I've really enjoyed the discussion this thread has provoked. When I first started WW I was soooo hungry because all I could think of to eat were carrots. I laugh now at those days, but when a person begins a new program/change it can be hard because they may not know what they are "allowed" to eat. I guess it's sometimes hard to shed yourself of the idea of being/not being allowed to eat certain foods.

I just started doing the calorie counting and I have found it easier than WW because it doesn't SEEM as restrictive. I know in reality that it is really the same principles, but I just needed a mental change to lose the last 10 pounds. I've been "stuck" at this weight for 6 months now.

I have always enjoyed reading the different perspectives presented on this forum and there is always some little part of me that can relate to all of the problems people have (I seem to have all the food issues ). I can honestly say that I have rolled my eyes and indentified with a post at the same time.

I have certain fruits I can go pretty gonzo on too. I think for me it's strawberries. I could eat an entire giant carton of strawberries if you'd let me! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Daniela, I have to say as a total data nerd, that chart was inspiring! Looooooved it.

Hi there!
Although I'm SURE it's been said before, the issue here is that people have difficulty when they go from low volume high calorie-dense foods to high volume low calorie-dense foods.
MAN I could pack away the calories:
Think of it this way -- I'd go from the DQ where I'd have a medium Blizzard (approximately 1000 calories) as a SNACK, then go right to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant with friends.
1000 calories = approximately 11 apples!
If I had to sit and eat 11 apples in 1 sitting, I'd be really, really in pain.

HOWEVER, I DO confess that I skip these posts because I am having a HECK of a time controlling my WW points right now. I've upped the exercise and am hungry all the time. Unfortunately, I'd rather eat a banana (2 points) than salad and fat free dressing (0 points), and those bananas DO add up. Especially on a limit of 22 daily points!

Like I've said before, I WISH I had this problem. And it comes down to the food I am choosing to eat...sigh...

Kira

Hm, doesn't WW have activity points, kira?

Jay

Hi JayEl! WW sure does have activity points! But I find that if I eat these and my flex points, I don't lose any weight. Right now, I do hot yoga 7 days a week (90minutes) and have done so for 28 days (2 days left in the 30 Day Challenge!). I eat 22 points a day. I eat an extra banana a day (2 points) as exercise points. (If I don't exercise, I don't eat above the 22 points -- which will happen after the 30 day challenge). Usually, DH and I go for dinner out ONCE a week and I use all my Flex points there. And I on average just over 1 lb a week (5 lbs a month on average). I've tried upping the calories, through eating all my Flex and all my exercise points, and I maintain my weight. (I thought upping calories might help with weight loss, given my activity level). I've also had two temporary blips due to vacations (i.e. up 3 pounds, but down 3.5 lbs on return).

So, yes, I do eat 24 points vice 22 points on the days I exercise, but I still have trouble sticking to 22 points a day (I consider the banana soley as "exercise-related" eaten 2 hours before yoga and I don't plan it in my daily points allotment, per se).

I am SUCH a turtle!!!
sigh
Kira

I have enjoyed reading the responses here. I'm one of those people that ALWAYS clicks on those "how to I add in more calories" threads.

Even though I planned my eating, (early in my journey) some days I got to the end of the day and needed more calories. A busy day with out a chance to eat all my snacks could derail my plan.

Like many of the people asking the question, I really wanted to know

1. Would it hurt if I DID undereat my calories occasionally?
2. What kinds of foods could I eat that would be nutritious and not cause binges if I ate them later in the day?
3. What foods were people eating that were balanced and added extra calories?

I really appreciated all the chickies that answered my questions! I spent way too many years buying the notion that all fats were equal and evil. I needed assurance that I could have peanut butter at 9 p.m. and I wouldn't gain 2 lbs overnight. Silly, of course - but a real concern nonetheless.

So, while this is a button-pusher topic for some, I completely relate to those that have posted the question.

Button pushing posts for me are the new chickies that want to know the best plan to drop 25 lbs. in two weeks for an upcoming event

The loose thing bothers me too... but I'm the last person to make fun of peoples typos. I make bucket loads myself. It only bothers me because I keep reading it as loose (not tight) versus Lose.

I think the end of the story is most of us want to be the person who struggles to get the calories in - seems like an attractive problem, and it fairly unimaginable for some of us. I do have days where I look at my calories and say oops... need to eat more, but they are WAYYyyyy less frequent then the over calories days. I can do that without blinking an eye.

I do think this is the place for MOST issues food related though... so keep posting these kind of issues! Some people will just skip the posts if it ends up bothering them. I don't think the OP meant to offend people... seemed more like venting.

One of the things that's harder for me with this whole problem is that I have to have a certain amount of carbs. Depression runs in my family and when I was on Atkins after a month I got suicidal. I got put on antidepressants and we tried so hard for so long to try to balance me out but the best we could do was get me morose. I lost 40 lbs but it just wasn't worth it. Within 2 weeks of giving up on atkins it went away and we weaned me off the medicine. Then a year later we were talking in my college chemistry class about chemicals used by the body for various things and my teacher told us that the reason low carb diets work is that complex carbs are the one thing your body needs that it can't create on its own but its used for things like making serotonin the chemical that makes you happy. *ding* Luckily at the time I knew what sort of problems this was likely to entail and went through my apartment with a trash bag getting rid of anything that might be dangerous to me and got a friend to move in with me for a while until I could get medicated. I know that's not going to be an issue for everyone on Atkins but as I apparently have leanings that way I'm not risking it anymore.

So I make sure to get a certain number of healthy complex carbs a day whether it's bread or rice or whatever. But a 1/4 cup of flour has 110 calories. That really takes a big chunk out of my calories especially since they don't tend to fill me up as much or as long as protein or vegetables do. But I'm eating them anyway

Misora - I have the same issue with carbs and depression. While most days my Wellbutrin and exercise fix the issue I have to admit having a bowl of cereal has a certain "medical" effect on my brain. Makes it easy for me to see why I gained so much weight in the first place "Self Medicating" isn't a caual term it's reality.

Misora and Muse - I'm another one that must regulate my carbs. Too many or too few are problematic for me. It seems to be a balancing act most days - in fact, I do best if I balance carbs/fat/protein every single time I eat.

I have been counting my calories religiously, and, sometimes I do come up a hundred or two (or four) calories short of my 2,000, but I certainly don't need advice either about it. Plus, I take it as a bonus. I don't see any point to eating any more when I'm not hungry. After all, that's how I got in this mess, by eating above and beyond satisfying hunger.

Plus, some days you are just more hungry than others. Which is fine. I don't know how many of you have zig-zagged your calorie intake, but I find I do it naturally without even trying, specifically because of those days you're just not hungry anymore.

I find that an equivalent calorie or carb portion of an actual whole grain (and not overcooked) is much more filling and for much longer than anything made with flour.

Back to topic

That was really my point, that our issues are very real, whether anyone else can relate to them or not. And it is also ok, to not understand someone else's point of view. I've seen "featherweights" post, and even in real life say behind my back (not trying to hurt me, just not knowing I could hear them) "how can anyone let themselves get to that point, I would never allow myself to get THAT fat."

Sting? You betcha! Malicious? Not always.

I can't relate to the bathing suit fear, because swimming was a refuge for me, even as a child. It was the one place on the planet, where my weight didn't work against me. I could keep up with and often compete with non-overweight swimmers (at least when I was younger). Walking to the water was like a death march, but in the water I was free. There isn't much I wouldn't sacrifice to have that kind of freedom. Even now, it's the only place that I can get in an aerobic workout, and really EXERCISE for more than 10 minutes. After 10 minutes of fast walking, I'm sweating profusely, my face is purple-red, I can't breath, and by heart is pounding so hard, I can feel the pulse in my head, and it feels like my skull is about to pop off. But in the water, I can play and play hard. My husband has to remind me after 60 minutes, to consider how I'm going to feel out of the water (I've actually exercised so hard in the water, that getting dressed was very difficult and I could barely move the next day because I was so sore).

I would live in the water if I could.

I am horrified that there is a cultural taboo against less-than-perfect people (especially female people) swimming, or even allowing themselves to be seen in a bathing suit. It's the one place that an overweight person, or person with severe disabilities can exercise comfortably, and yet it's so often culturally "off-limits," to the people it would help the most. I'm a freak (but a freak on a soapbox).

It's just important to remember that we can never completely walk in another person's shoes.