Hello everyone! It has been a over a month since I visited this forum. I have been struggling a lot, and I didn't feel ready to share all of that on this forum. So I just stayed away. But things are getting better now. I will try to include some important points from my previous few weeks.
From July 3rd until now, I have had a really hard time with my diet. It started with a long weekend which included lots of going out to eat with in-laws. Then all of last week I was on a business trip and I wasn't able to prepare any of my own meals or get much exercise. So I have pretty much put my diet on the back burner. During this time I didn't want to weigh myself because I was afraid of how much I was gaining. So now I am back to my regular schedule. And I started my regime again yesterday. One positive change that I noticed is that even though I was not able to stick to my diet, I had a lot more control over the quantity that I ate. I was able to stop eating before I was too full. Well I checked my weight this morning, and it was 241, which is better than I expected. My current goal is 210, and I want to reach that weight by 8/25/15. It seems too extreme when I think about it, but I really think I can do this.
I tried to think what I could have done better until now. I really don't want to go through another experience like that again. It was painful to be out of control. One point that I have decided to change is that I will not drink any more coffee. The reason is that coffee seems to be the last thing connecting me to my previous relationship with food. I think that the main purpose of this diet is to change my relationship with food. In essence I want to stop abusing food. But I think that drinking coffee has provided a way for me to not really stand alone because I am always dependent of getting coffee. Also it is the least healthy part of my diet, and I think that it is really slowing my progress. It's not coffee alone that is the problem. I always put cream and sugar in my coffee, and that is probably the part that is worst for me. But I don't seem to be able to drink coffee without adding cream and sugar. So my solution is to just stop drinking it.
Also I want to drink plenty of water and green tea. Green tea does not provide that same comfort that coffee does, but it does give me that boost in energy, and I can drink it straight, without any cream or sugar.
I really missed eating my healthy, delicious foods. They are less flavorful, but so much more satisfying and wholesome.