thread #3, End of Overeating

horseshowmom

horseshowmom

Cathlete
hmmm... i must say, i continue to learn how deeply entrenched my current eating habits/thought processes about food are...

i am currently nursing a wounded ankle which eliminates any hard cardio, running, and a lot of leg workouts...i panicked! i freaked out big time! i am terrified i will blow up like a balloon...which just shows how much i am using exercise to eat what i want

the correct thoughts should have been, okay, take the time to read, focus on nutrition, you will be fine, just watch the calorie intake...

i've even made an appointment with a sports med doc praying he will give me a different answer/prognosis than family practice...

and then of course, there is the...i'll start tomorrow....or next week...or next month....i'm going to the beach next week with DH for our birthdays and anniversary and i've already mentally given myself a pass to binge the whole time.....

oh, da** these thought patterns! i swear i feel like an addict!!!! I AM!!!

one very small victory...it sounds insane, but it just shows how off track i've been.....i have added fiber or fruit almost everyday to at least one meal...sometimes 2!

fighting hard in SC...not going to lose this time!

Becky
 
Becky,
Hang in there. The good news is you know what the correct thought processes should be. Even if they are not your first thought, stopping yourself and rethinking is the first step. If you keep reminding yourself of them they will become your new way of thinking. It won't be easy but it will happen.

If you don't already, you will really come to enjoy fruit you've added to your daily meal(s). Someday when you go back to the unhealthy choices you used to enjoy, you'll find yourself disappointed and discover many of them (I wish I could say it will be all :rolleyes:) really don't taste all that good, like your last trip to McDonald's. Your taste buds will change. It won't happen overnight, but it will.

Baby steps will get you there!
 
Thanks Dawn! :D
I've been watching Dr. Oz this week and he has made some interesting comments about rebooting your system. He talks about taking 2 weeks to remove bad habits then 2 weeks to replace those habits. Also he recommends picking the same 9-12 meals and recycle them while you're learning how to re train your taste buds. And I love the fact that he doesn't pretend that something like low fat mac n chz is going to taste as good as the original BUT that it can taste *good enough*.

Soooo, I am going to go cold turkey on a lot of things. I AM going to wait until after vacation. I know where I'm at and it would be completely unrealistic of me to set myself up for such a colossal failure. I am going to try and be smart, make different choices, avoid binges, but still enjoy my trip.

Okay, off to *study* some more!

Becky
 
just my 2 cents

First of all, you can do it! It's a huge mental game I know. It's great you are conscious about adding fruit to your meals.

Just wanted to add my 2 cents from watching Biggest Loser the other night, Bob said to make sure you have protein at every single meal and snack (string cheese, lowfat meat, hard boiled egg, protein shake). It is good for you and makes you feel fuller. I, myself, am using the whey protein for shakes and find it very satisfying.

The other cool biggest loser thing that happened is a girl couldn't work out like the rest and only walked and swam, but was very very conscious about everything she ate. She lost 10 lbs. in a week!

Just goes to show you (and me:mad:) how important the food intake really is.

Good luck with everything and keep us informed. The FORUM is HEAR for you!
 
Thank you Cheryl! I appreciate the encouragment! :D
I have just been shocked by how far off track I have become. It's kind of embarrassing that I eat so poorly as an adult, but this forum is great. I leave it feeling empowered and motivated, NOT judged or criticized!

Thank you all!

Becky
 
Becky, I think it is important to recognize that while you may not be happy with your eating habits, you have been doing something that most people who share similar habits don't do....and that's work out. By working out as much as you do, you have illustrated that you have a strength of mind and fortitude that has me convinced you can easily recreate different eating habits over time. So I say take credit for the great things you are doing for your body while you are trying to educate yourself on areas that you might need to improve.

I wasn't really happy with French Women Don't Get Fat....but I tell you what, that book as stuck with me since I put it down because the author nailed it when she said 'It is all about balance'. I'm an all-or-nothing kind of gal, which is what has sent me down the road of eating too much or exercising too much or doing most of anything (be it sitting around, reading, watching TV, cleaning the house, etc) TOO MUCH at times. I realize I have a slightly (or more than slightly) addictive personality, but, for the most part, none of my 'addictions' (whatever strikes my fancy at any given time) has ever been significantly harmful.

My current addiction is reading/listening to everything I can about food and nutrition, working out [too] hard and not being able to eat anything that is 'unclean' without thinking 'I shouldn't....'.

But I need to find balance in my life, and I suppose that is going to be my next goal now. This is going to take alot of work because, as I said, my nature has always been all-or-nothing and black-and-white. So I'm glad I read the book and, again, I have to recommend it to anybody who is like me and missing the balance in life.
 
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I had a bad day yesterday. While it wasn't like a downed a gallon of ice cream or ate a whole bag of chips I did lose to the power of pretzels. :rolleyes: I probably ate about 1-1/2 to 2 cups worth and to make it worse I dipped some (thank goodness not all) of them in french onion dip. :( Another insult to injury is that I didn't work out that day.

I have no clue why. It wasn't a visual cue or anything.
It is TTOM, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not. I've never noticed issues with that in the past, but I was never quite as aware of my behavior in the past either. I'll have to pay attention next month and see what happens. So I guess my journal entry (if I kept one - I know I should). would be no workout, TOM, and I gave into pretzel craving after dinner on an otherwise good day.

Clango, I will add FWDGF to my reading list. While I'm pretty good at staying *reasonably* balanced most of the time. I could use improvement. I do have a tendency to get more intense about things at times and then find myself doing an out of control 180 (or at least in my mind). Many people would not look at what I did last night as being out of control and would look at it as completely normal behavior. I know better. :rolleyes:

Becky, Are you feeling better now that you are adding fruit to your diet? Eating more fruit (and vegetables) always makes me feel better. I can't describe it, but in the winter when the variety of fruits and veggie's go down I always notice the difference.

I'm really proud of you for focusing squarely on just one or two items. It's really easy to try to do to much too soon and set yourself up for failure. You're doing exactly what you should be doing, and Clango is right. You need to remember to give yourself credit for what you ARE doing, knowing that you are working to improve other areas.
 
Thanks again ladies!

Dawn, my guess would be that the pretzels are definitely related to TOM. I know sometime I could lick a salt block because I crave salt so badly then.
The fruit is helping....I am finding it really decrease my craving for sweets.
I usually go through about 2 pounds of M&Ms a week and I've not really even wanted them. When I have grabbed them, they just haven't tasted that great. Now, unfortunately I did buy some of that devil candy corn grrr! but not getting anymore! I can't stop so it's staying out of the house.
I've also noticed that if I really focus on what I'm craving and have some, ie ~ potato chips...if I really focus when I eat them, it really is only the 1st 2-3 that satisfy that taste craving. Then I am just eating because they are there, not for taste. I'm going to review that section about the *bliss* point in the book. I actually hit it VERY quickly IF I focus on the flavor. So that's encouraging.
Is it okay to keep having the fruit? I know it's still sugar, just in a natural form, but I'm finding that it is actually sweeter than a lot of candy/sweets.

Have a good one everybody!

Becky
 
Becky,
I say yes, yes, yes to fruit. First of all fruit in general contains Fiber, vitamins and minerals, and anti-oxidants. Plus you mentioned it has decreased your cravings for sweets, most of which I'm guessing do not have all the goodness that fruit does. Candy corn for example ;) has no nutritional value whatsoever.

So yes, keep eating fruit.

Becky, good for you for noticing the bliss point. Are you able to then stop once you reach the bliss point if you pay attention to it?
 
Actually, I HAVE been able to start stopping at the bliss point. :) I may go a few chips past, but a few times I've just been like *blech!* and stopped on that 1st one which has lost it's flavor! It's actually been enlightening to realize how very little it takes to feed that craving. often it is only 3-4 bites. Very interesting!
Now I have to figure out if I should be feeding it at all!?!?!

Becky
 
Hi everyone!! Unless there's been a 4th thread started that I overlooked, it appears we've been silent for a week. Not good!! What's going on with everyone?

Becky - I'm LOVING following your journey. You are so determined to make change, and you're moving along one step at a time. That's the only way it will happen, so stick with it!! I can't wait to read about your progress at this time next year. I'll bet you're going to be amazed at yourself.

Dawn and CLango - your words of support for Becky are wonderful to read. You both have so much good advice. How are you each doing? It looks like we're all still always learning new things about ourselves.

I've been sooooo busy the last couple of weeks, I haven't had the energy or the time to participate. I'm hoping to have a bit more time again, now that a couple of things are finishing up.

A huge pattern I've noticed in myself is that I'm physically and mentally exhausted by Fridays afternoons. This leads directly to overeating any stimulating food I can get my paws on (cookies, chocolate, cake, chips.....how come I have a weakness for 'c' words? Is it the alphabet that's the root of my problems? Should I only eat things that start with the letters A and B?). By Fri afternoons I no longer have the mental fortitude to resist the urges. I'm tired and I must eat to keep my mind and body going. I absolutely can feel that I'm more tired than hungry, but because I can't take a nap, I resort to the food to pull me through until bedtime. I was ready to go to bed by 6pm tonight, and here it is, 11pm, and I'm finally in bed (wireless laptops are wonderful).

Fatigue is definitely my biggest problem. Right now, at least. I'm going to turn the lights out and fall into dreamland. I plan to be more visible from now on.

Thanks for keeping up the discussion!! This is a wonderful forum.
 
CLEAR!!!!!

That's the sound of me trying to shock this thread back to life. Where'd everyone go?

I'm not having the most positive of weekends in terms of controlling my eating. I'm not binging, but I'm just not paying much mind to the calories and macronutrients I'm consuming. And of course, a few sugary/fatty things have made their way to my Intestinal Playground. We've fully entered Fall here, and the temperatures dip lower every day. The leaves are blowing off the trees rapidly, we've had 3 consecutive nights of the below-freezing temperatures, and the sun is spending more time below the horizon than above it. Snow is forecast for sometime next week. Canadian Thanksgiving is next weekend. All of these things are coming together to make me want to eat comfort food. Hot. Satisfying. Pleasurable. I want to bake cookies and muffins; roast things with wings; roll out pastry and slather butter & brown sugar on it before rolling it up again and baking it. At the very least, I want chocolate after every meal. Hot chocolate?! Pass the marshmallows, please!!

<<<<<<Sigh>>>>>
 
Sandra, I'm here! I keep checking to see if anybody has been posting here, because I do enjoy the conversation so very much!

I've been doing relatively well controlling my eating lately, though I, too, have been longing for some good autumn/winter comfort food. And I live in Los Angeles, so my cravings have nothing to do with the weather changing! But I'm trying to find healthy ways of making all those comfort foods I so enjoy. And, for the most part, I can do that. I'm still looking for a really good and healthy chili recipe. I like thick and spicy chili, so if anybody has any recommendations, please let me know.

I hear you about the fatigue factor as well. My husband and I found out last week that we are moving....again. And we are moving in the next few weeks....to Korea (my husband is in the military). Yikes. I'm looking forward to it, but this is going to be one tough move. There is so much to do, and it wears me out both physically and mentally. So what I'm doing is making a bunch of dinners and freezing them. And that way I have healthy options available to me when it gets down to crunch time, and the only thing that REALLY sounds good is going out for pizza (or burgers...or cheap Mexican...or whatever is easy and unhealthy!) I'm hoping that, with a little preparation, I can avoid the pitfalls I usually fall into with moving, which is to eat everything in sight, gain about 10 pounds, and then spend a portion of my first year living someplace trying to find new clothing that will fit just so I can spend a portion of my second year living someplace trying to lose all of the weight I've gained. With a number of moves under my belt (literally), this is a pattern I am MUCH too familiar with. I want this one to be different. But this one is going to be doubly tough since we are moving around the holidays. Not a good combination for me, that's for sure. But I'm going to try to make sure I stay aware of what I'm doing and don't use either moving or the holidays as an excuse to eat mindlessly. I really hope I can do this.

Laurel
 
Laurel,

OM goodness, you have a very challenging life, with moving so frequently. Do you have kids that get uprooted every time? And I imagine when you move to different countries it takes some time to acclimate to the new food, and where to buy it?

I can understand how you can gain weight every time you move. I imagine I'd do the same. But this time WILL be different!!! You are so much more knowledgeable about your eating habits, and you know so much more about how to manage your cues that you WILL avoid gaining weight! The process might not go 100% as you hope, but it will go BETTER than any move in the past. Focus on making it better, not perfect.

I agree whole-heartedly with you that, to be most successful, you have to plan ahead. The frozen meals are a terrific idea! Also, makes a list of foods that you can have on hand that don't need refrigeration, and are really convenient: small cans of V8 juices; dried fruit, etc.

I'm surprised that you can't find a healthy chili recipe. Chili is typically one of the most naturally healthy meals there are. What do you put in your chili that makes it so unhealthy? The basics are usually: grd beef (extra lean), tomato sauce (100% tomatoes, no salt, sugar or spices added), chopped green chilis, kidney beans (thoroughly rinsed), chopped onion, chili powder and other spices to taste. Then there are a million variations. A can of tomato paste will intensify the flavour of the sauce, and thicken it. Do it all in the slow cooker, or simmer it for a long time on the stove top, and it'll be good and yummy.

Will you be able to stay cyber-connected to us after you move?
 
Just a quick *i'm alive!*
birthday and anniversary trip over...went to the beach and Charlseton with DH!
did not go with any pre-conceived goals or expectations and to my shock....i did better than i would've ever planned! usually my approach is *it's vacation, binge away!* and will literally eat myself sick meal after meal....don't get me wrong...i did not by any stretch of the imagination make good choices or eat clean BUT i also never ate myself sick...i left food on my plate at every meal or took a doggy bag back to the hotel for snacking....i never felt that sense of panic that *I have to eat this all now because once i change my eating habits i can NEVER eat it again*.....just *this is wonderful food and so enjoyable, but i'm done now*.....
another baby step i hope!
i'll be back on track with posts this week...giving the ankle a test run tomorrow as well! fingers crossed!

Becky
 
It's good to see everyone back and hear updates.
Overall I've been doing good, but I went out of town and everything feel apart. :( It could have been worse, but it still wasn't pretty. Since I'm focusing on the positives. I did have salad with a couple of my eat out meals and I did not eat any battered deep fried appetizers. The coffee cake breakfasts that extended to bits of it for snacks is where I really failed. I should have grabbed the really sweet cranberry coffee cake instead of the carmel nut one that was not near as sweet. I find I can only eat so much sweet before it becomes too much for me.

Sandra, It's great to see you back again. Since you know your shortcomings tend to occur on Fridays can you try eating more healthy stuff during the day to try and avoid the fatigue and hunger? I know this is always my downfall too. I also know it's easier to talk about then to do. If you're like me the fatigue and hunger comes on like a freight train without much warning. This makes trying to balance only eating when you're hungry and not allowing yourself to get too hungry a thin line to toe. I also agree this time of year is really tough to avoid the comfort foods. I guess we need to find ways to replace our comfort foods with new ones. Perhaps butternut squash soup instead of <insert your poison here>, and baked apples stuffed with cinnamin, honey and just a tiny bit of butter instead of a caramel apple.

Clango, Oh wow moving during the holidays. I now feel I should be able to breeze through the holidays without a struggle at all knowing what you'll be dealing with. Too bad it doesn't work that way. :rolleyes: It sound like you have some great ideas, and having a plan is half the battle. I struggled this past weekend due to lack of planning and I know that was the biggest reason for downfall. Please keep us updated on your progress. Hearing everyone's progress and knowing I am going to report on mine, really does help keep me more "mindful" of what I eat and helps to keep me on track.

Becky, I'm so proud of you. IT sounds like you had some great successes this weekend. WTG!! Wow you're planning on running already??? I don't want to sound like I'm discouraging you from working out, but please be careful with your ankle and don't try to do to much at once. Good luck on the test run.
 
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Awww, Dawn....thanks!:eek:
It sounds like you did do very well....avoiding the deep fried appetizers is HUGE!!! ^^^5's! Being away from the regular routine does make one realize how very important planning is to success!

Laurel, I think you are going to be so ahead of the game with this move!
I too struggle with weight gain during moves. Unfortunately something about the disruption usually triggers a depression relapse for me (even when I WANT the move!!! grrr!!!) Unlike you...i usually go up about 40 pounds!:( I think you are going to do so amazing though! You are thinking and planning ahead! That is over half the battle!

Sandra, good to see you! Any snow up your way yet? Where abouts in Alberta are you? My dad is from Calgary, aunt and g-ma in Edmonton, uncle in Vancouver with lots and lots of other cousins scattered in between!

Trying to get focused today and get fully back on track.

I will be careful with the ankle. Probably going to hop on the treadmill and try a mile tonight. A little discouraged at the ache yesterday after walking around Charleston on Saturday. If it's at all uncomfortable I will rest longer AND go for my follow up on Wednesday.

Talk with you all soon!

Becky
 
Good morning Enders!

It's good to see you again! I didn't realize Dawn and Becky had gone on holidays. It sounds like you both made some excellent progress!!

Dawn - I can't believe a "caramel nut" anything would be less sweet than a "cranberry" something or other! :eek: But when it comes right down to it, either one will set off the sugar-craving avalanche, I'm sure.

Becky - How's your "less exercise; more dietary restraint" plan going? How do you feel? I see your ankle's still needing some healing time. Sometimes it's so hard to listen when the body is talking, isn't it? Are you still on a high from that mud run? I'm in Edmonton! Are you Canadian? Or just your extended family?

Thanks for your words of support. I really enjoy this group. My weekend never got any better. On Sunday I pulled out the proverbial carrot, to provide an incentive for everyone to get their chores done. Except instead of a carrot, I used home made peanut butter cookies. My lunch on Sunday was 3 warm-from-the-oven cookies, and a glass of milk. I knew this was a bad idea, but I did it anyway. Then another bad idea occurred to me: let's spend this cold, rainy October afternoon at West Edmonton Mall! I used my LLL gift certificate to buy some new exercise clothes, while DH took the girls to the bookstore. We were *supposed* to come home by 4, so I could do my 2nd last Insanity workout. But I was so demoralized by the shopping experience that when the kids piped up that they wanted to eat supper at the mall, I happily agreed. So, pb cookies for lunch, a restaurant dinner and no workout....

Tom Venuto always says there's no right and wrong, there's only results. So, here's my free-eating weekend results. I gained 4lbs of muscle! :D (That's as logical a deduction as calling it fat, right?). I've gained so much muscle, in fact, that my wedding rings are tight and I feel as bloated as the Pilsbury Dough Boy!

My experience in the LLL mirrors was a good motivation for getting back on track. Pleasure eating sure is fun, but the results aren't very pretty. I've decided to get back on track with Tom Venuto's BFFM eating & exercise plan. After a couple of months of vigorous activity (Insanity rotation, STS Mesos 2 & 3, and instructing classes), I've decided to take a page out of Becky's book and scale things back a bit. And focus on diet more. This translates specifically into doing:
* most important: meal planning! Plan, plan, plan!!
* almost as important, or maybe more so: keep reading EOE, BFS, and BFFM to motivate continued eating modifications
* create an exercise plan that isn't HIIT every dang day; take the intensity down a few notches most days; include 1-2 HIIT a week; make it compatible with my instructing so I'm not burning myself out by Friday every week
* focus on lower body/core; include yoga

I loved the Insanity rotation, and it did amazing things for my fitness stamina and endurance. My core is definitely stronger, and there's more definition underneath this bloat. But I'm tired. It takes a lot of mental stamina to psych yourself up for those kinds of workouts 5-6 days a week. I'm glad I did it. I'm glad I'm done. Shaun is a *fabulous* instructor/coach. Loooove him. Loove the way the workouts made me feel.

This morning I did Low Impact Circuit, cardio timesaver premix. Then I added the ab section. When your legs are tired and your body is stiff, and you're bloated and tired and menstrual, and you haven't done an 8" step workout in a few months, and you haven't done a workout at 6am in even longer, LIC is hard!! LOL!! I didn't expect a walk in the park, and I didn't get one! But boy, what a change of pace. Even the core work felt especially hard.

Okay, enough whining and moaning from me! I've downloaded Venuto's daily nutrition planner sheet from his website, and plugged in my morning values. Now, I need to keep it up for the rest of the day. Those peanut butter cookies are calling my name really loudly. Today will be all about willpower and weaning. In a couple of days I'll be deflated and feeling much better.
 
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Good to see everybody back!

Thanks to everybody for thinking I'll be able to make it through this move with different habits this time. I keep telling myself that the best approach is to just focus on each day and, eventually, all of the days will pass, we'll be moved, and I won't have let the stress of trying to predict an unpredictable future exhaust me and cause me to go crazy with comfort food eating.

So, in that vein, I actually did really well this weekend. I even have most of our dinners planned through when we move out of the house....and most of them are in the freezer now. So....so far so good.

Becky, sounds like you did great this weekend. You are making great progress. Make sure you let your ankle heal before you do too much. I've pushed myself through injuries so many times and have suffered some not-so-great consequences as a result. So keep listening to that ankle!

Dawn, like Becky, I think avoiding the fried appetizers is HUGE. So congrats on that! And there are far worse things to be eaten than coffee cake, that's for sure. So don't sweat it too much.

Sandra, I'm going to actually be starting my Insanity rotation through this move. I think it will be a good program to carry with me because I can pretty much do it anywhere since it requires no equipment. What do you think about that? I did the fit test yesterday and really enjoyed it. Any feedback you have on this program is welcome.

But I hear you about the constantly intense workouts. I did a six month STS rotation that ended in July, started P90X in August and should finish that just in time to move. Then I'm going to do Insanity (or some form of Insanity since my life will be in utter turmoil while I'm trying to do it). I'm thinking after that I will take a good 6 to 8 weeks to give my body a break and do some lower intensity workouts. Of course, Cathe's STS Shock Cardio will be coming out then, but I'm hoping to hold off on doing those until I start another STS rotation (which I'm thinking I'll do late February/early March). I'm just physically and mentally tired right now, but I know now is not the time for me to go easy on exercise because of this moving thing. But I think I'll get through it if I know I have a break in a couple of months.

I've never read anything (aside from some blogs) by Tom Venuto, but from what I've read, he sounds like he is very logical in his approach to diet and nutrition. Are his books worth a read? Please let me know. I just haven't had as much of a chance to do any reading lately on diet/nutrition, but I think this is something I need to do right now. So I'm looking for some good recommendations on books that I can take with me (isn't BFFM an electronic book?) that will help keep me focused. Again, like on Insanity, any feedback is welcome!

So I faced some major temptations this weekend and will in the future as well. I love to bake. I mean, I REALLY love to bake. And so I end up baking for anybody who will eat my stuff. Well, since we've lived here in LA (which is about 15 months), I've been baking for my husband's co-workers. They were all upset that we are going to be leaving before Christmas, so I decided to do my holiday baking for them before we go. Yesterday, I made these wonderful apple/butterscotch cookies....and the only reason I know they are wonderful is because I had two bites of one that I shared with my husband. Four dozen cookies made, and only two bites of one. I think that's pretty good!!! But it took ALL of my willpower. I still have about five more batches of cookies/brownies to make for them. My goal....one to two bites per batch. We'll see how it goes. The surprising thing is that my love of baking actually outweighs my love of eating what I bake since I've made a ton of stuff this year for neighbors/co-workers/strangers without eating much if anything that I make. It's crazy. But some days, like yesterday, it's not always easy. I figure if I can stay on track through this right now, I can pretty much get through anything. But I'm certainly not making it easy on myself!! :)

Laurel
 
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