Posts by ejpredny

I go to all-inclusives once a year, and from vacationing with a few naturally skinny girls, I learned to treat the buffet not as a taste-everything, but as a visual menu. Instead of trying to pile a bit of everything, I decide, tonight, I will have spaghetti. then I fix the plate as though I made the spaghetti myself or ordered it from a menu- with one serving of spaghetti. All meals follow suit-  one plate of entree, and one salad/vegetable side plate, and then whatever dessert fits into my calorie plan for the day. I don't keep going back more than one time. I know that I have a whole week at the buffets, so it keeps me from trying to eat everything at once, but helps me get variety or traditional dishes as well. Good Luck, enjoy! 

I was doing 1200 a day (5'9", 170lbs) for a whole month losing 2lbs a week, then went on vacation for a week and binged the entire 7 days. Having trouble getting back into it. right now I am letting myself do between 1500-1700 cals a day (still a little difficult to control, which is hard to imagine because I was doing fine at 1200-1300 before) and excercising every other day (to ease into the rountine I was at before)- and I have actually started losing to a point lower than I started on vacation. It has made me realize that there is truth to the take a week off every now and again and up your calories a bit to start losing. now don't get me wrong, when I first weighed myself after that week of bingeing the scale in bloat told me I had gained 5 lbs, but within a few days of reasonable 1700 cals, it went back down to where I started from.

so batten down, be nice to yourself, and start by just watching yourself to a few less calories each day until it seems livable, after the emotional stress dies a bit (and yes! any kind of break up will lead to emotional stress!!!) you can get back into your desired routine!

I find the best trick to keeping the ordering sane at restaurants is to not look at the menu. it's a safe bet to just order a salad with a lean protein, no cheese,  and dressing on the side, or ask for a grilled fish and steamed vegetables. the rational for paying for it (yes, I had this problem too for awhile) is that these items- salads, etc, usually are much less expensive than the steak or finer options. this is the one place that diet food is usually cheaper than the more decadent fare!!!

and finally, once I got used to not viewing every time we go out as a treat day, I started to save up my going out to eat calories once a week, and convince my bf to split one really decadent option and one really healthy option. that way, he eats 75% of the steak, I eat 75% of the salad, but I get to taste the good stuff in moderation, and he gets to be a bit healthier too.

if tasting something someone made, you don't have to eat a whole meal in order to make them feel good, just eat a small portion, and then drink a whole glass of water to prevent yourself from going back for more, but you should also explain that you love them and are sure that they are amazing cooks, but you have an ultimate plan here. if they care about you, the have to respect that!

this is definitely the place to be on cc!

I ran 5 miles a day- 5 days a week- for five months at the beginning of the year and was heartbroken that all that work and I didn't drop a single pound! but as soon as I really started counting calories, and zig-zagging my calories day to day so that I have days where I am not as hungry and go for 1200, a few mid days at 1300,  and two days a week where I splurge for 1700-1900 cals (the days when I have to go out to eat or have social functions) and I have been losing steadily ever since July.

Good Luck!

Yes! the fast food/ restaurant dreams KILL me!!!!! (I have been put on warning that I have started grinding my teeth IN MY SLEEP cuz it's such fun pretending I get to eat all I want to in my dreams ((Is this how I got fat???? and surely THAT burns calories!!!))).

I have cravings for crazy things- polish dill pickles and really sharp sharp cheddar cheese. together. I have been called a food freak before, I like to think it's just a spot of genius. When I was on my way to getting fat, I would convince myself that I must be craving something because my body was lacking in some nutrient, and thusly I should accept my cravings as my body telling me what I should eat to be healthy. Oy! It is much harder to have common sense. Takes so much more effort!

I have been on the meatless food for awhile (I was a vegetarian in my youth). Now I am finally getting my man to go for SOME of it. quorn has really really good fake chicken nuggets (I cannot, will not call them wings, they do not have any bones and certainly do not resemble the glorious wings of my non-dieting days!!!I do wish they would try to call them something that wouldn't leave the meat eaters saying huh? that doesn't taste anything like ......!) and I used to be in heaven with the boca polish sausages. Oh, and I love morninstar farms grillers! but I have learned since going back to meat, however, that the leanest of lean meats sometimes has less cals and fat than the fake stuff, for instance the lean jenne-o turkey bacon has 35 cals, compared to morningstar farms bacon which has 50cals, which my kitty certainly enjoys stealing more of (though for the record, she does eat asparagus!) it always pays to read the fine print on this one.

New Rant in Progress!

So now that we are all motivated and losing, why does every accomplishment mean an entire new wardrobe???

The suit I bought at the beginning of the summer now takes extra holes drilled into my belt by a pair of scissors (God, my guardian angel, thank you for guiding the scissors and not having me require stitches AGAIN for attempting that stunt!!!) and while yes, a nice ego boost, when I look at how far I still have to go, why would I want to buy all new clothes in this size? Instead I am forced to look dumpy in my old, baggy tent clothes and have my boss make comments about how I can't expect my clothes to shrink with me, that I am going to have to do something to still look professional (was it really THAT bad????)

And why can't our clothes shrink with us????? Why can't I have some of those adjustable snaps like on baby clothes so that my clothes adjust for the several sizes that I will need in the next year???

so we all try to have a life in between this whole DIEyet lifestyle. well, in attending a wedding this weekend, I found myself unprepared for the spur of the moment Bob Evans trip with the bride and groom. Breakfast- hey, I am already passing up the eggs, bacon, omelettes, and numerous oh so much more tempting options and going with the harmless senior citizens short stack of 2 pancakes and fruit cup. How many calories can possibly be in two pancakes, right? at home, the mix says about 160 per pancake. Well, I get home and look at the website- ONE pancake is 330cals!!!that's 660 + 150 fruit cup all in one trying to be good sitting!! but hey, at least I didn't get the one fruit crepe, which is over 1000 cals!!!!

then at the rehearsal dinner- chevy's, I think, okay, I can do this, salad with no dressing and no cheese, and nothing but chicken and lettuce- 486cals!!!! what do they DO to the poor chicken to make it that fattening!!!! this is crazy!!!!

so add to your list- I wish having this lifestyle didn't make me feel like I would have better luck tempting the scale to be nice to me if I was a cloistered nun in the alps with no Bob Evans within a thousand miles of grueling mountainous hiking!