[TimovieMan]

1 hour ago, Sea-to-sky said:

Sorry for the TMI, but ^these^ actually gave me a blister on my bum two weeks ago... 😬

 

That'll teach me to do stuff like this with my jeans on. It was the middle belt loop, I tell ya! 😅

[Sea-to-sky]

26 minutes ago, Rookie said:

am really playing with the idea of trying no added sugar but I have some doubts... mainly I have a little voice in the back of my head saying that's a big change and you can't even count calories

Maybe try starting smaller. I am basically trying to reduce sweet stuff in my diet, like sweet cereals, jam, cake, sweets, chocolate, sugared yogurts. That kind of thing. 
having a savory breakfast has really helped. Like scrambled eggs, omelette or  fruit and greek yogurt. 
i havent cut out sugar completely, ive just picked fewer sweet snacks, try to be aware of what I'm choosing when out. Trying to pick fruit, nuts or a healthy snack instead of sugar. . 
do i manage to stick to it every week 😆 nope. Have i found i want to eat less sugar now. 100%. (Which is a big thing for me. Very sweet tooth)

 

If you don't have the mental space to count cals, cutting down on sugar and highly processed foods is a good option. Basically what my brother is doing at the moment (and it is working for him). 

[Rookie]

6 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

Maybe try starting smaller. I am basically trying to reduce sweet stuff in my diet, like sweet cereals, jam, cake, sweets, chocolate, sugared yogurts. That kind of thing. 
having a savory breakfast has really helped. Like scrambled eggs, omelette or  fruit and greek yogurt. 
i havent cut out sugar completely, ive just picked fewer sweet snacks, try to be aware of what I'm choosing when out. Trying to pick fruit, nuts or a healthy snack instead of sugar. . 
do i manage to stick to it every week 😆 nope. Have i found i want to eat less sugar now. 100%. (Which is a big thing for me. Very sweet tooth)

That's awesome you are wanting less sugar. There's hope 🤣 ok that's a good baseline. I'm also going to look at low carb cookbooks at the library to see if I can get some more ideas on meals and lunches. 

 

6 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

If you don't have the mental space to count cals, cutting down on sugar and highly processed foods is a good option. Basically what my brother is doing at the moment (and it is working for him). 

Ok that's reassuring! 

[Rookie]

6 hours ago, TimovieMan said:

Sorry for the TMI, but ^these^ actually gave me a blister on my bum two weeks ago... 😬

 

That'll teach me to do stuff like this with my jeans on. It was the middle belt loop, I tell ya! 😅

I hope your bum is better 

[Sea-to-sky]

ive definitely had days ive craved sugar, but they've got further apart as ive gone along (i should warn you, ive been at this since jan so it might take a while).

I give myself one treat a week (As part of my the wider life/diet reset things im doing) and this can be cake etc. ive found though, the days i screw over my cals, its often becuase i ate something sugary ..and then had something else sweet and something else. (Mince pies where the culprit trigger yesterday. Someone left some out to thaw. …Im sure you can see where this is going)

 

Things ive found help

-fruit (nice fruit, stuff you love and ideally will choose over other snacks, pineapple, grapes, blueberries have all been good for me. Keep some in the fridge at eye heigh. If you have to make yourself a post it note do so)

-energy balls (This recepie was awesome. Highly recommend)

-Upping my protein intake (as this reduced my temptation to snack)

-the mini amaretti biscuits. Becuase i can just have a couple of these and i get something sweet, but i never seem to then inhale a load of other sugar after them.)

-very oat based cookies. Small ones (if you think your can resit inhaling them, These are very nice and not too big)

-dried fruit can be good, but you need to be careful not to eat lots in one go  (way too easy to eat an entire bunch worth of grapes when they’re raisins)

-if you can get family members on board with the “dont leave sweet stuff laying around” plan, also a good call. Much harder to resist the stuff if its sitting on the counter. 
 

ok, hope some of that helps. 
if its any consolation at least 3 of us on here are doing the less sugar thing this year. @Everstorm has been tracking hers in her challenge. 

[Sovalis]

I find Lose It much friendlier and warmer than MFP if that makes sense. 

[Snarkyfishguts]

On 4/25/2024 at 10:12 AM, Rookie said:

*I am really playing with the idea of trying no added sugar but I have some doubts... mainly I have a little voice in the back of my head saying that's a big change and you can't even count calories.. how can you try removing added sugar from your diet when it is literally everywhere. The other little voice is saying how its going to be hard because of the foods we like to eat and it's not just me who lives here. Mr.R also needs to lose a lot of weight but I don't know if he would be down for no added sugar. I think it would be more do-able once I get into a routine of home cooking and sticking to whole foods but everything has sneaky added sugar so it would still be hard. 

I like to follow the plate guidelines, with half a plate of vegetables and fruit, making sure theres a green leafy in there,  quarter plate of lean protein, and a quarter plate of whole grains or potato. I also eat dessert on Wednesday and Sunday.  Because I am not giving up ice cream or making muffins! When I eat this way, I am eating about 1500 -1700 calories a day.  
 

I tried the no added sugar and it was… difficult. If you really want to go for it, start with 16-20 grams of added sugar a day. Thats the recommendation I think..no more than 16-20 grams of added sugar. Which is pretty low compared to what I used to eat..  But if you follow that plate guideline you’re gonna get some good nutrition, and less sugar.

[Rookie]

On 4/26/2024 at 3:01 AM, Sea-to-sky said:

ive definitely had days ive craved sugar, but they've got further apart as ive gone along (i should warn you, ive been at this since jan so it might take a while).

I give myself one treat a week (As part of my the wider life/diet reset things im doing) and this can be cake etc. ive found though, the days i screw over my cals, its often becuase i ate something sugary ..and then had something else sweet and something else. (Mince pies where the culprit trigger yesterday. Someone left some out to thaw. …Im sure you can see where this is going)

I know when I did keto the cravings were pretty strong for a week or two but then suddenly just went away and I was able to resist sugary things like cakes, donuts, pastries which I have a huge sweet tooth. Obviously I wouldn't expect them to go away in the same way if I am still keeping some sugar in my diet. 

 

Yuuup I totally can see where that story is going and if I was in the same scenario I would have done the same (well maybe not with minced pies but with some other sweet!). 

 

On 4/26/2024 at 3:01 AM, Sea-to-sky said:

Things ive found help

-fruit (nice fruit, stuff you love and ideally will choose over other snacks, pineapple, grapes, blueberries have all been good for me. Keep some in the fridge at eye heigh. If you have to make yourself a post it note do so)

-energy balls (This recepie was awesome. Highly recommend)

-Upping my protein intake (as this reduced my temptation to snack)

-the mini amaretti biscuits. Becuase i can just have a couple of these and i get something sweet, but i never seem to then inhale a load of other sugar after them.)

-very oat based cookies. Small ones (if you think your can resit inhaling them, These are very nice and not too big)

-dried fruit can be good, but you need to be careful not to eat lots in one go  (way too easy to eat an entire bunch worth of grapes when they’re raisins)

-if you can get family members on board with the “dont leave sweet stuff laying around” plan, also a good call. Much harder to resist the stuff if its sitting on the counter. 
 

Thank you, these suggestions are helpful. I am torn on the energy balls lol for some reason dense  circle pastry desserts weird me out (energy balls, cake pops, etc) but chocolate orange has peaked my interest. I loveee orange chocolate. 

 

On 4/26/2024 at 3:01 AM, Sea-to-sky said:

if its any consolation at least 3 of us on here are doing the less sugar thing this year. @Everstorm has been tracking hers in her challenge. 

I will need to go check out her thread. I don't think I have in awhile. 

 

On 4/26/2024 at 11:34 AM, Sovalis said:

I find Lose It much friendlier and warmer than MFP if that makes sense. 

I will check it out. I feel I tried it out a long time ago and preferred MFP but it's probably changed a lot since then. And MFP mobile I don't exactly love anyways.

 

On 4/26/2024 at 1:30 PM, Snarkyfishguts said:

I like to follow the plate guidelines, with half a plate of vegetables and fruit, making sure theres a green leafy in there,  quarter plate of lean protein, and a quarter plate of whole grains or potato. I also eat dessert on Wednesday and Sunday.  Because I am not giving up ice cream or making muffins! When I eat this way, I am eating about 1500 -1700 calories a day.  

 I almost bought myself what looked like an adult sized portioned plate for this reason exactly. It was a bear and a nice soft coral pink. I told myself no though since I don't have money. I do like the idea of still being able to have the occasional dessert or bread but I am curious to see how my body feels eliminating certain things. But to your other point it is very difficult and if I am struggling with structure and "food rules" maybe it is a bit more of a drastic route and I am probably not ready for it yet. 

 

On 4/26/2024 at 1:30 PM, Snarkyfishguts said:

I tried the no added sugar and it was… difficult. If you really want to go for it, start with 16-20 grams of added sugar a day. Thats the recommendation I think..no more than 16-20 grams of added sugar. Which is pretty low compared to what I used to eat..  But if you follow that plate guideline you’re gonna get some good nutrition, and less sugar.

Yah I think the plate guideline and keeping my foods more on the "whole food" or mostly home cooked side will help a lot with just lessening the sugar amounts I am having. And that is probably a good start for now. 

 

Ahh you guys are awesome ❤️ thank you so much @Sea-to-sky @Sovalis and @Snarkyfishguts for the advice, opinions and kind responses. You have all given me some food for thought and I think I know which direction I would like to take for now. It won't be a cold turkey approach to no sugar but it will be an effort to eat more whole foods and home-cooking being mindful of portions and try to have more veggies and protein. If I want something sweet I will either make it from scratch (with a healthier recipe) or choose something like fruit. My goal right now is to clean up my diet and eat in a deficit (without counting calories). I need to lose weight badly. 

[Rookie]

My feet seemed to recover quick enough. They were basically back to their "normal" yesterday. 

 

I haven't done much today because I've mostly been watching the puppy by myself. Mr.R and I trimmed Lunas nails. I played with the dogs. I managed to work on making some pixel art for my tamagotchi app. I added more chair workouts to my playlist on YouTube. And finally I microwaved some brussel sprouts to have with my leftover Chinese food because we had it for lunch and my stomach has felt like an empty hole since. 

 

I need to go on more adventures with my Winnie girl. I miss going out with her. I think I'm struggling a bit with finding energy to do certain things. If I'm not at my parents working for $$ then I need to be home watching the puppy or working on my app so I can get a job. I also haven't seen Daisy since my last lesson. I'll be going in the next few days though because I need to pay my board. I'm hoping I earned enough to pay it. I haven't counted up my money yet. 

 

[Rookie]

I am trying to come up with my next challenge goals. I will admit I am doing a bit of a struggle lol I will more or less be repeating this challenges goals but I need to figure out a more involved and visual way to track it. Once it is out of sight it is out of mind for me. 

 

Anywho, I am wrangling the doggos and heading to bed. Fingers crossed the puppy only wants to get up 1 time tonight. 

 

 

[Sea-to-sky]

10 hours ago, Rookie said:

circle pastry desserts weird me out (energy balls, cake pops, etc) but chocolate orange has peaked my interest. I loveee orange chocolate

I have seen people make them into bars or other shapes. Maybe just make it into a rectangular block and cut it into 20 or something. 
 

10 hours ago, Rookie said:

Yuuup I totally can see where that story is going and if I was in the same scenario I would have done the same (well maybe not with minced pies but with some other sweet!)

I have a cultural weakness for them 😆 plus they are home made and i managed to abstain at xmas. 
 

[Sea-to-sky]

10 hours ago, Rookie said:

I think I know which direction I would like to take for now. It won't be a cold turkey approach to no sugar but it will be an effort to eat more whole foods and home-cooking being mindful of portions and try to have more veggies and protein. If I want something sweet I will either make it from scratch (with a healthier recipe) or choose something like fruit. My goal right now is to clean up my diet and eat in a deficit (without counting calories). I need to lose weight badly. 

That sounds so positive. Sounds like a super goal

[Sea-to-sky]

8 hours ago, Rookie said:

And finally I microwaved some brussel sprouts to have with my leftover Chinese food because we had it for lunch and my stomach has felt like an empty hole since. 

It might be worth doing the cal counting for even a day on the new diet, just to make sure your getting enough cals. I found i was seriously under eating on average (by vaguely 400calories, so not a small amount). 
im on 1400kcal a day right now. I had to make my lunches bigger and still struggle to get that most days without having a snack or two in the afternoon and a load of fruit. 

definitely worth working out your TDEE (calories you burn in a day), even if your not going to count the calories as it gives you some sort of idea where you are number wise. (You want to be eating 500 cals less than what you burn to loose weight)
 

link here. 

https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/how-many-calories-should-i-eat-every-day-a-look-at-total-daily-energy-expenditure-tdee/

 

I have M.E/CFS so had to set everythig on the lowest exercise setting (and to be honest i suspect im below even what they expect from that. They could do with an even lower setting for people with med conditions 🤷‍♀️)

So if moving around is tough for you, be aware of the possibility the number might be a but generous on some days (it expects you to walk 1.5miles a day. Dont know about you, but i definitely do not get that many (3.5k) steps most days)
 

anyway. Hope this wasnt too much. Just thought id include it as i personally found it helpful. Feel free to ignore if its not for you 😄

[Sea-to-sky]

4 hours ago, Rookie said:

I will more or less be repeating this challenges goals but I need to figure out a more involved and visual way to track it. Once it is out of sight it is out of mind for me

I shoved mine in my battle log, segmented by challenges. But a page in a notebook or notebook app would work.
I try to do 3 goals a challenge, one physical health, one mental health and one diet . Usually there are also a few others that are things i want to get done (like sort the bedroom, this has been ongoing for several months).

 

i found reading other peoples at the start of the challenge is a good way to get ideas too. 
 

ps. Sorry for posting so many individual posts. Still struggling with the quoting thing….it is an ongoing learning process 🤦‍♀️

[Rookie]

5 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

I have seen people make them into bars or other shapes. Maybe just make it into a rectangular block and cut it into 20 or something. 
 

Why didn't I think of that lol. Such a simple solution. 

 

5 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

I have a cultural weakness for them 😆 plus they are home made and i managed to abstain at xmas. 

For me, I feel my weakness would be butter treats lol. I don't think I really have any cultural things aside from pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. 

 

5 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

It might be worth doing the cal counting for even a day on the new diet, just to make sure your getting enough cals. I found i was seriously under eating on average (by vaguely 400calories, so not a small amount). 
im on 1400kcal a day right now. I had to make my lunches bigger and still struggle to get that most days without having a snack or two in the afternoon and a load of fruit. 

That's a good point. I usually struggle getting in my calories eating whole foods without snacks. Previously when I did count calories I've been aiming for 1800-2000 calories to lose weight. 

 

5 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

definitely worth working out your TDEE (calories you burn in a day), even if your not going to count the calories as it gives you some sort of idea where you are number wise. (You want to be eating 500 cals less than what you burn to loose weight)

My TDEE is 2765. 

 

5 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

I have M.E/CFS so had to set everythig on the lowest exercise setting (and to be honest i suspect im below even what they expect from that. They could do with an even lower setting for people with med conditions 🤷‍♀️)

Even when I was riding my horse 3 times a week I still just set the exercise to sedentary/office job because like you I rarely got 3.5k steps in. I was getting a lot better about moving more before we got the puppy but even that was still maybe averaging 4500-5500 steps. Nowadays my steps are either 1.2-1.6k, 4.5-5.5k or 6-7k somehow lol 😂 

 

I need to be conscious about not overdoing it with my feet. I've been battling what I think is plantar fasciitis since last July. It would be nice to just be able to go do things without knowing I'll be standing on glass the next day if I over do it. I need to get in with a podiatrist or physical therapist but it's hard to want to spend the money since I'm unemployed and don't have it lol. 

 

5 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

Hope this wasnt too much. Just thought id include it as i personally found it helpful. Feel free to ignore if its not for you 

A lot of it was a refresher to what I already knew but I really don't mind. It's a nice reminder to take things back to basics. 

 

5 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

I try to do 3 goals a challenge, one physical health, one mental health and one diet . Usually there are also a few others that are things i want to get done (like sort the bedroom, this has been ongoing for several months).

I try to do something similar and I find having a little daily plan helps me stay productive. But that's when I'm on top of things. 

 

5 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

i found reading other peoples at the start of the challenge is a good way to get ideas too. 

Yes! I agree I love trying new things to see what works for me and it's cool to see everyone adopting and trying out the same thing. 

 

5 hours ago, Sea-to-sky said:

ps. Sorry for posting so many individual posts. Still struggling with the quoting thing….it is an ongoing learning process 🤦‍♀️

It's ok! I don't mind

[Sea-to-sky]

2 hours ago, Rookie said:

I need to be conscious about not overdoing it with my feet. I've been battling what I think is plantar fasciitis since last July. It would be nice to just be able to go do things without knowing I'll be standing on glass the next day if I over do it.

Have you considered keeping tabs on it with a pedometer? One of the ways i use mine is to make sure i dont overdo it. I know if i go over a certain step count it will floor me. So its good for keeping an eye on it when out. 
 

Sounds really painful. hope the pediatrist gets you sorted. Anything foot based is so frustrating

[Rookie]

41 minutes ago, Sea-to-sky said:

Have you considered keeping tabs on it with a pedometer? One of the ways i use mine is to make sure i dont overdo it. I know if i go over a certain step count it will floor me. So its good for keeping an eye on it when out. 
 

Sounds really painful. hope the pediatrist gets you sorted. Anything foot based is so frustrating

I feel it's more time-based but that's not a terrible idea. I didn't think to try and look at my step count of the previous day if my feet hurt. I'll do that from now on! I love walking 🥲 walking doesn't love me lol 

[Rookie]

I took initiative and planned a lunch and dinner (kind of) for today. Lunch I grabbed some freeze burnt chicken and seasoned the crap out of it. We will be having simple tacos with chicken, cheese and apple,carrot, cucumber slaw. 

 

For dinner I took beef chunks out of the freezer and I'm not 100% sure what to make yet with it. I was thinking a Chinese beef broccoli deal but we had something similar during the week. So I think I've settled on bulgogi and broccoli.

 

Also small win I had some motivation to start cleaning the kitchen and doing dishes. I'm glad I did because it made food prep far more enjoyable. 

[Whisper]

Sorry if you've talked about this, or it's already been suggested, but I've found a nighttime foot brace to be really helpful for food pain in the past.

 

[Everstorm]

Mmmm...bulgogi 😋  My brother-in-law is a Korean chef.  I very much miss his cooking since he got a big job offer and moved away 🥲

[Rookie]

4 hours ago, Whisper said:

Sorry if you've talked about this, or it's already been suggested, but I've found a nighttime foot brace to be really helpful for food pain in the past.

 

I don't believe you have. I'll check it out! 

 

2 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Mmmm...bulgogi 😋  My brother-in-law is a Korean chef.  I very much miss his cooking since he got a big job offer and moved away 🥲

Ok that makes me jealous lol I bet you enjoyed lots of yummy things while he was around