Hi everyone,

i'm new to this board so i thought i would say hello. I have been on several different diets in the last year and am so sick of the whole thing! (though i have managed to lose around 30 pounds and keep it off fairly easily; but still have about 30 more to lose). I am now trying a different approach. i am only eating when i am truely hungry, and only eating enough to make me satisfied and not stuffed. (overeating is what got me in this boat to begin with...oh the stories i could tell...LOL)

anyway, i read a book called "Thin Within" and it has been a real motivator for me. it is not a 'diet' book, but rather a sensible approach to normal eating. for example, it says that a person's stomach is about the size of your fist....whoa! that opened my eyes to how much i had been eating (especially if i had a binge day..) so now i notice that since i am eating less at mealtime and waiting to see if i'm satisfied, i don't usually go back for seconds...hmmm...and i don't feel sick because i stuffed myself! also, i find that i am choosing better things to eat, maybe because mentally i don't feel "forced" to, like when i was dieting. (if you say "eat this", then i DON'T want it! If you say, "you can't have this", then i DO want it!)

anyway, didn't mean to ramble, just thought i would post my "self revelations" and ask for your opinions.. any and all advice/comments are welcome! Thanks!

Hi!

I know what you mean about trying every diet and being sick of dieting. I am exactly where you are and I also have about 30 lbs. to lose. Here are some other books to read if you haven't read them already. Naurally Thin by Eating More by Jean Antonello, and The 7 Secrets of Slim People by Vikki Hansen & Shawn Goodman. I just ordered Breaking Out of Food Jail by Jean Antonello from Amazon, as I hadn't been able to find it in the book stores.

About 10 yrs. ago I did lose weight by doing this exact same thing. I got discouraged because I was stalled, started starving myself and went back to the vicious cycle of losing and gaining. Have you started losing yet?

Maybe we can give each other support through this new way of eating.

Aleka

hi Aleka,

Thanks for the ideas! i've heard of 'the seven secrets of slim people', but have never read it. perhaps i will do some more reading. i think at this point it is mostly comfirmation that this WILL work! you get so caught up in dieting that it seems impossible that just eating "normally" could actually work, you know? So it is nice to hear from other people that this has worked for them. my brother is always saying stuff like, "just eat healthy"....yeah, ok...this from a guy who has never had a weight problem! LOL Anyway, i have just fallen into a cycle of junk food and boredom eating...so maybe this will work, it's defiately a big eating change for me.

when i weighed in at TOPS last tuesday, i had gained two pounds (this was before i started this way of eating, and i had just had a binge from coming off of yet another diet.) I have only been doing this WOE for about 3 days, but i can definately tell the difference! i don't feel all bloated and nasty from overeating, and the scale says i've lost those two pounds (which i'm pretty sure wasn't true "fat" gain, but probably water or bloat) so i've been staying pretty steady at about 165, but this morning the scale looked like it may have moved down about 1/2 pound....so hard to tell with my scale, i think i'll get a digital...anyway, i can't wait to weigh in this tuesday! My dh is out of town this weekend, so when he gets home we are going to get back into our gym routine (we got out of it for a few weeks because my 15 yr old son had to have surgery...long story, nothing serious)

anyway, sorry to have rambled on again! I would love to have a support buddy!! feel free to PM me if you want, or we can talk here as well. So far i am focusing on:

1. Eating smaller portions, only until i am satisfied, not stuffed.

2. Making good food choices, but not making anything "Illegal". I can have what i want in moderation, and only if i am truely hungry.

3. Exercise! not something i'm good at! i hate it! LOL...trying to get in more cardio and doing weights at least 3 times a week.

4. Giving myself "affermations" ("i CAN do this!")


Any more ideas? What are some things you are doing? I'll let you know how it goes. Keep me posted on your progress as well.

Hi doulachic,

Hope you're enjoying your holiday. Glad that your son's surgery wasn't serious. I wish him a speedy recovery. Congratulations on losing 2 lbs. Sometimes I feel like I've lost, but get on the scale and I've stayed the same. I did lose 5 lbs. of vacation weight by eating sensibly. I have started walking again. I just started a couple of weeks ago, walking 30 min. I am working my way up to 45 min. to 1 hr. I have seen some posts about how they gained weight when switching over to this WOE while their body heals from the starving and binging. Then they sort of level out then start to lose weight. This really scares me because I don't want to get any heavier than I already am. I'm hoping that the 20 lbs. I gained over the past year after I stopped WW was my gaining period and that I'll start to lose soon.
I tend to eat when I'm bored or stressed. Right now DH & I are planning on moving to FL so we're in the middle of cleaning out our house and packing. I'm really resisting the urge to eat. When I feel the urge, I start cleaning out something then it passes.

Your list of what you are doing is a good one. I am doing the same things you are, except I don't lift weights. I try to eat healthy carbs like brown rice and whole-wheat pasta. I try to stay away from anything made with white flour, and anything made with a lot of sugar. I'd like to try some recipes in my WW cookbooks and other low calorie cookbooks that I have.
I tend to cook the same things over and over. I just have to take the time and look the recipes over then make out my grocery list.

Aleka

Hi aleka,

So far, i haven't lost anymore, so maybe what you were saying is right. I was thinking about that this morning. I stepped on the scale and was like, "aaarrrggghhh! Still the same!" But i figure, i have been maintaining and not gaining, so that is good. but anyway, i was talking to myself (in my head, not out loud! LOL) and thinking that i am NOT failing at this, but rather my body is just trying to adjust to a new way of eating and i need to really give it a chance and not give up. i've only been doing this for less than a week! ok, patience is not a strong point for me in this area! LOL

i have also been trying to stay away from sugar and junk food, but i am trying to keep the mentality that "hey, it's there if i want it, so maybe later i'll have some", so far this has worked! sometimes i will go and grab just a bite of something sweet or whatever, and that's it. in the past i would have just scarfed down the whole thing. so i haven't really been craving too much sweet stuff....hmmm...not sure why that is unless it is just mental...

anyway, it sounds like you are on the right track as well. I like to do the weightlifting because it is really good with weight loss. muscle really does burn fat, and i have noticed when i was lifting regularly, i could really see where the pockets of fat were starting to break up...especially on my legs, i'm more bottom heavy, aarrrggghhh! LOL anyway, women who lift weights don't get bulky, man muscles..that's just a myth.

well, i hope you have a good day! Good luck on your packing. i've always hated moving so i know what you're going through! hang in there!

Hi Trish,

I have read posts from people who are already starting to lose weight that the weight loss is very slow. I try to keep that in mind so I won't get discouraged. Where you're working with weights you'll do fine. You may lose size before you lose weight. I keep telling myself that I have to incorporate weight lifting because as I get older it gets more difficult to lose weight, and years of yo-yo dieting my metabolism is a mess. I just have to find some sort of instructions on how to do the moves properly. I do have weights in various sizes that I had to buy when I had tendonitus in my right arm a few years ago.

That's a great way to think about sweets and other high calorie foods. If you know you can have it anytime you want you're more apt to pass it by. I think you just have to re-shift your thinking. Another thing I'm doing is having lower calorie versions of my favorite things. I love ice cream. I found these fudgsicles at Walmart made by Blue Bunny, they're sugar free, low fat, and have only 60 cal. They cure my ice cream cravings.

Hope you have a good day. I'll probably do some more packing later on this morning. I want to pack the coffee mugs and other stuff we don't use. Gotta get ready for my walk.

Aleka

hi aleka,

sorry i haven't posted for a while, i have had a busy week. DH is home this week on vacation so i haven't done too well with my eating. DH likes to have his snacks, etc, and he eats them in front of me, etc...aaarrrggghhh! Of course, it isn't his fault if it finds it's way into my mouth. seems like it is harder to stay on plan when he is home....hhhmmm...not that he is trying to sabatoge me or anything, he is actually very supportive. i just don't have much willpower. I read somewhere that "you have the power to say NO! So use it," kind of thing. am trying to apply that but sometimes it is hard. guess i am feeling a little sad right now. seems like i will never lose this weight!

that is a good idea about having lower calorie treats around. i bought some sugar free pudding the other day, maybe i will make some up tomorrow. i also bought some light bread (i think it is Wonder?) anyway, it only has 80 calories per 2 slices, so that will help with my sandwiches. just have to work in more veggies...i really have to be in the right mood for salad though, and that isn't very often! LOL

anyway, hope you are having a better week than i am! guess i just need to kick myself in the rear and get off the pity pot...

Hi Tricia,

I can relate to husband's and their snacks. DH used to constantly eat, and I'd be sitting there in misery because I was starving and wouldn't allow myself to have anything. Now DH has put on a few lbs. so we are both in this together. Misery loves company. I am confident that you will get the weight off. I got the book Breaking out of the Food Jail by Jean Antonello. I have started reading it, but it will take me a while because I get bored reading self-help books. I can only manage a few pages at a time. I did thumb through it and at the end of the book she has a fairly large list of foods to fill up on, mostly fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc. etc.

I had a Dr. appt. the other day and she did tell me that my weight had crept up and thankfully didn't read me the riot act. She suggested that I get the South Beach Diet's booklet on good carbs & good fats and eat from that. She also told me that my problem could be that I'm not eating enough. I never can understand that consept. I've also been using a light bread, but the kind I get is low carb. The only reason I get that bread is that it's made with whole-wheat flour, has 9 gm. of fiber, and 2 slices are 80 cal. I prefer sandwiches to salads too. I have a salad once in a while just for a change of pace. Making small changes that you can live with is doable. S/F pudding is delicious. I have a couple of recipes using S/F pudding, one is pumpkin pudding, and one tastes like egg-nog. If you would like them, I'll post them for you.

Back to the grindstone of packing.

Enjoy your weekend. Aleka

Hi Aleka,

I would love the pudding recipes! thanks! I think i am getting back into the right frame of mind so maybe i can get back to the plan. What brand of lo-carb bread do you buy? I've tried the Orrowheat and thought it was pretty good, maybe i will go back to it. it was a little more dense than the other light bread i am using now. I've been trying to add more whole foods in, like whole wheat products and brown rice, etc. i think i need to go back to "planning" my daily menu a little bit. not really dieting, but just planning so that i know what i am eating and maybe even prepare it ahead of time so i don't have any excuse to snack. that seemed to help me before.

how is the packing going? when are you moving? hope that goes smoothly for you!

a lot of people have done well on lower carb eating plans, personally i couldn't stick with it! i've done atkins, and it worked, but i just couldn't live without my breads and pretty soon i found myself binging on everything...i think south beach is more lenient though so it may be worth a try. let me know how it goes!

well, gotta go, i've got a sick little three year old here.... Hope your weekend is super!

Hi Tricia,

Sorry you have a sick 3 year old. Hope they are feeling better today.

One low carb bread I get is Country Kitchen, and the other is Barowsky, or something like that. I don't know if either of them are national brands or just regional brands. I'm sure if they make them, everyone else is making them too. I have been reading that booklet about the Good Fats/Good Carbs of the South Beach Diet and do try to eat from the list.

I was awful last night. DH & I were busy all day and I did not feel like cooking dinner, so we ordered a lg. pizza. I didn't listen to my body and helped DH polish the whole thing off. I have to get back to listening to my body telling me when I'm full.

Here are the pudding recipes:

Pumpkin Pudding

1 sm. pkg (4 serv. size) sugar-free instant Vanilla
or Butterscotch pudding mix
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/4 teasp. Pumpkin Pie Spice (this was not in the original recipe, it's something I added on my own. So, you can omit it if you wish)

Mix all ingredients together for 2 min. Pour into ramekins. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 4 1/2 cup servings.

Egg Nog Pudding

2 cups skim milk
1 sm. pkg (4 serv.size) sugar-free Vanilla flavored
Pudding Mix
1/2 teasp. rum extract (I omit this because I don't care for rum flavored egg nog)
1/4 teasp. ground nutmeg

Pour milk into med. bowl. Add pudding mix, rum extract, & nutmeg. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. Pour into ramekins. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 4 1/2 cup serv.

Hope you're enjoying your Sunday.
Aleka

hi again,

sorry i haven't been around lately, life is busy. My three year old is better, thanks. i attended a birth last night and didn't get home until around three this morning so i am totally wiped out today. i'll post more later when i'm more awake. oh, thanks for the pudding recipes! they sound yummy. my MIL just gave me a bag full of sugar free jello...any ideas?

well, i'll post more later, hope you are doing well.

Hi Tricia,

Sorry I haven't posted for a couple of days. Had major computer problems yesterday which turned out to be our browser. DH was on the phone with a tech for about 3 hrs. while they tried to see what the problem was, then install a new browser, which we dislike. But, that could be because we're not used to it. We also have problems with e mail.

My eating hasn't been very good these last couple of days. I had lunch out with a friend yesterday at Applebees and had a salad from their Weight Watcher menu. I was satisfied, but by the time I got home, I was starving and ate all the wrong things. I vow to do better today. I really want to try this because I am so tired of counting calories, points, carbs, etc., etc. Hope that you're doing ok.

I don't know what to suggest with the sugar-free jello. I haven't seen any good recipes like I've seen using the S/F pudding. I hope you enjoy the pudding recipes. DH doesn't like the pumpkin pudding, and that's good because then there is more for me! I bet you could put that in a pie or graham cracker shell and it would be good.

Have a good day.
Aleka

Hi Aleka,

Oh i sympathize with the whole computer thing! A few months ago our computer completely crashed and we lost everything on it! (including the last chapter of a book i was writing at the time and hadn't recently backed up! thank goodness it was only one chapter!) anyway, it is all fixed now, but what a pain!

My eating has been better the last few days, and i have been faithful with my exercise this week. but last week i had about 3 days where for some reason i just totally binged! i ate the wrong things, when i wasn't hungry, and a few times even when i was full. finally i had to mentally kick my rear and say "what are you doing!!" Hhmmm...still don't know what that was about, sometimes i just do that. i guess i still have a long way to go in learning how to eat normally. the last few days i have really been watching it. (except for last night, when i had way too many homemade bisquits with my dinner! my downfall is anything baked!) i've been trying to "feel" if i am really hungry, or if i am just wanting to eat, etc. I read another book about normal, nutritious eating and it made a lot of sense. it talked about some of the reasons why people overeat. anyway it was a good book.

i know what you mean about being tired of "counting" everything! once in a while i find myself thinking about going back to it all, but then i remember how stressful it all is. i was trying to watch my calories by using fitday, but then i realized that i was becoming to obsessed about it. ("oh no! i can't have that because it will put me over my calories!") that kind of thinking. kind of like getting back into 'diet thinking', and that is not where i want to go! so for now i am not charting anything.

i'm trying not to get to involved in using 'diet' products either. (like the frozen diet dinners, etc) but i did buy some Blue Bunny Orange Dream Bars and they are so good! (Blue Bunny has such yummy stuff.) they are low fat and low calorie too. I try to buy treats like that in the low calorie version, but only if they taste good! (some of them are so gross! except for the jello and pudding, of course! )

just a thought, do you think you would have done better (at lunch with your friend) if you had just ordered a small portion of something "normal" (for lack of a better word) rather than a "diet" meal? Maybe it put your mind in "diet" mode, and you mentally felt deprived or something? I just say that because sometimes that is what happens to me. i'll try to be 'good' and then i end up eating everything later in the day. just a thought.

how's the packing going? or are you all done? Well, i've rambled long enough. talk to you soon.

Hi Tricia,

What type of book did you write and have you written any others? You must have felt quite an accomplishment when you finished. That is fantastic.

Our computer problem was due to a virus that attacked the browser and there was nothing we could do about it. DH did a virus scan, which we update faithfully, and it couldn't detect a virus. Between DH & the tech for Microsoft, they got a new browser installed and we both hate it. I am getting somewhat used to it, but I still don't like it.

Which book did you read about eating normally? I haven't read any more of Breaking out of Food Jail. I keep meaning to pick it up again. One thing in the book she did mention, and I know I am this way, is eating by the clock. If it's noon, I eat lunch whether or not I'm hungry, and I won't eat anything mid morning even though I am hungry. I really have to change my ways. How did you feel after eating the biscuits? I have that same problem with pizza. When you put the biscuits on the table, do you put out all the biscuits you baked or do you just put a few out? If you put all of them on the table, try only putting out a serving for each person at the table and wrap up the rest of the biscuits for another time. After you eat a biscuit, ask yourself if you really want another one, if you do, then go for it. If not, then save it for when you get hungry again. Hope this will help you.

After I got home from the restaurant with my friend I thought the exact same thing, that I shoul've gotten something off the regular menu, because I know I probably would've only eaten half of it. But, I wanted to be good because I had gone out with another friend a couple of days beforehand and ate way..way..way too much. But, I learned my lesson.

Those Bluebunny ice cream bars are really good. I buy the Health Smart chocolate & chocolate & vanilla fudgsicle type bars (they're on a stick). They're made w/Splenda, fat free, and 60 cal. DH & I really love them.

I am a Weight Watcher drop out many times over. I got so obsessive about counting points and like you I was afraid to go over. Every so often I get the notion to start counting again, so I dig out all my material and it lasts until dinner time.

We had a dumpster delivered a few days ago. Now we're cleaning out our basement, and from the looks of things it doesn't look like we're making any progress.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Aleka

hi again,

I have written a total of three books. They are about 3 brothers (each has there own book. ) and they are christian romance. i LOVE romance stories, but i sometimes get fed up with the ones that have 'naughty' stuff every other page! On the other hand, most of the christian romances i have read are really, dare i say...boring? i mean, nobody can be THAT good all the time, even christians..we are human after all. ...anyway, i try to write somewhere between the lines. i don't swear in my books (ok, one time, but it was needed in an emotionally charged scene..my character told someone to go to h***, and he was an alcoholic..) and i always "fade to black" when it comes time for "love scenes", and my characters are married if they do any of that stuff. anyway, my trilogy is set in the 1800's old west, and it is about three brothers. maybe if i ever get them published (***sigh***) i will send you a copy! not sure what you like to read. I'm also in the middle of writing a sort of spin off book from the trilogy, and also on the side am working on a more modern time romance. Anyway, didn't mean to "talk your ear off", i could go on and on about my writing, i just love doing it!

the book i just finished reading is called "Eat & Stay Thin" by Joyce Meyer. it is christian based, but it has a lot of practical information as well as the biblical stuff. very inspiring. i will have to read the one you are reading, it sounds good as well. i'm trying to educate myself about all of this stuff, hopefully it will sink in!

I think next time (about the yummy bisquits) i will put them away right away so i can't see them. sometimes that helps. if i leave that stuff out, then every time i walk by i am tempted. or i may just try to avoid it altogether next time (if i am not really wanting it anyway) since it seems to be one of my trigger foods. i find that if i don't have any, i don't have the taste of it in my mouth so i don't crave more; but if i have one then i always want another!

a lot of times when DH and i go out to eat, i try to remember to ask for a 'take home' carton when i order. then when my dinner comes, i immediately put half of it in the container and close the lid. i especially have to do this with chinese food or i will gobble all of it in one sitting! if i put away half of it, i can eat it for lunch the next day. it's kind of like getting a second treat. today DH and i went out to the movies (we saw Spiderman 2) and for once we ate lunch at home instead of out! that is a major accomplishment, believe me! although i did have a bag of m&m's at the theatre. So far today i have done pretty well. i have had:

2 pieces of light toast with small amount of jelly
1 cup of coffee with half and half, and splenda

1 tuna sandwich with regular whole wheat bread and mayo
1/2 cucumber (which i got fresh from a local roadside stand..yum!)

Spagetti with meatballs (maybe a little more than i should have, but not until i was stuffed, big accomplishment)
More cucumber
small amount of corn

1 blue bunny orange bar (of course! YUMMY! )
Oh, and my m&m's

I don't feel like i dieted today, and i didn't stuff myself either, so that was good. maybe i am making some progress in my thinking. sorry this post is so long! i hope you are doing well in your journey.

have a great week!