Okay. I'm ready for the next phase, and I've called in the support troops. I'm about ready to tackle my weight issue again.
I've realized for several years now that my weight gain started a few months into my dating relationship with my former husband. I loved to swim. He didn't. I stopped. He had an incredible sweet tooth. Mine wasn't so bad. But I indulged much more with him. He liked to watch TV and play PC games. I indulged in that much more than I normally would. I gave myself up in order to have his affection.
But the worst was when he would give me the silent treatment over something I said or did or didn't do that he didn't like. I would be devastated. BUT... if I couldn't have his affection, I could always have ... chocolate! Chocolates and sweets were always good to me ... or so I thought. His periods of ignoring me and my periods of turning to food for comfort only grew more intense after we were married and I felt so utterly rejected. The pornography and other women were only more of the same rejection.
Well, I've adjusted to the single life, I have peace in my home, and I like it. However, the emotional eating is still a very bad habit that I have. So....
I have invested in myself, paid for an ebook, counseling and lessons, and joined a related private forum regarding this issue. I've realized that all of you dear people here have helped me through the devastation of betrayal and divorce. I don't know how I would have survived without these forums. I hope to have and give the same kind of support in my other forum as well.
I still feel weird paying money (it wasn't that much, but a lot for me) -- investing in me. I've always put myself last when it came to allocating resources. Well. I've only got one life to live, so... here I go.
BTW there is nothing wrong with eating chocolate and their is nothing wrong with sweets (according to the dietician I was seeing).........the problem is they must be moderated. In fact trying to not have your favorite foods encourages you to eat other things and keep eating until you find that one thing that satisfies your craving. It is better to just eat the food you crave (in small amounts only enough to satisfy the craving) and then you are done.
The biggest changes I made were:
Nothing but sugar free drinks (ie diet pop, crystal light)
8 glasses of water a day (sometimes more)
exercise (even if it just means walking instead of taking the elevator)
no eating after 8 pm
breakfast
a big lunch and very light dinner
portion control (THIS IS HUYUGE!!!!)
following Canada's Food Guide (ie 7-10 veggies/fruits per day)
There are lucious sugar free hot cocoa mixes out there....made with fat free milk instead of water and they are more "creamy" OR made with water and laced with sugar free creamer....FYI...best of luck to you.
What my IC said on this comfort eating thing was, make a list of all the things you like to do and make you feel good. When you feel that 'I want to make myself feel better' thing, pick something that isn't food, and do that. Comfort eating for me was mostly just a habit, and IC has helped me to mostly break it.
Some of the things I had on my list: lightweight but 'good' books; hand sewing; puzzles; computer games; phone a friend; tidy up something (really! it was amazing how much tidying up just a little thing made me feel good); work on the house; look at something nice (flowers, sky, pictures); do something for myself like brush my hair or paint my toenails.
Conventrie, if I could afford an IC right now, I would do that, too. But the private forum that I joined does give me access to some counseling -- albeit thru the web. But it worked for me here! So I am hopeful.
True, drinking lots of water helps. I gotta remind myself. And it has to be spring water or at least filtered, because I hate the taste from the tap.
I try to avoid the sugar-free (read: aspartame or Splenda-filled) food. I've read that the brain still may see these chemicals as sweets and thus may still trigger an insulin response which is not what I want. I limit myself to about 2 diet sodas a week because I'm wary of the stuff. BUT....it sure would be nice if they made soda with stevia like they do in Japan. Maybe someday....
Aspartame is apparently not that great for you, but we have diet pop and ice tea's made with splenda. Splenda is actually made from sugar and is a natural product. It comes highly recommended by my nutritionist.
There is no question that sucralose starts off as a sugar molecule, it is what goes on in the factory that is concerning. Sucralose is a synthetic chemical that was originally cooked up in a laboratory. In the five step patented process of making sucralose, three chlorine molecules are added to a sucrose or sugar molecule. A sucrose molecule is a disaccharide that contains two single sugars bound together; glucose and fructose.
The chemical process to make sucralose alters the chemical composition of the sugar so much that it is somehow converted to a fructo-galactose molecule. This type of sugar molecule does not occur in nature and therefore your body does not possess the ability to properly metabolize it. As a result of this "unique" biochemical make-up, McNeil Nutritionals makes it's claim that Splenda is not digested or metabolized by the body, making it have zero calories.
Splenda is made from sugar, but it is definately not sugar -- it is chemically altered using chlorine. You could google Splenda or sucrulose and find out all sorts of interesting stuff. Now, I don't believe everthing I read on the net, but there are some interesting things coming out about this man-made sweetener.
Stevia, on the other hand, is a natural herb and I've read that it's can actually help those with hypogylcemia or diabetes. Apparently it helps stabilize bloodsugar. But you won't find it in soft drinks here because the FDA won't approve it because.... it can't be patented and therefore that kind of money cannot be made.
Jean
P.S. I appreciate you rooting for me, Kid.
This message has been edited by Jean150 on Jul 5, 2006 9:55 PM
My chiropractor, nutritionist and doctor all seem to think splenda is safe. I guess it really is the best of the worst alternatives. I only drink a diet pop a day so I don't worry about it much. The rest of the time I am filling up on my water
UGh if we started analyzing all our food I would stop eating hehe!
This message has been edited by Canuck_Kid on Jul 5, 2006 10:39 PM
According to many studies, here in the USA the biggest culprit in adding unwanted sugar to our diet is food that contains high fructose corn syrup. It is in everything here from bread to soda. No wonder Americans are so overweight! But the worst part of it, is that it has been found to be addictive....so you CRAVE it and eat more or drink more sugary liquids.
When I was in Italy I drank very little soda...didnt even crave it. So I looked at the nutritional information and to my amazement there was no high fructose corn syrup in it! WOW! Then some one told me that they limit it's use in Europe. Smart move...why dont we do that here? Because if you dont carve it you will BUY less. So it comes down to the allmight dollar once again. What a shame
Perrier is always good. Or even just club soda and lime or lemon.
Did you know that some fast food restaurants, such as McDonalds and Wendy's, will give you soda water for free? Ya get the fizz without the sugar. It all depends on the individual franchise.
I switched to diet soft drinks almost 30 years ago. I'm addicted to 'em, but only because of the caffeine. Of all people, it was my dentist who recommended the switch, on the theory that sugary drinks contribute mightily to tooth decay...and anything bad for your teeth is probably bad for the rest of you.
I do drink Gatorade, which has high-fructose corn syrup in it, but the main reason I drink it is for the electrolytes and sodium on those nasty-hot days at work.
I sometimes will bring a bottle of Gatorade with me to camp for when it is really hot and we are in the boat all day (easy to get dehydrated) and Gatorade is so thirst quenching.
Soda water ick..........lol rather just have plain water with lemon.
Perrier - have to buy a bottle and try it. Last time I had Perrier I was at an very upscale hotty totty restaurant in Florida (and Toronto) and they served it like wine, but charged for it like a wine bottle . At the time I don't remember whether it tasted good or not, but I was also drinking a strawberry daiqari
Kid, Perrier is just soda water. It occurs naturally so it's considered a "premium" product. It has (or had) a certain cachet.
I guess the whole issue of weight management comes down to two things. One, your metabolism. Metabolism can be jacked up artificially by stimulants (see: caffeine) or naturally by burning calories the old-fashioned way...hard work and exercise. Some part of it's genetic, too.
The other part is having a healthy, non-obsessive relationship with food. You're right on when you talk about deprivation diets doing more harm than good. Wanting what you haven't got (and aren't allowed) will set up failure eventually.
As soon as I stopped dieting and started concentrating daily on what I ate and what I would eat to offset something I ate that wasn't so healthy - I started losing weight. It is a VERY slow process, but slow is healthy and will ensure it won't come back.
Now about the metabolism being boosted by caffeine - Hmmmmmm did not know that! Maybe I should develop a liking for coffee black tho (ick!)
Most people are amazed at the fact that my food intake is similar to theirs and they weigh half as much. It is a bit of genetics on my part (mom is same size as me) and it is also the dreaded thyroid. I always joke that my metabolism actually works in reverse LOL. It is so slow sometimes I think it does Oh well, as my grandmother would say "you live with what the good Lord dealt you".
I am totally guilty of emotional eating though. I had a little minor surgery the other day, and right after I went straight to DQ and got a strawberry shortcake. I guess I am eating nothing but salad and watermelon this weekend
Ohhhh and this weekend I will turn hotty toitty and pour Perrier into a wine glass and try it out just to say I have.
Have a great weekend folks!!!! It is a pressure cooker here - hot hot hot! (32 celsius yesterday)
Sorry, nothing new, I drank a lot of water while in Italy. The funny thing was that everyone wants to give you carbonated water...YUK! Mineral water with mild carbonation like Perrier is one thing, but most of this stuff was like soda water. I didnt care for it. I was wondering if there was some benefit to drinking it, anyone know?
I love Perrier and would buy more if it weren't so darn expensive.
Another "fizzy water" item I buy is La Croix water (sounds French but I betcha it's made on this side of the pond). It comes in cans and bottles, and you can get it with flavoring and just plain, but it has absolutely no sweeteners in it -- natural or synthetic.
I got my kids started on soda water when they were toddlers. Back then they thought it was "pop" so that was great. I didn't have to limit their intake. They still ask for it when we go out to dinner sometimes and sometimes the waiters think that's odd.
What else that's good -- mixing soda water with orange juice -- it tastes great and gives you more volume so you ingest less sugar -- lessens the impact on the blood sugar.
Jean
This message has been edited by Jean150 on Jul 7, 2006 10:18 AM This message has been edited by Jean150 on Jul 7, 2006 10:17 AM
Juice is on my list of things to not drink. Way too many calories and carbs. It is much more healthy to actually have the orange than drink the OJ.
My sister only allows her children water, milk or juice. On very special occasions she allows them a diet pop but only the youngest takes her up on it. Their friends all think they are "WEIRD" when they go to birthday parties and politely ask if they could have water instead of syrupy pop! lol
Soda water GAGS me!! I think it goes back to when I was in grade school, we were at Six Flags, I got a GIGANTIC Sprite to take on the bus, we had been there 10 hours and it was at least 90° all day. I took a big ole swig and it was nothing but carbonated water. I couldn't spit it out fast enough! I can't drink tonic water (with or without gin!) either.
I personally am addicted to the Crystal Light pour in packets. . Actually, I buy the Sam's brand, they're $1 less per box, about 20¢ each. They're made for the 16.9 oz. bottles of water. My favorites are lemonade and fruit punch. They are about 5 calories and they are wonderful! My best friend drinks all the fruit tea pour ins and loves them. I have a case of Diet Dr. Pepper in my frig that has been there since before Memorial Day, I'm not a big soda drinker.
Monica
My yesterdays are all boxed up - and neatly put away.
Yes the pour in's are good..............but go back to the conversation about aspartame and artifical sweetners. I drink alot of them, but apparently they aren't good for you either.
I love the Crystal Light drink mixes too! I have lost almost 8 lbs in the last few weeks. Gotta a ways to go but I am going to do it! I was able to fit into one of my smaller size jeans on Monday. Yahoo!! I now look forward to eating a salad everyday for a snack. No more candy bars for me! I am finally feeling happy these days! Thank God! Two years of being sad is way too much!
. At the time I don't remember whether it tasted good or not, but I was also drinking a strawberry daiqari 