Good morning all, Attitude is everything. If you think "I can't eat normal" you're going to feel deprived. If you think "i'm going to make good choices and eat healthy" you can feel in controle. I've changed the way I make food. I use lots of vegetables and bake or broil instead of fry. This morning my husband had bacon and frnch toast for breakfast. I had a slice of bacon, a poached egg on toasted whole wheat english muffin. I didn't feel deprived and it's a healthy meal that will stick with me for awhile. Not that many calories. Learn to enjoy your meals, eat slowely. Do you know it takes your brain 20 min to register that you are full? So if you eat fast you're stuffed before your brain says "full".

Have a Blessed Sunday, Freda

I am back after taking the winter off - and gaining weight! I agree with you all - even coming back signals to me that I am back "on" again, and makes me a little panicky to eat something! I am truly going to try just doing it from the health standpoint - I do love the way I feel when I am eating healthier. So much more energy and just a better attitude. I am with you all and will check back again. Here's to a healthier April!

I dont believe in 'dieting'. Ive lost 50lbs so far just making lifestyle changes with regards to healthier foods and increasing my daily exercise, Readytoshed, I can relate to what youre saying by being inventive with foods that would otherwise be classed as high fat etc. I cook all my own food for myself and the kids. At least this way you know whats going into it lol.

sassy that does not sound silly lol, I use the same size plate as I do for my toddler and this way I keep in control of my portions. Im quite creative when placing the food on the plate, I sort of pile it lol, so it looks like one of those gourmet meals.

Ready to shed, your weight loss is inspirational, and proves what can be acchieved with lifestyle changes rather than faddy diets. diets only lower your metabolism thats why majority of folk regain their weight after ceasing the diet. Diets dont teach about nutrition, and good eating habits cannot be learned by mimicking a diet sheet lol. Education is the key to permanent weight loss and I have seen alot of proof that this works from some of the posts on here.

I'd hate to tell you how old i was before I got smart about kicking diets to the curb! Not allowing myself to get hungry...eating a small amt every 3 hrs is key.Eating healthy,watching portions & eating slower works for me.Those things have helped me to lose 20pds...slow but sure.I'm not good at exercise, but plan to walk, no matter how slow I am.
There's just me & DH....so I don't buy food I don't intend to eat. His snacks don't appeal ...so makes it easier.
Reading diet books from the library...or learning on line helps too.Pat

Good morning evryone, I hope all of yu have a blessed Sunday and a good weekend. I agree with what everyone is saying. We're getting some good ideal. Now we just have to put them into practice. I think it's realy important to exercise. If you hate the very word, try to fit some kind of exercise into your daily life. This morning i'm walking to the library instead of driving. How about taking the kids to the park and playing with them instead of setting on the bench? Tag is one great exercise. And have a race. Those quick bursts of energy pay off. And remember, you can't eat what you don't bring in. And don't tell me "it's for the family". Been there, done that. Does your family really need it either? You're teaching them how to eat also. I'm not saying never have a treat. But that's what it should be, a treat!

Thank you so much, that really makes me feel good Ive been "dieting" since I was 11 and I know that they just dont work. Diet =

I agree with the above post about your family eatting right too. As a general rule, nothing without nutritional value comes in my door. For instance, my kids love poptarts, I buy organic poptarts, just to steer clear of all the crap thats in them. If they never had a poptart they would never know what they were like, but unfortunately thats not the case. They have organic cereals. Instead of fruit roll ups they have fruit leather with is 100% fruit. My kids love fruit and veggies for the most part, especailly my oldest, Im still working on my baby. My fiancee, he LOVES potato chips, well he keeps these Kettle Chips that are made in a high monosaturated oil. The carbs are still simple ( like he cares) but there is hardley any saturated fat in them. For the rest of what he eats, he eats what I eat because I dont diet, I just eat good ol nutritonal foods. I shop at 3 different stores so that I can get the best stuff for the best price. Not easy work, but it works for me. This is STRICTLY my personal opinion, but I think that if you are baking, broiling, grilling your food, you should do that for your family too. They're health is important too. I know some husbands arent supportive of a healthy lifestyle, but maybe you girls can do well at selling it.

I couldn't agree more with what everyone has said. I hate the phrase 'Going on a diet'! Immediately that I tell myself I'm 'going on a diet' I want to eat everything in sight ... whether or not I'm hungry! And when I'm eating something, I'm already thinking about what I can eat next!! I become totally obsessed with food, calories, whether or not I should be eating it, and the more obsessed I become the more I eat! I'm sick and tired of my whole life being taken over by counting calories, or points, or whatever diet I happen to be 'on' at the time ... none of them work for me ... I simply become miserable and obsessed and a nightmare to live with ... and end up gaining even more weight!

I know I need to change my eating habits for life, not just for a few weeks or months. I do generally have a fairly healthy diet, but I have a big problem with portion control, and whatever I put on my plate I have to eat it all regardless of how full I feel. I don't want my whole life to revolve around having to count every calorie that I eat. I want to lead a 'normal' life.

So, after reading this thread, I've decided that I'm never 'going on a diet' again! I'm simply going to eat healthily, more fruit and veggies and prepare my family meals by adapting recipes to be more healthy. I'm not going to obsess about what I can or can't have, I'm simply going to be sensible about it.

I do agree with what someone has already said about not having unhealthy snacks/foods in the cupboard for the rest of the family ... I've already started to do this and after the initial complaints from the kids they don't bother anymore as long as they've got lots of nice fruits or yogurt to snack on instead. If I'm truthful, I was the one who ate most of them anyway!!

So, no more counting calories or whatever for me. Just lots of nice healthy meals/snacks. The one thing that I do want to try to cut down on though is pasta/rice. Although I love it, I end up eating far too much and this leaves me feeling dreadfully bloated for a day or two afterwards, but apart from that nothing is going to be 'forbidden' because I will simply end up bingeing on it!!

Looking forward to 'chatting' with you all regularly, and good luck to everyone!

Nichola

Good morning all, How is everyone doing on our quest for health and good nutrition? I think we're bound to have slip ups for awhile intill we really get the hang of changing. Making healthy substitutes. And get past the guilt for making a "bad" choice occasionally. Did you ever watch a thin person eat? They eat a lot at times. But they don't eat when they're full, they don'teat to calm them selves down. They enjoy food. They just don't abuse food. BUT, we want to be thin and healthy too. And just because you're think doesn't mean you're healthy. We can take a few cues from them but add in the healthy interest too. We have to learn to substitute the food we love. Instead of rice, how about brown rice. actually I like it better anyway. Love the nutty taste! Instead of eating a lot of chocolate (we're women, after all) how about one really great piece of dark chocolate?

Think about nutrition. If you put cheap gas in a car it might run, but it will sputter along and eventually stall out. The same is true about putting cheap fuel into your body. It might run for awhile, but it's going to give you problems. Think about the "fuel" you're putting into your engin

Go make it a good day, Freda

I recommend reading the book " French Women Don't Get Fat" it's not a diet and it talks about changing your attitude and your relationship with food. Basic principles are - don't eat fast food, don't eat until you are stuffed, slow down, enjoy good food ( i.e. fresh food - no processed or pre-fab food), enjoy life and get normal exercise like walking and taking stairs instead of going to the gym. It didn't cause an epiphany for me but I could relate to a lot of what the author was saying and I guess it helped me let go of a lot of negative things that I was doing food wise.

If you can check it out at your local library it is a good read.

WOW, I'm thrilled that all of you feel a lot like I do. I figured I'd post this and no one would respond because it's a "diet" website. In fact, I was afraid I'd be asked to leave because this site is "3 Fat Chicks on a Diet".

Well this chick isn't.

OK, assuming all of you will revisit this thread, let's talk about ways to lose weight without "dieting".

I am reading books and articles on the idea of intuitive eating. There are experts out there who believe that because, as children, we were told to finish eating all the food on our plates we never really learned how to stop eating based on the full signals our bodies give us. We also ignore other signals like true hunger and what kinds of foods our bodies really want. We aren't kids anymore so we can chose when we want to eat and what we can eat. I believe that if I started paying attention to all those subtle signals things will get easier. Stopping with food still on my plate will be because I listened to my body and not because a diet told me to eat half what I normally would eat. It feels more in control, more empowering.

This is what I'm doing, feel free to join me. When I sit down to eat (every time I eat anything) I bring a little notebook with me and jot down a few words about how I feel before I start eating, maybe during, and after. It is sort of based on the study technique of rewriting your notes after a lecture. It forces me to pay closer attention to how I feel thus bringing me closer to relearning all those subtle signals. I am placing no restrictions on what I eat, how fast I eat it, or how much. In fact, I need to recognize everything, like how bad it feels to be really full or after eating too fast or even after eating a lot of something that really isn't good for me.

I hope that by honoring MY true needs I will want to eat less, or slower or more of the foods I need to eat. I believe that I will feel worse if I dishonor my bodies' needs than if I were to "fall off the wagon" of some diet. My choice, my body, my way.

kona

Eating well and staying fit isn't doesn't necessarily mean you are on a "diet" - for me it is more about taking care of myself and leading a healthy life style.

I don't buy "fat-free" food items other than 2% milk and low-fat yogurt. I eat a ton of fresh foods, whole grains and stay away from fast food, processed foods and junk food. I don't use artificial sweetners or egg substitute - just can't stand the taste

The key for me is that I have learned I can live without certain things that now taste horrible to me or bother my stomach. Some things I refuse to give up such as real peanut butter, dark chocolate and coffee with real cream and sugar which I have in moderation i.e. I have 1 really good coffee per day then water or herbal tea for the rest of the day.

Eating fresh food and cooking my own meals was a challenge at first but now I find I find can't do it any other way

Some tips - use smaller plates for portion control and do things like set the table for dinner and present the meal (I.E. arrange it nicely on the plate add a garnish etc.) - I find this makes the meal more of an special event rather than just sitting down to chow down (even if you are just eating mac and cheese ) It also makes you more mindful of what you are eating.

I recommend reading the books by Jean Antonello. "How to Become Thin by Eating More", and "Breaking Out of Food Jail". They explain why our bodies react the way they do whenever we go on a "diet". It really does make sense what she says. She also wrote a book for kids called, "Naturally Thin Kids". There is also another book I would recommend by Rob Stevens, The Overfed Head.
Ali

Well, I know it's very early days, this is only the second day for me not being 'on a diet', but I'm already feeling so much happier. I no longer feel under pressure to stick within my calories ... only to find I've gone over my daily allowance, which makes me want to give up because I've 'broken my diet', so I end up having a binge! I've eaten normal portions of healthy food, I haven't felt hungry, and I don't feel that I've deprived myself of anything ... and the strange thing is that I've actually eaten less than I normally would if I was 'on a diet'

Hope everyone else is having a great day!

Nichola

Yes! I found it very liberating when I first decided to stop buying "fat free" items and just eat well. You're right about the pressure being lifted off too