Whooo Hooo, Lorchen. Another milestone reached.

I hope you are havinga wonderful Christmas with you family, particularly young Eva.

Merry Christmas to all our TQS friends.

Anne, I have sent you a direct message. It can work for you, even though you are a "Special Case"!

Good luck to everyone on a diet, Christmas will be difficult for you.
I should diet but have no will power also am on Warfarin and have been told "limited green vegetables and don't diet" most vegetables are green aren't they?
Lorchen you are doing so well, post pics to give the rest of us some incentive.

Good luck to all
Anne

Lorchen, that's a big woohoo! Good for you. Crossing your arms in front of you is a major sign of progress. I'm sure that as you keep at it, you will have other things that you can do, like bending over without feeling like you're being punched in the middle. I'm hoping that one comes soon for me

I've been taking cut up veggies to work in a big plastic bag, reaching for them every time I "need" to eat. Friday night I worked, I actually was full!!! That's really working out for me. I know that some people can't be munching all day (like teachers- I'm sure!!) but this is helping me get over the fear of being hungry without something to eat.

My employer has changed our health plan. If we choose the option with the lower premium, they weigh and measure us, and try to nudge us in a healthy direction. The measuring will start in April or May! That, and several other factors, have been enough to get me on the road again.

Kathy

Ya Hoo !! Merry Christmas, too.....for out of the mouths of babes !! Having a tipple here,too !

Lorchen wrote:

Kathy, you have to fill your fridge with fruit and the sort of veg that you can eat raw. I'll have to check in the mirror to see if I'm growing bunny ears yet, because I snack a lot on raw carrots. I dip them into a dip that I make by adding curry powder or any other herbs and spices to fat free yoghurt.

I'm finding that my body is adjusting a little to the new regime, so hunger has become less of an issue.

And I have had another little 'wohoo!' experience a couple of days ago. For years I have not been able to cross my arms in front of me because my stomach was in the way. Well...... even though I'm still fat, I can now cross my arms in front of me!!

I would say for me the mental part is more than half the battle. Keeping the weight off in the face of living life is really difficult.

I've been pretty hungry today..... I would have eaten green beans until I filled up a couple of times today . I have to remember, I can't die from being hungry for an hour .

The artificial sweeteners don't agree with me, luckily, so I'm not tempted to go there. I wish chocolate didn't agree with me!

OK, I'm going to go focus on fabric for a while tonight!!!! first Project Runway, then cut some strips for my Mom who has some stitches in her right hand.

Hugs to all, Kathy

Xylitol is a good alternative to sugar. It has a low GI, lo carbs and can be used in exactly the same way as sugar. You can bake with it too. It is 100% natural too. I agree with you about the artificial sweeteners Rosemary, the aftertaste is terrible. Another alternative is agave syrup which I believe has a low GI as well.

Kathy, good for you going back to Weight Watchers. We all know that half the battle is coping with our own brains. The first month is the hardest because it takes that long to decrease the size of our stomach and retrain the brain to not want as much food. One of the mind games I played and still play with myself if I want to lose weight is, instead of feeling panicky about feeding my hunger when I am hungry, I try to be conscious of being hungry and tell myself that this is as it should be between meals and that I will enjoy the meal even more if I am actually hungry. I mean, how often do we eat out of habit or boredom rather than actual hunger? I hope you stick at it because you will feel so much better in the longrun.

well, according to my diet, you shouldnt be angry!! because if you are angry stage you eat more!
according the diet you need to eat each 3-4 hours

A friend of mine (who is slender) told me the other day how she decides if she is truly hungry or just craving something. She asks herself if she is so hungry, would green beans fill her up. She says when the answer is NO! she knows it's not the real deal.

I like that, Rosemary: 'a natural bad'

When I get into healthy eating mode or 'diet' mode, I ask myself if I am 'legally hungry?". It's amazing how many times I eat and I'm not really, 'legally' hungry.

At our guild pot-luck party tonight every one it taking their own plates, cups and utensils, so we don't have to spend the night doing up the dishes. I have chosen a luncheon sized plate, instead of a regular dinner plate. I think that helps, because it can look fuller with less on it. Now, I just have to watch what I put on it!

A simple way or sorting out what to eat, is if it has sugar or an 'ose' (like lactose, dextrose, maltose etc) in it, don't eat it! I personally also avoid sweetners because I just can't stand the aftertaste, and think that sugar is probably better for the body than artificial sweetners. Not that sugar is good, just a more natural bad.

I went back to Weight Watchers 10 days ago, which had worked for me before. The first week, i ate a lot of chocolate, to calm my stress. Buy the way, that didn't work . This week, I am committed to following the program, which is about eating healthy. I know what you mean, Lorchen, about food being everywhere. It's hard to keep at a healthy lifestyle (whatever that is ) when our culture seems to be built around stuffing food into ourselves. I'm really glad that you brought this up, I also need a lot of support to do this. Who knew that my quilting community could be part of my support group?

Let's say YAY for our small daily victories!

Kathy