Tamikl, good to hear from you. The food part of maintenance is just the beginning, I think. Most of the keys to long term success are mental. So good for you for the soul-searching you are doing through reading, etc. that 30-day unmentionable will give you results, I'm sure. Wishing you the best.
Camaswa. Sounds like a great plan . I love my exercise classes. Jazzercise! Any program that encourages exercise is all good. To me working out gets you in tune with your body and kind of hard to eat crap when you are working out
Hi Tami - I am in week two of stabilization so will be joining you maintainers in just a couple of weeks (stabilization is now just four weeks).
I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate this post of yours! I went through a phase of anxiety at the idea of being on my own in maintenance. Yes I have a year of weigh-in support at the center, but I didn't want to lose the structure I had gained by being in the dieting zone. So I think I'm on the same page as you. I would love it if you would share some of the reading you've been doing. I've been on the lookout for successful maintainers and their stories for encouragement and inspiration.
BTW, I complained a lot at my weigh-ins about not being ready to stop the green menu and be on my own. One of the counselors finally told me if I like structure then maintenance can be structured - I don't have to eat "in the wild". She said if I like the green menu, then keep using it! It's my life and I can eat any way I choose. (Just increase a portion or two or add the right amount of snacks between meals to get to my calorie level). Oh how I needed to hear that.
I'll be honest, right now I feel like a ticking time bomb - just ticking off the weeks on stabilization until I can eat whatever I want. I know I can't let myself do that. I know it.
Hi there Yes, I certainly can relate to you, too! For your sake, I would most definitely encourage you to do Green and tweek it for Mainenance. I do believe that is the direction I will be going also. Structure isn't a bad thing...especially when it feels overwhelming to be bombarded all of a sudden with food freedom! Obviously it wasn't handled real well in the first place which is what brought me to MRC...lol
Right now I am reading Dr. Phils 7 keys to Weighloss freedom. I read books that come also from a spiritual perspective as well since I believe my success lies in the hands of my Lord so long as I do my part. This journey is more than 95% mental for me, so any material that I can get my hands on at the moment I am open to.
Don't be afraid of Maintenance, just be alert to the freedoms it does bring and be willing to discipline yourself enough to refrain from returning to old habits. I know how to give advice...just don't know how to take my own!!
Tamikl, good to hear from you. The food part of maintenance is just the beginning, I think. Most of the keys to long term success are mental. So good for you for the soul-searching you are doing through reading, etc. that 30-day unmentionable will give you results, I'm sure. Wishing you the best.
So far so good! 2.5 weeks in and 10lbs down/18.5 inches lost!
tami-I think we've talked about "Made to Crave" in the past...but Dr. Phil's book (even though I'm not a Dr. Phil fan) is excellent, especially when it comes to the behavior modification side of things. I should reglance through that.
I am feeling great. I put on about 5 lbs over the holidays. My first goal was to stop the gain (check) and now this week I got serious with creating a plan of my own (based on the metabalance plan I like, tweaked for my schedule and not using the protein drinks or bars). I'm only going to try to weigh 2x a week so the daily fluctuations don't get to me. If I stick to it, I know it will work. I'm working out about 4 days a week...mainly for enjoyment and my mental health. Calorie burn is secondary and gives me just enough wiggle room.
Hi there Yes, I certainly can relate to you, too! For your sake, I would most definitely encourage you to do Green and tweek it for Mainenance. I do believe that is the direction I will be going also. Structure isn't a bad thing...especially when it feels overwhelming to be bombarded all of a sudden with food freedom! Obviously it wasn't handled real well in the first place which is what brought me to MRC...lol
Right now I am reading Dr. Phil's 7 keys to Weight loss freedom. I read books that come also from a spiritual perspective as well since I believe my success lies in the hands of my Lord so long as I do my part. This journey is more than 95% mental for me, so any material that I can get my hands on at the moment I am open to.
Don't be afraid of Maintenance, just be alert to the freedoms it does bring and be willing to discipline yourself enough to refrain from returning to old habits. I know how to give advice...just don't know how to take my own!!
I will be in touch...Great job!!!
Tamikl, thanks so much for your response! Glad to have found you on here. I got a laugh out of your comment that food freedom wasn't handled real well in the first place. Yes! Exactly! I'm the first to admit to anybody that I consider myself a recovering food addict. Not just an emotional over-eater, or someone whose weight crept up on me over the years/pregnancies/whatever. A real addict. I went through several pride/shame cycles trying to manage the addiction on my own (looks like yo-yo dieting) and finally spiraled out of control this past year with my brother-in-law moving in so my husband and he could start their own business. I was left as a single mom, not to mention cooking and cleaning for an additional adult who hasn't been the most pleasant of house-guests, and I began indulging in my over-eating habit big time to handle the stress.
I was plagued by the real guilt I felt for turning to food instead of to God. Every Sunday I'd sit in church and feel so convicted, and yet I'd come right home and be sneaking junk food I'd hidden in cupboards or my closet or finding excuses to go out on my own so I could run through a drive-thru. At night I'd lie in bed and feel so ashamed and make all these promises to myself about starting a better diet in the morning. But as an addict I just couldn't stop.
The hard part about being a recovering food addict versus other addictions that are out there, is I still have to eat in order to live. No one would ever offer a recovering alcoholic a drink, or expect them to have just one and be okay. But everywhere I go I'm offered food. I need to remain in control of what I eat and I will always need to be. I'm all too aware of what happens when I'm out there on my own. I couldn't even handle the stabilization celebration without overeating! They had samples of all the high nutrition meal replacement bars, which are all yummy candy bar type things. I kept returning to that table for more and more, and then the addiction really showed itself when I asked the lady cleaning up at the end if I could take the leftovers home for my kids. I knew I was going to eat them if I had them and sure enough I polished them off on the short car ride home. That's after six months in control on program. So I know I still can't handle "grazing" without returning to my old ways.
Tamikl, thanks so much for your response! Glad to have found you on here. I got a laugh out of your comment that food freedom wasn't handled real well in the first place. Yes! Exactly! I'm the first to admit to anybody that I consider myself a recovering food addict. Not just an emotional over-eater, or someone whose weight crept up on me over the years/pregnancies/whatever. A real addict. I went through several pride/shame cycles trying to manage the addiction on my own (looks like yo-yo dieting) and finally spiraled out of control this past year with my brother-in-law moving in so my husband and he could start their own business. I was left as a single mom, not to mention cooking and cleaning for an additional adult who hasn't been the most pleasant of house-guests, and I began indulging in my over-eating habit big time to handle the stress.
I was plagued by the real guilt I felt for turning to food instead of to God. Every Sunday I'd sit in church and feel so convicted, and yet I'd come right home and be sneaking junk food I'd hidden in cupboards or my closet or finding excuses to go out on my own so I could run through a drive-thru. At night I'd lie in bed and feel so ashamed and make all these promises to myself about starting a better diet in the morning. But as an addict I just couldn't stop.
The hard part about being a recovering food addict versus other addictions that are out there, is I still have to eat in order to live. No one would ever offer a recovering alcoholic a drink, or expect them to have just one and be okay. But everywhere I go I'm offered food. I need to remain in control of what I eat and I will always need to be. I'm all too aware of what happens when I'm out there on my own. I couldn't even handle the stabilization celebration without overeating! They had samples of all the high nutrition meal replacement bars, which are all yummy candy bar type things. I kept returning to that table for more and more, and then the addiction really showed itself when I asked the lady cleaning up at the end if I could take the leftovers home for my kids. I knew I was going to eat them if I had them and sure enough I polished them off on the short car ride home. That's after six months in control on program. So I know I still can't handle "grazing" without returning to my old ways.
Thank you Your words hit home with me and I would imagine everyone that reads this thread. It is difficult admitting you have an addiction - whether it be food, alcohol, shopping, drugs.... Again thank you for your powerful statement.
I have tried to right my course and since last week, according to my scale, down 4 and back to stabilization weight. Hope everyone has a great end of the week and weekend.
At first I was thinking "I'm not a food addict..." which is probably a sure sign from someone who has been overweight their whole life that they are in fact a food addict. I say I have issues. I've identified them. I work through them. But they are still there. At times much better. Other times not. I still have a problem with thinking about food with every situation. Like this weekend trying to plan a date for DH's birthday (his bday is valentine's day, but will be out of town that week) and all I can think is "where can we get the best food that I can hog out on?" and he was thinking about the activity...he wants to go to a rock climbing wall. He has zero issues with food. I have a bunch. Happy? Eat. Sad? Definitely eat. Disappointed...ugh. And I know not everyone shares the same faith, but isn't it exactly right that for someone with a food addiction that the church (and I'm assuming other places of faith as well) is a place where our addiction is fed...literally. Potlucks. Food at any get together. Okay, I'm rambling now
Food additct here.......I have said that for years. I can relate to what you all are saying - my life has always revolved as far back as I can remember. I know it and I have not been able to change it. Still to this day I think about food constantly - just need to make better choices than I have been lately.
Hi all- I wanted to update you on the new online program I'm doing called Lean Eating. Every two weeks there is a new habit to focus on building and this one is eating slowly and without multitasking. Just focus on what you are eating. It's so difficult! You have probably heard this advice before, I know I had, but I never really tried to do it. Today I set a timer and tried to slow my lunch to 20 minutes without going online or skimming a magazine and by about 13 minutes I was FULL. So I put the rest away and I will probably eat it later, if I'm hungry. But now It is already 4:30, so maybe I will just wait for dinner. Very shocking! Try it.
Ladies thank you so much for your support and kind words. Can be hard to put myself "out there". Usually no one takes me seriously when I say "addict". It's a term that's overused for sure (think joking about being a "choc-o-holic" for instance).
Short version of realizing I am an actual addict and not just an emotional overeater: I was given several books to read to help me understand a family members sexual addiction (so that I could not become co-dependent or an enabler of their addiction). I recognized very quickly while reading through the thought and behavior processes described, that if I substituted the word "sex" with "food", those books were describing me.
Hi ladies...wow, I sure didn't consider the reality that I may very well be addicted to food. I am well aware that my control when around certain items is absent...but overall, I think I need to explore this possibility.
I quit smoking 3 years ago after having smoked for 21 years, and while clearly that was an addiction for me, I sure haven't connected food as being even remotely in the same ball park...but certainly could be on a different level.
I went to 2 different pizza birthday parties this past week, and my first party I was in complete control...no feelings of deprivation or anything. Today's party..felt very tempted and sorry for myself. It was ridiculous. I did not cave in (particulary because I don't want to mess up this 30 day plan I am currently on) but without that plan, one could be sure I would have indulged. I am so tired of feeling like I "white-knuckle" this process so much. I feel like it sets me right up for a full blown binge. Once can only take so much when relying on their "willpower," which is why I am learning that it isn't willpower we should rely on ever...rather, ahead of time we make a decision as to how we want to live our life when it concerns food, and follow through with this commitment we make to ourselves. I shouldn't feel "deprived" if I am choosing to refrain from having things...by definition, deprivation is from things being taken away from you...and since we all have the ultimate control over our diets, we are not deprived. I hope this makes sense. Much of the mental aspect is so deep!! lol
Well, appreciate being able to vent to others who may relate. I just want to someday see myself and my efforts as "good enough" rather than always being so hard on myself for being human.
tamikl, I saw your post on that other thread and my heart is going out to you for your struggles. First, I want to say that I don't think it is unusal at all to bounce back 7 pounds or so from a 50 pound loss. I know it make you feel like you are on the verge of gaining it all back - I have felt that way too after gaining 5-6, but I really don't think it's true. I do know how crazy I feel mentally when I am white-knuckling it. Is terrible.
I don't know what exactly the majic plan entails, but if it is unmentionable on this board, I have a good guess. You talked about being so hungry, I am hoping you haven't lowered your metabolism by eating so few calories. do you have access to a professional nutritionist of any kind? one or two visits might be money better spent than more "majic." I am hoping some kind of balance for you. After all you have accomplished, you deserve to feel better about things.
I don't know if you exercise much, but if not, that might help too. Just getting out and moving can take the focus off the food. Xoxoxo
I am allergic to most milk products, not all, but I am allergic to any form of evaporated milk...
Any siggestions for a substitute? I went online and came out with nothing.
I want to try this chocolate truffle type recipe and if it comes out well, will share recipe.
So glad that everyone on here is communicating on maintenance. It is one heck of a challenge, and so much easier to go thru to hear others and their comments...
. I love my exercise classes. Jazzercise! Any program that encourages exercise is all good. To me working out gets you in tune with your body and kind of hard to eat crap when you are working out 
Your words hit home with me and I would imagine everyone that reads this thread. It is difficult admitting you have an addiction - whether it be food, alcohol, shopping, drugs.... Again thank you for your powerful statement. 
