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The Christmas Challenge


petitepedal

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It is too cumbersome for me to count calories, points, etc.  However, I am right on track with this.  123.5 was my weight this morning.  Only a couple of pounds and I am at my goal.  I cut out almost all snack type things and am eating more veggies and less meats.  i've ramped my riding back up again (I got a little burnt out towards the end of racing season).    

My horrible thing is that I don't spend enough time lifting weights. I sort of feel like a one trick pony. i do that trick well, but I doubt it helps my bone density.

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It is too cumbersome for me to count calories, points, etc.  However, I am right on track with this.  123.5 was my weight this morning.  Only a couple of pounds and I am at my goal.  I cut out almost all snack type things and am eating more veggies and less meats.  i've ramped my riding back up again (I got a little burnt out towards the end of racing season).    

My horrible thing is that I don't spend enough time lifting weights. I sort of feel like a one trick pony. i do that trick well, but I doubt it helps my bone density.

Counting works well for me to recalibrate my estimate of what I should be eating.  Today I splurged on a hoagie, but only ate a quarter for lunch and am making up the rest with cukes, carrots, and peppers

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I need to do better...cutting out the wine is still my struggle...need to find an alternative for stress or boredom cos I seem to use it for both...:whistle:

The few times I was trying to lose weight, I agreed to cold turkey just stop something really bad for me.  The one that lasted was soda.  I almost never drink it.  I used to drink a lot.

Just stop, right now, today.  Don't have another glass of wine.  Pour out the rest of the open bottle you have and store the closed bottles.  Have a glass on your birthday, or one other special event.

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The few times I was trying to lose weight, I agreed to cold turkey just stop something really bad for me.  The one that lasted was soda.  I almost never drink it.  I used to drink a lot.

Just stop, right now, today.  Don't have another glass of wine.  Pour out the rest of the open bottle you have and store the closed bottles.  Have a glass on your birthday, or one other special event.

Agreed.  Like SW, I quit soda for the most part about 5 years ago as part of a weight loss plan and never went back.  I'll have maybe one a month now.

Now it's beer that I give up especially for a diet.  That means pretty much cold turkey, with maybe one per month (or less) of cheating.  Alcohol in particular would be hard to limit to just one, IMO. Go cold turkey for weight loss, decide once you've reached your goal whether it's better to add back a little or just stay away for good.

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The few times I was trying to lose weight, I agreed to cold turkey just stop something really bad for me.  The one that lasted was soda.  I almost never drink it.  I used to drink a lot.

Just stop, right now, today.  Don't have another glass of wine.  Pour out the rest of the open bottle you have and store the closed bottles.  Have a glass on your birthday, or one other special event.

I have been pretty successful in turning beer from a staple to a rare treat.  Besides the weight problemos, who needs to spend all that money on rent?

I am getting a little cocky after loosing a couple of pounds.  I feel great!  (Yes, I know that is mostly in my head, but that is where the gremlins live anyway :D).  So it is back to my old motto: " Nothing tastes as good as losing weight feels". :)  Besides, I love veggies, so they key to a veggie-centric diet for me is learning to embrace the "not quite stuffed" feeling. :D

 

 

Edited by The Inedible Bulk
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Just had a great lo cal dinner - one thin small baked not fried chicken thigh along with green beans and some leftover spaghetti squash primavera, and a touch of leftover chili.  I am going to have to eat a piece of cinnamon bread toasted with a tad of butter before it gets moldy. 

Daughter #1 and I cooked up some great veggie dishes this weekend after we bought out the produce place on Saturday morning. :D  Mostly just sautéed veggies, over quinoa or spaghetti squash.

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Well..you are all so right..I will not have any until my Halloween Party....and will try to not over indulge then...and no more unless I go to Barley John's...I just need to cut out the solo stuff...and life would be better...One of my neighbors just did this at 80...trying to help her poor kidney function :(... 

I have done real well with one goal...I have not eaten a Subway or Jimmy John..yes we ate out last weekend...and yes I had a meal out both Saturday and Sunday (both were brunch)...I don't normally do that...but I happened to be out with folks and it fit with our time frame...BUT I did not over eat..and both times it was brunch so it covered breakfast & lunch.

Trying to snack on an apple every evening...just because it is a good snack and a healthy fruit...sometimes I add a little peanut butter..but most often it is plain apple.

Keep up the good work!!

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One of my favorite low carb recipes that I like is the Philly cheese steak stuffed peppers.

http://modernchristianhomemaker.com/philly-cheese-steak-stuffed-peppers/

I'm going to work on getting on back on track with watching my carbohydrate intake (cut back on the beer intake ) 

I'm going to have to let my knee heal up. 

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Okay..I got on the scale and it was DOWN...3.2   and that was just after lunch at noon...I am guessing I could say 3.5...A small change..but hey I have only made small changed to the eating habits ..I have my Halloween gathering on Saturday...and then hope to push it a bit in November...

Keep up the good work everyone!!

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I'm using myfitnesspal.com. I've got the app on my tablet and on my phone. It's not hard to record foods using this app, as long as I keep up with it daily. If I fall behind for a day or two, it's almost impossible for me to remember what I ate during the day. 

My gym routine has changed significantly over the past few months. Instead of workouts at the end of the day, I try to get to the gym over noon for a good cardio session. My gym is two blocks from where I work, so it's easy to get there as long as I'm not too rushed with deadline crunches. The noon cardio blasts give me enough time for a good, relaxing run on the treadmill, followed by a quick shower. As an added bonus, I'm thinking more clearly in the afternoon if I've taken time for some cardio at noon.

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yikes.... a setback.  This morning's weigh-in had me at 258, up 1.5 from a week ago, a confounding +3 from that midweek reading, which I shouldn't have taken (and certainly shouldn't have posted about).  I was out on the bike for 34 miles on Saturday, but I did have ice cream before bed last night (that has still been a semi-regular occurrence throughout).

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LOL and I saw a slight increase...It was not my plan to get on the scale but gee my pants seemed a bit loose and well I am doing pretty good with the food this week...and yesterday's workout was a killer...I mean I looked and felt like something the dog dragged in after 30 minutes on the elliptical  :whistle:   So I was hoping to see another pound or two had gone....but no such luck

Oh well....We got nothing to do between now and Thanksgiving!!

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We walked a lot yesterday...and stood a lot..at an art thing..so although it felt like I did a Bazillion steps...It probably not more than about 7,000 all day..including a couple of loads of laundry..  We ate at a Thai place..and I chose light snacks at dinner time instead of another meal...still full from the Noodle bowl. 

Cooking today...got White Chicken Chili...on the plans and  a sauce that will have veggies in it in addition to  meat & tomato..to use on veggies or pasta...

I did cheat today...the strudel wasn't a cheat..but I did stop for a fast food burger on my way home...I just didn't know what I was gonna cook from what was in the house...and I was hungry..Oh well.

On the plus side...on Friday a new resident..who had not seen me in about 2 weeks asked if I was working out or losing weight? :D  Sure adds to the incentive when someone makes a comment!!!

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Dinner tonight..Well actually last night I made a sauce..celery, onion,carrot, mushrooms, garlic, diced tomatoes, spinach..and tomato sauce..oh and ground beef that I wanted to use up...tonight..I baked some eggplant (slice & bake with a little olive oil)..I assembled a couple with the sauce and a little cheese...YUM...and not all the carbs as if I had made pasta to go with it. 

The sauce was very similar to what I would use in a Lasagna...but I think I will pick up a spaghetti squash for some of the other sauce..and I may freeze some of it..since it made a pretty good sized batch.

Leftovers for Lunch tomorrow...and at least 1 more serving left of the eggplant

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Dinner tonight was white bean and kale soup after our weight lifting workout. 

Yesterday workout was 5k run with playground workout. Thats where my wife and I will run 2 and a half miles and when we are running through the park we stop at the playground and challenge each other to workout moves on the playground equipment and finish up the last half mile with a run. 

The last 2 blocks up a steep hill.

I feel that I am so lucky that my wife is into working out and sometimes she pushes me and sometimes I push her. On Sunday we did a little 25 mile bike ride for coffee and then a upper body workout finished with a plank challenge. She kicked my ass but today in the challenge I was the winner. 

 

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I made it for a full hour on the trainer last night.  My thighs are actually sore this morning.  Riding the trainer isn't as interesting as riding outside, but it's a lot easier to ride to maximize a workout, not dodging cars and stopping for red lights and coasting.  Pedalpedalpedal the whole time.

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Well...I skipped last nights work out...we had serious wind and rain coming and I figured (correctly) that we would be hit hard about the time I would be leaving the gym and coming home..s I just came home...ended up at a neighbors for a womens clothing party...mostly snack type stuff for dinner.

Tonight, my neighbor had an appointment and I needed to bake for the bake sale at work...So no yoga tonight.  So I made these gluten free monster cookies...I liced my fingers from raw cookie dough a couple of times and I broke a corner off 1 of 2 cookies that didn't get bagged up for the sale...and ya know...I have no interest in them...too sweet.

The journey continues.  Oh that spinach pizza crust looks interesting....I may have to try it.

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Monday morning weigh-in was 254.  Down 1.5 for the week and down 8 for the challenge.  Another sweaty hour on the trainer yesterday.

Over the summer I posted about how happy I was to break the 270 barrier.  That seems like a long time ago already.

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Monday morning weigh-in was 254.  Down 1.5 for the week and down 8 for the challenge.  Another sweaty hour on the trainer yesterday.

Over the summer I posted about how happy I was to break the 270 barrier.  That seems like a long time ago already.

You are really working!  It builds on itself, doesn't it?  I am going a lot slower, but steady. :)  Funny how it is just simple math that trips up so many of us.

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Well...I am still going to the gym...trying for 3 days a week..except last Wednesday..I have a couple of things going on Friday night..so I am not sure how I will work that..I do need to go on the weekend too.  I am doing great on the cardio..a mix of walking and a little evil running (2 min at a time) or walking slow at a 7 % incline...but the weight work is not so steady...if I am running late..like tonight or tired like friday..I skip that part...:whistle:  I guess I need to re-motivate on the weights.

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You are really working!  It builds on itself, doesn't it? 

It does - having a lot of momentum is helpful.  I've been doing it long enough that I'm in a fairly comfortable routine and I'm used to eating less.  My dinner plate is generally very heavy on veggies, and protein portions are smaller.  Sunday night I didn't even have an entire pork chop, and just one chicken thigh last night.

The other rule I've been finding helpful is, once the kids go to bed - maybe have a beer, or a little ice cream, but not both.  And now I'm starting to work situps/crunches into the mix.

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I ate like a piggy tonight..but I had two lighter than normal nights prior....tired..poor sleep last night and..dang it had a sinus pressure build up this afternoon..bent down and thought my head would explode......I feel like I am failing this challenge...I have cut back on drinking a little, 90% of the time food intake is mostly good...exercise is good...but without seeing a change it is hard to motivate...Some nights as I come home...I look forward to a sedentary lifestyle  :(  I will not see -15 by December 25

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I ate like a piggy tonight..but I had two lighter than normal nights prior....tired..poor sleep last night and..dang it had a sinus pressure build up this afternoon..bent down and thought my head would explode......I feel like I am failing this challenge...I have cut back on drinking a little, 90% of the time food intake is mostly good...exercise is good...but without seeing a change it is hard to motivate...Some nights as I come home...I look forward to a sedentary lifestyle  :(  I will not see -15 by December 25

The only way I budged the needle was to go on an almost purely veggie diet, which was actually nice because it feels great to me to eat cleanly like that.  But now I am plateued as some old habits crept back in.  Portion control is the easiest thing to do.  Cutting back on snacking not so much.  I find it amazing that eating makes me hungry, so I have to go all Nancy Reagan and just say no. :)

 

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well, the scale read 254 again this morning, same as a week ago.  Fairly confident that this is one of my high-side fluctuations - after a week of exercise and light eating - but for now that's my weekly report.

Yesterday we went to my parents' where my dad made a giant pan of lasagna, amazingly good.  I had a decent sized portion, but still less than I wanted (which was another serving, same as the first).  That meal was around 2 pm.  Carrot cake was served around 4.  damn, my dad can cook.  Aside from a small fruit snack I didn't eat the rest of the day.

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Well...I am not going to worry until Thanksgiving is over...but I am going to make a greater effort with veggies...The last two weeks seemed less veggie full..I get Vegetarian Times from a resident and I buy Eating Well..both have some good recipes in them...Just saw a meatloaf that had lots of chopped chard in it...  Anyway...even if I don't make the December goal...I am not going to give up...LOL I have a 40th class reunion next summer...

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Well how did everyone do with the diet yesterday? 

I was able to keep it control for the most part. At my family's I was able to keep a lot of the carbohydrates off my plate but they all under stand my life style with trying to keep off the needle.  When we stopped at the wife's family I was starting to get mad they were just short of force feeding me pie and ice cream. 

The only one who understands is my sister in law the nurse. When she was cutting the pie she looked at me I shook my head no and that was the end of it but the other family members there didn't understand when no. I'm a diabetic and I'm already high. I went to a different room to get away from the people trying to feed me and that worked for about 5 minutes and then my wife's aunt comes in with a piece of pie and said here you can have some pie. I didn't eat it.  Two minutes later another family members comes in and said why aren't you eating? 

Today it will be back to the diet and exercise routine. 

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I didn't do totally horribly - beer and cheesecake were the downsides yesterday.  I didn't really restrain myself all that much, just considering it a one day break.  I also hope to undo some of the damage with bike rides this weekend and going back to some clean eating.  I am tired of being plateaued.  The fridge is full of veggies, so I got that going for me, which is nice.  

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I made a huge pot of vegetable and split pea soup. also added celery, onion, carrot and one chicken wing.

( I am trying to go all plant based, but I am doing this slowly and I will not waste what I have, I bought two cut up chickens from a guy down the road and froze them a few months ago)

 

I'm glad I found this thread. I want to drop a waist size or two by spring

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I was concerned that our roads would ice up..given all the chatter of the weatherheads on Monday night..so I skipped  going to the gym....So I need to get to the gym tomorrow night..I have missed a few workouts. I am trying for 3 days a week, but I am thinking I am gonna try to get something in on weekends...there is no reason I can't workout at 7 pm on a Saturday night or 3 pm on Sunday afternoon!!

Although I didn't plan to cut out soda..I know I need to cut back...Monday between the lousy drive in to work and our busy day with the beginning of decorating for the holidays..I didn't have a chance to get a soda...and I didn't go for one today...So far..NO HEADACHES!!  I do still drink tea..usually black, sometime oolong or green..and occasionally...an herbal in the evening. I usually have a pot of tea in the AM...the rest of the day...just water...

I am also getting back to more veggies..I also was going thru my Moosewood  cookbook..got a couple of vegetarian recipes I want to try. Unlike FX-James...I am not trying to go 100% meatless...but I wouldn't mind 3 days a week.

 

Anyone here try "Meatless Mondays" in the effort to change your diet? 

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On 12/1/2015, 10:34:42, petitepedal said:

Anyone here try "Meatless Mondays" in the effort to change your diet? 

I haven't done "Meatless Mondays", but I typically eat vegetarian meals for breakfast and lunch (with maybe one or two passes per week).  Adopting that this summer helped me get to where I am. 

Last night I tried on the suit I wore to the interview for my first engineering job - June, 1994.  Actually the pants are a touch short but otherwise it fits well.  Those pants are 38s.  It's still in really good condition (and a two-button wool suit in charcoal is timeless).  I might wear it Saturday.

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I made Asian style stuffed portabello mushrooms tonight...from my moosewood cookbook..grated tofu ( my friend who has be vegetarian since the late 70's......had never grated tofu...  It was good...a bit of a PITA because it called for 4 ..portabellos..about 5 inches in diameter and the store only had "stuffable baby bellas"...we made 12 of them...instead of 4 or even 6...they were goo..served with SOba Noodles with bean sprouts and pea pods... Our only fault,,,,we started to assemble about 7 pm..dinner was late.

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8 hours ago, petitepedal said:

I made Asian style stuffed portabello mushrooms tonight...from my moosewood cookbook..grated tofu ( my friend who has be vegetarian since the late 70's......had never grated tofu...  It was good...a bit of a PITA because it called for 4 ..portabellos..about 5 inches in diameter and the store only had "stuffable baby bellas"...we made 12 of them...instead of 4 or even 6...they were goo..served with SOba Noodles with bean sprouts and pea pods... Our only fault,,,,we started to assemble about 7 pm..dinner was late.

Very good meal - looked great!  My morning weigh-in was 171 - down 9 pounds since the start.  So now all the 36" waist pants I just bought are starting to bunch a little, dammit!  I was actually able to wear the 34s without inhaling (too much) before buttoning!  I am hit or miss on snacking so my progress has slowed a little, but in general I have toned down my previous Wilburness (sorry WIlbur!).  I used to snack on nuts at work, but the problem was once I started, it was on!  So now paradoxically, one candy bar in the late afternoon is way less calories than 3 or 4 or 7 or 8 handfuls of nuts, although of course less healthy.  Thanks to SW and his calorie counting advice and My Fitness Pal for me taking note of how high calorie nuts are.  For snacking, I am working hard to shift from pepperoni and cheese to carrots and radishes and celery.  I have always eaten carrots and celery as a big part of lunch, and I love them.  Like nuts, cheese (sorry Cheese) is something that has to be treated as a rare treat.

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