Welcome to the CAROUSEL of PROGRESS challenge for December 2015!!

[DVCFan1994]

I had a super crazy weekend, I weighed in yesterday, and thought I reported but never hit post I guess. I gained a pound. Ugh. So 0% for me. But I am not surprised. DH was away all last week, I kept eating on the go, dealt with stress by eating a ton of candy off my gingerbread house and I am having all kinds of foot/ankle/calf pain messing with my training. So I had to take Friday - Sunday off from exercise.

So today's QOTD is very timely. All my stalls in progress, weight regains, etc are easily defined for me. It is stress. I have 0% self control in the eating department when I am stressed. I may have a super healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a couple healthy snacks, because those are all routine. But I'll make myself nachos at night, grab handfuls of chocolate chips after a kid has a meltdown, snack while I am making dinner, and still eat the whole dinner, etc.

Compounding that is usually my stress is related to schedule changes that also effect my exercise plans, which means less exercise and more food. Not a good equation.

Right now (except for today when I had a lot of time for the gym) I will have less workout time, or at least it will be less intense due to my foot problems. Today I added extra time to make up for it. I will not be able to do that the rest of the week. Time to refine my diet a bit to better control my general junk intake and watch portion sizes so I can get back on track.

 

[pjlla]

Dec 8, 2015


Well.... for better or for worse, today is NATIONAL BROWNIE DAY! YUMMMMM! What can you do to get your chocolate fix and still stay ON PLAN today?? Do you have a favorite recipe or a treat that you keep stashed away for occasions like this? Enjoy just a bit of your favorite chocolate treat today and let us know what it is!





Here is a recipe for a pretty healthy brownie....


Legendary Black Bean Brownies


1 19oz (540ml) can black beans, well rinsed and drained
3 large eggs
3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp instant espresso
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips


Rinse and drain the black beans well.

Add all ingredients except for chocolate chips in blender.

Blend until very smooth, pour into an 8 inch square baking pan which has been sprayed with non-stick spray, sprinkle with chocolate chips and bake at 350 for 30-32 minutes.


I have made these and they are actually pretty darn yummy!!.....................P

 

[acbshada]

I'm behind on catching up with everyone and conversations, but I did read through everything. Sounds like we're all doing our best to just keep up with life right now, but we're doing pretty well as far as I can see. We can do this!!

Well.... for better or for worse, today is NATIONAL BROWNIE DAY! YUMMMMM! What can you do to get your chocolate fix and still stay ON PLAN today?? Do you have a favorite recipe or a treat that you keep stashed away for occasions like this? Enjoy just a bit of your favorite chocolate treat today and let us know what it is!

My DH doesn't care for chocolate, and I'm a "chocolate in limited quantities" type of person. But when you need it, you need it. lol I'm a chocolate chip cookie fan, though. So I have a stash of ready-made, Toll House mini chocolate chip cookie dough - the kind in the little squares that you can just break off and bake. I keep it stashed in the freezer in bags of 3 mini cookies, and I bake those up in the toaster oven when I need a warm chocolate chip cookie fix.

As for goals - well, the first week of December was off for me, but I dragged myself out to the community center last night for a workout. Timed my laps and I have the info ready to log into my journal, so I'm back in the game and working toward that goal.

 

[Flossbolna]

I am proud of myself: Went for a run yesterday after work!! Only 20 minutes, but I wanted to start with a short run since I had not been out there for more than two weeks and I was not sure how well my lungs would deal with all the cold air. But it was great and I am all set for my next scheduled run tomorrow!

Had a not so good lunch today as some colleagues asked me to join them in the work cafeteria and there they were offering the "Christmas menu" which was a three course menu with chestnut soup, a choice of roasted duck or pork loin in a creamy sauce and then a gingerbread mousse for dessert. I am not sure why, but I ate it all!!! Why do I do things like that? I should just have said no to the soup and the dessert. At least it turned out to be not such a horrible damage. So, if I manage to stay on plan tonight (which I have not mastered for a number of days now...) this might still turn into an ok day....

QOTD:
I am not a huge chocolate fan. But I tend to eat it when it is around. I find that the best chocolate treat for me is dark chocolate as I tend to eat smaller quantities of it even though I like it better than milk chocolate. I often have a bar of dark chocolate at home to enjoy a small piece of it as an after dinner treat with a nice cup of tea.

 

[ohMom]

acbshada - are you saying you are a fellow buckeye? hope you got some sunshine at your house too today then! Princess bride references are always welcome

i'm not sure if I told you all that I let my cousin talk me into her fitness blog's 15 workouts between thanksgiving and Christmas challenge? she gave the participants 10 HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts that are 20 mins and wow they are kick butt! I did one on Saturday and today is first day my thighs and gluts aren't screaming at me! it's a great reminder to me that I can squeeze in a short workout but it's still very effective. so i'm doing well on the WO department. still not food tracking like a champ. sigh

QOTD on the new fantasyland..i don't remember seeing clowns! I must've bypassed that part. I like the new fantasyland b/c I also, love B&TB and Belle. Gaston's area is awesome I bought two wine glasses there that I just love!

I can't believe I forgot to WI on Friday. I need a better plan. I really don't think I've had any changes, the clothes fit the same. we shall see this Friday! I cannot forget!

 

[courtneybeth]

Dec 8, 2015


Well.... for better or for worse, today is NATIONAL BROWNIE DAY! YUMMMMM! What can you do to get your chocolate fix and still stay ON PLAN today?? Do you have a favorite recipe or a treat that you keep stashed away for occasions like this? Enjoy just a bit of your favorite chocolate treat today and let us know what it is!

The Weight Watchers snacks are fairly good at providing the right amount of chocolate when you need it at a point level that won't break your point values.

The picture of the brownie was so mean - they looked so good! I am so unbelievably stressed out right now as I head into the last 7 days of my MBA program -- I want to eat all the things! Tonight is the 45 minute business proposal for Disneyland India, and next Monday and Tuesday are my finals. I don't have any nails left to chew at this point.

This is me right now. I am fear.

 

[DVCFan1994]

Dec 8, 2015


Well.... for better or for worse, today is NATIONAL BROWNIE DAY! YUMMMMM! What can you do to get your chocolate fix and still stay ON PLAN today?? Do you have a favorite recipe or a treat that you keep stashed away for occasions like this? Enjoy just a bit of your favorite chocolate treat today and let us know what it is!


View attachment 139091


Here is a recipe for a pretty healthy brownie....


Legendary Black Bean Brownies


1 19oz (540ml) can black beans, well rinsed and drained
3 large eggs
3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp instant espresso
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips


Rinse and drain the black beans well.

Add all ingredients except for chocolate chips in blender.

Blend until very smooth, pour into an 8 inch square baking pan which has been sprayed with non-stick spray, sprinkle with chocolate chips and bake at 350 for 30-32 minutes.


I have made these and they are actually pretty darn yummy!!.....................P

So I truly belong in Chocoholics Anonymous. I love chocolate. But I am prone to overdoing it. At high stress times, I almost always over do it. If I make a pan of brownies, I will eat a solid half the pan in the first two days. I have noooo willpower. Now, I also now I have developed good strategies for coping with my chocolate addiction. When I am doing well my number one strategy is to eat chocolate every day, but in small quantities. I put dark chocolate chips (a 80 calorie serving) in plain greek yogurt for my post exercise snack and I will have a small scoop of ice cream for a desert or a chocolate greek yogurt. But that second snack is only if I've stayed on plan the rest of the day. If I try to swear off chocolate it inevitably backfires, and I overdo it. Today it will be yogurt and chocolate chips.

Week two of the month is off to a better start for me.

 

[acbshada]

I am proud of myself: Went for a run yesterday after work!! Only 20 minutes, but I wanted to start with a short run since I had not been out there for more than two weeks and I was not sure how well my lungs would deal with all the cold air. But it was great and I am all set for my next scheduled run tomorrow!

Yay! Glad you were able to get out today, Flossbolna. I cannot imagine running in the cold air. Brr. But good for you for going out there and getting it done! I'm glad that you're starting to feel a lot better now.

acbshada - are you saying you are a fellow buckeye? hope you got some sunshine at your house too today then! Princess bride references are always welcome

Born and raised Buckeye, yep! (Though, I have to admit, I don't really cheer for the football team. But they haven't kicked me out of the state for it yet. ) The sun is doing its best to light up these clouds today, and I'm looking forward to getting out in it! Let's enjoy it while it's here, right? lol

'm not sure if I told you all that I let my cousin talk me into her fitness blog's 15 workouts between thanksgiving and Christmas challenge? she gave the participants 10 HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts that are 20 mins and wow they are kick butt!

High intensity interval training sounds...well, intense. I bet they are kick butt! Good for you for taking on the challenge and keeping up with it, though.

am so unbelievably stressed out right now as I head into the last 7 days of my MBA program -- I want to eat all the things!

The last 7 days, though! The last 7! You can do this!!

If I try to swear off chocolate it inevitably backfires, and I overdo it. Today it will be yogurt and chocolate chips.

Week two of the month is off to a better start for me.

I'm glad it's off to a better start this week. And I'm right there with you when it comes to snacks. If I swear off something completely, it backfires. Everyone's different that way, and I'm glad you found something that works for you!

 

[LindseyJo22]

I also tend to be a chocolate chip cookie person - unless there is some dark chocolate around, which there usually isn't I tend to enjoy my chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream as a dessert, at a pretty reasonable calorie count if you actually measure out a serving. I'm learning that I don't need to have a huge bowl of ice cream to enjoy my dessert - a 1/2 cup serving is plenty, fits in my day pretty easily most of the time, and is just as delicious.

In terms of Fantasyland, I adore it! I honestly never really went to Toontown when I was older and went to Disney, so I like all the additions that make that whole area full of activity and fun. I can't wait to ride the Mine Train again and eat at Be Our Guest - we loved having the Beast's castle and Gaston's tavern as additions

Got in a workout today - was feeling kind of lazy so I did a Leslie Sansone video on youtube. And man, it was a workout! I didn't want to walk to the gym, but I definitely got more of a workout than I expected I think my fitbit counts my steps weirdly when I do those though - I feel like I should have been at a much higher step count afterward, but who knows.

Hope everyone is having a good day! I'm enjoying not having to teach and am working on being efficient in grading my last student essays for the semester. Disney is my reward - we leave in 6 days!

 

[SarahDisney]

But how about your weight loss history? Can you look back at specific times when you have fallen away from your healthy habits? Fallen off the wagon, so to speak? What is happening during those times? Why it is so hard to stay on plan? What are you doing to make sure that history doesn't repeat itself?

hmm ... this is a tough one. I really don't think I can point to one time where I really went off track ... it happens to me a lot. I think that for me it's important to identify when I'm going off track early so that I can stop it ... and hopefully understand why it's happening and what I can do to prevent it in the future.

Well.... for better or for worse, today is NATIONAL BROWNIE DAY! YUMMMMM! What can you do to get your chocolate fix and still stay ON PLAN today?? Do you have a favorite recipe or a treat that you keep stashed away for occasions like this? Enjoy just a bit of your favorite chocolate treat today and let us know what it is!

The one thing I've discovered is that I refuse to give up chocolate. I try to limit myself to 1-2 pieces of small chocolate each week, and I make sure to track it so that I know what affect it's having on my nutrition for the day.
I also like to have chocolate milk after a long run, which is supposed to be very good for recovery ... I'm happy about anything that has chocolate and is good for me!

I am proud of myself: Went for a run yesterday after work!! Only 20 minutes, but I wanted to start with a short run since I had not been out there for more than two weeks and I was not sure how well my lungs would deal with all the cold air. But it was great and I am all set for my next scheduled run tomorrow!

Yay! Congrats on actually getting out there and running!

 

[flvy]

Thankfully I'm a salty over sweet person. Though those chocolate cravings can come on strong. I normally keep a dark chocolate bar in my freezer and I'll nibble on a square or two when the cravings hit!

I spent today in bed resting, hydrating, and taking some cold meds. Yesterday I felt like a sinus infection was coming on, and I just don't want to deal with a cold. I don't really have the time for it. I feel okay no sinus pressure, but on heck of a headache set in most of the morning. I'm looking to go for a run tomorrow before work, just a half hour easy run so we'll see how that goes.

 

[DisPup75]

Grumble grumble grumble. I'm really not happy with Weight Watchers right now. I don't so much mind the new program (although my points totals for the day make it clear that I need to rethink some of my regularly scheduled previously low point foods). HOWEVER. The app still doesn't work right and the desktop site isn't much better. The meeting I went to this evening was seriously the worst WW I've ever been too. It wasn't my normal meeting but it was the only one that fit in the schedule this week. I won't go back. The leader was completely unenthusiastic about the new program, was downright rude to several members, and responded to basically all questions by telling people to read the materials for answers. I've tried to schedule calls with three different coaches this week and NONE of them has called at the scheduled time or even followed up to explain that the system was down or provide some other excuse. I e-mailed customer service and got a response that was in no way responded to the questions I asked and so then spent about 3 hours on hold with phone line only to be told that they were very sorry for all the inconveniences and that normally they would extend my membership by a week or more for each missed coaching phone call but they couldn't in this case because I got a free month when I signed up. So now I'm sort of livid and I have no idea what to do.

I'm thinking I might just let WW rest for a few weeks and go back to MFP. Maybe keep trying to track in the WW app for a while but I'm just not sure. I'm paid up through February and I already feel like I'm being cheated. I certainly don't want to leave the rest of the weeks I've paid for on the table. I'm also debating writing a letter about tonight's fiasco, the coaching mishaps, and the refusal of customer service to help with the fact that I'm not getting the services I paid for. The really sad part is that I was totally looking forward to the new program and now it just feels icky. Not an A+ rollout.

Ugh. The good news is that I walked 17,875 steps today and totally rocked my MFP calorie and macro goals even if I did unknowingly eat through a big chunk of my WW weekly points!

Dec 8, 2015


Well.... for better or for worse, today is NATIONAL BROWNIE DAY! YUMMMMM! What can you do to get your chocolate fix and still stay ON PLAN today?? Do you have a favorite recipe or a treat that you keep stashed away for occasions like this? Enjoy just a bit of your favorite chocolate treat today and let us know what it is!


View attachment 139091


Here is a recipe for a pretty healthy brownie....


Legendary Black Bean Brownies


1 19oz (540ml) can black beans, well rinsed and drained
3 large eggs
3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp instant espresso
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips


Rinse and drain the black beans well.

Add all ingredients except for chocolate chips in blender.

Blend until very smooth, pour into an 8 inch square baking pan which has been sprayed with non-stick spray, sprinkle with chocolate chips and bake at 350 for 30-32 minutes.


I have made these and they are actually pretty darn yummy!!.....................P

Hmm. This sounds really interesting. DH loves brownies made from a mix with black beans instead of eggs/oil. I wonder if he would like these as well. Love that they are gluten free!

The Weight Watchers snacks are fairly good at providing the right amount of chocolate when you need it at a point level that won't break your point values.

The picture of the brownie was so mean - they looked so good! I am so unbelievably stressed out right now as I head into the last 7 days of my MBA program -- I want to eat all the things! Tonight is the 45 minute business proposal for Disneyland India, and next Monday and Tuesday are my finals. I don't have any nails left to chew at this point.

This is me right now. I am fear.

I love that movie! Even though it made me realize that fear is almost always at my control panel.

You are going to do an amazing job at both presentation and finals! And then you never have to do it again!!

 

[JacknSally]

Hello, friends. Just checking in really quickly! Spent my day cooking, and my freezer is currently stocked with a 9x13 pan of taco casserole with black beans and ground turkey, 3 gallon bags of cheesy chicken broccoli rice casserole, a gallon bag of potato soup, a gallon bag of cheeseburger soup, and a gallon bag of broccoli cheese soup. I'm hoping that the more practice I get with freezer meals, the less time consuming it gets.

 

[LaceC]

What a great tread! Wish I had seen this at the beginning of the month. I'll definitely join in on the next one!

 

[pjlla]

Morning all! Here it is WEDNESDAY and it is just occurring to me that I never posted results on Monday! ERGGGHH>>>>> Ug, crud, poo.... so sorry! Off to work in 7 minutes but it will be my priority after school today!..................P

 

[pjlla]

Dec 9




The holidays are sneaking up on us, faster, and faster! Today is NATIONAL CHRISTMAS CARD DAY! Are you doing holiday cards this year (Christmas, Hannaukah, Kwannza, New Years)? If so, are they done and in the mail? Perhaps you do an e-card?? Is it sent??

 

[pjlla]

What a great tread! Wish I had seen this at the beginning of the month. I'll definitely join in on the next one!

DO NOT WAIT! No sense in waiting until January.... jump in NOW! WELCOME! Tell us about yourself and then feel free to join the chatter!..................P

 

[DVCFan1994]

Dec 9
View attachment 139186



The holidays are sneaking up on us, faster, and faster! Today is NATIONAL CHRISTMAS CARD DAY! Are you doing holiday cards this year (Christmas, Hannaukah, Kwannza, New Years)? If so, are they done and in the mail? Perhaps you do an e-card?? Is it sent??

I'm behind! My kids are in a "don't take my picture stage" as well as rarely getting along. I am struggling to find a single picture from this year of the two of them that I like. Ugh. I hope to get it done by the end of the week.

 

[JacknSally]

Dec 9
View attachment 139186



The holidays are sneaking up on us, faster, and faster! Today is NATIONAL CHRISTMAS CARD DAY! Are you doing holiday cards this year (Christmas, Hannaukah, Kwannza, New Years)? If so, are they done and in the mail? Perhaps you do an e-card?? Is it sent??

We sent out Christmas cards, and one Hanukkah card to our friends that celebrate Hanukkah, last week - but I'm still trying to get a Christmas photo done of us and our dog this year just to have for myself. Haha. We tried hard to get it one night last week but nothing was cooperating so I gave up and just used a picture of us from Epcot instead.

 

[Flossbolna]

Why are lunches so difficult recently???? I guess I need to go back to bringing my own lunch. Today it was PIZZA!!! Yes, very good pizza. That's why I ate too much of it. I should have stopped earlier.

At least I managed to go out for an early run today. Well, until it started to rain pretty heavily and I was starting to get drenched. Rain on glasses and then with the head light was not very good either. I ran for only 15 minutes. But I went out in the dark morning, so I am proud about that!

This afternoon a new friend invited me to come along to a guided tour to a local church tower. It should be nice as there ought to be a wonderful view from up there of the Nuremberg Christmas market. If possible, I will try to get some pictures to post!

Oh, and in other news: my weight inched down a little bit this morning! Hopefully my pizza lunch is not making it all come back on immediately.

What a great tread! Wish I had seen this at the beginning of the month. I'll definitely join in on the next one!

and as pjlla said, no need to wait for January. There is still so much left of December. Just set your own goal for the rest of the month and jump in!

The holidays are sneaking up on us, faster, and faster! Today is NATIONAL CHRISTMAS CARD DAY! Are you doing holiday cards this year (Christmas, Hannaukah, Kwannza, New Years)? If so, are they done and in the mail? Perhaps you do an e-card?? Is it sent??

I am sending Christmas cards every year. I usually buy a bunch of charity cards. I have numerous friends who live further away and I try to write a personal letter with every card I send to get them up to date as to what has happened in my life. It is quite a lot of work and my plan is to set next weekend aside for card writing. I am always late with my Christmas cards, but I also prefer my cards to arrive just before the holidays, not two weeks early. Unfortunately I am more diligent with card writing than a lot of my friends, so I regularly end up receiving far fewer cards than I send out...