It's all about me

Cym, your planned way of maintaining your current weight sounds like a good one. I've always used daily weighing as a measure. You allow yourself to fluctuate by a few pounds up or down, and if you deviate from that range then its time to hunker down by either eating more (in your case) or eating less (this would definitely be my case). Usually the scale would go way up after a weekend of overeating, so I would eat 3 meals and no snacks for the next 3 or 4 days and it would all balance out.

Also, I noticed that, once your body maintains a certain weight for a period of time, it becomes the body's new set point and the body really tries to stay there so you can follow your natural eating cues. I was amazed when a few years ago I was maintaining my goal weight while eating so much, but my set point thing really seemed to be locked at that weight.
 
This whole look with the big humongous boobs and then the stick thin legs and no ass porn chick type is personally not very attractive
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. It's not my personal idea of sexy either...but then again I have a feeling that you and I are not the target audience:rotflmao:

What I'm aiming for is to (eventually) reach a point where I just naturally, without much mental effort, stay within my caloric range MOST of the time and up/down adjustments are more planned (i.e. specific events) and less random (damn, I ate too much). My dream is that one day, obviously far, far in the future:doh: I won't have to give much thought to my food at all, either the choices I make or the amount, I will just have gotten so used to eating a certain way that it comes "naturally".

edited to add: on reflection though, I'm not sure if that's really an idea....or just an "ideal"...cause I'm going out (dancing yey!) tonight and we're spending the entire afternoon and evening tommorrow on a friends boat...so I'm sitting here now thinking that if I don't drink tonight, I can have a couple of beers tommorrow...and even though I'm sick of it already and want a big ass bowl of fruit, if I stick to protein the rest of the day, I can have sushi tommorrow....so I guess there's alwaysgoing to be a fairly high element of planning involved unless I just stay home 24/7.

Not that I'm whining...but this is one of those days that I just wish I had one of those "I eat and eat but just can't gain a pound" metabolisms!
 
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I believe that your new set point will at some point be totally "set" at your weight and you'll be able to splurge a bit more than you do now and not put on any weight.

Couldn't you just eat less than maintenance 2 days next week so you can have a few drinks both nights? That's a nice way of maintaining your weight because sometimes you get to act - within moderation - like you can do what you want food wise, so long as other days you eat a bit less (which I know you can easily pull off with your dedication).
 
I
believe that your new set point will at some point be totally "set" at your weight and you'll be able to splurge a bit more than you do now and not put on any weight.
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Oh man I hope so...only time is gonna tell, I have never been able to maintain a weight loss before so my body never had any significant time to "adjust" to the new weight for more than a couple of months before the slow creep upwards began. That's why I'm so determined to make it happen this time. I know that you understand (which is why I love this forum) but some days it's a little difficult because most people have this idea that "once gone forever gone" and are really clueless about why I still have to be careful about how much I eat. Not mean, just clueless.

Couldn't you just eat less than maintenance 2 days next week so you can have a few drinks both nights?
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I could...if I were probably anyone but me:mad: That approach has gotten me into trouble...big trouble too many times in the past. I always had the best intentions of what I would do "later"...but then later too often came and those intentions just sorta evaporated....it's my personality flaw. Rather than fight it, I pretty much try to stay proactive (as much as possible) with planned surpluses...

I used to try do the week-end thing like you are able to do...but I wasn't very successful at it. I'd eat way too much all week-end and swear that I would take care of it by being strict all week, but after a couple of days of lots of food, my body would sort of rebel at not getting as much during the week, and after a couple of days of being hungry (I don't do hunger well:drooling: ) I'd just break and never quite make up the excess...then another week-end would roll around...same story, then all the surpluses started to add up.....and before I knew it, instead of just having a couple of days to make up for I'd be looking at having to diet...which I'm very good at putting off...yada, yada, 50/60 pounds heavier going "what the hell happened?"

Seriously, I'm only good at being disciplined "in the moment" and usually before the fact...once the barn door is open...it ain't pretty
 
Cym I'm so happy you slipped right back into control mode and didn't have to fuss with the appetite too much! Also I hope that you have a fantastic time dancing and then going out on the boat. Have fun girl ;) Yeah I need to stay on track basically all the time. But if I let things slide for too long in any area of my life then it becomes nearly impossible to get back. I think this is most applicable w/ diet/exercise, and schoolwork in my case.
 
You certainly know what works for you Cym and that's good. Its important to know how to keep the weight off and recognize that it can so easily come back. Its sad that many others who've been successful at getting the weight off don't get that.

As for the set point, the way it has worked for me (and it could just be me and not the set point at all) is that I actually lose my appetite after about 3 days of overeating. Even though my hunger is up, I'm still feeling full and sick of food at the same time. So there's not much of a struggle to get a deficit, except that I do feel a bit hungry, but again, at the same time I'm feeling disgusted by food to an extent and the appetite is decreased (while the hunger is not, an odd mix eh?). But I feel its not me but rather my set point that is causing these feelings. A way of getting me back to where I'm supposed to be. But the body does allow a few extra pounds to easily creep on when one is not exercising specific diligence on those days when you lose the appetite to go with it and be good and achieve a deficit (which I never used to calculate because I didn't know about calorie deficits/surpluses per se). But if you dont take purposeful actions to listen to your body after a spell of overeating, that new weight a few pounds higher becomes your set point and there goes the downward onward spiral to being way over that low set point. That's why I would just love to get back to the lower weight set point, as it takes work and dedication to stay there, but not nearly as much work as getting back there.

And I must apologize for hijacking your diary and taking seemingly any opportunity to complain about my hair and the salon, the very bane of my existence (but also a source of pride when I come out of there :)).
 
Blancita: oh hell, hijack away...I never even thought that anyway - so no worries. Anyway, I enjoyed your hair taming description 'cause the first thing I did when moving here was find a Dominican hair salon...nobody else has a clue what to do to tame my hair!!

sara: you remind me so much of myself when I was in school. The last semester I was working a full time job and had a crazy, insane course load that included tons of presentations and papers in addition to the normal quizzes, midterms and finals. So, me being me, I made this elaborate chart detailing what I needed to do on a daily basis to keep from getting backlogged....I was soooo proud of that chart...it was all multi-colored on a big piece of pressboard...so I showed it to my then boyfriend and after a couple mins. he looked at me and goes..."Um, baby, when do you plan to eat and sleep?" and sure enough, I had it all broken down in such a way that there was zero time for either:rotflmao: :rotflmao: ...no wonder I was skinny in college!!!!

Fun night...yes indeedy...now I got exactly 15 mins till I have to get ready for the day...I'm just gonna list my Saturday foods since there were really only six different kinds all day:

chicken
spinach
salmon
almonds
cheese
cranberries

and the second and final +protein day hits the dust!!!!! Yay. Crazy excited about the day coming up...I'm a boat 'ho:rotflmao: ...don't own one and will jump at the chance anytime someone says "Wanna come along litle girl?":jump:

Today gets to include sushi (salmon and shrimp) and beer...I made the sushi myself and have to say that despite the pain in the ass (had to get up at 5 am....what do people who actually need sleep do? sometimes it pays to be an insomniac:) ) this is the best, best batch of sticky rice I have ever made and I'm super proud of it.
 
I was just telling Sara how much I love boating. I would definitely call myself a boat ho fo sho. I just haven't been around any boating in so long, before I got pregnant. Its such a beautiful experience, out there in nature but all set up with food, drink and good company. Are you wearing a bikini?

I didn't see any Dominican salons when I was in FL, wondering do they have a lot? Are they well known as being good and cheap for taming hair of different ethnicities as they are here? In the area a few avenues away from me there are literally 2 per block on almost every successive block (though white people haven't really discovered them here). I ask because I'd love to open one when I ever finally move to FL. The ones by us can get packed.
 
Hey boat ho ;) hope you had a great time! LOL and I am slightly different from you in that I make sure I have time to eat...haha I think I spent too much time consuming and less being productive, hence my struggle. However...I am trying to be organized like you are :) I'm coming along slowly.
 
another boat ho here too :) unfortunately wasn't on one this summer yet :( damn i wanna go lol

i never tried sushi btw...
 
Lena: gosh girl, summer is fading fast.....time to get yourself on a boat, raft or canoe....and sushi - really good sushi - I swear it's like food from heaven. Calorific & yummy!

Tom I tried to make it once...just once...with brown rice...and it's just wrong :eek:

Sara: I think being organized is just naturally harder for the creative artistic personality types...whereas you have natural talent...I can't sing, dance or draw a straight line....thank heavens the world needs both types to function

Blancita Few and far between in my neck of the woods...you'd probably make a killing!

Okay, this was a lot of food...but not a lot in the sense of overeating...The day started before 7am and ended close to 3 am...and amazingly enough I had a friggin killer lower body work-out at 9am this morning...and I'm still physically feeling like energy is shooting out my fingertips:jump:

Sunday foods:

fruits: 4-6 daily servings. 1 berry, 1 apple, 1 citrus, the rest chosen from:
apricots, banana, canteloupe, cherries, figs, grapes, papaya, pineapple, prunes, raisins, strawberries, watermelon
other: cranberries

veggies: 6-7 daily servings, 2 dark green leafy, the rest from:
artichokes, avocado, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, califlower, chili pepper, daikon, garlic, ginger, mushrooms, onions, sweet potatoes, squash, tomatoes
additional: hominy & nori

grain/nuts/seeds/legumes: 4-6 daily servings, 1 nut, 1 flax, 1 legume, the rest chosen from:
buckwheat, bulgar, lentils, oats (rolled or bran), pumpkin seeds, rice, walnuts, wheat germ, whole wheat
rice type: sticky sweet rice
wheat type: roll

dairy :1 daily servings chosen from:
yogurt, soy milk, cheese (any type)
cheese type: cheddar
substituted skim milk for soy

meat: 3 daily servings chosen from
chicken, fish, lean beef
fish type: salmon & shrimp
additional: eggs & pork & protein bar

other: 1 daily serving each
olive oil
green or echitacea tea

optional crap (1 serving):
sugar free cookie
rum & diet coke
beer
 
Rats. I was hoping there was a way to do it somehow. I guess the biggest problem is that brown rice just isn't "sticky".
 
Hey Cym,

Looks like all is well and you're still eating such healthy foods! Do you stick mostly to raw foods?
I hope your weekend was good. Mine could have gone a lot better, I think.. I don't think the rant in my journal even begins to cover it all. Lol..


Tom, you can get a brown jasmine rice in places like Whole Foods or Trader Joes. Just cook it according to the usual directions with a little extra water and a little longer (to absorb that water). It helps pull the starches out and becomes very sticky. Yummy!

- Sunny
 
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Hey Va!...yeah, but that 'hard to get just right' part is fun isn't it? I don't make it real often (once every 3 months maybe?), but every time I do I totally get why the food preparation thing in traditional Japanese society was so ritualized and time intensive...and why it's only something I go through the effort to make as perfectly as possible only for people I know are true sushi freaks who will not only enjoy the taste of the finished product, but really, really understand the labor of love that's behind every tiny little precisely beautful little bite...sometimes I'm such a disgusting foodie.:rotflmao:

Sunny: I saw the jasmine rice when I was shopping on Saturday (they actually carry it here in the Walmart Superstore)...I thought about trying it because the color was really beautiful.....I'll defint. have to play around with that in the future...even if I don't like it for the sushi I bet it would make awesome rice buns...damn, now I'm semi-craving a batch!.....of course since the other major component is of the sticky sweet rice is the sugar mixture, it still would sit in the happy catagory (for me) of 'yummy but infrequent treat" rather than a 'healthy staple'.

Oh, on the raw thing...some things almost always raw (fruits)...some things mixed between lightly steamed/grilled or raw (most veggies) and some things I just boil the hell out of (turnip greens).
 
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Cym,
I use the brown jasmine for salads. I cook it up to the slightly sticky texture and then put about 1/2 cup over a bed of mixed baby greens and build my salads over it. Its sticky enough that it doesn't just fall down to the bottom of the bowl when I start mixing the salad up. Plus its super yummy!

Between that and whole wheat couscous, I've been having some delightfully satisfying salads lately.

- Sunny
 
Ya know.. I think the first time I ever tried the brown jasmine, it was from Wal-Mart. I just hit up the bulk bins at Whole Foods now since its so cheap to buy that way. Plus walmart is about an hour from here.


- Sunny
 
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