Hello from Natalie

[Natalie2]

I have been waiting for a place like this for a long time.

I am in my mid thirties and I have been watching my weight all my life. I had a very big grandma and she would always tell me that some day I would look like her. This has caused me to constantly watch my weight an being afraid of getting the way she was. It didn't help that through my teenage years all the women (then in their mid-thirties) reminded me that being my size (5'2") I would have to be very careful not to get fat. For years I refused to eat Pasta, Pizza or any other foods that were known to help 'increase' weight. I went as far as making it a sport to see how little I could eat. At age 24 I weighed 92lbs (I went from 117 to 92 within approx. 6 month). I was proud to fit in a pair of pants I had bought when I was 16. Lucky enough I caught myself just in time - by then I couldn't even eat one apple at once.
I asked my mother to sit down with me everyday and basically practice eating. At the beginning it took over an hour to eat one slice of bread. Within the next six months I gained the weight back that I had lost. I moved away to college and gained another 10lbs. At now 5'4" I weigh 125lbs and I am happy. But I still watch what I eat and still have that voice in my head that tells me "one day you will look just like me".
The reason I signed up for this forum is not because I want to lose weight but because weight is a very important part of my life and I would like to share everything I know, however little it may be and help other people not to go where I have been.

 

[Lisa3]

Hello Natalie,

welcome to the forum.
sounds like you managed to keep your weight in check - with the help of others, though it probably was scary at times. Sounds like you could never really enjoy food, but I guess the one advantage is that you don't really have to fight to lose some weight, because you never were overweight - I always try to look for the positive -. Thank you for signing up and sharing your experiences.

 

[Natalie2]

thanks Lisa.
Well I sometimes ignore that voice and indulge in icecream (I love icecream), but you are correct, never without a guilty conscience afterwards. I have to really work hard then not to let it bother me too much. Sometimes I have weeks where I don't give it to much thought, but when the scale goes up or the mirror shows a slightly different picture, then I regret that I let it slide for a few weeks. The only thing I don't do is stop eating - I don't ever want to do that again - I just try to cut back on all the extras and make a schedule for eating and only take healthy foods to work.

 

[weezy1]

You're doing great!!!!!

Hey Natalie:

You're doing great for a start.... It's really tough to watch what you eat and especially given the amount of stress most of us have in our daily lives.

My health consultant (he runs the healthfood and sports nutrition store I frequent) says that if you make sure you consume a sufficient amount of protein, your cravings for other (carb intense) foods will be reduced.

Ideally, Frank says that one should be consuming 1 gram of protein for each LB of body weight. He suggested that some proteins are better than others for maintaining weight control. These would include fish, eggs, chicken, beef, certain nuts (almonds) and protein supplements. Cheese is not one of the preferred proteins on Frank's list.

The other point he made was that when consuming breads, pastas, etc. try to ensure you do it BEFORE 2 p.m. this way you burn it up more efficiently.

And of course, drink plenty of fresh, preferably reverse osmosis water. Try to spread the water over the whole day, so that you dont drink too much at once (which then puts more strain on the old Kidneys).

If you drink a cup of tea or coffee, drink a glass of water to compensate.

Getting the additional water in me was really tough - I am a garden design consultant and it is incredibly inconvenient to find restrooms while out on the road.

Keep up the good work, and email if you get feeling on edge about your situation....


Cheers from the Great White Frozen North that is Canada

 

[Natalie2]

HI Weezy,

thanks for the thumbs up - really enjoy it- and for all the advice. There are a few things that I am still doing wrong. If I don't drink enough during the day, I try to make up for it in the evening, but that kind of disturbs my sleep and my husbands even more...Also the cheese - tststs - I like cheese and I thought, well it's a protein, but deep down I knew that it's not the best. It has a lot of fat as well, and not the good one...so there goes my cheating
The pasta before 2.00PM is not really an option, but my husband doesn't like pasta anyway so I only eat it very rarely.
I'd like to ask one question. When you mention tea with coffee, you meant the black tea. I drink a lot of herb tea during the day (Peach, Raspberry, Peppermint etc.) and always count it as water - is that wrong?

 

[weezy1]

Originally posted by Natalie
HI Weezy,

I like cheese and I thought, well it's a protein, but deep down I knew that it's not the best. It has a lot of fat as well, and not the good one...so there goes my cheating

Ricotta cheese I believe is low carb and you can make some awesome meals with it.

The pasta before 2.00PM is not really an option, but my husband doesn't like pasta anyway so I only eat it very rarely. [/B]

Well it's pasta, bread, potatoes before 2pm - the logic being that we burn more off in the start of the day than towards the end.

I'd like to ask one question. When you mention tea with coffee, you meant the black tea. I drink a lot of herb tea during the day (Peach, Raspberry, Peppermint etc.) and always count it as water - is that wrong? [/B]

I don't think it's wrong, personally. Purists will insist that only water counts as water, but I can't see any harm in herb tea as long as they say it's caffein free. Yes I did mean black tea, which also has loads of tannin in it (and to which I am allergic).

I too drink herb tea, notably Fennel and also mint (which I grow) and I also drink green tea, which is a really good digestive aid.

Cheers


Weezy

 

[DbLxTx01]

Natalie,
I am new...just wanted to say hi. I think you are doing great. Reading Ur post did help me 2 understand that the struggle doesn't stop once U are down to Ue ideal weight. Its a life long struggle. My heart goes out to U.I am 5'6", 215lbs.I will struggle to lose this weight...then struggle to maintain it just the same as U. I didn't think about that be4. Like I said I am not very knowlegable person...sounds like Weezy will fix us up on that one but I am here if U would like to talk. Take care Honey ;-)