Living the Lifestyle ~ Tuesday, February 5th, 2019

gadgetgirlIL

We meet here to explore, share, celebrate and (sometimes) agonize over how we do (or don't) incorporate weight loss guidelines into our daily lives. "It's a lifestyle, not a diet" is easily and often said, but sometimes not so simply put into practice.

This is a thread for everyone. If you're new to GoaD, or to weight loss, your questions and comments are always welcome. If you're maintaining, or a long-term loser, your thoughts on the topic may be just what someone else needs to hear. If you're reading this, join in the discussion!

Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Thread starters for February are below:

Monday - imastar2 (Derrick)
Tuesday - gadgetgirlIL (Regina)
Wednesday - minimyzeme (Kim)
Thursday - misterhub (Greg)
Friday - jerdtrmndone (Jerry)

Today's Topic: What aren’t you willing to give up forever?

Last week we had a discussion entitled “Give something(s) up forever?”. Let's take a different look - 

what things are simply not negotiable? This doesn’t have to be limited to foods, but can include other habits that you perceive as healthy but that others may consider dysfunctional.

gadgetgirlIL

I've seen much debate about daily weighing over my time on various weight loss boards. Stepping on the scale every day is data for me. I know what happens when I avoid the scale. I know some may consider this an obsessive behavior, but that is their opinion, not mine.

I've also seen discussions about Intuitive Eating, that I shouldn't be obsessed with tracking my calories. Rather I should just rely on my body's signals. Well, I can tell you that after a lifetime of obesity, my fuel gauge is broken. Thus I track every day. I guesstimate when necessary about how much of a particular food item I have eaten.

And you will pry chocolate out of my cold, dead hands! Simply not negotiable to give up my daily treat.

steve0mania

I'm with gadgetgirlIL on the daily weighing: I think it's helpful. I actually jot down my weight in my running logbook everyday. It helps to get a sense for how things are changing. And, maybe it helps me to remember that I'm supposed to be running regularly (by pulling out the running logbook!).

Past that, I'm not sure. I keep thinking of food items that I really enjoy, but there's nothing that raises to the "pry it out of my cold dead hands" level. I thought that perhaps wine, or warm challah on Friday night, might be at that level, but if I had to give them up...I'd make due.

Maybe to flip the question slightly, I could not imagine tracking calories/points for the rest of my life. I guess if a doctor told me I had to because of some medical condition, they yeah, I'd do it. But for weight management? No, I'm OK with being "intuitive."

misterhub

I won't "give up" anything. I may choose to modify how I approach wrt whatever it is; but, if I want/want to do something, I will consume/do it. Modification of how I accomplish something is far more easy for me than simply shunning it.

myallforjcbill

I suppose the closest to the "pry it out" level would be good coffee. But frankly, I would likely adjust if it came down to it. It just might be a noisy adjustment. I think as we get older, we get a bit more used to adapting. One could ramble on a philosophically as to how that works. But my coffee will get cold and we can't have that. As much as I love coffee, I drink a lot less of it then I used to and need to watch the caffeine. I don't tolerate too many days in a row of spicy food either. But I have adjusted.

imastar2

Since 2010 I've been weighing daily except when away on trips. Recently just a couple of weeks ago while visiting with my phycotherapist we decided that I would stop weighing daily just to stop focusing on that particular faceit of my weight loss program. Well after 2 weeks I feel like a lost ball in high weeds. It's just not something that's going to be negotiable. So we meet today and I'll be discussing that I just don't think I can separate myself from the daily weighing. So I just don't think I want to give it up.

Some small amount of sweet during the week seems to be non negotiable at this point for me. It doesn't have to be daily but when I did my best weight loss I had 2 Hershey's kisses (44 kcal) and a glass of skim milk (80kcal) total (124 kcal) prior to bed. Lost 100 lbs with that mind set. 🙂

gadgetgirlIL

@myallforjcbill - my father-in-law never completely gave up his cigarettes and booze as he got older. He was probably down to 4 cigarettes a day (he called it "coffee and") when he died at age 95 from natural causes. The booze intake was limited to nice meals out at a restaurant. My understanding from my DH is that when he was younger he used to head to the basement with a bottle of booze and brood. Those memories my DH has keeps him from indulging much in alcohol.

Al_Howard

Forever?? Probably my beer, and good ice cream. Both of which I control pretty well, relegating them to weekends.

podkey

I don't think of what I do as intuitive eating but more like WW plan memorized eating. I don't journal and write it down but I still eat the same and the same amounts by and large. I don't rely on my body's signals at all for portion control but more measuring in some fashion.
Call me obsessed if ya like but I too weigh daily (but look at the trend and not the instantaneous read out).

Jerdtrmndone

I don't think food related I would gave up anything cut back yes. Probably would not give up my tracking. This is the only thing that keeps me from way over eating.

minimyzeme

...what things are simply not negotiable?

I don't know that there's anything that wouldn't be negotiable with the exception of going outside. I can't quite fathom how that would compute so it's a hard concept for me to wrap my head around. However, if for some reason, that were the limiting factor, I would abandon my weight management plan.

I don't think I'd necessarily balloon up to my previous size. Obviously, I've learned a lot along the way here, but I do acknowledge and appreciate what Charlie told me a few years ago: I'm not cured. I'm just a fat guy in remission...