November Diet and Fitness Thread

[ozma]

That is a really cute idea. I'll save it for xmas b/c of course I ate the twizzlers I had left over :)

Makes sense. If you have a trigger food....and you have it in the house...you're gonna eat it. If you know you won't eat it in moderation...get it away from you. Make other people eat it! Gift it! Redistribute it! Write your husband/child/roomie's name on it so you know...not for you!

[gisela]

Made one as well because I do need to loose some weight but it feels so impossible..cr.: I get more hope from you ladies so keep it up, you are all great!

[danidance]

This is a hard week for me and the emotional eating level is up. I'm working on it though - I will weigh in tomorrow. I suspect I'm the same.

[Sirius]

...

[danidance]

This week one of my colleagues had a fatal accident while traveling and it has really been hard to deal with. I'm an emotional basket case about it.

I can relate to the emotional eating thing. I was deployed in September to assist in Hurricane Ike relief, and I gave in to stress eating all the time I was there. I gained 9 lbs in 16 days!

As of yesterday, I'm down 7 lbs since I returned home at the end of September. I still have another 10 lbs I'd like to shed.

I need to become more active, and it doesn't help that it's getting colder outside. My two dogs get me out a couple of times a day, but my job is sedentary, so I spend entirely too much time sitting on my butt. I wish I could find a fitness routine that doesn't bore me to tears.

[Sirius]

...

[mish_mish]

Oh my gosh! What happened? How scary, Dani.

[danidance]

she was caught in an undertow. not a nicer person on earth. really sad. I feel terrible for her family.

certainly gives one perspective on friends and everything in general. sigh.

I did a little better yesterday - went to sleep early.

Oh my gosh! What happened? How scary, Dani.

[mish_mish]

Poor woman--how scary. I hope her family will be okay. Life is nothing to take for granted is it? Hugs to you and those around you who have lost a friend.

[KelsNasim]

Sending prayers and hugs your way.

[Michelle75]

Positive energy and many hugs coming your way.

[Lauren_]

Yay! I lost 2 pounds this week. So instead of being up a pound, I'm down by 2 now.

I'm trying to be happy about it. The truth is I'm getting real sick of gaining and losing this same 2 pounds over and over.

[theothershimmytwin]

So, I ventured out of the Swap Meet forum and now I found exactly what I've been looking for-fitness/diet/health buddies!
I'm ordering a few new costumes, so I want them to look SUPERB on me. Plus, I'm in college and taking a nutrition class and it's quite informative. Add that up to I have free access to the University REC center and there are mutiple reasons to have a fitness goal in mind.
I've lost about 5 pounds without trying (I've never had such luck!) but the trouble is toning my body. My goal is those 5 pounds that always want to stick around and bring their friends too.

Where's everyone's goal set for, the end of the year?

[Lauren_]

Welcome, Other Shimmytwin! I set mine for the end of the year, it's a short-term goal.

[ghazallah]

I ordered a coat. I wanted the "mulberry" shade, but all they had in my size was "espresso brown." So I ordered the size smaller in mulberry. All the more impetus to stay on "michelle's wagon" and keep eating right. It has been about 15 years since I bought a coat, and the jacket I wore at 260 is frankly, looking not only old but sacklike.

Gonna weigh myself Saturday or Sunday, I want to adjust my cute little ticker thing.

[danidance]

gah! tell me about it.

I'm going to take some days off work soon, Thanksgiving week, and I'm going to stay away from frikkin' Thanksgiving pig outs. Okay, maybe one piece of punkin pie on the day, but other than that, this year I'm staying home. I have to pretend to be out of town or my friends will drag me out to eat.

Yay! I lost 2 pounds this week. So instead of being up a pound, I'm down by 2 now.

I'm trying to be happy about it. The truth is I'm getting real sick of gaining and losing this same 2 pounds over and over.

[ozma]

I'm feeling good about the lifestyle choices I set for myself back in Summer (and back in April when I changed jobs).

I have made my own lunch for work about 97% of the time. Now 7-11 store runs for a lunch I can wolf down in city hall are down to once or twice a month...and even that is usually a natto-maki rolll, yogurt, soy joy, and nuts.

We don't have a microwave (most of my co-workers do delivered foods) so I am working on a way to do a hot side dish using the boiling hot water.

I've also located three NGO stands with year-round local eggs and produce. It means going out of my way (on foot) after work or during lunchtime when I have finished my food...but it is totally worth it.

It's amazing how good I feel when I avoid the processed foods, shop primarily on the borders of the supermarket, and make the time to cook. Yeah. It takes time. But it's time I am not worried about what I am putting into my body.

I also cut out all "low fat/no fat" versions of foods. I've decided that nutrionalism ideas of "good foods/bad foods" can bite me.

As In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto says: eat food, not too much, mostly plants.

[danidance]

You know, I find buying clothes just within reach does help me. Of course all those clothes of myriad sizes in the closet is inspiration too!

My darned ticker is jammed. Staying the same. I had the couple of crisis days this week but yesterday was a little better. I'm hoping by Monday, I'll get to adjust it and stay in view of my diet buddy Lauren who always beat me down the scale!!

I ordered a coat. I wanted the "mulberry" shade, but all they had in my size was "espresso brown." So I ordered the size smaller in mulberry. All the more impetus to stay on "michelle's wagon" and keep eating right. It has been about 15 years since I bought a coat, and the jacket I wore at 260 is frankly, looking not only old but sacklike.

Gonna weigh myself Saturday or Sunday, I want to adjust my cute little ticker thing.

[theothershimmytwin]

What about dairy, did you cut out lowfat/no fat versions of that, ozma? all the dieticians I've heard say that you gotta be careful about the calories in reduced fat foods, but that you should still have the reduced/no fat dairy like yogurt and milk.

[Lauren_]

What about dairy, did you cut out lowfat/no fat versions of that, ozma? all the dieticians I've heard say that you gotta be careful about the calories in reduced fat foods, but that you should still have the reduced/no fat dairy like yogurt and milk.

I agree with that. Anything you can get the fat out of by some manual process like churning is OK with me.

I'm not big on sugar substitutes and won't eat fat substitutes. Just say no to chemically engineered foods.

(and yes, I realize that all the world is made of chemicals, but I prefer to only eat the ones that occur in nature)

[ozma]

What about dairy, did you cut out lowfat/no fat versions of that, ozma? all the dieticians I've heard say that you gotta be careful about the calories in reduced fat foods, but that you should still have the reduced/no fat dairy like yogurt and milk.

That's what I cut out versions of. I've cut out milk all together, but that's just because when simplifying my diet I was able to pinpoint it as a major gas maker for me personally, and I never drank much to begin with. I do eat full-fat yogurt or kefir, cheese, and shun margarine for butter.

It makes more sense to me to focus on eating quality dairy in smaller amounts than to feel "free to eat more" because something is labeled low-fat. The abundance of low-fat foods has not decreased the amount of fat the average American eats.

I also wonder if some of the processes that reduce fats in things like cheese and yogurt that use hydrogenated oils/guar gum/whatever is gonna be the next "Opps!" thing we find out about, like how utterly nasty margarine is for our health no matter how we fortify it and the years it was touted as "the healthy way to go."

And, I'm not always going to have the info if a fat was decreased by a manual process or additional chemical manipulation because the labeling system here is different than America...although I can identify when kanji start getting crazy-chemical looking. So some of my lifestyle choices are more understandable for me than for others because of my situation. I am also a vegetarian, so nuts, eggs and dairy are where I get my essential fats and I take fish-oil pills....so my switching to full-fat dairy isn't as drastic as it might sound.

I also think that low-fat yogurt tastes like no fun. I like unsweeted full-fat yogurt taste.

[ghazallah]

That's what I cut out versions of. I've cut out milk all together, but that's just because when simplifying my diet I was able to pinpoint it as a major gas maker for me personally, and I never drank much to begin with. I do eat full-fat yogurt or kefir, cheese, and shun margarine for butter.

It makes more sense to me to focus on eating quality dairy in smaller amounts than to feel "free to eat more" because something is labeled low-fat. The abundance of low-fat foods has not decreased the amount of fat the average American eats.

I also wonder if some of the processes that reduce fats in things like cheese and yogurt that use hydrogenated oils/guar gum/whatever is gonna be the next "Opps!" thing we find out about, like how utterly nasty margarine is for our health no matter how we fortify it and the years it was touted as "the healthy way to go."

And, I'm not always going to have the info if a fat was decreased by a manual process or additional chemical manipulation because the labeling system here is different than America...although I can identify when kanji start getting crazy-chemical looking. So some of my lifestyle choices are more understandable for me than for others because of my situation. I am also a vegetarian, so nuts, eggs and dairy are where I get my essential fats and I take fish-oil pills....so my switching to full-fat dairy isn't as drastic as it might sound.

I also think that low-fat yogurt tastes like no fun. I like unsweeted full-fat yogurt taste.

I also try to avoid those altered foodstuffs where they have reduced fat content by who-knows-what-kind-of-practice. I don't drink milk at all, I put half and half in my coffee in the morning (not gonna stop!), and eat limited amounts of butter, cheese, full real yogurt (although I have found a strained Greek yogurt that is pretty yummy, I don't know how they make it though. It's kinda pricey for me and I can only find it in a shop across town. So it's not something I get very often.)

I am doing a lot of whey protein right now. It keeps my blood sugar stable in between meals, and ups my overall protein intake while I try to cut fats and just concentrate on protein and complex carbs. It's a modified training diet that weightlifters use before a competition to maximize fat loss so they can really look ripped. I'm not doing the brutal weight training part, though, just following michelle joyce's lead... bless her! She gets me up of the couch when I've had a hard day and haven't yet done my workout.

I'm going to be using more stevia and aguave nectar for sweetening now that I have discovered them. I am no stranger to artificial sweeteners, but these seem a better alternative than the ones foisted on us by the chemists and food magnates.

[theothershimmytwin]

Something that I've slowly come to realize is how my body responds to full fat foods versus low fat foods. the full fat ones make my body feel nice and full, and the low fat makes me want more more more. I definately agree with you on that one...

[Lauren_]

Something that I've slowly come to realize is how my body responds to full fat foods versus low fat foods. the full fat ones make my body feel nice and full, and the low fat makes me want more more more. I definately agree with you on that one...

That is SOOO true! It's almost like your body *knows* it didn't get...something it was expecting.

I bought some WW ice cream bars once. They were delicious, but eating one led to the most insanely powerful craving to eat another! I do better with a single piece of really rich chocolate.

[ozma]

Something that I've slowly come to realize is how my body responds to full fat foods versus low fat foods. the full fat ones make my body feel nice and full, and the low fat makes me want more more more. I definately agree with you on that one...

I've also drastically reduced my amount of fruit juices. I used to use juices as my primary fruit source due to ease/cost, but when I really worked at focusing on full fruits (and it wasn't easy) and the first week of juice cravings wore off, I realized how quickly juices ramped me up and dropped me down, and how the fibers and other stuff in a whole fruit really did take longer for my body to process and was a smoother sugar arc instead of roller coaster....which I meantion because it is similar to the awareness you've had about full fats.

[mish_mish]

I just eat a little bit of everything--most of the time--so I don't feel too deprived. We recently bought some low-fat brie. What a waste of dairy. The only good side is that I one taste and I didn't want it ever again!

[danidance]

Okay, the whole week was a wash for me - gained then dropped back down to my weight loss - 3 pounds. So, I just lost a week of traction. Hopefully, I'll make up for it this week. That's my mini-goal.

3 pounds in 2 weeks - not terribly great, but you know, like I said earlier, as long as my body is adjusting while it's plateauing, I'm good.

Today is a new day for renewed focus!

[KelsNasim]

Okay, the whole week was a wash for me - gained then dropped back down to my weight loss - 3 pounds. So, I just lost a week of traction. Hopefully, I'll make up for it this week. That's my mini-goal.

3 pounds in 2 weeks - not terribly great, but you know, like I said earlier, as long as my body is adjusting while it's plateauing, I'm good.

Today is a new day for renewed focus!

Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. 1-2 pounds a week is fine. Doable and more likely to stay off in the long run. I think that's a great goal.

[danidance]

True that, and it's a marathon I've run a whole bunch! gah.

I think of my slender by nature friends and just want to kill them :) :) . My gene pool has lots of nice things but the extra padding definitely isn't one of them. I was thinking last night about a conversation I had with a nearly-70 year old female relative and we were grousing about eating too much hallowe'en candy and needing to get with the program. We also chatted about the fact that we're STILL talking about dieting at her age - and how that damned weight struggle is just a way of life for that side of my family.

We have several relatives who are dangerously obese and we worry about them, and we also know if we didn't worry about our weight and stay in check (and we're not talking unrealistic visions of skinny here) at those critical points - the weight of no return - then we'd be in the same danger.

Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. 1-2 pounds a week is fine. Doable and more likely to stay off in the long run. I think that's a great goal.

[mish_mish]

I just weighed myself for the first time yesterday after avoiding my scale since late August.

It was not terrible, but it wasn't great. I was so busy with things at work and so incredibly stressed (good things, but just a LOT of things) and I let some things slide, like my Wii fit and cooking!

So...with renewed healthy eating vigor, I start the week.