Posts by whooshi

I'm confessing a negative effect of which I am truly ashamed and for which I apologize:

I tend to compare myself to "other fat people." Are they bigger than me? Would I look like that if I weighed x pounds more--or less?

And I am both fascinated and repulsed by 300+, which is ironic since I weighed 244 a year ago myself. May be it's because I could imagine myself "never stop growing," and I think I know the feelings of low self worth that inevitably accompany the condition. "That couldn't be me!" "Oh, yes it could!" "Then I don't want to see it--or that person. I certainly don't want to investigate the possibility of a relationship with him or her."

I'm working on changing that attitude, by the way. I know that one of my life lessons is to love myself and "that person" unconditionally, even though my little ego gets in the way.

I was back at it this Christmas, folks:  eating the babies' rejects when I was visiting again.  AND I noticed their dad, my son doing the same.  He commented about all the food that gets wasted otherwise, so I think tasha's onto the truth!  Not to mention they get more interesting food than I do much of the time:  I don't select fried chicken nuggets or pasta or full fat fruit yogurt for myself, but , hey, can't let it go to waste, can I?!!  Ah, rationalizations!

I had my first visit with a pediatric dentist on Wednesday, though not our boys' first at all.  It was an eye opener for me.  They make it as painless and pleasant for kids beyond anything I could imagine.  Never saw so many toys and balloons!  The boys were examined on Mommy's lap, and she said the dentist was quick, thorough, and informative.  One of our guys requires fluoride treatments over the next three months, but not the other. That's a home application, and Mommy put it on last night; pretty yuchy stuff, unlike the bubblegum training toothpaste and Firefly toothbrushes.  Our fluoride guy hates getting his teeth brushed, but his brother loves doing it himself.

PS I have 99% stopped eating their leftovers, though I did break down and polish the leftover oatmeal this morning (I don't usually have cinnamon and sugar on mine--maybe I should!).  Drinking tea and chewing gum does indeed help.

Of course you can, particularly if you are young--say, under 40.  Increase your physical activity/exercise, eg. a brisk 45-60 minute walk daily.  Count you calories, aim for 1200-1500 per day.  Keep blending those veggies and make them a major food choice.  Eliminate foods that are bad for you--ice cream, cookies, candy, most pre-packaged "fast" foods.  Balance carbs, proteins, fats--dont eliminate fats, but choose "good" ones--veg over animal.  Good luck.

I recently ate at an Italian restaurant in Ohio with family, and I guess I was lucky it wasn't very good.  So I ate the pedestrian salad, skipped the not-so -tempting bread and nasty calamari appetizer, and sent home half my entree with my sister in law, who seemed to like it there.  Entree was ho-hum chicken parm, of which I peeled off as much cheese and breading, gnocchi, & rigatoni with veg marinara--you guessed it, all canned or boxed or frozen.

Now, at my fav Italian place in Maine, I would order the fish or chicken Florentine and eat half (save the rest for lunch tomorrow), have their humongous fresh salad with drsg on the side, and order fresh vegetables and a side of pasta--a much smaller amount than the usual service, about a cup or somewhat less.  I would indulge in a half slice of bread and butter.  No dessert ever, wine occasionally. 

Eating small portions of pasta is a good habit to practice; the desire for more does fade.

Thanks for the feedback so far, everyone; your comments are enlightening.

skinnyogi, my reference to yoga as an offshoot of meditation was a reference to the Western habit of pragmatism, essentially taking what is wanted from other cultures or concepts and discarding the rest.  Hence, Americanization of yoga frequently separates the exercise from its spiritual & mental components.  I think few Americans practice it or comprehend it as it was intended by the society that created it.  No offense intended to those truly in the know. 

I'm also aware that some people make the separation in order to hang on to their own spiritual/mental traditions while drawing benefit from the physical practices.  The opinions I express are theoretical, based solely on readings, since I know no serious yoga adepts.  Guess this is what I'd call a disclaimer.

Yes, I've been a binger, and not infrequently a purger, though I'm not bulimic.  The details of menus are ultimately irrelevant; getting control of bingeing is the point, and a difficult one it is.  What I think I know is that bingeing is self-soothing.  It's a reaction to stress, anxiety, anger, other emotions.  Til we get hold of those issues, the rest is will power, which tends to be a temporary fix.  Recidivism is practically inevitable (I love fancy words; yo-yoing is a clearer term for the tilting balance of control and its lack.

PS, someone mentioned sex & food in the movies in 9 1/2 Weeks.  Tom Jones showed it memorably, as a mutual experience (fantasy?).

Good luck, TD, I think you will have a great time.  You're wise to psych yourself up a bit, especially emphasizing your opps for movement and activity while making food secondary.  Personally, I'm curious about what they serve at  luaus and would probably do some online research to avoid overwhelmingly tempting surprises. You've probably done that already. Then, I eat out a lot anyway, and it works better for me when I avoid surprises that generate "eye eating" or "mind eating"--"looks or sounds so good, I just have to try it" stuff.  That means I don't seek variety in restaurants--I eat at the same place(s) most of the time.  And no, I don't find that boring.  By the way, my traveling experiences have convinced me that the fact that one may never get back to the vacation spot seems to rationalize testing a variety of local eateries and cuisines.  But it doesn't guarantee satisfaction with either venue or cookery, while disappointment often makes me seek satisfaction elsewhere, i.e., eating more elsewhere or raiding vending machines an hour later.  The big wish is that we have such a good time at the beach, in pool, in the stores, with our peops, that we don't care much where or what we eat, as long as it's healthy.  Hope that happens for you!

Oh, I do go on!  Thanks for providing me with one more opportunity to pontificate!

Original Post by josielynn:

I believe that hypnosis only works on a willing subject.  So if you go into it expecting it to work and wanting it to work, it will help, but if you go in skeptical and trying to disprove it, it won't do anything for you.  

You had me worried for a minute:  I've seen the Thumb of Fate my fair share of times in the last month and generally respond with the Tongue of Raspberry.  I'm so innured to it that I immediately thought MAYBE one of the moderators had rejected or modified one of your threads or journals.  Now THAT would be a disaster.  And totally surprising!  Luv, Whooshi

kae, you're right about eating when bored or otherwise emotionally perturbed, but I had a vague memory of reading something about "wearing out" the "governor" for consumption as a contributor to obesity. And thanks, narf..., for steering me to the hypothalamus info. I like to know how the brain works, and I was amazed at how many body functions that little brain bit affects. Not that there's anything I can apply to my behavior or consumption directly, but "curiosity satiety" can be as appealing as "appetite satiety!"

Read no further unless you want the science lesson! I'm just paraphrasing the Wiki list of 4 theories on hypothalamic control of food intake:

1. Lipostasis theorizes that adipose (fat) tissue sends a humoral signal to the brain via a hormone, leptin

2. Gutpeptide theory suggests gastrointestinal release of hormone (CCK, glucagon, Grp) triggers brain receptors (CCCK-A & B) to signal when to eat or not

3. Glucostatic theory propounds neuron use of glucose in cells interaction with glucose in blood to direct the "feeding center" (of the hypothalamus, I presume; and this sounds important in regard to diabetes, but that's another story)

4. Thermostatis postulates that decrease below a body temperature set point stimulates appetite, increase above set point inhibits i

I think the infoscrap I was vaguely remembering  and which prompted this forum posting is captured in this quote:

"Leptin signals to the brain that the body has had enough to eat, or satiety. A very small group of humans possess homozygous mutations for the leptin gene which leads to a constant desire for food, resulting in severe obesity. This condition can be successfully treated by the administration of recombinant human leptin." (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptin)

Not that I'm trying to self diagnosis (or maybe I am), but I don't think leptin gene mutation is my problem.  I suppose I should really ask, "What causes my binge eating?"  I think I'll start another thread....

It's a while later and I still like raw cocoa beans, but I admit nibs are easier to take.  The whole bean really is quite strong, and you can buy them skinless or not; the skins do complicate the mouth feel experience, and I don't always like that, which is why I prefer the nibs at times.  

I binged on ice cream recently, though I tend usually to resist the stuff pretty well, so today I added a T of dry unsweetened cocoa powder to a cup of Fit & Lively vanilla yogurt along w a t of natural chunky peanut butter.  I liked it a lot, and it made a reasonable substitute if ice cream becomes a craving as summer progresses.  (I am a sweets craver, so it's an  issue)

The point of this is to mention that I checked out cocoa powder in the CC foods list, and it gets an A rating with fantastic nutritional benefits and surprising low in calories.

I will try to work it into my diet more frequently, I think.  And I do recommend going for high quality on all cocoa products:  avoid dutched cocoa for sure, and don't be afraid of the health food store or internet prices.  You're worth it!

If you were making hummus in the Mediterranean region 200 BC--Before Cans--you would soak dried garbanzos 6-8 hours in H2O, boil them 2-3 hours, also in H2O, mash or grind them with sea salt, virgin olive oil, lemon juice, fresh garlic, maybe some coarse ground pepper, all to taste.  It still works today--even better with a blender!

I have 2 suggestions to consider: 

1.  At least for a few weeks, limit the variety in your menus.  That is, eat about the same thing or variations on a theme for meals and snacks.  Example:  Smoothie for breakfast (different flavors every day); some kind of salad--high lettuce content-- & fruit & small bread & small protein for lunch; 4-6 oz protein (chicken, fish, beef), vegetable, carbohydrate for dinner; any hundred cal snack 2-3 times a day.  The outline allows for some taste/nutrient variety, and you will start remembering the calorie count for your "repeaters."  It gets easier that way. 

2.  Smoothies--lots of recipes available in Calorie Count.  They taste great, are nutritious, and feel like a real treat. 

Did I miss it?  Does everyone know AB has his own website?

Check it out:   http://www.altonbrown.com/

 Sorry if I'm repeating someone else's info.  I do enjoy the site and have been known to take his recommendations on products.  That says how much I like him!