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Post by bbbearsmom on Jul 8, 2019 0:01:10 GMT
Monday, 07/08
Day 8 β Create Time and Energy
What we need when we are starting to take care of ourselves is the time and energy to do it. With everything else that goes on in our lives it can be hard taking on more βthings to do.β We need time to plan meals and shopping lists, prepare food, take the time to eat slowly and mindfully, learn to deal with emotional eating and stress eating by doing other things besides eating, we need time to exercise and so on.
How did you make time in your life to lose weight or to keep doing the work to maintain your weight?
Any tips you can give to others on managing this aspect of health management?
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Post by bbbearsmom on Jul 8, 2019 0:01:41 GMT
Judy Cobin I knew from the beginning of this weight loss journey that I would have to commit time to doing this. It has become part of my life. I spend the time making my meals, keeping the kitchen stocked, and taking time to not rush my eating. Oh, and spending time at my weekly WW meeting and with my online support groups.
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Post by borntexan on Jul 8, 2019 1:20:53 GMT
I guess since I eat a rotation of the same foods I don't feel like I'm really spending extra time on maintaining my weight.I do set aside time twice a day for exercise though.
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Post by surfgirl on Jul 8, 2019 4:15:32 GMT
When I first stated WW, I took a Sharpie and marked on everything in my fridge and pantry, the points per serving so I could see at a glance what everything was. Nowadays I have a set menu for breakfast and lunch so I always know what points I'm taking in. Dinner is the only part of the day that I experiment because I love to cook. I have rearranged my life to eat regularly not sporadically, and I have to make time to track what I eat. If I stop tracking, I gain weight, it's just that simple. There is no way to 'know' what you're really eating until you track it and see it in black and white. I also make time to exercise at least 5 times a week most of the time.
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Post by cathygeha on Jul 8, 2019 5:54:39 GMT
Post by surfgirl on [abbr class="o-timestamp time recent_time" data-timestamp="1562559332000" title="Mon Jul 08 2019 07:15:32 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)"]about an hour ago[/abbr] When I first stated WW, I took a Sharpie and marked on everything in my fridge and pantry, the points per serving so I could see at a glance what everything was. Nowadays I have a set menu for breakfast and lunch so I always know what points I'm taking in. Dinner is the only part of the day that I experiment because I love to cook. I have rearranged my life to eat regularly not sporadically, and I have to make time to track what I eat. If I stop tracking, I gain weight, it's just that simple. There is no way to 'know' what you're really eating until you track it and see it in black and white. I also make time to exercise at least 5 times a week most of the time. What are your go-to breakfast and lunch dishes? And...if I don't journal (honestly with amounts/points) I don't lose/maintain
I have never planned my meals but when in weight loss/maintenance mode I do track on paper and mark down amounts. I am vigilant and stay within the parameters of the "diet" and it works. I don't "make time" but sometimes wonder if it would make a difference if I planned meals...
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Post by wwlurker on Jul 8, 2019 13:42:57 GMT
I try to make time every morning to come here (except on weekends). I listen to audiobooks on my way to and from work, and these are always non-fiction, self-help type books. I've read a lot of ones about intuitive eating, health at any size, curbing emotional eating, etc., all of which I've found at least something helpful in.
I roughly meal plan and make a list. I try to make time to make sure I have brought a lunch and something to eat for breakfast in the morning (I'm terrible at eating breakfast).
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Post by lani on Jul 8, 2019 15:16:21 GMT
I always feel lucky that I have ample time to devote to "self-care", as I have been retired for a long time and DH is very supportive of a healthy lifestyle.
I also have the same breakfast every day, the same lunch 5 or 6 days a week. I do try new recipes for dinner.
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Post by surfgirl on Jul 8, 2019 18:32:04 GMT
Post by surfgirl on Mon Jul 08 2019
When I first stated WW, I took a Sharpie and marked on everything in my fridge and pantry, the points per serving so I could see at a glance what everything was. Nowadays I have a set menu for breakfast and lunch so I always know what points I'm taking in. Dinner is the only part of the day that I experiment because I love to cook. I have rearranged my life to eat regularly not sporadically, and I have to make time to track what I eat. If I stop tracking, I gain weight, it's just that simple. There is no way to 'know' what you're really eating until you track it and see it in black and white. I also make time to exercise at least 5 times a week most of the time. What are your go-to breakfast and lunch dishes? And...if I don't journal (honestly with amounts/points) I don't lose/maintain
I have never planned my meals but when in weight loss/maintenance mode I do track on paper and mark down amounts. I am vigilant and stay within the parameters of the "diet" and it works. I don't "make time" but sometimes wonder if it would make a difference if I planned meals...
cathygeha, my go-to breakfasts are usually oatmeal with cut up fresh fruit cooked in it. I do a quick cook oatmeal, takes less than 5 minutes, and when I put it into the pot I add chopped fruit. Right now it's apricots, which are fabulous in oatmeal. I also sometimes add 2 chopped walnuts for Omega 3 because we don't eat fish. One packet is very filling for me. When I don't feel like eating oatmeal, I have either two pieces of toast (low cal/fat brand) with a light smear of butter and LF swiss slices on each. Or I will have an egg white omelet with LF Swiss and stuffed with fresh wilted spinach.
For lunches, when I have oatmeal for breakfast, I have the omelet for lunch, usually with two soy sausage patties. My other go-to lunch is a sandwich made with same LF/low cal bread I use for breakfast, with mustard, soy deli meats and a slice of LF swiss, lettuce and pickles.
The only meal I don't plan is dinner because I love cooking and it's fun to decide what to make for dinner, but it also depends on how many points I have left for that day.
Regarding planning, I don't honestly think it's possible to be really successful in weight loss without planning. If you're winging it all day, every day, how do you know where you're at with your DPs? It makes life and weight loss soooo much easier to plan, at least for breakfast and lunch, that way you at least know you've used between x & y points already by lunchtime, so you know what you have to play with for snacks and dinner. To me, planning is non-negotiable because it makes this whole thing easier to do. And I personally feel that if I cannot make the time to plan two meals of each day, then I'm just not committed enough to be even OP at all. In those cases, I've taken a break from WW to do my own thing and I've come back when I'm feeling more committed to being OP and all that comes with that. For me, it's worked because when I've returned to WW I've been committed enough to do what I need to do, if that makes sense!
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Post by hpeterson1951 on Jul 8, 2019 19:34:29 GMT
I used to be a fanatical tracker on paper. But then the WW journals changed, I made my own journals, but I just lost interest in Freestyle.
So now I track on MFP and I am very dedicated to it. Took a while to get used to an app instead of paper, but it works.
I also plan my breakfast and lunch during the school year. Planning dinner is very important but very difficult as DH often changes his mind or work schedule gets crazy.
I need to make time to exercise. I'm doing floor exercises and stretches each night. I need to work on making time for the gym.
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Post by starchild68 on Jul 8, 2019 21:45:47 GMT
As others have said, I need to track, or I drift off into endless snacking and self delusion about how much I've eaten. I am still using the WW app, which I find lots easier than using paper, as I usually have my phone or iPad handy. For awhile, I was also tracking on MFP but double tracking was taking way too much time. So I'm back to just WW app. I would ideally like to track the macros as my doctor wants me to focus on more fiber, less fat, etc. I wish WW would do more with helping track the macros instead of waving the magic wand of points calculation, or at least give us the option. Freestyle is nice if you don't want to track every little thing, but I need more detail.
Regular exercise does require time & planning. It's lots easier now that I'm retired! I have 3 specific classes I go to every week at the Y, I take a tap dancing class once a week and I look forward to them. I do better when I have classes rather than workout on my own. It did take some time to find the classes that were the right level of difficulty for me, I had to try out a lot of different classes and instructors to find the ones that fit my schedule and my ability...fortunately, my Y has lots of classes for "mature" adults. I do go for a late afternoon walk, hike, or treadmill most days, too.
I have the same basic breakfast most days: oatmeal with some fresh (or frozen) fruit & yogurt. For lunch, I have a salad topped with a protein most days....except when we go out. Dinner is the big time drain for me....I never have gotten the habit of, say, cooking & freezing the whole week's dinners on Sunday or chopping all the veggies at once for several days meals. I tend to do a lot of stir fries, but I kind of do it on the fly, chopping stuff fresh every day. I also tend to waste a lot of time at the grocery store because I go several times a week to get fresh produce etc. That's an area where I could probably improve my efficiency. My sweetie used to cook 2-3 nights a week when I was working FT, but now he rarely does, tells me I'm a much better cook than he, blah, blah. I guess I do enjoy the creativity of cooking, I like trying new recipes or seasonings...but it would be helpful to have a few more "easy" meals for those days when I'm tired or the weather is too hot, etc.
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Post by surfgirl on Jul 9, 2019 0:27:03 GMT
I need to track, or I drift off into endless snacking and self delusion about how much I've eaten. ^This!!!^ Especially the bolded parts...!
Dinner is the big time drain for me....I never have gotten the habit of, say, cooking & freezing the whole week's dinners on Sunday or chopping all the veggies at once for several days meals. I tend to do a lot of stir fries, but I kind of do it on the fly, chopping stuff fresh every day. I also tend to waste a lot of time at the grocery store because I go several times a week to get fresh produce etc. That's an area where I could probably improve my efficiency. Here's what I do sometimes to make dinners easier and more time efficient - I make a big batch of brown rice, steam a big batch of broccoli, and make a pot of lentils. The first night I'll have a bowl with that stuff, plus maybe some cheese and sauces (maybe Peanut sauce or Garlic Amino Acids Teriaki). The second night I might make little tacos using the same stuff but adding salsa and hot sauce as toppings. The third night, I might saute some onions and garlic and toss in the rice and broccoli, the heat up some soy meatballs in the oven, and put pasta sauce over it and make an Italian style bowl. Fourth night I'll take the same stuff, saute it and make omelets for dinner. Four dinners, one week, one night of batch cooking. It really makes life easier!
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Post by cathygeha on Jul 9, 2019 5:35:31 GMT
surfgirl , Thank you for the tips on planning. Your idea for dinner is a good one. I will make brown rice, beans and then try to make sure there are veggies from the market or garden then do kind of what you do only use the rice as a base for a tostada and not use a higher calorie tortilla. I think I might see if I still have any file cards or an empty notebook and write up some meals with points to mix and match.
Curious...what points plan of WW are you using? I had success on the original plan but never did well with the other plans when they came out.
A FEW HOURS LATER: I found a little notebook, put post-it notes in it to indicate breakfast, meals and snacks and began writing down meal ideas with points. I will add to it over time.
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Post by surfgirl on Jul 10, 2019 0:37:13 GMT
cathygeha, I follow the PP plan because that's what has worked best for me. I find it a doable way of eating for life, and because fruits are 0 PP, I get more fruit into my diet. In fact, during the summer I'm trying to use fresh fruit as dessert so I have something to snack on at night that's healthy and low/no PP. Berries are great for that.
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Post by borntexan on Jul 10, 2019 1:20:24 GMT
surfgirl The only fruit I eat are berries.Strawberries,blueberries,blackberries,raspberries(when I find them cheap enough for raspberries).I only eat berries because I need the fiber.I like them with my plain nf Greek yogurt.I am also doing PP on ITB.
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Post by cathygeha on Jul 10, 2019 5:43:34 GMT
cathygeha , I follow the PP plan because that's what has worked best for me. I find it a doable way of eating for life, and because fruits are 0 PP, I get more fruit into my diet. In fact, during the summer I'm trying to use fresh fruit as dessert so I have something to snack on at night that's healthy and low/no PP. Berries are great for that. Thank you for letting me know. I tossed all of my WW information long ago so am using the formulas I found on line to do the original program counting points and also tracking on MFP (most of the time)
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