[The Little Bowl] July was a Bust, August Holds Promise

[Guest guest]

July was a total bust. I am quite disappointed in the whole thing, even though I do think some parts of it was a valuable lesson. I guess it is up to me to make the lessons have value and not get so easily forgotten. This morning, I feel awful. My joints are tender, my wedding ring is tight, my fingers are swollen and my digestion is completely upside down. Lets see why: Yesterday and the day before, there was a slice of toast for breakfast, with cheese. I have now had bread for 2 days in a row. It takes two days for it to affect my body. I could have just had cheese. My son in law fixed onion rings, tator tots and corndogs for lunch. My daughter fixed hamburgers (fab teriyaki ones on the grill) but they were served on a bun, with pasta salad, onion rings and fries. Ouch, now my tummy is protesting big time by the time I went to bed. I could have just eaten the burger and the fresh tomato and lettuce. That is what I would have done before my sliding into this territory. I can feel the swelling as it is happening! I have eaten small at my meals and had hoped that the low volume would have offset the carby foods, but nope. I will have to take a personal stand on this and eat what I can of what is served, but leave the bread and carbs behind. Ouch. Nothing good can come of this direction I am taking. People always wonder how a person can lose a lot of weight and gain it back. It is soooooo easy. A little unintentional slip here and there, an intentional indulgence and the bad days just somehow start moving closer together until the days that one eats more than needed outnumber the days one eats less than needed. It is hardly noticeable. Worst of all are the justifications that start rearing their heads, the awful lies and the desperation to hammer down the rising panic of losing control. “Just this one last time and I will be back on plan tomorrow!†Oh how it rings so well in the ears, It seems so plausible until one realizes that the same is being said the next day and the next… Carbs beget carbs, sugar begets sugar. There seems to be no end to the siren call. I hate how it affects my body and my thinking. I would have refused to eat this stuff only a month ago, and her I am saying “sure I’ll have some†out of politeness for being in someone else’s home. But that is not the whole truth is it? Because my increased calories and carbs were not just in the last two days of being in Hawaii, they have been increasing all month! Click to enlarge – Calories in and differences Averages Over on percentages It is now August. With being here in Hawaii, my eating could easily fall to pieces and I could excuse it all away. Instead, I will be working very hard to get back to the discipline. I remember when I started this diet in September of last year, NOTHING could break my determination. I want that back. At least my grandsons are insisting on taking walks everyday. They have an electronic game where one has to take a walk (part of the game system is a pedometer) in order to progress to the next level. So they are dragging me along. Yesterday: --

Posted By elisaannh to The Little Bowl at 8/01/2010 08:51:00 AM

[Guest guest]

>This morning, I feel awful. My joints are tender, my wedding ring is

tight, my fingers are swollen and my digestion is completely upside

down. Lets see why:

Hopefully you're getting back on track now. You're going to be there a

month so you *have* to get back in the healthy diet mind-set.

>That is what I would

have done before my sliding into this territory.

You were probably still in the giddy " I'm surrounded by family - let's

celebrate " mode. That's enough of that now. (I'm a few days and over 70

posts behind so I'm assuming you're doing better now).

>I can feel the swelling as it is happening! I have eaten small at my

meals and had hoped that the low volume would have offset the carby

Also all the sodium in those foods! The tater tots alone probably had a

day's worth of sodium.

>People always wonder how a person can lose a lot of weight and gain it

back. It is soooooo easy. A little unintentional slip here and there,

You don't even need a slip. Once the body gets used to a lower amount of

food coming in the metabolism slows down to compensate for it. The body

*wants* to stay where it is, not shed pounds. Lack of food, loss of

weight signifies famine and our DNA hasn't caught up to the fact that we

don't want to keep all of the food in storage in the fat cells. Anyway,

so now the metabolism is slowed down and even though we're still eating

the same lower amount of calories - whether it's carbs, protein or fat -

we start to regain the lost weight. To counteract that we have to either

eat even less (And you were already down to under 1000 calories - low

enough to probably have a shortage of some necessary vitmamins and

minerals, which my trigger cravings) or exercise more to burn off what

we're already taking in.

I know when I first " go back " onto a weight loss diet I can get away

with eating between 1200 and 1400 calories and lose about a pound a

month. Once my body gets used to that amount, after 6 weeks or so, I

have to drop down to 1000 - 1200 before I'll lose anything. A few more

months and I even start to gain on that low amount of food. That's about

where I am now, especially since the injuries keeping me from exercising

as much as I was when eating 1200 - 1400 and with a slower thyroid. I

really can't eat any less - I'm already having low blood sugar episodes

and wake up during the night with hunger pains!

Anyhow, back to your post (and sorry for the rant). . .

> Worst of

all are the justifications that start rearing their heads, the awful

lies and the desperation to hammer down the rising panic of losing

control.

Can you talk with your daughter about maybe letting you make your own

meals and not eating what she or your s-i-l cook? That might be best for

you, although it does mean more work for you. Let the other grandkids

see some healthy food in the house for a change, too. Don't be surprised

if the boys ask to sample some the stuff you cook, too. I'm amazed at

how many little kids around here prefer raw broccoli, carrots and

cauliflower to store-bought junk food. It helped that their parents gave

them the veggies and fruit instead of cookies and candy when younger and

that the schools around here have banned junk food in snacks and lunches

form home.

> I remember when I

started this diet in September of last year, NOTHING could break my

determination. I want that back.

You sound like a strong individual. You *will* get back on plan.

>At least my grandsons are insisting on taking walks everyday. They have

an electronic game where one has to take a walk (part of the game

system is a pedometer) in order to progress to the next level. So they

are dragging me along.

There ya go! Already you probably got more exercise these past few days

than all those months in the truck! LOL

Sue in NJ

trying to catch up