whitejessamine

Great idea, thanks!

My "treat" drink, while not 100% zero cal is very low, but for whatever reason, I just love it. Perrier. With lime juice. NOT lime flavored Perrier. I buy the plain stuff, chill it, and add about 1 Tbsp of lime juice to a 16 oz bottle. I saw on someone's food blog recently where she puts Perrier in a blender with…

Today (well, almost--it was 15 minutes to midnight) I reevaluated my strategy. I decided a slower, easier diet I could stick to would be more effective than a strict one I only followed two or three times a week. I changed my diet rules accordingly, and so far I am sticking to it (that's 14 hours now without cheating!). I…

I have always loved this story! Thanks!

Congratulations! I know what you're dealing with. While I was a 34B thin, and am now a 40G, my poor daughter had the same story as you. She's never been more than a little overweight, but she currently wears a 34HH. It's a pain shopping for her, and we all tease her about it constantly, but I know it would be a huge relief…

This is what I did. My new scale added 5 lbs, but I knew I had lost 20, so I just changed my weight entries, adding 5 to each, so it would reflect both the weight I'd lost AND what I actually weigh. I couldn't bear to lose credit for those 5 lbs!

For those of us who fluctuate frequently like that, I found a tip years ago that is pretty helpful. Weigh yourself every day, but remember that that weight DOESN'T COUNT. Instead, once a week, take a 7 day average. As long as the average is going down, you're on the right track. Also, if you bloat a lot during THAT week,…

Don't put her on a "diet." Instead, give her better food choices. Fish, chicken, veggies in unlimited amounts. Whole grains instead of white bread and potatoes. Fruits instead of candy. No soda. Limit juice. Encourage her to be more physically active--go for walks together. As a kid, my best memories of bonding with my…

Sounds like I'm typical. I don't log spices, cooking spray, sugar-free chewing gum, vitamins...I also skip extracts (like vanilla) because in my head, they're in the spice category, and if I make something with a lot of no-calorie sweetener, I don't bother with that. For instance, I like to use vanilla and xylitol in…

I think (I'm not a doctor, so this does not come with a guarantee) that this is because estrogen is stored in fatty tissue. That means, as you burn fat, that estrogen is released into your bloodstream, raising your overall estrogen level. Once you stop losing weight, it should smooth out again, probably at a more…

It doesn't take a scale to see results. Measure yourself. If you don't own a tape measure, use a piece of non-stretchy string and mark your current waist and hips. In a couple weeks, try again, and see the space between the mark and where it's moved to. Also, pay attention to how you feel and how your clothes fit. Good…

Mine was two weight-connected near-death experiences only six months apart. First I had a ministroke. Six months later, four of the six major veins in my right calf had clots. At that point I weighed 100 lbs more than I had nine months pregnant with a nine pound baby. I realized I had to change if I wanted to get better.…

Why's it gotta be TOM? That's my husband's name...

"You've been doing so good. One dessert/meal/day/weekend off won't hurt!"

Yes, you can do that. It's the average that really matters. A lot of people cycle that way on purpose, in order to prevent their metabolism from adapting to a lower-calorie diet. Your weekly average is more important than every day individually.

Yeah, most zero calorie foods aren't really. They don't have to be, because of the federal laws about rounding. It doesn't mean you can't use them, just use them sparingly, and if you plateau, it's always a good idea to reevaluate how much "zero calorie" stuff you're going through in a day...thanks for sharing the link!

I like the cheat sheet, but I LOVE the picture on your ticker! Awesome!

All things in moderation--including moderation. That being said, if there are foods where you find you lose your self-control once you start, and you simply CANNOT limit yourself to reasonable portions of those foods--trigger foods, if you will--I recommend putting those on the "NO" list. Not because the foods themselves…

Yeah, no. Creepy-weird. One of my dad's novels has sentient cows that want to be eaten. I always found the concept very off-putting. I would be thrilled if bacon grew on trees instead of pigs.

Don't know if this will be useful or helpful information, but studies have shown that people with poor body esteem often do not see themselves accurately when they look in the mirror--their minds stack on all the flaws they are afraid might be there. It is especially common in people with eating disorders, but it is not at…

"I don't need to be judged on what I eat or don't eat. For now, I am doing the best I can." For me, that's where it stands. We don't know where other people are coming from, or how their habits now compare to their habits before. Certainly, feel free not to comment, but try not to judge another person's habits based on…

LOL That is WONDERFUL! Thanks for sharing your victory with us.

My favorite way to cook any kind of white fish is to pan fry it in about a tablespoon of lime juice and then top it with pico de gallo (preferably homemade, but some store-bought varieties are pretty good, too). Quick, easy to make, and delicious!

Are you religious? Because if so, this is the right time to step back, put it in God's hands, and just pray for him. No amount of manipulation (and face it, that's what you're really trying to do) is going to change people--even if it works, it's only surface deep. True change comes from within. The only person you have…

For me, it's very erratic. If I can manage to focus on what's not there anymore, I feel pretty good about it. But as long as I look in the mirror in search of flaws, I will always find them. Even in my skinny days, when I weighed 107 lbs, I thought I was fat, because I focused on the features I didn't like.

That's wonderful! I can't wait to get there myself! So happy for you...

Until you get a food scale, and if you don't click on the link someone posted, 4 oz. of meat is about the size of a deck of cards, or the palm of a "normal" sized woman's hand (which is to say, smaller than a man's hand).

Probably. When I was thin, I was always cold. Now I'm 100 lbs overweight and always hot. It wouldn't hurt to get your thyroid checked just in case, but remember that fat is an insulator. That's why arctic and marine mammals have so much of it. The more you have, the more easily your body retains its heat. On the plus side,…

I know exactly how you feel! What I find works best for me is to give myself permission to wallow and eat poorly for a set amount of time: a meal, a day, until my period's over--whatever. Once that time's elapsed, I refuse to feel guilty for those poor choices and just start fresh. I don't look at it as a failure, but a…

I know exactly how you feel. Unfortunately, no one can take control of your life and your eating habits but you. Sometimes it feels like you have no control, but only when you choose to give up that control. Start small. Make better choices a little at a time...every little bit helps, and something is way better than…