I'm not sure about how they're made at restaurants. I just remember reading the ingredients on several packages of veggie burgers (can't remember the brands) in the grocery store (long ago) and discovering that mushrooms were a prime ingredient. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly. I should check them out again.

That looks really delicious and appropriate nutritionally. The calorie count is considerably higher than the NS version. Maybe the portion size is bigger. And it looks like it contains more chicken and broccoli, which is fine since I normally add those anyway.

What play did you go see? Sounds like a good distraction from food cravings (although I'm sure some people do sneak food in, just like at the movies!).

Well, that sucks! There you were trying to be nice and protect someone from hurt feelings, and it totally backfired so you ended up hurting yourself instead. I would imagine you are right--you thought you "deserved" to really enjoy the food since you weren't enjoying yourself otherwise. Maybe you could make a card for that situation. How did the cleanse go today? When is your next exercise class supposed to be?

I definitely eat enough fat now; I can see the difference in my hair and skin, so it's not that. In terms of the make-up, I was just wondering if maybe I'm allergic to something, or at least sensitive to it, since I've never really worn any of that stuff before. But after sleeping for 10 hours last night, my eyes feel much better. Or it just may be that I didn't wear any make-up today. I'll have to see what happens next time I wear the make-up.

my report: weight was down .2 (130 even), had a perfect NS day, can't read my calorie burn from my Exerspy because their site is down at the moment, did not do any exercise, read my cards, saved a bite of dinner for Callie, ate slowly and mindfully. Feeling pretty in control these days but still haven't completely regained my confidence. I do want to thank you for suggesting that we start our own thread here, though. That has helped me a great deal. I haven't told you lately how much I appreciate your input and support--so thank you!

Looking forward to hear how your day went today. Hope it was a much better one!

[QUOTE=4EverLearning;4172598]I'm not sure about how they're made at restaurants. I just remember reading the ingredients on several packages of veggie burgers (can't remember the brands) in the grocery store (long ago) and discovering that mushrooms were a prime ingredient. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly. I should check them out again. [quote] I looked at the ingredients of a veggie burger I like a lot at a local restaurant, and it also doesn't contain any mushrooms.

Oh, you know what? Those Lean Cuisines are probably comparable to NS dinners rather than lunches.

Play was terrible. We left at intermission. It was a debut from a playwright whose work we've enjoyed before, but it turns out this was a commissioned piece. I suspect she had trouble with it but didn't want to give back the money.

Cleanse went well, and I'm supposed to go to class tomorrow morning I think...I should check to make sure she's having class, but I assume she is. If I wake up without a throbbing tooth, I'll go.


So a good day, all around.

It's helping me, too, so thank you in return. I'm glad you're feeling more in control. Report: weighed (down, yay, to 2.2 under goal), didn't exercise, ate exactly as planned, contacted my diet buddy!

Have a great day!

OK, you've convinced me that I need to check them out--I must be mistaken!

That Lean Cuisine has 300 calories, compared to 220 for the NS version (which is also a dinner). But by the time I add an ounce of chicken and a bunch of veggies to it, the NS version is close to 300 calories, too.

And I don't suppose YOU were able to get your money back, either. Sorry it was so disappointing.

I hope your class is in session and that going will make you feel more in control. I continue to be amazed at how good exercise can make a body and mind feel. I sometimes regret not exercising, but never once have I regretted an exercise session!



A big change in weight for 24 hours! YAY!! I'm sure that's a big relief. Do you plan to continue with the cleanse for the full five days, even if your weight drops substantially?

my report: weighed 129.4 this morning (down .6), stuck to my plan except for adding about 2 ounces of grilled chicken due to really extreme hunger, ate everything slowly and mindfully, read my cards, contacted my diet buddy, took a walk in the mall (too cold and snowy to walk outside). When I couldn't upload the data from my Exerspy last night, I decided to try the watch that goes with it instead. I had never even opened the package, I'm embarrassed to say. But I wore it all day today, and I love it! I can see at any time exactly how many calories I have burned so far (or at least the number of calories the Exerspy says I have burned). Assuming that the data is accurate, I can get a really good sense of how well my intake correlates with my calorie burn, both quantitatively and time-wise.

Hope you had another good day today--and a pain-free one!

Oh, I don't care to get my money back. We're season ticket holders, and we know there'll always be a few stinkers in the mix. We like that they take risks with new plays/playwrights, and we're happy to support their experimenting even when it disappoints.

Same here! It was in session today, but when my alarm went off at 4:30 my jaw was already starting to give me pain even though I took a vicodin before bed last night. Fingers crossed for Wednesday.

Yes, although I may do shakes-and-bars until dinner, then a reasonable low-glycemic dinner. It's just less of a drag when you know you have some real food to look forward to for the day.

Oh, cool on the exerspy watch!

Report: weighed (down again, to 113.2 or 3.8 below goal.) I'd like to be solidly at 6ish below goal (that is, in the 111s for several weeks) by the time we leave for our trip, which is just over two months from now and seems like a very reasonable goal. I doubt I'll lose much more from this cleanse, even if I were to do it religiously, but it still helps with eliminating the carb cravings. But once it's over I'm going to work very hard on eating very, very reasonably: low-glycemic and 1400 calories or less per day.

So you're a patron of the arts! Cool! I would definitely get season tickets for the performing arts center at my campus if I had someone to go with.

ACK on the pain and ACK ACK ACK on the 4:30AM alarm!! I'd rather go to bed at 4:30 than get up at 4:30! Hopefully you will be up for your class on Wednesday.

Have you ever actually stuck to just the shakes and bars for the full five days?
It is! I feel like I have a new toy! I won't wear it tomorrow, though, or at least not during work hours. I may wear the Exerspy at work a couple of times (when I am wearing something that covers it up) so that I can see how many calories I burn when I teach. Teaching leaves me feeling completely wrung out sometimes, and often very hungry, so I'm curious to see how many calories it burns. I always feel like I put a tremendous amount of energy into it, so I often wonder if reality matches my perception.

YAY on getting so far below goal so quickly! Your plan sounds very doable and reasonable. While you are working hard on what you are eating, remember to work on your thoughts and habits, too. Maybe some of your habits have slid a little, and that contributed to your gain?

my report: my weight was up .4 (no clue why), did not read my cards, did eat slowly and mindfully, had a perfect OP day, got no exercise, contacted my diet buddy.

OK, I need to get to bed and at least pretend to try to go to sleep, since tomorrow is one of my early class days. UGH. Hope you had a good day today!

Damn, just typed in a complete response, then had to reboot and even though I'd saved it to cut-and-paste it must have lost the save when I rebooted. Report: weighed (up, 2.4 below goal, but that's okay), ate slowly and mindfully and sitting down, left a bite (left a half a burger, in fact), contacted my diet buddy. Have to run off to an appointment, but if I get a chance to I'll come back in and recreate my earlier reply!

I HATE when that happens!!

Hope you had a good day today. I had a fine day eating-wise but am not feeling well--either have a cold or a sinus infection. I didn't sleep well last night, either, and then had to get up way too early, so hopefully I'll sleep better tonight. My weight was down .2 this morning.

I hate it, too. Weighed (down again, 3.8 under goal), ate reasonably, slowly, mindfully, sitting down, left a bite.

Yes, I've done the entire thing twice, and it is a total drag. But it works. Sometimes I've done Atkins induction for three days. That's actually a lot more fun and definitely kills the cravings too, but it's so high calorie that I've never tried doing it except as a way to jump start when I'm already heavy.

I'd love to hear how teaching compares to other periods during your work day!

Have a great day!

YAY on the weight drop! Are you feeling more in control again?

I've never tried Atkins. It just never made any sense to me to consume so much fat; it just seems so counter-intuitive. But I know several people who swear by it.

I'm going to try it tomorrow, when I teach two classes back-to-back. I'm very curious.

I forgot to weigh this morning (overslept and was rushing like mad to get to school on time). I had a great training session, despite not feeling very well. I ate a little less than planned, because I fell asleep after the training session and missed a snack as a result. Oddly, or maybe not so oddly since I don't feel well, I wasn't particularly hungry despite undereating.

I have an appointment with an oncologist tomorrow (my GP referred me), and I'm very nervous about it. I'm hoping he won't want me to go through yet another screening any time soon. I'm curious what he will say about taking Tamoxifen and about the possibility of prophylactic mastectomies.

Hope you had another good day!

Mmmm...well, since I had a wine-induced snackfest last night and a one-pound gain today, maybe not so much! Yeah, I feel okay. Not perfect, but okay.

What did it show?

Pretty good day, though not so much the not feeling well part.

What did he say?

Report: weighed (up to 2.4 under goal), ate slowly and mindfully until after dinner. Didn't exercise. Tomorrow, I'm going to class no matter what! I'm headed out of town (college visit to Davidson in NC), leaving very early tomorrow and will be back late Saturday night, so if I don't get on here until Sunday that's why! I'll try to, though.

Hope you had a great day!

Was yesterday the first day after your cleanse, or had you already given that up? Do you think there is any connection between the restriction of the cleanse and your snackfest? Glad to year you are feeling OK, if not perfect!

I discovered that I burn about 175 calories an hour teaching, which is virtually the same as what I burn during a training session that focuses mostly on strength training!! Is that crazy, or what? I burned just over 2000 calories yesterday and again today, the first time I have ever gone over 2000 calories in a day. I'm not sure what to make of that. Sometimes I have to wonder how accurate that Exerspy is.



We had a good discussion about the possibility of prophylactic mastectomies, and he explained why the risks of that are probably greater than the risk of getting cancer at this point, although I was impressed at how well he listened to me when I described the chronic stress this all causes me. He convinced me to try a drug called Evista, which has fewer risks than Tamoxifen. But it still has some nasty risks (like strokes and blood clots) and some undesirable side effects (water retention, weight gain, hot flashes, leg cramps, joint pain). I'm just going to try it for three months and see if I can tolerate it. I told him about my weight loss, and he said he never would have guessed that to look at me, partly because I am skinny and partly because I do not have the pinched look of someone who has lost a lot of weight! (Take that, Bev!! ) However, supporting Bev's contention that I am obsessed with my weight, I admit that I am a little freaked out about taking a medication that has weight gain as a side effect. I will be paying careful attention to that and will do what I can to counteract it.

YAY for still being well under goal! Did you go to your class today? I bet it felt good! I know someone, or used to know someone, who teaches psych at Davidson. Hope you have a safe trip and a good visit.

my report: weight was down .4 compared to two days ago, ate very mindfully but not completely OP. I went to a happy hour with some colleagues at school on the spur of the moment and drank two glasses of wine. I didn't overeat, though, and actually ate a smaller dinner to compensate, but I still was up to almost 1800 calories for the day. I had a LOT of fun! We're going to make this a regular Thursday evening event, so I have to make sure to plan for it and deal with it.

Can't wait to hear how Jane and you like Davidson! Check in when you can but don't stress about it if you can't.

It was supposed to be a semi-cleanse day -- bars and shakes until dinner -- but then after dinner I went a little berserk. It was Jane's finals/midterms week, and she always brings a lot of junk into the house those days. I'm sure there is a connection between the restriction of the cleanse and the snackfest. It always makes me feel a little sorry for myself.



Wow! So basically all you have to do to maintain your weight is increase your class load!

Well, it sounds like he has a really thoughtful plan. Ha! I don't blame you a bit. It would worry me, too. But the drug can't MAKE you gain weight. It can only make you either hungrier -- which you can counter by bulking up your meals -- or slow your metabolism, which you can counter with exercise. Do you know HOW it encourages weight gain? That is, are people hungrier, or does it slow your metabolism, or is it just the water retention that mimics weight gain?

I did go! It was great, a new instructor the owner just hired, and I like her a lot. She's actually a neighbor whom I don't know very well and have never found particularly interesting, but she is a great trainer. Really picky about form, which I think is very helpful and which I think the owner of the studio never pays enough attention to. I liked her better as an instructor than the owner, so I'm hoping she'll do a lot of our sessions.

Thanks! I'll report back. Who's the teacher you know? Unfortunately Jane won't be able to sit in on any classes, as we'll be visiting Saturday, but we've heard very good things about Davidson.

I think regular happy hours are great for colleagues! You can definitely fit a couple of glasses of wine into a weekly schedule. Remove a snack and choose the lowest-calorie entrees and you'll probably cover it.

Have a great day! I'll try to get in her tomorrow if possible -- probably depends on how late we get home and how tired I am.

There's this really interesting new body of research that helps explain why unplanned eating is so much more likely at night. People apparently have a continually renewing, but limited, amount of "willpower". This reservoir is depleted not only by times when we resist temptation but also by simply having to make a decision. So, by the end of the day, particularly a day that has been stressful, challenging, or has involved more than the usual number of decisions, we're less likely to have enough "will" left over to resist tempting foods.



BITE YOUR TONGUE!!!

I can find nothing that suggests the reason for the weight gain. The identification of weight gain as a possible risk appears to be based on nothing but self-report data from straightforward placebo-control studies. In other words, women taking the drug are statistically significantly more likely to report having gained weight than women who are unknowingly taking a sugar pill instead. But the difference between the drug group and the placebo group appears to be pretty small. Obviously water retention would account for part of it. I am hoping that my Exerspy will help me keep a handle on things. If my metabolism slows down, I should be able to see that on the Exerspy.

Interesting that the class would feel so different with a different instructor. I think I would tend to respond best to an exercise instructor who exhibits a lot of empathy and encouragement--emotional support. But in the long run it would undoubtedly be more beneficial to have an instructor who really knows good form and can convey that to the clients.

Her name is Ruth Ault. I know her from years ago when we were both active in the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. She's older than I am and may have retired by now. I haven't heard anything from or about her in years. I hope you had a good visit!

I need to pour 4 oz. of water into a wine glass so I can visualize it and figure out how many ounces of wine I am drinking. I suspect that the size of a "glass" varies substantially from one bar to another.

my report: my weight was down a full pound this morning (I suspect dehydration due to the wine; it will probably be back tomorrow). I ate everything sitting down and slowly and mindfully. Did not get any exercise and in fact was pretty lazy, taking a nap in the middle of the afternoon. My Exerspy says I burned over 1800 calories today, though. Did not read my cards. Contacted my diet buddy. Gave myself lots of credit, not only for dealing well with eating issues but also for working hard to overcome my social anxieties (going to the happy hour was an intentional effort to practice socializing with people I don't know well [most of the faculty there were the younger ones], and I'm still writing back and forth with my eharmony match).

Hope you had a safe trip. The weather has been really nasty.

Today wasn't my best day. I ate three extra desserts tonight. I've felt on edge all day, I think due to my ambivalence about taking that darn drug. Oh, well, move on, tomorrow will be a better day.

My weight was up .6 this morning. Eating was fine until tonight. Got no exercise. Contacted my diet buddy.

Can't wait to hear about your trip!

Oh, that is interesting, and it makes so much sense. I definitely feel stronger in the mornings. So basically all =I= have to do to maintain is make sure I go to bed early!

Glad the difference is small! Just because it's statistically significant doesn't have to mean it's large.

You'd like Elyse (the owner of the studio) better than Giselle. Giselle's a woman in my neighborhood who is so scary fit, even Jane has commented on it -- that Giselle has so little body fat her face looks haggard. Which is true, I suspect she's younger than I am and she looks ten years older. But her body looks like a teenage gymnast. And there's a story in the neighborhood from when her son was first old enough to have playdates without Mom and had lunch at another neighbor's, who made sandwiches and then sat down to lunch with the kids. Giselle's son said, "I thought Mommies didn't eat lunch." Interestingly, her daughter is overweight. Maybe doesn't qualify as obese, but major muffintop territory.

Unfortunately Davidson is probably ruled out. When we finished the tour and were standing outside the admission office waiting to file into the info session, Jane said, "Do you want to just leave?" I said, "No info session?" And she said she'd learned enough from the tour. Back in the car, she said, "I just kept checking off things I didn't want in a college." Davidson is heavily Greek -- 50% of guys join frats, and while there are no sororities, there are "Eating Houses" which 80% of women self-select into their second semester. And Davidson is Div I for most athletics, which for a student body that small (1900) translates to 26% of students being varsity athletes. It's too bad because the campus is gorgeous, and they have an interdisciplinary department. Many of the colleges Jane is looking at will let you design a major if they don't offer one to match your interests, but having an actual formalized department to assist is very nice.

Absolutely! I've seen everything from a 5 oz pour to a 10 oz. You'll almost never see a 4 oz unless you're in a bar that serves so little wine they do it from those little individual bottles. And while you're measuring, make sure to do it into different shape and size wine glasses. John and I bought a couple of 6-oz wine glasses to use for ourselves, and next time I buy a set I'm definitely going to buy 6-ouncers and put away the bigger glasses to use when we have large groups over and need the extras. People tend not to drink as much when they're using 6-ounce glasses.

Yay, you for going to happy hour even though it was stressful, and for deciding you'll join the group regularly. Younger faculty members might have older single colleagues, friends or family members, too. BTW, if anyone suggests fixing you up on a blind date with someone, from experience a better way it is to simply invite both of you to a group event you'd both feel comfortable at and only informally mention to each of you privately beforehand that there's another single coming.

I'm sure you do feel ambivalent. How great are the risks of clotting, etc.? Do you have any conditions that would make that more likely? I'm sure being fit and only in your fifties must be helpful. Is there any way to determine your relative likelihood to form clots? What I mean is, are there tests that can show that a person already has blood that's likely to clot? I bruise like crazy, so I've always assumed I have thin blood.

Report: Ate pretty crappy yesterday on the road. It was raining much of the way, and going through the mountains we had hair-raising fog. I would have gotten off the road if there'd been any lights at any of the exits we passed. Weighed this morning, and my weight was unchanged, which I totally didn't deserve. Going to make a big pot of vegetable soup and concentrate on veggies today as much as possible. Got minor exercise (90 minute tour of Davidson, but there was a lot of standing around.) Class tomorrow, yay!

Val