Need some help or advice

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Need some help or advice
71
Fri, 05-28-2004 - 12:16pm

From those of you who are eating and losing on your own.

  Shawna-- Proud Cl for 100 Pounds or More to Go 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Fri, 05-28-2004 - 12:37pm
When I decided to "eat healthier" I didn't set specific goals. I started out eating smaller portions, then tried to limit processed junk, saturated fat. Then I ate more fruits and veggies and whole grains. I realized my plan was similar to Lifetime Maintenance (phase 3) of the SBD, so now I try to follow SBD for most meals, and watch for hidden added sugars in my food.

Eating small meals 5x a day (3 moderate actual meals, 2 small snacks) really really helps me.

Edited because I forgot to say - get rid of the snacks and any trigger foods in your house until you have regained more control. The only snacks in my house are disgusting things my mom eats, like unsalted pretzels.

GAK!!!


Edited 5/28/2004 12:43 pm ET ET by spamsammich

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2004
Fri, 05-28-2004 - 1:27pm
It may not be a big deal for you, but for *real* people, (i.e. those of us who aren't perfect), it sometimes can be a big deal. If you have advice for Shawna, great. I'm sure she appreciates whatever advice she can get. But you don't have to give it in a condescending manner.

~~Linda

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2004
Fri, 05-28-2004 - 1:29pm
Great revision, Furry!

~~Linda

~~Linda

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 05-28-2004 - 1:56pm

*wipes the tears from her eyes*


And this is how I would respond if that was the real post from Forte:


Forte,


Thank you for your

  Shawna-- Proud Cl for 100 Pounds or More to Go 

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2004
Fri, 05-28-2004 - 1:56pm
Hi Shawna,

I hope this doesn't get lost amidst the controversy that seems to have crept into this thread. As you know (at least I think you know), I've been doing this on my own since the beginning of the year. There are advantages and disadvantages to doing this on your own. On the one hand, I make my own decisions about what I eat and when I eat, based on my tastes and lifestyle. It's personalized just for me. The disadvantage is, that I don't always have the discipline to make the healthiest choices. I'm not "accountable" for what I eat the way I would be if I was on a structured plan. However, so far this has been working for me. I've been losing slowly, but at least I'm still losing.

The good news for you is that you've already learned from WW what foods are better than others based on when you were counting points. I understand you not wanting to count anything anymore like points, calories or carbs, and neither do I. It is a good idea, though, when you're considering something that you might not be sure whether or not you should eat it is to look at the nutrition label and at least get an idea of how many calories, etc. are in the food. Even if you're not keeping a running total for the day, you can still look at something and decide whether or not it's a good idea to eat it. I've basically been doing this along with increasing fruits and vegetables, whole grains, watching portion sizes, drinking water and exercising.

A typical day for me is:

Breakfast: Spinach omelette (no cheese), low fat whole wheat waffle, skim milk.

Lunch: Grilled Chicken Salad

Dinner: Grilled Salmon with red roasted potato and broccoli

Snacks: Yogurt, fruit, celery. I also sometimes have a low fat treat like a skinny cow to curb my incurable sweet tooth.

I don't know if I've answered any of your questions or if I told you anything that you didn't already know, but I agree with Tina to give it a couple more weeks and see how it goes. Maybe keep a journal in that time to see how you're doing. It takes time to see what works for you and what doesn't. I know that with summer coming, you're impatient, I just hope that you don't get too frustrated and quit before you give it a chance.

Good luck and let me know if I can be of any help :-)

~~Linda

~~Linda

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2004
Fri, 05-28-2004 - 2:35pm
Just in case you missed the title of this thread, Shawna said she needed help or advice. If you can't give either, then why post?

~~Linda

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-23-2004
Fri, 05-28-2004 - 2:37pm
Shawna,

First of all, I am sending you many hugs and positive thoughts! Please don't beat yourself up over this. It does get so hard sometimes to keep going, but it is so worth it, as you well know :)

You CAN figure this out and find some solution that works for you. You just need to take deep breaths and look at this objectively. If going back to WW is right for you, do it. If sticking it out on your own interests you more, do that.

As far as being so close to goal, but wanting to give up...maybe its simply a case of having dieters burn out. After fighting a good fight for so long, maybe you're just tired of a good deal of your attention and energy being spent on losing weight. That's understandable. You just have to figure out a way to take the "blahs" out of the experience, so you can keep on track.

Here's what I've done. I have the same problem with snacking in the afternoon and at night. At first I was trying to not snack in the afternoon and after 6-7 p.m. It worked pretty good for the first few weeks, but my will power started to fade. I decided snacking on something healthy was better than letting the "munchies" get out of hand to the point I went off my eating plan.

I will usually have a snack between lunch and dinner and another about 2-3 hours before I go to bed. I've chosen a few things that I could fix easily and would give me the feeling of being full:

*air-popped popcorn with a little Lawry's Seasoning Salt (has no MSG) sprinkled on for something spicy and crunchy

*a fruit smoothie made with frozen fruit and Tropicana low-sugar O.J.

*sliced tomatoes and cucumbers

*sliced strawberries and a tablespoon of non-fat whipped topping (like Cool Whip)

*a few slices of cantelope or some watermelon

*reduced fat Triscits for something salty

*celery sticks

*the SB Diet chocolate/ricotta cheese dessert

(tastes great and reduces chocolate cravings)

Along with having one of the above for my evening snack, I drink more water after dinner than at any other time of the day just to help fight off the urge to snack. At first all the water kept me running to the bathroom all night, but eventually that stopped. I understand though, that for some people a lot of water consumption at night is a big "no-no".

Again, many hugs and positive thoughts being sent your way!

Vikki






Avatar for brens2boys
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2003
Fri, 05-28-2004 - 3:07pm
Sometimes it's better to be seen and not heard.

Have fun,whatever!

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2004
Fri, 05-28-2004 - 3:09pm
Of course, neither being seen nor heard is good in some cases, too lol!

~~Linda

Edited to say that I just reread this and realized how it sounded. I didn't mean you, Bren! (but I think you knew that).


Edited 5/28/2004 3:10 pm ET ET by linda112491

~~Linda

 

Avatar for candyhound
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-30-2003
Fri, 05-28-2004 - 4:03pm
Shawna,

I sent you an email. I prefer not to post on here since our resident vulture is out and about.

Laura

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