JULY W.I.S.H. Challenge - Summer of Positive Change

[PollyannaMom]

What motivates you to put in the effort every single day, especially when progress isn't happening as quickly as you would like?

Being home has definitely been a motivating factor for me. I just want so desperately to be able to look back and see something good that came out of this time.

Plus, exercising boosts my mood, and I’ve had a few “down days on the corona-coaster” that I don’t want to let become a pattern.

Just lately, I’ve also been a bit worried about my blood pressure. It wasn’t super high, but definitely higher than normal for me the couple of times it was taken recently. I’m guessing it was because both times were stressful situations, but I‘m also getting older, so I should probably be watching it diet-wise.

 

[MickeyMom76]

Thank you so much. I'm 38, i have 4 kids which i easily lost the weight from but after having my back injury I havent been able to work out or even walk long distances. I do have a treadmill and I was walking in short intervals just trying to retrain myself, something I have to start doing again. The trouble i have with noom is logging honestly. Sometimes I forget or I just dont log at all. Today is a new day and after the holiday I'm ready to start over! Thank you all for the encouragement!

I’m not using Noom...but I am using MyFitnessPal to log my food. But like you said, I often forget. It’s a good reminder when I check in here to go do that. But I also know from past experience, that it really does work if I consistently log through the day. So I just need to keep at it until it just becomes habit.

 

[MickeyMom76]

What motivates you to put in the effort every single day, especially when progress isn't happening as quickly as you would like?

My advice would be don’t ever quit! Take a break, reset, rethink, but don’t quit!

@sjrec’s advice is actually what keeps me going. Even when things aren’t quite working, I need to keep trying. I have falling in areas such as eating, but maintained my workouts. Or maybe I take a day off from workouts, but maintain my eating habits. I also try to think back through all the hard work I’ve put in. I don’t want that to go to waste! So I just keep moving forward.

 

[Summer2018]

Being home has definitely been a motivating factor for me. I just want so desperately to be able to look back and see something good that came out of this time.

This.

Pre-Covid, I had other motivators. Now that I've finally stopped wallowing, I am motivated by the potential of coming out of this nightmare better than ever...healthier, thinner, and in better shape. I still need to take things "one day at a time," but I can finally see into the future when there's a vaccine and we can go back to our lives, and in a year from now or however long it takes, I want to be my BEST self when I re-emerge into the world.

 

[Oneanne]

Eating was kind of all over the place over the holiday weekend. Saturday morning I was up a pound from what I weighed in June and then for the drive to the ocean "breakfast" was a bottle of green tea and some donut holes picked up at the mini-mart when I got gas and on the way home breakfast was pulling thru the Starbucks drive-thru for an iced chai and banana bread. At my Sister's there was a snack of chips-and-dip, dinner wasn't too bad just a soft taco. But it was followed by strawberry shortcake and a kahlua root beer float. Ugh! But then I get on the scale this morning and I'm down two pounds... I don't get it. But I'll take it. So that's -1 for the -4 goal for the month since I'm not going to count the pound I had just gained/lost.

Having a full refrigerator has been stressing me out... you would think it's a good thing since I'm still cooking for myself, like there has to be food in there, right? I'm working on clearing it out tho and getting to a very specific stripped down meal plan this week. I'm actually going to try roasting veggies and grilling some fish - wish me luck.

I started reading a new book yesterday, "The Year of Less" written by a gal who gave up shopping for a year. It's really hitting home because she's writing about her addictions, of which shopping was one, not about being a minimalist. One of her shopping "problem areas" was buying books, any time she'd hear mention of a book, see an interesting review or recommendation, she'd sign in to Amazon and buy it. Hello... that's how I got her book. I've got probably 20 books bought in the last year that I haven't actually read yet. I'm not an avid reader, I'm an avid book buyer. Same with yarn... always buying never actually finishing knitting projects. At the start of the year she went thru all her belongings and reduced them by about 50%, so that's my motivation this week... seriously digging in and sorting thru my stuff with the ultimate goal of a 50% reduction. The places I start are the bedroom closet here in the craft room - and the refrigerator. I've been slipping back in to old shopping habits that I need to get a handle on, so my other motivation for the week is to not buy anything that isn't consumable (food) or absolutely needed, as in I may look at grill pans to see if that would be better than just a frying pan, but other than that I can't think of anything I "need" in the next week. Oh, maybe also some food storage containers, so I can neatly organize/stack the food in the 'fridge so it stops stressing me out.

 

[sjrec]

For many years I was a healthy weight-then I gained quite a bit and then I got back to a healthy weight. I like how that feels and I don’t want to ever go back to carrying all those extra pounds. That’s a big motivation for me-especially as I get older.

Summer is always a good season for me weight wise. We eat corn every night and watermelon or cantaloupe for dessert. Since I am still being cautious going out, ice cream is not such a temptation. If we do go out for ice cream, I have it for lunch!

 

[Zhoen]

Hello, Dearies!

Guess what I did today??? You won't guess, because it's not something that a normal person would be excited about... but... I gave blood for the first time in like 20 years!!!
I used to give blood every 2 months like clockwork.. Round about 2001, the USFDA came down and said anyone who even BREATHED in Europe between 1980-1996 was assumed to be a mad cow and our blood was toxic waste sure to destroy the very fabric of the universe... very recently they have re-evaluated that. My blood type is not one of the crazy-rare ones or anything, but I figure if they can give my type to someone who matches, that saves the O neg for the really rare types who can't get their exact type. Anyway, I'm really happy about it. I gave to the local hospital, not the red cross, so I don't think I'll get any virus antibody testing out of the deal, but that's ok.

The scale this morning was down below where it was 2 weeks ago, before the hormonal nastiness of last week... so altogether, that's good. It's s-l-o-w... but oh well. Unfortunately, I did not meet my 64oz actual-water goal even ONCE last week... the closest I got was 48oz... and I never went on an actual planned walk, but I did get in 2 miles one day between grocery shopping and raspberry picking... so I am keeping those goals for this week, hoping to do better... but not today. Today I dutifully drank the 16oz water they gave me at the blood place to replace what they had just pulled out, but never got back around to drinking any more than that.

Oh, and I got pedicure today! HOORAY!!! It was hilarious, because the technician was wearing more PPE than I have ever worn even during my grossest hospital shifts... we're talking disposable gown, hair drape, gloves, face shield and TWO masks, one-on-top-of-the-other... but I *THINK* it was my regular lady under all that... it was hard to tell...

And now it's pouring again. 3rd time today. The tarp over my tent was still holding before dark... so hopefully that will be ok through the night. If not, oh well, it will dry.

 

[Summer2018]

Topic Tuesday: Obstacles



What obstacles do you face in your weight loss journey, and how can you overcome them?

 

[PollyannaMom]

Obstacle #1 - Getting older! My metabolism is slowing down, but my need for snacks is not.

Obstacle #2 - I can’t cook when I’m hungry - which means I must plan ahead in order to eat healthy, and I sometimes drop the ball.

Obstacle #3 - Portion sizes - the way things are packaged and served in the US is not very conducive to maintaining a healthy weight.

 

[Summer2018]

Obstacle #1 - Emotions emotions emotions. Great mood..."Let's CELEBRATE with fruity cocktails and unhealthy food!" Sad mood..."I need comfort and want to bury myself in carbs, sugar, and butter." Angry mood..."This diet can wait. I'm mad!" Noom is helping me more than any other program did to work through my emotions without using food. It is a process, and this is my most difficult obstacle.

Obstacle #2 - The minute is looks like I'm eating healthy, DH comes home with the MOST tempting treats. I'm getting better at giving him the "stink-eye" and letting him and my DD indulge. Sometimes, she isn't even joining in with him.

Obstacle #3 - My friends at work order takeout multiple times a week. Since Noom, I have gotten really good at not joining them. They don't even bother to ask me if I want anything anymore. Once in a while though when we are celebrating someone's birthday there will be cake, and that is very hard for me to say, "No" to as are the classroom cupcakes for a student's birthday.

Obstacle #4 - Holidays & Birthdays. My Noom coach tells me to indulge on the holiday, not ten days leading up to it or ten days after. I'm a big baker at Christmas, so that was tough. I really struggled with that, but I did manage to shorten the amount of time eating those Christmas cookies. My DH's birthday was in June, and after two days of eating cake, I made a concerted effort to stop having his cake, but it was so hard.

Obstacle #5 - Exercise. I hate it. I'm not athletic. I force myself to walk or do some type of aerobics 5 out of 7 days...5 because when DH is around, he makes fun of me. I know it sounds silly, but being married to an elite athlete when you were the last kid picked on the team for kickball and are a general klutz, it is hard to be graceful and exercise in a way that wouldn't bring on criticism. We stopped taking walks together long ago because his stride is much longer, and he walks faster. I refuse to let him see me do any physical activity because I don't want to be forced to punch him in the stomach.

 

[4Mickeys]

Hmmmm mine are similar to some I read in all of your posts

• Hormones - Peri-menopausal - also affecting metabolism - sleep (hot/cold/hot/cold aahhhh)
• Exercise - I have sooo never been a 'fitness junky' - so it is also an effort for me to get up and engage in exercise. I didn't really have to when I was younger and stayed thin - so never developed good habits around it.
• Emotions - Yep me too - I have filled a big void being a solo parent with food - I did pretty good yesterday I was sad/mad over something with DS16 - but I really didn't turn to food and just wallowed in it and got teary a few times throughout the day instead - so I guess I felt the emotions rather than stuffed them down and piled on top of them with food
• Time! Working full time - only me to parent - 3 teenagers - need I say more
• Stopping - If I open a packet of chips or chocolate - I having trouble stopping before I have finished it all! Not really with a block of chocolate - but a few months ago I could easily finish off a bag of Snickers PODS.

So today was a little mixed - woke up still feeling a little down, headed out to the pharmacy first thing to get some more blood pressure and cholesterol medication - here we can choose between brand name or generic medicines - I typically go with brand name - the brand name of my blood pressure med is out of stock! and the generic is in short supply too - most likely due to it coming from overseas so Covid supply issues - I had to get the generic otherwise I would run out all together - she said they are not expecting brand name to be available until DECEMBER!!!! So came home not very happy. Got a little better with my visit with my diabetes nurse - she was happy with my month - lost weight tracked my blood glucose every day (and sometimes multiple times to see effect of certain foods) - BG numbers ok, she is not overly worried about my higher morning numbers yet she was happy with my food choices (well except for a couple of junky takeout with fries - and I know better but ...) walking good - have to try and pick up the pace a bit more I don't have to start the medication yet So she said keep doing what I am doing and go back to see her in 3 months. GP rang for a non-urgent follow up to my blood test - so going on Thursday - I know it will be the add on test for something that showing up with my liver - I am trying to be ok as they reassured me it was non-urgent - but it is in my nature to worry.

I have been using a mix of technology and a plain old handwritten journal to track all my stuff at the moment - I have a daily log of blood pressure, glucose, weight, food, mins exercised and steps taken - then at the end of the month I have summaries of it for a quick glance - I took it along to my appointment with the diabetes nurse - and it made it so much easier for us to go over together and for her to look for patterns with food/BG. I actually like doing the journal - I take more notice - with tech I kind of mindlessly enter it.

 

[Zhoen]

Hmm... I was TEMPTED to say "everything y'all said except the part about working full time or having friends..." ;P But for me, for a long time now, my problem has been intention.

I know from experience that I can do a lot when I want to... but for a long time lately, I'm not sure what I want. I am working to lose weight right now for basic reasons... health, fashion... but I don't have the image in my mind of what I am really working for. Last time, a few years ago, it was to be as healthy as possible before a summer Disney trip... I wanted to feel confident stepping on that scale before the horse ride at Fort Wilderness, to be carrying less weight around as we walked the parked in the late-June heat... and while I never got down to the magic "healthy" BMI number, I felt good, enjoyed the meals and treats at the park because I felt I had "earned" them, and it was nice fitting in lots of cute clothes. I had a goal, I had a date to reach it by, and I had a reward (the trip.) It fell apart around the time of the eclipse because we stayed with my in-laws, who eat small portions of highly processed high carb food which was the exact opposite of "lots of fruits and veggies and lean proteins" that was my pattern. Without a goal in mind, I had no reason to get back on the wagon, so to speak.

It's kind of an over-arching theme with me lately. Truth be told, I'm pretty content with my messy life, I am lucky that what I do have feels like "enough," and I have worked hard to accept that *I* am enough, so then to tell myself "nope, you need to change," that contradicts all that and it is a rough road.

And, on a random note, today I think I'm going to make sausage! DD13 has been campaigning for me to make Chinese dumplings, so I bought a huge pork butt the other day intending to divide it up and freeze most of it for tamales and carnitas and wontons and and and… and then I realized already had half of one frozen from the last time I had this grand idea. So I thought since I have a bunch of this meat and I have to break out the grinder anyway, why not experiment with bratwurst and breakfast sausage? I'm not using casings, just making patties for the breakfast sausage and the filling for the bratwurst (I mostly use that to make English sausage rolls, for which I take the meat out of the casing anyway.) Maybe some day I'll find a perfect bratwurst recipe and try going the extra mile to make the actual links... but not today. At the store they sell bratwurst patties that you just grill like burgers and serve on hamburger buns... so I suppose I could make some of those, but we shall see.

So it looks like I am planning "breakfast for dinner' tonight, hopefully featuring homemade sausage patties. (LOTS!) more rain in the forecast for today and the next few days, so cooking and shopping and housework and reading appear to be on the agenda...

 

[sjrec]

Obstacle #1 is definitely age. As I get older, losing those holiday pounds takes longer every year!

Obstacle #2 is my vacation mindset-especially in the summer. It’s 5:00, it’s sunny, let’s sit on the deck and have a drink! And if we have a drink, we need something to nibble on.

Obstacle #3 is that I like to cook and bake. Seeing fresh blueberries at my farm stand yesterday I immediately think blueberry coffee cake and not blueberries on my yogurt. I bought a watermelon instead

 

[sjrec]

For all of you teaching and with children in school-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/educ...-work-does-not-stop-covid-19-school-entrance/

 

[Oneanne]

I think I really only have one obstacle... me. I consistently get in my own way, don't follow up on my promises/intentions (that I've made to myself), get distracted and lose sight of the end goal. I feel like Noom is helping me get out of these old patterns, slowly but surely.

Yesterday was an excellent food day, good nutritional choices and slightly under in calories, so of course I'm up a pound today. I did "grill" some salmon for dinner. I blackened it (just not with spices), but it was such a quality piece of fish that it was pretty good despite the outside being over done. Had a side salad, but did get veggies to grill and they are all cut and ready to go... yes, I actually did some meal prep! I didn't get a grill pan yet, and I think I won't, I think I'll go back to baking the fish instead of grilling.

I cleaned a bunch of stuff out of the fridge, mostly old condiments past their good-by dates. I sorted thru the storage containers I have and decided to just pick up a few in a larger size at the grocery store, instead of running down to The Container Store and stocking up. I'm much more comfortable with what the inside of the fridge looks like now... even tho there is still food in there.

I did buy one thing yesterday, a new cat carrier. I left the old carrier at the emergency vet, as it was in pretty bad state, so I did need to get a new one for Whitehall's vet appointment on Thursday. But I did find myself almost making a mindless purchase... someone posted about these mechanical fish that you can put in a fish bowl for kittie enrichment, and I was really, really close to pushing the "buy now" button, but managed to pull myself back from the edge.

 

[Summer2018]

What's your Woo Hoo?

 

[MickeyMom76]

Hmm... I was TEMPTED to say "everything y'all said

Since I’m late in responding, I’m going to steal your answer...everything you guys said! Work, Age, Myself, etc

What's your Woo Hoo?

I finally got to a beach! We came down to Ocean City, NJ for two nights. I was a little nervous prior to getting hear. But yesterday helped lift my spirit so much! We are concerned we might have to cancel our Outer Banks trip in Aug is the PA Dept of Health continues to the requirement to self quarantine for 2 weeks when returning from certain states including North Carolina. It’s too close to the start of school for me to risk it, plus it would mean missing preseason for field hockey for my daughter (if they even get a season). But back to the woohoo...so glad I was able to just sit on the beach and relax! I’m actually considering going for a run now...

Another woohoo is that our kitchen renovation has started. And that we got out of the house for the big demo day when they took down half a wall and cut out our tiny old pantry.

 

[Summer2018]

My Woo Hoo is that after not losing any new weight since March...

I LOST 3 POUNDS!!!

I finally got my act together.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Good for you, @MickeyMom76, for taking the plunge on the kitchen! We’re getting there as far as needing to do it, but I’m just not ready for all the hassle!

Too early in the day for a WooHoo yet here - all I’ve done so far is make DS breakfast and walk the cat.

We did have an impromptu family game night yesterday, though, which is on my list of things to do more of.

 

[PollyannaMom]

My Woo Hoo is that after not losing any new weight since March...

I LOST 3 POUNDS!!!

I finally got my act together.

congratulations!!!