Stephanie's Journal - One Bite at a Time...

Share your daily McDougall menus and/or keep a journal describing your personal progress.

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Re: Stephanie's Journal - One Bite at a Time...

Postby Zoey » Sat Feb 29, 2020 8:00 am

Stephanie, wow, your year is off to a great start. Good job! I don't know why I hadn't stumbled across your journal before, but I've enjoyed it, and we have some things in common, like age and weight and goals. Now if only I could see that 137 on the scale again soon. Anyway, thanks for your openness and inspiration!
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Re: Stephanie's Journal - One Bite at a Time...

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Mar 06, 2020 9:13 pm

Zoey wrote:Stephanie, wow, your year is off to a great start. Good job! I don't know why I hadn't stumbled across your journal before, but I've enjoyed it, and we have some things in common, like age and weight and goals. Now if only I could see that 137 on the scale again soon. Anyway, thanks for your openness and inspiration!


Hi Zoey,

Thanks!! :) Cool that we have some things in common! I bet you will see that # on the scale again if you keep on!! Wishing you the best on your journey!!!

Cheers,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Food Intake 2/23-3/6

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Mar 06, 2020 9:53 pm

Hello,

I have been super lazy about recording food intake. I have a bunch to catch up. Have thought about not recording here at all, but the typing of it does help me to see bad patterns (or good patterns)… :eek: So, this is ONLY food intake catch up. I will try not to get tired of typing and just catch it up!!! :D

2/23:
B: Golden Honeydew
No Chick Rice Soup
L: Rice, black beans, salsa (mild, hot, corn), lettuce - Chipotle
S: Fruit!! (skipped the cookies, chips, etc...) Pineapple, raspberry, blueberry - at event
D: Lentil chili over Yukon gold
S: No chick rice soup

2/24:
B: Golden honeydew
Yukon gold with smashed black beans & onions
L: Orange & banana
No Chick rice soup
D: Spaghetti marinara with veggies - 50/50

2/25:
B: Honeydew melon
Smashed black beans and onions with Yukon gold
L: Cucumber / tomato / onion with balsamic vinegar
Banana
Spaghetti marinara with veggies - 50/50
D: No chick rice soup

2/26:
B; Honeydew melon
Red lentil chili
L: Spaghetti marinara with veggies - 50/50
Grapes
D: Banana
Yukon gold potato

2/27:
B: Honeydew melon
Red lentil chili
L: Spaghetti marinara with veggies - 50/50
Banana
D: Yukon gold with Red lentil chili

2/28:
B: Honeydew melon
No Chick Rice soup
L: Banana
Yukon gold with split pea soup
D: Yukon gold with smashed black beans and onions

2/29:
B: Orange
Yukon gold with smashed black beans and onions
L: No Chick Rice soup
Banana
D: Red lentil chili
S: Small cup No Chick rice soup

3/1:
B: Honeydew & cantaloupe
No Chick Rice soup
L: Yukon gold with smashed black beans and onions
Banana & Orange
D; Salad (NOTE: skipped all of the many snacks offered at event …. and ordered only MWL compliant item on menu for dinner... added Adobo sauce with 0 fat... REALLY hot and kind of ruined most of the salad... )

3/2:
B: Cantaloupe
Yukon gold with smashed black beans
L: Banana & remainder of YG w/Smashed BB (from B)
D: No Chick rice soup
S: Cheerios :mrgreen: (why??? )

3/3:
B: Cantaloupe
Red lentil chili
L: Yukon gold with red lentil chili
Banana
D: Apple
Cup of no chick rice soup
S: Cheerios (again, wth??)

3/4:
B: Cantaloupe
No Chick rice soup
L: Peaches / cherries/ strawberries
Yukon gold with red lentil chili
S: Banana
D: Spaghetti marinara with mushrooms / onions/ peppers / tomatoes - 50/50

3/5:
B: No chick rice soup
L: Cantaloupe
Spaghetti marinara with mushrooms / onions/ peppers / tomatoes - 50/50
S: 1/2 c. dry air popped corn (was MAD!! work crap...knew it, but couldn't stop / didn't stop reaction)
D: No chick rice soup
S: Cheerios (double down on snacks today... that aren't MWL... )

3/6:
B: Red lentil chili
L: Honeydew melon
No Chick Rice soup
D: Spaghetti marinara with mushrooms / onions/ peppers / tomatoes - 50/50

WOW!! Caught up... :cool:

Will write a real entry later...

Cheers,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Digging out of the Rabbit Hole

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Jun 26, 2021 12:12 pm

Hi,

The last 15 months have been challenging to say the least. I am ashamed that it has taken me this long to overcome inertia and hop back on full MWL program. Better late than never....

Today, I have joined the MWL weekly weigh-in for accountability and support.

Off-line I have been practicing the MWL checklist and journaling food and exercise since 5/2 when I stepped on the scale for the first time since pandemic. I will be following the 10 Point MWL Checklist to find my way back to goal weight --- but more importantly, to provide sturdy guardrails to enable life-long maintenance of health and weight.

I have found that it is a dicey proposition to make what may seem at the time minor exceptions to plan. Any short term pleasure needs to be weighed against long term risk of the exception becoming a habit - that has a major impact on health and weight.

I did not log my food each day as I gained 23 pandemic pounds... However, I believe that what I added were primarily "allowed but not recommended" types of food regularly to my diet (i.e., peanut butter, peanuts, pretzels, bread, oat / maple syrup / fruit baked treats). Maybe even more importantly than what I added, was what it displaced - vegetables, starch... Furthermore, I stopped moving around as much (about 4K steps / day) by staying at home. There are many things that I should have done -- and should have done earlier, but there is only now and I am ready to take action.

"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." --- Tony Robbins

For me this means: 1) if I follow MWL, I will ultimately get to goal weight and 2) if I don't have and execute upon a good strategy for maintenance, I will revert back on some habits resulting in weight gain / health loss. I need to make 2) work!!

Therefore, I am going to think about my LIZARD brain and how it might be tricked to liking these new habits better. Some of the 10 points are easy for me and ingrained - just not all --- and all are needed for "success".

One strategy that I will use in future is ASK for a helping hand out of the rabbit hole. This is hard for me to do... :oops:
I have a therapist now for anxiety who I meet with quarterly. I am going to discuss with her (obviously she is not diet expert, but she is great and will be helpful). Additionally, I am planning to attend a virtual 12-day Program this year (not sure which one - likely October or November - aligning with work deliverables). I was excited to see that in addition to the great education opportunities that these offer an on-going support model for a year.

I will be back in the next week...

Happy McDougalling!

Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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7/2 MWL Group - Weekly Food / Exercise

Postby VegSeekingFit » Mon Jun 28, 2021 8:39 pm

Hey,

Not sure that I will do this forever, but thinking would be helpful to log food / exercise and measure compliance against 10 pt. Checklist. Will start to draft the weekly report. Thinking better to log while it is fresh in mind -- and then cut & paste to MWL forum... :idea: Also, will only adjust "ticker" on Fridays...

Note that on specific food below I do use same size bowl for fruit / salad each time.

Friday
B- Salad (tomato, persian cucumber, red onion, shredded carrots) with Balsamic vinegar + TJ's 21 Seasoning Salute - preload
Watermelon & blueberries
Potato waffle - 50/50 with fruit
L- Small banana with frozen raspberries & cherries - preload
Yukon Gold with roasted veggies (red pepper, zucchini, portabella mushroom) and tomato sauce - 50/50
D- Vegetable soup (veg broth, garlic, celery, carrot, mushroom, Italian seasonings -- not one to remake...) - preload
Black bean sloppy joe (from Quick & Easy - added no sugar, used part of low sodium tamari - still yummy, is highish sodium) & a bit of potato - 50/50 with fruit --- Nectarine, watermelon, blueberries

Note - Dinner preload resulted in 1/2 plate being put away for later

E- Walking - 32 min at lunch + 24 min after dinner = 56 min

Saturday
B- Cold roasted leftover vegetables ("salad") - red pepper, zucchini, portabella mushroom - preload
Apricot & blueberries
Potato waffle - 50/50 with fruit
L-Vegetable soup (same as prior day D) - preload
Leftover Yukon Gold & Black bean sloppy joe (from prior day dinner) - 50/50 with below veggies
Persian cucumber, celery, grape tomatoes
D- Frozen peaches, raspberries, cherries - preload
Red bell pepper & yellow summer squash
Yukon gold with BBQ sauce - 50/50 with above veggies
S - McD Chicken Ramen Soup Cup -- hungry and didn't want to chance waking up and getting worse snack (knowing this is heavy sodium, used 1/2 packet) - NO PRELOAD and NO 50/50

E- Walking - 35 min. after lunch (found a spot between storms...)

Sunday
B- Salad - Red pepper, yellow squash, tomato, red onion, balsamic vinegar + TJ 21 Seasoning Salute - preload
Watermelon & blueberries
Potato waffle - 50/50 with fruit
L- Honeycrisp apple slices, apricot, blueberries - preload
Water stir fry veggies - celery, mushroom, peapod, onion, yellow squash, shredded carrot, garlic, grated ginger - low sodium tamari before serving (still high-ish sodium)
Rice & kidney beans - 50/50 with veggies -- was really pretty stuffed and had about a third of what I initially plated for the veg + starch
L2 (2 hrs after L) - Persian cucumber, grape tomatoes - preload
Remainder of veg + starch from L - 50 / 50
D- Nectarine - preload
Brown Rice Fusilli Pasta (TJ - just Organic brown rice + water -- think this is ok, but if not -- wasn't my favorite and won't be re-buying)
Veggies water sauteed topped with tomato sauce (TJ no sodium, no fat Marinara) - zucchini, mushroom, pepper, onion, garlic - plated this with pasta to estimate - 50/50

E- Walking - 75 min after breakfast

Monday
B- Salad - yellow summer squash, red pepper, radishes (delicious multi-colored ones), tomato, w/ BV + TJ 21 SS - preload
Tuscan cantaloupe & blueberries
Potato waffle - 50/50 with fruit
L- Crudite / salad - celery, carrots, radishes (more yum), grape tomatoes - preload
Rice & kidney beans with remainder of stir fried veggies from yesterday L - 50 /50
D-Nectarine (super delicious) & frozen cherries - preload
Yukon gold + remainder of last dinner veggies - 50/50 --- NOTE: didn't finish - saved for potential future snack

E- Walking - 15 min before breakfast + 35 min at lunch + 45 min before dinner = 95 min (I LOVE to walk!!!)

Tuesday
B- Salad - spinach, radishes, onion, shredded carrot, tomato w/BV + TJ 21 SS - preload
Tuscan cantaloupe & blueberries
Potato waffle - 50/50 with fruit
L- Nectarine - preload
Rice / bean / veggie bowl - 50 / 50; included rice, black beans smashed , iceberg lettuce, tomato, onions, fresh salsa
D- Frozen mango / raspberries/cherries - preload
Carrots, persian cucumber, radishes, grape tomatoes 50/50 with Yukon gold potato with a little BBQ sauce

E- Walking - 35 min before lunch + 44 min before dinner = 79 min

Wednesday
B- Salad - spinach, iceberg lettuce, shredded carrot, radishes, onions, cucumber, tomato w/BV + TJ 21 SS - preload
Nectarine
Potato waffle - 50/50 with fruit
L- Tuscan cantaloupe & blueberries - preload
Made big pan of roasted veggies - many leftovers -- Orange pepper, white onion, zucchini, garlic, cauliflower, green beans, large white button mushroom (no seasonings at all ... naked roasted... ) -- 50/50 serving with plan Yukon gold potato
D- Stomach was feeling a bit distended, but still a little hungry... NO PRELOAD, NO 50/50
Tiny bit of red lentil chili + a few chubby chips

E- Walking - 36 min before lunch + 28 min before dinner = 64 min

Thursday
B- Salad - tomato, cucumber, radish, onion, shredded carrots - plain today -- preload
Tuscan cantaloupe & blueberries
Potato waffle & a couple of forkfuls of smashed black beans - 50/50 with fruit
L- Nectarine - preload
Roasted veggies from yesterday 50/50 with red lentil chili & a few chubby chips
D- Raspberries - preload
Same as lunch... roasted veggies from yesterday 50/50 with red lentil chili (but no chubby chips..)

E- Walking - 41 min before lunch

Below will be posted in the MWL forum for the behavior assessment / weigh in.

Weight Change - Loss .6 lbs.
Current weight - 147.2 lbs.
Last Week weight - 147.8 lbs.


1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. :-D YES - 21/23

2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches.
Choose fruit for dessert. :-D YES - 22/23

3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. :) I have reduced, not eliminated. I will eliminate if this becomes an issue.

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :cool: YES

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :D YES

6 Eliminate any added oil. :-D YES

7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. :) YES

8 Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :D YES, 7/7 days

9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. :cool: YES

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :nod: YES, 7/7

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Thank you, Mark for the warm welcome. It feels great to be back with this group and I am feeling on track!! I am focusing on 1) and 2) and feel like I have been pretty successful this week with preloading and using 50/50 plating method. I will be continuing on with that focus and also on keeping consistent with exercise. Move it or lose it... :lol:

I appreciate reading everyone's posts on this thread. Rooting for all of the participants!!!!

Hope that everyone in US has a wonderful 4th of July weekend!! For the folks in the rest of the world, Happy Weekend!! :D


Best,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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7/9 MWL Group - Weekly Food / Exercise

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Jul 02, 2021 3:46 pm

Here is where I am keeping track of details for the next MWL behavioral assessment and weigh-in. I think that I will save all of the counting for when I make the report ... maybe a small error in counting PL and 50/50 last post ... :oops:

I am working on consistency with the preload and the 50/50 plate. Also, focusing on moving for at least 30 minutes a day. Will do more exercise than that some days, but more concerned with establishing daily habit and building some base...

Future opportunity to reduce / eliminate condiments (sugar / salt) and to reduce fruit consumption (which I am not binge-ing on, but greatly enjoying). Will go here if either becomes a problem such as I am "stuck" at a plateau (and am doing all of the other things consistently)... Will first tackle the condiments... :D

So, going to number my meals and sub-tally PL and 50/50 to try to make sure I count accurately to assess this habit. Not going for 100% but for a "usually" type of rating. Noticing that #9 on eating when hungry and stopping when full plays into how to implement #1 and #2.


Friday
1B- Salad - Cucumber, tomato, radishes, carrots, red onions w/ BV & TJ 21 SS - preload
Tuscan cantaloupe & blueberries
Potato waffle - 50/50 with above
2L- Nectarine & blueberries - preload
Roasted veggies from Thursday 50/50 with red lentil chili on top
3D- Mug of No Chick Barley Soup (delicious and would have had more but my son ate the rest of the pot!) - no PL and no 50/50

E- Walking -- 46 min before lunch

Saturday
4B - Salad - green leaf lettuce, cabbage, celery, onion, persian cucumber, grape tomatoes w/ BV - PL
Nectarine & Blueberries
Potato waffle & a few forkfuls smashed black beans - 50/50 with above
5L - Blueberries & raspberries - PL
Red lentil chili over remainder of roasted veggies (delicious!) - 50/50 with above
6D - Blueberries & nectarine - PL
Rice and beans (black + kidney + pinto) - 50/50 with water sauteed veggies - zucchini, red onion, green beans, bean sprouts, shredded carrot, mushroom, garlic & grated ginger with tamari (higher sodium)

E - Walking -- 44 minutes before dinner (ridiculously hot / melting... or could have done more)

Tally is 5/6 PL and 5/6 50/50

Sunday
7B - Salad - Tomato, rest of colorful radishes, red onion with BV and TJ 21 SS - PL
Athena melon (delicious cantaloupe) & blueberries
Potato waffle & a bit of smashed black beans - 50/50 with above
8L - Cherries - fresh from Farmers market - PL
Rice and beans (black + kidney + pinto) 50/50 with leftover veggies from 6D
9D - Nectarine - PL
Soup - Dr McD RightFoods (not Perfect Foods) Hot & Sour Cup -- NO 50/50 (wasn't very hungry)

E - Rest day --- was planning to walk, but not eager to melt in heat

Tally is 8/9 PL and 7/9 50/50

Monday
10B - Athena melon & blueberries - PL
Rice and beans (black + kidney + pinto) 50/50 with remainder of water sauteed veggies from 6D
11L - Meal Out --- OMG :eek:
Hopefully is ok -- I checked the website for ingredients (kept out all other wonderful veggies that had oil) and am going to post a separate post all about eating out in the wild...
Bibibop - Purple rice, black beans, corn, cucumber (triple helping), pineapple (double portion - used in lieu of sauce) - NO PL -- left some of the rice, scoring for 50/50
12D - Crudite / "salad" - Last of grape tomatoes, 2 persian cucumbers, delicious Farmers Market radishes, 3 baby peppers - PL
Potato waffle with a bit of BBQ sauce (was so sad to have not had one for B)... --- NO 50/50
13S - was hoping to have with dinner and get 50/50, but was satiated so waited a couple hours - Frozen peaches, mango, strawberry, cherries - no PL and no 50/50

E - Walking - met friend in forest preserve - nice shady path!! 50 min + 34 min after dinner = 84 min

Tally is 10/13 PL and 9/13 50/50

Tuesday
14B - Last of Athena melon & blueberries - PL
Salad - Baby kale, red onion, radishes, tomato w/ BV & TJ 21 SS
Potato waffle - 50/50 with above
15L - Cherries - PL
Salad / crudites - persian cucumbers, celery, cherry tomatoes
Rice & Roasted veggies (yellow squash, onion, green beans, mushroom, celery, garlic - plain) + a couple spoonfuls of cranberry beans - 50/50 with above
16D - Nectarine & blueberries - PL
Roasted veggies from 15L with pasta shells + tomato sauce - 50/50

E - Walking - 14 min before B + 29 min before L = 43 min

Tally is 13/16 PL and 12/16 50/50

Wednesday
17B - White peach & blueberries
Potato waffle - 50/50 with above
No PL (made my salad and didn't feel like eating so saved for later)
18S - Pasta shells & tomato sauce - no PL or 50/50
19L - Salad - Baby kale, radishes, red onion, tomato w/ BV & TJ 21 SS - PL
Cherries - finished Farmers Market
Pasta shells & tomato sauce - 50/50 with above
Not hungry for D

E - Walking - 14 min before breakfast -- still very hot...

Tally is 14/19 PL and 14/19 50/50

Thursday
20B - Salad - Baby kale, radishes, tomato, red onion with BV - PL
Potato waffle - no 50/50
21L - Blueberries & white peach - PL
Yukon gold w/BBQ - no 50/50
22D - Frozen cherries, peaches, mango - PL
Celery, tomato, cucumbers
Sloppy Lentils & rice (from Mary McD recipe with low sodium tamari, no added sugar or mustard) - 50/50 with above

E - Walking 14 min before breakfast + 29 min before lunch = 43 min

Tally is 17/22 PL and 15/22 50/50

Below is WIP for next week's MWL behavior assessment / weigh in.

Weight Change - Loss - 1.6 lbs.
Current weight - 145.6 lbs.
Last Week weight - 147.2 lbs.


1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. :-D yes, 17/22 meals this week

2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches.
Choose fruit for dessert. :) mostly, 15/22 meals this week

3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. :) I have reduced, not eliminated. I will be reviewing condiment usage - which I am thinking would be my biggest source of these. I have gotten rid of a couple of heinous sodium products.... :mrgreen:

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :cool: YES

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :-D YES

6 Eliminate any added oil. :-D YES

7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. :-D YES

8 Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :-o Mostly. Had White Claw over 4th weekend.

9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. :-D YES. Has been working well. I have hardly done any late snacking that I had been prone to doing. I do keep options in refrigerator in case I do wake up hungry, but this hasn't happened this week.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :) MOSTLY. I took a rest day which I probably didn't need to take, but just was tired of the really hot weather. My focus here is on building the habit for most days and building some base of fitness.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Trying to get #1 and #2 in synch with #9.... thinking that this may take a bit of practice! Glad to be doing it while I am still working remotely. Will be continuing to focus on this in the next week --- as well as consistency in walking.

I was going to ask a question on the soup for preload. However, was able to use the Advanced Search function on the Board to find some great information!!! So, question averted... :cool:

Sending positive vibes to all participants. Extra strong ones to those who are discouraged or struggling. Just an idea that sometimes helps me change mindset.... Maybe folks can find some extra motivation on these Boards from several members who have been successful in implementing this Program. I especially love to read the wisdom of Pinkrose who ate so simply - rice and broccoli, potato or sweet potato and tomato - he was so encouraging to everyone and was a "happy customer" ...
Last edited by VegSeekingFit on Sat Jul 10, 2021 8:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Eating Out in the Wild...

Postby VegSeekingFit » Wed Jul 07, 2021 7:40 pm

Hi,

**Updated as of 8/27**

Thinking that eating out / when you don't control the ingredients going into your food greatly increases the risk that you are not adhering to your intended diet. Even with the nutrition information provided by some restaurants (not by all)... thinking that I don't completely trust them... :duh: I know that we all control our own forks and always have the option of not eating at all. That option of not eating at all, is tough.... Somewhere there has to be a balance... Thinking that depending on how often people eat out, this could have a large impact in: added sugar / salt, added fat, added flour, etc. What is the best way to consistently make good decisions??

Even before COVID, I was not a big eat out person. I do not like to eat out and would rather bring my own stuff... Usually, I would use tools of:
1) when going to restaurant view on-line their nutrition information to help make best choice
2) when going to party, bring fruit and / or veg tray (with hummus)
3) when at work function, bring own food in cooler (raises some eyebrows)
4) eat before a function; maybe eat some raw veg / fruit that you know work with diet at party; maybe come with more food (in car or in purse) like potato or something that you could sneak eat if needed

These options don't always work for every situation -- based on circumstance.

I am going to track my "eating in the wild" experiences since 5/2. This post will be a whiteboard to be edited as time passes. Hoping to learn something from mistakes or (hopefully) good choices to progress in ideas on how to handle "the wild"... :eek:

Below are my experiences. These are likely less (I think?) than the average bear since I really don't like to eat out and I am still working remotely (so no work functions).

7/5/2021 - Bibibop - https://bibibop.com/nutrition/
This is a wonderful Asian bowl type of restaurant, but there aren't many compliant choices. I can't believe how many veggie options that are ruined with OIL!!!! At least they tell you and I hope their kitchens prepare in alignment with the website. So, don't eat: bean sprouts, carrots, kale, potatoes, mushrooms... sauces should be passed up due to sodium / sugar. I went and ordered : purple rice (white rice also no oil), black beans, corn, cucumber, pineapple (put on top as "sauce").
Verdict = Success based on reviewing menu and choosing no oil veggies, grains, and fruit in lieu of sauce. Food did not gleam with oil. Risk that there could have been oil anyway (especially in rice) based on other posts about restaurant experience.

May 2021 Shower - was not an event where I could bring a dish to share. There was a very nice spread of brunch for folks to enjoy. A salad with dressing already on it... (wished that it was separate) - passed. Made a plate of a beautiful and delicious fruit plate. This was one occasion where I had more fruit than I normally would - because I wanted to pace eating with others. I did eat before event, so wasn't super hungry.
Verdict = Success. Maybe a bit more than normal fruit consumed, but no harm. Adjusted remainder of day eating accordingly.

June 2021 Moretti's - This is a pretty popular pizza / other food place around here. I am not a huge fan... I noticed that they don't like to share any nutrition info. I wonder why... ;) On the positive side, there is some nice outdoor seating and friendly staff. I did attempt a more regular meal with my girlfriends because I was already on the "weird" side by saying that I would only eat outside...
https://www.morettisrestaurants.com/
I ordered the special vegan veggie pizza with no soy cheese. It was really a thin crust that seemed to at least be partially wheat (maybe not whole) with spinach, asparagus, pepper, onion and tomato sauce. It was a 10 inch and I ate half. It didn't seem overly greasy, but no way to really know. Other options were quite limited. they had Impossible Burger --- which I think would have been way worse from MWL compliance perspective as compared to pizza. This was in June - I am not planning to go back anytime soon, so not worried about it.
Verdict = Not a great choice, but maybe the best one offered (except to not eat, which I wasn't going with on this occasion). Only ate a portion and didn't take home remainders. Don't eat out often, so don't think this was derailing or anything. Worst case is some oil, some flour.

June 17, 2021 - Zoo - Well, I never would expect a good meal here... :-D I was unprepared (BOO!) and hungry. One (not perfect) product that I often turn to at places like this would be the Hot Pretzel... (I know, calorie dense, white flour, and big salt). There are exactly zero other choices at this point in time at this place (no oil, no animal product, etc.). So, I was hungry and ordered the pretzel. Have had this a few times in past (and they prepared with water only). This year, they have changed the recipe and pulled out a GREASY pretzel (sopping in grease). I am not a fan of oil on any level and while I am ok with dense white flour salty stuff (I know this is not compliant... ) ... oil makes it a NO.... So, discarded this and will know that there is NOTHING for me at zoo. Was hungry, but did NOT starve... :shock:
Verdict = I ALMOST made a bad choice. The oil wasn't acceptable to me - so saved me here. Next time --- be prepared!!! :o

July 31, 2021 - Village Squire - Think I did ok with it by picking "real" foods and not invoking the Pleasure Trap. Regardless, these are food items that I should avoid until reaching normal weight. Ordered a "Berry and Nut" salad which was: plate of greens with cucumber, tomato, cabbage, carrots, strawberry, walnuts, cranberries (dried), walnuts, avocado (about 1/4), 4 triangles pita bread (refined). Did not do dressing. Did not eat all of the non-compliant items, but did have some!! Got right back on track. Did not pick ; No cheese pizza, Impossible burger, other Chipotle bean burger, other salads (had more modifications I'd need to make).
Verdict = Went off MWL but ate whole foods. No nutritional info on-line for this menu. I feel ok with it as these were not foods that are likely to send me off the rails.

August 28, 2021 - Graduation party - I plan to only eat on plan - to eat before going and to bring some food / cooler in vehicle ICE...
Last edited by VegSeekingFit on Fri Aug 27, 2021 7:59 pm, edited 4 times in total.
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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7/16 MWL Group - Weekly Food / Exercise

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Jul 10, 2021 9:05 am

Here is where I am keeping track of details for the next MWL behavioral assessment and weigh-in.

Working on #1 / 2 / 9 --- to get this all in synch... :) Also, focusing on consistency in 10 / exercise.

Next project - review of sugar and sodium consumption (condiments and packaged food).

Friday
1B - Salad - yellow squash, mini cucumbers, red onion, cherry tomatoes with BV - PL
White peach & blueberries
Potato waffle - 50/50 with above
2L - Frozen peaches, raspberries, cherries - PL
Celery, carrots, baby cucumbers
Yukon gold & sloppy lentils - 50/50 with above
3D - Small bowl of sloppy lentils - No PL, no 50 /50

E- 32 min before B, 30 min before L

Saturday
4B - Salad - baby kale, shredded carrots, red onion, tomato - w/BV - PL
Blueberries & raspberries
Potato waffle 50/50 with above
5L - Michigan cherries (delicious from Farmers Market!) - PL
Grape tomatoes, celery, yellow squash
Sweet potato & sloppy lentils - 50/50 with above
No dinner

E - 59 min before L, 15 min in PM

Running Tally - 4/5 for PL and 4/5 for 50/50

Sunday
6B -Grape tomatoes - PL
Potato waffle
7L - Honeydew & blueberries
Rice & sloppy lentils - 50/50 with above
No dinner

E - none .... did not feel very well today or the next day (not usual for me to miss more than a meal... ) :lol:

Running Tally - 5/7 for PL and 5/7 for 50/50

Monday
8B - Carrots, cucumber, radishes - PL
Honeydew & blueberries
Potato waffle - 50/50 with above
9L - Honeydew & blueberries
Split Pea soup over rice - 50/50 with above
10D - Honeydew & blueberries
Yukon gold with a little BBQ - 50/50 with above

E - none (see Sunday)

Running Tally - 6/10 for PL and 8/10 for 50/50

Tuesday
11B - Carrots & cucumber - PL
Honeydew & blueberries
Potato waffle - 50/50 with above
12L - Cherries - PL
Baby cucumbers & radishes
Yukon gold with tomato sauce - 50/50 with above
13D - Red lentil chili over sweet potato :duh: No PL and no 50/50 Boo!

E - walking 28 min before lunch

Running Tally - 8/13 for PL and 10/13 for 50/50

Wednesday
14B - Grape tomatoes - PL
Honeydew & blueberries
Potato waffle - 50/50 with above
15L - Watermelon, raspberries, blueberries - PL
Carrots, radishes, baby cucumbers
Red lentil chili over Yukon gold - 50/50 with above
16D - White peach - PL
Roasted tomatoes (ok, but not as great as I thought.. skin too tough) & mushrooms
Russet potato fries with tomato sauce - 50/50 with above

E - Walking 45 min before lunch

Running tally 11/16 for PL and 13/16 for 50/50

Thursday
17B - Salad - cucumber, tomato, radish, onion w/BV - PL
Last of the honeydew melon & blueberries
Potato waffle - 50/50 with above
18L - Cherries - PL
Carrots, tomatoes, radishes
Red lentil chili with Russet fries and tomato sauce - 50/50 with above
No dinner

E - Walking 47 min before lunch

Running tally 13/18 for PL and 15/18 for 50/50

Below is WIP for next week's MWL behavior assessment / weigh in.

Happy Saturday to the Group! :D

Weight Change - LOSS - 1.8 lbs.
Current weight - 143.8 lbs.
Last Week weight - 145.6 lbs.


1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. A lot of the time - 13/18. Working on getting better at this. Wasn't feeling great a couple of days this week and skipped (lazy won out).

2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches.
Choose fruit for dessert. Trying to ultimately have 100% of this one be the habit - 15/18. See #1.

3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. Have started to review all items - will separately journal this. For this week, I did not include excessive amounts of processed sugar / salt or condiments. I did consume some.

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :cool: YES

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES

6 Eliminate any added oil. YES

7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. YES

8 Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES

9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES. Have been surprised that the meal where I am not consistently hungry is dinner. I never miss breakfast!!

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Mostly. I had two -0- days as I wasn't feeling 100%. Guess it wouldn't have hurt to walk though... :duh:

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Thanks, Mark for the suggestion on #9 last week on putting extra in fridge for later or getting another 50/50 plate. I am feeling pretty good about #9. Just not always consistently able to foresee my own appetite. However, super simple to adjust!!

Victory - My clothes are fitting better and walking is getting easier and more enjoyable! I have lost 15 of 23 pandemic pounds (not that there isn't some additional to lose...)...

For coming week, I am going to focus on achieving 100% with the 50/50 plate and walking 56,000 steps / average 8,000 a day.

Hope that everyone has a wonderful week!!

Cheers,
Stephanie
Last edited by VegSeekingFit on Sat Jul 17, 2021 11:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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#3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts

Postby VegSeekingFit » Thu Jul 15, 2021 4:18 pm

Hi,

So, this will be my whiteboard page for working toward lower consumption of added sodium and sugar.

I cleaned out some items from the kitchen prior to 5/2 start date that I knew were not compliant on MWL. For instance, I got rid of all dry cereals, a couple of packages of crackers, the remainder of the maple syrup, and flours (whole wheat and rice). A couple of things I couldn't get rid of because others in the house eat them (peanut butter :eek: , pretzels). These items haven't been calling to me so far (and if they do, I will trash them).

Then, last week - I reviewed condiments in refrigerator and got rid of a full sodium Tamari and Veri Veri Teriyaki (salt, sugar).

Today, I started to clean out one of the cabinets. It contains: canned tomatoes, canned beans, some canned veggies, salsa, other condiments, tomato sauce. One thing occurred to me --- as part of amassing supplies during pandemic, some of these that had been NSA or low sodium were replaced by regular (due to availability of product)... :oops: Also, I found an instance where I was tricked by the front of the jar that product was healthy. It is TJ low sodium (also thought no fat) marinara sauce. Well, olive oil is on ingredient list. BOO!

For right now, I am thinking of whether to: donate all of these and replace with NSA (giving someone else a stroke?) OR count sodium and make sure these products are not pushing me over the target. Or maybe donate and count... Pondering...

I do commit to only replacing products with NSA for the tomatoes, beans.

Trying to prioritize what is most consumed / consumed in larger quantities first.

Thinking that the Balsamic vinegar that I am using is fine - it meets the Jeff N. label test (just re-watched Shopping School, so I am pretty confident here)... BBQ sauce I have doesn't have any fake ingredients but is quite high sugar (but I don't think I consume much / measure it... and I don't think sugar is my top concern).

Will be thinking of what is forest (thinking sodium) vs trees (thinking sugar) for me...

More to come....

7/19 update - I am going to test NOT adding garlic salt to my potato waffle (for at least this week). Did not do this yesterday or today -- and I am generally eating one each day.

Other than this sprinkle of salt, not using salt or sugar at the table on anything.

Thinking that salt / sugar comes from the following:
1) Adding sometimes during cooking (at end) - Low Sodium tamari (still high sodium); other? (need to review recipes and track in food tally as I go)
2) Using veg bouillon - I don't think that there are any acceptable products. I don't use much (generally more than half is water). I will be tracking on food log.
3) Using items that aren't NSA (i.e., beans or tomato). This I will also track and ultimately looking to replace. Have bought a couple of better products this weekend (not a whole stash to replace pantry). These are probably sneaky and add up. Also, I will track on food log.
4) Condiments - BBQ is high sugar. Some hot sauces are ok / acceptable, others less so. Also, have Ginger People sauce in fridge (no fat, but higher sugar / sodium) that I use maybe once a month - same thing with A-1.
5) Other / canned veggie - rarely use. There is a mixed bag in my pantry. For instance, one can of La Choy veggies has hardly any sodium (it is not so marked except in nutrition facts) and other one is a blast of sodium.
For this week, will be tracking on food log and avoiding the sprinkle of garlic salt on the potato waffle. Gotta start somewhere.

Update - 7/23 -- I have wasted too many words and too much thinking on this (and anyone's time that actually read it!!! ). Not going to journal further, will be doing the following:
1) Donate all unopened goods - have found logistics of place to do so that will be happy to have them.
2) Dump all opened ones.
3) Continue to restock NSA tomato & bean products. Seek out compliant condiments or add new herbs / spices.
4) I will use garlic salt on my potato waffle because that is in accordance with the program and I like it better that way.
5) I will never be tracking again unless there is some health reason that comes up.

In all honesty, my LIZARD brain would like to keep high sugar Ginger people sauce, BBQ, and A-1. Rationale being that I only use them weekly or less. Logic has won out that I am not following checklist to derail because of salt / sugar... and, if only using things weekly or less, then what is the big deal with discarding... :)

On the positive side, I have been able to make a "bifurcated" Sloppy Lentils using Pomi tomato sauce, 1 T. worcestshire, no sugar, no soy sauce, parsley, and basil. This still turned out wonderful!!!
Last edited by VegSeekingFit on Fri Jul 23, 2021 2:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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#10 - Exercise - Move it or Lose it

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Jul 17, 2021 11:50 am

Hi,

Going to use this page to track goals / accomplishments in building fitness. I am going to start small and progress from there.... nowhere to go but up!! ;)

** Updated 8/27/2021**

Aspirational:
I would like to be fit enough to feel great through the rest of my life. So, that means some strength, balance AND aerobic program is needed. Following is a WIP...
a) Would like to be able to play "semi-competitive" tennis (and / or badminton and / or racquetball) for enjoyment and throughout retirement (someday!!). First, I need to establish base fitness level + find the right venue (so far not clear). (Have discussed with my old tennis friend.... she is game to meet up... )
b) I need to have a reasonable distance goal to keep motivated. I am focused on walking now. Have been toying with walking a Half Marathon. Have 2 programs to train for such under review and think this may be a good fit. TBD... Potentially targeting 11/27... Will decide in September if this will be a target or not (after establishing better mileage base). For September, going to do first walk of a 5K. The event has great SWAG. :)
c) Improve strength/flexibility/balance. Need to be able to do exercises in good form (this is why I abandoned initial plan). Targeting (or beyond): 2x25 squats, 2x25 push-ups, 2 min plank. Continue to work on bird dogs & standing floor touch on one leg.


Here are monthly average steps for since I started MWL. Would like to increase average steps to at least 10K / day consistently.
May 2021 - 6,327
June 2021 - 6,789
July 2021 - 9,011
August 2021 - WIP


In Progress
5) Walk 70k steps per week
For 9/3
Friday -
Saturday-
Sunday -
Monday-
Tuesday-
Wednesday -
Thursday-
Total

Strength training / stretching / balance -

Accomplished or Deactivated:

5) Walk 70k steps per week
Did NOT accomplish for 8/20 or 8/27

4) Walk 70k steps per week
For 8/13
Friday - 7,759
Saturday- 14,965 (awesome trail walk with my son!!!)
Sunday - 8,781 (got poured on / soaked about 2 miles from home...)
Monday- 6,937
Tuesday- 9,333
Wednesday - 12,795
Thursday- 14,670
Total - 75,240


3) Walk 70k steps per week; Find better strength program to implement (should do regularly)
For 8/6
Friday - 13,066
Saturday -5,624 (way better than some of my stay home COVID days but obviously way low...)
Sunday - 15,342 (blissfully no work... and took all steps in 1 great trail walk w/my son... would love to be able to do this everyday!!)
Monday - 11,013
Tuesday- 10,925 (this started walking Challenge for work - # of steps; highest person so far is at 40K...)
Wednesday- 12,113
Thursday - 5,502 (have 2 low step days this week; it's ok.... have a couple twinges in ankle... babying....)
Total - 73,585

Strength training / stretching / balance - looking at a couple of programs. Thinking to start Denise Austin Fit over 50 from magazine to begin. Will decide by end of week and start doing it for the following week... Decided to go with Denise Austin plan which includes stretching / balance as well as strength that fits with my current level of fitness.

2) Goal for week ending 7/30 - a) walk 63,000 steps (not trying to sandbag on this, but last week worked very hard to get steps and weather and schedule were great... next week could be more challenging with hot weather expected) and b) complete 2 sets of 5 bodyweight exercises (squat, push-up, plank, bird dog, one leg floor touches) on 3 non-consecutive days
Friday - 11,292
Saturday - 9,598
Sunday - 12,493
Monday - 15,917
Tuesday - 14,843
Wednesday - 11,216
Thursday - 13.056
Total -88,385

Bodyweight exercises done - No, this was completely not right goal for me... Too ambitious (kind of like trying all day to do a pull up... not happening... )

1) Goal for week ending 7/23 - walk 56,000 steps (daily average is 8,000 - so better not get too much in the hole on any particular day)
Friday - 7,007
Saturday - 11,319
Sunday - 9,468
Monday - 11,751
Tuesday - 10,616
Wednesday - 11,370
Thursday - 12,079
Total - 73,610
Last edited by VegSeekingFit on Fri Aug 27, 2021 8:04 pm, edited 10 times in total.
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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7/23 MWL Group - Weekly Food / Exercise

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Jul 17, 2021 12:07 pm

Following is where I am tracking food consumed and exercise to support weekly report.

This week I am focusing on 100% for #2 and 56,000 steps for #10.

Also, working on improving #3 and will clean up environment next week. Have added * to any foods that may have impact in sugar / sodium (for this week only, I am never doing again). I am ignoring Balsamic vinegar as this looks acceptable to me. Below are explanations for *. I stopped marking after Monday L. Experiment complete.
Split pea soup - 1/5 of 2 cups of Vegetable Broth (processed, but low sodium no fat)
Aimed in the wrong direction a few days and deleted garlic salt that I usually sprinkle on potato waffle (currently this is only item I salt). Since it is ok to add salt after cooking per the guidelines, I will continue to use this - it has not been an issue for me.
Tomato sauce has some salt and some sugar.
Szechuan sauce is not a condiment to buy again. Brand is same as for the Tamari, but can see the amounts are tricky with using 1 tsp.
Red lentil chili - 1/5 of 14.5 oz. crushed tomatoes (not NSA).
*** I was able to make Sloppy Lentils using Pomi NSA tomato sauce and not adding soy or sugar (so no salt, no sugar added). Used parsley, basil, and 1T of worcestshire. This was delicious. I do not think I'll have any issues making similar adjustments to other recipes. Mostly, I have been eating whole plain foods -- but want to make sure that I am not ignoring #3.

Friday
1B - Baby cucumbers, carrots, radishes - PL
White peaches & raspberries
Split pea soup * over Yukon gold - 50/50 with above
2L - Last of the Michigan cherries - PL
Grape tomatoes
Potato waffle* - 50/50 with above
3D - Cucumbers, carrots, radishes
Russet potato oven fries with tomato sauce* - 50/50 with above

E - Walking 37 min after lunch

Saturday
4B - Salad - kale with shredded carrots, onion, Kumato with BV- PL
Banana
Potato waffle* - 50/50 with above
5L - Blueberries & cantaloupe (OMG finally got a wonderful one... sugar kiss or something like that... need to buy more!) - PL
Celery & radishes
Split pea soup* - 50/50 with above
6D - Apricot & blueberries - PL
Rice & water sauteed veggies (yellow squash, minced garlic, grated ginger, onion, red pepper, bean sprouts, shredded carrots, kale) added Szechuan sauce * - 50/50

E - walking 45 min with friend at forest preserve + walking before dinner 44 min

Sunday
7B - Cantaloupe & blueberries - PL
Salad - kale, red onions, leftover cold roasted tomatoes & mushrooms with BV
Potato waffle (PLAIN) & small cup of split pea soup * - 50/50 with above
8L - Nectarine & apricot - PL
Rice & water sauteed veggies * (see 6D) - 50/50
9D - Blueberries - PL
Salad - Cucumber, kumato, red onion, radishes with BV
Red lentil chili* over yukon gold - 50/50 with above

E - walking 67 min

Monday
10B - Salad - Kale, red onion, remainder of leftover cold roasted tomatoes & mushrooms with BV - PL
Last of sugar kiss cantaloupe & blueberries
Potato waffle (PLAIN) - 50/50
11L - Apricots - PL
Celery, radishes, baby cucumber
Split pea soup * - 50/50 with above
12D - White nectarine - PL
Cucumber, red onion, beefsteak tomato w/ TJ 21 SS
Sloppy lentils & oven fries - 50/50 with above

E - 23 minutes before B, 36 min before L, 24 min after D

Tuesday
13B - Salad - Leftover water sauteed veggies (from Sat dinner) - PL
Frozen mango, raspberry, cherry
Sloppy lentils & oven fries - 50/50 with above
14L - Apricots & blueberries - PL
Celery, cucumber, radishes
Sloppy lentils & oven fries - 50/50 with above
15D - Nectarine - PL
Tomato, cucumber, red onion w/TJ 21 SS
Small yukon gold potato & Jeff Basic Bean burger - 50/50 with above

E - Walking - 23 min before B, 28 min before L, 23 min after D

Wednesday
16B - Kale, shredded carrots, radishes, red onion, kumato w/BV - PL
Nectarine & last of blueberries
Potato waffle with garlic salt - 50/50 with above
17L - Frozen peaches & cherries - PL
Carrots, cucumbers, radishes
Russet potato with Sloppy lentils - 50/50 with above
18D - Orange - PL
Yellow bell pepper
Chubby chips & Jeff Basic Bean burger - 50/50 with above

E - Walking - 57 min. before L,23 min. after D.

Thursday
19B - Kale, shredded carrots, red onions, radishes w/BV - PL
Frozen mango, strawberries, cherries
Potato waffle with garlic salt - 50/50 with above
20L - Pink lady apple - PL
Roasted veggies plain (made huge pan) - mushroom, yellow squash, zucchini, white onion, broccoli, red bell pepper
Sloppy lentils & a few chubby chips - 50/50 with above
21D - White nectarine - PL
Roasted veggies (from L)
Split pea soup over yukon gold - 50/50 with above

E - Walking - 45 min. before L, 26 min after D

Tally - 100% with the 50/50. Missed Friday dinner PL.


Below is WIP for next week's MWL behavior assessment / weigh in that I will copy to the MWL thread.

Happy Weekend McD'ers!! :cool:

Weight Change - 3.6 lbs. loss
Current weight - 140.2 lbs.
Last Week weight - 143.8 lbs.


1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. :cool: YES - 20/21

2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches.
Choose fruit for dessert.
:cool: YES - 21/21

3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
:oops: I can do better with eliminating any non-NSA products from pantry, restocking with NSA, and choosing better condiments (or replacing with herbs / spices). I plan to clean up my environment next week and get rid of all products that don't meet the guidelines (even ones that don't want to leave...). :mrgreen: I haven't used many, but have used some and my intent would be not to derail progress by not following guidance for this checkpoint. I started the week on the wrong path of stopping sprinkling garlic salt on my almost daily potato waffle (only thing I use salt / sugar on recently). However, thought of Mark's comment to me last time (copying Jeff Novick guidance) that we can use minimal salt or sugar at table / after cooking. So, have happily resumed enjoying my potato waffle. Hoping for next week and future to just answer "YES" here!!!

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :cool: YES

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :cool: YES

6 Eliminate any added oil. :cool: YES

7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. :cool: YES

8 Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :cool: YES

9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. :cool: YES

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :cool: YES.
Met goal of walking 56K steps this week. The stars were aligned from a weather and work meeting perspective. Some days I took a few short walks based on schedule.


Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

I am trying to ignore weekly scale change (instead of do cartwheels).... and focus on the behaviors. It is difficult to detach from the outcome --- even knowing that it could be a fluid anomaly.... :lol: I guess next week will tell... (dreaming of the 13*'s)...

Even though it can be tedious at times, I have found a lot of value in journaling food eaten and exercise. I think that I will continue doing this until I feel really grounded on all of the checkpoints. The journal provides a record to go back and understand what may have went wrong if the outcome doesn't seem to equal compliance. I have reviewed some of my old journals and am able to pinpoint at what point my motivation started to go south (which I think will be helpful for preventing future journeys down the rabbit hole)....

In order to help meet #2, I like to roast a big pyrex pans of various veggies (liking summer squash, zucchini, onion, bell pepper, broccoli). The veggies are delicious even with nothing added - and then can be used to top salads, under soup, or eaten on own (can add herbs then). Very simple to make after chopping to your taste. Roast about 30 min in 425 oven (check & stir periodically). I like to roast mushrooms separately (since they take a shorter time and create so much liquid) and then mix them in with the rest of the veggies for extra flavor. Delicious!!

For next week, I am looking to: achieve 100% with #2 again, walk 63K steps, and add five body weight exercises on three days....

Questions -
A) Is there an acceptable substitute for Low-Sodium Tamari?
B) Or, is it acceptable to dilute this product with water to add a little soy flavor?
C) Or, is it recommended to find a completely different condiment that meets the guidelines, but can't really replace but would be used in lieu of Low-Sodium Tamari?? (i.e., something like Chili Garlic with no sodium, no sugar)
Thank you in advance if you are able to help with this. :-D Sorry, I do think that it is C), but just want to make sure...

Hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend and a great week!!!!

Best,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Posts: 1324
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7/30 MWL Group - Weekly Food / Exercise

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Jul 23, 2021 5:17 pm

Hi,

Here is where I will track daily food & exercise to draft next week's MWL behavioral assessment.

This week I am going to focus on achieving 100% on #2 and have a step and body weight exercise goal for #10. Also, I am going to clean up my environment for #3 which I never want to answer anything but "YES" to again....

Friday:
1B - Salad - kale, red onions, leftover roasted veggies with BV - PL
Frozen peaches & cherries
Potato waffle w/garlic salt - 50/50 with above
2L - Orange - PL
Cucumbers, carrots, radishes
Sloppy lentils & a few chubby chips - 50/50 with above
3D - Pink Lady Apple - PL
Leftover roasted veggies & Yukon gold potato with tomato sauce - 50/50

E- Walking - 68 min after B

Saturday:
4B - Frozen peaches, mango, raspberry
2/3 Potato waffle with garlic salt - 50/50 with above (running late, no time for salad...)
5L - Kale, red onion, kumato with TJ 21 SS & RICE vinegar (not bad...)
1/3 Potato waffle with garlic salt & Jeff basic burger - 50/50 with above
6D - Michigan cherries (delicious!) - PL
Carrots, cucumbers, radishes
Split pea soup over 2 small yukon gold - 50/50 with above

E - Walking - 75 min. with friend at forest preserve - great path!

Sunday:
7B - Kale (when will I finish this?), red onion, shredded carrots, cucumber with TJ 21 SS & BV - PL
Crenshaw melon (a type of muskmelon, not very sweet but good) & blueberries
Potato waffle with garlic salt - 50/50 with above
8L - Yukon gold potato with remainder of roasted veggies & tomato sauce - 50/50 (couldn't finish ... had to save room for DESSERT)
Cherry banana nice cream - ate out on the deck :nod:
9D - Cherries - PL
Kale, onion, radishes, carrots, Tomato, w/ BV
No chick soup with brown rice and kale - 50/50 with above

E - Walking - 67 min. after B (before it got ridiculously HOT) + 23 Min

Monday -
B10- Kale, shredded carrots, radishes, red onions - BV + Everyday Seasoning - PL
Crenshaw melon & blueberries
Potato waffle w/ garlic salt - 50/50 with above
L11- Cherries - PL
Radishes, grape tomatoes, baby cucumbers
No chick rice with kale soup - 50 / 50 with above
D12 - Nectarine - PL
Beefsteak tomato, celery, red onion w/ Bragg's weird salad dressing (ACV)
Potato - 50/50 with above

E - 77 min + 23 Min

Tuesday -
B13- Kale, shredded carrot, red onion, radishes, tomatoes w/BV & Everyday Seasoning - PL
Crenshaw melon & blueberries
Potato w/Garlic salt - 50/50 with above
L14 - Cherries - PL
Roasted veggies - huge (zucchini, yellow squash, white onion, orange pepper, broccoli, portabella)
No Chick kale brown rice soup - 50/50 with above
D15 - Frozen peaches, mango, strawberry, cherry - PL
Celery, radishes, cucumber, carrots, grape tomato
Kidney beans smashed w/onion, tomato sauce, oatmeal (weird, but good!!) - 50/50 with above

E - 42 min +37 min + 23 Min

Wednesday
B 16 - Kale, red onion, leftover roasted veggies (L14) / BV + 21 SS - PL
Crenshaw Melon & blueberries
Potato waffle w/ GS - 50/50 with above
L17-Cherries - PL
Celery, radishes, tomatoes, cucumber
NO CHICK SOup - 50/50 with above
No Dinner ***

E - 42 min + 36 min

Thursday
B18: Spinach, shredded carrots, red onion, radishe w/BV & Everyday seasoning - PL
Frozen mango, strawberry, cherry
Potato waffle w/ GS - 50/50 with above
L19- Blueberries - PL
Carrots, Radishes, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, grape tomatoes
Kidney beans smashed & chubby chips - 50/50 with above
D20 - Frozen peaches, pineapple, cherries - PL
Leftover roasted veggies
Red lentil chili - 50/50 with above

E - 23 min + 34 min + 36 min

Missing PL - 4B, 5L, 8L
Missing 50/50 -

Below is WIP for next week's MWL behavior assessment / weigh in that I will copy to the MWL thread.

Weight Change - 1.6 lbs,
Current weight - 138.6 lbs.
Last Week weight - 140.2 lbs.


1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes, 17/20

2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches.
Choose fruit for dessert.

:cool: YES 20/20 :lol:

3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes. Have purchased some better / more compliant condiments. My favorite would be Ginger People Ginger Juice, with just Ginger + citric acid. I am not sure why I have a hard time wrapping my brain around (paraphrase)'--- Don't believe anything you read on the front of the package -- ever!! (why the hell do I keep being fooled here?? )

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :cool: YES

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :cool: YES

6 Eliminate any added oil. :cool: YES

7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. :cool: YES

8 Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :mrgreen: I had Cherry banana nice cream on Sunday. It has been really HOT here and this hit the spot. On the plus side, I did just move the fruit portion of meal from a preload to "dessert".... ;)

9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. :cool: YES

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :cool: YES
I have met this checklist item and met my step goal. My strength training goal was (scrarily) too aggressive. I will be moving forward to incorporate, but need to find a better fit.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

I am so happy to have lost a bit over 20 lbs. in 13 weeks / Q year. Average weight loss is a bit over 1.5 lbs / week which seems to be in alignment with expected loss on this woe...

I am most excited that sometimes my feet want to go faster .... (as opposed to rocks in socks!! )... I am maybe overly conservative on increasing intensity of exercise (risk averse).... but am thrilled to dream of running someday!! :cool:

Have been able to put on my rings that I put in drawer last year. Fingers are less fat. Hilarious (?) that I am stating this??

Thank you so much to Mark and Jeff for helping all of us MWL peeps. Thank you so much to all of the participants on this thread -- we learn from each other!! I am wishing everyone the best --- eat your potatoes!!! :cool:

Cheers,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Posts: 1324
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8/6 MWL Group - Weekly Food / Exercise

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sun Aug 01, 2021 8:51 pm

Here is where I will track food / exercise for the next MWL behavioral assessment / check in.

I am still working on #1 (and #2)... and trying to keep consistent with #10 (70K steps/week & find strength training program at my level)...

Friday 7/30:
B1: Spinach with leftover cold roasted veggies and tomato sauce - PL
Banana & blueberries
Potato waffle w/GS - 50/50 with above
L2: Cherries - PL
Radishes, celery, cucumber, grape tomato
Small Yukon gold with red Lentil Chili - 50/50 with above
D3: Bowl of No Chick Brown Rice soup (No PL or 50/50)

E- Walking - 36 min before B, 32 min before L

Saturday 7/31:
B4: Spinach with leftover cold roasted veggies and tomato sauce - PL
Watermelon & honeydew
Potato waffle w/GF - 50/50 with above
L5: Ate out :mrgreen: Berry Nut Salad - Giant bed of salad greens, strawberries, tomato, cucumber, 1/4 avocado, a few walnuts, dried cranberries - 50/50 with 4 triangles Pita Bread (refined flour) - (No PL)
D6: Banana & blueberries (PL)
Orange grape tomatoes & radishes
Mug of no chick brown rice soup (50/50 with above)

E- Walking - 33 min after B

Sunday 8/1:
B7: Spinach, shredded carrot, red onion with BV & Everyday S - PL
Watermelon & honeydew
Potato waffle w/GS - 50/50 w/above
S8: Banana - No PL / No 50/50
L9: Nectarine & blueberries - PL
Cucumber, celery, radishes, grape tomato
Red Lentil Chili over Spinach - 50/50 with above
D10: Frozen mango - PL
Gotham greens lettuce, carrot, onion, radish with Braggs ACV Vinaigrette
Sloppy Lentils (made with Pomi Strained tomatoes, basil, garlic, 1 T Worcestshire) w/ a few Chubby Chips - 50/50 with above

E - Walking - 2 hours at forest preserve with my son --- found an awesome trail that I can't wait to do again!!!

Monday 8/2:
B11: Honeydew & watermelon - PL
Spinach, shredded carrots, red onion w/BV & TJ 21 SS
Potato waffle w/GS - 50/50 with above
L12: Gazpacho (made batch w/4 tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, minced garlic, 2 T BV, black pepper, 2 c. low-sodium V-8 - would use a bit of hot sauce too next time and/or hot pepper) - PL
Blueberries
Carrots & radishes (loving these, went through 2 16 oz. bags last week)
Rest of No Chick Brown rice soup - 50/50 with above
D13: Frozen peaches, pineapple, strawberry - PL
Cucumber, grape tomatoes
Sloppy lentils & yukon gold - 50/50 with above
S14: McD No Chik Ramen Noodle cup - no PL & no 50/50 (ate D early and pre-emptively snacked so as not to wake up in middle of night - hungry...)

E: Walking - 22 min before B, 23 min before L, 33 in after D

Tuesday 8/3:
B15: Watermelon & Honeydew - PL
Spinach, onion, carrots, radishes w/ RICE vinegar & Everyday seasoning
Potato waffle w/GS - 50/50 with above
L16: Gazpacho - PL
Blueberries
Roasted veggies (red onion, mushrooms, orange bell pepper, yellow summer squash - made big pan)
Red Lentil chili - 50/50 with above
D17: Orange - PL
Carrots, cucumber, radishes, grape tomatoes
Sloppy lentils & yukon gold - 50/50 with above

E: Walking - 30 min before B, 43 min. before L

Wednesday 8/4:
B18: Honeydew & watermelon (remainder) - PL
Spinach with cold roasted veggies leftover and tomato sauce (yum!)
Potato waffle w/GS - 50/50 with above
L19: Gazpacho - PL
Blueberries
Grape tomato, cucumber, radishes
Sloppy lentils - 50/50 with above
No dinner

E: Walking - 21 min before B, 44 min before L

B20: Spinach with cold leftover roasted veggies & tomato sauce - PL
Frozen mango, cherries, strawberries
Potato waffle w/GS
L21: Gazpacho (finished) - PL
Frozen peaches, pineapple, cherries
Yukon gold w/tomato sauce
No dinner

E: Walking - 21 min before L

Missed PL- D3, L5, S8, S14
Missed 50/50 - D3, S8, S14


Below is WIP for next week's MWL behavior assessment / weigh in that I will copy to the MWL thread.

Weight Change - +.4 GAIN (BOO to you scale monster...)
Current weight - 139.0 lbs.
Last Week weight - 138.6 lbs.

** Note - I had a meal out with friends on Saturday. Think I did ok with it by picking "real" foods that were not likely to invoke the Pleasure Trap (for me). Regardless, these are food items that I should avoid until reaching normal weight (and beyond unless I want to put lbs. back on...). Ordered a "Berry and Nut" salad which was: plate of greens with cucumber, tomato, cabbage, carrots, strawberry, walnuts, cranberries (dried), walnuts, avocado (about 1/4), 4 triangles pita bread (refined). Did not do dressing (asked for balsamic vinegar, but received vinaigrette). Did not eat the non-compliant popcorn that they put in middle of table before serving meal. Got right back on track.

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Mostly - 17/21. Have been looking to expand to soups as well and tried a gazpacho for preload which turned out well.

2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches.
Choose fruit for dessert. Mostly - 18/21. A couple of the misses were for snacks where I just needed a little something and didn't make the effort to 50/50. However, this is becoming a habit. Will be continuing to focus here!

3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. :cool: YES

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :cool: YES

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :mrgreen: * See note*** Walnuts, avocado

6 Eliminate any added oil. :cool: YES

7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. :mrgreen: * See note*** One small (refined flour) pita bread, dried cranberries

8 Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :cool: YES

9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. :cool: YES

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :cool: YES
Completed goal of 70K steps / week + found a strength training program at my level - Denise Austin - Fit after 50. :cool:

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

I struggle with being unemotional about the scale. Whether good or bad, happy or sad... it seems to be a judge that sentences me to inadequacy. Trying to reframe in my mind that I am practicing good eating for life and not to get thrown by one weigh in... easier said than done.

I am feeling "locked-in" for breakfast (salad, fruit, potato waffle made in George Foreman grill)... I make it on auto-pilot and am very happy with this meal!! :D

My yoga pants are getting loose !!

Hope that everyone has a great week!!! I feel so gratified to read everyone's experiences and learn from all who participates on this thread... so, YAY to you all!! :) Thank you!!!

Best,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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VegSeekingFit
 
Posts: 1324
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:21 am
Location: Illinois

8/13 MWL Group - Weekly Food / Exercise

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Aug 07, 2021 6:50 am

Hi,

Following is where I will record food / exercise for next week's MWL behavioral assessment / weigh in...

I am looking to be close to 100% with #1 and #2. Also, will be starting Denise Austin Strengthen & Stretch program and looking for 70K steps. Likely keeping these same goals for at least the next month.

Friday 8/6:
B1 - Gotham Greens lettuce, remainder of leftover roasted veggies with tomato sauce - PL
Tuscan melon & watermelon
Potato waffle w/GS - 50/50 with above
L2- Gazpacho - PL
Blueberries
Grape tomatoes & radishes
Sweet potato w/1T BBQ - 50/50 with above
D3 - Butter Lettuce, shredded carrot, red onion, grape tomatoes w/RICE vinegar - PL
Banana, blueberries, nectarine
No chick spinach barley soup - 50/50 with above

E- Walking - 23 min before B, 24 min before L

Saturday 8/7:
B4- Butter lettuce, shredded carrots, red onion, kumato w/Everyday Seasoning & Rice Vinegar - PL
Tuscan melon & watermelon
Potato waffle w/GS - 50/50 with above
L5- Gazpacho - PL
Blueberries
Yukon gold with tomato sauce - 50/50 with above
D6-McD soup cup
2 handfuls pretzels (not compliant)

E-Walking 115 min. (best trail with my son)

Sunday 8/8:
B7-Butter lettuce, shredded carrots, red onion, kumato w/Everyday Seasoning & Rice Vinegar - PL
Tuscan melon & watermelon
Potato waffle - 50/50 with above
L8-Gazpacho - PL
Peach & blueberries
Brown rice & water sauteed veggies (yellow squash, red onion, green onions, peapods, bell pepper, portabellas, shredded carrots) - 50/50 (Delicious!!)
D9-Peach & blueberries - PL
Summer soup (FOK recipe - used butternut squash instead of yellow squash, used Pomi finely chopped tomatoes, added brown rice) - 50/50

E-Walking 62 min. (got stuck in downpour that I never saw coming 2 miles from home... good times...)

Monday 8/9:
B10-Butter lettuce with cold leftover water sauteed veggies and red onion - PL
Tuscan melon & watermelon
Potato waffle w/GS - 50/50 with above
L11- Gazpacho - PL
Peach & blueberries
Rest of No Chick Spinach barley soup - 50/50 with above
S12- Mug of Summer Soup - 50/50
D13-Frozen mango, pineapple, cherries & blueberries - PL
Grape tomatoes
Red lentil chili over sweet potato - 50/50 with above

E- Walking 46 min before B

Tuesday 8/10:
B14-Butter lettuce with remaining water sauteed veggies (huge!) - PL
Tuscan melon & watermelon
Potato waffle w/GS - 50/50 with above
L15-Gazpacho - PL
Peach & blueberries
Baby cukes, grape tomatoes
Mug of summer soup - 50/50
No D

E-Walking 35 min before B, 23 min before L

Wednesday 8/11:
B16- Gotham greens, radishes, kumato, red onion w/BV & Everyday seasoning - PL
Athena melon & honeydew
Potato waffle w/GS - 50/50 with above
L17-Gazpacho - PL
Peach & blueberries
Red lentil chili over yukon gold - 50/50 with above
D18-Mango & cherries - PL
Grape tomatoes, radishes, celery
Sweet potato with dab of BBQ (saved most of this / full - 50/50 with above

E-Walking 35 min before B, 46 min before D

Thursday 8/12:
B19- Gotham greens, shredded carrots, radishes, red onion, kumato w/Rice vinegar & Everyday seasoning - PL
Athena melon & honeydew
Potato waffle w/GS - 50/50 with above
L20-Gazpacho - PL
Peach & blueberries
Sweet potato w/BBQ (leftover from D18) - 50/50
No D

E-Walking 34 min before B, 36 min before L, 30 min after work

Missed PL: D6
Missed 50/50: D6

Below is WIP for next week's MWL behavior assessment / weigh in that I will copy to the MWL thread.

Hi MWL Team! Hope everyone is having a great week!

Weight Change - 1.4 lbs. Loss
Current weight - 137.6 lbs.
Last Week weight - 139.0 lbs.

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes, most of the time. 19/20 :)

2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches.
Choose fruit for dessert. Yes, most of the time. 19/20 :)

3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. Yes. :)

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES, of course. :D

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Yes. :)

6 Eliminate any added oil. Yes. :)

7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. I had 2 handfuls of pretzels this week. No excuse / reason why. They weren't even that good. :mrgreen:

8 Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes. :)

9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Yes. :)

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes. :) I hit my 70K steps goal for the week and will continue that for next week. It was a challenging weather week --- thunderstorms, tornado watches, heat warnings... Oh my!! This makes me remember that I need to prioritize getting a new treadmill before the weather turns cold here in Chicagoland, IL. I am in search of a treadmill that does NOT have any fancy bells or whistles and does NOT connect to the Internet. I like some cool features, but this is what broke on my old treadmill. It is difficult to find any low-tech exercise equipment!!!

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
I have found salad nirvana... :) Seriously, had butter leaf lettuce with a tomato and red onions this morning and topped it with a couple of spoonfuls of smashed pinto beans and salsa. Delicious!!!

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. Keep going!!! :)

Cheers,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Posts: 1324
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:21 am
Location: Illinois

8/20 MWL Group - Weekly Food / Exercise

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Aug 14, 2021 1:06 pm

Hello,
Starting next weekly post of food / exercise / assessment against MWL checklist.

I am going to keep focusing on #1 and #2. For exercise, targeting at least 70K steps. Will be signing up to walk a 5K on 9/12. Have looked for a buddy to do this with me for fun. We shall see...

Went to Farmers Market on Saturday. Different one than I usually go to since was on the way to meet a friend. OMG - they had some great stuff. The biggest cantaloupe that I have ever seen is waiting to be devoured. Also, nectarines, onion, purple kale, tomatoes of several types, jalapenos, cucumber, yellow squash... Score!!

Friday 8/13:
B1-Honeydew melon
Potato waffle w/GS, Smashed pinto beans with salsa - 50/50 with above
L2-Gazpacho - PL
Blueberries
Yukon gold with tomato sauce - 50/50 with above
No D

E-Walking 36 min before B, 41 min after work

Saturday 8/14:
B3- Butter lettuce, red onion, tomatoes with smashed pinto beans & salsa on top -- PL (Super yummy!)
Frozen cherries, peaches, mango
Potato waffle w/GS - 50/50 with above
L4- Gazpacho - PL
Athena melon & honeydew
Yukon gold with tomato sauce - 50/50 with above

E-Walking 45 min (at forest preserve with friend)

Missed PL - B1
Missed 50/50 -

I had a stressful week and abandoned writing down all meals and exercise. I am thinking to do this again at some point, but am appreciative of a break for now.

Below is WIP for next week's MWL behavior assessment / weigh in that I will copy to the MWL thread.

Hi MWL Team! Hope everyone is having a great week!

Weight Change - 1.6 lbs. Loss
Current weight - 136.0 lbs.
Last Week weight - 137.6 lbs.

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes, most of the time. :)

2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches.
Choose fruit for dessert. Yes, most of the time. :)

3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. Yes.

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES, of course. :D

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Mostly. I did have peanut butter on rice cake once this week. :mrgreen:

6 Eliminate any added oil. Yes.

7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. Mostly. I did have peanut butter on rice cake once this week. :mrgreen:


8 Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes.

9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Yes.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes. 5 of 7 days got at least 30 minutes. Did not make my steps goal this week. Will be looking for 70K steps for next week.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Welcome back, Mark!!

Like many others have commented, I really appreciated the great posts last week from Wildgoose and Noella. Very insightful -- and food for thought.

This has been a stressful week for me (I see also for others). I have simplified by not logging every bite (but may go back to this in future). However, I have stocked up on potatoes (sweet, yukon gold, russet) and dried beans to make some super easy meals. Also, bought some of my favorite fruits (peaches, blueberries, sugar kiss cantaloupe) and veggies (butter lettuce, tomatoes of all sorts, cucumbers) to make 50/50 plates.

Hope that everyone stays safe and has a great MWL week.

Cheers,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
User avatar
VegSeekingFit
 
Posts: 1324
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:21 am
Location: Illinois

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