Summer of Heroes - June 2017 Lifestyle/Weight loss Challenge

[piglet1979]

Hope all goes well - we have been on our own little frustrating injury merry go round with doctors here - DS13 got injured at soccer 2 and a half weeks ago now. A kid kicked the ball which hit DS in the forearm and hyperextended his elbow - we visited Dr no. 1 next day who suspected a fracture - went for an xray - nothing showed up but they said due to growth plates it can be difficult to detect - but radiologist recommended MRI - Dr no. 1 tells me referral to fracture clinic is best and then MRI will have not cost to me - saying that if he referred me direct to MRI there could be a substantial out of pocket cost - so ok-ish with me - he puts DS in backslab cast with sling until fracture clinic. Fracture clinic made appointment for day 8 of being in backslab cast and day 9 after injury - Dr no. 2 takes of cast and examines DS who indicated some pain and reduced range of motion but not jumping out of his seat pain. So send us for xray no. 2 - whilst there the xray technician asks if DS has had the recommended MRI - I say no and explain why - after consulting the Radiologist after the xray she again strongly recommends MRI - suggest talk to the girls at reception about billing - was informed that it could be done with no cost as long as Drs referral says looking for fracture. So talk to Dr no. 2 in the afternoon after he gets xray results which again show nothing but follow up recommendation for MRI - Dr no. 2 says no clinical indications to warrant MRI and that the Radiology company are likely pushing the issue so they can get paid for an MRI and it is his job to not have the government charged for overtesting! So my response was I wanted best outcome for DS and did not care if it was a cost for the MRI to government. I reluctantly agreed to leaving it over the weekend and seeing how DS went with everyday use and pain - so of course DS had pain during use especially turning door handles, opening bottles etc and continued to have restricted movement - ring back the drs on Monday - go back to see Dr no. 3 late afternoon - who says ok lets get the MRI! got a lecture on how in the old days before MRI treatment would have moved forward from xray - I responded that is fine but no treatment options were given post xray except everyday use when if it was soft-tissue damage with continued restricted movement a PT was needed. Call the first MRI provider no appointments till Saturday! Tried another one had availability for Thursday - so yesterday afternoon had MRI - call from Drs at 5pm tonight saying come in straight away - guess what MRI picked up a fracture and he is now in a full cast for another 2 weeks!!!! - so to Dr. no 2 want to say - listen to your radiologists a little more they have experience reading the telltale signs in the xray that indicated need for MRI and no they weren't chasing $$ - it was his own practice who actually ended up with more government $$ for extra visits. And to Dr no. 1 we could have had the MRI 2 weeks ago if he knew to word his referral appropriately! Yep - I am frustrated that this should have been handled better.

This sounds so much like what we have been through. Although we don't get to talk to the Radiologist. If I think she just has a little bit of pain after PT I am calling back and getting her in. he did say an MRI is the next step.

Wow what a crazy day for you and the family! I'm glad you were able to get some answers on your daughters allergy(ish) issues.

Thank you! It has been a crazy week for her and us. I am ready to rest this weekend.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

I meant to post yesterday, I am at 30% for month as a 2 lb drop first week. Yah!

Today's QOTD- I especially find a trigger when we gather, go out, vacations...I can do sooo much better at home with just us. All those things I associate with food, I honestly don't see it changing. All the birthdays, holidays...are at my home so I am cooking and get a ton of the leftovers. I am still getting grief that I did not make a couple of the favorite family Christmas cookies this past year but I new I would go crazy eating them.

I also have stress eating. I know some people like my DH don't eat when stressed. All I want to do is have carbs and sugar when I get really upset. i am working on that. Trying to learn to change my perspective and not stress, stay full, have some Halo Top on hand just in case!

I have a hard time at the movies-been bringing my own spartpop. Just have to have something to munch on.
We have always have some kind of dessert, from watermelon and berries to cakes and cookies after the evening meal. Again, trying to make good choices while the boys all eat whatever they want.

I find if I am really tired that I do not have good control and the cravings get bad, so I am working on getting better sleep.

So how do you all handle the vacations or bus. trips? I find that breakfast I can manage but depending on the local lunch, dinner and snacks are so tough. I try to limit my amount of mickey bars or dolewhips at WDW but there are only so many times I can walk past french fries.

 

[courtneybeth]

Topic of the day: Review progress and reflect
How did your first week go?
Tell us about one thing (or 5) you did great last week?
Is the goal you set up still serving you and acheivable? It's ok to adjust your approach if you wish to!
What will you do different next week, if anything?
if you wish to report % progress, I will track that too

I'm backlogged but really liked this question. Hiiii... week one is done and I'm so happy it's over

Awesome things that I did: Finished a project management certification for work and am kicking butt as a boss. I may be delayed on all my projects but I'm adjusting to a new corporate culture where that's okay. Everything in moderation.


Goal is definitely still achievable. I ran two practice runs this week and tested my race pace and I can do it within reason. That said, I got some good coaching last night and am going to start dialing it back a bit and run slower on practice runs.

So far at 10/30, so 33.3% of goal.


This weekend will be great - we've been invited to steakhouse 55 to celebrate a birthday, so we'll get some time on the Disneyland property. I am really missing my Disneyland pass, but hey, we have WDW in three weeks to see Pandora. I can't complain

 

[HappyGrape]

Saturday 10th of June!

Suggested topic for today - pattern interrupt - avoid cue.
In the next week I will go over various approaches of pattern interrupts, and I do not suggest all cues are suitable for avoiding - but are there any that you can avoid?

 

[HappyGrape]

Example of things I feel are good candidates for avoid

- if you snack a lot at night, remove high calorie snacks, tidy kitchen, keep food out of sight
- if eating take away 3 times week, prepare food ahead and plan for fun event instead
- if convenience is the appeal, schedule time to prepare food ahead
- if you know you will over do it on buffet meal, can you choose different restaurant
- if there is food you are tempted to eat too much of, don't buy it home. Eat it when out as sometimes food
- if you eat out daily, you can avoid some of the meals


Example of things i don't think are good idea to avoid and often backfire
- meals out as social events
- movies so you don't get tempted with popcorn
- meals with family
You need to enjoy your life as if you don't and you isolate yourself so you can stick to the diet eventually it may end up backfiring


My answer from what i listed yesterday

6. Time cues: A certain time of day can signal you to eat.

Yes, night time. I never over snack before 3 pm. 4 to 7 pm every evening is where I feel like snacking a lot or eating. Still a challenge. I think this is challenge for many people. I rarely hear I ate too much for breakfast.

I can't avoid night time but if I have snack at 4 I can decide not to eat until 6:30. I can plan ahead meals and schedule 10 minutes relaxing break before I start doing everything I need to. I can try to do short yoga videos if I have the time.

7. Mood cues: Are there any cues in your environment that direct your mental focus and create a mood, such as boredom or excitement, which is a trigger for you to eat?


Yes at times - when I am overtired I crave energy but when you need rest eating a lot of food doesn't bring that energy, when I am bored.

I can schedule time for rest and pre planning meals, chopping veggies, bring few days worth of snacks at once in work so there is less stress of preparing food. I can't always do it but I haven't had downtime proper rest day for months! not even few hours. Also I can take it little earlier during the morning so I am not as tired at night. I can take a short walk at 3 o'clock when I get the feeling I need something.

 

[4Mickeys]

Awesome things that I did: Finished a project management certification for work and am kicking butt as a boss. I may be delayed on all my projects but I'm adjusting to a new corporate culture where that's okay. Everything in moderation.

Sounds like you are enjoying the challenge of your new role.

but are there any that you can avoid?

Timely question! I woke up around 7 this morning ... kids were all still sleeping so - I headed out to the fruit/veg shop to pick up the items from my list for the weeks meals. Yes I meal planned yesterday all the way up until next Saturday and shopped and the supermarket yesterday afternoon for what I needed there. So this morning before starting breakfast I got a chicken soup on to cook - I had some for lunch and now have 5 serves in the freezer ready for lunches or a quick dinner option. Made choc chip pancakes for the kids and added frozen blueberries to mine for breakfast. Then I chopped, washed and bagged the veggies needed for meals up until Wednesday. Also chopped the beef ready for Tuesday's slow cooker meal. So I have avoided the cue this week of not knowing what to have for dinner or not having ingredients turning into takeout - and not having anything here for my work lunch again which usually cues me to have takeout. The kids have made red velvet cupcakes ready for their lunch snacks. So am feeling pretty good and organised for the week - will just pre-prep some more veggies Wednesday night for the rest of the week but by then we will be having easier nights Friday/Sat .

Ugh now to go and prepare a presentation for work tomorrow - have a great day everyone

 

[HappyGrape]

Sunday 11th of June

No question of such - but are you doing any planning to make it easier for yourself for next week?

I leave you with reused quote "All or nothing rarely get us All! It usually get us nothing" " Don't let the perfect be enemy of the good"
​

 

[HappyGrape]

It's 6:15 and I am up thinking about what the plan for today is. I need to
buy food
I have few recipe books I want to have a good look at before I go to the shops
make meals plan
pre chop veggies
Cook & plan for food until wednesday evening

I am working in office Monday, Wednesday and Friday but I will bring my breakfast lunch and snack tomorrow for Monday and Wednesday.

I also want to go to the gym, as it's much easier to get there during the week but not sure what class should I try or should I do my own thing. I really want to try gravity strength but also want to do my work out and yoga and swimming and it's just not very easy at all to pick just one!

My husband and son will be with their granny for the day, leaving me looking after the domestic stuff and hopefully getting some downtime which I so badly need and i find it so hard to give myself.

I was also thinking about my goals. I have been very good in maintaining my current weight for months now. There was small up and small down winter/spring but generally my lifestyle leads to the weight I currently have and it feels healthy and sustainable. I need to snap out of short term goals and thoughts about few months, focus on being the healthiest I can enjoy and see if there is room for improvement. May be. Maybe not. I don't know right now.

I had lunch out with family yesterday. I didn't enjoy the meal really but I was really really hungry. I end up thinking - I wish I had my own thing for lunch today. I had some left overs for dinner from our meal out on Friday night so from Friday and Saturday with the exception of one breakfast were all out
Friday breakfast out- egg tomato bagel. It was ok I enjoyed it and it felt right for me
Friday lunch out- perfect salad out, it was as good as I would prepare it myself and i was able to ask exactly for what I want
Friday dinner out- disappointing. I could do half of the calories better taste
Saturday lunch out - very disappointing
Saturday dinner home - the leftovers from the disappointing meal on Friday night. Why didn't I just cut my losses and toss it!!!


I am also snacking after dinner which I really don't want to keep as long term habit. Now Saturday meal was with family and honestly, not my choice. But the meal on Friday - I have had several below average meals there, why did I come back to it???

The good - I skipped dessert, I eat in very reasonable quantities, I tracked my meal, I kept active. If I continue to eat like this I will successfully maintain. But perhaps if I want to lean out little more - I need to raise my standards about the food I eat little, tackle snacking, portion control and eating when not hungry.

I need more coffee and to get moving.

Happy Sunday All. I will continue with pattern interrupts tomorrow - can I ask if anyone have specific topics in mind that you would like to discuss and hear what other forum members do/think? I am loving all replies

 

[sweetpeama]

Surprisingly I did not spend the entire time that I wait for someone to come to my Jamberry relaunch party where no one showed up eating all the cookies. I had only 2 cookies and mainly nibbled a little bit on some fruits and vegetables waiting until it was over an hour into the two hours to indulge. Went out for a pizza afterwards with my 12 year old and I only had a single slice plus 3-4 bread sticks instead of 5-7 bread sticks and 3-4 slices of pizza. After being home for a while I did have another 2 cookies but had them with some pickles and olives left over from my party. ( Not letting the food that I paid for be tossed out)

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

I am making up the grocery list. I am having a tough time constantly thinking "food for me, food for them" especially at dinner time. I have a bunch of food stores near by so I don't plan to far out. I have to say I don't love cooking to start with so doing 1 meal for me then 1 meal for them is not my favorite.

I hope to get some yard work done but boy is it hot! I think it will be this way all week. We had a week of rain now just Hot and humid. The dang iguanas have been eating all my flowers and plants. I have got to find a way short of shooting them to get rid of them! So now, I have to redig, replant...I also have to go trim the palms. No leaves to rake but always trimming seeds, fronds, plus the regular trees. I keep telling myself that this is alll good exercise, extra steps. At 9 this am it was 88 with 78% humidity making it feel 96, and that was while it was overcast. I think I'll put my swimsuit on so I can jump in the pool when the yardwork is done and still get a little color. There are worse ways to spend a week!

 

[HappyGrape]

I am sorry people didn't show up @sweetpeama. Well done on portion control

I went to the gym this morning and did my workout. Felt great and decided to also do gravity strength/Pilates (reformer pilates called in some places). First time trying the class, loved it. I felt really angry after that, I hated that I was working yesterday and we had the birthday party after work, I wanted to go for a walk, swim and sauna, clothes shopping! I was angry that on my only day off I have to go food shopping, veggies chopping, washing and so on. I was angry that I feel like doing things but if I don't chill out and get myself sorted for the week I will be stressed all week. I just wanted to be left do whatever I feel like. Sometimes being reasonable sucks!

Anyway, I let myself feel the anger and got on with it! I did my shopping

Chopped fresh mango and portioned in ziplock bags in the freezer for my morning smoothie. All I have to do is add some fage greek yogurt ice and my breakfast will be ready
Made turkey burgers, and chopped 2 salad for Monday and Wednesday to bring to work. I will put the dressing on the day. Chopped fresh strawberries and feta in the salad for nice flavour
Cooked turkey mince peppers veggies with fahita mix. I will have this as 3/4 pm snack with wholegrain wrap, tiny bit of cheese and baby tomatoes side.
Cooked some wholegrain rice in the steamer - I will have it as healthy fried rice with egg salmon and veggies for my dinner today and tomorrow
I Cooked big pot of wholegrain pasta with lean bacon, a lot of broccoli and cauliflower and cheese sauce for the guys.

I am working from home Tuesday so I will think about dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday than. Working from home two days a week means I can plan few days at time

it's 7 pm and I am just sitting for few minutes now. I will get up at 8 to get few sets of workout gear ready to bring to work, in case I feel like working out after work and maybe chop veggies for tomorrows dinner.

I feel happy now that the week will go much easier for me. Also rest day from the gym tomorrow as I had 4 very solid workouts in 4 days! I am happy I didn't act on my earlier mood and did what I had set my mind doing. I love knowing that food for next 3 days is planned for me and my son/husband too.

 

[HappyGrape]

My fascination with long term maintainers continues! Today I was chatting to 56 year old very fit lady in our gym. She looks amazing. She said she works out 5 times weekly. Twice body pump. Twice weights on her own. Once body attack. She is vegetarian and left eating meat when she was 12 and also have two dogs who love walks! Her own words -

"I am very small (she is short and petite) and I need very little. I don't want to be heavy and prepare most of my food. Being vegetarian, it's easy to eat past and pizza, so I need to make sure I get a lot of veggies all the time. I haven't had chocolate in 20 years, I don't eat or want to eat junk. I feel better now than I did 20 years ago."

She looked so content, that due to her small size she need to eat small portions and looked perfectly happy with her choice. I don't think she feels she is missing out on something. I guess looking great when you are 56 and being able to live very active lifestyle, which would make some 20 years old struggle is probably giving her the buzz some people get from chocolate.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

I keep finding myself falling back into lurker mode But I am determined to keep posting so I get the biggest benefits out of this group I ran a 5k last night and got a new PR of 34:57, this is huge for me and I have almost taken 10 minutes off my first 5k time two years ago. I also happened to run across an article written by a nutritionist about sugar addiction last night. It really hit home and I have decided to follow her advice and do a sugar detox. It starts with 3 days of just protein and veggies. From there you slowly add back in other foods like fruit, dairy and grains. I think this is something I can totally do so I picked up everything I need and I will be starting tomorrow.

I leave you with reused quote "All or nothing rarely get us All! It usually get us nothing" " Don't let the perfect be enemy of the good"
​

This made me cringe because it is so true and I am so guilty of saying oh well the day is messed up I'll just try again tomorrow.

 

[HappyGrape]

12th of June

Pattern Interrupt - Scramble approach. Are there any foods, or quantities of foods that you often eat and don't support your goals and you are willing to question the meaning/pleasure you have associated with from your cue list?

​

Scramble approach to a interrupting a pattern requires questioning the positing meaning assigned to a cue. It could be something as assigning negative associations to unhealthful food or quantity of food. It also requires to amend mental focus to attach positive feelings to healthful food or and behaviors.

Eating behavior is driven by the desire to avoid pleasure, and desire to avoid pain. After we eat, we experience the consequences of eating. Positive consequences (a great-tasting food, genuine hunger satisfaction) will tend to cause to repeat the behavior because the brain is always looking for ways to gain pleasure. Negative consequences (the food adding fat to the body, feeling overfull, sluggish, tired, uncomfortable) will tend to cause not to repeat the behavior because the brain is always looking for ways to avoid pain. There is also recency factor. Consequences that happen right after the behavior (a great-tasting food) have more power than delayed consequences (the food adding fat or making us feeling tired and sluggish).

Example – big dessert after several courses meal when already overly full. We don’t want to miss out on the dessert – the pleasure, and we know that we are already full and eating more will make us feel uncomfortable after. As the pleasure comes first it often takes our focus.

The scramble approach suggest working on the association we assign to how much we eat and what we eat.

I will explain what this meant for me, and also have few more approaches to put up for discussion. This one is really not for everyone!

 

[HappyGrape]

Boy was I happy to wake up this morning and have everything ready to go! I have 2 sets of workout gear in work in case I feel like going to the gym after work, and as today is rest day this will week (Tuesday and Thursday work from home).I have food in work fridge for today and Wednesday. I have dinner planned for tonight and tomorrow. All I need is to pick up some watermelon after work and I am set!

I used scramble approach for ice cream. There are few elements of it - one of the suggestion was to assign negative feeling as if you feel like eating fries - imagine drinking glass of oil they fried them in or all sort of things that are gross. I didn't do much of this to be honest.

What I did a lot more of is working how much meaning I assign to ice cream, linking it in my mind not so much as the ice cream is bad as how much silly overblown love I assign to it as bad. I felt little like when I gave up smoking - it was stupid, unhelpful, sign of weakness. I imagined myself being 60 and having to go on post vacation diet as I didn't manage my love for ice cream. I walked by my favorite ice cream shop every day during the summer, thinking - yeah - I don't want any of that in my life. Eating in way that supports my long term goals, the type of foods and the quantities of food is so much more enjoyable. I am better than that. I didn't avoid the ice cream shop, I went on every day and focusing on feeling good about myself as age, being on active vacation as I age, bringing grandkids to Disney in years and I learned to give myself a little buzz of passing by without buying it and eventually without even considering it as something I want. I actually hate the overpowering smell of sweets now, I get the same of-putting feeling all the way up to my stomach when I am in donut shops too. While I have little bit of ice cream sometimes, I never want it from that shop and most of the time I just have either little bit, or make my own with frozen fruit and yogurt or protein powder

While I have foods I tend to want little more from, ice cream is not a thing for me at all anymore.

I did the same with eating too large portions. I dislike the sensation enough now, to be able to say no thank you, I had enough

 

[4Mickeys]

I keep finding myself falling back into lurker mode But I am determined to keep posting so I get the biggest benefits out of this group I ran a 5k last night and got a new PR of 34:57, this is huge for me and I have almost taken 10 minutes off my first 5k time two years ago.

Congrats on your run time and the progress you have made - you are awesome

I also happened to run across an article written by a nutritionist about sugar addiction last night. It really hit home and I have decided to follow her advice and do a sugar detox. It starts with 3 days of just protein and veggies. From there you slowly add back in other foods like fruit, dairy and grains. I think this is something I can totally do so I picked up everything I need and I will be starting tomorrow.

Good luck with kicking that sugar habit

QOTD: Hmmm well I really need to scramble my junk/take out affinity - Lets face it I like it - but I do not like what it does to me or means for my health - also I use the excuse that it is a quick easy grab meal - when in reality some nights it means a 20-30 minute round trip from home to the 2 nearest McDonalds plus ordering and collection time - so in all reality can take 40ish minutes - not all that quick sometimes. Also - it is setting a bad example for my kids and setting them up for bad habits as adults as well.

 

[HappyGrape]

Any reviews form Disneyland California Adventure on salads from the locations listed below

Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta Italian Chef Salad
Pacific Wharf Cafe Chicken, Apple & Walnut Salad
Smokejumpers Grill Grilled Chicken & Feta Salad
Flo's V8 Cafe Citrus Turkey Salad
Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe Apple Cheddar Salad
Paradise Garden Grill Lemon-Oregano Chicken Skewer - not a salad but discription appeals
Paradise Garden Grill Greek Salad
Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill Fajita Salad with Beef

Which one would you choose

 

[Flossbolna]

Pacific Wharf Cafe Chicken, Apple & Walnut Salad

Flo's V8 Cafe Citrus Turkey Salad

Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta Italian Chef Salad

I think I had all three of these salads (or shared them with my BF, we sometimes order one salad and one other dish to share between the two of us).

I absolutely loved the Pacific Wharf Cafe salad, but mainly because of the incredibly tasty bread bowl... So the unhealthy part of the salad. You can ask for the salad to be served on a normal plate and get the bread seperately. We did this and just had a little of the bread with the salad and took the rest of the bread back to the hotel to eat later. That bread bowl is gigantic! And such a waste of food...

If I remember the Italian Chef Salad correctly, it had a lot of marinated veggies in it. Those were tasty, but the dish was not as light as I thought it ought be as a salad.

I don't remember the Flo Salad very well at all. But I do remember that everything we had there was very good, so that would mean that it would be a good option. It is just a very fun place to have a meal, especially sitting outside and watching the cars go by.

All in all I found that nearly all the CS places at DLR offer reasonably healthy option. Healthy eating is just such a big thing in California that they cannot ignore this trend.

 

[Flossbolna]

Sorry for being so absent again. Last week was horrible. My mother who has Alzheimer decided to escape on Wednesday and we did not find out until Thursday where she was (in the hospital because she had a fall and hit her head) because nobody got the idea to contact us despite having our contact details with her and us getting the police involved. This was by far the most stressful 14 hours of my whole life!! And then work got crazy and I am just scrambling to get back into normal life...

 

[Zhoen]

The site was being mean to me again the other night, but I wanted to tell you something I heard a few weeks ago regarding stress eating. You have probably heard the phrase “fight or flight,” which we use to describe our stress reaction to a perceived danger, nothing new there… “fight or flight” is also used to describe the “sympathetic nervous system” which controls those sort of reactions. The sympathetic nervous system’s “twin” is the parasympathetic nervous system—these two systems constantly compete for control of your automatic functions (breathing, heart rate, etc.) The parasympathetic nervous system is sometimes described as “rest and digest.”

When things are chill, the parasympathetic system is in charge. You’re healing, digesting, breathing normally, all is good. When you are stressed, your sympathetic nervous system serves to protect you… your heart races to fuel your muscles, your eyes dilate to improve vision, digestion is nearly halted to conserve energy for the crisis. Unfortunately, modern problems are harder to run away from than caveman problems. Bills and family issues follow us more doggedly than a hungry sabertooth ever did. Again, nothing new there, talk shows have been going on about “modern stress” for decades now…

The part I’d never heard before was the idea/theory that we stress eat to FORCE our sympathetic nervous system to “shut up.” Stress eating can feel good, it can be food we associate with better times, and certain foods like chocolate actually stimulate pleasure centers in the brain (which is why most women love chocolate more than most men, we actually have more of those specific chemoreceptors in our brains… yep, it’s legit!) But this theory I’d never heard before goes back to the two systems “competing” all the time. When you are stressed, digestion is slowed/stopped, which is why when things are really awful, we sometimes lose our appetites. The theory is that we stress eat to FORCE digestion to resume, which FORCES the sympathetic nervous system (the stress system) to back off and let the parasympathetic system (the rest system) have a turn, which doesn’t just affect digestion, but all those other associated systems as well.

Biologically, it makes sense. Of course you can force the same “flip” with meditation or a hot bath or other methods, but if you think about it this way, then the next time the comfort food is calling you, you might be able to stop, think, and choose another road to the same destination… Or not… sometimes the stress of resisting the pizza is worse than the pizza itself…