I know you have been down this road! I have touched upon it in some of my other blogs and I have had many conversations with foodies and thin people. I am by no means a perfectionist. But, for some STUPID reason, when it comes to dieting, if I am not totally "on program", I fall off the wagon BIG TIME. I always strive for the Perfect Day (in terms of dieting). Eating my allotted number of calories or points (in Weight Watcher speak), exercising at least an hour, and drinking 8 glasses of water. When I don't have the perfect day, maybe I didn't exercise or I ate too much, it throws me totally off.
I like the analogy of the cookie. I'll eat a cookie and then, because I "went off" my diet, I'll go home and stuff my face. Now some might say that I shouldn't have "bad" foods in the house. The truth is, I can overeat on anything. I'll use my favorite example. I usually have peanut butter in the house. It is one of my favorite breakfasts - a tablespoon on a high fiber english muffin and I am ready for any exercise class. The peanut butter is easily digestible, it gives me a lot of energy, it is quick to make and very transportable. But, when I am binging, suddenly that peanut butter becomes a demon.
Even if I don't have the food in the house and I am on a binge I have no problem driving to the local 7-eleven and buying some goodies. Really - what is the difference? It is sort of like the man who sneaks a cigarette while walking the dog.
So, I go out to dinner with my husband and a few other couples. I just started my diet and I really want to stay on track. The anxiety starts because I have to go to a restaurant where it may not be easy to make the right choice because I will be faced with a lot of temptation. What do I do? I don't want to inform everyone that I am on a diet. I asked a thin friend of mine this question once. I was really "in the zone" and I didn't want to blow my efforts. My friend just said "It is tough but just eat a little and make up for it tomorrow by exercising more or eating a little less." Humm . . . . Little . . . Sort of like that book "French Women Don't Get Fat".
I'm a "bulk" eater. When I am "in the zone" I eat a lot of salad because I can bulk up. My leader always says that she is a volume eater too. Maybe that is the mistake. I'm always looking for low calorie, low fat things to eat and recipes to make. There is nothing wrong with that, but why not just eat less of "regular" food. Why can't I have ONE slice of pizza and a side salad. Why do I have to eat THREE slices (and the side salad to make me feel like I am healthy?). Maybe high volume isn't always satisfying. Maybe I need to have a small portion of something really good and realize that I am satisfied, not stuffed, and that is just fine. Maybe I need to rethink the way I am approaching my weight loss efforts.
Maybe I need some gray - not only Black and White!
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I can only comment on one thing. Eat from a salad plate, eat whatever you want, but quite honestly, once you have tasted two fork fulls of anything, you have tasted it, so you're not deprived and self punishing by not having it, you just don't need to eat 5 lbs of everything that you taste. Taste it and then move on. Maybe that will help?
ReplyDeleteTRIED THE SMALL SALAD PLATE ALSO..DID NOT WORK FOR ME..FILLED UP 2 OR 3 SALAD PLATES
ReplyDeleteTHERE IS ALWAYS A CREATIVE RESPONSE
WHAT HAS WORKED FOR ME IS EATING SOMETHING EVERY 2-3 HOURS
START OFF WITH BREAKFAST..HIGH FIBER CEREAL, OATMEAL OR MUFFIN WITH YOUR FAVORITE..PEANUT BUTTER
2-3 HOURS LATER(STARTEDE AT 2 HOURS BUT EVENTUALLY BECAME MORE CONFIDENT IN GOING THE 3 HOURS KNOWING THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE MORE FOOD TO EAT)A HANDFUL OF NUTS..2-3 HOURS LATER SOME kASHI GO LEAN CRUNCH CEREAL FILLING UP A SALD BOWL AND EATING DRY AS A SNACK...2-3 HOURS LATER SOME LOWFAT/SKIM CHEESE WITH HALF A SMALL FRUIT..2-3 HOURS LATER I ENJOY MY ESPRESSO WITH 2 MINI CREME PUFFS WHICH I FOUND AT PATHMARK BUT DO NOT THAW OUT BUT KEEP FROZEN AND EAT THAT WAY..TASTES JUST LIKE ICE CREAM AND ONLY 2 CARBS APIECE..KEEP GOING LIKE THIS UNTIL IT IS DINNER TIME..THEN I HAVE MY MEAT,VEGETABLE,SALAD,YAM ETC.
DONT YOU FEEL FULL JUST READING THIS!..
2-3 HOURS LATER I HAVE MY FINAL SNACK..I USUALLY LOVE MY COFFEE AND TREAT MYSELF TO A PIECE OF CHOCOLATE UN FORTUNATELY IT NOW HAS TO BE DECAF..LET ME KNOW HOW YOU DO
TO BE EVEN MORE HONEST , AT FIRST I ACTUALLY WROTE OUT MY MENU FOR THE DAY WITH ALL THE SNACKS LISTED ETC..AND SEEING THE PAGE FULL MADE ME NOT AS FRIGHTENED THAT I WOULD BE WITHOUT FOOD OR HUNGER AND MADE ME FEEL FULL SO TO SPEAK OR CONTENT I SHOULD SAY BEFORE I EMBARKED ON THE ACTUAL THING
NOW I NO LONGER HAVE TO WRITE IT DOWN..I DID LOSE WEIGHT AND AM STILL LOSING BUT IT IS A SLOW..BUT I DO NOT FEEL CHEATED OR HAVE THOSE HUNGER PANGS
HAVE FUN !
Dieting is so hard! Espesially when you are constantly faced with fattening foods you start to think "oh, I dont even give a crap anymore". Luckily there are so many diet tips out there and I really think you have the potential to do good on this diet, so dont get the "screw this" mentality but get the "I can do this," mentality.
ReplyDelete1. When you get a plate of food, try to eat half. Like with pizza just eat one slice but eat it as slow as possible, and take sips of ice water in between each bite. I know you think this un-true but TRUST ME, IT WORKS!
2. When you are really hungry and you know you shouldnt have another snack drink a glass of cold water, or a diet beverage. Diet drinks are AMAZING and some that really stand out are (Diet Snapple, Seltzer, Diet coke, Fresca etc)
3. When you are about to indulge on that junkfood count to 100. By the time you reach number 100 you will talk yourself out of eating that junk.
4. Its good to have a blog, and sometimes if you are really feeling like you have alot of emotions keep a diary. Diarys seem annoying, and you may think " i am an adult why should I need a diary?" TRUST ME- Diarys are helpful!
5. When you order salad get the dressing on the side and dip your lettuce in, also if you go out instead of the soup and salad "combo," try to just get the salad and eat really really slowly.
6. Today they offer so many amazing protein bars, and some of my skinniest friends swear by these bars called Paleo bars.. look them up! If you eat a paleo bar with a big glass of water you will feel full.
7. Try to always be moving, sometimes dancing is great exersize or cleaning the kitcehn and the car and stuff also helps
8. You should try to not eat past 7. It lets your body digest all the food that you have eaten in the day BEFORE you go to bed. I swear by this not only beause I feel nice and digested by bed time but because I sleep better.
9. If your really hungry, curl in a ball, it helps with hunger pains
Okay I will post more tips in the future
HOPE I HELPED!
Your comments are wonderful! I am definitely going to incorporate them into my daily routine. Dieting is tough! Especially if you have too many "treats" around. That is why Halloween is such a tough time for me! I am still on the fence about feeling hungry. Weight Watchers really doesn't want its members to feel hungry - they think that is bad. I think that if you are going to lose weight then you are going to be hungry - maybe not always but definitely sometimes. There are some days when I eat all of my points (calories) and I am just fine. Some days I don't even finish all of my points. Then there are the days when I am so hungry and I have nothing left to eat (in terms of points). I think it is a balancing act - like so many other things in life.
ReplyDeleteThanks again and keep on reading and commenting!!!!
Have you ever heard of the Volumetrics Diet?
ReplyDeleteIt focuses on the feeling of fullness. The author (a nutritionist with great credentials) says that people feel full because of the amount of food they eat -- not because of the number of calories or the grams of fat, protein, or carbs. So the trick is to fill up on foods that aren't full of calories.
Haven't read it yet but it sounds like the "bulk" eating you're talking about.