January/February weight management challenge

[goldfinch]

Even after 3+ years of WW, I still use my food scale. Because, I find that when I get away from it for a while, portion size creeps. Now that I'm back on, I have two scales. One on my countertop at home, and one on the countertop at work. Everything gets weighed. Today I had a spinach salad for lunch, with 2 ounces of sauteed chicken. Not 1.5 ounces, or 3.2 ounces or whatever my brain thinks LOOKS likes 2 ounces, but 2-point-0 real ounces.

WW's points tracker will let you track a "medium" sweet potato, but really, do YOU know what that means? I sure don't. But when I weigh it and get 250 grams, I can put exactly that into the tracker and get an accurate point value for it. Then I know I stay on track.

Some people really rebel against the whole weighing and measuring thing, but I like it. It's very black and white. Concrete. No excuses. :-)

I weigh and measure just about everything too. However, I am really good at guessing a half an ounce of walnuts because I have that every day and an ounce of cheese. Other things, like meat, not so much. I can be way off even after a year of weighing.

Catrin, I have this scale: http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Preci...6317442&sr=1-1

I like it because it is small, you can weigh in a number of different units, like ounces or grams, and you can put a bowl or something on it, zero it out, and then add stuff you want to weigh.

[Crankin]

I could never weigh and measure. I guess if I had to lose 50 lbs., I'd do it, but I'd be stressed. Portion size is an issue for me, so I just have made them a bit smaller. But, since I've already lost 3.5 lbs. in 5 days, I'd have to say it's portion size and too much bread, and maybe the fruit I eat. I've restricted myself to blueberries and I've had one apple.
It's really hard to satisfy myself with a teeny piece of whole wheat bread or none a day. I am hungry ALL DAY long, despite giving myself snacks of nuts, cheese, and occasional dried fruit, if I'm exercising. I am craving Luna Bars .

[ny biker]

I could never weigh and measure. I guess if I had to lose 50 lbs., I'd do it, but I'd be stressed. Portion size is an issue for me, so I just have made them a bit smaller. But, since I've already lost 3.5 lbs. in 5 days, I'd have to say it's portion size and too much bread, and maybe the fruit I eat. I've restricted myself to blueberries and I've had one apple.
It's really hard to satisfy myself with a teeny piece of whole wheat bread or none a day. I am hungry ALL DAY long, despite giving myself snacks of nuts, cheese, and occasional dried fruit, if I'm exercising. I am craving Luna Bars .

3.5 lbs in 5 days is a lot, especially considering your starting point.

I measure pasta, because otherwise I'd have no idea how much I'm putting in the boiling water. I count easily-countable things, like crackers and cookies. I do rough estimates when the label says the package contains two or three servings and I only want one. Other than that, I just try to be mindful of how much I'm eating. I read years ago that a serving of meat is about the size of a deck of cards. If a serving is 1/4 cup or a tablespoon, I stop and think about what a 1/4 measuring cup or a tablespoon really looks like.

But mostly, I make an effort to stop eating when I start to feel full, even if the plate still has food on it. And I try to learn from that, and make the portion smaller the next time I prepare that meal, or plan in advance to only eat half of it the next time I order it from a restaurant.

[Susan Otcenas]

But mostly, I make an effort to stop eating when I start to feel full, even if the plate still has food on it.

I read an article that says that in cultures where people generally are NOT fat despite rich foods (like in France) is because they are taught to stop in a different manner than we are.

In the US and many other cultures, we stop eating when we are full.
In France, they are taught to stop eating when they are no longer hungry.

It's a subtle difference, yet intriguing. I've tried to retrain my thinking in this manner. I don't want to feel full. I just want to be "no longer hungry".

[Crankin]

I do measure the countable things, too. I don't make pasta at home anymore; it's a treat for a good Italian restaurant.
Yes, given the fact I've lost 3.5 lbs in this amount of time, it's told me that I really just need to tweak what I eat to maintain a slightly lower weight and that if I didn't exercise I would be fat. That's what keeps me from going too far into the danger zone But, the thing is, I already felt that my eating was somewhat restrictive before this challenge. I had quinoa with my dinner tonight, which, because it's protein and not technically a grain, I allowed myself. Now I feel very full. Just 7.5 more days of very low carb. Then I will start to add in some brown rice and occasional whole wheat bread. But, I still need to up the protein and watch the portion sizes.

[ny biker]

I read an article that says that in cultures where people generally are NOT fat despite rich foods (like in France) is because they are taught to stop in a different manner than we are.

In the US and many other cultures, we stop eating when we are full.
In France, they are taught to stop eating when they are no longer hungry.

It's a subtle difference, yet intriguing. I've tried to retrain my thinking in this manner. I don't want to feel full. I just want to be "no longer hungry".

I was taught to stop eating when the plate was empty, which worked well enough when I was growing up. But once I was out on my own, it was a long process to learn the right amount to put on the plate. And in restaurants I would keep eating even if I felt sick from too much food, until finally one day I realized I needed to stop doing that, even if it meant that some of the food got thrown away.

[azfiddle]

I'm in still/again for this challenge.

Frustrated because even though I'm staying active, I've gotten a too complacent, and am at least 6 pounds above my goal weight. I've forgotten my exact weight from Friday of last week (118 or 119?) so I'll start with this Friday. It jumped up to 120 after the 200k ride, but that is to be expected.

Thanks Posse Gal for continuing to do this.

[emily_in_nc]

I was taught to stop eating when the plate was empty, which worked well enough when I was growing up. But once I was out on my own, it was a long process to learn the right amount to put on the plate. And in restaurants I would keep eating even if I felt sick from too much food, until finally one day I realized I needed to stop doing that, even if it meant that some of the food got thrown away.

Doggie box! I try to take home half of my entree if I'm at a restaurant that gives large portions, as so many of them do. I am not one who minds leftovers at all; in fact, sometimes the food tastes even better the next day.

[Catrin]

I read an article that says that in cultures where people generally are NOT fat despite rich foods (like in France) is because they are taught to stop in a different manner than we are.

In the US and many other cultures, we stop eating when we are full.
In France, they are taught to stop eating when they are no longer hungry.

It's a subtle difference, yet intriguing. I've tried to retrain my thinking in this manner. I don't want to feel full. I just want to be "no longer hungry".

Interesting difference, and it makes sense. I do not eat large portions - though I do fall into that trap when I go out to eat. I know I need to eat more vegetables and have started to incorporate more nutrient rich dark colored veggies into my usual dishes. I've pretty much ruled everything else out so there has to be something going on with my portions.

I am just frustrated with myself, in August 2010 I was 2 pounds below my target weight of 130, and now I am almost 7 pounds higher than my target weight. That might not sound like much, but with my propensity for diabetes 2, my age, and my athletic goals those 7 pounds just aren't good for me. Nor can I delude myself into thinking that I've gained 7 pounds of muscle. My body would look quite different if that were the case

I don't measure when I cook - I am one of those "bit of this and a dab of that" cooks, but I start with healthy ingredients and limit my use of oil as much as I can. I am actively drawing back from bread, though I do need whole grains so am staying with my steel-cut oats with breakfast and brown rice a couple of times a week. I think the rest of my carbs should come from veggies/fruit. It isn't like I am going out on long endurance rides this time of the year!

[yellow]

I will be out of town for a long weekend with some girlfriends (read: much red wine consumption), so I weighed this morning. 128. I tried to go low-er carb this week and ended up totally bonking during running by Wednesday (and just going up the stairs!). I need a few more calories and a few more carbs if I am going to continue to train at 30-40 mpw, I think.

[Veronica]

Finding that right balance of carbs and keeping your weight where you want it, is hard!

A few weeks ago I started making Friday nights a carb fest. At first it was an accidental thing, we were both off and bought a bunch of evil stuff at Trader Joes. But I noticed that I wasn't completely exhausted by my long Saturday run, the way I ALWAYS had been. So, the next week I carb loaded on purpose on Friday night and again I had a great long run and felt great after.

I'm not losing the pounds I'd like to get to 12% body fat, but I'm not gaining either and the extra energy on Saturday afternoon is nice!

I'm sure you'll find what works for you.

Veronica

[goldfinch]

I read an article that says that in cultures where people generally are NOT fat despite rich foods (like in France) is because they are taught to stop in a different manner than we are.

In the US and many other cultures, we stop eating when we are full.
In France, they are taught to stop eating when they are no longer hungry.

It's a subtle difference, yet intriguing. I've tried to retrain my thinking in this manner. I don't want to feel full. I just want to be "no longer hungry".

Maybe.

I know that I am never full and I am always hungry. I just aim for "less full" and "less hungry."

[ny biker]

Maybe.

I know that I am never full and I am always hungry. I just aim for "less full" and "less hungry."

Do you mean your stomach is always rumbling?

[goldfinch]

Do you mean your stomach is always rumbling?

It is more the drive, the desire for food. Appetite is more than a rumbly stomach.

I even remember when this started, though my doctor poos poos this. Years ago I got pregnant and ended up with way out of whack hormones. This made me ill and I would vomit many times a day. Think morning sickness times 100. I had to be fed through a feeding tube and given liquids intervenously. I lost a lot weight that I could not afford to lose. This went on for a couple of months and then I miscarried. The hormones went back to normal and I was Hungry. I was hungry like I could never have imagined before being hungry. I never was not hungry. I never was full. I gained a lot of weight.

I think this is what happens with many people who go on starvation diets. Their bodies are driven to eat.

For years I felt the ever present hunger. It eased off somewhat with time but never has truly left.

I am sure that there are both physical and psychological components to my drive to eat. I have been pretty successful dealing with eating triggers, or as the behaviorists say, the discriminative stimuli. For example, I can't talk about diet and food a lot because it makes me hungry. I am hungry right now and want a snack, even though I am 100 calories over my daily allotment. I need to go do something else, that does not trigger an eating desire, but cues something else, like getting sleepy.