[CrabNebula]

I went on a 7 day cruise last week. I left 161.4lbs and came back last Friday 169.5lbs. Shocked, I immediately went back on plan. One week later, I am 160.5lbs meaning I gained absolutely no 'real' weight on this cruise. It was all water. Huh.

I threw my diet out the window. I didn't know the calorie count of ANYTHING, so didn't even bother trying to keep track. I drank a lot of mixed drinks and beers, had rich desserts, tried all kinds of new-to-me foods like snails and the best risotto on the planet. How did I not gain any weight? I'm not a medical mystery, I apparently was eating about what it took to maintain my weight. It sure did not feel like it though.

After nearly a year of consistent dieting, I realized that I just cannot eat the volumes of food that I could before. I mean, the old me could have ate two-three full plates of buffet food and still want a snack an hour later. The new me struggled to finish one plate that was not close to piled high. Plus the buffet food was mostly low quality and I just couldn't see eating large amounts of junk for no other reason than it was there. Before I definitely would have, no doubt.

We ate in the MDR for dinner every night and although the food was tasty, I only finished one dinner of 7. Most nights I struggled just to eat half of what was brought. I always got dessert, but couldn't manage more than a few bites, let alone finish it. The old me would have destroyed it, no problem. I thought I was drinking a lot of booze, but now that I think about it, I often did not finish my drinks either and was really only drunk one night of the cruise. I felt like I was going crazy overboard eating and drinking, gaining lbs of fat left and right when in reality, I wasn't. And that is the amazing part to me, seeing how much I have physically and mentally changed on my weight loss journey. I finally am beginning to feel that I have a normal weight person's attitude towards food and not an obese person's.

When I first started this back last Labor Day weekend, I thought I would be happy at 180. When I reached that goal, I realized I still had a ways to go even though this was the smallest I had been since I was 21 years old. Now I am 160, trying to get down into the 150s. I reached it for two brief days at the end of May, but then I went on the rag and my brother's wedding came up. I almost got all of that off, then came the cruise and I just finished the rag again. So I am hoping in the next few days to cross back below 160 again. My goal weight is between 150-155. I have looked at TDEE calculators for those weights and believe that is the most reasonable weight for me to maintain based on the calories allotted per day. I'm almost there and hope I can stay there for the rest of my life.

Today is July 4th and I have 1500 calories allotted. I plan on biscuits, bacon, and egg whites for brunch and Jamaican jerk pork loin with grilled corn on the cob for dinner. Dessert is apple pie with vanilla ice cream.

[freelancemomma]

I'm a little jealous of you. I still have the capacity and desire to overeat massively. I cannot relate to you and other people who claim to be "full" after finishing half a plate or half a dessert. On the other hand, I've been maintaining a fairly low weight (145 lbs at 5'11" and age 57) for two and a half years, so I must be doing something right. In any case, congratulations on your internal change!

F.

[Moving Forward]

Congratulations! I'm impressed that you managed a cruise with no weight gain and felt satisfied. That's just great! You've clearly made the psychological shifts needed.

[Palestrina]

That's great, even without being meticulously diligent about your diet you managed to be trustworthy around food. We give ourselves little credit for ring trustworthy around food but there's the proof!

When I look back, I think about the times I lost weight and it happened to be when dieting was furthest from my mind. That was on vacations, in college, and when I was pregnant. Surprisingly, I lose weight when I don't care about losing weight. Hey, if it works go with it.

Last night my hubby cooked up steaks for July 4. I took just a sliver of my steak and some corn and was completely satisfied. Honestly I think that steak will be enough to last me through 2 more meals today lol. I still can't believe how little food I eat now compared to how I used to eat. I too feel like my obese me is really gone. And the best part of my new WOE is that I get to have my cake and eat it too.

[giselley]

The size of meals is very important in losing weight and keeping it off. Recently I've been comparing myself with my brother. I eat a half a bowl of chili, he eats three bowls and then has a midnight snack of a loaded baked potato. I used to be able to go for seconds, but now I stick to one serving. I can even be the good girl at the buffett, eating salad and steamed shrimp instead of a pile of food. Working on food volume, to me, is even more important than calorie or type.

[seagirl]

Congratulations!

I have noticed a similar thing recently too. I was on a hiking vacation and after a strenuous day, went to have dinner. I ordered fettuccine alfredo with chicken and broccoli, and they brought me bread and butter too. I think I ate maybe half the pasta, and 2 small slices of bread. My body (and brain) just did not want that much food.

I had some mental breakthroughs lately that I think have helped with the eating-as-coping mechanism, and now that I have fit bit and spend my time walking to get my steps up, I have less time to eat and the exercise dulls my appetite.