portion control attempts by Helen

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portion control attempts by Helen

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Started 1 year ago by stay at home mom
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stay at home mom
Member

Hi everyone,
Instead of continuing our dialogue under the intro entry "adventures in portion control" and using my nickname "stay at home mom", let's move into this space.
Helen

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

I'm writing to myself because it's the highest temptation, lowest resistance time of day for snacking: 3pm to 5 pm. I'm planning to include a chocolate eclair (~300 kcal)into my supper plan tonight...and just trying to avoid eye contact with it in the next two hours. Sipping my decaf coffee instead.

Posted 1 year ago #
amy
Member

I hope you made it through the rough time of the day! Posting is a good way (I hope!) to distract your mind.
That is also a hard time of the day for me - I have been trying to figure out why. I at one point attempted to eat smaller lunches then eat a more dinner like meal around 4, but then would get hungry again around 7. So, that was not too succesful, still struggling with how to make it through the afternoon.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Hi Amy,

When I started by plan last week, I was quite hungry by 3pm, but as the week went on, the urge to eat at this time did get weaker. Try best to not give in...it will get weaker. But one day, I did take a banana and didn't feel bad.

I started eating supper around 4:30 today because I could. So I skipped the donut because it was not an eclair. But I started dinner with 2 oz of dark chocolate (dessert first today). In our house, my husband understands my need to eat my meals in a way to avoid bingeing so we don't all have to sit down at the same time to eat the same food.
So far, I'm satisfied with the results of eating 3 x 800 kcal meals a day. I was mostly able to stick to it all week, and I can tell I've lost some weight off my midsection (where it all goes when I binge and overeat). I know eventually, the weight loss will plateau and I might need to reduce to 750 kcal/meal if I want to continue losing weight. But my current goal is just to get some control happening.
My other concurrent goal is to reduce my waist size from 37" (100 cm) to about 30" (85 cm). My waist: hip ratio is 1.00 which is not a safe or esthetically pleasing (to me) shape. To put things in perspective, I did have a baby boy 6 months ago. But even before my pregnancy, my waist size was about 35".

I went over by 100 kcal for supper tonight:
300 cal- 2oz dark chocolate
300- 1 cup brown rice
300- chicken (with skin), zucchini, and celery curry (no coconut milk)
0 kcal- 1 multivitamin/mineral because of low calcium and veggie intake today.

I felt very satisfied due to the high fat content. I'm not too dissappointed by overshooting by 100. But I will try to stick to 800.

This week I hope to use less chocolate and meat; use more nuts, dairy, veggies, and fruit.

I will be recording fairly detailed records in this space for my own sake. Feel free to comment or not comment in the future.

Posted 1 year ago #
singphantom7
Member

3 to 5 is a hard time! I've found it is hard for me because i am getting hungry. I either ate lunch hours before three or have hardly eaten anything all day. I am very hungry by this point, and a little snack always turns into something much worse! I even end up snacking while cooking dinner. I hate when I do that. The other hard time for me is at night, when the hubby and toddler are both in bed, and I am free to do what I want with no one watching or judging. These are tempting times for me. Good luck with yours.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Hi ladies,
Eating a big breakfast, lunch, and dinner seems to be really helpful for not feeling hungry after 7 pm. But the afternoon window is still the most challenging.
Singphantom- it sounds like you are running an energy deficit by nighttime. Unless you are trying to lose weight quickly, try to eat more during the day when you actual use the most energy. As well, if you start to munch while cooking, count those foods as part of your dinner eaten...this is what I do and I don't feel bad about it.

Amy, considering your social life pattern, an alternative to the 3 square meals/day would be 4 square meals/day (each meal about 600 kcal). Just like those Hobbits, you can take first and second suppers: your first supper would be around 4 pm, and your second one would be around 7 pm.
It sounds like 3 apples and 3 tbsp of tahini does run close to 600 kcal, same as a generous helping of corn chips and avocados. So instead of feeling like you are out of control for eating these things, try to plan them in as meals.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Today's tally (approx calories)
Breakfast:
2 slice whole wheat, 200 cal
2 slice bologna, 200 cal
bit of mayo and mustard, 50 cal
1/2 cup All-Bran, 90 cal
1/8 cup peanuts, 100 cal
1/8 cup raisins, 60 cal
1/2 cup milk, 60 cal
total: 800 cal

Lunch:
1 cup brown rice, 300 cal
1 curried chicken thigh and zucchini, 300 cal
1 cup soy beverage, 100 cal
1 oz spicy chips/crisps, 150 cal
total: 850 cal

Supper:
1 oz dark chocolate, 150 cal
1/2 cup All Bran cereal, 90 cal
1/2 cup Miniwheat cereal, 80 cal
1/8 cup peanuts, 100 cal
1/2 cup milk, 60 cal
1 curried chicken thigh and zucchini soup, 300 cal
total: 800 cal

So, only 50 cal over my plan. Happy with what I ate. Felt like eating more but resisted. Had some green tea and decaf coffee instead.

Posted 1 year ago #
amy
Member

Thanks for the advice Helen and congrats on the good day!

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Tuesday's tally

Breakfast: 1 cup brown rice (300 cals), 1/2 cup mixed carrot,peas,corn (60), 1/4 cup peanuts (200), 1/8 cup raisins (60), 375 ml soy beverage (150)= 800 cals

Lunch: curried chicken thigh and zucchini(300), 1/2 cup mixed veggies (60), 1 oz shredded mozzarella (100), apple fritter (300 cal)= 760 cals

Supper: cheese pizza piece (400), 1 cup mixed veggies (120), 1 oz dark chocolate (150), 1 oz crisps (150)= 800 cals

Yeah, I eat one type of entree for days until I'm tired of it. Mostly, due to sticking to a budget for groceries, and not wanting to think up something new to cook up every meal.
Felt a bit depressive today and oddly, this didn't make my snack cravings strong. Whereas moderate tension makes me want to drown it out with food, I guess feeling a bit down doesn't.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Wednesday's tally
Breakfast: 1 cup All bran (90), 1 cup vanilla soymilk (100), 1/4 cup peanuts (200), 1/8 cup raisins (60), 1 slice bologna (100), 1 cup orange beverage (100), 1 oz spicy chips (150) = 810 calories

Lunch: curried 3 oz chicken thigh (250), 1 cup mixed veggies (120) 1 oz dark choc (150), 1 oz spicy chips (150), 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (120) = 800 calories

Supper: bbq sauced 3 oz chicken thigh (250), 1/2 cup brown rice (150), 1 oz fries and chicken drippings(250), 1/2 cup mixed veggies (60), 1 cup soymilk (100) = 800 calories

Drank decaf coffee between meals. Actually felt full before the dark chocolate at lunch, but worried about wanting it later so I just ate it with my meal. Had a good day.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

An hour after supper, I wanted something 'sweet' to eat but actually didn't feel hunger..was still full. I contemplated eating some Heavenly Hash ice cream that was not even opened yet. But being full, the thought of more greasy food didn't appeal to me. Then I started thinking it was 'sweetness' in my life I wanted: I missed having a friend/my mom make food for me; I missed the social life of having close friends live near by and visit me; I missed having my husband be happy with his work (he's so miserable because he hates his job).

Now that I know my urges to snack might have more to do with my spiritual dissatisfaction, I can try to do some problem-solving around those issues.

Posted 1 year ago #
amy
Member

Getting to root of the emotional issues that cause us to overeat so pivotal! (and at least for me very scary)
your entry reminds of me of a lyric from one of my favorite bands: "i go to bakeries all day long, there's a lack of sweetness in my life"
Good luck with problem solving and critical thinking surrounding your food issues! It is can be a hard process, but one that I hope will leave us all better in the end!

Posted 1 year ago #
amy
Member

I also just remembered something that I read a while ago - I am unsure if it is 100% scientifically accurate, but it helped a lot of things make sense to me.
The 2 processes that take the most energy in your body are digesting and emoting. It is very hard for your body to do both at the same time. That is why some people, when they get very stressed or are going through an emotionally difficult time, they stop eating. Their bodies are working on processing the emotions they are going through.
And that is why other people, like me, do nothing but eat. This way I do not have to focus on my emotions or what I am going through. I just eat and it pushes my emotions down and away (momentarily). I have started to visualize that now when I start emotionally eating - I try and see the emotions in my body, then the food going into my body and pushing all my emotions down into this deep, unreachable part of me. Having a visual like this has helped me to further understand my issues surrounding food and eating and why I do what I do.

Posted 1 year ago #
singphantom7
Member

Oh, right on. I am fully aware that stuffing myself silly feels like I'm taking time out from dealing with the emotional stuff I am going through. I think I've got issues that I'm not quite sure what to do about in several different areas of my life. Work, family, spirituality...there are a lot of things I need to fix and I am just procrastinating with food. I feel like if I can get my crap together in the areas that are truly important, I wouldn't be relying on food to cover it all up.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Thursday's count:
breakfast: 2 slice whole wheat (200), 2 pc bologna (200), 1/2 cup All bran (90), 1/2 cup soymilk (50), 3 oz bbq chicken thigh (250)= 800 cal

lunch: 2 egg omellet with 1 oz mozza and 1/2 cup veggies (350), 2 pc toast with marg and jam (300), 1 cup soymilk (100)= 750 cal

snack: 1/2 cup mixed veggies, a few grapes (100)

supper: 1 cup brown rice and veggie(300), 1/2 cup mixed roasted nuts (400), 1/2 cup kimchi [fermented cabbage and chilis](50), 1/2 full-fat vanilla yogurt (150)= 900 cals

Amy, the imagery you shared about eating to push down unwanted emotions to an invisible location is very helpful. Today, I had to check out a local daycare for my son to attend in Sept. And I really don't want to put him into childcare to go back to work but I have to for now. I did want to shrink these unpleasant feelings, so I thought about sweets again...umm donuts...but I ate some veggies and fruit instead and was satisfied. I took a risk having a snack but I was sure I wouldn't binge this time...and it worked.
Holly, like you, I feel that I will rely less on food the more I work on stuff that needs fixing. I know change is slow...but it will come.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

I let off a little steam today because it's Friday and also because this behavioral change thing is exhausting. Also, I'm nowhere near getting a vacation of any sort. I pretty much as the same things as yesterday but had an afternoon snack (homebaked jumbo oatmeal cookie) and an after dinner snack (1 oz dark chocolate). I don't feel guilty even though I went about 450 calories above my plans.

Amy- there's something about trying to form new neural pathways for new habits that is hard work because it seems to take so much attention and having a guard up constantly.
Old habits do die hard, so they like to make repeated comebacks while we are trying to eliminate them. There's something about being at parents' homes, that for many of us, are a comfort zone for our former selves to come out. I know if I went to visit my parents in Toronto, I'd be getting my hands on all their delicious Korean food.
Take care.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Yesterday (Saturday) was a fairly good eating day. I've been able to stick to the meal plan, plus enjoyed a few snacks without feeling guilty or eating too much.
I actually took the risk of eating pasta at lunch because it was at a restaurant rather than at home. At Ikea restaurants, their portion of penne with marinara sauce is about 2 cups. So I enjoyed it, and yes I did want more but unlike at home, I could not go back for more unless I paid for another dish of it. Instead, I bought a piece of their almond torte and relished that. So even though I went over my meal calorie budget by 100 cals, it was so worth it!

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Ate within my plan on Sunday. So, two weeks into my 2400 cals/day plan, and I'm satisfied with the way I eat so far. Some days, I overeat by up to 500 cals, but most days I overeat by 100 or so cals.

As for size reductions, I started at waist= 37" and got to 36" in the first week; I'm still waist= 36". So considering that it's my goal to drop 1 to 2" per month, I'm on track. I will stick to my 2400 cal/day plan this week to test whether I am still shrinking or plateaued. I will go back to avoiding snacks between meals between the weekend is over, and probably the snacking is the reason for the plateau effect.

I sure do not miss the feeling 'overfull' sensation.

Posted 1 year ago #
amy
Member

Helen - it sounds like you are doing great so far! mostly sticking with your plan, while allowing for a couple nice things for yourself without overeating or beating yourself up about it!!
And thank you for bringing up our brain needing to create new neural pathways. I discussed this a lot with one of my friends. Your brain has the created the quickest/fastest pathway to process our emotions/eating/thinking. We are not just trying to take a different pathway, we are trying to build a whole different one. Its funny though - my friend and I always talked about it re: discussing our emotions and feelings, but I never related that to forming new eating patterns, even though it should be so obvious!
Thanks for all your great advice!! And be super proud of all of the awesome work you are doing!

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Thanks for the encouragement Amy :}

The last few days have been good for sticking to the meal plan, calorie-wise.
After experiencing my hubby's misery-tantrum though, I was depressed in a self-righteous and fatalistic kind of way (thinking this is all going to lead to a divorce because he's always gonna be miserable because he never takes my advice). This has led to me eating fewer calories but eating crap like a small cupcake with chocolate frosting for a snack. Then for supper, a bologna sandwich and 1 oz of dark chocolate with regular coffee was what I really wanted and ate. I'm finding that mild situational depression decreases my appetite a bit, but I reach for more junk.

What I've noticed junk food wise is that during times that I said to myself "okay, I'll stop eating this after this one indulgence" usually led to me eating 3-4 oz of chocolate or chips/crisps, and then another indulgence later. But since I've started my 3 meals/day plan, and my mantra is "Go ahead...have an ounce, and if you want more at the next meal, then fine have some more" has led to much less consumption overall.

Posted 1 year ago #
singphantom7
Member

Sorry you had to experience your hubby's "misery tantrum" (nice term, by the way, I think I've experienced something similar with my hubby). I find I go in the opposite direction when I argue with the hubby. I stop caring about my apetite and just eat more, and more junk.

It is an interesting idea, allowing yourself the indulgance and not promising that "this is the last one". You don't beat yourself up for it, and you actually end up indulging less. I'm trying to curb the sugary stuff myself (I tend to like the same things you are describing). I still am indulging, but am focusing on trying to make the quantity of it much less. It's going okay. Good luck on your meal plan.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Nearly got sucked into a binge last night. I know it has to do with feeling like I'm in a rut. After supper, I had an ounce of chocolate. I've been in the silent treatment mode with hubby because he hasn't apologised for his outburst a few days back. He did apologize to our older son who's 7. The cynical part of me hopes that he will just leave me because I'm being dreadful. I know this actually means that I'm the one who wishes to leave our marriage, because of his lack of effort to make some changes that could make him feel better.

After the bit of chocolate, I tried to exercise on the stationary bike in our basement but my baby started to cry and needed my attention. So thwarted from exercise, I took another piece of chocolate. I started to think about other foods I could consume after that, but it was time to put baby to bed. I also decided to go to bed, so I think sleeping was how I avoided a binge last night.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Just a funny thought I had. If hubby is reading this because he can trace my online site visits (and my identity is not that anonymous to him), or posthumously, I want to say: I love you. As you can tell from previous rants about you, I don't know that I can live with you.

Some overeating before bed last night: a snack of banana, and a bowl of All-bran. Okay, so if there's going to be no weight loss this week because of my snacking, I can be at peace with this. I'm not prepared to do any more exercise because it's -20C outside and baby tends to need me midway through my stationary bike routine.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Overate again last night; I think it was actually a muted binge because I definitely had the extra meal as a way to self-medicate my depressive feelings. So, it was only another 600 cals: 1/2 bag M+M's, 2 cookies, 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup chili. The sweets I was enjoying with my son while playing a board game. But I know that if I hadn't felt depressed, I would have been drinking tea instead.

I'm going to tweak my meal plan so instead of 3 meals/day, I'll try to have 4 x 600 cals meals/day. I'm finding I want to eat supper at about 4:30 pm, but then if I'm awake past nine, and esp. if I'm feeling low, I'll want to eat something. So I'm going to adopt the equivalent of the British high tea (my first supper), and then have a small supper around 7-8 pm (second supper).

Every strategy has its hiccups when put to the test of emotional challenges. But I'll test if eating 4x a day works better for me. I think this will fit me better when I return to work in Sept.

Posted 1 year ago #
jacquirsw1
Member

sounds like a good plan to me. having the 4 meals will help regulate your blood sugar lavels more which with help with the emotional side of things as well.

You are doing really well though and although yes you may have over eaten you have not been out of control in the binge which is really good.

jacqui

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Thanks for the encouragement, Jacqui.

So, my body is trying to adjust to the new eating pattern of 4x 600 cals a day. Just like when I went from eating about 1000 cals/meal down to 800, it felt like I didn't feel full enough. But after about 4 days, I felt 800 cals was enough food. Now, if I wait a few more days, I think my brain will get used to having just 600 cals at a time. The nice thing about this plan is that I do get to eat something after 7 pm...I can choose to have a generous dessert if I really want, or something healthier like a few small bowls of oatmeal with a dab of maple syrup and peanuts (yum!).

Posted 1 year ago #
amy
Member

Hi Helen - I hope you are adjusting well to eating 4 meals a day. That is how I have been attempting to eat (sometimes it is hard to schedule it in though) and when it works out, I feel satisfied through out the day.

Unfortunately, I do not think there is any straightforward strategy to getting through emotional/stressful situations successfully. Just know that each time you battle those feelings, you are learning and growing from it (even in the times you weren't as successful as you would liked to have been)

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Thanks, Amy...I am still trying to adjust. I like eating a relatively large quantity of food at a meal, so the new eating plan feels like going on a diet which it's not, I know.
You're right there seems to be no particular plan to ensure success through every stressful bout. Sometimes a good distraction does the trick. But mostly, I can accept that I will bumble and stumble around a bit while trying my best not to hurt my feelings or someone else's. I don't mind some extra eating at these times because it does soothe me, and somehow my body will figure out how to use those bit of extra calories. For now, it's hauling around my baby who does not self-soothe very well

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

I'm sitting here, embracing hunger. I read that this is what Oprah's doctor told her she would have to do when she was diagnosed with hypothyroid. My usual lunch time is an hour away but I'm hungry now.
If I eat now though, then it'll be like 6 hours until my first supper, and I think this will feel worse. I suppose I could do more housework but I'm not a terrifically evolved homemaker. Okay, I'll go clean the bathroom while baby sleeps.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Stuck to the eating plan yesterday, caloriewise. I ended up eating first supper at around 3 pm (2 bowls of oatmeal with syrup and peanuts) and this filled me until about 7 pm. I could live with this.
Man, oh man, ...this adjustment still feels like I'm on a diet...but this is probably because I'm doing my darndest not to snack between meals.

Posted 1 year ago #
singphantom7
Member

Hey Helen.

So impressed with your self-control, sticking to the meal plan and not snacking in between. I don't remember the last time I "embraced hunger" becuase I haven't been alllowing myself to get hungry. I feel like I might lose weight more if i did.

I feel I'm so able to relate to you. I'm sorry you've been having troubles with your hubby. I'm not sure to what extent, but getting to the point where you wish he would leave you is pretty extreme. I've been there/am sometimes there myself. It is not that he is a bad person or I don't love him, it's more that I think we do not work well together sometimes. That is definately a big part of my emotional eating issues. Good luck on taming the emotional eating. It is my biggest challenge.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Hey Holly: That was great when you reached for second fibre bar, you just decided you didn't need it right then...it reminds me of that scene in Kung Fu Panda where Po discovers he doesn't need that food reward
Hubby and I quit our stonewalling last week and I think we both changed a bit which helps. I constantly ask him to leave his bad feelings about work at work and mentally shift gears for home...it's not that i don't want to help him but it's issues I'm in no position to affect...and I've listened repeatedly to the same grievances. My compromise is that I will listen for 30 minutes and then remind him to switch gears. Yeah, sometimes it takes an open conflict to make two people work together better,

I'm still good for not snacking btw meals yesterday, but I tacked on 1/2cup ice cream to supper because it felt too light. I think I sometimes overestimate the calories in homecooked food.

Posted 1 year ago #
ivierose
Member

I'm glad to hear that things seem to be going a little bit better with your hubby! And I'm very glad to hear that your lack of snacking in between meals is also working out for you! It's quite motivating to read your posts!!

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Thank you, Niamh.
The last few days have been good. Like ivierose, I decided to treat myself to a controlled snack last night. I never plan the exact foods I will eat; I just allot a certain number of calories as a rough target. So I ate a small amount of Korean food because I was writing in Sunny's thread and it made me a bit nostalgic.
For supper(s), I'm finding that some nights, I have a supper zone between 4 and 7 where I end up eating 4 or 5 small courses of something, rather than two separate suppers at 4 pm and 7 pm. I'm fine with this because I can still control the total calories, and because caring for a baby while cooking and feeding the family leads to a lot of starts and stops.

Posted 1 year ago #
specialk_sunnylee
Member

wow, you eat kimchi; that's pretty cool :]
(just random thought)

and wow again,
you manage really well to have balanced meals.
i just learned something really important from you.
record ACCURATELY, exactly.
i need to do that too.

i honestly kinda skimmed through your journals
and i think one of the things i see is that you count calories exactly as well as recording accurately.

i do count calories too but i dont write it down anymore and i try not to think about it
its just my opinion but now counting calories seems to help better.

like a lot of ppl say, it seems silly that i try to give advice to others
when i cant even control myself
but i wanted to help at least a lil bit.

Sunny <<333

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Yeah, I am good at counting calories because I spent so much of my youth trying to be on diets. I just don't 'diet' anymore in the sense of reducing my required daily intake. Right now, my required intake is actually >2400 cals because I am still breastfeeding. This is why even if I 'overeat' a bit, I am not gaining weight (thank you dear baby).
I think Dr. Fairburn's program gets you to a point where you don't have to consciously count calories, but I am not doing his program.
I count calories because even if I don't binge, I either overeat daily or don't get enough exercise. I want to be able to pinch only 1 or 2 inches of flab around my waist.
The weekend has been fine food-wise...I had my share of chips and chocolates but within my meal plans. I didn't get my usual exercise last week so I don't think I've shrunk at all...but I'll check tomorrow.
I still feel like I have to work at controlling myself...it's like trying to slowly swim upstream in a river and feel the light current resist my movement. But I suspect it always feels like this for people who decide to control food. Some days I want to lay back and float back downstream to my starting point because resistance = work and I think I get tired of working. And some days, I do let myself lay back and float but only a short distance...

Posted 1 year ago #
jacquirsw1
Member

This was cool.

I love the picture of you in the stream and found I could relate to that so much. You are so right it does take work if we are going to manage this, and there are going to be times when we want or ned a rest but as long as we control those times we should be fine and get there in the end

Jacqui

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Thanks, Jacqui. One day, I will try to paint a self-portrait/landscape of that image.
Like I thought, there's been no shrinkage in the area where it counts (still waist = 36"). I gotta get back on that exercise bike for 30 minutes at least every other day if I'm going to meet my target of losing an inch for March. But on a positive note, I've felt no compulsions to binge since a few weeks back.

Posted 1 year ago #
ivierose
Member

Wow, that would be an awesome painting! I love the way that you worded it. i could totally picture myself fighting that current.

I'm glad that in pointing out that you haven't lost any inches (YET!!!) you also noted the positive side of things You're doing great and you're sticking to your plan! Keep up the good work and don't feel bad about not exercising, you can pick it back up!

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Doing fine foodwise. Actually eating a bit less b/c sadness due to mum-in-law in hospital for heart attack. Hubby is in tears and on his way to see her in British Columbia.
I got back on the stationary bike the last two days so I'm happy that I'm making myself do some moderate pace aerobics again.

Posted 1 year ago #
jacquirsw1
Member

((((((((((((((((((((hug)))))))))))))))))))))))))

sorry to hear about the m.i.l that is not the best situation, my thoughts are with all of you. be good to yourself and remember the support is here for you so that you can then help support the others that need it.

Posted 1 year ago #
Paleena
Member

Hi Helen,

It is strange that you mentioned the concept of water in your painting.
I am originally from the Ukraine, and when I went to visit my relatives not long ago I sat on the edge of this beautiful lake, it was really peaceful, no traffic, just sun, water and birds...for no reason I started crying.
This summer was the first time I started to consciously work on my self-image and my negative thinking, and it is so tiring, more tiring in some ways than eating the pain away, that you just want to give up. Sitting on that ledge just made me stop for a second... and it really overwhelmed me.
I am sorry to hear about your mother-in-law and wish her a speedy recovery.

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Thanks for the kind words, ladies.
Yeah, I love the water- rivers, seas, oceans. It reminds me of romance and fun but also the dangers like strong currents and drownings. I also love seafood and fish!

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Just a small binge to report tonight ("1" on a 1-10 scale) after supper. Consisted of 1oz dark choc, 1oz chips/crisps, bit of brown rice and cheese about 1/2 cup, 1/2 cup of All-bran and milk. My binges are portion controlled...lol!!
Total calories about 650. Had been feeling a bit tired over last few days. Happened after kids all asleep and hubby still away from home. It's been a long while since a binge and I can't explain it other than I felt like having one...like a sneeze. Not real bothered by it because it was more like a large snack but it's untypical for me now. Just recording it for the sake of truthfulness.

Posted 1 year ago #
specialk_sunnylee
Member

kinda sound like my binge today
except that i'd say mine was bigger
but the thing is ... i freaked out on mine
and you sound like you didnt.
i need to learn that trick
thanks for being positive helen :]
it encourages me

Sunny <<33

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Decided not to measure myself this week. With lots of posts concerning weight gain, I don't want to stoke a focus on numbers. I feel like I've gotten lighter, not necessarily around the waist, but this is the last place I shrink. And it's a given that I'll have some stretched out skin from my pregnancies.
Doing well food-wise. Everyday confirms that cheese, roast meat, chocolates, high-fibre grains are allies for me in slow weight-loss. As long as I eat moderate portions, and eat the high-fibre to 'scrub' down my guts, this has been a good wintertime eating plan. I am starting to feel the stirrings for mesclun and parsley salad though which mean spring is around the corner in my part of Canada.

Posted 1 year ago #
Paleena
Member

Hi,

I have been reading quite a few of your eating plan diary posts and I have found that I have a lot in common with you in terms of the types of food that tend to stop the urges. Also, I really commend you for actually taking the realistic approach to weight loss, since reading your diary I have decided to stick to around 1800 - 2000 cals (I am not breastfeeding!)depending on exercise and I have found that I am generally more content and have the attitude of well...'if it happens and I lose weight it's OK, but if it doesn't then that is also OK', whereas before I would go an a 1100 plan and end up bingeing within a week.

Thank you

Posted 1 year ago #
stay at home mom
Member

Eating well these days within my 2400 cal/day plan. Went out and bought a mega-box of spring mix (mesclun) and have been eating big quantities with olive oil-lemon-balsamic dressing.
So, I won't measure myself this week again, but know that I've shrunk...I fit back into my pre-pregnant pants. This is my proof that eating a high fat-high fibre plan of 2100 cal/day for me truly works! I don't count the 300 cal b/c that goes for making breastmilk for baby.

Posted 1 year ago #
ivierose
Member

Congrats on the progress you're making! You've motivated me to start counting calories properly. It seems to really be working for you!! HOw awesome does it feel to be in those pre baby pants? Well done hun!

Posted 1 year ago #
Natalie
Member

wow amazing progress, inspiring really.

Best of luck and keep it up!

Posted 1 year ago #

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