Bbbrrrr -- it's cold here and nothing compared to what a lot of the country is going through. Hope everyone is able to stay warm!
Sandra -- I'm so sorry your Christmas plans are being curtailed -- that's hard to cope with as it's so commercialized that the season is in your face everywhere. But, your daughter is so young, she definitely won't remember not having a Christmas and there are so many things you can do that don't cost anything to make it a special day -- even with your husband working. Just playing some Christmas music, decorating with what you have in the house or can bring in from outside, and making a special dinner -- even if it's not a traditional one. Sometimes these lean years are the ones that can provide some good memories. Hope the stress and disappointment don't throw you too far off course and know that we're all thinking about and supporting you.
Ubee -- I'm headed into town today to get salad fixings myself. I have a feeling that if we lived near each other and could shop together, we'd end up having buggy races in the store......and be asked to leave!
Jane -- Hope the soreness goes away, but good for you for getting back to it. Sorry it's crazy at work.
I'mnotperfect -- good for you for staying on track even with being so busy.
Fi -- So glad to hear that you're doing better with the depression and that the technique for controlling the emotional eating is working. That's a huge accomplishment.
I've been in some mode where I do really well in the morning and then completely screw up the eating plan for the day in the evening. So, I'm going to make a concerted effort to stay on plan the whole day starting today. I've been steadily gaining about a pound a day for almost a week -- not happy with myself. This time of year is definitely a challenge!
Ube-help me find mine too??? Dont ket them get to you!! Your success is your, if this is a competition to them they are setting themselves up for failure!!
Silent- great idea!!
Wtg jane!! Thats great! And good luck on being done now that the stone is gone.
Fiona-I wish I could do that!!! Except I go...if tomorrow, why not today??? Also, wtg on keeping at in anyway! I need to learn to do that. Glad you talked with your doc n agreed to try something new! As far as addicted, im not now but I know anything but tea or water affects my insulin levels badly :/
Nolife - so sorry to hear about the issues. I did that too >. < lost 90 lbs and BAM! *sigh*
Imnot-ditto!! Ugh im tired just plain tired!!
Welcome notmy! Gl on finding your plan!!
Plucky, im stuck too!! I know I havent exactly on track but at least the water weight could go away :/
Hey betsy!! Awesome vision by the way lolol. The bad end to the day is how ive been recently :/
Yay welcome back time4change!!
Sandruca- im in the same boat, we cant afford it either :/ we dont even have decorations from previous years since this is the first year in our house :/
As far as me..to elaborate on , my issues ive never been a bad night snacker but this week I always find more carbs somewhere. Sigh. I just dont get it, maybe its because I havrnt seen my counselor recently (cant afford the copay atm) im just not sure. Anyway time for german class. Good luck everyone!!
Location: from Houston, TX—now in Maryland (Washington DC area)
Posts: 1,167
S/C/G: 351/267/140
Height: 5'3"
Betsy (& perhaps others as well)— I've been reading what promises to be a very useful book for those of us struggling to lose weight. I see a link between what I'm learning and your problem of going off your diet plan, the later in the day it gets. The book is The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal. According to the author (a Stanford psychologist who teaches a very popular course on how self-control works and how to get more of it), the more stressed & tired you are, the more likely you are to eat impulsively.
That may sound totally obvious, but what's interesting about this book is that it explains why stress & exhaustion undermine your self-control, and offers some surprisingly easy ways to fix the problem. They include:
• making sure you get a good night's sleep (at least 7 hours uninterrupted)
• taking moments during the day for a brief period of relaxation: it doesn't have to be a nap, it can be just 5 minutes during which you relax your body completely and breathe as deeply & slowly as possible
• doing 5-10 minutes of meditation in the morning: nothing fancy, just sit comfortably, completely still, eyes closed, concentrate on your breathing, and each time your mind drifts away from your breathing, pull it back & focus again on inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale...don't worry about the fact that your attention drifts, just pull it back to your breathing over & over again
• at least 5 minutes of being outside and in motion—walking, gardening, chasing your puppy, any kind of outdoors activity
All of those suggestions have been shown in repeated experiments to improve function in the part of your brain in charge of self-control: the prefrontal cortex (located right behind your forehead).
I'm finding this book fascinating, so I may report back with more info from it...
SMSDREAMER- Being busy for me is a blessing it doesnt give me much time to think about food! lol
Just wanted to post a quick update before i'm off to my internship. I lost 9 lbs so far! Just weighed myself. SOOOO happy! Probably just water weight but i'm sill very happy with it! Anyway hope you all have success too!
My eating is awful this week. I have to get back at it! Swimming is going well though. Hoping to add in some Jillian after this weekend's work craziness.
betsy2013 I also find it most difficult to stay on plan in the evening, particularly after dinner. Even if I have a solid dinner I crave something with my tea. Lately I have been having some fruit and a little cool whip which seems to satisfy me at least for now. I hope you are finding your way.
SMSDREAMER2007 My scale is reading the same for week 3 now. I hope we both start headed in the right direction soon.
I had therapy group tonight and I usually feel motivated to stay connected to my feelings which motivates me to not self-soothe with food. So tonight was a good night.
Location: from Houston, TX—now in Maryland (Washington DC area)
Posts: 1,167
S/C/G: 351/267/140
Height: 5'3"
Hey there Val, Jane, imnotperfect24, Andrea, Dreamer...it's good to hear from all of you...
Tonight I've been beseiged with cravings for sweets. I'm eating macadamia nuts and trying to ignore the hubbub in my head. No binge behavior, just Zevia soda and macadamia nuts.
I hope I don't have to go through many more nights like this before the urges to binge die down and go away. This feels like giving up a powerful drug. I was a bigtime emotional eater for nearly 50 years, and this is the first time I've tried to give it up completely. I guess it's not surprising my brain is kicking up a fuss.
I'm trying not to fight it... just letting it roar without acting on the urges...
Location: from Canada currently living in Cairo, Egypt
Posts: 308
S/C/G: 380/ticker/180
Height: 5"9
Hey all
Poker tournament was fun last night... I did not win or place, but had a good time overall and helped my friend's baseball team do some fundraising. I always enjoy a game of poker.
Tonight I am off to the first of 3 Christmas 'events'.... (there is a 4th but I'm not attending it).
In the works of planning a trip to IKEA for next Friday, the few of us interested are getting excited!
but most importantly I cannot wait to go home only 12 more days! Which means I need to start packing!
The sky is falling -- which counteracts my scale. It went up 3 pounds yesterday. I haven't been sticking to plan very well, but 10 pounds on in less than a week -- I haven't been that bad. Some of it is my body filling back up after the stomach crud (without sharing TMI), not drinking enough water, and just not sticking to plan. Well, this is the proverbial kick in the pants that I may need. I was so shocked that I almost didn't fess up here, but realized that thinking I could do this by myself is why I've been way overweight for almost 40 years.
SMSDreamer -- those carbs are sneaky little things and I swear they sneak in through all sorts of devious means. Hope that they move on to someone else's house (one of the Victoria Secrets Angels could use some carbs!).
Fi -- thanks for the suggestions about how to control -- or at least help control -- these urges. I keep telling myself that I'm not stressed since I'm retired -- and I'm certainly a whole lot less stressed than I used to be -- but I realized that the nuttiness at the Coop and my volunteering there is definitely adding stress. So, I need to practice the techniques and decide if volunteering at this particular place is really worth it. Hope they helped with some of the emotions battling that you were doing.
I'mnotperfect -- 9 pounds!!! That's wonderful!!! Keep up the great effort.
Jane -- Eating is off but exercising is on. It will eventually all come together.
Andrea -- glad that the therapy group means you had a good night.
Val -- glad you're doing better.
Timeforme -- glad the tournament raised some funds -- sounds like fun. Keep counting the days down till you can go home.
Lots to do today, so maybe that will help with getting me back on track. Have a great day!
Location: from Houston, TX—now in Maryland (Washington DC area)
Posts: 1,167
S/C/G: 351/267/140
Height: 5'3"
Betsy— One of the things I learned as a physician is that your body can't tell the difference between "bad" stress (things that are bugging you) and "good" stress (things that make you happy). So having a healthy new baby, getting your dream job, getting married to your sweetheart, getting a new puppy you love, retiring and having time to do lots of things you love to do, preparing for the holidays—all of those things cause stress in your body & brain, just as much as a bunch of bad things I could enumerate. They've done extended studies showing that increased risk of disease, decreased resistance to infection, mental health problems, the whole gamut of things we associate with "bad" stressors, are just as likely to happen to people experiencing "good" stressors. So don't just look at the Coop issues as the stress in your life: there's stress in other areas, too, even though those things are making you happy.
As for that list of techniques I mentioned for improving function in the self-control center of your brain, you'll get the most "bang for your buck," in terms of time investment, from meditating 5-10 minutes every morning. If my quickie explanation of how to do what's called "mindfulness meditation" didn't click for you, here's my favorite book on the subject: Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana. It has somewhat of a Buddhist slant, but I find it easy to ignore or skim over those parts. The explanation about how to do the kind of meditation that brain researchers are finding is most helpful for improving self-control, and yes, they've studied it for people trying to say "no" to certain food items, is very good. And it's a short book, too.
Oh, and one more thing relevant to us fat people: you don't have to get into some kind of uncomfortable position to meditate. I do my meditating in an armchair, with my feet up on an ottoman. The important thing is to be sitting up, not lying down, and alert. I actually do my meditating after my morning coffee, to ensure that I'm awake & alert when I'm doing it. Just ten minutes, then I'm off on my busy day...
ohh happy day i finally got my ticker , now all i have to do is make it move.
~follow up to my christmas cunundrum i might just do what betsy suggested and make do with what i got . its going to be dificult because i live in in south florida one of the sunniest places in the us and probably one of the least christmasy of all, so i cant just go outside and chop down a tree i wish i lives in a place like that where i could just go chop down my own tree and make it like a tradition but hey whats a girl to do ?
well ladies lets keep on trucken and keep our gears in motion ..
Hi everyone!
Yesterday I was very busy volunteering. I was wrapping gifts for the working poor. I came on and read but too tired to post. I need to become stronger!
Jane, come on you can do this! You are so strong. Let's all buckle down and focus on eating healthy and moving!
Notperfect, good job checking in when you are so busy.
Fi, good job not giving in when you were angry! How did the urges go last night?
Betsy, I am proud of you for being accountable. They say if you are accountable to someone you are 4x more likely to succeed! What is going on? Are there the wrong foods in your house? Are you going out for them or is it just plain old portion control? You are so right I can not do this by myself because if I could I sure in the heck should have!
SMS, hope you & all of us get a water weight whoosh!
Andrea, glad therapy is proving to be a useful tool for you!
Val, show me one perfect adult! Good for you on making improvements!
Melissa, I hope your Christmas events are not too tempting and are more centered around people and fun.
Sandra, Christmas is all in the heart not the stores and it sounds like you have a loving little family!
Something interesting happened yesterday. I remembered St. Nick was coming. I had enough treats and little gifts home BUT I went to the store anyhow. I bought two things without realizing what was going on. The first thing I bought was chocolate covered cherries. Every Christmas it was the funny gift we gave my dad. It started as all we could afford and just stuck as a loving joke. The other thing I bought was mint meltaways. I ate two cherries and threw the box out because they didn't taste like I wanted them to. I was eating a few mints when I remembered that is what we always ate at the hospital when my dad was in there. I realized through the food I was eating that I was missing my dad and his positive inflluence on our family. If you would have asked me yesterday if I was missing him I would have said no. I only made the connection through my food choices. Having had this open my eyes I now see I do it often depending on whom I am missing. Talk about not being in touch with your emotions!
How is everyone doing?
so sorry to hear about the issues. I did that too >. < lost 90 lbs and BAM! *sigh*
Anyway hope you all have success too! 
