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Old 09-14-2008, 02:29 PM   #1  
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Default Restaurant Victory!

There are a lot of good, inexpensive restaurants in our area (some are ridiculously cheap), so even on our tight budget we can often eat out nearly as cheaply as eating at home.

Eating to lose weight, at most restaurants is a challenge, but if I fail it's usually because I chose to, rather than because there weren't any options. My "default" meal is broiled steak, pork chop, fish, or chicken with extra salad instead of potato. I tend to avoid asian food at least three to four days before my Monday weigh-in, because the sodium tends to cause significant water retention.

So when hubby and his friend John wanted to go to the local chinese mega-buffet yesterday, I wasn't going to go along, but then decided that I could do pretty well, if I stuck to low carb options (however, in the back of my mind, I wasn't too optimistic of my ability to stay on plan).

I've really been avoiding large buffets, because they were always a major weakness in the past, but I think I have found my new favorite, "low-carb friendly" restaurant. I didn't even pout (much) at avoiding the crab rangoon and general tso's chicken.

I was shocked at how many good low-carb options their were on the buffet. My only obvious carb choices (I think there might have been a bit of sweetener in the marinade on the grilled ribs) were a couple pieces of sushi and a fried gyoza. Even the sushi and little gyoza dumpling were lower carb choices than I expected when I chose them. The proportion of filling for the sushi was large compared to the rice and were filled with egg salad and shrimp. The gyoza was a pork and shrimp sausage filling with green onion, with a thin rice paper wrapper about the thickness of a sheet of paper.

Even though I knew I made good choices, and drank extra water throughout the day, I was expecting at least a temporary water weight gain from the meal. Got on the scale this morning and I'm down a half pound from yesterday. Looks like I'm going to have a good weight loss tomorrow night at my TOPS meeting.

I'm starting to feel (as I never have before during a weight loss attempt) that some of the stategies I'm using are becoming true habits - behavior I do almost without thinking.

Last edited by kaplods; 09-14-2008 at 02:32 PM.
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Old 09-14-2008, 03:17 PM   #2  
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Colleen - what an AWESOME victory! You are doing GREAT. You deserve to have a good weigh in.

Congrats!
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Old 09-14-2008, 04:21 PM   #3  
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This proves that this is a lifestyle change for you and NOT another diet! I am happy for you. Proud of ya! Whoo hoo!
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Old 09-14-2008, 08:22 PM   #4  
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It's crazy how carbohydrates trigger such terrible hunger and cravings. You know those lapband commercials with the hunger-lion is transformed into a hunger-kitten by the lapband. That's how I feel about restricting carbs - only I didn't have a nice, calm lion like in the commercial. My hunger lion was rabid, and really, really angry.

Reducing carbs is like magic to me. For the first time ever in my life, it feels like food (either what I'm eating, or what I'm not eating) doesn't have to take first place in my life anymore. I've never been able to diet without "white knuckling" it, succeeding only through extreme willpower.

It's so different, I'm still disbelieving. I still expect the insane hunger to come back at any moment. And too often I "test" it with trigger carbs. Every time I do, some of the hunger comes back, and weight loss stalls, and I'm reminded that I need to avoid the trigger foods and get back on track.

It's crazy that part of my mind still says, "after 36 years of dieting, the solution can't really be this easy, can it?"

I mean it's not easy. Avoiding all of the tempting carb-rich foods is difficult, but not having to think about it 24/7 - only having to think about what I eat when I'm preparing a meal and eating it, I almost feel like I'm on another planet.
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Old 09-14-2008, 09:03 PM   #5  
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Default You go!!

Colleen -- WAY TO GO!! What a great NSV! I have a very tough time at any type of buffet, so I'm impressed.

BTW, if I'm not mistaken, your ticker is showing a loss - about 5 or so lbs., I think. Sounds like you are on a roll now with the low carb thing. Like you said, it's not easy, but YOU ARE DOING IT!

Enjoy that weigh in tomorrow night
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Old 09-14-2008, 09:15 PM   #6  
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Thanks Claire,

Yeah, I was struggling with even losing 1 lb a month, and now I'm getting at least 1 per week, so I do sort of feel "on a roll."

It's funny though, in my teens and twenties, if I lost "only" one pound a week, I found it so depressing it made me want to quit (and sometimes I did). Now, one pound a week is a big "woohoo to me!"
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Old 09-14-2008, 09:39 PM   #7  
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Congratulations Colleen! I think this is a great victory and I'm so glad the scale agreed!
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Old 09-14-2008, 09:44 PM   #8  
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Thanks Claire,

Yeah, I was struggling with even losing 1 lb a month, and now I'm getting at least 1 per week, so I do sort of feel "on a roll."

It's funny though, in my teens and twenties, if I lost "only" one pound a week, I found it so depressing it made me want to quit (and sometimes I did). Now, one pound a week is a big "woohoo to me!"
I think many of us can relate to that... hey, a 1/4 or 1/2 gets the woohoo response from me!

You should be proud that you keep on trucking along, even when the loss was slower.

Sending you positive vibes to keep the roll going...
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Old 09-14-2008, 10:52 PM   #9  
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The first time I complained to my doctor about the weight loss coming off so slowly, I'd lost only 1/4 lb the week before. He reminded me that even 1/4 a lb, lost consistently, soon puts a person "at the head of the pack," in terms of the weight loss "race," because most people give up and regain. It really is a case of the tortoise being able to beat the hare.

I've always "known" that, but I would feel so discouraged when the weight wasn't budging, that giving up seemed easier than continuing.

When we first moved to Wisconsin, I was depressed because I couldn't work because of my health problems, and I was home alone all day (or all night, since hubby worked the night shift, and was sleeping during the day), I really expected to gain weight, if I wasn't careful. Instead 20 lbs, just "fell off," I had never lost weight "accidentally" in my whole life. I had given up on weight loss attempts, because they always ultimately resulted in weight gain, but those 20 accidental pounds changed the way I looked at things.

It took me two years to do anything more than maintain the 20 lb loss, though now I look at even those two years and realize, even they were a progress I'd never experienced before. Changing my birth control and finding lower carb last year, revolutionized my weight loss experience, but even so part of me (evil Colleen) still wants to look at how "small" my success is. I'm just now starting to realize truly how big it is.

I've only successfully lost significant weight three times in my life. The first time with prescription amphetamine diet pills prescribed in 8th grade, so I was only 13. Today, I think doctors and parents are smart enough not to give speed to a 13 year old to lose weight, but it was a different time. I lost 70 lbs. The most I've ever lost.

I lost 60 lbs with Nutrisystem to fit into my bridesmaid dress for a friend's wedding.

And I lost 60 lbs after I herniated a disc in my back. The neurosurgeon said I needed to lose weight before he could do surgery, and it possibly would prevent me from having to have surgery (it did). Pain was a good appetite suppressant, and I was in the water three times a day when I returned to work as a probation officer. I was lucky that I had a flexible schedule, so I was in the YMCA pool before work, at noon, and after work because the freedom from gravity reduced the pain more than the Vicodin did. At first I could only tread water, but soon was able to lap swim.

I'm getting nervous and excited that I'm soon going to hit that 60 lbs mark again, and in only 15 lbs, I will have beat my "best ever" record.
Normally, I don't make weight by date goals, because if I don't meet them, I get discouraged, but my wish for Christmas is to be able to say that I've lost more weight than I ever have in the past.

I'm not counting on it, because that would mean that I would have to lose that one lb a week every single week until then. I think it's doable, but I'm focusing on my behavior (eating and exercise) and just wishing for that little extra "Christmas gift."
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Old 09-15-2008, 07:49 PM   #10  
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I'm getting nervous and excited that I'm soon going to hit that 60 lbs mark again, and in only 15 lbs, I will have beat my "best ever" record.
Normally, I don't make weight by date goals, because if I don't meet them, I get discouraged, but my wish for Christmas is to be able to say that I've lost more weight than I ever have in the past.

I'm not counting on it, because that would mean that I would have to lose that one lb a week every single week until then. I think it's doable, but I'm focusing on my behavior (eating and exercise) and just wishing for that little extra "Christmas gift."
Colleen - that is my Christmas wish for you too, and I believe you will do it. Baby steps will still get you there! You've been through a lot with your health issues... keep persevering because YOU ARE WORTH IT
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Old 09-15-2008, 09:07 PM   #11  
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Thanks so much Claire, I still find it kind of weird that my definition of success today is what I would have viewed as failure in the past. I've always been intelligent, so I wonder why I was so dumb in this area of my life. Why wasn't a half pound loss something to celebrate? Why were my expectations so unrealistic? Why was I so hard on myself?

Maybe going through the health issues showed me what real perseverence means. Maybe I was just trying to do too much, and weight loss just wasn't high enough on my agenda. Maybe it was the physiological issues of my birth control and reaction to refined carbs. I don't know if I'll ever understand it completely, I'm just glad I seem to finally be on a path that is working for me.
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Old 09-17-2008, 06:56 AM   #12  
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. I don't know if I'll ever understand it completely, I'm just glad I seem to finally be on a path that is working for me.
Me too!!!! Keep on truckin', girl!! I see you are...
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