purplesachi (Violet)

[DonRocks]

14 pounds to go.

[purplesachi]

14 pounds to go.

ok. i guess i'm outing myself, though, i've only met a few people so i guess that's not really 'outing', and you could probably guess that secret agent violet is, in fact, purplesachi.

in one week i've lost one lb. i semi-lost control this weekend (peking duck, salt baked squid, pan fried noodles at sang kee in philadelphia) but i'm hoping to get back on track.

13 lbs to go!

[porcupine]

in one week i've lost one lb.

One pund in one week is a good start and a sustainable rate, so feel good about it.

[DanielK]

in one week i've lost one lb. i semi-lost control this weekend (peking duck, salt baked squid, pan fried noodles at sang kee in philadelphia) but i'm hoping to get back on track.

You could have done a lot worse at Sang Kee!

If you completely deny yourself the things that you like, that's the prescription for 1) bingeing, and 2) gaining the weight right back when you revert to your previous diet. Portion control and allowing yourself to have "bad" things that you like on occasion is the way to go.

[purplesachi]

You could have done a lot worse at Sang Kee!

haha. the thing about it, is that i neglected to mention the other things we ordered at sang kee: crispy softshell crab in 5 spice dressing, pork fried dumplings, shrimp dumpling soup, baby bok choy in garlic sauce, roasted duck, chicken and pork, beef&broccoli, fried rice, beef&eggplant, and bubble tea.

there were 10 of us, so it wasn't too bad. but i agree. i'm not trying to stop eating things i like to eat, but trying to figure out what 1 serving size of all those items i previously mentioned was a little hard, and i kind of gave up towards the middle of the meal.

that said, i really appreciate advice and encouragement during these few months where i'm trying to change my eating lifestyle, not just going on a diet!

[purplesachi]

ugh. i backslided and went on an eating rampage over the weekend and now i'm back to where i started (weight-wise). (large portions, snacking)

it's depressing to me but i'm trying to get back on track. before i started this challenge, i was telling myself that i would be happy to even lose 5-10 lbs, even though that wasn't my 10% goal. now i don't feel like i can even make that goal. and being depressed about the whole thing doesn't really help me either.

during the week i am pretty regimented with my schedule and what i eat. but come the weekend i get extra lazy and cannot exercise self control. i guess the thing that i need help with most is motivation. when i think of the things that really should motivate me (becoming a healthier person, fitting into old jeans i have, etc.), at the time i think, "YES! that's right! i want to be more healthy! i want to fit into old clothes of mine!" but when really tested, i can't follow through (thus the regressing this weekend).

i'm not sure what it is that will flip the switch in my head that this is my health i am dealing with. i know though, that i haven't yet found the motivation i need to keep going.

ah. i just needed to vent.

[Barbara]

ugh. i backslided and went on an eating rampage over the weekend and now i'm back to where i started (weight-wise). (large portions, snacking)

it's depressing to me but i'm trying to get back on track. before i started this challenge, i was telling myself that i would be happy to even lose 5-10 lbs, even though that wasn't my 10% goal. now i don't feel like i can even make that goal. and being depressed about the whole thing doesn't really help me either.

during the week i am pretty regimented with my schedule and what i eat. but come the weekend i get extra lazy and cannot exercise self control. i guess the thing that i need help with most is motivation. when i think of the things that really should motivate me (becoming a healthier person, fitting into old jeans i have, etc.), at the time i think, "YES! that's right! i want to be more healthy! i want to fit into old clothes of mine!" but when really tested, i can't follow through (thus the regressing this weekend).

i'm not sure what it is that will flip the switch in my head that this is my health i am dealing with. i know though, that i haven't yet found the motivation i need to keep going.

ah. i just needed to vent.

Why don't you try Bilrus' method of watching what you eat 6 days out of the week and give yourself 1 day off to eat what you want?

(And, we are here to listen to you vent!)

[cucas87]

I can relate to the difficulty of keeping it together on the weekend. One thing that has started to help me is to just do some kind of exercise, even some regular walking, because it keeps my mind in a better place. And oh yeah, not keeping ice cream in the house is my number one rule.

[porcupine]

ah. i just needed to vent.

Vent away, then - we're here to support you. Seriously - people posting on my thread and sending personal messages has been incredibly helpful. We care. And cucas87's number one rule is vital for me, too.

[purplesachi]

thanks for everyone's support. the fact the people read this and care really means a lot to me.

i think i did ok for dinner last night: baked chicken thighs (no skin and removed all visible fat) glazed with miso, honey, and lemon. also had sauted baby bok choy and quinoa. and 2 sips of beer.

my portions were correct and i was full afterwards. great!

my own number one rule is no potato chips in the house!!

[smokey]

I'm not sure what it is that will flip the switch in my head that this is my health i am dealing with. i know though, that i haven't yet found the motivation i need to keep going.

ah. i just needed to vent.

You know, I don't want to make this into an alcoholics anonymous type thing, but in my experience I had to hit rock bottom before I found the motivation to make the change necessary to lose weight. Rock bottom is different for everybdy. For me, I had put on roughly 40lbs. over a many year period. I was looking at a photo of myself over Christmas that year and realized that that image of me was really what I looked like. I could no longer claim that it was a bad angle, bad outfit, poor lighting, whatever. I looked like that in every photo I had seen of myself for the past year or two. That's what I looked like day in and day out, and I didn't like it anymore.

I think you've really hit the nail on the head. If you haven't found the motivation *to you* to make changes that will help you lose weight, you're not going to make permanent changes in your eating and exercise. I'm sure you can do it if you decide you want to--good luck!

[purplesachi]

i haven't been posting my results because, well, because i don't really have any. in fact, i have gained 2 pounds. i'm not going to make any excuses, but i have been having stomach issues and i believe this has something to do with it (is that an excuse?).

so in the time that is remaining, i'm going to get back on the horse and try to work hard to get the weight off. i'm not going to be depressed about it. i'm just going to suck it up and deal with it. i'm just glad that there are others out there who are very supportive and also trying to achieve the same goal as myself.

[Anna Blume]

So sorry things have been rough lately!

I may have said this already and its source escapes me, but one thing that makes dieting difficult is the fact that you're constantly thinking about food. One study found that people who increase their physical activity without going on a diet often do better than dieters--who typically gain weight--because they're not obsessing about what they can and cannot eat. Or something to that effect.

I'm sure the problem is compounded for members of this board who are already too preoccupied by the subject of food, except now it's tainted by feelings of deprivation rather than pleasure.

Things that work for me or might help, depending upon what you tend to crave:

1) Walk when performing errands. If that's not practical, but you take the Metro, give yourself enough time to get off one stop too soon.

2) Herbal or green tea. Granted, the cold snap has ended, but infused twigs, seeds and spices in steaming hot water are more satisfying than a bottle of water. You have to sip slowly, so if you have a piece of fruit or chrystallized ginger (very good for soothing stomach; my favorite treat) with it, you'll prolong the snack.

3) Distinguish weekends from weekdays as little as possible when it comes to meals. A different way of saying this would be: treat yourself to something you really enjoy on a regular basis throughout the week so you're not a famished ascetic Monday-Thursday led out of the desert on Friday evening for 2 1/2 days of indulgences you've "earned" for being good the rest of the week.

The ice cream rule means nothing to me this time of year. Come June, this challenge will get harder. For now, baking is limited to cornbread made with lowfat buttermilk and I'll go back to baking an occasional loaf of real bread, too, but no gingerbread, muffins, homemade cookies... I haven't bought a pound of butter in well over a month as a result vs. the 1-2 pounds a week back in December.

I also triple-wrap the one really good chocolate bar I store in an inconvenient location and break off only one square at a time before re-wrapping and storing it again. It helps to have a little something you really like around so you don't feel your life is one big, dry rice cake.