eating well but too much

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jtolose01
jtolose01 Posts: 7
in Introduce Yourself
I'm one of those told "you don't really need to diet" or "why do you want to lose weight?" The answer is because I weigh too much for my health, my blood fats, blood sugars, etc.
What really disappointed me is that I had lost 30 pounds over a couple of years and gotten near my "ideal" weight and, most importantly, completely changed to a HEALTHY way of eating (like a South Beach), doing especially well in cutting out sweets, since I have a Candida yeast problem.
Then I went through an eight-month period of stress, still eating only GOOD foods, but have started gaining weight again (about 10 of those 30 pounds). Even though my diet is healthy, because of the stress I have just been eating TOO MUCH. I eat unconsciously and for comfort.
One of the biggest helps in the original weight loss was two friends who were trying to do the same thing. We had an agreement to make a private decision on HOW we we would diet, but we set our (individual) weight-loss goals together. Then each week we would "weigh in" and discuss how we were doing, kind of like our own little Weight Watchers club, encouraging each other to exercise, etc.
Now I have returned from weighing weekly to weighing daily. I am trying to watch HOW MUCH I eat (still healthy food, did not quit that). I am still working with my friends. But I have also joined this chat board to help make me more conscious of what I'm doing.
I also know that I have to go back to more exercise, which had slipped away during the period of stress and busyness. I am a HEALTHY seventy-year old, but I'm going to lose that "healthy" part unless I take care of the diet and exercise again.

Replies

  • JanetParks
    JanetParks Posts: 24
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    You know what to do,which in it's self is the biggest battle. Now it is a consious effort every time you go into the kitchen, to ask your self am I hungery or just bored? If it is bordom then it's time to exercize. Maybe post a note on your refrigerator asking your self that question,or on your cupboards. Good luck on your way to being healthy and thinner.
  • stylistchik
    stylistchik Posts: 1,436 Member
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    my favorite trick to control hunger is to first have a cup of tea. If i've just eaten but I still feel hungry, I will have a cup of tea and see if that helps. Sometimes I'm just thirsty or have a sweet craving and tea comes in so many flavors there's bound to be one you'll like!!
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
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    my favorite trick to control hunger is to first have a cup of tea. If i've just eaten but I still feel hungry, I will have a cup of tea and see if that helps. Sometimes I'm just thirsty or have a sweet craving and tea comes in so many flavors there's bound to be one you'll like!!

    Great suggestion!!!
  • ajrowart
    ajrowart Posts: 16
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    I too am an emotional eater. Even though this site helped me curb that bad habit (you think twice about that ice-cream cone when you know it will take three hours of exercise to bur it off) I still look for something to chew when I am nervous so I stock up on sugar free gum. I just started a new job so I am supper stressed. But I find that lately exercise is doing more to calm me than food. (Food adds stress because I know the consequences.) I also picked up writing again. No not the "my Dear Diary" type of writing. I write letters to my friends, real live honest to goodness letter. (The kind you stuff in an envelope and put a stamp on.) Writing as an activity helps because I put my worries on the page and when I read it to edit, I notice that the things I describe are not as bad as I might make them out to be. If I don’t have time to write, or draw or play the guitar, I use the old get rid of stage fright trick my theater teacher thought. Take three deeeeeep breaths, pull the air in through your nose and let it out of your mouth. This actually makes your body produce chemical that counteracts adrenalin and stops the stress hormone from circulating. I am usually much calmer after three deep breaths, you might need more. That is what works for me try it maybe it will help you.

    It will be all right in the end.
    Agnes
    :drinker: :flowerforyou:
  • Channing
    Channing Posts: 617 Member
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    You're story sounds SO MUCH like mine! Over the last few years I lost around 30 pounds on the South Beach plan and it really taught me about food, but I gained some of it back last winter.

    I joined MFP this Spring and was really surprised at how many calories I'd been eating. For example nuts are allowed on the South Beach diet, but I was eating WAY too many. I still eat them but in moderation, and when they fit into my daily calorie intake.

    I've lost all the weight I gained back, and now I'm working on those last stubborn 10-15 pounds to reach my ideal weight!

    This website will get you there! It's such a great tool, and everyone here will be motivating you all the way. Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • jtolose01
    jtolose01 Posts: 7
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    I, the new one, have read everybody's replies to my introduction, and I thank you. I like the suggestions given about the tea, the exercise instead of boredom, the three deep breaths and, for whoever it was, about eating too many nuts! Yes, that's me, too!. Thanks to all of you. I'll be straying over to the various forum topics now.

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