Hi Team Time & Adherence,
We have almost made it through the holiday season! I am really looking forward to a fantastic 2024 and hope that you all are as well. I am glad that we have this group to share our health journey and learn as we go.
1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Still mostly. I really do want to get this to 100% and I know how (not hard!) – but maybe lacking the oomph right now to focus. 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. Loving my meals! 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, mostly --- EXCEPT I did have soup at a restaurant (CPK) that contained a lot of sodium. I adjusted by not having any other overt sources of sodium that day. This would be a rare occurrence for me so I am not sweating it. 4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
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, I think so. 10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes, 7/7. Still walking and strength training consistently. Have played pickleball at 3 new gyms so far while off work for the holiday season. Our larger drill / match group had the highest turnout ever on Friday and we played some king / queen of the court --- and were at a place big enough that we didn’t have to rotate sitting out. I am SUPER EXCITED to be going to NYE party at pickleball place tomorrow. Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
I have my last holiday event of the season tomorrow. Another scenario of going to a new place for dinner where the people aren’t already acclimated to my way of eating. I am pretty sure the food will be buffet line (easier to me than pre-plated or family style) --- but I did explain to my friend that I don’t eat any animal products or oil and asked if I can bring a dish in hopes of making the event go more smoothly. I am going to bring a bean / rice / corn Mexican salad for another main dish. (I don't get into a full explanation of diet unless someone asks --- just trying to give a warning that I am not going to eat anything... )
Mark, welcome back! Hope you had a wonderful holiday with family and friends!
Bambi, I’m also ready for the holidays to be over! Back to “regular life”…
Rachel, I am so sorry for the loss of your father and the tough year you went through. Grateful to see you in the group. Your story is inspiring --- as is how you are going about getting back to MWL. I bet you are already a Star McD!!!!
Gimmelean, I am also grateful for the support of this community and how we can learn from each other and share. Priceless!
Rebecka, Thanks for sharing your goals and thought process around them! ❤️
Starflower, I am also going into 2024 hopeful that I can apply lessons learned through years past to make it more successful.
A big “hi” to anyone who comes later that I missed.
Happy New Year to all! Hoping 2024 is filled with health and happiness!
Stephanie