Thanks Stephanie! I'm finding it more 'grounding' than trying to keep track of random notebooks, etc...and more accountable too, because it's public.
I'm also employing a chart on my fridge with my weekly prep and meal plan, 10 point checklist so I can see what my score was on a daily, weekly and monthly level. I'm trying to be committed!
Friday 1/13:
Posted on the main thread in the morning...Average for the week was 3 solid points of MWL, and 2-ish. Nice day yesterday:
1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes--I remembered to eat fruit or vegetable before each meal and snack...Though, by the end of the day, I don't want as much food, so this falls off. Fruit was easiest this past week, but working in more vegetables. 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--even at dinner. Had a "treat" meal Friday night with white rice, salad, and rare, but favorite, frozen raspberries! 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--Doing great with just a tsp or two of sugar here and there and limited salty condiments. 4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes--no candy, etc.5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes--except flax in oatmeal...for emotional reasons, I guess. 6. Eliminate any added oil.
Yes--cool beans!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--I even wasn't as tempted to purchase these at the store Friday...had an 'emergency' potato before I went. 8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Yes--I have been trying to reduce caffeine gradually. Switched to black tea as a first step, but had a small half-caff cup (black) Friday morning, because I had been up since 3:00. 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 I did pretty well with this yesterday. I don't remember being uncomfortable. 10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
No--didn't walk after work, b/c I decided last minute to get groceries Friday instead of Saturday. Food:
3:30 a.m.: water...considered breakfast, but too many hours before lunch.
4:00: small half-caff, black coffee...then tried to go back to bed until I absolutely had to get up.
7:15: pre-load strawberries; banana oatmeal, 1/2-1 tsp sugar...ate half
10:00: pre-load apple; remaining breakfast
12:40: pre-load orange: left-over soups all combined (heavy on the lentils); 1-1/2 to 2 cups raw celery/carrots.
3:45: medium POTATO!
6:00?: Steam-in-bag white rice, 1c salad w/3-2-1 dressing, 1c frozen raspberries.
8:00: Made tea so I wouldn't roam the kitchen. Had one sip and forgot about it.
Feeling more solid about MWL yesterday. Have a nice meal plan, husband-approved, for this week. I don't mean he approved my meals, but I planned what I wanted and added things for him...drives me nuts to cook something that I've pick for his tastes and then he doesn't eat it.
Menu plan for week:
Dinners/Left-overs:
Moroccan red-lentil soup from McD app--subbing in potatoes for pasta, stores longer if needed, husband adds oyster crackers
"Chipotle" style bowls (rice, corn, black beans, salsa or tomatoes, onions...) Adding dairy products and tortilla, avocado for H
Pasta Primavera--whole wheat pasta, extra vegetables, purchased sauce--they've stopped carrying the no-oil and/or the lower sodium sauce at our store so this will be off plan for me. Will look for better product next time--don't like sauce when I've tried to make it.
Lunches: Left-overs from dinner or freezer, Jeff's burgers and fries or Mashed potatoes if needed. Raw vegetables and fruit, hummus or bean dip. EDIT: got ingredients to make sweet potato dessert (baked with crushed pineapple) in case I "need" something.