Putting food in its place

[chefk]

I agree- print it out or at least a key phrase like on a fortune cookie type strip of paper and keep it on your car visor or at work or something. It's very inspirational. Life Rewards

Thank you.

[amalfi_girl]

Thank you everyone for your wonderful support! Today was so much fun, went on my first work "trip", to NYC, and I saw my sister and my best friend from High School while I was there. I walked for about 40 minutes straight while I was there, but I also did 25 minutes this morning on the bike. I also was offered a ton of non-plan food, including my favorite (chocolate chip cookies), and I didn't feel the need to have any of it.

B: chicken apple sausage w/2 eggs and a SF mocha smoothie from Big Train brand
S: 5 nuts
L: multigrain role with 3 oz. turkey, lettuce and roasted red pepper; side ceaser salad; 2 cups coffee w/total of 2 T cream
S1: spinach salad (small) with avocado, marinated mushrooms and balsamic
S2: cappuccino (skim milk)
D: teriyaki salmon (4 oz.), ginger dressing salad, 1/2 cup miso soup; 2 squares dark chocolate

[lakegran72]

great menu
I think I will have your spinach salad for MY lunch mmmmmm

[amalfi_girl]

Lakegran, you shouldn't be disappointed, it was delicious!

No exercise yet today, but I hope to do a nice long Zumba session after work tonight (yay!).

B: spinach souffle (holy yum, who knew? This is from Stouffer's, made with skim milk and egg whites. I used one third of the package), 2 eggs over medium and 1 Morningstar Farms faux sausage patty; coffee w/1 T cream
S: tuna with sliced bell peppers and 2 T olive oil mayo
L: (will be) gyro greek salad with 2 T feta, 2 T greek dressing
S: (will be) banana-orange smoothie
D: TBA

[Chris55]

Congratulations on making it through the city without stopping for pizza/cookies/chinese or any of the thousands of things that could have derailed you! I always cave into pizza when I'm there because I'm totally deprived (depraved!) in Maine.

[amalfi_girl]

Chris, I know exactly what you mean. There are many, many things I love to eat in NYC, but luckily the city is now littered with these "euro cafe" type places that have beautiful make your own salads, and that made me feel like I was getting something special and not deprived.

Doing 30 minutes on bike today at level 4

B: broccoli souffle with 1 Morningstar Farms faux sausage patty
S: dark chocolate with 10 nuts; SF mocha smoothie from Big Train
L: turkey burger "salad" with pickle, tomato, 1 slice provalone, mushrooms and onions (on tons of lettuce)
S: large coffee with 2 T cream
D: Large smoothie using 1 NF greek yogurt (plain) w/splenda, 2 T unsweetened cocoa, 1 orange, 1 cup NF lactaid milk and 1/2 cup raw buckwheat
S: 1 breadstick from our favorite pizza place (made from the same dough as the pizza crust).

The breadstick was a mistake, and it made me feel sick. I find it easier to avoid stuff like this when I force myself to think about how it will make me feel (as in physical poison versus medicine), but at the time I did not do that--I just thought, mmmm my favorite pizza crust. At least that confirms the strategy I need to use! If I had actually used it, I would not have felt ill last night. I'm taking it as a learning opportunity and applying it tomorrow.

[amalfi_girl]

Dexter penultimate episode was so good last night! I couldn't believe it was over when it was--I wanted it to keep going!

I did not cook this weekend, so I definitley need to do it tonight. I have four beautiful, huge squash to spiralize for pasta for the week, and I have the makings of a delicious chili I just have to throw in a pot and get going. Will do stationary bike for 25 minutes on level 5 tonight. Here is the meal plan:

B: field greens with 2 T goat cheese, 2 T craisins and 1/8 cup candied pecans (was supposed to be dinner but I wasn't that hungry after my smoothie so I saved it for breakfast)
S: tuna w/2 T olive oil mayo and 1 cup diced baby bell pepper
L: turkey chili with 2 T shredded cheddar cheese and a small salad with 1 T italian dressing
S: coffee smoothie with 1 pack SF cocoa, 1 pack instant coffee and 1 cup skim milk
D: 2 T hummus, 2 cups "green salad" (diced cuc's, tom's, green peppers w/lemon juice and parsley), 3 oz. chicken kabob, 3 oz. stewed eggplant salad
S: cool whip mousse (1/2 cup FF cool whip w/1 T unsweetened cocoa and 1 splenda)

[Hellonurse23]

Just finished reading thru your journal- its so great to read thru your progress. Your doing great and I esp loved reading your breakthrough. I have been on so many 'diets' in the past but never before had I ever had anyone or a place to share my thoughts. Sure, I tell my husband that I was really proud of myself for not cheating or try to give him a run down of what Ive eaten- he tries to seem impressed, but as hes never had issues with weight he just doesn't get it. I look forward to seeing you thru to your goal.

[zas]

hi amalfi,
thought i'll just pop in your journal and see how you are doing....
you are doing extremely well....food choices look delicious too....
how much have you lost till now ??

[amalfi_girl]

Hellonurse--thank you for the encouraging words! That is exactly why I am here, too--who else would possibly be interested in a play-by-play of my daily meals but other people going through the exact same thing??

Zas--I didn't weigh myself at my peak, so I just have to assume I was up above 275, but once I stopped binging for a while I weighed myself and I was 268. That is when I started trying to clean up my eating by generally eating "healthier" and shrinking my portion sizes to normal adult levels. That (plus occassional exercise) got me down to 248, but then I plateaued for a good long while and felt I was ready to come back to SB (I had lost 70 Lbs. once before in my life, and it was on SB, so I figured that was the way to go again). Now I am 234 and, with my height and build, I could probably get away with being this weight and no one would know the difference (people never have any clue I am well over 200). But I know that my body looks and feels best closer to 205, at which I tend to look my best (not too thin, but not pudgy) and feel my best (able to do nice long workouts, run up stairs, etc.). So, I'm now more than half way to my goal, but I think the most important thing I have learned along the way is how to enjoy the ride down to my goal. I know that by doing that, I'll enjoy my time at my goal this time, and I won't gain it back like I did last time. That's my ultimate goal, anyway. !

BTW, the cooking thing definitely helps me with enjoying myself along the way, and I love to see what other people are making. I'm still curious to know what Chris55's mysterious "bean and egg" breakfast really looks like...I'm guessing I would probably like it.

[zas]

wow !!! that's great you have come a long way....i too have tried to reduce my weight over the years ....but always gained it back with a surplus......this time i know its different because i have great guys to support me !!! and a cool diet.
just yesterday i was telling my hubby that we have to enjoy our diet..then only can we truly stick to it !!! my past diets were very restrictive and frustrating.....thus landed up quitting and coming back to old habits.
good luck to you.

[lakegran72]

Oh yes isn't this a great place to be? ....
ENJOYING our way of eating....( WOE )....
and sharing with our friends on the beach.

[amalfi_girl]

YES Zas and Lake! There have been so many times out to eat with my husband where I have said "This is a diet?!?" I feel like the joke is on everyone else who doesn't know about this WOE, or like I'm getting away with murder by eating this well and losing weight! Bwahahaha...

Anyway, 25 minutes on level 4 on the bike this AM (I really need to just step it up to level 5 already), and here is the meal plan:

B: spinach souffle with 1 chicken apple sausage; large skim milk latte w/splenda
S: plain NF greek yogurt w/1 T honey and 2 T sunflower seeds
L: 1 cup home made chili with peppers, black olives and tomatoes
S: "mocha" smoothie (ice, 1 cup LF milk, 3/4 packet NSA cocoa, 1 Via mocha instant coffee packet, splenda and 1 T powdererd creamer)
D: french onion woup w/o crouton, oatmeal with 1 T cream and 1 T jam
S: cool whip mousse

[amalfi_girl]

Just found two quotes from RedRox that I had emailed to myself before the board crash, for inspiration, and they are so good I wanted to have them here, too:

Your diet is simply what you choose to eat on a regular basis. You either have a diet that allows you to lose and then maintain your weight or you don't. SB is about finding what that looks like for you along the way.

There are many people here who have had success, but it comes over months and years, not in the first 2 weeks. I had several lengthy plateaus and several periods of weight gain in my journey (usually around the holidays and trips back to parents' house), and I just felt like there weren't really any better options out there, so I just kept going, working the process and eventually trusting that it would work eventually. And eventually it did. I won't lie and say mentally it was easy. It wasn't. There were always periods of doubt and self doubt. As we say in yoga, "Doubt your doubts!" And if you think losing weight is difficult, then maintenance presents it's own set of difficulties and challenges. Now you can eat "anything" in moderation only you really can't. You really have to find a way to eat pretty much exactly as you did to lose the weight in order to maintain it and you need to exercise regularly at the same time. The margin for error, calorically speaking, is far less at or near your goal weight than when you start out. If you don't build that solid foundation and learn to make it a lifestyle program you can live with and enjoy and find personal rewards simply from living a healthy, active, lifestyle, then maintenance becomes increasingly difficult and you will likely end up back where you started or worse. Results follow process. Put a valid process in place and the results will happen over time. So maybe shift the focus to the process and the things that are already working for you that you mentioned in your post. Learn to enjoy the adventure!

I just kept re-reading these and I guess it really sunk in! Now I'm a total convert, and this is definitely my focus: The Process. In a way it is kind of like AA or OA, the "one day at a time" thing. Things become cliches for a reason, i.e., because so many people over long periods of time find them to be true.

[Chris55]

I'll share my breakfast "recipe" with you, Amalfigirl. I poach an egg. While that's cooking I take about 1/3 cup of black beans, mix in some taco seasoning, and sprinkle with lowfat cheddar, microwave for about a minute until cheese melts. Top with the egg, add some salsa and lf sour cream or greek yogurt if desired. On days when I know it's going to be a long haul until lunch, I'll do two eggs and a little more beans. It's very filling, tasty, and quick. If you don't want to poach an egg, you can fry one or microwave it (if you poke the yoke and are really careful).