Rebecka22 - Feeling confident in your level of activity and intentional exercise, and knowing you can easily assemble simple, adherent, enjoyable meals are great strengths on which you can rely! Battling the craving for non adherent sweets is never easy, particularly at this time of year when the environment is brimming with temptation almost everywhere you look. Tackling things one decision at a time, and concentrating on making intentional choices congruent with your goals is a solid practice. With so much of the broader environment seemingly working counter to your aims, the more you can set things up for yourself to avoid relying on willpower alone, the easier success will be to attain and maintain. As you observed: you know you can do it, you know how to do it, and you have done it in the past. That doesn't mean it will be easy, but it does demonstrate achievability, right?
BambiS - Great! It seems like you are getting back into the groove of things, focusing on the recommended behaviors and fine-tuning plans and routines to support you efforts. Well done!
Ejg - Great to see you back this week, Eric! Despite some holiday-induced deviations, it sounds like you were able to navigate Thanksgiving without straying to far from the path. I'm sorry to hear you are beset with foot pain, that can't be fun. May you have an easy recovery. Focus on practicing the eating-related recommendations, with an eye toward fine-tuning your adherence, and I'm sure encouraging results will follow in due course.
VegSeekingFit - Awesome adherence, Stephanie! Sounds like you navigated that work holiday party like a pro!
If you have to be pestered about some aspect of that upcoming family gathering, at least it is about something where the stakes appear to be relatively low, right?
Best of luck finding your way to Whoville!
Hjklost55 - WOW! Fantastic efforts, Holly!
Hjklost55 wrote: I am staying with a non vegan friend. She has non compliant food everywhere! I have been here 5 days!! And have NOT gotten into any of her foods!!! That is HUGE for me. I made a pot of soup and cooked a bag of potatoes when I got here! That has saved me! PLAN, PREPARE, PROFIT!!!
You are proving that it is possible, right? This time of year will almost inevitably present challenges and obstacles, and navigating those holiday events isn't likely to be easy, but success does seem attainable, no? PLAN, PREPARE, PROFIT - an excellent tool to apply!
Gimmelean - Even though a week might not be "perfect," I think it is important to acknowledge the many (nearly all) behaviors that stayed locked-in and on track; that is no small achievement in itself!
Gimmelean wrote:this week I added the grapes and baby carrots I brought in for myself to the box of donuts a colleague brought in for us and gave my donut to the tech guy who loved it. People don’t know how to react to me anyway and these actions made me feel much better than eating that donut, empowered that I actually didn’t, and made others feel better too.
Reading this brought a big smile to my face!
Gimmelean wrote:Having “our” foods ready before hunger strikes makes all of the positive difference in making it through another successful day, week, month, year.
This is exactly right, and really can't be overstated. So important!
Drew*# - Making a very strong return to the recommended pattern of behavior!
Drew*# wrote:So to be satisfied instead of getting something with lots of protein and/or fat, I need to keep eating the MWL approved starches and this would not include breads, etc. This week I started doing that to satisfy any urge to eat. It really helped.
Exactly right. Carry on!
Lizzy_F - Congratulations on achieving and maintaining a healthy, stable weight! That is no small thing, right? I was all set to dive in on your question about "eating all the vegetables first," and then realized you answered it yourself!
Lizzy_F wrote: I’m going to experiment this week with plating up my typical meals differently. I will continue to start with soup/veg, but then rather than eating ALL my veg first, I will plate up my veg and starch at the same time and work on both of them. And see how my sensations of hunger/fullness are affected, if at all. Maybe I really am getting too full on super low calorie density stuff, leading to feeling stuffed after I eat my starch. I suspect in the end, I need a bit less of everything to be at a comfortable point in satiety?
I think that experiment makes sense, particularly in relation to the discussion in
this thread.
Let us know how it goes.
Lizzy_F wrote:When I venture outside of the MWL guidelines, I am trying to really evaluate what is going on, and whether those deviations out onto the broader Starch Solution highway are worth it.
This seems sensible to me. Earlier this week, I was involved in a discussion somewhat related to this topic, and commented:
"The folks who get to where they want to be through Adherence across a substantial period of time will almost inevitably have some pretty good insight into what can work for them. Through the process they come to "know themselves" and what will or won't work for them. Completely different from someone who gets short term results through some "hack" or modifications and suddenly believes they have it all figured out."From my perspective, you seem to be doing great, and I would expect that "Fear of Failure" will gradually fade with enough adherence across time. Confidence and a sense of self-efficacy are built over time by "showing" yourself that you can face, analyze, and eventually overcome obstacles and "proving" that challenging goals are attainable for you. May the members of your inner committee interact in a way that is peaceful and productive. Now -
drill sergeant voice - NO EXCUSES! LOL
Noella - Kudos to you! Your confidence in being able to practice the recommended behaviors seems well-deserved and well-earned!
Ongoing, persistent musculoskeletal pain can be a really daunting challenge to face, right? I very much identify and sympathize with the desire to "do more" than one's body can reasonably manage in a given moment. That can bring up strong feelings of loss or even mourning that aren't always easy to acknowledge. I'm SO happy to know that you are able to work with a physiotherapist and that he is optimistic about the process. Sorry you've been facing pain magnified by the recent injury - my thoughts are with you. Wishing for you to have "happier" knees in the days ahead, and for the best possible outcomes.