Moderators LadyM Posted October 28, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted October 28, 2014 I think my obscene nickname for the slow cooker may be my greatest contribution to this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadia B Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Muahahah I can't stop laughing. Good times, those coconut amigos and crotchpot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators LadyM Posted October 29, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted October 29, 2014 First time back to bootcamp this morning since before my trip was a real a$$kicker this morning. Love it! Thinking seriously about my next W30. Contemplating a Nov. 22 start and eliminating fruit, nuts, and coconut for the duration. Maybe it's crazy to attempt to do it over the holidays (including my birthday and Thanksgiving), or maybe it's genius. Not sure yet. But thinking on it. Starting to feel less anxious about everything and that things are moving in the right direction again--despite, or maybe because of, my trip and its offroading and time away from exercise. I'm reminded that when it comes to the body and weight loss, nothing is linear. All the good choices add up in the end and we often cannot see/feel real progress as the process is underway. So strange, but it's real. Yet another reason to just keep going! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjena Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I'm thinking genious! And brave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraRuns Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Great to get back to exercise. Can I choose nuts and genius??? Little positive changes add up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators LadyM Posted October 31, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted October 31, 2014 Went on a date last night, had two drinks, and got to bed an hour later than optimal. Not too shabby, but I really had to talk myself into bootcamp this morning. So glad I was convincing! I had dinner before the date, thinking it was just drinks, but he ordered a couple appetizers. It was so easy to pass them up. Yay for that. And it was a good date. Seeing him again Saturday. Today I'm headed in the direction of Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, so I'm looking forward to picking up my quarterly haul. Aside from veggies, I'll have everything I need for the rest of the year, I'm thinking. Where has the time gone? Anyway, I'm sticking to W30 and showing up at the gym and fully expecting to be back to my happy weight and fitting comfortably into all my clothes by the end of the year. That feels pretty dang good. Happy Halloween and Happy Samhain, everyone! Stay away from the candy. It is SO. NOT. WORTH. IT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek` Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Nice job on sticking with your eating and passing up on the appetizers. Glad to hear the date went well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjena Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Agree - NOT WORTH IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators LadyM Posted November 2, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted November 2, 2014 I must confess that I did have a dark chocolate salted caramel bar from Trader Joe's. It was delicious and pretty special. Also, it was far less damaging than the other tempting things I wanted to put in my cart but realized that having more than a small amount of anything was going to do way too much damage. So, I'm OK with my decision. And I passed up all kinds of garbage at the wedding I attended Saturday night: cookies, cupcakes, candy, pumpkin cheesecake, all varieties of glutenous snacks and appetizers. They offered heavy hors d'ouevres and not dinner at an evening reception. Never saw that before. Anyway, I nibbled at the most compliant things I could find, had a couple glasses of wine, and then my date and I went for tapas and a cocktail afterward. All in all, a good night! Now debating whether or not to go to yoga since I skipped it yesterday in honor of sleep. I think the answer is yes and I'd better skeedaddle to class! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraRuns Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Sounds like you are living life, enjoying, and mostly staying compliant. Fantastic. Hope the second date was as promising as the first... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjena Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Sounds like you did a great job navigating the wedding. Appetizers and desserts is a lot tougher than dinner, most of the time. Good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators LadyM Posted November 6, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted November 6, 2014 AF is here and everything makes sense. My experiment to allow myself to eat plenty of grass-fed red meat, greens, and kabocha squash kept me full and satisfied and fairly level through the pms drama. Good to remember. Today a student took me to lunch at the cafeteria and I did fairly well: big green salad with balsamic vinegar (I don't trust their oils) and sunflower seeds, a chicken leg quarter, and steamed broccoli and summer squash. But then they were unveiling a locally sourced and produced frozen yogurt for which one of my students was responsible and I went ahead and had some. It was delicious. And now I'm reminded why I should never eat sugars before evening. It just sets off the sugar dragon. Now I want to eat and eat and eat. Instead, I made myself a pumpkin spice latte with whey, thinking I didn't really have enough protein at lunch. Now I'm a bit better. But I need to be careful with my choices right now because my bestie is in town and staying with me until Saturday and after he leaves I have another date (same guy) and then I meet up with a friend from Boston in Chicago and our ritual is to eat a really fabulous fancy meal together. I passed on the burger and beer last night when I picked up bestie from the airport, so that's something. I plan to make it to the gym tomorrow and Saturday mornings before he wakes up, but I know my sleep will be compromised. It already is! I got about 7 hours last night, but I really do better with 9. Anyway, I'm taking it as it comes and giving myself permission to enjoy myself. I'm starting to suspect there's some validity to the idea that being stressed out about food choices makes me fatter than relaxing and enjoying myself--that the mindset is as impactful as the actual choices. This is certainly an area for me to work on and find balance. In other news, we're getting a Costco next week! I'm thrilled! Though I've never been to one before so I'm not sure why. I certainly don't want to start purchasing more food that isn't local, so I'm not sure what I'll buy there. But it's fun to have a new grocery option. I may grab a wee nap in preparation for tonight's festivities before bestie returns from visiting an old professor. I think that might make everything better. Naps usually do, don't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraRuns Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I hope you had a great weekend - good times with your Bestie and another date! How did it go? Really well, I hope. I'm glad you have found a solution to your AF eating. And I really like your observations about stressing making you fatter. I believe that may be true, at least at times. Being in a constant state of stress about food just isn't sustainable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators LadyM Posted November 11, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted November 11, 2014 Being in a constant state of stress about food just isn't sustainable. Well said, Sara! Thanks for the reinforcement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators LadyM Posted November 11, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted November 11, 2014 All is well around here. My eating has been imperfect, but in a way that isn't making me stressed. Lots of eating out and making decent choices unless it seemed really worth it. I've kept up with the gym and increased my walking. Starting to really see how daily incidental movement makes a big difference. The off roading hasn't derailed me, and I had a headache yesterday that I'm blaming on gluten. Back to avoiding that junk and eating as high-nutrient as possible. My go-to brekkie lately has been shredded collards or kale sautéed with a slice of bacon and onion then steamed with bone broth, a few raisins, a shredded carrot, some fish sauce and amigos until just about done then drop in a couple duck eggs until they're soft cooked. So delicious and satisfying. Today it's going to have to carry me through to dinner. Confession time: I am considering going back to weight watchers. The friend I met in Chicago looked fantastic and said she'd lost 15 pounds doing WW. She's been on and off it through the years and we talked about our low tolerance for all the counting and obsessing, but dang if it doesn't work. I've been on the paleo and W9 bandwagon for a year and a half now and it's certainly made me healthier and allowed me to maintain my weight, but I'm questioning if that's enough and if it's the best way for me to reach my goals. If I were to sign up, I'd continue eating this way most certainly, but I'd be more careful about portions. I know this goes against W30 and it is slightly crazy making, but I just feel so much better when I'm fitting into my clothes. I'm tired of being frustrated. Anyway, it's not certain, but it's a possibility. Sara, I know you've been a WW. What do you think of it? Anyone else care to weigh in (so to speak)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek` Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 The last time I was at Weight Watchers was several years ago when they just added the Core program (I think it was later named 'Simply Filling' - who knows what it is now or if they even have that anymore). It was my first introduction to intuitive eating - eating healthier foods with a focus on not eating to fullness. I don't think counting points is the worst thing in the world, and I know that you understand what nutritious foods are. I have faith that you aren't going to blow your points on pizza and margaritas every day and be under-nourished and hungry an hour later. If that's what it takes for you to keep portions in check and keep your offroading at an honest level, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators LadyM Posted November 11, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted November 11, 2014 Thanks, Derek! That's exactly what I was thinking. That with all the positive changes I've already made, the additional accountability could be a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjena Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 I considered going back to counting calories a while back, but it only lasted a couple days. I realized quickly that I'm just not willing to go back there. I'd rather keep the 10 lbs. Like I keep reminding myself, I have to decide what I'm willing to do and then let the rest go. I'm not willing to count, obsess, over exercise, go hungry, etc, so I have to just accept that I won't be as thin as I was. I'd rather work on my relationship with food and being calm around it. But, that's just me. I don't think there's anything wrong with counting if it works for you. You have to decide how important it is and what you're willing to do. Good luck figuring it out! It's definitely a process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraRuns Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Glad to hear all is going well and some ranging out into non-W30 eating is not pushing you in the wrong direction. It sounds like you are living a conscious, but not controlled life, which I think is good. Your confession time surprised me! Not in a bad way, just wasn't expecting that. I have honestly thought about going back to WW. Although part of the reason I ended up on the W30 path was because I was no longer losing doing WW. I hit the minimum points, wasn't using any weekly points or exercise points, and was still maintaining. But I haven't lost a pound on W30, paleo, or no sugars, no grains approaches. And I know I DID lost weight on WW. Especially towards the end of my time on WW, I was not being as careful, an extra glass of wine here, not counting a handful of nuts there. Which as we all know, add up. For me personally, I know I will not go back to eating the way I did when I was doing WW before - Equal packets, skim milk, FiberOne bars, etc. But I don't see that being the direction you are headed. I do wonder how you can fit template eating into WW. I would think it would be hard - any kind of fat tends to be very high point. With all that being said, I think if you do it with the sense of experimentation you have applied to W30, and you watch the temptation to become food obsessed, I don't see why it is any different than the tracking I have done here and there on MFP. If it isn't giving you the results you desire, or starts taking on a life of its own, I do not see you continuing with it. Your thoughtfulness about food, how you eat, and how it impacts you will serve you well, even if you tack something else on. Before embarking on WW, it might be helpful to write out your goals, so you have a guide to keep you on track and in the right mind set. And know, that in the end, only you know what is right for you, and that my stand is that I'm here to support you reaching your goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadia B Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 The biggest question and difficulty for me personally with tracking is times when your body legitimately needs/wants more (or less). Especially hard workout raises your metabolism and you are likely to be more hungry the day after. You are sick and your body again raises metabolic rate. So technically we can eat a bit more when we are sick, crazy eh? Also, point system does not evaluate such things as eating when not hungry, eating too late when your are famished or not providing nutrients to sustain muscle growth after hard exercises. These things do have some effect on the weight loss and hormonal response of our body = way this food will be treated by it. On top of that I know that I am prone to 1) over restricting if I have a number 2) panic if I go over which is stress which is either emotional eating or beating yourself up and trying to make up for the failure. I worked hard to get rid of these toxic habits (work in progress), so I guess you just need to have an honest look on your behavioral patterns and evaluate pros and cons. Increased awareness about the whole deal will not let you get sucked into truly destructive behavior for sure. A practicing nutritionist who trains with me at the gym sent me a spreadsheet which tracks compliance, which I found a great blend of tracking and non-tracking at the same time. So the criteria for compliant meal is: eating when hungry, stopping before full and meal composition (what he practices with his clients is quite close to the template we have). So portion too small, too big, failure to include all the macros, not eating when hungry, not eating post workout are all non-compliant meals along with complete off-roading. He believes that to get results you need to stay around, you guessed it, 80%. I actually like this model as it does not quantify amount of meals I need, amount of calories, points etc. It sorta shifts focus from quantities to quality. Just sharing what I was up to lately. I can't say that my weight shifted dramatically, but some inches are def lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 The biggest question and difficulty for me personally with tracking is times when your body legitimately needs/wants more. Especially hard workout raises your metabolism and you are likely to be more hungry the day after. You are sick and your body again raises metabolic rate. So technically we can eat a bit more when we are sick, crazy eh? Also, point system does not evaluate such things as eating when not hungry, eating too late when your are famished or not providing nutrients to sustain muscle growth after hard exercises. These things do have some effect on the weight loss and hormonal response of our body = way this food will be treated by it. On top of that I know that I am prone to 1) over restricting if I have a number 2) panic if I go over which is stress which is either emotional eating or beating yourself up and trying to make up for the failure. I worked hard to get rid of these toxic habits (work in progress), so I guess you just need to have an honest look on your behavioral patterns and evaluate pros and cons. Increased awareness about the whole deal will not let you get sucked into truly destructive behavior for sure. SO MUCH THIS. I was trying to figure out how to say it and here comes Nadia encapsulating it beautifully. Of course, this is only why counting does not work for me. Perhaps it will work for you? I trust that you will make your own choices mindfully and re-evaluate as you carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators LadyM Posted November 12, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted November 12, 2014 Thank you for all your thoughtful responses. I'm not sure what, if anything, to do. I would so love to drop the fat and fit into my clothes, and I just don't know what will make that happen. I guess I do know that even while eating compliant I am fully capable of eating past fullness, so maybe that's the thing to focus on next. That was a very good reminder, Nadia. I think everything else is in pretty good shape, though I have been off roading and drinking more than usual. So many of my destructive habits and behaviors (bingeing, emotional eating, snacking, late-night eating, cheap carb addiction, overeating fruits, coffee and sugar addiction) have gone by the wayside, and I do worry about how stepping back into a full-fledged diet and its mentality would affect me beyond potentially temporary weight loss. But I'm frustrated enough to be tempted to find out. Guess I'll think about it a while longer. Thanks again for weighing in, y'all. Right now I'm thinking it makes sense to keep tweaking what I know is healthy. Eat real food that helps balance hormones and reduce inflammation and listen and respond to my body's cues regarding hunger. Will WW help or hinder my progress in those pursuits is the thing I need to figure out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraRuns Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Focusing on not eating past fullness sounds like a good first step. Something WW would force on you, but something you are fully capable of doing on your own. So hard to know, which path is the right path, or at least, which path is headed in the right direction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I had a friend go on Sparks People this summer and I decided I'd join too and I got all ready to do the calorie counting thing, but I bombed and only pulled it off for a couple days. I didn't like the conversations, the tracking, the numbers, and the feeling of restriction. But WW has always seemed different because can't you eat loads of things that are zero points? I don't know much about it, but the structure could be nice - or at least trying out for a short bit? And what about intermittent fasting? I'm really just asking everyone reading because I don't know a whole lot about it. I think I've read on MarksDailyApple that it is used at times and helps rev things up so that weight can come off. Is it a viable option or something that wouldn't work at all? It's fun being back in this forum and reading how things are going for people. Visiting with a bestie and passing up burgers and beers is a tough one. I have a visiting friend who was really miffed that I wouldn't when I was in my Whole30. Now I think I'd go out and have sushi, but I don't think I'm solid enough just yet to have a beer - dang!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators LadyM Posted November 13, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted November 13, 2014 Thanks for your input, Emma. From what I've read and in my own experience, IF doesn't tend to work great for women. I even tried bulletproof coffee for a while, but what I figured out is excess fat isn't good for this particular body. I tend to minimize my eating window each day by having an early dinner then closing the kitchen until breakfast. Sometimes that's a 16- hour fast for me. But then I still get in three meals in my 8 hours of eating. Anyway, that's not a recommendation; it's just something that keeps me feeling good (and not losing weight ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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