January 2009 Basics Challenge - Day 12

[gitfiddle]

You will never "find" time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.
Charles Bruxton

It takes time to prepare for meals, even time to cook them! It takes time to exercise. It takes time to check in on the board every day. Following this Challenge takes time out of our lives, that’s for sure. Your commitment not only benefits you, but is the glue that holds the rest of this group together! We all come here for encouragement and acknowledgement and to exchange ideas and YOU make it happen.

What is the easiest preparation for you to make? What is the most difficult?

I find it very routine to shop for supplies but I have to remind myself to cook up lunches for the coming week, which is critical for my success. Exercise used to be the hardest thing to do, but I finally found a routine I can live with. Checking in with this board is easy because I’m on the computer all day anyway.

Breakfast will be a protein shake and fruit. Lunch will be either breakfast sausage or brahts or roast beef depending on what I grab out of the fridge. Dinner will be chicken breast and veggies in some form. I have almonds, Lindt 85% and swiss cheese available for a snack.

I really wasn't smart and stayed up late last night. :p Why do I do that? (That was just a rhetorical question! :rolleyes:)

[Mitra]

Exercise is the one that I find hardest. I sometimes don't feel much like shopping or cooking, but not eating isn't an option, and if I'm going to do it, I might as well do it right, but there are far too many times when exercise just gets dropped. "I'll start it again tomorrow," can go on for weeks.

So, I'll start now by getting off the computer and doing half an hour before lunch.

[Jackie]

For me the toughest is the planning of food, I wish I could spend half a day on Sunday preparing for the week like some of you do. I find that there is always soooo much to do, to compensate for this I always make sure I have variety in the fridge of things I know I can have in a pinch.

Today will be;
Breakfast: pumpkin shake
Lunch 2 hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese and salsa
dinner will be a chicken caesar salad

Tonight is my big "biggest loser" weigh in!

[BeccainSC]

Morning all... I'm passing through real quick. Sunday was about the same as Saturday for eating, though I didn't realize just how close until I plugged it all into Fitday. :( More of one of those days where everything just added up, combined with things I thought weren't too bad were and those (from Saturday) that I thought were horrible weren't as bad as I expected. (if that makes any sense).

Time is on very short supply for me this week, and next! We're short one in the office this week and I have to do her job (as well as mine). Hers is more "time crucial" where mine is more of a "get it done by the end of the month" thing. I'll manage, but I'm gonna be EXHAUSTED. Taking an extra water bottle today too.

Shouldn't be a problem staying on target in the food department today though.

See you folks tonight!


'becca

[gitfiddle]

So, I'll start now by getting off the computer and doing half an hour before lunch.My father used to call that "taking the bull by the horns". I think the current phrase is "being proactive". :) Good plan, my friend.

For me the toughest is the planning of food, I wish I could spend half a day on Sunday preparing for the week like some of you do. I find that there is always soooo much to do, to compensate for this I always make sure I have variety in the fridge of things I know I can have in a pinch.I understand, Jackie. There are lots of weekends I simply don't have the time. Looks like you're making it work, though!

More of one of those days where everything just added up, combined with things I thought weren't too bad were and those (from Saturday) that I thought were horrible weren't as bad as I expected. (if that makes any sense).Oh, I totally understand, Becca. It takes time and discipline to use programs like Fitday, but there are rewards. For one, it gives us a better idea of what works and what doesn't. I am due to start back in for a few weeks because I'm winging it a little too often. Good plan to take the extra water bottle! You have my sympathy for taking on another job besides your own. Take extra care of yourself. :)

[Ammy]

Carol...you started this day SINGIN MY SONG!!
I am such a promoter of MAKING time to do that things you need to do so it's not "too hard" later. I truly believe that when you have to figure our your meal when it's time to eat, then you spend MUCH more time and energy than if you would have taken a few moments in one sitting to plan a few meals.

However...then there's that crazy exercise thing...:o
I barely exercised this week because I had my busiest week in, well, as long as I can remember. I will get in my minimum, but not as thoroughly as I would like to. So see...I still have work to do!

Granted...I don't have kids, and I do think that makes a difference, and I have no "time-creating" suggestions for you parents...but I do say it's SO much easier to make a batch of food ahead of time so you have the rest of the week to do EVERYTHING else.

My Sundays consist of cooking and cleaning. So my week is started with food and fewer cat-hair :rolleyes:.

On Sunday I made a batch of caul-sausage casserole for breakfast. I tried to do it from memory and forgot to add TWO pounds of meat, so the protein counts were all wrong...:mad:. I did add broccoli and reduced the cheese and it's good! I think tonight I'll cook a lb of meat and add it, cause otherwise I have to scrounge around finding more pure protein to add to my breakfast. This am I added turkey bacon.
I also made a batch of goulash. The nice thing about my goulash is I usually get a week and a half of lunches. This weekend we are going ice fishing. We won't arrive home until about 8pm on Sunday, so I'll need some meals pre-cooked. I put some in the freezer and will eat them next week.

8am caul-broc-sau casserole, 3slice turkey bacon
12pm lc goulash, med zucchini
3pm 3oz smoked turkey, lc yogurt
workout
6pm dbl burger, 1/2 bun

Pro: 131
Ecc: 42
Fat: 130.3
Cal: 1844

If I work out hard, I will add some cheese tonight because my calories are too low for a hard workout. But I think I'll just do a LONG session on the recumbent bike and read/enjoy my book. More of a fat-burning workout than a cardio explosion.

[gitfiddle]

Carol...you started this day SINGIN MY SONG!!So... toss some coin into the guitar case nice lady. ;)
I am such a promoter of MAKING time to do that things you need to do so it's not "too hard" later. I truly believe that when you have to figure our your meal when it's time to eat, then you spend MUCH more time and energy than if you would have taken a few moments in one sitting to plan a few meals.[quote]Ditto that, I just don't always have the discipline to get it done.On Sunday I made a batch of caul-sausage casserole for breakfast. I tried to do it from memory and forgot to add TWO pounds of meat, so the protein counts were all wrong...:mad:.Funny, I did the same thing last week.

[Ammy]

Okay....GF just called and has been laid off....
:(

However...as sucky as it is...she gets four months of severance, and her job sucked...so IS it bad news??? :confused::rolleyes:





I don't think so....yet...




Now if she can't find a job in the next four months (because the economy really does suck) then yes, that will be awful...but I believe God has a plan and that it will work out. It will!!! It will!!!!!!!

[maxlharris]

Wrote a long post, but something weird happened and the server refused to respond. So, you miss it. The core was about Batch Processing as a time management technique (I don't think you can actually create time... what you do is prioritize your use of it and manage it better or worse). My big batch process this weekend was in food prep. I'm making a chili (had a craving) and a beef stew (have company and wife loves it). So, both need 1" cubes of beef chuck. Could chop up the amount for the chili yesterday and the amount for the stew tonight, but that would result in:
2 set ups
2 clean ups
2 knife sharpenings
etc etc etc
Rather, by doing all of the beef cubing at once, I save time in minimizing the number of fixed pieces. I cannot actually clean the cutting board and the knife and the bowls any faster. But I can clean them only once, rather than twice. And one is a better number than two for time management.

[gitfiddle]

Okay....GF just called and has been laid off....
:(

However...as sucky as it is...she gets four months of severance, and her job sucked...so IS it bad news??? :confused::rolleyes:Maybe not! :confused: Crossing my fingers for her, Amy.

Wrote a long post, but something weird happened and the server refused to respond. So, you miss it.Max, this might be helpful: When it stalls on me, I quick copy it and paste it into Word. That way I don't lose my "composure". ;)

The core was about Batch Processing as a time management technique (I don't think you can actually create time... what you do is prioritize your use of it and manage it better or worse).Absolutely! I also do a variation of that by making a double batch and freezing half, say, chili. Then next week I make a double batch of, say, chicken soup and freeze half, maybe even in one-meal containers. Busy-day meals with minimal clean-up.

[maxlharris]

Max, this might be helpful: When it stalls on me, I quick copy it and paste it into Word. That way I don't lose my "composure". ;)

Absolutely! I also do a variation of that by making a double batch and freezing half, say, chili. Then next week I make a double batch of, say, chicken soup and freeze half, maybe even in one-meal containers. Busy-day meals with minimal clean-up.
On the lost post: had his the preview post and it went forward to a new, error screen. A server not responding or something. Went back, but the post was gone. But I do copy when it stalls.

Even better for portioning (for me at least) is my vacuum sealer. Make myself my very own single portion microwave meals out of my big creations. Very nice. One goal for the new year is to get into the routine where I didn't eat out much for lunch. Was money saving and made diet compliance a non-issue. Did a good bit of single serve vac packing back when I was losing steady (mac&cheese thing, frittata, stew, chili, etc)

[Karole]

Hi, I am with Ammy-- I have to be vigilant or my time for exercise will evaporate into the thin air. Recently, I have been giving it top priority. A must do before I can do something else. I always feel so much better when I get it done early and I don't have to have it nagging in the back of my mind.

That said I have to go report to the Shadow. See ya later.

[blueriversam]

Amy--sorry to hear about your gf :( She's very lucky to get that kind of severance, a friend of mine's company just kind of folded underneath him and he is waiting for his last 4 paychecks still, and it takes forever to get the paperwork for unemployment processed. She's also lucky to get some time off!!

As for me, well, I don't do well when I plan. I am an incredibly picky eater and if I decide that I absolutely cannot eat what I had planned to eat, well, I better have a backup. Instead, I keep lots of easy foods around--I have frozen meatballs, frozen turkey sausages (cooked), and Morningstar Grillers (huge amount of protein, low carb).

So far I have eaten turkey sausage for bkfst and cheese for lunch today. Not incredibly hungry, VERY stressed out because my guy is being uncommunicative, which we talked about, but somehow this always works out to be my fault. Hopefully we can work through this and come up with a way to prevent it in the future. Ok. Basically, on Wed., he was all about marriage, which got me way too excited for my own good, and then he panicked and freaked out, which made me very sad. :( Why is it so difficult??? I want my easy button!!! [I admit, I started looking at dresses and banquet halls.. I did. I'm such a girl.!]

Now I'm in my office trying to write and it's very difficult when you've been on vacation for a few weeks!

[maxlharris]

VERY stressed out because my guy is being uncommunicative, which we talked about, but somehow this always works out to be my fault. Hopefully we can work through this and come up with a way to prevent it in the future. Ok. Basically, on Wed., he was all about marriage, which got me way too excited for my own good, and then he panicked and freaked out, which made me very sad. :( Why is it so difficult??? I want my easy button!!! [I admit, I started looking at dresses and banquet halls.. I did. I'm such a girl.!]

Now I'm in my office trying to write and it's very difficult when you've been on vacation for a few weeks!
1- Men are not raised to communicate. Certainly not about our feelings. Of course, a lot of us have three emotions*, which are not compatible with women's panopoly of emotions.

2- Men are not raised to think of marriage as desirable. We are not genetically programmed to think that life with one woman is a good idea. That doesn't mean we cannot come around to the idea, but it does mean, we might have fits and starts on the way there. And it doesn't mean we can't do it. It just means we have baggage (that we DON'T want to talk about) that's between single and married.

Advice: Relax and let him come to it at his own pace. And not to lecture on communication. It will come or it won't. But long talks about it don't make it come any easier.

*the three emotions common to all men are: hungry, horny, and damp

[lisanurse81]

Just checking in.. sewing my butt off today.. got so much to do.. will post my numbers later...

[blueriversam]

1- Men are not raised to communicate. Certainly not about our feelings. Of course, a lot of us have three emotions*, which are not compatible with women's panopoly of emotions.

2- Men are not raised to think of marriage as desirable. We are not genetically programmed to think that life with one woman is a good idea. That doesn't mean we cannot come around to the idea, but it does mean, we might have fits and starts on the way there. And it doesn't mean we can't do it. It just means we have baggage (that we DON'T want to talk about) that's between single and married.

Advice: Relax and let him come to it at his own pace. And not to lecture on communication. It will come or it won't. But long talks about it don't make it come any easier.

*the three emotions common to all men are: hungry, horny, and damp

hahaha thanks... I am *trying* to be patient. I just don't get it really. I got myself a bottle of nice wine today. It is sooo nice. I am just trying to chill.

[gitfiddle]

Max, I love the vacuum sealer idea. It must be more economical over time than my ziplock habit!

Sam, hold out for a communicator. They're out there! ;)

Lisa, what are you sewing? Or did I miss it somewhere?

Made it to the gym tonight. Picked up some side salads from BK and had a big beef and cheddar salad for supper. Those small bowls only cost a dollar and when you dump the contents into a larger bowl, it's a dinner-sized salad! We're supposed to have blizzard conditions by morning. Bleah! :p

[Karole]

Blizzard--brrrrrr. I don't envy you all at all. They have actually taken the rainy part out of our forecast so that will make it better all around for us. Hope your blizzard isn't to bad and will pass quickly through.

My counts tonight are Protein 157 carbs: 52 fiber 22 ecc 30. Got the water in, also the exercise and supps. See everyone tomorrow.

[Feelix]

Checking - I am not sure what my numbers ar.. I have yet to figure it out... BUT the good thing? I can actually tell you what I ate today.. No blind eating!!! YIPPEE!

[BeccainSC]

Quick check to report in.... back on the wagon today :) Of course it's genearlly easier for me during the week, much more structured.

Protein: 131
Carbs: 56
Water: 96 ounces - don't think taking the extra bottle helped in the long run as I basically didn't have any after I got home this afternoon. Course I was out and about so that may have impacted too.

All in all a good day. Exhausted from work, to be expected, but I did get a lot more done today than I thought I would so the rest of the week should go smoother.

3 books from the library today, think I'll go read.....


'becca

[Ammy]

Been a long day trying to NOT freak out about GF losing her job. Trying trying trying...
started to eat nuts without measuring, and believe it or not, my STOMACH told me to stop, at the right amount. Thanks all that is holy!

Water: 64+oz
Exercise: 35min on recumbant bike
Supps: yes
Pro: 1325.8
Ecc: 45
Fat: 146
Cal: 2019

[Jackie]

Amy!! I hope all is well with the GF, everything happens for a reason and maybe its just time for a change for her. I will all work out...........at least she has 4 months to find the right job.
My DH is wondering if the same will happen with him, he works in the logging industry and it is getting hit real hard heard. We all need to keep our fingers crossed that the economy will turn around...........in the mean time EAT MEAT!!!!!

I find that I am more able to deal with stress on this WOE than any other time in my life. I hope you feel the same.

[gitfiddle]

Jackie, I do!

Sounds like there is lots of progress today, folks. Keep up the good work!

See you all in the morning! So far, no blizzard. I'm going to plan to be at work at the usual time tomorrow and let myself be pleasantly surprised if I get a phone call.

[lisanurse81]

Lisa, what are you sewing? Or did I miss it somewhere?


Thanks for asking.. no, you didn't miss it.

I have gotten in over my head in friends, family's and church peoples requests to sew for them over the past 2 or 3 months. Talk about procrastination! :eek: The latest thing is skirts made from jeans. They are actually pretty cool! You take out the center inseam, then use additional fabric from another pair of jeans, or the bottom of the legs if cut off.. or something whimsical or whatever... to then fill the area, it's sounds complicated, but I've do SO many now, it's rather easy. Also doing 3 slips for my mil, some scrubs for my sil, and numerous other things for myself and dd. So just trying to catch up, then put the machines away for a while.. whew!


So amongst all that, I managed to get all my water...yay! and too many carbs, but that's okay.. maintained a small loss for 2 days now.. looks like it might be here to stay.

Here's the numbers:
Calories 2,188
Fat 148.6
Carbohydrate 53.8 (ecc 36)
Dietary Fiber 17.5
Protein 132.3

[sagebrushsara]

Hi all,

Just checking in with my totals. Breakfast was eggs and smokies, lunch was a turkey wrap, and dinner was roast beast with some steamed broccoli and some really nice cabernet. Got my water in today and my supps. Nope again on the exercise. I'm thinking I will gradually add this necessary component in until I'm zany like Amy and actually want to do it everyday.

Totals: 89g protein, 33g ECC, 102g fat 1578 cal

[Anniesnan]

Amy - how hard for your gf & you. Good luck to her in finding something she likes that comes with a salary.



well, talk about a day to not have time ...

That quote was invented for me.
Although, yesterday, once home from work, I couldn't get near the computer. DH was reseaching something and by the time he got off, I was shot and went to bed. That's why I'm up at the crack of light today - wait, there's no light yet:D


My biggest problems tend to be letting myself get too hungry between breakfast and lunch and not having lunch planned. If I have lunch planned and get "very" hungry, I can think about the planned lunch and deal with it. Otherwise, I start talking myself into things my mind didn't want.

On Sunday, I prepared enough "grilled" chicken for 2 lunches, so even though I was hungry for lunch, I knew I had something to come home to.
Today will be even better, because after I was done with the lunch, I packed 2 bags of almonds to keep in my desk, so I won't have to get quite so hungry.

Ate on plan and exercised.
Am looking forward to a great day today.

[Ammy]

I'm thinking I will gradually add this necessary component in until I'm zany like Amy and actually want to do it everyday.


ZANY is a good place to be!!! :razz: :redface:



GF didn't get home until 10pm, so we stayed up and talked until Midnight. It took us awhile to get to the place where we could relax and sleep. Not necessarily because we're upset, but anxiety is high-especially around the WAITING for the severance package so we REALLY know and are comfortable as to what is happening. It's the WAITING that it stressful right now. It should arrive today.

Then the neighbor's hired snowplower showed up at 12:30am :suspicious:. UNcool!!

[maxlharris]

My counts for yesterday:
Protein: 213g
carbs: ~22g
Cals: ~1950

Made the slow cooker, texas style chili. 1 serve: 61g protein, 23g fat, 5.5g net carbs. Then, you add the cheese. And the sour cream. And some lime juice. Was VERY hot (my mistake... again), but nothing I couldn't take. Second serve is what did me in. Felt bloated and gross and like I had too much sugar alcohol. Am better now, but not 100% Will have to temper that in the future.

[gitfiddle]

Lisa, what a fun project! The jean skirts, not the lingerie--I don't do well on slinky fabric.

Sara, you're welcome to take all the time you need to put your own program together. :)


My biggest problems tend to be letting myself get too hungry between breakfast and lunch and not having lunch planned. If I have lunch planned and get "very" hungry, I can think about the planned lunch and deal with it. Otherwise, I start talking myself into things my mind didn't want.

Same here, Agnes.

Amy, zany is a GOOD thing!

Max, I rarely make a dish the same way twice. Always tweaking.