My Transformation

[Gramma Jackie]

Yay! You go Jackie! Doesn't it feel great? At our family potluck on Sunday I had bites of things with too much oil and a tiny bit of my Mom's potato salad that had mayo but other than that I ate my good food. But my insides were a bit unhappy with just those tiny bits so that was interesting for me to learn! Back to my good stuff since.

It sure does, esp. after watching what my husband ate. At Hometown Buffet he got a huge piece of fried chicken, a corndog, mashed potatoes with gravy and a big piece of coconut cream pie. I don't know why, but I wasn't even tempted to eat that stuff.

[Chile]

Way to go! Every time we choose to stay on track, we're making it easier to make that choice next time.

[carollynne]

Congrats to you, Jackie, you are doing it! I have had to do the same with my dh, and he is slowly seeing the wisdom of how I eat too. I mean you wants to get older, fatter, and sicker?

[Gramma Jackie]

I have been thinking a lot about an old newsletter article by Dr. McDougall about weight loss where he suggests eating 8-14 small meals a day. I am at home all day and am a grazer by nature, so that appeals to me. Afterall who made up the rule we had to eat 3 meals a day? I have been having 3 big meals and 2 snacks, but get ravenous before my husband gets home at 7 pm so I overeat. Anyway here is my new plan:

Grazing Plan

1. Hot tea/rice cake
2. Very small bowl of GF cereal/ non-dairy milk
3. Chai/ rice cake
4. Salad
5. 3/4 c. raw veggies
6. 1 small fruit
7. Small salad, 2/3 c. green or yellow vegetable, 2/3 c. starch
8. 1 c. hot vegetable broth or cold homemade vegetable juice

[Chile]

Can I come eat with you?! Your plan looks good, although I eat a lot more volume than that even if grazing.

[woods38]

mmmmm, I love to snack or eat many small meals. I feel like I'm constantly eating and not deprived.

[Gramma Jackie]

Well the lunch salad is pretty filling. Like today I had a taco salad with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers & pinto beans in a corn tortilla bowl. I like that so much I could eat it everyday.

[Gramma Jackie]

Bread is a bummer.......

I can't seem to overcome my addiction to bread. I have given up meat, dairy and eggs with no problem, but I can't seem to give up bread and other baked goods. I've also tried and can't seem to give up coffee and creamer. Those three things--coffee, creamer and baked goods go together to form a very unholy trio . I've tried to replace coffee with tea, but it's just not the same for me. I have a big comfy recliner that I love to sit in and have my coffee and baked goods and watch TV or read a book. I can't eat gluten so don't eat wheat, rye or barley, but my local grocery stores all carry a big variety of gluten-free products like bread, bagels, English muffins and lord help me--DONUTS! Most are even fat-free, making them even more tempting. If I could just give these up I know my weight loss would go faster.

[janluvs2heel]

If you dont eat the baked goods, do you not drink the coffee & creamer? Or vice versa?

That is a hard one. I was able to ditch coffee w/creamer when I made myself stop buying the creamer, but I dont like black coffee. I am with you, tea just doesn't cut it. I do drink tea on occassion, but it never takes the place of the coffee I used to drink.

I dont know how often you eat the baked goods, if it is everyday, yeah, that is a problem, however, if it is only a couple times a week, maybe that is more doable & you can slowly phase it out? Your weight is still coming down though but of course it will stop at some point. I do know the longer I am doing this, the less I crave the stuff that I used to love, however, I do have times when a craving just comes roaring back & I feel like a drug addict. I read people saying, oh, yes, cravings go away, blah, blah, after 30-60-90 days, but I have not found that to be true for me yet. But I do have a lot of times that I have said no & ridden thru the storm.

I guess if all else fails, get rid of that chair???

I wonder if those gluten free breads, etc., have more sugar, fat, etc. Like when they came out with the "fatfree" stuff back in the early 90's, they replaced the fat with sugar. Or is it really easy to take out the gluten?

[simoncat]

Hi, Gramma Jackie. I know bread is a hard one, but you can do it. You are really doing well. I know what has helped me is watching "Forks Over Knives". Look at the changes that those people have made and notice what they are eating. After you quit bread and even the gf stuff, you'll notice that when you eat them, you won't feel as good,- heartburn, stomach upset, etc. Your system will tell you not to eat them. Keep at it. I find it best not to look back to what foods I can't have, but to look forward to those I can. Think of bread as "death on a plate", because for celiacs that is really true. (I hope you won't be mad at me for saying that; it is just the way I deal with it myself.) Keep at it!!

[Gramma Jackie]

If you dont eat the baked goods, do you not drink the coffee & creamer? Or vice versa?

I think it is the latter. If I don't drink the coffee, I will probably not want the baked goods. I have hypothyroidism and even though I take synthroid everyday, I still get cold all the time, so I really like hot drinks. I am thinking about drinking hot vegetable broth instead of coffee. I will see if I still crave the baked goods with the broth. I doubt that I will. Or I might just drink veggie or potato soup instead of having the coffee and baked goods. I will let you know if it works.

[Gramma Jackie]

Hi, Gramma Jackie. I know bread is a hard one, but you can do it. You are really doing well. I know what has helped me is watching "Forks Over Knives". Look at the changes that those people have made and notice what they are eating. After you quit bread and even the gf stuff, you'll notice that when you eat them, you won't feel as good,- heartburn, stomach upset, etc. Your system will tell you not to eat them. Keep at it. I find it best not to look back to what foods I can't have, but to look forward to those I can. Think of bread as "death on a plate", because for celiacs that is really true. (I hope you won't be mad at me for saying that; it is just the way I deal with it myself.) Keep at it!!

I watched Forks Over Knives too and have read all the books about going fat free-vegan, but I just have some ingrained habits I need to work on. At first I thought it was a blessing to be able to find all that gluten-free stuff locally, but now I think it's a curse. The local health food store is even having a big gluten-free taste sampling day with all sorts of free stuff. It's all very tempting.

[janluvs2heel]

Yes, some things that are tied into emotions are much harder to just drop. If it was just hunger I had to deal with, it would be much easier, because I am not hungry eating on this plan. Or if I did not have to support myself & worry about not having a job, I would have a much easier time. But feeding the emotions is a different story. I am hoping it is not the never ending story, but I do feel it will always be there to a certain point. It will always be a struggle, just get easier with time.
I know when it gets colder, I will be more tempted to go back to coffee, but I am going to stand tough. I saw the price of coffee the other day & I doubt it will fit into my budget anyway.
Maybe for you the answer is cutting back on the coffee, slowly, just phase it out. If you are not drinking that, maybe the baked goods problem will go away?
Either way it will be a challenge but you are up to it. Look at how good you have done so far. Just one thing at a time.