My first warning sign is when I stop tracking my food. I will still be ok for a few days as I do have certain "standard meals" which I know that if I just keep to these, I will stay within my calory range. But then things start to creep in there... And the longer I am not tracking, the worse things get...
I always had problems to get back on track. And I found these threads here a huge help with that. If I read about other people's efforts and success it motivates me to work more for myself!
I agree with these threads being a big help. Knowing that I am expected to chat about my healthy habits encourages me to KEEP my healthy habits front and forward!
I always try to develop a routine, but do have trouble sticking to it over a long time. So it might work for a few weeks and then there are plenty of reasons to miss a workout here and there and suddenly two weeks go by without... But generally I think I am a combination of both: have a general schedule, but be flexible to change it when needed.
I've had issues like that in the past.... one week without exercise turns into two turns into....
It is SO MUCH EASIER TO stay on track than to get BACK on track!
Hope you got rid of the vertigo - sounds very unpleasant and certainly not good for exercising!!
Thanks for updating the weight page!!
You're welcome! And I tried a decongestant nasal spray... I figured it would work faster than a pill and since my congestion is strictly head congestion I figured it was a better choice. It seemed to help in that I didn't notice the vertigo much for the remainder of the day..... but near bedtime it seemed to be getting worse again.... so I will try the spray again today. Hopefully a few days using it will clear the situation up entirely. I am also going to try breathing some steam (like maybe in the form of a relaxing BATH
) and push fluids and such.
H
Here in Germany all labels are uncooked and I hate it when I can only find the nutrition for something cooked. How am I going to know how much to cook of something if I have no idea of its nutritional value. For example I always weigh my pasta on my kitchen scale before cooking it (and I have reduced portion size tremendously: used to eat a 125g portion easily, am now down to a regular portion of 65g, if I did not have much to eat that day yet, I might even go for a larger portion - up to 80g and then I feel like I had soo much too eat...)
I agree that NI need to be more standardized. Some weigh in grams, some in ounces (some in both). Some give NI for uncooked, some for cooked, some for cooked with other ingredients added!
Thank heavens for a calculator and a good food scale!
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Hope you all had a great Tuesday! I finally decided to take a rest day from my Ripped in 30 program. Meant to do that on Sunday, but then was much to motivated to get it started. So decided to splurge today and get my rest day in as I was sore all over for the whole day.
But I did have a non scale victory today: My belt jumped into its last hole today when I was closing it without me having to tuck and I could wear it like that comfortably!!!
Unfortunately my new scale from Amazon appears to not want to come to me. The order is still in the status of "will be despatched soon". And has been for a few days now. I don't really know how they measure soon... Hope I can get it before Easter! Am a bit scared that the new scale will show a higher weight than my current one, but I guess then I just need to accept that and readjust my start weight to a higher weight as well!!
Fingers crossed that the new scale is on its way! And don't worry about the thread being quiet.... I think it is just the natural progression of things. Folks are RARING to go on a new lifestyle in January, but by mid-March many have fallen away from things. It is sad, but we just need to keep strong for those who are still with us!
Oh - and one question for advice: How do you determine your goal weight? Looking at the BMI there is quite a scale of weights which are considered healthy, so which weight in that scale do you pick as the one?
I am still away from that - and I know that I want to get below 70kg (154 pounds) finally as it is such a magical number. But that only gets me to a BMI of 24.2 - So right at the top. I find it difficult to figure out where my goal ought to be. You have seen pictures of me, I do have a rather boxy shape with small hips, but a wide rib cage.
I really would like to be able to pick a realistic goal and reach that instead of one day just decide to give up on losing weight.
So any tips would be appreciated!!
I changed my goal many times and I think that is okay to do, as long as you are NOT continuing to try to achieve something that might be unhealthy or impossible. I think having mini-goals along the way gives you a continued feeling of success.... especially for folks who have a lot to lose. I think that is why the format of this thread is so nice! You can have 100% success every month!
If you are really unsure about a goal, try picking something about 5-10 pounds above it and when you get there, see how you feel. You might feel GREAT and decide that it is just where you should be! Or you might want to "try it out" for a while.... see how you feel after a few weeks/months and see if you are able to maintain it.
My first mini-goal was about 165-ish and I wanted to achieve it before a trip to Disney and I did it. But I KNEW that wasn't my final goal. I always thought that my final goal might be 140... but when I got within 5 pounds of that number, I knew I could go lower and still be healthy. When I got to 135 I stuck with it for a while, but I was still contemplating going just a bit lower. I finally decided to aim for 129, which would make it exactly 90 pounds lost. It took quite a bit of time and work to get to that number and I discovered pretty quickly that I was unable to maintain it. So I bounced back into the low 130's and have stayed there for a few years. I can generally maintain under 135 without too much struggle. Sure, I'd love to hit 130 and stay THERE, but I am not willing to go to the extremes in diet and exercise it might take.
You do NOT have to decide you ultimate goal today.... or ANY DAY! Play it by ear and do what FEELS right and FEELS healthy!
I have a strict exercise routine. I walk 60 minutes a day Mon- Fri. I do yoga Weds and Saturday. I do a Pinterst workout Tues and Sun. I'm absolutely terrified to deviate from my routine but I always think miss one day, then two, then three.... So I just don't miss day!
Healthy food news:
Raw chocolate tofu pie - delish!
Homemade hummus- super yummy
Homemade cashew milk - good in my morning tea, I couldn't seem to strain it fully to drink it plain.
Made the kids " chili cheese dogs " last night. Tofu dogs, Amy's ( fake ) chili , a sprinkling of cheese on a whole wheat bun. They never knew it was meatless! Victory
Melinda
I'd love the tofu pie recipe if you would like to share it! My kids aren't totally anti-tofu, but it needs to be TASTY!
I'm content with my store-bought almond milk and since I am basically lazy in the kitchen I wouldn't bother with homemade cashew milk. And homemade hummus is delicious, but since I am the main hummus eater here, we don't go through much. I buy it on sale and freeze it if I can't use it all before it expires.
would have to agree about the gift cards, Amazon is always a fav since there is so much stuff for everyone! Another idea is giving movie theater gift certificates. Then they can go with one of their friends!
Itunes cards are a usual staple, but DS rarely uses them. Instead he sells them to his sister!
I'll have to look into some other gift cards. I was trying to think of something that might be really useful for DD when she heads to school this fall, but I came up with nada!
I always say I want to get down to my drivers license weight!!
When I renewed my license a few years ago I told DH that it was the FIRST TIME I had ever NOT lied about my weight on my license in nearly 30 years of driving!! It was a GREAT feeling!
But seriously, I feel that once you reach your "goal weight"(however you pick one)..... stop looking!!! There are so many tables and charts to look at and they seem to constantly be changing!! I would go by how you feel about yourself. I try to make healthy choices with what I eat and then get in exercise frequently. My goal is to be healthy and fit, no matter what number that is.
When I first had a excessive weight loss (100lbs) I was a mess!! I was so freaked out about eating carbs and then got neurotic about my workouts, sometimes spending 2 hours a day, then hating myself if I was tired! It led to some pretty stupid life choices, just trying to reach a number!! Finally it got to where I would get so hypoglycemic that I be on the floor, nearly unconscious, while my DD was trying to feed me some sort of fruit/juice. And I would still resist having the carbs!!
After a couple of those (no I did not learn after the first time! lol) I got seriously depressed and eventually ended up gaining most of my weight back.
Thats why now I just focus on being healthy and making good choices. I am much happier now and I dont look at it like a "diet" that I will one day stop. I have made a lifestyle change that I can still see myself doing when I finally do reach my "goal weight" Its like they say..... Don't worry, be happy!!
Thanks for sharing all of that!!
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As for today, I am home again tonight. Woke up this afternoon and could not get rid of the pain, so I had to take my actual pain meds.
Although I was going to be charge nurse tonight and not work with patients, they still make me tired and irritable. No one wants to work for a grumpy boss!!
But thats why I have sick time!! Tomorrow will be better, I am just sure of it!!!
However, the medication could have something to do with my ramblings tonight, lol Hope you all have a great day!!
Sorry about your pain. Hopefully a day off will help!
Good morning everyone!
I read an interesting article this weekend which has inspired today's question of the day. It was about a study they did with regard to fats - as in the fat you eat with your food.
Supposedly there has been studies that if you feed rats with fat free yoghurt they actually gain weigh because it does not trigger them enough to be full. This study now gave humans (makes more sense to me...) a fixed amount of fat free yoghurt, but they also had to mix some fat into the yoghurt before they had to eat it. From what I understand these were people with a healthy weight to begin with.
It turns out that the people who had to mix in olive oil as well as the people who had to mix in lard did not gain any weight while the people who used other sources of fat (canola oil or milk fat) did gain weight. Actually, the people who used olive oil had the best results.
The explanation to this appears to be the taste. Animal fat and olive oil both contain high level of certain substances which make the food taste better. This causes the body to produce a hormone called serotonin which makes you happy. Chocolate also causes the production of this hormone.
I found this fascinating as I actually use a lot of olive oil(relatively speaking) - and do happily sacrifice the calories for it, because I always felt that it was good for me. And this leads me to my QOTD:
Do you specifically watch how much fat you have in your diet and where it comes from?
Yes, I really do watch my fats.... and YES, I know I probably don't eat nearly enough. The majority of my fats come in the form of plant fats (EVOO in cooking and salad dressings, and avocado) and nut fats (peanut butter, almond butter, etc). I do go to extremes to avoid added fats most of the time. I couldn't tell you the last time I had butter. I buy almost exclusively 1% milk (although I only use it for my coffee), nonfat yogurt, and 2% fat cheese. I use mostly homemade "PAM" spray (EVOO and water) when I cook, but will occasionally use a bit of EVOO for a stir-fry or something like that. I eat VERY LITTLE animal fat as well... and my tofu is "light".
DH consumes a lot of his fats in the form of coconut oil. I do NOT use it when cooking for the family because DS is allergic, but I will occasionally use just a bit for myself.
I KNOW that I should probably consume a bit more fat.... every part of your body needs fat to function properly, including the brain!
Good Wed morning everyone.
This has been a crazy month. We finished Grease on the 17th and then a friend's husband died so I had to deal with a wake and a funeral all on the last week of school before spring break. ALl I wanted was warm weather during spring break but all I have gotten is cold and cloudy weather with some snow on Monday. I so busy this past weekend that I could only count Monday as my first day of vacation.
I have been busy sewing and quilting on my break. Today dh is going on the computer to put in for his retirement and later this week I need to do the taxes.
Ho
w exciting (the retirement, not the taxes!)!! Sorry your break has been so icky and cold and BUSY!
Monday I had a great victory. I made chili with all soy protein and no one questioned it. My ds was asking about calorie count and when I told him it was all veggie he couldn't believe it.
WONDERFUL!
Do you specifically watch how much fat you have in your diet and where it comes from?
I have been making sure that I have some fat in my diet. I had read something similar a couple of months ago about fat free yogurt. I found it very interesting.
Off to get things done.
Have a happy and healthy day.
Dona, I am so happy to see you popping on here! You've been MISSED!!
Long time no post!
For all of those who remember me from the last two challenge, hello!!
I hope you are all doing fabulous and still getting fit! I hope I can come back to WISH after school ends this semester, the past year has been the most stressful ever, tons of classes and lots of work.
Just thought I'd update some of you who were so encouraging to me last year. I have gained back a couple pounds this semester but I'm working on losing them now; I have my 3rd half marathon in May. I applied for the Disney College Program and have been...ACCEPTED for merchandise for this Fall!! That means I'm heading to Florida for 6 months in August!! I also just signed up for the TOT 10 miler in October, my first Disney race, so maybe I will see some of you!
I realize the accountability and encouragement here was extremely helpful and I've missed it. I've barely had any time this year so only 6 weeks and I will hopefully be able to come read some!
Have a great day!!
SO very, very happy to hear from you and to hear that you only had a tiny gain while away from us! And HUGE Congratulations on the DCP! I can't wait to hear more about it. DD is really looking into it now! It is a few years away for her, but she is anxious to learn all she can about it!
WTG on the upcoming half marathon!!
Work hard for the next 6 weeks and we will see you when you are able to rejoin us!
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Happy Wednesday my friends!!! Bright and sunny here, but still COOOOOOLD! Easter will definitely not be a "spring" event here this year.
Tried something a bit new for breakfast and it was very tasty. I made a batch of my roasted eggplant spread a few days ago and it has been calling to me from the fridge! So this morning I toasted up a low carb roll, spread on a bit of light spreadable cheese (kind of like a Laughing Cow wedge) and topped it with a big healthy scoop of warm eggplant spread (which contains healthy EVOO!!
). It was a nice savory breakfast. I've always liked savory at breakfast (eggs) most of the time, as opposed to sweet (muffins, pancakes, french toast, etc). It was a bit different with coffee, but very tasty.
Vertigo is back this morning, but hopefully the nasal spray will help and I can hit the TM without feeling like I am on a ship in troubled waters!
Looks like we are getting a new fridge, so I need to research my options today. My current fridge was purchased when we built the house 19 years ago and while it still runs fine, it has a lot of other issues (broken door shelves, broken fruit bins, missing freezer shelves). I have lived with these issues because I am:
#1. cheap.
#2. unwilling to send a big item like this to the landfill unnecessarily.
#3. did I mention I was cheap??
But DH got a work bonus and we need to pick a "prize" and one of the things available with the "points" he got was a wide variety of refrigerators! This seems like the most practical thing to "buy" with the points, since they don't convert to Disney Dollars OR to college tuition money!
He got a batch of these points a few months ago and was kind enough to treat us all to our choice of things from the catalog. DD and I both got Tiffany jewelry, DS got a PS3 game system and DH got himself an Ipod Touch. While the cash would be MOST appreciated, the gifts are really nice too.
For those who remember my rant about the roof a while ago (shingles flew off during a wind storm), the insurance company actually accepted our claim and they are paying for a good size portion of a new roof! We have our check (which I still need to cash) and the extra deductible money set aside and the roofing guy we contracted with is coming out today for a final "look see" and is scheduled to do the work next week! So YEAH for a new roof!! And double YEAH that we don't have to pay for it all OOP!!
Off to make beds and hit the scrapping table! I will workout while DD is at swim tonight.
BBL to chat...........P
I wish labels would specify cooked or uncooked. 
WW doesn't, it just came up 14 points for one cup!
We will see.
I'll be at the Mouse for my second Wine and Dine Half in November with all the other WISH'ers as well. Think it will be a total blast!
