People just don't get it

Life is to short not to enjoy yourself once in a while you can go and split a meal. It may only be me but you can't live your life wanting and never having. You can have your cake and eat it to just make it fit in to your day Good luck please enjoy your life you only get 1. You can try a vegetarian meal check out the menu and nutrition facts online before you go that way you can plan your day. Enjoy

I think it will help if you plan a "cheat" meal, thats what I do. My husband and I go out once every two weeks on a friday and have a meal. Its not all the time and I have learned that I feel better if i make better food choices, I also work out harder the next day. This helps me from craving "dinner" food all the time.

I can't keep cookies in my house, I am like you, all of them or none.

Stay on the straight and narrow, that's my advice. Whenever I have anything tempting in my face, I eat it all, I can't control it. If I buy wheat thins at the store for "snacking", I eat the entire box. So I just don't buy food that I'm going to be tempted by.

I totally get it. My single girlfriends tell me to go out with them, but they don't realize girl's night out=5 beers at least. That's 600 calories, stomach swelling, water retention, hangover and no exercise next day... Catastrophic!

And they tell me I have to have fun. I WILL HAVE FUN WHEN I REACH MY GOAL WEIGHT then it's just keeping it.
ITS NOT BEEN FUN FOR 10 YEARS, why would one night be more important than FINALLY LIVING??

Don't let that get you, anxiety is around us, waiting for us to slip! Be faster!! LOL.

This is an awesome article my dad sent me a couple years ago. Basically it talks about why 'one cookie' turns into 'all the cookies'. I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad: this just made alot of sense when I read it and it helped me resist the next time.

My husband and I used to go out ALL the time. We went out twice this weekend because a friend was in from out of town. Once I ordered a Boca burger and the second time I ate before we left home and just drank iced tea. It doesn't have to be awkward and you don't have to be a shut-in: just keep your long-term goal in mind. And maybe pass this article along to your friend and she won't try to push you into anything next time



"One Meal to Good (or Bad) Health
Everyone knows a good diet is important for long-term well-being. But a new study shows that it's also crucial for good health today
By LAURA BLUE


Posted Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008 Want to know how many cheeseburgers you'd have to eat before they start doing damage to your body? The answer, according to a review of new dietary research, is just one. Just one high-fat, high-sugar meal can trigger a biochemical cascade, causing inflammation of blood vessels and immediate, detrimental changes to the nervous system, according to the paper, published this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. And just one healthy meal helps return your body to its optimal state. "Your health and vigor, at a very basic level, are as good as your last meal," says lead author James O'Keefe, head of preventive cardiology at the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo.

Here's how it works. When you eat, your body breaks down the food into a stream of nutrients, including glucose (sugar), lipids (fats), and amino acids (the building blocks of protein). If your meal happens to be junk food — say, a processed bun with a cheap beef patty, French fries and a Coke — the rush of sugar causes something called "post-prandial hyperglycemia": a big spike in blood-sugar levels. Poor diet in the long-term leads to hypertension and buildup of gunk in blood vessels that increases heart-attack risk. But there are short-term effects too. "People don't understand this, even most physicians," says O'Keefe. Tissue becomes inflamed, just as it does when infected. Blood vessels constrict. Free radicals, unstable molecules that cause cell damage and are thought to contribute to chronic disease and aging, are generated. The body's stress response has a bigger effect on blood pressure, raising it higher than normal. People may notice they feel crummy a few hours after eating junk food. And the sudden surge and drop in insulin — the hormone that spurs your body to store energy — also leaves them feeling hungry again soon after eating, despite having had plenty of calories.

The good news is that these blood-sugar spikes and crashes are easy to regulate. Blood sugar will rise and fall quickly if, for example, a person eats an easily digested meal of only white bread. Eat some vinegar with the bread, however, and the impact is dampened: The vinegar slows digestion, helping to keep blood-sugar levels more even. The same thing happens if a person takes his bread with nuts or with a glass of wine. (The dampening effect of alcohol reverses after more than a couple units, which may help to explain why moderate drinking, but not heavy drinking, is associated with long life.) The common denominator of all these slow-release foods, says O'Keefe, is a generally high nutritive value with low calories. The healthy foods are exactly the ones you would expect, all that stuff your mom (and your doctor) told you to eat: lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, lean proteins like fish and legumes, and high-fiber whole grains. All of them blunt the post-prandial spike. "To some degree it kind of highlights why some dietary components are healthy for you," says O'Keefe.

Regardless of its benefits, healthy food can leave you feeling unsatisfied if you're used to eating junk. Junk food distorts a person's hormonal profile, says O'Keefe. Note, for example, the previously mentioned drop in insulin that leaves a person hungry not long after eating a heavy meal. Studies suggest that fatty, sugary foods promote excretion of the stress hormone cortisol, which seems to further stimulate appetite for calorie-dense foods. And the big post-meal spikes in blood sugar are more likely in people who don't exercise or those who carry weight around their abdomen. All of it makes it tough for people to stop eating junk food once they're in the habit. "The more you eat it the more you crave it. It becomes a vicious cycle," says O'Keefe. The solution? "I tell people they should get a home glucose monitor," he says. Then you can see immediately what your meals are doing to your body. It may help you stick to your plan to eat well, too. "You can improve your health, basically, from hour to hour," he says. "

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First of all, sounds like your friend just wants to spend some time with you..a great time to celebrate your accomplishments and possibly inspire..There is no doubt your fears and lack of courage from restraining yourself from making poor choices..But instead of setting yourself up with doubting thought..with your waitress experience..you should be able to swing it!!
Design before hand exactly what you will eat..You may spend an entire day online or on the phone finding a restaurant that can cater to your needs..but you need to get out occassionally...Call and ask before hand if they have red wine vinegar (for salad dressing) if not..take your own..(I love the tiny lil tupperware salad dressing 2Tbsp serv. thingy I have.) I tried out a COOL BBQ restaurant recently while OOT with my boyfriend..instead of getting the crepes I had planned for..on we went for BBQ at his request....and TURKEY ROASTED BBQ came w 2 sides..chose w/SLAW and plain salad, UNtea..I did the math...turns out it was 1200 calories..I was full 1/3 of the way so boxed up 2/3 and brought it home for dinner for my son and I.

If u have iphone..try UrbanSpoon..takes a lil time..but you can adjust your search and lock in for vegetarian, seafood, and so on!!! But whatever your tool...you must SEARCH for the INFO.. Good luck!!

I was just going to post about the same thing!!! My family just doesn't get it!! I was talking to my mom about how fast the weekend went and how I never seem to get everything done, when she pops off "well all you do is go to the gym and take forever in the kitchen weighing this and measuring that". My jaw dropped. Both of my parents are morbidly obese. My mom had gastric bypass, yet only managed to lose less than 100lbs (she was almost 400lbs at surgery time). They both eat tons of chips, candy, etc. and have gym memberships that have been used twice in 4 years.

It honestly sounds like she's jealous of your dedication. I ragged on my brother for buying diet soda and not splurging with me before I started on this go round. He had lost 120 pounds and he was skinny for the first time in his life. He's 8-9" taller than me and we weighed about the same. I was jealous, plain and simple. I wanted him to eat crap food with me so I didn't feel like a fatty eating it in front of him.

It's interesting you say that. When I first started this program a year ago, I honestly thought the same thing. My mom knew I didn't want to eat unhealthy foods, yet she would bring home on a daily basis Del Taco, Burger King, McD's, etc. And, she would get really upset when I told her I didn't want any. Also, she would pressure me to eat half of whatever she brought home. Her saying was/still is "it's only half of the burger, it's not that bad". But half of that burger is 250 calories. That's almost a meal!!! I have tried, tried, tried to motivate my mom to just try some healthy foods or even take a walk with the dog with me, but all I get are excuses.

Last Christmas she begged me to find the original Weight Watchers book from the 1970s so she could start an eating plan. So thanks to Amazon.com, I found it, bought it, and even printed up the entire menu/point system on color-coded Excel spreadsheets so she could easily add points. It was never used......

I just hate being made to feel bad because I care about my body (and her's too). With the severity of my Rheumatoid Arthritis, I was told I would be in a wheelchair by 25yo. I'm 31 and still fighting. Now, I am facing two surgeries this year. I enjoy going to the gym, as it is my way of telling my body, "You will not beat me, I'm in charge". All I want is some support.