[tracyg40]

my first week is almost over. it has been hard in some ways, i went thru several days when i was 'starving' and wanted to eat the wall paper off the walls, but i stuck to my calorie limit, so i am proud of myself. i know i need to tweak it some more for healthier foods. I am prouder still that each time i was about to give in to temptation....to binge, to eat something really bad,
i was able to look at the food, then the calories and was able to decide it wasn't worth it. even today when i was buying the kids' easter candy, and i so badly wanted 'something', i talked my self into a diet pepsi and a handy 100 c. pack of doritos at the register, rather than the reeses pb big cup that i reallllly wanted lol! All in all it was a good week. monday i intend to introduce
exercise. tomorrow, will be a difficult day, and i'm trying to figure out how best to handle it. we are going to inlaws for lunch...and to celebrate 2 of my kids' birthdays....i have already decided to be very careful of what/how much i eat during lunch....so i can have birthday cake lol! probably not the BEST strategy, but hey, you have to live a little....there will always be birthdays and holidays to contend with. I know that I will be setting myself up so to speak if I swear I won't eat any....I "KNOW" I can't keep to that right now, so rather than set myself up to fail, i am planning to eat well during lunch and have a SMALLER than USUAL piece of birthday cake.....
will let you know how it goes.....
hugs
tracyg

[doIlookfat?]

Hey Tracy! We have a lot in common. I started the same thing this week, calorie counting, and had some obsticles to hurdle as well. Hubs wanted me to pick up Taco Bell for dinner on Thursday. I did, and only got stuff for the kids and him! I avoided the nachos and burritos! Ya me! I have eaten pretty much the same things everyday this week to keep it simple and to know how many calories I've eaten. No guess work. When I'm tempted, I know now that it isn't about not being able to eat it, but not wanting to eat it. Major difference, right? I love knowing I can eat whatever I want, IF I truely want it.

Today I had to go to town with hubs to buy B'day gifts for my daughter (her B'day is Monday). He talked me into going to a mexican restaraunt and I had a taco salad. I didn't feel like having cheese! Me!? I couldn't (did I say that?) finish the whole thing. It actually didn't taste that good and I caught myself asking "Is it worth it? All these calories?" Cool, huh?

Tomorrow will be killer! I have to go to 2 Easter lunches! My Inlaws at noon and my parents house at 2! And birthday cake for my daughter! I have to look deep, deep down in myself to stop when I really need to. The old me would have stuffed herself silly and regreted it all night long, but this new me will eat a little of only the things I truely like. Like you said, this is forever. There will always be holidays and birthdays. We have to learn how to make it throught it with no regrets.

Good luck for tomorrow, too! Hang in there and come back here to tell me how it went.

Heidi
180/168/139

[tracyg40]

hugs
tracyg

[jillybean720]

Introducing more healthy foods is definitely a good idea because with healthier foods, you can typically eat larger quantities, which should help with those "starving" days. I used to get my calorie allottment from cans of spaghetti o's and mac n cheese, 100 calorie snack packs, frozen pizzas, etc. I thought I was doing just fine as long as I stayed within my calories. Then I went to a doctor and had high blood pressure. At 22 years old! Not cool. Not only that, but that food just didn't fill me up. I always felt kinda let down that I had to have such small servings of those foods to stay within my calories, ya know?

Things are much different now. My typical lunch is brown rice, fresh salsa, fresh guacamole, romaine lettuce, seasoned chicken breast, black beans, and a sprinkle of fat-free shredded cheddar cheese, and it is AMAZINGLY delicious! And it is SO filling--I don't get hungry for HOURS afterwards, and when it's all mixed together, it's so much food!

It's really amazing how satisfying healthier foods can be. I'm a bulk eater, so I love it because I can eat more healthy food than junk food for the same amount of calories.

Of course, that's not to say I never have junk--I would do the same as you and definitely allow myself some cake on a special day