quote:

Originally posted by Amanda:
I have a diet planned where I will only be allowed to use chopsticks ...

(Gawd, I remember the night I learned how to use chopsticks. Oi. My boyfriend Howard had taken me to the home of some friends of his from school and though I was offered a fork I decided no--I was going to fight the fight and master them sticks if I starved! It worked, more or less, but I've always, in all the years since, felt that I don't use chopsticks properly! Isn't that funny? I think it's because I use my thumb and middle finger instead of thumb and index finger. But it works and that's all that matters (mostly ).

They've done some interesting reasearch with chickens on the psychology of eating. Humbling how much it applies.

a) Put a chicken in front of a pile of feed. CHicken eats until it is full.

Refill pile to previous height. Chicken again begins eating - a lot, though not to previous level.

b) Put a chicken in front of several piles of food. Same total amount but it is different varieties. Chicken consumes much more total calories.

c) Put a pile of food out as in exprmt. a. Send in several chickens. Total amount of consumed per chicken is much greater than in expmt. a part 1.

d) Put a pile of feed out and let in two young sibling chickens. Both chickens will eat whatever is out at rapid speed.

e) Put a pile of food out labelled "free food, cheapo quality".

Next to it, put several smaller different piles of food out labelled " free, ala carte, best quality".

Chickens will eat until they pop from second selection.

OK, OK I was just making that one up. Also the one before. I was going to add one with TV, but thought I had gone far enough.

Expmts a-c are real, though. Personally, I would like to test people out at hotel breakfast buffets - with variables like "value". Another one (think they've done this) to compare total calories consumed of "Healthy food" vs. regular. I.e. icecream. Theory is, people consume MORE total calories on "healthy/lite" diet.

Am trying BTW to picture Thanksgiving guests arriving to find miniature plates and (even moreso) cocktail forks and teensy spoons, by their places - as per article recommendation. The grateful ( ) looks they would throw the hosts' way!

52 minutes on the treadmill to help mitigate today's food. My plan is to eat very small portions of everything I want, and hope for the best. I did make my cheesecakes with Splenda/Blend partly because one place we are going the lady is diabetic. Can't bring myself to do it with my Parker House rolls though. I figure with all that butter in them what differnce does it make? Hubbie and I have a tradition of staying up late on THanksgiving night and watching a concert DVD, so that helps burn some extra cals. No weighing tomorrow!

#77.

I don't even want to get on the scale tomorrow. I had dessert twice last night, and THREE TIMES this afternoon. I did run 2+ miles, though.

Jodi

http://lowfatcooking.about.com/od/fall/r/pumpsoup.htm

Here's a recipe for low-fat pumpkin soup. I really like pumpkin soup. I'm going to make some today.

50 minutes on treadmill - hour and a half of chores outside.

#77.

Took Sis in law on a long 3+mile hike on the trails near home the day before Tday. Figured we needed to burn calories yet to be eaten.

But I guess with working off and one all week, standing in the kitchen cooking for 14 and all the running around beforehand burned plenty for me.

After TDay weight.....89#!!!!

do i have to read all previous 27 pages before i can join this thread? (please say no...)

i've never been on a diet. i don't believe in them. i've always been active and eaten healthy foods and while my weight has naturally creeped up along with my size (from 4 to 8) since i was a teen, as long as i felt strong and healthy and my clothes fit, i didn't sweat it. don't own a scale. only get weighed at my annual physical.

well, i had to make an unplanned doctor's office visit yesterday and i got quite a shock when they weighed me. i am now 20 lbs. over my college weight, and ten lbs. over where i was a year ago. i had been noticing that i no longer have the svelte waist i once sported, not for quite some time, but i didn't think it was that bad. at this point i'm pushing towards a size ten. unprecedented!

so, i decided that i will go on a diet. i think my problem is probably portions that are too large. i get plenty of exercise, and eat the right foods, just too much of them. i had a hollow leg when i was younger. evidently no longer.

i'm not sure how the phony pounds thing works. is where we are 100#, and where we want to be the number of lbs. we lose? so i'm now 100# and if i want to lose ten lbs., my goal is 90#?

if so, my goal is 90# i want to lose ten lbs.

so what do i do? i do sometimes get fiercely hungry. i have hypoglycemia and it can really ravage me if i don't eat on a regular basis.

i'm cutting out my one glass of wine per night, and no more chocolate (not even the organic stuff without sugar). i already have cut out wheat and yeast and sugar quite a few years ago. don't eat bread. don't eat junk food of any kind and haven't for years.

so do i eat only a 1/2 cup of oatmeal in the morning instead of one cup? do i munch on carrot sticks when i get the munchies instead of almonds or sunflower seeds?

or do i simply accept the fact that when bodies turn 50 they go to hell?

pique...all of the above...

Genetics plays a part too... I have always been on the edge of overweight. Keeping it in check has kept me from obesity. My younger sister, however, has not paid such close attention and ...YIKES!!! I feel like a twig next to her.

So don't sweat it. Exercise more, moderate diet and know that our bodies do change as we age. In some cases, a bit of extra weight could be to our advantage...My Mother in Law is a good example....At 6 feet tall she should weigh MORE than 103 pounds!!! Putting weight on for some is just as hard as taking it off.

First of all - you sure as heck don't have to read all these pages. You might not join in if you did. You sound a lot like me, Pique. Only diff is I knew it was creeping on me to the point that most of the time I would refuse to get on the doc's scales. I am also fortunate in that I am evenly proportioned so when I do put on weight, it goes on pretty evenly, therefore I was able to lie to myself fairly effectively about how much I had truly gained. Anyway - I think you are right on about portions. My strategy has just been to cut back portions and watch the fat. So far I have lost 23 since last June and am in single digits from my true goal. I have kept the exercise to reasonable and moderate because I didn't want to just burn it all off, I wanted to really adjust my eating habits. I am a salty, crunchy, too big a portions eater - not a sweets eater. I also watched some friends doing Weight Watchers's and sort of copied them because I didn't want to join, pay and do meetings and all that. But, the friends I have who have done WW have lost a lot of weight fairly painlessly. Their whole philosophy now a days is sensible portions, lo-fat and high fiber. Some people don't know what is good food or bad - I'm sure you do - just eat less of it. This year when I went for my physical I got on the scales willingly for the first time in a LONG time. I actually down another 7 since then. One thing that really helped me in the first few weeks with hunger was a no-fat soup I make. I just throw in a bunch of tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, leeks, non-salty spices, garlic and just cook it all down. It has no fat and you can eat it all day long and do no damage. When I wanted it to be more substantial I would throw in a little grated parmesan, grilled or sauteed chicken and maybe just a few lo-carb penne pastas. Basically, it's any veggie that is non-starchy. As I lost pounds I started adding a few potatoes or beans to it.

Good luck.

P.S. - I'd keep the whole cup of oatmeal, it's a really good start to the day. I also eat a lot of yogurt and the South Beach small snack bars have been very helpful for the munchies as well. I tend to have low blood sugar too, so you are right about not getting too hungry. That's where the soup and yogurt can really come in handy. I like the Blue Bunny Lite yogurt - less sugar. Dannon also makes some good lite ones. And you have the math thing right.

thanks, teachum and beelady!

teachum, i'm really spartan when it comes to yogurt. i only eat plain, non-fat, with zero sugar. i sweeten it sometimes with pure apple butter that is only boiled-down apples, no sugar.

what do you all think about fruit and fruit juices? i could live on fruit. i especially love dried fruit. i don't find veggies very satisfying/filling. possibly i'm adding a lot of calories there?

You didn't ask, pique, but I'll jump in anyhow.

One of the easiest ways to add calories, is through beverages - not just alcoholic (sad) but also, sweet stuff. Yes, even - if not especially - fruit juices.

And dried fruit is not only calorically dense, but if you are sensitive to sugar at all, it will train your pancreas to produce an insulin rush. Among other things that will increase your appetite. as well as reduce will-power when your blood sugar drops.

Poisonally, although I agree refined sugar is - poison - I think you're kidding yourself that dried fruit is a great improvement except, of course, for the fiber and vitamins (important).

If you don't combine fruit with something mebolized more slowly (protein, a - healthy - fat, or a rough carb) I think you are making things MUCH harder on yourself, if you want to cut back. Especially since your habits are already so moderate!

Metabolism is a killer, isn't it?

Yes - I definitely agree with Amanda on fruit and juices. Moderation only because they are so sugar intensive. Some berries aren't as bad, like strawberries and raspberries. For me the trick was just cutting WAY back on portions and using the veggie soup. I love salad and eat a lot of it with just a small piece of chicken for dinner quite often.

Me three. Those dried fruits are killer in the calorie category. I can easily down a bazillion more dried than I could in hydrated life. If you love fruit, you should probably stick to fresh, since they will take you longer to eat, and you should get filled up on fewer calories due to the water and all.

Jodi (who has had a think for dried figs lately)

Me four.

Just wanted to let you know that fruits and veggies are okay on the Weight Watchers core plan, but definitely *not* dried fruits or fruit juices. I'm sure that's because they're so concentrated, calorie-wise.

How is it that it takes three painful and whimpering weeks to take off 3 pounds, and only 4 days of Thanksgiving vacation to put them back on?!!!

Jodi