Summer Woes

[Charran]

I'm not sure about other people, but for me, summer is a notoriously hard time to lose weight. I think I've pinpointed the problems for myself. First of all, my daily routine is thrown off with school being out and the kids being at home more. This messes up my eating and exercise schedule. Second of all, DH has alot of time off in the summer and we are at the lake every weekend and this year will spend 4 full weeks there. I'm not trying to make excuses or anything, but I can only pack enough for a few days when we're gone for a week. The fridge is quite small, so won't hold large quantities of fresh food. I end up having to go to a small town close to us to shop and let's just say that their selection is not always....desirable! :lol: My attitude, I have to admit, gets more free, easy and unstructured during the summer and it's just hard to get in the right frame of mind. I've started thinking of some strategies I can use to keep myself on track! :thup: Does anyone else have this problem and if so, what are some of the things you've done to counteract it?

[pennink]

I bought a bigger fridge and a freezer.

When we go to a cottage I make all my food and grill a LOT!

I go to a ton of horse shows and I have to take oopsie rolls and waters to keep on track. Why do they serve such yummy hot dogs (I avoid hot dogs)?

I buy myself new, tighter summer pants so I know right away if I've been bad.

Luckily, I'm at work 5 days a week and it's easier to stay on track there than when I'm on holiday.

I avoided fresh corn and cherries last year. It was tough. My two favourite things about summer!

This year, though, at least I won't be as hot and sweaty. And this weekend is a good test for that, eh?

I do lean on salads and grilled foods in the summer and I'm setting a 'end of summer' challenge for myself.

[LessLiz]

Yes, I do not lose well at all during the summer unless I make myself miserable. I don't have kids and am not spending extended time in remote locations -- my schedule doesn't change drastically but I am more active.

So what gives for me? Fresh produce including fruits.

"Summer" hasn't started here, but I am already thinking about what I'll do. I think switching to PPLP may help in that regard -- I feel more confident about incorporating fruit into my diet, and will not let the occasional indulgence in corn on the cob bother me. I'm also debating the benefits of intentionally allowing myself to "hold" through the summer will be worth it.

I don't have a strategy yet, but its on my mind quite a bit. I hope others contribute to this thread with their thoughts.

[rightnow]

Barbecue has gotta help. The more you barbecue, the more you have a simple meat to eat.

[MizKitty]

Yep, grilling and salads with the bounty of fresh garden veggies.
I don't have young kids out-of-school either, but that's got to make it tougher.

I had a hard time in April and May because my husband went from evening shift to days, and that disrupted my routine, so I understand what you're saying.

Is there anyone at the lake you could do a buddy-up diet challenge with?

[Charran]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions ladies! :) Yes, grilling does help alot. It's mainly fresh vegetables and fruits I have a problem with. Once I use up what I brought and have to go buy some, that's when the problems start! Buying meats isn't too bad though.

I'd love to find a "buddy"...never mind at the lake, I'd like one here in the city! :lol: I don't know anyone that well and the 2 ladies that I do talk with alot are both thin! "sigh"

[patriciakr]

I love summer! I know I haven't introduced myself (glitch today whenever I try to start new thread to do my introduction, it gives me a "can't open this page"...argh!) and I want to say that despite my current weight stats, I've lost and maintained an over 60 lb loss for years in the near past, so my tips do come from experience and some success for me.

We don't have a cottage, nor go camping, but we do a lot of day trips (well, until I damaged my knee last June). I pack with great care :)

Items that work for me include Ito brand teas - unsweetned in exquisite flavors such as Rose green, a green/white, a lovely oolong. That plus making sure I have plain carbonated water help me stay hydrated - the teas with some flavor - and the bubby carbonated water so I don't miss soda.
I take water-pack smoked oysters, or small cans of water pack chicken breast, celery of course, and if I can keep things cool, I will take meat rollups, my own kalamata olive cream-cheese spread which is great w/celery.
Homemade cheese crackers are also great for "crunchy stuff" on the road.

Grilling and smoking are two loves of my husband, one I encourage :) He's good at using sugar free rubs and I will state that without any doubt he makes some of the best dry, sugar-free ribs on the planet.
We also love to grill veggies - peppers, mushrooms, zucchini.

I haven't had time to read through the many threads here, so apologize if all I am doing is repeating oft made suggestions.

[ValerieL]

Cherries do me in each & every year. They are only around for a short time but I always eat too many of them. I've decided I just have to say "no" for this summer. No cherries. I'll wait until next year.

[SugaSaint]

What are oopsie rolls?

[FatFreeMe]

There are cleochatra's concoction, and here's the recipe thread.
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=363519

surf the boards as ppl have a lot of suggestions on what to do with them

[Charran]

Thanks Patricia! It's not so much the food that gets to me, it's the motivation that does me in. I just get in this relaxed state of mind and don't like to cook much and well....let's just say I get apathetic about eating right. I guess I just really need a kick in the butt....all summer long! :)

Val- Being in Canada also and having to put up with such a poor selection of fruit most of the year, summer does me in with all the tempting fruits making their way into the markets. I admire your determination about the cherries. I haven't had any this year yet. They are wayyyyy over priced anyways right now.

Jody- Have you ever tried those oopsie rolls? I keep reading about them, but haven't tried them out yet. Maybe one day!

[MNLisa B]

Worth the effort, it's lovely to have a burger on a "bun" now and again. I try to avoid grains, and these make a decent sub for a soft roll to mop up the yolks on my fried eggs. or use as a sandwich bun.

I make a batch of 6 every week, and keep them in a ziplock bag in the fridge.

We love to go to Farmer's Markets in the summer and love the fresh fruits and veggies at Sam's Club, but we ran out of room in our kitchen fridge, so we bought a really simple one that we keep in our basement, we really couldn't do without it.

Of course, we hardy Minnesotans and Canadians know that come winter time, our garages serve as walk- in fridges. I can often store my leftovers in my garage at least 6 months out of the year!! :D

[FatFreeMe]

I just posted my weight in the weekly weigh in... urgh! So I came right here to commiserate with you! the summer is doing me in! Now, on Friday, I'm leaving for a month at the lake too. (It's pretty close to home, so I'll just pop home on occasion to do laundry and check in). I've decided I just need to "coast" for the summer, hopefully keep my head screwed on right and not GAIN anymore than I have! And another thing I really need to do is start hitting the gym again. I haven't been going since March when my membership expired and really--I feel like crap these days!

[Kisal]

Cherries do me in each & every year. They are only around for a short time but I always eat too many of them. I've decided I just have to say "no" for this summer. No cherries. I'll wait until next year.I had to laugh at this! :lol: I have a lovely cherry tree in my front yard, and I was helping a friend pick some for herself and some of her other friends. Before I knew it, I had eaten three of the delightful, yummy little things! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[FatFreeMe]

Char.. how are things going over there? I'm home from the lake now and up about 5 pounds in the last month (booo...)
Summer always kicks my butt--but I hate to complain when its so short, and already half over.

*sneaking off to change my stats*

[kathleen24]

I spent quite a stretch of time this summer at a cabin, and we were able to replace the defunct fridge with a new one that was narrow enough to fit in the space available, but still quite spacious--not a full-size, industrial-strength one, but for under 200, one that was surprisingly capacious.

I also spent as much time in the water as possible--a lot of water-aerobics-type movements. I think it was a pivotal foundation for me to build up enough muscle to start turning the battleship and getting back towards LC.

Went for some walks that I thought were beyond my capacity to do--and did them.

RELAXED--which was so good for my frame of mind and also probably contributed to helping me get ready to be here now.

Had an ab cruncher (a simple $20 curved metal thingy) out on the dock so I could start the day with exercise. It was great.

Steered more towards getting more healthy than just losing weight--selected foods from the Rx Foods list, and could feel the difference in how my body responded. Again, probably part of what made this possible.

So while I didn't lose a substantial amount there, I actually did drop a few pounds, and felt a lot better.

I realize that these probably won't all apply to your situation, but hope something provides food for thought.