MENA diet/exercise thread

[doodlebugg 10]

I'm going to take nana's advice, and not weigh myself anymore (this will be hard!). My skinny jeans usually don't fit me when I am the weight that I am currently, so I don't think the scale is doing me justice.

That's good advice. I've been holding off for a few weeks. I actually got in some good exercise yesterday, so i think i'll do it again today. I need to lose at least 30 lbs, so I'm just 10lbs above my goal. i someone wonder if when i hit that 10lbs if I'll be at my goal size because I will have been exercising-- so I'm not too into the last 10lbs.

ETA the goal size is size 2. Right now I'm in my size 8s.

roflmao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My flippin' goal is a size 12!!!!

[sereia 0]

my goal is a size 10!!! (i don't even want to admit what size I really am right now) arghhhhhhhhh!

[Jenn! 918]

My pants goal is a size 8. I don't hold out much hope for ever changing my top size.

Hey Jen, we're tall, don't forget!

[sereia 0]

My pants goal is a size 8. I don't hold out much hope for ever changing my top size.

Hey Jen, we're tall, don't forget!

10 would be a reasonable size but i REALLY would prefer to be an 8 too...

[doodlebugg 10]

I was a 12 before I had kids, though in some stores that was a 10. I think I looked damned good back then!

[amal 4]

I'm envious of all of u. I would LOVE to see myself in a size 20 or 22 much less a size 10. I'm slowly moving down but starting to want to rebel from "loss of decent food stuffs" syndrome. I just finished off some pizza we had last night for supper and don't even wanna know how many calories that was. My willpower is slipping away and I'm not liking that too much.

I think if my period would ever end .. I'd feel so much better. I'm combating once-a-week migraines. I really think that it is 1 cycle after another coz I usually get migraines at the beginning of my cycle. Now I'll get a migraine, flow like 5 or 6 days, lightens up for a day or 2, then another migraine, and it continues repeating itself. I have a doc appointment (finally) on Monday to have the plumbing checked out. I really hope he can give me an idea of whats going on down there.

No wonder I don't like much of anything right now lol! I think that would do it for just about anyone.

Ok, back to my gallon of water and 100cal packs.

amal

[Nasturtium 500]

It really depends on many factors. That wedding photo I showed and the one where we were standing together in excavation? i was size 2 then! But you'd never know from the photo. People were still asking me if I was going to lose some weight. I've got the jennifer Love hewitt thing going on. She's thin-- she's like a size2. but somehting about the way she is shaped makes her look heavier. I got in touch with the idea that I would never be model thin like a lot of girls-- I'll always be an hourglass, I'll always have larger thighs and a jLo butt but that's just who I am! I'm Ok with that now. That took a lot of work.

I've noticed a lot of girls, especially taller ones, who look way better size 8/10 and even 12... it just depends on your shape and your height and a lot of factors. I think being the tallest one in my family at 5'4", I managed to retain the same freaking frame as the rest of the 5-footers, and somehow even inhertied the smallest features which didn't help. My mom is much shorter than I am at 5'1" but her arms are longer than mine, her hands and feet are larger by a lot (my ring size is 4 and hers is 7!) and she is REALLY thin (about 100lbs).

So anyway, never judge yourself by someone else's goals. It's what you are happy with and what is healthy for you. I guarantee many of you will look thinner than me (proportionately) at your goals! And even if not, you will be healthier and happier for being who you are.

Perhaps I should have just said I wanted to drop 6 sizes (or 3 if you count it by 2s)? I was just being honest.

[Nasturtium 500]

I'm envious of all of u. I would LOVE to see myself in a size 20 or 22 much less a size 10. I'm slowly moving down but starting to want to rebel from "loss of decent food stuffs" syndrome. I just finished off some pizza we had last night for supper and don't even wanna know how many calories that was. My willpower is slipping away and I'm not liking that too much.

I think if my period would ever end .. I'd feel so much better. I'm combating once-a-week migraines. I really think that it is 1 cycle after another coz I usually get migraines at the beginning of my cycle. Now I'll get a migraine, flow like 5 or 6 days, lightens up for a day or 2, then another migraine, and it continues repeating itself. I have a doc appointment (finally) on Monday to have the plumbing checked out. I really hope he can give me an idea of whats going on down there.

No wonder I don't like much of anything right now lol! I think that would do it for just about anyone.

Ok, back to my gallon of water and 100cal packs.

amal

Amal, you're doign well-- keep ti up! Do you and I maybe have similar problems? i know you said you had a portion control problem (me too), but I love carbs like bread, and I love soda and sugars-- and I HATE water. If I can eat things I like and eat a ton of them, I'm OK but as soon as I start to feel deprived I totaly crave everything that is bad and then overeat on it (2 days ago i ate an entire package of lasagna noodles for dinner. Really. I can down 2 large pizzas without feeling full. I can and will go through 4 liters of soda a day if i was left alone.)

Maybe the trick is to figure out what you like that is more or less empty in its caloric value and then try to go from there. I have an advantage that I love veggies adn could eat 6lbs of lettuce every day if I wanted. So i can fill up on a certain ammount of healthy thigns and then occasionally give into a chocolate craving.

[amal 4]

I'm envious of all of u. I would LOVE to see myself in a size 20 or 22 much less a size 10. I'm slowly moving down but starting to want to rebel from "loss of decent food stuffs" syndrome. I just finished off some pizza we had last night for supper and don't even wanna know how many calories that was. My willpower is slipping away and I'm not liking that too much.

I think if my period would ever end .. I'd feel so much better. I'm combating once-a-week migraines. I really think that it is 1 cycle after another coz I usually get migraines at the beginning of my cycle. Now I'll get a migraine, flow like 5 or 6 days, lightens up for a day or 2, then another migraine, and it continues repeating itself. I have a doc appointment (finally) on Monday to have the plumbing checked out. I really hope he can give me an idea of whats going on down there.

No wonder I don't like much of anything right now lol! I think that would do it for just about anyone.

Ok, back to my gallon of water and 100cal packs.

amal

Amal, you're doign well-- keep ti up! Do you and I maybe have similar problems? i know you said you had a portion control problem (me too), but I love carbs like bread, and I love soda and sugars-- and I HATE water. If I can eat things I like and eat a ton of them, I'm OK but as soon as I start to feel deprived I totaly crave everything that is bad and then overeat on it (2 days ago i ate an entire package of lasagna noodles for dinner. Really. I can down 2 large pizzas without feeling full. I can and will go through 4 liters of soda a day if i was left alone.)

Maybe the trick is to figure out what you like that is more or less empty in its caloric value and then try to go from there. I have an advantage that I love veggies adn could eat 6lbs of lettuce every day if I wanted. So i can fill up on a certain ammount of healthy thigns and then occasionally give into a chocolate craving.

I totally have that problem. a 2 liter in my house (if I were alone) would only last about an hour. I hav eto limit it coz I am embarassed by how much I can "put away" and don't want others to know how much I'd rather eat/drink than I actually did. I like just about everything EXCEPT fish and mushrooms. I do feel like I'm missing out as soon as I start "knowingly" eliminating things. I do like water a LOT so that's not an issue. I have always been a big big liquid consumer. So much, in fact, that if I go out to a restaurant in my home town, they know to just bring a pitcher of soda (or whatever) to the table coz otherwise they're filling my glass up every minute or 2.

One of the worst things, for me, is the "if nobody sees me, it didn't happen" feeling. It's like .. mmmm i'll just sneak this piece of choclate and nobody will ever know..... THEN I say to myself that I'll not eat so much at supper due to the chocolate and what happens... I eat more at supper than any other night. I'm completely hopeless. 100% addicted to food and there's not much I can do about it except try to decrease my portions and keep the willpower up to control myself.

*sigh*

amal

[sereia 0]

me too, amal! i feel ya girl... i really have a problem. being a freaking CHEF doesn't help! i should try to be a physical trainer instead! lol

[Nasturtium 500]

Amal-- it may not work for you, but what helps me is to just not have it. i cannot have bread in my house. I cannot control my eating of bread. i will try one piece (which is at least 3 inches thick) then I'll have another and another and next thing I know in 20 minutes I have eaten 2lbs of bread. I cannot have cereal in my house. I will eat the box in 30 minutes. I cannot have chocolate in my house, etc. So basically, I have to go grocery shopping when I am stuffed until it hurts and then start thinking portion control. The first time I did this I lost 40lbs over a year and a half. It wasn't fast loss, but it was diet change. I stuck to meals I could eat a mega-ton of-- like stirfrys. i use 1-2tbs olive oil and 3tbs soy sauce or so, and then I FILL the wok completely with veggies-- zucchini, summer squash, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms (I know you said you didn't like these, i'm just giving an example), an onion, and 1/4 a block of tofu. I literally will consume the entire contents of that wok over the next hour... but I have eaten 550 calories (I counted it up one day LOL). I HAVE to do things like that or else I will totally lose my willpower. I have no idea what people are thinking when they say they have jsut half a donut or whatever. ####### is that?! Either I have all of it and it's 16 friends or I cannot have it at all.

I was anorexic for a few years in high school/early college. i really do have the willpower to stop eating, but it's something I need to learn to balance with my fear of slipping back. Even now if I go maybe 8 hours without eating (work, I don't get a lunch break so sometimes I don't eat) I start to get kind of excited and think I could go another 8.. and another 8... I hope that makes sense. I went 180 on myself and gave into my over-eating urges. It's the same coin, just flipped.

I try to plan out my whole day of food-- I've found that helps me stick to it. i also don't keep around any unhealthy snacks (well i didnt' until Dh moved in, thus I ballooned 30lbs, no control). it's driving him nuts now, but I am not making the sweets he wants nor am i keeping chocolate around. I think I'll make a chocolate cake today though and box it up and send it to work with him so I don't see it. It's hard for me and I think it's hard on many of us. Portion control is such a mental thing.

[amal 4]

me too, amal! i feel ya girl... i really have a problem. being a freaking CHEF doesn't help! i should try to be a physical trainer instead! lol

that's too funny

Amal-- it may not work for you, but what helps me is to just not have it. i cannot have bread in my house. I cannot control my eating of bread. i will try one piece (which is at least 3 inches thick) then I'll have another and another and next thing I know in 20 minutes I have eaten 2lbs of bread. I cannot have cereal in my house. I will eat the box in 30 minutes. I cannot have chocolate in my house, etc. So basically, I have to go grocery shopping when I am stuffed until it hurts and then start thinking portion control. The first time I did this I lost 40lbs over a year and a half. It wasn't fast loss, but it was diet change. I stuck to meals I could eat a mega-ton of-- like stirfrys. i use 1-2tbs olive oil and 3tbs soy sauce or so, and then I FILL the wok completely with veggies-- zucchini, summer squash, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms (I know you said you didn't like these, i'm just giving an example), an onion, and 1/4 a block of tofu. I literally will consume the entire contents of that wok over the next hour... but I have eaten 550 calories (I counted it up one day LOL). I HAVE to do things like that or else I will totally lose my willpower. I have no idea what people are thinking when they say they have jsut half a donut or whatever. ####### is that?! Either I have all of it and it's 16 friends or I cannot have it at all.

I was anorexic for a few years in high school/early college. i really do have the willpower to stop eating, but it's something I need to learn to balance with my fear of slipping back. Even now if I go maybe 8 hours without eating (work, I don't get a lunch break so sometimes I don't eat) I start to get kind of excited and think I could go another 8.. and another 8... I hope that makes sense. I went 180 on myself and gave into my over-eating urges. It's the same coin, just flipped.

I try to plan out my whole day of food-- I've found that helps me stick to it. i also don't keep around any unhealthy snacks (well i didnt' until Dh moved in, thus I ballooned 30lbs, no control). it's driving him nuts now, but I am not making the sweets he wants nor am i keeping chocolate around. I think I'll make a chocolate cake today though and box it up and send it to work with him so I don't see it. It's hard for me and I think it's hard on many of us. Portion control is such a mental thing.

I have to have bread and cereal in the house but I know not to touch even 1 crumb of it or I'll eat the whole dang supply of it. The only "splurge' food we have is soda (mine are diet due to 0 calories) and occasionally I'll get ice cream bars..can't go thru life with NO pleasure.

I agree with the "whats up with the 1/2 donut thing" I used to work with a lady who would buy a 6 piece chicken nugget happy meal from Mc'D's and split it with her son. THEN continue on to say how stuffed she was and she couldn't believe she ate so much. I would just look at her in disbelief! I'm more like.. doesn't it come bigger than the 20 piece nugget meal?? U barely even get the taste with 3 nuggets... Of course, I love to enjoy the taste of my food (prolly why I have this problem in the first place) so just 3 doesn't cut it.

I have also been known to eat the entire family of donuts as well. I very seldom buy that stuff. No chips, cookies, candy...none of that stuff gets thru my doors (unless its a holiday..its sacreligious to NOT buy at least 1 bag of candy, right? )

When I was growing up, I remember always looking for the biggest piece coz I was constantly hungry. I remember my mother saying to me "just pick a piece already, they are all the same". Then she allowed us to have 2nds if we were still hungry and I'd go back and keep getting more until all the food was gone. I couldn't (and still can't) stand to see wasted food. THEN she would ask where it all went and go thru the family members asking who had how many pieces until all the pieces were accounted for. It was so embarrasing but never stopped me. Now my husband will do the same thing with soda and I HATE IT. He says "I only had 2 sodas from that box this week and it is all gone, who drank them all" and "this is why we can't save money, coz we can't control these things..only 1 at meal time is all we need, not more than that". It really pissesss me off too coz If I wanna soda, by god I'm gonna drink one! I finally started getting him his own 12 pack and me my own and we don't touch each others. My son picks the kind of drink he wants for the week be it kool-aid or capri suns or the mini soda 6 packs. so we all have our drink of choice.

Yeah, I have a problem, the first step is admitting it, right? OK, done that...whats the 2nd step?

lol

amal

[Jenn! 918]

I agree that it's totally a state of mind. People can really be their own worst enemy when it comes to eating issues...validating. "Oh I had such a hard day, I deserve this pint of ice cream. Or, I've already blown it for the day, why stop now?" etc.

BUT, I've been kind of feeling OCD about what I'm eating these days. Same concept - it's all or nothing - total nazi-like control, or complete lack of control.

So hard to find a healthy balance when you really do love food!

[sereia 0]

i wish i was one of those weird people who eat to live...

i live to eat!!!

btw my dad's bday is tomorrow and we're having these instead of cake: beard papa!!!!!!

i hope i can eat just ONE!

[Jenn! 918]

Oh I love profiteroles!

i wish i was one of those weird people who eat to live...

Yes, my mom is like that. I inherited my dad's love for food. I would add "unfortunately" to the end of that, but I'm actually glad that I love food so much - it makes life a lot more fun, I think! We just have added challenges.