NO Excuses - 7/7 - 7/13

[EZMONEY]

Prayers for AMANDA ~ SARAH ~MEGAN and your familes...I am so sorry

[Mel]

So many losses here

Unfortunately not of the poundage variety at my house. I'm uncomfortable in my clothes. But I'm day 3 POP! and being uncomfortable with myself is a good motivator. I don't like the feeling.

Mel

[mandalinn82]

No exercise today...was up until 2am with a little mini breakdown (there was a lot going on...and then to be so SAD on top of it...sad), and have to go out to do family stuff this afternoon. Oh well. We'll work it out.

[paperclippy]

for those who have had losses recently.

My plan for yesterday was totally thrown off by the three pieces of cake. (Can you believe there is still cake left at work and people were eating it this morning? Luckily I have avoided it so far!) I ended up having 1/2 C yogurt and 1/4 C granola for dinner, so I guess that might have somewhat made up for it, but not really. The weirdest thing is I don't even really feel guilty for it. I think maybe it's related to TOM. I also did my UBWO yesterday so at least that was good.

Today's plan:
B - raisin bran, milk
S - apple
L - rice, veggies, beans, tomatoes
S - peach, yogurt
D - chicken burgers, potatoes, zucchini or kale
Exercise - 20 min walk with dog

[mandalinn82]

OK, so I lied. We got in a 40 min walk in the hills, with the dogs. Something is better than nothing, right?

[WaterRat]

40 minutes is good, and time spent with dogs is nearly always good.

B - cheerios with 5 walnut halves, 1% milk; ww toast
L - turkey sandwich on ww, lettuce, tomato, dill pickle, baked chips
D - hmmm, eating out between work and a 6 pm meeting. The place we're going has grilled chicken breast sandwiches, which I may have and not eat the roll..... Or a salad.
Ss - cottage cheese, berries, applesauce

[BlueToBlue]

Yesterday was on plan and today came in about 100 calories low. Here's how today worked out:

B: FF plain Greek yogurt with High Fiber Cereal and raspberries
L: Chicken with Creole Vegetables, pickles, pickled asparagus, marinated mushrooms, two multigrain tortilla chips
S: FF cottage cheese, Fiber One cereal
S: Multigrain hot cereal with FF cream cheese stirred in
S: Yogurt Vegetable Salad
D: Chicken with Fennel, Figs, and Bacon, green salad with grapefruit
S: Lemon Angel Food cupcake (without the frosting) with raspberries and lemon-cream cheese topping

That all came in around 1300 calories.

Thursday is another extra exercise day for me. I did 25 min intervals in the TM in the morning, a stretching class, and then a circuit training class this evening.

[Mel]

Barbara, your menus fascinate me. Do you mean you really ate TWO tortilla chips?

HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

[paperclippy]

Oh man, the chicken burgers I made last night were SO GOOD. I may just have to copy the recipe into the favorite recipes thread. That recipe is definitely a keeper!

Today's plan:
B - bountiful morning cereal, milk
S - apple
L - leftover chicken burger on bun
S - leftover turnip stuff, yogurt
D - probably pasta with zucchini
Exercise - 30 min walk with dog, UBWO

[mandalinn82]

I'm just leaving the eating off, since it is mostly uncontrollable. I'm offering to cook when I can, so those meals are on plan (Like tonight!) but we're also going out a lot because we're running around. I'm just trying to order carefully and eat less of it, and so far, that has gone well for me (except dessert and alcohol last night, but that was a big family to-do). So I'm doing my best, and making sure to get some exercise every day.

Today - 60 min hill walk.

[BlueToBlue]

Originally Posted by Mel

Barbara, your menus fascinate me. Do you mean you really ate TWO tortilla chips?

HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

Yes, I really eat just two tortilla chips. I open the bag, remove two tortilla chips, set them on the counter, close the bag, put it away, then eat my two tortilla chips. I buy the chips for my SO, so they're really his food (and, as a general rule, I don't eat his food). Normally I'd only eat one tortilla chip, but these multigrain chips are a little lower in calories than regular chips so I've been allowing myself two.

It's sort of a deal that I have with myself. When I finish lunch, I rarely feel satisfied. I'm always thinking "is that all there is?" and then my first thought after that is usually "what else can I eat?" I swear, I go through is almost every day. It's a combination of 1) emotionally always wanting to eat more, 2) that 20-min or so delay between when my stomach is full and my brain figures it out, and 3) not wanting to go back to work. So....if I stop eating at that point, clean up the dishes, and don't start eating whatever I can get my hands on, I'm allowed one very small treat, such as a tortilla chip or a couple of almonds or a potato chip. It's sort of a way of signaling to myself that lunch is over.

There are definitely some foods I can't do this with (chocolate covered espresso beans), but the chips aren't a problem for me. I like chips, but they aren't a trigger food for me. If I never ate another chip as long as I lived, it wouldn't be that big a deal. I just don't crave them they way that I crave certain nuts (like cashews) or chocolate.

[BlueToBlue]

Managed to come in 200 calories low again today. You would think with all the on plan and low days (POP or low every day since last Monday), that I would see some progress on the scale, but you would be WRONG! It is getting frustrating. I can't eat much less and I can't exercise more. I'm running out of ideas.

Anyway, here's how today worked out:
B: FF plain Greek yogurt with High Fiber Cereal and raspberries
S: Decaf coffee with FF half & half and SF Torani
L: Cabbage Noodles with Ham, pickles, pickled asparagus, marinated mushrooms
S: Two (yes, just two) multigrain tortilla chips
S: Oat bran hot cereal with cardamom and FF cream cheese
S: Yogurt Vegetable Salad, FF cottage cheese with Splenda and Cinnamon, apricot
D: Smoked Salmon and Dill Quiche, green salad
S: FF plain Greek yogurt sweetened with SF Torani and topped with figs and cinnamon, 3 chocolate covered espresso beans, 3 frozen banana slices, decaf tea with FF half and half and SF Torani

That all came to just over 1200 calories. Exercise was an hour with my trainer--more agility stuff today.

[Meg]

Last night was a long postponed anniversary dinner with DH and I planned in advance to splurge a bit. I had a glass of wine but should have passed on the bread, but it was homemade sesame-raisin so I had a half slice with a little olive oil. Then an arugula salad with fig-balsamic vinaigrette and a seafood tasting entree of perfect Scottish salmon, grilled shrimp, and two miniature crab cakes. All small and exquisite. The splurge was dessert and I won't go into details but it was worth every calorie. I couldn't split it with DH because he can't have dairy products so I tried hard to be restrained and stopped after 1/3 (but should have stopped a few bite sooner). I wish restaurants would let you order just a "taste" of dessert, a miniature portion. But I guess it also works if you have someone to split it with.

My scale is up 1.8# but that's very typical of the morning after a dinner out so I know if I keep my carbs down, eat on-plan, and hit the gym this morning, it will be gone in a day or two.

So what's the plan, Stan?

M1: (pregym) 1/2 protein shake
M2: (postgym) Egg, eggbeaters, oatmeal
M3: LC wrap, turkey breast, veggies
M4: 1/2 protein shake, frozen blueberries
M5: Fage yogurt, cherries
M6: Salmon, salad, strawberries, LF dressing

Exercise: 30 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes bike, a back workout if the weight room isn't too crowded

[lilybelle]

I narrowly avoided disaster today when I went to the gym without eating any breakfast. By the time I left and went and bought groceries, I was starving. I got home at 2PM and my stomach was grumbling. I did pass several fast-food places on the way home, but refused to give in.

I'm happy to say that after a 2 hr. workout for cardio and UBWO that I managed through it. I came home and cooked myself a grilled chicken breast which I diced up and ate on a LF/LC tortilla with salsa and LF sour cream. As hungry as I was, it tasted fantastic.

I vow to make sure I eat something from now on before heading to the gym.

I had mentioned that I have stayed off the scale lately. I weighed myself at the gym today and although I'm still up a little, it's not too awfully bad. I'm planning to weigh each Saturday at the gym (their scale is more accurate than mine). My big goal is to try to lose 6 lbs. by Sept 5th when I see my hepatologist again. I had forgot to mention that July 5th was 2 yrs. since I met my goal. I didn't feel too happy about it this July 5th with still being a tad above goal.

[Meg]

Lily, I think six pounds is doable since it's a little less than a pound a week. And congratulations on your two year anniversary! You may be a little above where you'd like to be but you're far, far below where you started out and that's a huge success!

I woke up extra early today so will need to be careful about my brain thinking that tired = hungry.

M1: Fage 0% yogurt
M2: Turkey sausage, cream of wheat
M3: Protein shake, frozen blueberries
M4: LC wrap, turkey breast, veggies, 2 T hummus
M5: Wasa crackers, LC lite cheese
M6: Salmon, LF dressing, salad, maybe strawberries