Find Your Own "Directive" - the February Weight Loss / Life Style Change Challenge

[Oneanne]

WOW... just found this thread thru searching for California Grill, which I just booked for my upcoming May trip.

I'm a single lady, of a "certain age", living in the great grey Pacific Northwest. I've been to WDW 35+ times... it used to be an annual spring migration to find sun, but the past few years it's been two trips per year and last year it was three (trying to get the most out of that annual pass... the May trip is the last time I'll be able to use it). I've been over weight most of my adult life... you could say Pooh Bear and I have a lot in common (in shape, and OK love for honey as well). End of last year I finally hit the preverbal rock bottom: stressed out, a series of colds I just couldn't kick, tired all the time, tired of being tired. I was home sick and after seeing Oprah's WW commercial for the 5th or 6th time, realized "hey, she talking to me", so I picked up my phone and signed up.

I've been doing well with an average of just under -2 pounds per week, feeling better but not as good as I think I should be feeling, so this past week I started an elimination diet: no dairy, gluten, corn, sugar, eggs, soy, or peanuts. I'm still not feeling as well as I think I should, so now I'm also eliminating coconut and nuts, which I've suspected I'm also sensitive to. This elimination period is to last for 21 days, followed by a 21 day testing period where you introduce things back in to your diet... I'm headed to Texas the middle testing period so I'll have to give that some serious thought.

My February goal is to hit one-derland, which is currently just over 3 pounds away: that will also be -20 pounds. My WW weigh-in day is Friday, so that aligns well with reporting progress... how do we do that, just post?

Glad to have found you all... here's to a healthy future for us all!

First of all.... welcome, welcome, welcome!

WOOHOO on approaching 20 pounds gone forever! That is a terrific job well done!

For our purposes here we each set ourselves a goal with a measurable "percentage" to reach (pounds off, inches gone, miles walked.... whatever you want). Goal reporting is done Fri-Sunday and results are usually posted Monday night. Since there is only a bit of February left, you don't need to feel compelled to set a goal for the month.... you could just get ready for March... it's up to you!

I've also recently decided that I may have a coconut sensitivity.... not that I consumed it a lot, but since my DH eats low carb, we do use coconut flour occasionally instead of AP flour... and I had started the habit of coconut oil coffee (AKA "bulletproof coffee"), but have curtailed that. Are you seeing an allergist regarding all of those sensitivities?

Anyhow..... WELCOME!

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

Hey friends! Home alone tonight as the men are at robotics. I have leftover sweet potatoes ready for dinner.... I may caramelize some onions and scramble some egg whites to go with it.... not sure yet.

Off to be busy!...................P

Hello! I've been working with my primary doctor, plus going thru process of elimination. I've been sensitive to gluten and dairy for years: it took 3+ years to figure gluten out and unknowingly suffered from leaky gut for all that time, hence the other things that have been added to the list.

 

[dsnyfn1022]

Question of the Day - February 18

Handling... "The Negatives"
Some days you're Wall-e. And some days you're Mo.
Let's take Mo's perspective today and see how to handle those challenging "negatives" - you know, when life (aka: "Wall-e") puts its foot in our face. Yuck.
Finding your new Directive can be a challenge and support/positivity/results can make it loads easier -- but you're not always guaranteed support and positivity. Some days may
be more challenging. You may have a stressful day due to circumstances out of your control. How you handle this and rise above it shows progress.

Like it or not -- bad days with lots of "negatives" going to happen.
What do you do to manage the "bad days"?
What are things you struggle with on "bad days"?
Have you found a way to turn a negative into a positive?​

Nowadays bad days don't effect my eating because I don't keep junk around the house. On the rarest of occasions I'll be like "eff it, I want McDonald's ice cream" but that's for the rarest of occasions.

I had a great day today! I got to work an hour earlier than normal which was great because I got to leave an hour earlier lol. And those on IG know I got provided a healthy fruit and yogurt breakfast to boot! I came home and it was gorgeous and light out so I went for my first 3 mile run outside in what feels like ages! It was great. I ran 2.65 of it and then just had to take a walk break. So I walked for a tenth of a mile and then rallied for the last quarter to finish. All-in-all an 11:45 mile pace which I'm quite pleased with!

 

[courtneybeth]

Today is "Woohoo" Thursday for me - while yesterday was a bit of a bummer, today has actually been much better! Went to the trainer today and I was pushed to my breaking point and I realize now that it was totally worth it. I've lost 1.5 inches in my hips in a month but my legs have increased 1 inch. Trainer said this is normal as we tend to build up muscle first and then the fat around it will burn off.

I'm going to do a yoga workout tonight and stretch a bit - followed by a run tomorrow and Saturday. I think I've got my mojo back. New Orleans Half is next weekend so this will be the big push into race weekend. (Plus I have a few virtual races that I need to complete for my medals that have shown up but not earned... yet. Woops).

 

[flvy]

GIVE ME YOUR MOJO!!!

I spent the first half of the day sick out of my mind, and the second half scrambling to finish all the stuff I wanted to accomplish in the morning. I did cook a yummy dinner though. I also figured out how to kind of alter my training for the rest of this week and next week which was something that's been nagging at me.

Okay I guess I accomplished some stuff. I still feel blah though.

 

[courtneybeth]

GIVE ME YOUR MOJO!!!

I humbly give you my motivation - you can do this. I did. I got my groove back and so can you!

 

[4Mickeys]

Hi all - feeling bad - I ended the day on bad food - Picked up Krispy Kreme donuts for the kids but added one for myself - then we went for a swim at the river and they talked me into Maccas for dinner! I felt so full afterwards I felt ill with a big hard belly.

But I have found a positive from using MFP - yes I was honest and loaded my horrible day into it - I did stop and think twice when choosing from the maccas menu at the Kj in the food - but in the drive through a quick decision had to be made. Seeing that red number and how much over it was from one meal is certainly a wake up call about how I got this way. Having the page come up when I finalised the day saying if I ate like that everyday my weight would be up another few kgs in a short time was another reality check. So now thinking about what I can do tomorrow to add some activity.

 

[dsnyfn1022]

Seeing that red number and how much over it was from one meal is certainly a wake up call about how I got this way.

I felt the exact same way when I first started tracking. It's a great wake up call! It doesn't mean that every day will be perfect from then on out but at least you can start to recognize the behavior and make changes.

 

[dsnyfn1022]

So I've somehow managed to injure my leg It's my thigh and it doesn't hurt when I put weight on it but when I take weight off (so like shifting weight from one hip to the other) does hurt. It's not really bad at all but I'm afraid that if I push it then I could create a stress fracture (which I've had in my foot before) and I don't want to do that! So for the next week and this weekend I'm going to spend some cross training on the bike It's sad when I feel like I'm finally starting to make some gains and get into the running groove but I'm still far enough out from my first race that if I take a week off now then it won't be a problem. So today is a boohoo Friday.

 

[pjlla]

Feb 18 - Handling the Negatives

We're going thru a stressful time at work, another restructure is in the works and this one is going to be pretty dramatic. I know some of what is coming, which is better than being totally clueless: my job is expanding in a way I'm not ready for, so this has been stressing me out. My current boss is going to become my peer, so that is going to be weird for both of us. Per my previous post I started an elimination eating plan the end of last week, and over the weekend I hit the "kill all the things" stage. I thought I was coping well (I didn't kill anything), but came to realize I was internalizing it all, fabricating victim/martyr scenarios in my head and making myself angry. I had an epiphany Tuesday when a couple of the people I had imagined to be big baddies paid some glowing compliments to me and my team.

How do I cope and turn things around? I keep telling myself 'assume the best': I try to be self-aware and recognize when it's me and my self-talk, although this time that took a while. I will say prior to starting WW, I would have eaten my stress: gallons of ice cream would have been consumed, but instead I've been using the stress to focus and stay on eating plan and get in extra steps.

I LOVE your "assume the best" mentality! I need to do that with so many things in my life! When they give me the "PITA" class at school sometimes I feel like it is punishment.....but I try to remind myself that perhaps it is because I am GOOD at my job and they have CONFIDENCE that I can handle the more difficult students/situations.

When the only exercise I get in a day are the jumping jacks and running in place I did at recess duty, I remind myself that I COULD have just stood still and watched the kids, so I made a GOOD choice (sure, I could have made a BETTER choice by hitting the TM but.....).

Hello! I've been working with my primary doctor, plus going thru process of elimination. I've been sensitive to gluten and dairy for years: it took 3+ years to figure gluten out and unknowingly suffered from leaky gut for all that time, hence the other things that have been added to the list.

Do you mind if I ask how you are treating your leaky gut? DS was diagnosed years ago by a naturopath after YEARS of health issues. His treatment and healing was NOTHING SHORT of a MIRACLE in my opinion. Wish I could get him off the gluten, but he was never formally diagnosed with a gluten issue, so I cannot convince him to give it up.

GIVE ME YOUR MOJO!!!
I spent the first half of the day sick out of my mind, and the second half scrambling to finish all the stuff I wanted to accomplish in the morning. I did cook a yummy dinner though. I also figured out how to kind of alter my training for the rest of this week and next week which was something that's been nagging at me.

Okay I guess I accomplished some stuff. I still feel blah though.

Sorry you aren't feeling well!!

Hi all - feeling bad - I ended the day on bad food - Picked up Krispy Kreme donuts for the kids but added one for myself - then we went for a swim at the river and they talked me into Maccas for dinner! I felt so full afterwards I felt ill with a big hard belly.

But I have found a positive from using MFP - yes I was honest and loaded my horrible day into it - I did stop and think twice when choosing from the maccas menu at the Kj in the food - but in the drive through a quick decision had to be made. Seeing that red number and how much over it was from one meal is certainly a wake up call about how I got this way. Having the page come up when I finalised the day saying if I ate like that everyday my weight would be up another few kgs in a short time was another reality check. So now thinking about what I can do tomorrow to add some activity.

Good for you for thinking of a POSITIVE after a trying day!

So I've somehow managed to injure my leg It's my thigh and it doesn't hurt when I put weight on it but when I take weight off (so like shifting weight from one hip to the other) does hurt. It's not really bad at all but I'm afraid that if I push it then I could create a stress fracture (which I've had in my foot before) and I don't want to do that! So for the next week and this weekend I'm going to spend some cross training on the bike It's sad when I feel like I'm finally starting to make some gains and get into the running groove but I'm still far enough out from my first race that if I take a week off now then it won't be a problem. So today is a boohoo Friday.

Oooopps! Hope the leg feels better soon! Don't push too hard and aggravate the injury!

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

Hi friends! I'm at work today, but they are keeping me busy! My weigh-in this morning was VERY disheartening. I KNOW I'm eating under my calories.... struggling with that daily. And I would understand NOT LOSING... but gaining??? WTH??? Definitely working on it. Will peek at the scale again in the morning hoping for at least a maintain for the week. BBL to chat I hope!....................P

 

[Oneanne]

I LOVE your "assume the best" mentality! I need to do that with so many things in my life! When they give me the "PITA" class at school sometimes I feel like it is punishment.....but I try to remind myself that perhaps it is because I am GOOD at my job and they have CONFIDENCE that I can handle the more difficult students/situations.

When the only exercise I get in a day are the jumping jacks and running in place I did at recess duty, I remind myself that I COULD have just stood still and watched the kids, so I made a GOOD choice (sure, I could have made a BETTER choice by hitting the TM but.....).



Do you mind if I ask how you are treating your leaky gut? DS was diagnosed years ago by a naturopath after YEARS of health issues. His treatment and healing was NOTHING SHORT of a MIRACLE in my opinion. Wish I could get him off the gluten, but he was never formally diagnosed with a gluten issue, so I cannot convince him to give it up.

....................P

pjlla... I've been taking probiotics, drinking bone broth (the little 8 oz containers are 9g of protein and 0 WW points), trying to eat fermented foods (really don't like fermented but they say it's really good for you), and now the elimination diet. My Dr. gave me the book 'Passionate Nutrition' to read, and she's high on cooked food, not raw, so I try to follow that as well. It's all working... the food sensitivities don't manifest as digestive issues as much but do cause other things. I now know I also have to take out chicken: I had some Wednesday night and was dragging and congested Thursday morning/I had more for lunch yesterday and could barely stay awake during the afternoon.

 

[pjlla]

pjlla... I've been taking probiotics, drinking bone broth (the little 8 oz containers are 9g of protein and 0 WW points), trying to eat fermented foods (really don't like fermented but they say it's really good for you), and now the elimination diet. My Dr. gave me the book 'Passionate Nutrition' to read, and she's high on cooked food, not raw, so I try to follow that as well. It's all working... the food sensitivities don't manifest as digestive issues as much but do cause other things. I now know I also have to take out chicken: I had some Wednesday night and was dragging and congested Thursday morning/I had more for lunch yesterday and could barely stay awake during the afternoon.

WEIRD..... DS is VERY allergic to chicken and I've never heard of anyone else with an issue with poultry! Interesting! He is also VERY allergic to pumpkin.... do you eat pumpkin?............P

 

[Oneanne]

End of week check-in:


Started the week at 206 --- currently at 202.3
February goal --- 199.9 one-derland: -2.4 is a high goal for just over a week, particularly after such a big weight loss week, but I think it is still do-able.

Wins this week: I brought my breakfast and lunch to work with me every day. This is significant on several levels... first I planned ahead and had the food in the house, then I cooked each night and got things ready, and lastly I actually remembered to bring it with me. Also managed to stay on plan all week and get my average of 10,000 steps per day in.

Plan for next week: eliminate a few more foods that are bothering me: stay on my eating and walking plans: start doing arm exercises with my 3 pound hand weights to address these flabby old lady forearms!

 

[Oneanne]

WEIRD..... DS is VERY allergic to chicken and I've never heard of anyone else with an issue with poultry! Interesting! He is also VERY allergic to pumpkin.... do you eat pumpkin?............P

No problem with pumpkin. Have you ever heard of NAET? It's an acupuncture based allergy elimination protocol where they test you for different things, then you go thru the protocol addressing different groupings. I did it many years ago and eggs/chicken/feathers were at the top of the list. The program really helped, but it appears I've gradually slipped back to where things are bothering me again.

 

[MochaDrinker]

It's Friday so I weighed myself and I lost all the weight I gained last week. I'm back to 212 which is two lbs of my 5 lbs goal--40%

 

[SarahDisney]

Official check-in ... still at 0%
I'll probably end the month higher than I started it. Oh well, I know it's entirely my fault, nothing I can do now to change everything I've done wrong over the past three weeks.

 

[courtneybeth]

Question of the Day - February 19

Let's Talk... Favorite Meals
Cooking provides us the opportunity to make delicious meals and control the calories that we take in.
Like Eve, I'm sure we all have great tools and gadgets in our kitchens that help us make yummy meals.
Today's topic is about your favorite meals you make at home - let's see some pictures and recipes!

What is your favorite go-to meal that doesn't bust your calorie goal?
Any special desserts?
If you burn water, what are some ready-made meals you eat in lieu of cooking?​

 

[courtneybeth]

Reminder: Weigh-in totals are due either posting or via PM no later than Sunday evening.​

 

[courtneybeth]

@Oneanne - I'm terrible at math - i don't even know how I survived my MBA program. Can you provide a percentage to me with your progress for the month?

So today is a boohoo Friday.

Oh no - feel better! I am so sorry to hear that you are starting your weekend off to such a rough start.

It's Friday so I weighed myself and I lost all the weight I gained last week. I'm back to 212 which is two lbs of my 5 lbs goal--40%

Party time - congrats on the progress. I got it noted.

'll probably end the month higher than I started it. Oh well, I know it's entirely my fault, nothing I can do now to change everything I've done wrong over the past three weeks.

I am so sorry... but the good news is that you have a good week ahead where you can correct some of the damage. You got this - what's in the past is the past. <3

 

[donac]

My go to meal would have to be oatmeal, flaxseed, wheat germ, chia seed, cinnamon and milk. I can microwave that in about 3 minutes. It makes breakfast so easy

 

[Lady Marie]

What is your favorite go-to meal that doesn't bust your calorie goal?
Any special desserts?
If you burn water, what are some ready-made meals you eat in lieu of cooking?

I was pleasantly surprised this week when I put DH's Shepard's pie into MFP that it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was.... granted I cut back on the sour cream and butter that I usually put in the potato portion (and I could do to cute back even more). But nonetheless, it was delicious and not too crazy. I know I should be getting excited over green leafy vegetables, but in reality, mashed potatoes will always hold a special place in my heart! haha!

My favorite salad is found at the deli at Fresh Market. It's spinach, strawberries, almonds slivers, and feta topped with a poppy seed dressing. When I don't want to cook, I will grab one of these on the way home. Delicious!

As for desserts, I've mentioned on here before that I am currently in love with the Yasso frozen Greek yogurt bars. They are 100 calories and hit the spot when I need something sweet and I am not even an ice cream person at all usually!

------------

As for me, I fell off track a little with my exercising goals this week. I'm going to blame it on a post-Disney funk mixed with being exhausted from our weekend away. The good news is I am going to my favorite yoga tonight. There is an awesome local teacher that does a class every few months at the this super swanky spa. There's an hour and a half of yoga followed by 2 hours of using the spa facilities. It is the most amazing and refreshing evening. I can't wait!!!