Lightspeed ahead to a healthier you! April 2016 WISH challenge... all are welcome!

[dsnyfn1022]

How do you talk yourself out of those situations? How do you walk OUT of the kitchen (or the 7-11 or the snack food aisle) WITHOUT the indulgence? How do you grab the apple instead of the Doritos? Or the cup of tea instead of the M&Ms? Share you strategies for those moments when we need to remind ourselves ..."These aren't the snacks you're looking for."

I don't keep junk food in the house and as a kid we rarely got candy from the store so while it may sound good or look good I just don't buy it because it wasn't something that we did. It was always a treat. so now if I do it, it's a treat!

I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do this week! I'm all planned and prepped and ready to kill it!

 

[mamattorney]

Welcome to your QOTD for Monday, April 18, 2016:

So, as Star Wars fans most of us are pretty familiar with this line:

View attachment 162869

But sometimes it isn't DROIDS we are searching for, but FOOD~! Do you ever find yourself searching the kitchen cupboards, pantry, and fridge in a desperate search for __________ ???? You aren't SURE what you want, but you want SOMETHING... salty, greasy, sweet.... whatever your "go-to" junk food might be. You aren't truly HUNGRY.... but you are looking.

How do you talk yourself out of those situations? How do you walk OUT of the kitchen (or the 7-11 or the snack food aisle) WITHOUT the indulgence? How do you grab the apple instead of the Doritos? Or the cup of tea instead of the M&Ms? Share you strategies for those moments when we need to remind ourselves ..."These aren't the snacks you're looking for."

I try to ignore cravings like that - telling myself that it can wait until my free day. And I grab something I consider healthy. Then, if it's still there and I want it, I have some. If I can't wait, I try to have a teeny, tiny bit. Last week, I grabbed like three or four chocolate chips out of the bag a couple of times during the week. I wasn't hungry (because how could three chocolate chips fill anyone up), I just wanted chocolate. It wasn't a cookie, but it was something!

Flavored lattes are a craving of mine - a true craving - and regular coffee just won't cut it. So if I get one, I get the very smallest size available and try to savor it; or else I'll get just a latte (not mocha or vanilla) which has much less sugar/fewer carbs.

 

[pjlla]

Hey friends..... I have a few computer minutes here at school today, so I did my catch up reading. So many great reports of progress for the month.... I will be doing the report tonight, hopefully before my 5-8pm shift.

I actually brought my scale along with me so that I could weigh-in at my Mom's on Friday morning.... the number wasn't scary, but it wasn't delightful either. And of course, I had some definitely OFF TRACK eating moments over the weekend, when boredom and exhaustion got the better of my good intentions. That being said, I didn't go totally off the rails. I only had two truly intentional treats.... 2 homemade cookies on Saturday and a jr. size Frosty from Wendy's last night. I had a TON of fruit to snack on over the weekend, try to stick with eggs and fruit and a few bits of potato for breakfasts, I bought a 12" Subway on Saturday and ate half at lunch and the other half at dinner with just one bag of Baked Lay's split between the two meals.... and the night the men got Smashburger (which got two thumbs down from them) I got a grilled chicken breast on a lettuce "bun" with onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes.... gave up the real bun so that I could splurge on a small order of sweet potato fries.... but they were disappointing. We actually ended up throwing out some sweet potato fries, some regular fries, and some onion rings because they just weren't worth it.

I did try hard to get in as many steps as possible..... it was a weird weekend full of hours of nonstop walking (around the campuses) followed by hours of nonstop sitting (in the car). But I hit over 10K on Friday, 15K on Saturday, and 12K on Sunday, which considering how much driving we did is pretty good! We drove 2 hours Thursday night, 7.5 hours of driving on Friday, 6.5 hours of driving Saturday, and 7 hours of driving last night. Phew.... I think my car deserves an award!!

Anyhow..... I'll be back after school to post results!.............P

 

[Oneanne]

Welcome to your QOTD for Monday, April 18, 2016:

So, as Star Wars fans most of us are pretty familiar with this line:

View attachment 162869

But sometimes it isn't DROIDS we are searching for, but FOOD~! Do you ever find yourself searching the kitchen cupboards, pantry, and fridge in a desperate search for __________ ???? You aren't SURE what you want, but you want SOMETHING... salty, greasy, sweet.... whatever your "go-to" junk food might be. You aren't truly HUNGRY.... but you are looking.

How do you talk yourself out of those situations? How do you walk OUT of the kitchen (or the 7-11 or the snack food aisle) WITHOUT the indulgence? How do you grab the apple instead of the Doritos? Or the cup of tea instead of the M&Ms? Share you strategies for those moments when we need to remind ourselves ..."These aren't the snacks you're looking for."

This is me and sugar. At my worst I would actually drive to the grocery store to get ice cream. I have three stores that are easy to get to and can rotate, but the checkers at my primary store still got to know it whether it was a rocky road or mint chocolate chip kind of evening. I do still get cravings now and then and have succumbed to getting candy if I'm at the store, but no special trips. I'm currently addicted to my Starbucks iced chai, but I am trying to go without this week.

Got back on track over the weekend, just barely going over in points each day. Got my steps in and did a lot of yard work, we had beautiful weather so I even got down to the beach for my walk Sunday. Also spent a lot of time shopping. The great shorts challenge has been solved. The past three years I've resigned to getting the walking shorts sold in the big girls dept even tho I don't like them. But I found some athletic style shorts in XL that will work, so happy about that. For Texas I intentionally took very few clothes and was sorry I didn't have more to chose from. So for WDW I'm taking the big suitcase and intend on overpacking, if that is even possible because I seem to go thru two outfits per day.

Happy healthful Monday everyone.

 

[wenrob]

Welcome to your QOTD for Monday, April 18, 2016:

So, as Star Wars fans most of us are pretty familiar with this line:

View attachment 162869

But sometimes it isn't DROIDS we are searching for, but FOOD~! Do you ever find yourself searching the kitchen cupboards, pantry, and fridge in a desperate search for __________ ???? You aren't SURE what you want, but you want SOMETHING... salty, greasy, sweet.... whatever your "go-to" junk food might be. You aren't truly HUNGRY.... but you are looking.

How do you talk yourself out of those situations? How do you walk OUT of the kitchen (or the 7-11 or the snack food aisle) WITHOUT the indulgence? How do you grab the apple instead of the Doritos? Or the cup of tea instead of the M&Ms? Share you strategies for those moments when we need to remind ourselves ..."These aren't the snacks you're looking for."

I eat on a schedule and build a treat into my day. I log that treat even before I log my breakfast so I know it's already accounted for. Ninety percent of the time being on a schedule stops me from the "hunt" because I know lunch/snack/dinner/treat is just around the corner. It makes me stop and ask myself if I'm really hungry or am I just thirsty or bored? If I find I truly am hungry, I'll grab a cheese stick, a nut pack or a yogurt, something that is high in protein with a little fat in it that will hold me over until my next meal.

 

[courtneybeth]

How do you talk yourself out of those situations? How do you walk OUT of the kitchen (or the 7-11 or the snack food aisle) WITHOUT the indulgence? How do you grab the apple instead of the Doritos? Or the cup of tea instead of the M&Ms? Share you strategies for those moments when we need to remind ourselves ..."These aren't the snacks you're looking for."

This is such a great question and I have to tell you that the only thing that worked: not having the temptations in the house!

We tossed all treats and sweets from the kitchen and don't buy things that can add to our waistline. Because there-in lies the trouble: you'll crunch and munch with boredom.

It goes hand-in-hand with the food logging. Everything that goes into the mouth gets logged into MFP.

 

[courtneybeth]

But I have found out that sometimes one piece of dark chocolate or a small piece of cheese can satisfy my appetit enought to avoid those situations

I've noticed this as well. We have an emergency stash of chocolate Hershey or Dove candies for those moments where you need something sweet. One Hershey kiss can really help.

I have a huge issue with getting candy at the check out at a store. As a kid if we were good in the store we got a candy bar and this carried over to adulthood and I do this for my kids. It was really hard to break that habit and I still have some days that I just can't resist. I try to get in a line that is moving fast so i am not looking at the candy for long and I will try to read the magazines too. Anything that will distract me.

This is me, but at the movie theatre. I'm smelling the popcorn and looking at the candy and just want everything! Why does everything 'yummy' have to be so bad for you!

. I think I'm so consumed right now in my life with this weight loss that it trumps any craving. It's a pretty good place to be, never been here before and it's probably why I've successful so far... just wondering how long it will last.

It'll last as long as you keep up the good habits you've created. I'm 5 months to goal weight and so far so good. You got this, man. Just keep it up and once you're done just keep doing what you're doing. Log the food. Eat healthy. Exercise. Once you reach the magical number it just doesn't stop. You keep these great habits going forward and you treat it like an addiction (because let's face it - food can be an addiction). You are changed forever.

I don't keep junk food in the house and as a kid we rarely got candy from the store so while it may sound good or look good I just don't buy it because it wasn't something that we did.

We don't keep junk in the house either. Makes it so much easier!

At my worst I would actually drive to the grocery store to get ice cream. I have three stores that are easy to get to and can rotate, but the checkers at my primary store still got to know it whether it was a rocky road or mint chocolate chip kind of evening.

I've had days where I have a bowl of ice cream for dinner. I think I felt worse AFTER that than before I ate. I feel you on this one. ::hugs::

I eat on a schedule and build a treat into my day. I log that treat even before I log my breakfast so I know it's already accounted for.

Agree! I log most of my food before I eat it so that I know what to account for in the day. Sticking to that schedule and plan keeps me on the 'straight and narrrow'

I bought a 12" Subway on Saturday and ate half at lunch and the other half at dinner with just one bag of Baked Lay's split between the two meals....

I thought I was the only one who would do this! Sometimes I'll just get the 6" with double meat to add in a little extra protein

 

[bigsis1970]

Hello my friends.. seems I have dropped off the face of the planet but alas I am here just making myself insanely crazy with this house stuff.. Truthfully I called it quits towards the beginning of the month as we couldn't find anything in our price range or our area but then on Thursday a 2004 single wide mobile home on it's own land popped on my radar that is honestly 3 mins from where I live now and is in my price range, it fits all the criteria of our loan and fits our budget that I had made for us.. So I emailed our mortgage lady on Thursday - she didn't get back to me till Friday afternoon -- OH THE NAIL BITTING! I was soo happy when I opened it and it was a proposal because I was expecting horrible news as that seems how it's been going.. then I emailed my real estate agent and asked her to get us a showing -- OH THE NAIL BITTING CONTINUES ... even today as I am typing this.. they haven't gotten back to her.. We've done 3 drive bys LOL.. so far the only downfall is the road it's on is HORRIBLY BUMPY!!
O M G .. Haaa .. when working up the figures between now and there it appears that we will only have a total bill of $77 more then our current one with everything included.. I think that $77 for the 25 years to own our own land and a 12 yr old home is pretty good... I am hoping the seller will pay some towards closing but if not it will still work out ok.. I have a Hardship withdrawal available in my 401K that I can use for the purchase of new home and we have a chunk in savings.. if the seller will pay some that just means we'll be able to hold onto our savings for new furniture.. I of course have to sell the home I currently live in but I don't think that will be an issue. It's going to be a steal and will last a while longer if it's treated right.. here's a few pics.. These are from Zillow.. I'll take more when we finally get in for a showing! its a 3 Bedroom 2 Bath

 

[Flossbolna]

Hello my friends.. seems I have dropped off the face of the planet but alas I am here just making myself insanely crazy with this house stuff.. Truthfully I called it quits towards the beginning of the month as we couldn't find anything in our price range or our area but then on Thursday a 2004 single wide mobile home on it's own land popped on my radar that is honestly 3 mins from where I live now and is in my price range, it fits all the criteria of our loan and fits our budget that I had made for us.. So I emailed our mortgage lady on Thursday - she didn't get back to me till Friday afternoon -- OH THE NAIL BITTING! I was soo happy when I opened it and it was a proposal because I was expecting horrible news as that seems how it's been going.. then I emailed my real estate agent and asked her to get us a showing -- OH THE NAIL BITTING CONTINUES ... even today as I am typing this.. they haven't gotten back to her.. We've done 3 drive bys LOL.. so far the only downfall is the road it's on is HORRIBLY BUMPY!!
O M G .. Haaa .. when working up the figures between now and there it appears that we will only have a total bill of $77 more then our current one with everything included.. I think that $77 for the 25 years to own our own land and a 12 yr old home is pretty good... I am hoping the seller will pay some towards closing but if not it will still work out ok.. I have a Hardship withdrawal available in my 401K that I can use for the purchase of new home and we have a chunk in savings.. if the seller will pay some that just means we'll be able to hold onto our savings for new furniture.. I of course have to sell the home I currently live in but I don't think that will be an issue. It's going to be a steal and will last a while longer if it's treated right.. here's a few pics.. These are from Zillow.. I'll take more when we finally get in for a showing! its a 3 Bedroom 2 Bath

I have no clue about the ins and outs of the American property market, but it sounds great to me!! And the best thing is that this thing with your house has been hanging over your head for so long, so finally getting it all settled would be wonderful!! Sending plenty of pixie dust for a showing soon an then that your offer will be accepted!!

Oh, and good news always need some dancing bananas!!

 

[courtneybeth]

@bigsis1970 -- that home is beautiful! I hope we get an update on Woohoo Wednesday with some 'good news'

 

[iheartdisney44]

How do you talk yourself out of those situations? How do you walk OUT of the kitchen (or the 7-11 or the snack food aisle) WITHOUT the indulgence? How do you grab the apple instead of the Doritos? Or the cup of tea instead of the M&Ms? Share you strategies for those moments when we need to remind ourselves ..."These aren't the snacks you're looking for."

Truthfully, I have come to the point in my life where I realized that I am not a person who can have indulgences *right now* @courtneybeth I absolutely agree with you that you almost have to treat this like it's an addiction! I have been through years and years of failed weight loss attempts and couldn't understand why I could follow a plan perfectly and still not lose any weight. I have done 4 half-marathons and countless 5K's and still had not lost a pound. It has taken me a loooong time to realize that in all of my attempts, I was really trying to find a way to eat what I wanted (fast food, chips, treats, soda, etc.) but in a different way. I would substitute Doritos for Baked Lays. I traded Coke for Coke Zero. All I was doing was keeping my sugar dragon alive and well, ready to rear it's ugly head at any moment. For me, I have found that in order to tame the sugar dragon, I must starve it. I have cut sugar out almost completely, with fruit being the exception. And guess what happened? I no longer have those temptations! I haven't had those moments of looking for something but you don't know what. YES, at the beginning, it was hard. But being fat is also hard. I will get to a point where I can have some of those treats again...just not right now!

 

[pjlla]

PROGRESS REPORT for week ending 4/16/16:

4Mickeys - 40.8%

courtneybeth - 57%

CruisingKate - 0%

Dispup75 - 10%

Dr Gunnie - 57%

dsnyfn1022 - 25%

DVCFan1994 - 50%

Flossbolna - 45%

iheartdisney44 - 37.5%

mamattorney - 33%

Oneanne - 0%

piglet1979 - 50%

pjlla - 0%

SarahDisney 50%

ski_mom - 50%

tortilla24 - 0%



I'd like to give a special ROUND OF APPLAUSE and fancy dancing flowers to our friends reporting in at 0%. GOOD FOR YOU for continuing to make an effort and stick with us and REPORT IN, even when the results aren't what you want! ...............P

 

[Oneanne]

Truthfully, I have come to the point in my life where I realized that I am not a person who can have indulgences *right now* @courtneybeth I absolutely agree with you that you almost have to treat this like it's an addiction! I have been through years and years of failed weight loss attempts and couldn't understand why I could follow a plan perfectly and still not lose any weight. I have done 4 half-marathons and countless 5K's and still had not lost a pound. It has taken me a loooong time to realize that in all of my attempts, I was really trying to find a way to eat what I wanted (fast food, chips, treats, soda, etc.) but in a different way. I would substitute Doritos for Baked Lays. I traded Coke for Coke Zero. All I was doing was keeping my sugar dragon alive and well, ready to rear it's ugly head at any moment. For me, I have found that in order to tame the sugar dragon, I must starve it. I have cut sugar out almost completely, with fruit being the exception. And guess what happened? I no longer have those temptations! I haven't had those moments of looking for something but you don't know what. YES, at the beginning, it was hard. But being fat is also hard. I will get to a point where I can have some of those treats again...just not right now!

I have a sugar worm in my brain... It's dormant sometimes but always there. When it wakes up I can feel it wiggling around and sniffing out the sweet stuff... And there's never just one bite or a little bit. Sugar is my drug of choice.

 

[courtneybeth]

I'd like to give a special ROUND OF APPLAUSE and fancy dancing flowers to our friends reporting in at 0%. GOOD FOR YOU for continuing to make an effort and stick with us and REPORT IN, even when the results aren't what you want! ...............P

Hear hear! A bouquet of Star Wars stuff for you all!

(Think Geek at one point sold these, btw.)

 

[courtneybeth]

Today was nearly 100 degrees in Southern California and I felt like Luke on Tatooine. It was hot and dry - of course, because So Cal is basically a desert.

One thing I've noticed is that my appetite seems to dwindle down when it's hot. Anyone else have that too? It felt great to be full at only 1200 calories today. Usually I'm starving and needing food.

 

[DisPup75]

Welcome to your QOTD for Monday, April 18, 2016:

So, as Star Wars fans most of us are pretty familiar with this line:

View attachment 162869

But sometimes it isn't DROIDS we are searching for, but FOOD~! Do you ever find yourself searching the kitchen cupboards, pantry, and fridge in a desperate search for __________ ???? You aren't SURE what you want, but you want SOMETHING... salty, greasy, sweet.... whatever your "go-to" junk food might be. You aren't truly HUNGRY.... but you are looking.

How do you talk yourself out of those situations? How do you walk OUT of the kitchen (or the 7-11 or the snack food aisle) WITHOUT the indulgence? How do you grab the apple instead of the Doritos? Or the cup of tea instead of the M&Ms? Share you strategies for those moments when we need to remind ourselves ..."These aren't the snacks you're looking for."

I love the "these aren't the snacks you're looking for" line. I need to remember that the next time I get the munchies. I'm a big-time snacker. Definitely more of a grazer than a clean plate club member but I don't generally have the I'm not sure what I want problem. If I'm really hungry, and I usually am when snack time rolls around, I'll be happy with the first thing I find whether it is an apple or Doritos. So I'm usually just fine as long as I've planned ahead, stocked up on the healthy snacks, and remembered to bring them with me as I go about my day.

Where I go wrong is that I am definitely a stress eater. I need to crunch my way through irritation/frustration/anger and sweet-tooth my way through my other emotions. I definitely seem to do better when I ban it all from the house - I won't go to the store to buy potato chips but I definitely don't have the power to walk out of the kitchen. I haven't quite figured out to manage my need to have the junk food out of my house with my eternally thin husband's need to have all of the snacks all of the time.

View attachment 163059

Today was nearly 100 degrees in Southern California and I felt like Luke on Tatooine. It was hot and dry - of course, because So Cal is basically a desert.

One thing I've noticed is that my appetite seems to dwindle down when it's hot. Anyone else have that too? It felt great to be full at only 1200 calories today. Usually I'm starving and needing food.

Me me me! I was looking through my food journals a few weeks ago and noticed that I do REALLY well during the summer months. I hadn't really thought about the heat connection but when DC turns into a disgusting swamp as it does every summer, I pretty much live on smoothies, gazpacho, guacamole, cucumbers, and fruit. I don't even like ice cream when it's hot.

 

[courtneybeth]

Me me me! I was looking through my food journals a few weeks ago and noticed that I do REALLY well during the summer months

Glad it's not only me. At least you don't like Ice Cream - it's my weakness and I have to do my best to stay on target!

 

[Flossbolna]

Glad it's not only me. At least you don't like Ice Cream - it's my weakness and I have to do my best to stay on target!

I lose my appetite in hot weather, too. But I also lose any desire to move when it is hot unfortunately...

I love ice cream, but my favourite gelato place (there are two within 5 minute walking distance from my home) has some amazing sorbets. Those usually hit the spot when I want ice cream and are far better with regard to calories.

 

[JacknSally]

Glad it's not only me. At least you don't like Ice Cream - it's my weakness and I have to do my best to stay on target!

Croque glacé croque glacé <3

 

[pjlla]

Croque glacé croque glacé <3

Step away from the delicious ice cream-filled pastries!!

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

Hey friends.... a quick "good morning" and then I'll post the QOTD and then I must dash! GOOD MORNING! Make it a good one! You got this!!...................P