I apologize Wyllenn. You're 100% right. I'm sorry I didn't even THINK of that forum when I wrote that post. Again my apologies. I want to tell you by the way, since I had such a high BMI when I first started I certainly thought about posting on the 300 plus forum. Since again being so short I'm sure my BMI is higher then at least SOME of the 300 plus group. Do you know why I didn't? And I don't mean to offend or second guess whoever made the name of the group. I didn't like the title of the group - something like, 300 lbs and ready to try again. I thought it had such a negative sound to it. And another thing, I had never really tried before, so to say that I was ready to try AGAIN, I don't know it just didn't feel right.
You addressed your question to those who have lost a lot of weight. I havent lost a lot of weight yet, but I'd like to share my 2 cents worth if you don't mind. I struggle daily with the desire to give into my cravings. Daily, I have to re-new my committment with myself to keep on this road.
IMHO, giving into cravings and planning an off-plan special meal are two very different things. I am learning a new healthier way to live...I am not on a diet. Therefore, there will be times when I attend a party, go to a restaurant, go on vacation, etc...when my normal on-plan foods might not be readily available. I can plan ahead to eat something special that is done in moderation and attempts to be somewhat healthy. This planning does not preclude the need to stop exercising, drinking water and eating future on-plan foods. The goal is to maintain my self control through the planned event.
Giving into cravings is what has led to my unhealthy lifestyle. I equate the cravings as an addiction. If I were craving vegetables it would be a good thing! But, my cravings are never for healthy foods. Choosing to not give in to the cravings and developing other ways of coping is the road to the healthy slender me that I really want....this is what my journey is all about. It all comes down to choice. What do I want more? The very very short enjoyment of an off-plan unhealthy craving? or the long term enjoyment of a slender healthy body?
I printed off the following statment and taped it to my computer and my refrigerator (Thank you, LisaMarie!) as a daily reminder to myself. "Whether you make good choices or bad choices, time will continue to pass. What do you want to look and feel like in six months?"
Not that I really go by BMI because I'm muscular and not exactly petite, my BMI was 58.7 when I started. My BF% was around 50%.
The 300+ and ready to try again probably started with that name again but really I think it is very difficult to go from 300+ lbs to a healthy weight in one fell swoop of weight loss. It usually takes multiple stages. For me, it is definitely taking a lot of stages but that is ok. I will get to my goal weight.
As for not always eating "perfect", it will happen over the course of your weight loss. I think it helps a little to zig zag your calories. I've read various things that say you should shoot for 80-90% of eating/exercising totally on plan. If you shoot for that, then you should be good. I try to avoid certain foods just because I don't want junk in my food plan but I will eat things a little higher calorie and consider that to be part of my weight loss plan.
You mentioned that you have to drop off your step son at McDonald's THREE TIMES a week! That has to be tough being THAT close to temptation THREE TIMES each week!
I find that at each stage in my weight loss journey (and it definitely IS a journey!) that there are different temptations and also different NON-temptations for me. What might have been an impossible temptation to resist at one stage may no longer pose a problem at another. Some foods must have such a tremendous hold on us that we will NEVER be able to "eat just one" of them! My triggers that inevitably do me in are chips, chocolate, and cookie dough. I have gotten A LOT better with bread and butter and have started being able to handle smaller amounts of cheese. The chips, chocolate and cookie dough remain my severe "triggers", and I am currently unable to even have one bite of them without overeating them.
Maybe you are at a place where you are forced to be around a trigger food that you can't yet handle AT THIS TIME. Every person's triggers are different. I think we are being unfair to ourselves putting ourselves in dangerous food situations! The other day my son's bag of Snickers was on the kitchen table. It was an opened bag of those "fun size" bars. In the past I probably would have eaten one bar then another and another and MAYBE finished the bag! Then I would have felt guilty and gone to the store to get another bag to replace the WHOLE BAG I that I had just finished. I also probably would have gotten ANOTHER BAG or two to hide away for emergencies! Of course when I got home I would need to take out the amount that was eaten from the bag so that it would match the original amount in the first bag! That extra amount would have gone either into my mouth or would have been added to my emergency stash!
THIS TIME I quickly closed the bag and took it up to my son's bedroom. Out of sight seems to work now for me when I'm around my worst triggers.
Robin -- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings! And I didn't take offense at anything you said. I can see what you mean about the name. If you do ever want to join us the invitation's open! I wasn't over 300 pounds and am taller than you, and they let me join!
I love both the 300+ group and the 100-pound club. They have different feelings about them and I learn a lot from both places.
Dana, I haven't lost a ton of weight, I'm really just starting to get things to click now but I am not doing it by not eating what I want to eat when I want to eat it. I lost 2 lbs last week and I'm pretty sure at least 3 of those nights I had a bowl of Smarties ice cream. Frankly when I read your first post I thought you were going on an all out binge, a big bag of chips with dip, a thing of Haagen Dazs and a pound cake. I don't care what anyone else says, I like McD's, I like Big Macs and fries and while they aren't the best calories wise it isn't going to break you to have it once in awhile.
I don't know if you remember this guy named Fred who used to post here a long time ago, he wrote a book called From Chunk to Hunk. Anyway he last over 200 lbs and even he had a night where he would eat whatever he wanted. Not right away, it was a fair way into his weight loss and even now that he has met his goal weight he still eats healthy but one night a week he lets go and eats not so healthy.
Nelie, again I apologize, I really meant to say that I was ONE of the heaviest people currently here at 3fc. And I DO know what you mean by not going much by BMI. Again sorry, I didn't mean to exclude you. G-d forbid. You are SUCH a valuable part of 3FC. But I still don't like the name of the group, that certainly doesn't mean I don't like what it's about, again there was just something about the name that turned me off.
Wyllenn you didn't hurt my feelings AT ALL. Really. Thanks for the invite. I HAVE popped in there once or twice when I saw a topic on the main page where I thought I could be of help.
I would not do an all day off day, but that's just me. When I went on a cruise last month, I still managed to lose weight, despite the fact that I ate dessert nearly every night. That was my main indulgence. But, breakfast every day was healthy - an egg white omelette with lots of veggies. Lunch most days was a salad. A few other times I strayed, but I definitely couldn't have given myself free reign to eat whatever I wanted and come back and jumped on plan. I'd still be eating whatever I want.
My favorite groups here are this one and 300+... because we really do have different needs and concerns than those with 10 or even 50 lbs to lose.
We aren't going to be able to lose the weight in a month, and many of us not even a year, so we have a lot of time to learn how to "get it right." Finding the path that is best for us takes a lot of trial and error, and it helps if you see errors as just part of the process, not a reason to beat yourself up and throw in the towel. Some of us will find that we have to completely eliminate entire classes of food, some of us may require surgery to gain control, others will be able to cut back on their current food intake, without changing their food choices or lifestyle (though I'm not sure I've ever met anyone who has lost this kind of weight doing the latter).
I didn't take offense, no reason to apologize. You are right, it is hard to be one of the largest around. I've had to deal with that all my life. When people come here and say I have 10, 20 or even 100 lbs to lose and that can be half or less than half for some of us. Its a long journey. We do get to learn a lot on the journey though.
Not to hijack the thread though As I said, we live normal lives in the normal world. I think improvement is what we should strive for and just get better as time goes on. Sometimes we have hiccups and we need to move past those. I personally wouldn't choose fast food as my "treat" but I'm more of a bread girl. If someone cuts back from fast food 5 times per week to one times per week, that is a huge improvement. Weight loss doesn't require perfection but it does require improvement.
If someone cuts back from fast food 5 times per week to one times per week, that is a huge improvement. Weight loss doesn't require perfection but it does require improvement.
Robin -
I'm laughing my butt off because I read your post and I was like, "Wait a minute, my BMI is worse than hers..." and then I was like, "Am I being competitive about the worse BMI?!?!?! She can win! Please!" ROFLMAO.
I have lost 20+ lbs since the fall. I have had several planned days off with a varying amount of success. I seem to enjoy it more (and beat myself up less) when I plan to eat one thing that I have been craving. By sticking to one thing I can kind of plan my day around it. I have also found the longer I eat healthy the less crap I want. good luck
Robin -
I'm laughing my butt off because I read your post and I was like, "Wait a minute, my BMI is worse than hers..." and then I was like, "Am I being competitive about the worse BMI?!?!?! She can win! Please!" ROFLMAO.
That's sooo funny, because the competive side of me just had to go figure out your BMI and ummm, yeah at 5 ft 9 in you have a bmi of 41.3 and at 5 foot nothing, 287 lbs my bmi was 56. Lucky, lucky, lucky me. I thought "winning" was supposed to feel better then this.
Then I would have felt guilty and gone to the store to get another bag to replace the WHOLE BAG I that I had just finished. 
As I said, we live normal lives in the normal world. I think improvement is what we should strive for and just get better as time goes on. Sometimes we have hiccups and we need to move past those. I personally wouldn't choose fast food as my "treat" but I'm more of a bread girl. If someone cuts back from fast food 5 times per week to one times per week, that is a huge improvement. Weight loss doesn't require perfection but it does require improvement.
