Discussion Board

Laura, You're doing great! Congrats on the weight loss this week, you really seem to be getting the hang of all of this! Glad you're here.

Hi all, and thanks, kristykay, for your nice note here and for your answer in the MWL section about popcorn! The reason that I'm "getting the hang of this" so quickly is because I've known a lot about the McDougall program for years, and I've lost lots of weight on McDougall before. Still, it's like the saying "Quitting smoking is easy, I've done it lots of times!" Thank goodness I never smoked! Anyway, the difference this time is that the weight is coming off in 2012, and staying off!! I really appreciate all of the support, because I need it so much. I feel pretty strongly that my overeating comes from the fat, sugar and salt as discussed so well in The Pleasure Trap. Oh sure, I can overeat when happy, sad, too busy, stressed, or whatever. I can also, though, overeat when absolutely nothing is going on - just a plain ole nice day! Here's an example. My brother and his wife follow something pretty close to McDougall. They are both slim, so aren't quite as careful with oil or eating out. They stayed with me a few months ago for a couple of nights, and my brother bought some Ezekiel english muffins. Well, I have to stay totally away from bread. Anyway, there were 6 in the package, and he ate 2 while he was here. I asked him to take them with him, but he forgot (that's because he's not obsessed with food!). As soon as they left, I ate the other four muffins - just because they were there! I wasn't even hungry! This kind of thing is only avoided for me if I am being completely compliant. That's why I like Frogenveg's idea of non allowed things to eat just not even being thought of as food! That is really helpful.
I'm doing well so far in 2012, and things are going great for me. I'm definitely an all or nothing person, so I'll just have to use that to my advantage rather than let it get me in trouble! As I've said, I'm losing the weight this year, I'm keeping it off, and if I stray a little because of a restaurant meal or a trip, I'm jumping right back on board!! Take care all, LauraA

Hi Laura,
I know how you feel I am an all or nothing person too. Having a food addiction is real. It is hard for me not to eat food just because I know it is there.
You are doing so well. Glad that you are here!

Hi rebecca, thanks for stopping by. Ok, here are some things that I'm thinking about today. Since I've added a big salad before both lunch and dinner ,I don't really think that I'm eating any less with the rest of my lunch and dinner. Maybe I'll try just one big salad a day. I'm also wondering if I would do better having potatoes instead of so much rice. I'm going to try to do mostly potatoes this week. It is hard to "test" something, because every week will be so different. For example, I ate out one day last week, and overate plus had oil. If I make changes this week, I won't know if the changes are helping or if it's the not eating out and not overdoing. Oh well! Now, I need to confess about the scale. Here's what I do now, I jump on the scale first thing every morning (after going to the bathroom, of course). I know, though, that only my Friday weigh in "counts" , so all of the other ones are just because I'm obsessed. Do I get rid of the scale, try harder to leave it alone until Friday, or not worry about it? Sometimes in the past I have used daily weigh ins, then overeaten because I lost well ( a reward), or overeaten because I didn't lose well (why bother attitude)! Any of you who have good ideas about the scale, please let me know. As I said, a coach that I talked to once about compulsive eating suggested that I give it away! She says that you can always tell if you are losing weight or gaining. Everyone have a great day - I hope that none of you are in any of the awful weather! Take care, LauraA

Hey Laura! I'm glad to see you back. I'm a Georgia girl too (transplanted to the Pacific NW). Are you still riding your bicycle?

I can so relate to what you wrote, "Sometimes I feel that I don't even deserve to write posts, because I have messed around for so long and not taken the weight off. " I haven't been posting much at all for the same reason - feeling unsuccessful and unworthy. But let's post anyway okay, and make the progress we want in this way of eating and losing weight!

As for the scale, I also find that whether the number is up or down can affect the way I eat that day. However, if I'm honest, I pretty much am messing up on a regular basis whether I've weighed or not. Last winter I'd lost 15 pounds (the most I've been able to lose) but when I saw that great result on the scale, I relaxed and regained. There's a weird psychology to it and, for me, also an element of self-sabotage. Go figure.

Anyway, I'm happy you're posting again.

Hi Birdy, and thanks for stopping by! Great to "see" you! Late last summer I broke my arm (the first break that I've every had, and it was minor), but I couldn't ride my bike for three months. Actually my bone density is really good, but too much weight (mine) landed on my upper arm when I tripped. After that, my daughter got very ill (she's fine now) so that took another couple of months. The result of all of this was that I did no exercise, no bike riding, no Curves, and my knees got very stiff. I'm back on the bike now, but my knees still feel very stiff when I ride. That's one of the many reasons that I am now taking MWL so seriously! I just edited the previous sentence to say, "now taking MWL so seriously" instead of my type "NOT taking MWL so seriously"! Yikes! Anyway, we all deserve to be here, and the more help that we need, the more we need to be here!
It reminds me of going into a big gym in NYC to use the elliptical. The gym is 8 stories tall (Reebok, Upper West Side) and everyone in there is very young and very thin. Well, I just walk right in and tell myself that I need it more than they do, so I hope that they are welcoming me!!
My MWL is going really well, I can't stay away from the scale, and it looks like I lost another pound since weigh in on Friday. That's pretty good since I had edamame and veggie sushi last night, and also plain popcorn. That was all sort of a weekend treat. I don't think that a week will go by for me that I don't eat our once. I'll keep being careful, but that is why I'm only counting on losing a pound per week. It's sort of a delicate balance, I want to stick seriously to MWL, but I don't want to be so "all or nothing" that I do great for awhile and then blow it. Someone in the Lounge gave that quote about insanity being doing the same thing and expecting different results. Well, the "same thing" that I'm trying to avoid is going along well, then blowing it! So far, so good!
Something else exciting. When my mom died last year, and we each inherited something from the sale of her home and vacation home, I started a travel fund for travel with grandchildren. My daughter called yesterday with the idea that her family and I take a big trip a year from June, in June of 2012. How great that I will be at goal weight (or below) for that trip (is everyone noticing my positive attitude?)! They would plan to go to Tanzania with me, I would stay a shorter time than usual, and then we would go on the some other exciting places! She and I "daydream" a lot about travel, but I think that we can pull this one off. Her kids will be 8 and 11, and they are great travelers!
OK, tomorrow starts my exercise plan. Stay tuned for information on that!
Take care, LauraA

Wow...I have never been to Africa..and I probably never will..that sounds like a great trip you have planned..and it will be great to be at goal for it too Have a great week Laura..you are doing it

Thanks for visiting Potatohead. I work in Africa at an orphanage for a few weeks each summer, but my kids and grandkids have never been. It would be so exciting to go with them. Take care, LauraA

Hi everyone. OK, here's my new exercise plan: I will do some form of exercise for at least 30 minutes, 6 days a week. This may not sound like much, but it will guarantee that I "get out there". Some of the things that I do pretty often, and like to do are bike riding, Curves, and walking. I also do a sort of modified Zumba at Curves once a week. I often wake up, tell myself that I'm going to Curves, then don't go, then it is too hot or cold or rainy to bike ride. I started January with good exercising, but it fell by the wayside when my daughter was sick and I was babysitting. So, this morning it will be Curves!
My eating is going very well, and I'm feeling really good. I still have very stiff knees, and I'm just hoping that weight loss takes care of most of that.
The project that I'm working for is organizing all of the old family pictures that were at my mom's house to mail off to be scanned. Once that is done, I'm going to go back to all of my old pictures. The place that I'm sending them is called ScanCafe. I'm just dividing my mom's pictures into three groups according to time, but there are so many pictures that it is still taking a long time.
Well, I'll go have some oatmeal and head to Curves! Take care, LauraA

Hi Laura! I think your exercise plan sounds great -- consistent movement, without overdoing it. With regard to the scale, I have tried all sorts of things. For me, getting rid of the scale entirely is not a good idea. I need to maintain awareness of what I actually weigh -- kind of a reality check. I find that just going by the fit of my clothes is not enough, although I know that works well for some people. What I try to do -- not always successfully -- is to limit getting on the scale to no more than once a week. Ideally I would get on it once a month, but that's just not in the cards for me. If I don't really try to stay off the scale, I'll be on it every day, which is not good for my mental health.

Goodness! The same thing happened to me last spring. I tripped and used my hand to break the fall causing my wrist to snap. I had been biking, swimming and walking like mad to try and get to the point where I could enter a local mini-triathalon and that put a stop to that. Ironically I had just gotten down to my current weight of 139 when it happened. The problem was I was using exercise to bring my weight down instead of calorie-density - so I couldn't maintain my lower weight when the exercise stopped.

As you may have noted when you read my journal, I now use calorie-density to bring my weight down and exercise has become an 'add-on' to diet, not a replacement for it. Mostly I exercise for mood control as I am subject to the other SAD. Today we finished our walking challenge at work, and I ended up with >250 miles in seven weeks - so small changes, like exercsing 30 minutes a day, do add up over time. Remember the acronym FIT (frequency, intensity, time).

BTW, YOU are doing GREAT! Keep up the good work, and never stop trying and learning. And stay with your journal even when you aren't doing so great. The act of writing things down can be very enlightening and can generate helpful tips from your fellow travellers.

Kate

Laura, You're doing GREAT!!! Keep up the good work. What I did about the scale until recently was I had my husband hide it from me and I only weighed once a week at the gym. That way, I was still keeping track, but I was able to break the obsession. I recently started using my at-home scale again and was doing fine until I realized I wasn't anymore...I was obsessing again. I have been able to stay off of it daily, and have gone back to only weighing on Fridays. So far, so good. This is a tough one, and it's different for everyone. Good luck!

Wow! Such distinguished visitors to my journal! Thanks toad food, Katydid and kristykay!! I follow all of your journals, and am so inspired by you. OK, here is a good example of me with the scale. As I said, I only count my weigh ins on Monday, but I get on the scale everyday, just to check, and tell myself that it doesn't count. A few days ago I had eaten sushi and edamame (which has salt on it) when I ate out. Also, I had eaten pretty much popcorn as a snack. The next day I was down one pound. So here's what I did - the next day I bought sushi and edamame to go just because I had eaten it and lost, and I ate more popcorn. I have now thrown away the popcorn. It seems to be something that I can't just do on occasion. If my weight had stayed the same or gone up, then I probably wouldn't have chosen to eat those things again. I could probably weigh in once a week at Curves if I got rid of my scale. I also could try really hard to stay off of the scale until Friday. Oh, if I've ever really gone overboard with eating, that's when I stay off of the scale (that hasn't happened in 2012, and it is not going to, because I am going to reach my goal weight this year)!! Ok, I will not get on the scale Tuesday ,Wednesday or Thursday - that's only three days. That's a promise!
Katydid, I also love your advice about sticking with the journaling even if I'm not doing so well. You have caught on to my all or nothing tendencies! Also, I'm so sorry about your break! Mine was the top of the humerus bone (not funny) at the shoulder. I don't ever expect exercise to result in weight loss, maybe just to help with maintaining. I mostly need it for flexibility, balance, muscle strength, heart health etc.
Well, as I said, I'm so happy that you all stopped by. I need all of the help and support that I can get!! Take care, LauraA

Hi all - I'm having a great day, and feeling very successful! Not only am I sticking to my eating plan, I also exercised 30 minutes today and yesterday, and today I stayed away from the scale for the first time! I feel like I'm just sort of building on my own success.
One of the things to avoid with MWL is having more than two fruits per day, and also fruit puree. I'm thinking that making the banana ice cream with the yonana would be pretty much making fruit puree, but that's what I'm going to do this afternoon. I had to skip fruit at breakfast in order to be able to have two fruits in the banana ice cream. The way I like it best is with banana and frozen cherries! This will be my big treat today. I think this will be ok. Maybe people eat more of puree, or it is not as filling, but I'll still be eating my two fruits.
I hope that everyone is doing well. I think I'll go catch up on a couple of journals. Take care, LauraA

Hi again. Today I didn't get to exercise, so that was my one day off! I had planned on it being Sunday, but oh well. Today was supposed to be pretty warm, so I decided to not go to Curves first thing this morning, but to bike ride later. "Later" never came, but that was for an exciting reason. Today I traded in my Prius, and bought a one year old 2011 Nissan Leaf. It is so great - just gently used, and it uses no gas, no oil. It is totally plug in. I'm very excited. If I go on a trip, then I'll need to ride with my husband or kids or rent a car, but this is great for getting around my small town and even Savannah. They are usually pretty hard to get, so this was just a lucky situation. I really like it, and I'll be so glad to use no gas, even though the Prius got great milage.
My dinner was very late tonight, and I wasn't even hungry! With compulsions gone, I'm really not thinking about food that much. What a great feeling that is! Today I also finished sorting, counting and packing up all of the old family pictures that were at my parents house. They are all mailed off to be scanned now - a productive day. Oh, and I stayed away from the scale again! Tomorrow I'll exercise! Take care, LauraA