully one day you'll be able to go to the parties, but until then, it's good that you're removing yourself from the temptation.

Well this is timely....... Last night was not so good. I was great on the alcohol front (only had one!), but his mom bought those disgustingly delicious sugar cookies with the mound icing on top which went straight into my mouth. We NEVER buy those because they are sooooo bad and neither DH or I can resist them. So on that front-- I don't stop myself. I haven't mastered that yet. But with alcohol, I have gotten a lot better. I just take small sips and nurse one drink rather than have a second or third. I've also started getting a glass of water along with my cocktail to quench my thirst and to have after bites. Then I really can savor my gin and tonics!

OMG those sugar cookies! And it sounds like you have a really good strategy for dealing with alcohol - I like the idea of getting a glass of water along with your cocktail!

I host a few a year. I have one for each of my kids (2) and them I host Christmas Eve for my husbands family. This past year I also did Thanksgiving for his family. I feel you should have fun at a party and I do not watch what I eat at them. I also don't over do it either. At birthday parties I do have a peice of cake and a scoop of ice cream but that is all I need. My down fall is when my mom has parties because she always has candy out. I will just keep grabbing more.

I totally get the mentality of "it's a party, have fun." And a few parties a year probably won't cause too much damage on your diet.
And I have the same problem with candy - when we host, we always have candy out a few hours before the event because that's something that can just be left out for a few hours, so I've already had way too much candy before the party starts!

When I do host an event with food, I try to do a little of each. Always a healthy choice, but treats as well. I'm hosting Easter this year and it's a bit more of a pot luck. I'm going to have chicken as the main protein and I'll make an appetizer and a side dish, but everyone else will also bring a side dish and an appetizer or a dessert. I'll have no control over those.

I love that you try to have healthy options when you do host.
Pot lucks are definitely hard because you don't have control over what everyone else brings. You just have to hope that some other people are also interested in eating healthy and hopefully you'll have some good options!

To stop myself from overindulging, I do one of two things. Either I refrain from eating at all (often at meetings), or I skip meals and leave a ton of calories in my day so that I can indulge. For example, I never eat dinner before book club because I like to snack with the conversation. I try to go back and enter everything in MFP afterwords and hope that it doesn't equal more than dinner! If I am going to skip a meal and eat quite a bit, I rarely drink alcohol - I stick with water or diet coke so that I can have all my surplus calories for food.

I love that you have a strategy for avoiding overindulging - it's so awesome that you found something that works for you. Next time I have to go to an event with food I think I'm going to try leaving myself lots of calories in my day - thanks for the idea!

Last night did not end good for me. I did really good during the day with eating healthy. I even had a salad for dinner when we went out. Well I finally got my girl scout cookies I ordered awhile back. I thought I only bought a box for me and one for my husband so I took my kids to the girls at the store and let them pick out what they wanted. They each got 1 box. Well I had ordered boxes for the kids too. SO now I have a total of 3 boxes of Tagalongs and 3 boxes of Thin Mints. Thin Mints are no big deal for me. I don't like them but the Tagalongs are my down fall. 1 box is my daughters so I will not touch them (unless she leaves around too long) I have 2 boxes for me. Well I ate one whole box last night. That is 15 cookies. And today was weight in day for me for another group I am with a group of friends. I gained a pound. So this weekend I will work a little harder and try to work that off by our check in day here. I just need to control myself with this other box. On the up side I am off of work for the next 10 days. I go back the Tuesday after Easter. I am not going anywhere but I get to spend more time with my kids since they are on spring break. I have really been feeling like I haven't been doing much with them. Also work has been super stressful with the hiring of a new girl to help out since I had way too much to do to get anything done. She started in November and she is just not catching on. I spend more time training her then I do getting my stuff done. I really needed this break. It will also give me more time to work out.

We all have bad days where we eat too much. Those Tagalongs are delicious (they're my favorite too), so I totally understand eating a whole box. The important thing is that you're aware of what you did, and hopefully it won't happen again. Yes, it caused some temporary damage, but you WILL bounce back from this!
Enjoy your time off from work - it definitely sounds like you need a break to relax and refocus!

There's this thing called "The Seattle Freeze"... folks round here are cordial and friendly but it is a challenge to break in to a new social group. I read an article on the local dating scene that summed it up perfectly: the author was from New York and said there a coworker would invite you to a dinner party because "there would be a lot of new people you don't know and you might make some new connections" whereas in Seattle the co-worker would not include you because "you won't know anyone there and I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable". Another example... I belong to a national women's glamping/vintage trailers group, I've joined about 3 Facebook groups for Texas chapters and during my trip will be meeting up with a group having a monthly dinner and another group is throwing a meet-and-greet for me.... The Pacific Northwest Chapter? Doesn't even have a Facebook group . Have to own it - I'm that way... friendly but don't expect to get invited to my house. So no, I don't have dinner parties, except to host holidays for family, and for those I think I've already confessed my total lack of control!

I guess the silver lining of not hosting parties is that you don't have to worry about controlling yourself!

Weekly Check-in... holy cow, what's going on here?

March Weight Goal: 194
CW: 194.6!!! That's -2.9 for the week, totally out of the blue and believe me I got on the scale multiple times because I couldn't believe my eyes!!!
100% to goal

March Step Goal: 125 miles
Current: 82.12
62% of goal --- Was actually thinking this would be a little bit higher, but if I average 13,000 per day for the next week, I'll hit 100% next Friday.

AMAZING!!! Awesome check-in and congrats on reaching your weight goal!

Weighed myself-20% of goal.

Yay! Awesome progress!

I did not get in as many steps as I would have liked- about 6/7 k instead of the 9/10 I try to do each day. There has been a bit a stress eating-not to bad but I really cant cheat much more than a few bites of cookies/bread/pasta and not have it show. I just had to have another biopsy on my thyroid (second in 4 months) and I was just caught off guard and the now the waiting...thus nerves and extra munching.

Definitely sounds like an off week - but I know you can do better next week!
I hope the biopsy comes back okay.

That and trying to stalk the boards on waiting for ADRS for the new Rivers of light dinner/show Fp+! We are going in May and I would really like to see it. Anyone else on that thread?

I really hope they announce the dinner package soon! I wish I was going to see Rivers of Light soon ... I'm really excited for it, but I have no idea when I'm getting back to Disney.

QOTD- We do almost all the parties, holidays here. I even had my BIL wedding here a few yrs ago. We have scaled back a lot now that the kids are older. The amount of food is always crazy. My DH family has a restaurant/deli so they sometimes bring food but usually it's me and DH doing it all. Everything from sausage sandwiches, skirt steak, kaboobs, chix cutlets, wings, all the sides, always more than 1 dessert, salads, fruit,even apps a lot of times. Dont get me started on the holidays like Easter, 4th, Christmas.

I also have 2 DS(17 and 1 just turned 20) and their friends around. Wow can they eat. So I have usually a lot of the food they want as well. Soda, ice crean, juice, nuts, cheese, lunch meat, pizza...

I try to keep the food in the pantry, out of sight. Some in the 2nd frig in the garage. I am usually the last one to eat at parties as I am too busy hosting but by then I am starving and often go with cravings. I do tey to send alot home , especially desserts but that is usually what the other women do not want going home with them!

I think keeping the food out of sight is always a great idea!
It's really hard when you don't have time to eat and you get so hungry you'll eat anything ... but it's important to have a plan for what you want to eat, and hopefully then when you're ready to eat, you can stick to your plan!

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I am not having the best of days. I have been non-stop snacking ... and I'm eating the cookies and potato chips, not the strawberries in the fridge. Oh well, it's almost lunchtime, so I'll just have to have an awesome lunch and try to stay away from the snacks in the afternoon.