Thanks Lindsey for sharing Jeff's post about grading systems; its very helpful and perfectly timed! (And thanks Jeff for writing the post!) I've definitely had a period in the Pleasure Trap so refocusing on A&B is the way to go! Congrats on your success with compliance and being in your target weight zone
Erin - hope you're feeling better!
Mark - glad you had a good week managing your condition
I like the phrase 'menu of exercise'!
Goose - well done on keeping your weight is stable
My stepson's flight home was cancelled due to Storm Dennis so he was with us for an extra 3 days. It meant we were with him on his 20th birthday which was lovely. I'm still grappling with eating out, but it's been a better week overall as we've eaten at home more often and am tackling some Pleasure Trap behaviours... My weight is down by half a pound so I'm just over 1 pound above my goal weight. This is again based on a 7 day average which is helping me me deal with a slight tendency to think, 'I can go a little off-plan at the weekend and have time to catch-up before the Friday weigh-in'. Anyone else find they are tempted to do that?
I've been using the McD checklist during Feb and it's interesting to see that the areas where I struggle are usually in the middle of the list 5-7. Here it is as a reminder:
1. Fill your plate so that 70 - 90% of your plate (by visual volume) is filled with minimally processed starches (brown rice, oats, sweet potato, quinoa).
2. Fill the remaining 10 - 30% of your plate with minimally processed fruits and non-starchy vegetables.
3. Eliminate all animal foods (i.e., dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
4. Eliminate the intake of fake meats and cheeses as most are highly processed, high fat and made with isolated proteins and oil.
5. Eliminate any added oil.
6. Limit your intake of all higher-fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy) unless you are trying to gain weight.
7. Limit added sugars and added salts. This also includes gourmet sugars and salts. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
8. Avoid liquid calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). When thirsty, drink water.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of daily moderate exercise (i.e., brisk walking).
I've scored my food in each of the checklist items and used fractions as I did with the MWL checklist in January. I treat breakfast lunch and dinner as each equating a third of the score, and sometimes have snacks and make them a quarter. This helps me stay on track throughout the day, as I have a slight tendency to think 'Oh I've already had some xyz at lunchtime so I might as well have some more at dinner.....' With regard to 8, I have had a little non-alcoholic beer or wine some of the days and almond milk in several cups of tea each day, but otherwise its water or herbal tea. Exercise isn't a problem, although this week I've had a minor muscle strain so haven't done some of my usual activities. 1&2 are only a problem in that sometimes I have more like 60:40 starches to veggies but I think that's OK and sometimes I've had white bread if that's the only option available.
I'm approaching 2 years of maintenance early next month, but there's still lots of learning going on!
Best wishes x