Hi all! I have not posted or read in a while. Had power and internet issues with the ice storm. But we all survived so for that I am thankful. I got my powdered PB yesterday. Thanks Meemo for telling us about it. I LOVE IT! They gave me a sample of the choc pb and I did not really care for it. I was wondering if you can make up some and store it already mixed? Does anyone know.
I don't know - it might say on bellplantation.com, there's a bunch of recipes there. I just checked there to be sure there weren't any recall issues with it, and there aren't, thank goodness. Glad you like it! (I'm afraid if I mixed up a bunch I'd be too tempted to keep eating it!)
It's funny - now there's the ad here on 3FC for it - wonder if it was there all along & I just never noticed it??? (Sadly, it wouldn't surprise me a bit...)
We came home from our month in Colorado Sunday night. Our house had one plumbing issue the first night (glad we shut the water off before we left) and then the second day our furnace wasn't working. All is fixed now and I've mostly taken down the Christmas decorations and done laundry.
I got weighed yesterday and lost 2.5 pounds! Skiing really does burn those calories. Now that I'm home for a while and less active I need to watch what I eat so that I can "keep" the loss. It is difficult controlling myself at home. While skiing I didn't snack much since we were out most of the day and even if I had a high calorie meal my body burned it all.
We came home from our month in Colorado Sunday night. Our house had one plumbing issue the first night (glad we shut the water off before we left) and then the second day our furnace wasn't working. All is fixed now and I've mostly taken down the Christmas decorations and done laundry.
I got weighed yesterday and lost 2.5 pounds! Skiing really does burn those calories. Now that I'm home for a while and less active I need to watch what I eat so that I can "keep" the loss. It is difficult controlling myself at home. While skiing I didn't snack much since we were out most of the day and even if I had a high calorie meal my body burned it all.
Sounds like you enjoyed the time here in Colorado. And congrats on the 2.5 lb loss. My DH is a skier and really maintains his weight during ski season. Me...I'm a reader in front of the fireplace, so have to work harder at eating right and getting on the treadmill. I've "maintained" for the last several weeks, but am still 4 lbs up from where I was back in October.
Meemo, got my powdered peanut butter the other day and I think it's really good--thanks so much for letting us all know about it
MrsPhibes, sounds like you had a great month and congrats on the loss!
Judy, I'm right with you on being the one reading in front of the fireplace
Had WI this morning and stayed the same but I guess that's what maintenance is all about. I am going to try to be more diligent about my food sheets for the next couple of weeks.
I still can't shake the feeling that I'm cheating all of the time --I think the green menu is burned into my brain!
I just had a major NSV, which verified the reasons I started MRC last March. As a part of our health insurance, my DH and I had to fill out health style questionnaires, be weighed, have BP checked, blood work done, etc. In order to qualify for a 25% reduction in our premiums, we needed to score at least 75 out of 100. My score was 94. Unbelievable! My BMI was 24, my BP was 100/68, cholesterol was within normal range -- everything was what was considered a minimal risk. My cardiac risk was the same as that of a 43 year old (I'm 59). It looks like this MRC diet has really impacted my lifestyle. If nothing else, that should motivate me to keep on truckin' with maintenance.
The downside was that my DH only scored a 67. He's the skier, outdoorsman, etc., so now he is determined to lose another 20 lbs and start regular exercise.
I just had a major NSV, which verified the reasons I started MRC last March. As a part of our health insurance, my DH and I had to fill out health style questionnaires, be weighed, have BP checked, blood work done, etc. In order to qualify for a 25% reduction in our premiums, we needed to score at least 75 out of 100. My score was 94. Unbelievable! My BMI was 24, my BP was 100/68, cholesterol was within normal range -- everything was what was considered a minimal risk. My cardiac risk was the same as that of a 43 year old (I'm 59). It looks like this MRC diet has really impacted my lifestyle. If nothing else, that should motivate me to keep on truckin' with maintenance.
The downside was that my DH only scored a 67. He's the skier, outdoorsman, etc., so now he is determined to lose another 20 lbs and start regular exercise.
WHOA! Look at you lady! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!
I just had a major NSV, which verified the reasons I started MRC last March. As a part of our health insurance, my DH and I had to fill out health style questionnaires, be weighed, have BP checked, blood work done, etc. In order to qualify for a 25% reduction in our premiums, we needed to score at least 75 out of 100. My score was 94. Unbelievable! My BMI was 24, my BP was 100/68, cholesterol was within normal range -- everything was what was considered a minimal risk. My cardiac risk was the same as that of a 43 year old (I'm 59). It looks like this MRC diet has really impacted my lifestyle. If nothing else, that should motivate me to keep on truckin' with maintenance.
The downside was that my DH only scored a 67. He's the skier, outdoorsman, etc., so now he is determined to lose another 20 lbs and start regular exercise.
WOW! Judy, that is AMAZING!!!! You must be so thrilled
Way to go Judy! I need to check into my life insurance and see if my premiums can be lowered - especially since I got it at 267 lbs!! I heard somewhere that the weight has to stay off for a year - I think that was graduatethin. Worth checking into. I have new blood work scheduled for the 20th. Can hardly wait to see what the results are!!
Hope everyone is hanging in there. Sure seems like there hasn't been much activity on any of the MRC forums lately. Maybe it is the mid-winter doldrums.
We had the fifth and final session in the first go-round of maintenance classes tonight. These have been unbelievably helpful for me, as they contain such practical and logical information. They are going to start the series again in March and will add in additional info in case any of us want to sit through them again. For what it is worth, I wanted to share with you what we covered tonight. This is pretty long, so grab a nice glass of water or a cup of decaf coffee before starting to read.
This session focused on the five steps of Multidimensional weight management treatment. They were:
1. Formulation of a reasonable body weight - how you see yourself and how you feel at your "ideal" weight, considering genetics, environment, age, physical activity, etc.
2. Acceptance of physique - knowing that whenever you look in the mirror, you will always find something you wish was different, but accepting yourself for what you are.
3. Prevention of unnecessary weight gain - More important than the previous two, this is the degree at which you creep up in weight and the reasons why, but most importantly it is the ability to accept a normal fluctuation in weight over a period of weeks, knowing that there is a median around which your weight will settle periodically after going up and down. They drew an illustration of an up and down graph, like hills and valleys, with the median drawn through the middle. During maintenance, you truly do stay around the line, rather than on the hills and valleys.
4.Weight loss when necessary - the key concept here is DON'T PANIC, but be proactive in looking at what might be taking place. Subtle modifications can be made when you have only gone up 5-6 lbs but most people start skipping weighing in and continue making poor choices, perpetuating the problem and continuing to gain weight. Going back to the green menu is not a solution, but seeking out an MRC couselor for advice and support can get you back on track as well as attending some of the classes.
5. Prevention and relapse - using behavior modification with a side effect of weight loss. Making a conscious effort to take a look at some of the things that may be happening...feeling of being out of control, skipping meals, snacking, decreasing exercise or water intake, etc. The other things they mentioned are falling back into old behaviors like using stress and boredom for reasons to eat and even staying in the routine of eating the same meals again and again. By keeping variety in what you eat, you are less likely to burn out and fall off the wagon.
The process of weight loss looks at five steps - pre-contemplation (thinking you'd like to lose weight and be healthy), contemplation (cutting out an MRC ad or making a phone call to a center), preparation (actually scheduling an appointment) action (attending the appointment and signing up for the program), then following through to stabilization and maintenance. Generally, you continue to bounce between these final two steps and that is normal.
Hope this is helpful to some of you in taking a look at the progress of maintenance. It is truly a lifelong effort, which shows up by how many MRCers who skip the stabilization and maintenance process end up regaining some, all or even more than what they had lost in weight, bringing them back to signing up for the program again. It is amazing how successful we can be with so many things in our life, but continue to stumble in the one area that will keep us healthier and happier. Here's to success!
Here is a recipe they handed out tonight as a way of adding variety into your menu while staying with healthy foods on maintenance. I can't wait to try it, as I am always craving dessert, especially anything with chocolate.
1 lb. silken tofu
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup Splenda
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cider vinegar
1 - 9" prepared graham cracker pie crust
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Blend tofu with an electric mixer or in a food processor until smooth. Blend in cocoa, sugar, vanilla and vinegar. Pour into crust. Bake for 25 minutes. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Makes 8 servings at about 100 calories a serving.
Note: Make sure you buy silken tofu to make sure it will blend in with remaining ingredients.
Judy, thank you so much for sharing the info from your class. I hope our center starts them--they had mentioned it, so fingers crossed. And that recipe looks yummy!
Thanks for distilling and sharing the information from your maintenance class. Also thanks for posting the "pie" recipe. I seem to be hovering around my final weight but each day is a struggle. I seem so hungry and tend to want to eat more than I should (both in quantity and selection). I need to go get weighed again as I haven't been back since I returned (successfully losing) from Colorado. According to my home scale I've gained back the 2.5 that I lost now that I'm not skiing daily.
We need to all post more and support each other in this ongoing struggle.
OK, today was the day of reckoning for me as you will see be the adjustment up of my ticker. I am now 5 lbs above my goal. When I went to WI this morning, I almost panicked but the MRC counselor reminded me my body is still trying to adjust to maintenance, even though I've been working on it since the end of October. And if I learned anything at the Maintenance support class last week, it was not to panic.
Here's some of the warning signs I chose to ignore:
1. Over the past two weeks, several skirts and pants that had previously fit felt uncomfortably tight. I just switched them out for others that felt better.
2. I haven't been paying too much attention to portion sizes (I think Bonnie mentioned that in her post, too), so my protein amounts have often been more than 4 oz a meal.
3. I've been pretty lax about drinking my water, thinking that if I got 50 oz in, it was better than nothing...which is true, but doesn't help with keeping me hydrated or reaching for a snack instead of water.
4. Not getting in enough veggies. I have lunch and dinner meetings several times each week and used to make sure I had extra veggies in the frig at work to supplement those meals where I didn't have enough served. I haven't made the effort to keep doing that.
5. Chocolate sneaks. Those little Hershey nuggets I sneak at least once a day (and sometimes two to three times) are definitely doing me in. And in being honest, the handful of flavored nuts from Harry & David aren't helping, either.
I think that one of my saving graces has been that I'm still commited to jumping on the treadmill first thing every morning, but even that has dropped off over the past two weeks. This week I skipped Sunday and Monday because we were in the mountains, then Friday I thought I was too tired. So that is only 4 days out of the 7.
Being healthy is a real commitment and boy, it does not come naturally for me. So starting today, I am writing down what I eat on the food diary that Meemo sent, which will hopefully help me catch where I am falling down. I'm getting out of the house and away from food temptation with a goal of shopping for a new purse. (Won't have to worry that it won't fit if I gain or lose weight.) And most importantly, I will be accountable to you all instead of trying to stick my head in the sand and completely fall off the wagon. Guess I need a swift .
Judy: I am guilty of doing many of the same things you mentioned in your last post. Haven't gone to weigh in to get the "official" number but my home scale says, "you are up". I need to recommit and get back on track. Starting tomorrow I will NOT be eating bad things, snack between meals, or rationalize that I exercised and it will compensate/offset the extra calories. I WILL drink all my water, measure my portions, and write down my food. I've given myself a deadline as of Thursday to get weighed.
Will post again and let you know what the results are.
Judy: I am guilty of doing many of the same things you mentioned in your last post. Haven't gone to weigh in to get the "official" number but my home scale says, "you are up". I need to recommit and get back on track. Starting tomorrow I will NOT be eating bad things, snack between meals, or rationalize that I exercised and it will compensate/offset the extra calories. I WILL drink all my water, measure my portions, and write down my food. I've given myself a deadline as of Thursday to get weighed.
Will post again and let you know what the results are.
Bonnie: Here's a little something for both of us to keep us on track. Keep us posted on how you are doing.
I had a pretty good two days OP, drinking my water and weighing my portions, so hope I'm back on track. I did make guacamole and didn't measure the 3 oz of avocado for my fat, but think it must have been about right. And I substituted some baked pita chips for half a pita, so probably blew it with those. Sure tasted good, though, and wasn't the worse thing I could have eaten. And I went two whole days without a chocolate sneak, which was easy as I don't keep any in the house. I will see how tomorrow goes with chocolate at work.
I have a board meeting tomorrow afternoon so that is always stressful, with an MRC maintenance cooking class when I get done. Tomorrow they are making jambalaya, so that should be good. I'll post the recipe when I get it.
I am now 5 lbs above my goal. When I went to WI this morning, I almost panicked but the MRC counselor reminded me my body is still trying to adjust to maintenance, even though I've been working on it since the end of October. And if I learned anything at the Maintenance support class last week, it was not to panic.
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