Well, I waited around the campfire last night and no one showed!
Hope everyone has a fab Saturday! I had a sort of epiphany this morning; I ate lentil soup for breakfast bc it's what I wanted. Who knew it was ok to eat soup for breakfast?!
I'm going to try some IE and see if I can make it work.
Hi guys, hope everyone is doing great. I'd like to join in for this thread as well.
My house has been and will be pretty crowded for a few weeks, which was also why I stopped posting in the October thread and may not be too regular in this one, but I'll check in as much as I can.
October was a far from perfect month for me, but my portions have definitely reduced significantly with much less eating between meals and almost no nighttime snacking. This month I want to focus on reducing my portions further and go back to my exercising, so let's see how it goes.
Well, I made it through my party last night perfectly, but it was the "after party" that was hardest for me. It is so much easier to be in control when people are around and EXPECT me to be in control. The group of people I was with last night now totally expect me not to eat -- because that's my usual strategy. So I don't eat, and that part works fine (I always eat a healthy meal either before or after).
But when I leave the party and then am alone, I swear the monsters are twice as bad for me. But I was on guard for that and managed to get through it. Yesterday was a really exemplary day of eating for me -- really good choices, the right amount (I think, I'm trying to lose a bit more weight so the amount of food is somewhat experimental at this point). And even though I did struggle some, I was ready for the possibility and was OK when all was said and done. Still, I'd like today to be struggle-free please, I'm mentally tired!
ILoveVeggies -- Perfection is overrated. When I can look back on a month and think "that was a pretty decent month overall" I call that a WIN!
Momwithdogs -- I got lost on the way to the campsite -- I was too busy hugging trees and talking to the bluebirds. I look forward to hearing about your experience with IE. And I eat dinner food for breakfast fairly often, good stuff!
Lisa -- I swear sometimes the day AFTER a day we've had to be super on guard for is even harder than the day we were so worried about in the first place (does that make sense?). Like our defenses are weakened because we expended so much energy avoiding Halloween candy that the day AFTER Halloween becomes a nightmare! Hang in there!
Same7 -- I hate that feeling of powerlessness, it really stinks, so stressful. I know you can make it through the holiday season without spiraling (and I know I can too). Come Jan 1st we will be looking back and saying, "Hey, we did pretty darn good the last 2 months!". I look forward to that moment, we will be proud.
Well, there you are! Thanx for the redirect, Snarkie.
I am feeling quite motivated this morning. I fasted yesterday, made it till the 21st hour when I caved while cooking dinner and had a cheese sandwich. For dinner: grilled chicken thighs, salad with avocado, roasted butternut squash and Brussels sprouts. Didn't hold back on the olive oil and butter either. I can put away 1200 calories in a meal!
My motivation today is to do it all again. When I used to do an all-day fast, I would eat about 1900 calories between 5 and 10 pm. Kinda defeated the reason I fasted, to cut down on calories. I can really eat a lot at one sitting. But since I've worked on not eating until I was overfull, I guess I'm able to eat less at one sitting, as long as I'm not eyeing dessert or cocktails after dinner.
So tonight's dinner is lamb chops, split pea soup, dandelion greens with olive oil, and braised green beans with tomatoes. A classic Greek meal from my childhood, so I guess this is my comfort food. Just counted the calories...1280. I plan to eat dinner around 7 pm, but if I'm still hungry later, I have leftover butternut squash and Brussels sprouts.
Trying to stick to a 10 pm bedtime. This is a struggle for me, but I did notice that getting enough sleep, like at least 7.5 hours, seems to be the best defense against overeating the next day. Troubleshooting. It's all about the troubleshooting with me.
Good day today. I have followed my induction for a week now, eating strictly and not over eating. I am down 4 lbs.
I am feeling better and stronger. I keep telling myself that I can do this. Last night I wanted to eat in all honesty. I made myself think about it last night and really evaluated what I was thinking and feeling. I decided to start by eating something with fat and protein, couple bites. I still felt hungry, actually hungry. I decided after thinking about what I'd eaten during the day I probably was hungry and needed more protein. I had skipped lunch because i wasn't hungry and only ate half my breakfast. I decided to compromise, I had a dish of sf jello that was made with adding unsweetened whipping cream in the mixing process. I ate half of it, then put the rest away.
Today would have been a challenge. It was supposed to be a birthday party for my children's grandfather. These types of activities are usually difficult for me. I can do well at the party with everyone watching. Then I get home and tell myself how well i did and how i deserve a reward because I must be strong enough to just eat a little something I shouldn't..then it becomes out of control. The party has been cancelled due to illness. But, like you Mrs. Snark, parties are difficult for me and I try to avoid them.
I would like to join this thread, too Can we just talk about how we're doing with eating this month and encourage/chat with other members?
My eating has been pretty good so far this month. For some reason yesterday I kept thinking about the Halloween candy we have, specifically the mini 100 grand bars. On Halloween itself I told myself I could have as much candy as I wanted (this was planned ahead of time, not a spur of the moment decision) and I only had a couple of pieces! I'm telling myself to wait until my next free meal next week and I can have my little piece of candy then This from someone who, in pre-diet days, would enjoy sweet things on occasion but usually ended up throwing away candy and ice cream because I don't eat it before it gets stale/freezer burned. My repeated thinking about the candy is kind of odd for me. Could totally see myself daydreaming about mac and cheese or biscuits or mashed potatoes or any number of other starchy, savory wonders, but not really sweets.
It's kind of funny that my diet started right before Halloween, which leads into Thanksgiving, which leads into Christmas... Great choice, huh, HuggerBunny?! Last time I tried to lose some weight, I started around the same time and did okay for a month but then Christmas cookies happened (I do love baking at Christmas time and used to make all of our favorites!) and I threw in the towel. That will not happen this time, though!!
I've already planned out exactly what I'm cooking for Thanksgiving. Decided to make what I normally would, but halve the recipes so we won't have as much in the way of leftovers. Then the day after T-Day, I'm going to make a really tasty sounding baked butternut squash and cauliflower recipe I found that is diet friendly and can take the place of some of the less healthy leftovers, which my husband can have.
Is it okay for me to ask what people are making for Thanksgiving, or is that frowned upon in this thread? I don't want anyone to read about yummy food and then feel bad and end up binging!
Last edited by HuggerBunny; 11-03-2013 at 05:06 PM.
Honestly, it doesn't sound odd that you are trying to set up a plan on what you might be cooking a serving for the holidays. I have found that planning the meals out often helps me the most, especially if we are going to he Grandparents for holidays..which is almost always. I visualize just what will be on the menu, its never varied in 25 years. So, I start from there.
I know one Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, there will be two sources of protien. There is always turkey and ham. From there it up to me to fill out the rest of my meals because the only other things my inlaws have are potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and pie. Always the same.
I always, always, bring a veggies tray, includes cheese stuffed celery, baby carrots for kids, and any other lc fresh veggies I have. I made a homemade Greek yogurt dip with dill or roast pepper..I include many types of olives and pickles on this tray not the general run of the mill ones but specialty ones.
Besides the tray, deviled eggs. Without fail every event they are asked for, I have a lc family recipe ive made the same way for these 25 years..they are fought over so I always take mine first.
I bring a huge bowl of salad that has multiple baby lettuces. I also bring a side of another hot veggie dish. I make sure ahead of time that I will have what I need to eat available so I can not say well I have to eat something..then begins the downward spiral into pie. I have learned this only by mistake. My very first fall off the wagon was on Thanksgiving years ago when I decided I was strong enough to be rewarded with "real Food" potatoes, gravy, pie, everything and anything. I haven't been the same since.
This year, Thanksgiving is at my house. I've got food sensitivity issues, so I'm making everything I want to eat and if someone wannts something else, theyy are welcome to bring it. They all know better than to get offended if I don't what they bring.
I bought some pasture-raised turkeys. With that, I'm serving mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, butter rolls, salad, spanakopita, cranberry sauce and pecan pie. I'm not doing appetizers. And I'm not serving alcohol while certain family members are in the house.
I know that since I'm cooking, I'll be tasting. So for the meal, I'll servee mmyself a small portion of everything. I plan to stop at one plate for dinner and one slice of pie for dessert. And during clean up, one cocktail.
Ive noticed that this time of year (holidays) the magazines are throwing food panic at readers already, and a few morning news programs as well. Everything Ive been reading or seeing is talking about people gaining weight this time of years due to foods, then they have mag covers full of cookies, candies, and such. They, and Tv, are also full of reciepes for the season full of extra sugars, flour, bad fats, and frankien foods..then after Christmas these same Mag's and shows will be pitching some unliveable trend diet to get you to watch the show or buy the magazine. Its a never ending battle. Then there are the show and Mag's that focus on things such as winter depression, loneliness, weight gain. Years ago I always felt they might as well put those types af magazines by the ice cream freezer because they made me feel like binging, helpless, worthless.
Geoblewis, your menu for Thanksgiving sounds really good! Yum!
I'm planning to roast a turkey, make cranberry sauce, gravy, homemade rolls, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, creamed corn, fruit salad, deviled eggs for an appetizer, pie for dessert, and sparkling apple cider to drink (obviously won't be making the last one). The mac and cheese will be just a tiny amount and the mashed potatoes, creamed corn, and fruit salad will be half the normal amount I make for Thanksgiving. Usually I would have a veggie based salad in there too but decided to forgo it this year, one day of no salad isn't going to kill me. I'm going to make a normal sized batch of rolls, but will freeze half of them for Christmas and the ones that are leftover I will just thaw one at a time for my husband to have with dinner
So I'm still thinking a lot about that mini 100 Grand bar. I'm almost curious if the craving for it would GO AWAY if I just ate it! But I would probably feel guilty if I did I'm torn between eating it and seeing what happens with the craving, or remaining strong and saving it for a few days from now. Should probably wait, it will be interesting to see if I'm still thinking about it tomorrow and the next day and the next day...
Thanksgiving is coming up, isn't it? I'll be going home for it, and I know it will be really difficult to not get in that "I'm at home, on break, and it's a holiday so I will eat whatever and everything" mindset. I hope I can do it.
Today was another day 1. Yesterday was really tough, but I didn't do as badly as I could've let myself. But today was great. I didn't realize it was day light savings until I turned on my computer. I had an extra hour before work to do some homework, which was great. Work was fun, and I didn't eat too much despite working in a kitchen. I had friends over for studying, then went to do my laundry, played piano... Keeping myself busy really helps. I hope tomorrow is just as good.
maincyn, I know how you're feeling with the holidaze food madness! I try to watch my shows through the DVR so I can skip all the ads, but it's getting ridiculous out there! Food marketers have no interest in helping us be healthy. We have to be our own advocates.
I love Christmas so much and food- specifically cookies and holiday candies- is such a big part of it. My plan is to make maybe 2 or 3 of our favorites, eat one, then send the rest to work with my husband. I love the process of making them so at least I'll still get that. Then I think I'm going to make a sugar free red and green Jell-o recipe for me to enjoy. Hopefully that will be enough to still seem festive.
Also my mini 100 Grand bar obsession has subsided for the time being, yay! And I didn't have one
Happy Monday (also known as: gah, look it is Monday already, where did the weekend GO?!?)
Sounds like everyone has great strategies for Thanksgiving. Not completely sure what mine are yet. I usually do OK on Thanksgiving, it is all the holiday parties between the end of Nov and Christmas that are harder on me.
Sounds like everyone has a good plan for the holidays; wish I could say the same, but not even close, lol.
This IE game is pretty interesting, however, I cannot quite see how it would work for weight loss, bc there is not supposed to be any restriction on what one eats.
I know people will say I could eat 1400 calories worth of candy all day and lose, but I'm just not sure if that's true.
I'm torn between eating it and seeing what happens with the craving, or remaining strong and saving it for a few days from now. Should probably wait, it will be interesting to see if I'm still thinking about it tomorrow and the next day and the next day...
