mamamia checking in

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 10:43 am

Ugh. Hit 21 days on Sunday and have had two fails the past two days. Not colossal fails, but a fail nonetheless! I had a 3 S-day weekend because of a family event on Friday and now I'm struggling. I have had a busy couple of days and am realizing that if I get too hungry with no meal planned, I tend to go off track. Planning meals ahead is not something I do well! Gotta work on defaults for dinner - that seems to be where I stumble.

So I'm starting a daily/weekly check in to hopefully keep me focused.

Who Me? · Post by **Who Me?** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 1:03 pm

Sounds like you know what you have to do.

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 11:02 am

Oh, who me, I've always known what I need to do! It's doing it where I have problems! Haha. Better day yesterday. Tried a hot chocolate around 4 pm and was able to prepare dinner without incident (mindless tasting). Otherwise my meals were good. The hot chocolate doesn't feel quite right to me, but it's better than chocolate chips and cookies, I suppose!

Breakfast is always an english muffin with natural peanut butter and a banana, glass of V8, or a yogurt, depending on what's in the house.
Lunch is either a sandwich or a salad, depending on how hungry I am - I usually have a piece of fruit and a few chips with a sandwich so I have that on days I'm particularly hungry.
Dinner is whatever I come up with at 5 pm! - I'm not much of a planner unfortunately and starting a new job in a week or two is really going to make this a challenge!

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 1:10 pm

mamamia wrote:Dinner is whatever I come up with at 5 pm! - I'm not much of a planner unfortunately and starting a new job in a week or two is really going to make this a challenge!

That's hard... I think planning ahead is a habit that really helps me. If I'm looking forward to a nice dinner, I'm so much less likely to want to snack!

Some (totally unsolicited) ideas:
- Make a list of meals you and your family like, so you have a reference list. Each week, make sure you have ingredients on hand so you can make something from the list.
- Develop a handful of "go-to" meals that you can do quickly with ingredients on hand. (Mine include chilies with canned beans, various pasta dishes, "breakfast for supper", etc.)
- Sign up for one of the meal-planning services, where you get menus plus a shopping list for each week. (I did this for a while, to build my repertoire of fast meals. I tried two - didn't like the food on the first one. The "Six O'Clock Scramble" worked for me.)
- It's okay to "plan loosely." I always have some fresh veg and some frozen for the end of the week, and make decisions at the last minute on those. I try to plan the entrees by the night before (in case I need to thaw something), with the morning of as my deadline.

Have you ever seen Peg Bracken's "I hate to cook book"? I found a copy at an elderly friend's house during a visit, and want it. It was written in the days when moms were expected to cook, whether they liked it or not, and there were few processed/convenience/restaurant foods. There's a month of pretty easy recipes. Not all of them translate directly to the modern world (some assume you can do things during the day), but if you have a slow-cooker, I think they could be adapted. (I really do want to get a copy of this book for myself, lol!) Anyway, the basic idea - have a month of easy meals at your fingertips - is good.

Sorry to ramble so long on your thread. Take what you can use, and let the rest go by...

Pangelsue2 · Post by **Pangelsue2** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 1:57 am

I am a meal planner from way back. I do it once a month and then shop for the meals four or five at a time. I also agree with everything KCCC said about having some standard ingredients on hand all the time. Saves the time constrained dilemma of what to make at the last minute. Just close your eyes and point to one. I also try to not use recipes that take more than 15 to 20 minutes to make during the week. If I am having people over, I fuss a bit more but not on a daily basis. If the recipes are too complicated and I've had a long day, I tend to say skip it and want to go out but if they are simple, the decisions easier to make to cook at home. Good luck.

KareBear · Post by **KareBear** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:48 am

So here is my weird world. I LOVE to plan meals and I have always been very good at it. I go to the store, one a week and buy the ingredients for 4-5 meals. I cook them in whatever order I want to. So I always know what meals are coming up, but I'm not sure exactly when I will be making it. Here is the weird part....I rarely eat them. I love to plan and cook, but I don't really like dinner or left overs. But hey, my husband loves it, so there it is. But I'm like you, I get home and start dinner for my fam, and mean while, I have no idea what Im gonna have. Its hard because all I really want to do is destress from my day and snack.

No S is so good for me and really easy to stick to. Hang in there. It gets better, even when we have weirdness...

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 12:07 pm

SUCCESS for Thursday 6/16. Had a glass of wine before bed to celebrate the end of the school year.

Added 'movefor20minutes' to my habitcal. I did this a few weeks ago when I started, but my first red day freaked me out and I deleted it! At the least I'll walk the dog, at best go to the gym.

Thanks for the input guys! KCCC, I actually bought the six o-clock scramble book but didn't like most of the recipes - or at least I knew my family wouldn't! I'm a very simple cook! I have read the I Hate to Cook Book - Love reading cookbooks, just not using them so much LOL!! It's a very funny book, actually. I love when she says while your chicken is browning (or something) is a good time to have a cigarette and gaze out your kitchen window! The chicken with rice recipe is actually pretty good!

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Sat Jun 18, 2011 10:10 pm

Friday was a SUCCESS. Didn't 'move for 20 minutes' though so got a FAILURE for that.

Today is going well (Saturday). Stopped at a local ice cream stand with my son and had a cone for lunch and a small sandwich when I got home. Not overdoing it today though for the first time S-wise, which is good. Tomorrow is Father's Day and I've got bananas for banana bread and a dinner planned.

Have a Happy Father's Day to you father's out there!

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:23 am

SUCCESS for the weekend, what other way can you rate it? It was a success in that my portions were reasonable. I did eat sweets and snacks, but I didn't feel an urgent need to suck down as much S as I could which was kind of nice! Best weekend so far on No S! I've been reading the posts the last couple of days about guilt and 'bingeing' on no S days and I am just now starting to see that these things do diminish.

sophiasapientia · Post by **sophiasapientia** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:57 pm

mamamia wrote:SUCCESS for the weekend, what other way can you rate it? It was a success in that my portions were reasonable. I did eat sweets and snacks, but I didn't feel an urgent need to suck down as much S as I could which was kind of nice! Best weekend so far on No S! I've been reading the posts the last couple of days about guilt and 'bingeing' on no S days and I am just now starting to see that these things do diminish.

That's excellent! It sounds like you are doing fantastic!

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:30 pm

Thanks sophia! This board is such a great source of encouragement! I love it!

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 11:18 am

Monday was a SUCCESS. I don't want to list the food I am eating because I want the emphasis on the habit right now and listing my daily menu is one of those diet habits I have always hated!

Calorie-wise it is probably a little high. I haven't really lost much weight but I FEEL so much better that I'm not freaking out. I'm certainly not gaining!

I know I need to move more. Unfortunately (well, it is very fortunate), I am starting a new job next week and worry I will be too tired/busy to exercise. We'll have to see how that goes!

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:59 am

Tuesday SUCCESS. Had an enormous roast beef sandwich for lunch at a sandwich shop with a few chips. Couldn't even eat the whole thing. And when dinner rolled around I had a bowl of watermelon chunks and a Laughing Cow wedge on a few crackers. So glad I could recognize that I didn't need much for dinner - was barely hungry!

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:17 pm

Wednesday SUCCESS.

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 12:05 pm

Thursday FAILURE. I was really hungry by the time lunch rolled around but I had a salad which is my usual lunch. It just wasn't enough. So I had a piece of carrot cake I made for Father's Day that has been in the fridge all week.

Lesson learned - if you're really hungry at lunch, eat something more substantial than a salad! Fill up so you don't need to eat things like carrot cake! I should have had a sandwich.

SkyKitty · Post by **SkyKitty** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 12:38 pm

If salad is your usual lunch were there any other reasons it wasn't enough this time?

I'm certain a salad wouldn't have been enough for me at lunchtime but if it usually is for you can you look at what made that day different to see if there are any practical lessons to learn?

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 7:35 pm

You're right Skykitty I don't think it was the salad itself. I had had banana bread for breakfast which was not my usual (and borderline S I've decided) with fruit. It just didn't fill me up enough and I didn't get home for lunch until 2-ish so I was just overly hungry I think.

I'm sorry to say Friday was another FAILURE. Pizza for dinner and I had three slices. Obviously two I think is the most that will fit on one of my plates and I should have stopped there. I must say, though, it made for a very poor night's sleep! Another day, another lesson learned!

Starting a new job Monday. I have to say that with NO-S I'm not the least bit worried about needing to snack or running out of energy mid-afternoon like I have at jobs in the past. However, I haven't worked an 8-hour day in a long time! I've been working out of my home in my pj's for the last few years, so getting up and out and having to put together outfits for work is going to be quite an adjustment! LOL. Exercise is my only real concern as I could go to the gym, walk, etc,. any time of day. I'm going to have to find a way to fit it in now.

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 10:40 pm

Weekend was okay - probably overdid a little.

Today has been a SUCCESS even though I'm just now having dinner. I had orientation for a new job and managed to stay out of the cookies and muffins they offered so I'm feeling good!

pepper33 · Post by **pepper33** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:20 am

Good luck with your new job. Once you get into the routine, you should be able to figure out what works for you.

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:58 am

Thanks!

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:54 am

Tuesday - SUCCESS. I am surprised I am not dying to eat being in an office all day now, but going from working at home to working in an office has me a little nervous about feeling crappy and not being able to take a nap/lie down/take a break and this is keeping me from eating. Hopefully it will continue, although nerves may have a lot to do with it too! Apparently a lot of people in this office go to the gym before work. I can't imagine doing that myself, but we'll see....

mamamia · Post by **mamamia** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:01 pm

I'm giving myself a S-event today - it's my son's birthday and I'll have a piece of cake. We'll see if it triggers anything. Hopefully not.

3rd day on the job and have managed to stay away from snacks. The woman training me has offered me granola bars, etc., and I have found that if I say I can't because once I start I won't be able to stop she backs off. I'v been eating in the company cafeteria - sandwich, chips or soup, apple - but I'll have to start taking something from home once I get my routine down! I've also eventually got to stop the chips, but they sure are good....