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Weight Loss Journey.... - Page 3

post #61 of 222
5/14/09 at 3:17pm
Thread Starter 
Ms.Freya:

not sure if I'm understanding your question, but are you looking for something DH can make, that you both will eat? Or is it like my family where I have to make me one thing and the others something different?

either way: You can't go wrong with chicken. You could have chicken burgers, stir fry chicken, chicken n' noodles.... chicken ceasar wrap (my favorite). You can bbq it, roast it, crockpot it, fry it with water, etc.

Fish is another good one. One of my fav meals, a filet of fish steamed with italian salad dressing, served over either veggies or veggies/rice.

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My update:

I've not been doing too well this week at all. Had a huge binge on Tues. and just have not put effort into weightloss this week aside from my walk on Monday. Tues and Wed, I exceeded my calories which is directly because of binging and not making smart food choices.

I always get to a point where:

- I am soooo tired of cooking 2 different meals for the family
- I get sore, then I don't put as much effort into cooking so I grab convenience meals such as pizza pockets
- I loose my motivation. I'm like that with alot of things... I go gung ho for a couple weeks, then it slows down and I revert to my normal behaviour/actions.

and I don't know what to do. I know there's nothing I can do about the pain issues.... but the motivation, I do not know how to keep it going. It's a vicious circle I'm in.... I don't eat well, get depressed, don't care, and do more damage to myself.

and I'm at that point right now. Just frustrated, tired, sore, feeling blah.
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post #62 of 222
5/14/09 at 7:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snake_Lady View Post
Just frustrated, tired, sore, feeling blah.
I know how you feel. Staying motivated to keep this up is definately the hardest part. Last week I finally got out of a 2 week mindset of "as long as I don't gain any back, I'm fine."

I think the trick is just to start geting back into it a bit at a time and move past the rough bits. Maybe start off just getting back into one healthy meal a day, then once that becomes routine again, move up to two, etc. That way, if you hit another rough patch, you're more likely to keep up at least some healthy meals because they've become habit.

Someone on here posted this much more eloquently, but it's harder to unlearn a bad habit than to learn a new one, so try not to be too hard on yourself if you're not perfect at it right away.

I can see how the cooking two meals for every meal would be tiring...could you cook up several portions of a few good meals for you at the beginning of the week or on the weekend then freeze them and pull one out each day? It might help to save you time at the end of your day. It would also be a nice, portion controlled snack on a bad night (not that I ever do that )

DH eats the same as I do so it's just meal ideas for both of us...I'll have to ask him to check if chicken is on sale at the butcher's this week. We haven't had wraps in eons. I'm so glad we're coming back into BBQ season.
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post #63 of 222
5/14/09 at 7:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ms. Freya View Post
I can see how the cooking two meals for every meal would be tiring...could you cook up several portions of a few good meals for you at the beginning of the week or on the weekend then freeze them and pull one out each day? It might help to save you time at the end of your day. It would also be a nice, portion controlled snack on a bad night (not that I ever do that )
I was thinking the same thing. Lots of veggie freeze well and for easy meals can just be tossed in the oven. You can also precook meats and freeze them for quick additions to meals.

Personally I'd make the family eat the same meals. You'll be teaching your daughters how to eat right early in life.
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post #64 of 222
5/14/09 at 8:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post

Personally I'd make the family eat the same meals. You'll be teaching your daughters how to eat right early in life.
My daughters and husband eat quite fine thanks.

There's nothing wrong with they way they eat, but if they are having breaded chicken and fries, I eat chicken and rice instead of having 2nuggets and bout 15 french fries. If anything, they eat healthier than I do, and pay attention to the food guide. They prefer fruits, I prefer veggies.

Quote:
could you cook up several portions of a few good meals for you at the beginning of the week or on the weekend then freeze them and pull one out each day?
I do have some chicken cooked up and frozen.... but I find with pasta's, they tend to go mushy when frozen.

But I should cook up some other meat and freeze it

I have been buying alot more portion frozen dinners...healthy choices from this one store, their "blue menu" items are low fat, and low in calories.
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post #65 of 222
5/17/09 at 6:00am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snake_Lady View Post
Achieved my goal for this week.

Update:

weight: 194lbs down from 207lbs.
bmi: 32.3 down from 34.4

all by changing how and what I eat. Now to add in some exercise. I've been going for 1 good hike per week. I want to increase that to 2 now.

I can't say I've been perfect, like last night: I had a bowl of apple blossom with icecream and syrup. But I'm ok with that....yes, I should have either just had the apple blossom or ice cream but....You gotta treat yourself once in a while. I just did not exercise portion control in that instance.

Goals this week:

1. Continue monitoring food intake/portion control.....try to have a serving of veggies with lunch and supper.

2. Go for 2 walks this week.

3. Lose 1-2lbs this week.
Update:

weight: 192lbs down from 207lbs

WOOHOOOOOOOOO. I achieved my goal this week. I really didn't think I would because I had a couple high binge days, where I gained 1/2lb.....I was pleasantly surprised to have reached my goal loss of 1-2lbs.

Now a couple things: I need to make sure that it doesn't give me a false sense of "well I screwed up last wk and lost weight, so I can screw up now and still lose". Which, now that I've typed it, it is more etched into my brain... that no, if I have some crap days, I could very well gain weight.

One would think, that how I feel when I look in the mirror, would make me continue to have the strength to lose weight but unfortunately it doesn't.

My other goals for last week, I did not achieve. I did not have veggies with/at or in every meal.

I did however go for two walks, plus a bike ride. Mind you, Monday was an hour walk, yesterday was 30mins walk, plus 30mins bike ride. So technically I did squeeze in 2 walks.

This week is going to be a busy week. Lots of activities going on. So it'll be alot of walking/driving for appts.

My goals this week:

- weight loss of 1-2lbs
- no binges....this is a big one for me. If I do feel the need to eat constantly, I'm grabbing my bag of sunflower seeds.
- get at least one walk in.

My dr. appt. is on the 30th, so I will see what his scale says. I can't really go by how my clothing fits because I had to buy some for surgery as I couldn't do up buttons/zippers....so I bought looser fitting. The pants I have, are stretchy pants, or really loose pants from my "bigger" days.

I know sometime soon, I will start hitting a plateau.... which is why right now I'm still mainly focused on eating, rather than exercising. I know if I did both, I'd be losing alot more which would be great, but I don't think I'd be learning as much about myself, or how to eat healthy, etc.

Oh, I've offered before, and will offer again, if anyone wants a printed copy of this: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/alt_for...-vnqau-eng.pdf pm me... It's free, but needs to be ordered to a Canadian address. I'd happily try to get a few copies and mail em out to you in other countries.

It's been invaluable to me Alot of times, I will browse through it to get different ideas of what to eat. ex. around "monthly" time, I need to get more iron.... so aside from meats.. I looked up what was higher in iron for veggies.

more in a different post, to seperate things up and not have people get tired of reading the lengthy postings.
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post #66 of 222
5/17/09 at 6:10am
Thread Starter 
Shelled sunflower seeds

For those of us that like to munch. Walmart has "Spitz" sunflower seeds, original, salted, dill pickle, and a chili lime one....

The salted ones I find make my lips feel yucky. But the dill pickle ones, mmm mmm mmm.

And, 1/2cup (with shells) is only 100cals. It takes me prolly bout an hour to get through 1/2c.

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Meal prep:

Meats: cook extra, and freeze it in portion sizes. I already do this with ground beef, and chicken.... but I'm going to try it with fish. The dollar store here has assorted ziploc bags, and they are perfect sizes for portions.

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Snack:

Dill pickles..... about 5cal per pickle. I find when I'm craving sweets, if I can manage to eat a pickle, it takes away the craving for sweet.

I will also cut 2 or 3 up, into little pieces, so I have a "bowlfull" for snacking purposes.

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Tip:

Bread and buns have a lot of calories in them. I've stopped eating bread with my meals (used to always have 2slices of bread with pastas, or soup) and I watch what kind of buns I buy, for hamburger ones. We really like these fatter, crustini buns for burgers but they are 230 per bun. Whereas the typical no-name buns are 130.

Pitas make a great substitute for bread. I use them for sandwiches now. I buy whole wheat or multigrained pitas and put my sandwich stuff in em. Lot less carbs, and cals that way.
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post #67 of 222
5/20/09 at 6:37am
Thread Starter 
I hope everyone else is doing well on their exercise plans, and eating habits.

I find I am thinking alot more about what I eat. For example: on Sunday we had burgers.... throughout the day I ate well, low cal items, and when I was bbq'ing, I decided to treat myself to 2 bigger buns and cheese on my burgers. Doing so still kept me within my calories goals, and it felt darn good

I did the same thing yesterday..... I had 2 bagels with cheese.. and was still in my calorie goals BUT the problem with yesterday was, I hadn't eaten all day.... then all I did eat was the bagels

Alot of times, especially when hubby is away, we don't do "meals". The kids eat their breakie, and take lunch to school. Supper is usually self serve if Mark isn't home. (he's gone for 4 suppers, self serve for 2-3 of those) So for me, I don't generally eat breakfast... Lunch it depends what I'm doing, if I'm home or not... but usually what I'll do is to eat around 3pm... and that's it. Nothing else, or a small snack at 9.

Not very good eating habits IMO.

Can someone tell me what the damage is of only eating once a day? I thought there was something, but can't remember why exactly that it is not good.
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post #68 of 222
5/20/09 at 11:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snake_Lady View Post
Can someone tell me what the damage is of only eating once a day? I thought there was something, but can't remember why exactly that it is not good.
Eating one meal per day will slow down your metabolism. After a while your body resists, goes into starvation mode, and holds on to body fat. By eating small frequent healthy meals and exercising, you will improve your metabolism and create lean muscle mass. Lean muscle further increases your metabolic rate.
Also, I know you don't like eating breakfast but by doing so, like a bowl of cereal every morning, will kickstart your metabolism. When you don't eat breakfast you're not producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight.
I see that you have lost some weight already and congrats! But lots of people complain after the initial 10lb weight loss that they've reached a plateau and can't lose anymore. That's why it's so important to not only eat breakfast but serveral small healthy meals all day


Hope this was helpful....
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post #69 of 222
5/21/09 at 5:54am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lil maggie View Post
Eating one meal per day will slow down your metabolism. After a while your body resists, goes into starvation mode, and holds on to body fat. By eating small frequent healthy meals and exercising, you will improve your metabolism and create lean muscle mass. Lean muscle further increases your metabolic rate.
Also, I know you don't like eating breakfast but by doing so, like a bowl of cereal every morning, will kickstart your metabolism. When you don't eat breakfast you're not producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight.
I see that you have lost some weight already and congrats! But lots of people complain after the initial 10lb weight loss that they've reached a plateau and can't lose anymore. That's why it's so important to not only eat breakfast but serveral small healthy meals all day


Hope this was helpful....
Thanks very helpful indeed.

I am still losing weight, just on diet alone (part of the reason I haven't added alot of exercise in as of yet.... so that when I do plateau, I can add in the cardio exercise to help jumpstart things again).

So, breakfast.... it's more just the process of eating something, to start your body's internal organs to get going by the sounds of it. So it shouldn't matter how big/small breakfast is then, am I right?

If we have bananas, I will eat one of them for breakie. (But, I'm fussy on the ripeness.... so unless I want to go buy nanas every 2 days, I can only do that a couple times/week) I like yogurt, and just had a cup. Would that be sufficient for a breakfast?

I do have lots of coffee in the mornings too...well, not lots, but 2-3 cups... more if I go to my friends, then it adds up to 4-6... (I don't drink it later on in the day usually).

So would coffee and yogurt be good to start my metabolism for the day? I know its not the best, but really, I have absolutely no interest in food in the mornings (unless its about 11am)
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post #70 of 222
5/21/09 at 10:24am
Breakfast is a really hard habit to get into. It took me months to get use to eating it but I like cereal so it wasn't 'what' I ate as it was just eating something in the morning.

I think yogurt and/or a banana would be fine so you have something healthy in your body in the morning to get your system going. Maybe eat a healthy snack a bit later. I know you love coffee but ... maybe replace one of those cups of coffee with OJ or some other juice?

If you think of your body as an engine and food as fuel and your body isn't getting healthy fuel, especially starting the day, it's going to run sluggish. (Just trying to stess how important a morning meal is)

Also, think of your stomach as the size of your fist and that should be the size of the meals which should be eaten frequently throughout the day. I eat something small every 3 hours - it's like adding fuel to a fire. It's all about metabolism.

This is what my doctor preaches and it works. I have to eat correctly for other health reasons

BTW, Keep up the good work!

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post #71 of 222
5/21/09 at 10:33am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lil maggie View Post
Breakfast is a really hard habit to get into. It took me months to get use to eating it but I like cereal so it wasn't 'what' I ate as it was just eating something in the morning.

I think yogurt and/or a banana would be fine so you have something healthy in your body in the morning to get your system going. Maybe eat a healthy snack a bit later. I know you love coffee but ... maybe replace one of those cups of coffee with OJ or some other juice?
Good idea. I do like OJ. So I could probally get in the habit of OJ and yogurt for a breakie. I really do need to sit down at the table and have breakie
I think it would be easier if we all got up at the same time.... My one daughter gets up early, then my other daughter and then me during the week. Weekends, usually 1 DD, then DH, then other DD, and me somewhere in there... sometimes first sometimes last.. depends on whether I slept well or not

Point being, I think it would be easier if we all sat down to eat breakfast together, but that's not going to happen. Except on the weekends, sometimes LOL.

Quote:
If you think of your body as an engine and food as fuel and your body isn't getting healthy fuel, especially starting the day, it's going to run sluggish. (Just trying to stess how important a morning meal is)

Also, think of your stomach as the size of your fist and that should be the size of the meals which should be eaten frequently throughout the day. I eat something small every 3 hours - it's like adding fuel to a fire. It's all about metabolism.
Great words of wisdom.. Thanks so much. Thinking about the fist/stomach size is a great way to look at it.
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post #72 of 222
5/21/09 at 6:01pm
WTG on hitting your goal, Snake_Lady!

Well, I'm not doing too bad this week. Down a half a pound, but I've been sick so no excersie and eating has been sketchy. Honestly, I'm just glad I haven't gained. Now that he weather's nicer I'm going to try and walk a bit on my lunch hour, although I've had some people tell me it's not worth it. Any thoughts on whether or not a 30min walk each day would be helpful?
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post #73 of 222
5/30/09 at 4:41pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snake_Lady View Post
Date: April 29 2009
Name: Chris
Age: 32 next month
Sex: F

Height: 5'4.5"
Current Weight: 207lbs as of April 11th.
BMI: 34.4

Goal Weight or BMI: 165lbs BMI 27.5(BMI has my goal as overweight, but it is a reasonable goal for me, one that I look pretty good in and feel pretty good).

Current Pant size: 16
Goal pant size: 10/12
Date: May 30

Weight: 199lbs (on the scale I weighed myself on at the begining)

Honestly, I am quite disappointed.

I know I've had rough days, but still...I expected a loss of 12lbs in 6wks.

So yes, I'm feeling very bummed out about this.

I am changing my goal weight to 190lbs by my next dr. appt which is in 4wks. Once I get there, I will revamp my goal. But right this moment, not having the loss I thought I worked hard enough for has completely dampened my spirts so 165 seems so far away.

I also know that a 9lb loss is going to be difficult while quitting smoking as well. But darn it, I'm going to try.

I'm just feeling really blah right now.... I don't like being disappointed. I KNOW I shouldn't be, 8lbs is reasonable for 6wks... I just expected more.
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post #74 of 222
5/30/09 at 6:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snake_Lady View Post
Date: May 30

Weight: 199lbs (on the scale I weighed myself on at the begining)

Honestly, I am quite disappointed.

I know I've had rough days, but still...I expected a loss of 12lbs in 6wks.

So yes, I'm feeling very bummed out about this.

I am changing my goal weight to 190lbs by my next dr. appt which is in 4wks. Once I get there, I will revamp my goal. But right this moment, not having the loss I thought I worked hard enough for has completely dampened my spirts so 165 seems so far away.

I also know that a 9lb loss is going to be difficult while quitting smoking as well. But darn it, I'm going to try.

I'm just feeling really blah right now.... I don't like being disappointed. I KNOW I shouldn't be, 8lbs is reasonable for 6wks... I just expected more.
I'm sorry you're feeling disappointed. But look at it this way, the slower you lose weight the more likely you are to keep it off. You've already accomplished so much! It's progress, people struggle with losing any weight at all and you've lost 8 pounds!

Now, I'm going to go off on a different tangent a little bit about my issues I haven't gotten on a scale in about a week. I am afraid because I've been eating around 2000-2200 calories and I know it because I count them. I don't know what my problem is, I just always feel hungry. It's mouth hunger not real hunger and I know it very well. Sometimes I feel full but I still need to eat something just for its taste. I'm going to try chewing gum because a lot of times i find myself eating just because I feel like I don't like the taste in my mouth and I want to make it better I feel like after I lost weight a few months ago I've been slowly increasing the amount of food I allow myself to eat. But yea I'm going to try chewing gum. I also plan to start eating more vegetables and fruits as opposed to fat free low calorie chips and snacks all the time. I eat way too many of the 100 calorie packets and just too much junk food. Also plan to stop the diet pepsi because artificial sweetners are bad for me. But the problem is my life is quite hectic right now as I'm taking summer classes which are more condensed and harder than the usual classes so I always find myself eating more when I get stressed. I am barely able to stop myself from over eating, stopping the diet and salty foods will make it so much more difficult because taste is what I'm usually always after. I hate this habit, I wish I could get rid of it somehow ...
Anyways..if anyone has some tips on how to get motivated, let me know! I need motivation big time.
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post #75 of 222
5/30/09 at 6:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snake_Lady View Post
8lbs is reasonable for 6wks... I just expected more.
Sorry to barge in on this thread since I haven't been posting about weight loss or giving any ideas but..........
8 pounds doesn't sound like very much but think about the weight of two 4 pound bags of sugar. When you get a chance, pick two of those babies up at once and you'll realize that it really is a lot of weight to lose!!
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post #76 of 222
5/30/09 at 6:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ut0pia View Post

Now, I'm going to go off on a different tangent a little bit about my issues I haven't gotten on a scale in about a week. I am afraid because I've been eating around 2000-2200 calories and I know it because I count them. I don't know what my problem is, I just always feel hungry. It's mouth hunger not real hunger and I know it very well. Sometimes I feel full but I still need to eat something just for its taste. I'm going to try chewing gum because a lot of times i find myself eating just because I feel like I don't like the taste in my mouth and I want to make it better I feel like after I lost weight a few months ago I've been slowly increasing the amount of food I allow myself to eat. But yea I'm going to try chewing gum. I also plan to start eating more vegetables and fruits as opposed to fat free low calorie chips and snacks all the time. I eat way too many of the 100 calorie packets and just too much junk food. Also plan to stop the diet pepsi because artificial sweetners are bad for me. But the problem is my life is quite hectic right now as I'm taking summer classes which are more condensed and harder than the usual classes so I always find myself eating more when I get stressed. I am barely able to stop myself from over eating, stopping the diet and salty foods will make it so much more difficult because taste is what I'm usually always after. I hate this habit, I wish I could get rid of it somehow ...
Anyways..if anyone has some tips on how to get motivated, let me know! I need motivation big time.
I think I know how you feel. The mouth hunger? There are days where I am not hungry, and eat way too much just because I want something to eat... I'm craving....I'll crave creamy, so I'll have yogurt...a few of em. Then I crave salt, so I will have cheese and crackers...then I crave sweet, so I'll totally blow it and have icecream with a LOT of sweet sauces n' such... I just feel I need to eat.... and I know I'm full, but I keep eating till it feels like the food is coming into my throat... (thats what I call a binge for me)

Is that what you mean?

Or is it the "idle mouth" syndrome? Where you just feel the need to have something in your mouth? I get that from time to time. But again the taste changes.

Some things I have done: I have cough candies, peppermints, and sweetened hard candy in the house. The mints I have are pretty strong and fat free....sucking on one of those helps alleviate some of the cravings.... I think for me, the mint, numbs the taste buds.

I'm also a carb-o-holic. I love crackers, chips, bread, etc. I do not keep chips in my house, except once a month or so we buy chips for a meal of nachos. I find if I eat alot of bread one day, I crave soooo much the next day. So I try to eat minimal breads/starches/crackers/etc. If I can go a couple days without bread, then I'm fine....I don't really crave anything.

One thing I found lately, sunflower seeds Good for you, I buy the Spitz from Walmart...shelled and seasoned (I prefer dill pickle). 1/2c with shell is 100cals.... so much better than those 100cal packs..... cheaper too. I munch on them when I feel the need to munch. 1/2cup is actually a fair amount too.... time consumming as well because you shell them...or if you're like me, you suck on em, then shell them, then eat the seed. If I crave salt, I eat the salted ones...which, I'll eat about 1/4cup before the salt aggravates my lips. But for just a snack, or something to keep your mouth busy, the dill pickle ones aren't too salty... I think there's a couple other flavors too... I've only tried the dill pickle, salted and the seasoned ones.

Hope that helps some.... It's sooo hard isn't it. Remember tho, it generally takes about 3wks to break or make a habit.... so stick with whatever you choose.
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post #77 of 222
5/30/09 at 6:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lil maggie View Post
Sorry to barge in on this thread since I haven't been posting about weight loss or giving any ideas but..........
8 pounds doesn't sound like very much but think about the weight of two 4 pound bags of sugar. When you get a chance, pick two of those babies up at once and you'll realize that it really is a lot of weight to lose!!
Please, barge in....

noone here minds the encouragement.

and thanks, those babies are quite heavy eh.
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post #78 of 222
5/30/09 at 7:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snake_Lady View Post
I think I know how you feel. The mouth hunger? There are days where I am not hungry, and eat way too much just because I want something to eat... I'm craving....I'll crave creamy, so I'll have yogurt...a few of em. Then I crave salt, so I will have cheese and crackers...then I crave sweet, so I'll totally blow it and have icecream with a LOT of sweet sauces n' such... I just feel I need to eat.... and I know I'm full, but I keep eating till it feels like the food is coming into my throat... (thats what I call a binge for me)

Is that what you mean?

Or is it the "idle mouth" syndrome? Where you just feel the need to have something in your mouth? I get that from time to time. But again the taste changes.

Some things I have done: I have cough candies, peppermints, and sweetened hard candy in the house. The mints I have are pretty strong and fat free....sucking on one of those helps alleviate some of the cravings.... I think for me, the mint, numbs the taste buds.

I'm also a carb-o-holic. I love crackers, chips, bread, etc. I do not keep chips in my house, except once a month or so we buy chips for a meal of nachos. I find if I eat alot of bread one day, I crave soooo much the next day. So I try to eat minimal breads/starches/crackers/etc. If I can go a couple days without bread, then I'm fine....I don't really crave anything.

One thing I found lately, sunflower seeds Good for you, I buy the Spitz from Walmart...shelled and seasoned (I prefer dill pickle). 1/2c with shell is 100cals.... so much better than those 100cal packs..... cheaper too. I munch on them when I feel the need to munch. 1/2cup is actually a fair amount too.... time consumming as well because you shell them...or if you're like me, you suck on em, then shell them, then eat the seed. If I crave salt, I eat the salted ones...which, I'll eat about 1/4cup before the salt aggravates my lips. But for just a snack, or something to keep your mouth busy, the dill pickle ones aren't too salty... I think there's a couple other flavors too... I've only tried the dill pickle, salted and the seasoned ones.

Hope that helps some.... It's sooo hard isn't it. Remember tho, it generally takes about 3wks to break or make a habit.... so stick with whatever you choose.
Sunflower seeds really really help!! Thanks for letting me know I used to eat a lot of them but somehow forgot how great they are and how much they help that need for something salty!!
I used to never eat any kind of candy that was like a rule I made for myself..And then I had some chewy candy that is fat free and I didn't eat a lot of it and I felt like wow this really satisfied my craving and I didn't go over in my calories. So then I started to eat some chewy fat free candies every time I felt a craving, but then I compared the calories to like a snickers bar and I was like ohh well the snickers bar isn't that much more...And I actually ate a snickers bar the other day!! Something I would have killed myself for earlier....not literally of course but I can't believe I did that and I didn't feel all that guilty. I just feel like slowly i'm breaking one rule after another and I'm losing my control over myself.... I hope that after writing this down I'll be more conscious of myself and what I'm eating. I think writing things down help.
Oh and you mentioned ice cream, I've been eating some 100 calorie ice cream bars they are amazing!! They are actually called fruit bars not ice cream bars and they are made of real fruit, they taste just like a frozen smoothie. Have you tried those or do you usually crave a dairy type of ice cream??
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post #79 of 222
5/30/09 at 7:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ut0pia View Post
Sunflower seeds really really help!! Thanks for letting me know I used to eat a lot of them but somehow forgot how great they are and how much they help that need for something salty!!
I used to never eat any kind of candy that was like a rule I made for myself..And then I had some chewy candy that is fat free and I didn't eat a lot of it and I felt like wow this really satisfied my craving and I didn't go over in my calories. So then I started to eat some chewy fat free candies every time I felt a craving, but then I compared the calories to like a snickers bar and I was like ohh well the snickers bar isn't that much more...And I actually ate a snickers bar the other day!! Something I would have killed myself for earlier....not literally of course but I can't believe I did that and I didn't feel all that guilty. I just feel like slowly i'm breaking one rule after another and I'm losing my control over myself.... I hope that after writing this down I'll be more conscious of myself and what I'm eating. I think writing things down help.
Oh and you mentioned ice cream, I've been eating some 100 calorie ice cream bars they are amazing!! They are actually called fruit bars not ice cream bars and they are made of real fruit, they taste just like a frozen smoothie. Have you tried those or do you usually crave a dairy type of ice cream??
Definately writing it down helps.... that's why I posted in the first place, because by writing it down where a bunch of people can read it, helps me stay focused and makes me feel accountable for my own actions.

I haven't tried those ice cream bars because they are soooo expensive here

I don't do the ice cream very often...maybe once a month. If I had the bars in the house, I'd probally eat all of em. But they would be a good idea if I bought the kids something for a treat, then buy me the 100cal ones....

The ice cream is not really a ice cream craving, it is a "thick, creamy and sweet" craving...(I put corn syrup, maple syrup and coconut on it....its definately the sugar I'm after). I wonder if those fruit ones would work? Are they sweet?

Alot of my prob is, I don't keep alot of these things in the house because I know that I don't usually stop at one. So its safe if they are not in the house... but then when I do get a sweet craving, I'll eat whatever I can find.... if no ice cream, then waffles with syrup... something sweet.

But those fruit bars sound yummy....I might try them.

I know I have to gain some of my own willpower..... I thought I had it, proved myself wrong last wk tho.... bought some mini bags of chips for special treats... a multipack, of 20 bags or so.... they were gone in 2 days. Lesson learnt. I do not have the self control, so we keep them out of the house.
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post #80 of 222
5/30/09 at 7:45pm
Thread Starter 
I'm not much for weight loss books, but I do have one.

It's called "Flip the Switch". author Jim Karas

this book is great. It's not about eat this eat that. It has goal setting, exercises to do(not physical...emotional..written exercises), motivational blurbs such as

Quote:
create a goal in your mind and picture yourself victorious
Quote:
doubting yourself is a recipe for failure
that one I believe, as I live it. I constantly doubt myself.

Part 1 is "It can happen to you" (believing in the flip and visualize the flip)

The flip is deciding that once and for all you can win at weight loss, then transforming that desire into a reality.

Part 2 is "What's kept you from flipping" ( chapters on common excuses like not having the time, not having the energy, not having the money, not having the right genes, etc)

Part 3 is "Living Flipped" (includes monthly inventory worksheets, food journal sheets, exercise logs, etc. one chapter is called "Oh no, I just gained 5lbs...or..how to stay flipped)

It is a great book, and I would definately recommend it for anyone....it helps, it really does. I've pulled it out to reread it again, because I am ready to flip the switch and lose and keep the weight off....I don't want to be out of breath playing with my kids, or out of control so much that I eat anything I can find.
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post #81 of 222
5/30/09 at 8:14pm
The fruity ice cream bars are sweet which I love but they are not thick nor creamy And by the way where I get them from- Aldi they are $1.99 USD for a box that has 4 bars. That's kinda cheap but Aldi is a grocery store that has awesome prices so maybe that's why. It says it's 100% real fruit.
Anyways, I know exactly what you mean when you talk about your cravings- I'm that way too. I feel like when I crave something, even though I know damn well that the more fudge I put on the ice cream for instance, makes it a killer calorie bomb, but that just doesn't even mean anything to me when I want it. It's like my rationality and logic disappear at moments like these. It's weird because usually a rational person who wants something sweet would say, okay what can I do to get away with eating and still staying on track?? And that would mean you have the low calorie low fat kind and eating a reasonable amount not going out of control. It's scary how out of control it feels to have a craving.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Snake_Lady View Post
I'm not much for weight loss books, but I do have one.

It's called "Flip the Switch". author Jim Karas

this book is great. It's not about eat this eat that. It has goal setting, exercises to do(not physical...emotional..written exercises), motivational blurbs such as



that one I believe, as I live it. I constantly doubt myself.

Part 1 is "It can happen to you" (believing in the flip and visualize the flip)

The flip is deciding that once and for all you can win at weight loss, then transforming that desire into a reality.

Part 2 is "What's kept you from flipping" ( chapters on common excuses like not having the time, not having the energy, not having the money, not having the right genes, etc)

Part 3 is "Living Flipped" (includes monthly inventory worksheets, food journal sheets, exercise logs, etc. one chapter is called "Oh no, I just gained 5lbs...or..how to stay flipped)

It is a great book, and I would definately recommend it for anyone....it helps, it really does. I've pulled it out to reread it again, because I am ready to flip the switch and lose and keep the weight off....I don't want to be out of breath playing with my kids, or out of control so much that I eat anything I can find.
That sounded really motivational! I fail at part 2- I will probably use the excuse that I have classes now and I can't afford to put any energy into anything besides classes. I dunno though, when I lost weight, I had only 2 classes because I changed majors and dropped a few classes I was taking so I had all this free time. I feel like having that free time helped so much. So I don't think it's a completely crappy excuse. My problem is not just that of my desire to lose weight, i have a problem with myself being not willful and strong person. I procrastinate so much to the point where I do all assignments at the very last second possible. That means I'm completely idle browsing TCS or watching youtube videos all the time, unless it's literally minutes before something is due. I rush out of the house in the morning barely showered the last minute, I don't have time to even make myself a sandwich so I end up buying junk food (at least the one thing i've been successful with is to not eat fast food but junk food replaces it which is equally bad)..So I feel like it's all just tied together and that makes it so much harder. I think just making the time to read a motivational book will probably help a lot. I am going to check out this book as soon as I can. Thanks for suggesting it!
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post #82 of 222
5/30/09 at 8:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ut0pia View Post
The fruity ice cream bars are sweet which I love but they are not thick nor creamy And by the way where I get them from- Aldi they are $1.99 USD for a box that has 4 bars. That's kinda cheap but Aldi is a grocery store that has awesome prices so maybe that's why. It says it's 100% real fruit.
That doesn't sound too bad... here they will probally be $3 or so... I'll check em out anyways. If they are sweet, between one of them and a nice creamy yogurt, I might be ok.

Quote:
It's scary how out of control it feels to have a craving.
Indeed it is.

Quote:
That sounded really motivational! I fail at part 2- I will probably use the excuse that I have classes now and I can't afford to put any energy into anything besides classes.
I think you know, that when you say you'll fail, you will. I would suggest, pick up the book. Glance at it and see, I bet something would catch your attention, and you'll say "hey, that's exactly how I feel" and it may help You should be able to find it fairly cheap on amazon or something like that. I think I paid under 20....so it would be less than that for you.

Quote:
I rush out of the house in the morning barely showered the last minute, I don't have time to even make myself a sandwich so I end up buying junk food (at least the one thing i've been successful with is to not eat fast food but junk food replaces it which is equally bad)..So I feel like it's all just tied together and that makes it so much harder. I think just making the time to read a motivational book will probably help a lot. I am going to check out this book as soon as I can. Thanks for suggesting it!

I'm sorry, I have to laugh. I am the same way.... if I need to leave at 7, I'll get up at 6:30...shower and go, grabbing something prepackaged to take with me... (which wasn't bad for me, because the things I had prepackaged were yogurt or fruitcups)... this worked well for me tho, till I was pulled from school and now I'm home all the time.

I also hate the prep work time, but I try to make time for it.... heck, I have all the time in the world because I'm off work and recovering from surgery...so not having time is an excuse plain and simple. But, it is true that I just don't feel like making the effort. Like a salad... I don't feel like chopping everything, etc. So I will buy the bagged salads.... then I just dump on a plate, add a couple slices of fat free chicken meat chopped up for protein...and I'm good.

I have been buying the frozen dinners like Lean cuisines and such... they usually have meat and grain in them and are fairly yummy. I wait for sales then stock up... It requires no effort... pop in microwave and done. That might work for you... You can study while your dinner is cooking, without having to do any cooking
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post #83 of 222
5/31/09 at 6:16am
Thread Starter 
My goals for this week:

1. Write my food down in my journal, as well as on here.... for a couple reasons... it keeps me accountable, I am embarassed to post when I do overeat, and to get suggestions on what I could do to improve my food choices

2. Have some sort of breakfast each day this wk. I want to try to establish a healthy eating pattern... 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, to keep my metabolism going strong.

3. Go for at least 2 30mins walks. (if I can't get the actual walk in, I do have an eliptical trainer that I can use)

4. To eat under 1600 cals/day.

I had to redo my calculations because in my initial calculations, I put my height as 5'4.5 when just recently I found that I have shrunk in height.

After redoing my calculations, even with the 8lbs weight loss, my BMI is higher.

Current BMI: 34.8
Goal BMI: 27.5 (165lbs) 31.5 (180lbs)
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post #84 of 222
5/31/09 at 6:23am
When you mention it, packaging a lot of snacks and having them ready is probably going to help. I'm going to try that. Lol the thing is, everything seems so much more yummy and appealing when it's from a vending machine. I dunno what it is, it's like magic that makes vending machine snacks seem amazing!! But I think like anything I just need to break that habit of enjoying those snacks so much. And yea lean cuisines, smart ones and healthy choice are all a great way to eat less calories but still eat something nice and warm, that's actually a meal, I love them! I probably should eat them more often...those were all great suggestions!
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post #85 of 222
5/31/09 at 6:33am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ut0pia View Post
When you mention it, packaging a lot of snacks and having them ready is probably going to help. I'm going to try that. Lol the thing is, everything seems so much more yummy and appealing when it's from a vending machine. I dunno what it is, it's like magic that makes vending machine snacks seem amazing!! But I think like anything I just need to break that habit of enjoying those snacks so much. And yea lean cuisines, smart ones and healthy choice are all a great way to eat less calories but still eat something nice and warm, that's actually a meal, I love them! I probably should eat them more often...those were all great suggestions!

If your vending machines are like ours, the price is ridiculous compared to buying that snack at a store right?

Think about how much money you will save by not buying.

Also, ok, say there is a snack you like... Using your snickers bar for example. Why don't you buy one of those bags with the small ones, you know the ones for Halloween. Keep it in your freezer, and pull one out to take with you to school. (along with healthier foods)

I learned that you cannot deprive yourself of treats.... that just leads to failure. But allowing yourself a nice treat once a wk is NOT going to make you gain weight.... its a nice reward.

I've been buying this yogurt, its called Dessert Yogurt. There's lemon merange(sp), cherry, strawberry chantily, and cran rasberry crumble in it. They are amazing.... my fav is the strawberry chantily. 35cal per container. (they are artificially sweetened though, so that may not work as I know some people stay away from artifical sweeteners).

In fact, thats what i had for breakfast LOL.
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post #86 of 222
6/1/09 at 6:54pm
Thread Starter 
Due to my new meds, my plan for this week is on hold. I'm more focused on the med effects and writing all that down, instead of my food stuffs. i'm not saying that I'm not going to be trying, but for now, I have to focus on the med issues.
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post #87 of 222
6/3/09 at 2:40pm
Keep going - don't get discouraged I agree about imagining your 8lb weight loss as 4 bags of sugar. If you had to carry around those 4 bags everywhere you went, you'd soon realise what a tremendous job you've done in shedding that weight. Take it slow and easy, keep plugging away and more will follow.

One idea though - the only way I could lose weight and keep it off for a significant amount of time was to change my relationship with food. It requires a different view of life. 10 years ago, I lost 2 stone over an 8 month period and kept that off until I had 3 sets of surgery in 12 months which meant I wasn't moving around as much (and eating the wrong kinds of food).

Now, this year, I've shed that extra that I gained. Since the middle of January I've lost 1 stone 5 lbs and am almost at my goal. One thing I can't do and maintain my weight loss is to eat anything at all in between meals. As soon as I do that, however healthy it might be, it's only a small step to eating something fattening. Everything extra between meals is an extra set of calories that my body doesn't need. It also means my stomach expects more food and makes me want to eat. I definitely, don't keep any food whatsoever in my desk at work. Whatever I need during the day is taken with me each morning.

I found the worst period to be the first two weeks - now I simply don't want that extra food between meals. For meals I'm eating good, healthy, low-fat, low-sugar meals. I'm very lucky that my hubby makes every meal from first principles and if you can do that you'll find that time that it takes to prepare them is time when you don't have to think about eating.

I also do an hour's exercise every day (that's one hour more than I ever used to do)

Sorry for the essay, I hope it helps. Keep up the good work - 8lbs is over half a stone, it's a great achievement
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post #88 of 222
6/3/09 at 3:38pm
I wanted to say I'm happier with how i'm eating this week!! I took your advice on the lean cuisine meals and I just ate that for dinner- herb roasted chicken (180 calories and 2 slices of low calorie bread 60 calories each- so my dinner is 300 calories) and in the morning I had a cereal bar (140 calories). I didn't do lunch cuz I have a full day of classes but I did get a snack of some sunchips whole grain chips. (200 calories). Besides gum this is all I've had for the day and I also drank some crystal light. I have to say I'm loving crystal light right now. I drink it all the time and it helps me curb that hunger. So yea total of about 700 calories and this is how most of my week has been. I have to say I attribute it to sharing ideas on here. After writing out my problem areas and getting some suggestions, it really helped me focus and actually trust in the solutions I come up with which is so important! I am thinking of weighing in on Sunday if all goes right until then
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post #89 of 222
6/3/09 at 7:50pm
Thread Starter 
Good job Mariya (hope I spelled your name right ) Sounds like you are doing very well.

Aren't the LC's yummy? I like crystal lite too, but I mix it with way more water... It is too sweet if I mix it as directed into a 500mL bottle...instead I throw a single packet into my 32oz bottle.
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post #90 of 222
6/4/09 at 8:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snake_Lady View Post
Good job Mariya (hope I spelled your name right ) Sounds like you are doing very well.

Aren't the LC's yummy? I like crystal lite too, but I mix it with way more water... It is too sweet if I mix it as directed into a 500mL bottle...instead I throw a single packet into my 32oz bottle.
Thanks Chris, and yup you spelled my name right
I weighed myself today, 162, up from 160 when you first started this thread. I mean I kind of expected it but I just didn't want to face it because I wasn't ready to fix it yet. I feel more ready now so hopefully I will be losing weight soon. I feel so hopeful and happy lately. The smallest accomplishments boost my self confidence so much and I just feel more content overall and all the negativity towards myself kind of wears off. The only problem is that usually failure is around the corner. Lol but not this time, I keep telling myself because if I don't I know it will be a self fulfilling prophecy

My next goal is to start some sort of physical activity even just walking because I feel like it's important for my health, I've been slouching a lot lately and that's what a sedentary lifestyle does.
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