's motd Monday July 5, 2010

[Guest guest]

BUT I DON'T EAT THAT MUCH!

Monday, 05 July 2010

Oh yes, it's a line I see oh-so-often in my E-mail. I hear it from men, from women and even from teens. In fact, I received an E-mail just the other day from a lady that read like this:", I'm at my heaviest weight ever! I've reached 244 pounds and I'm so upset about it. I'm at my wit's end about what to do. I've tried just about everything to lose weight. The really frustrating part of my situation is that I don't think I eat that much. So I'm confused about why I weigh so much!"

Now, let's stop right there. Like I told you, that's a line I see a lot in my mail. But in the case of this lady and, in the case of a whole lot of other people, my question is this: If you're 50, 100 or more pounds overweight, you didn't gain the weight from eating asparagus spears, did you? I'd say it's time to be a lot more honest with yourself about how many calories you're consuming each day.After reading her E-mail, I called the lady who sent it. We talked about her weight and, even more importantly, we talked about how much she eats everyday. So I asked her, just what she'd eaten the day before.She told me that for breakfast the morning before, she'd two slices of whole wheat toast, a small omelet and a cup of coffee topped off with Coffemate. For lunch, she'd had a turkey sandwich, a few chip and a serving of potato salad. For dinner that night, she had two pork chops, some mashed potatoes, a dinner roll and a glass of iced tea.After getting that report, I told her to search her mind and recall if she'd eaten anything else all day. Well, come to find out, she remembered that she also had a few cookies at work. She'd also stopped on the way home from work and picked up a candy bar and a Diet Coke. And after dinner, she'd snacked from a big bag of Doritos.

Then I asked if she ever journaled the foods she'd eaten during a typical day. That way, she would have a more accurate count of just how many calories she'd eaten. Her answer was no. We then discussed all she'd eaten the day before, (as I did a little calculating in my head...unbeknownst to her). I then asked if she were sitting down. See, I let her know that she had consumed over 2500 calories the day before! And if she were trying to lose weight, she'd consumed way too many calories for that one day. (And I had to wonder how much she was eating...every-day.)I recommended for her, (and for you), that she try my FoodMover. The FoodMover helps you become accountable on just how many calories you're eating per day. It also helps you determine what the correct portion size of a food really is. And, if you want to successfully lose weight, these are things you have to know.I told her that she was not eating enough fruits and vegetables. And I've told you all a zillion times how important those fruits and veggies are to your weight-loss efforts. You''ve got to eat the right size portions, five servings of veggies a day and four servings of fruit would be ideal.

The same goes for your other food groups. Gotta have those carbohydrates in the right-size portions. And I mean complex carbohydrates like whole wheat breads and pastas. Two servings-a-day from the dairy group should also be included in your food plan. And when you choose your fats, make sure you're eating the right kinds of fats. (And no, chicken skin is not one of the good sources of fat!) When it comes to your proteins, remember, you want the ones that are lean. Again, that's where my FoodMover will help you.And one more thing I suggested she do is journal the foods she eats everyday. I told her to take a gander at her journal on a regular basis to review how many calories and fats she was eating. To successfully lose the weight, you've got to know what you're eating and be honest about your totals at the end of the day. And when I say "journal", I mean record everything, including those snacks so many of us "forget" to count.

Look, you may be consuming more calories than you think and, if you are, you need to know. So you can fix it!Love,

[Guest guest]

I have to say that I am guilty of claiming I did not eat that much before I started my diet. Either my eyes were deceiving me or I shut it out. I paid attention to the good meals I ate and turned a blind eye to the rest. What I tried to convince myself was a normal portion of chips was probably 6 servings!

I notice it with my husband too. He can really eat a lot in one sitting and then immediately help himself to snacks. Here on this home-time he's gone back to snacking, promising he'll do better when back on the truck. I think it will actually be harder for him. I really cannot compare our eating, but in an odd way, it helps me comprehend my own misjudgments about my eating. For instance, last night, I had one plate of dinner, he had 4 plates and potatoes and pork rinds and chocolate, all within 40 minutes, I would have been sick had I eaten that.....YET, a year ago, I could have easily consumed it and thought it was normal eating.

But it is unavoidably true. I didn't get to be 307 pounds eating normally. I lied to myself in the name of eating for pleasure.

   elisaannh

-- 's motd Monday July 5, 2010

BUT I DON'T EAT THAT MUCH!

Monday, 05 July 2010

Oh yes, it's a line I see oh-so-often in my E-mail. I hear it from men, from women and even from teens. In fact, I received an E-mail just the other day from a lady that read like this:", I'm at my heaviest weight ever! I've reached 244 pounds and I'm so upset about it. I'm at my wit's end about what to do. I've tried just about everything to lose weight. The really frustrating part of my situation is that I don't think I eat that much. So I'm confused about why I weigh so much!"

Now, let's stop right there. Like I told you, that's a line I see a lot in my mail. But in the case of this lady and, in the case of a whole lot of other people, my question is this: If you're 50, 100 or more pounds overweight, you didn't gain the weight from eating asparagus spears, did you? I'd say it's time to be a lot more honest with yourself about how many calories you're consuming each day.After reading her E-mail, I called the lady who sent it. We talked about her weight and, even more importantly, we talked about how much she eats everyday. So I asked her, just what she'd eaten the day before.She told me that for breakfast the morning before, she'd two slices of whole wheat toast, a small omelet and a cup of coffee topped off with Coffemate. For lunch, she'd had a turkey sandwich, a few chip and a serving of potato salad. For dinner that night, she had two pork chops, some mashed potatoes, a dinner roll and a glass of iced tea.After getting that report, I told her to search her mind and recall if she'd eaten anything else all day. Well, come to find out, she remembered that she also had a few cookies at work. She'd also stopped on the way home from work and picked up a candy bar and a Diet Coke. And after dinner, she'd snacked from a big bag of Doritos.

Then I asked if she ever journaled the foods she'd eaten during a typical day. That way, she would have a more accurate count of just how many calories she'd eaten. Her answer was no. We then discussed all she'd eaten the day before, (as I did a little calculating in my head...unbeknownst to her). I then asked if she were sitting down. See, I let her know that she had consumed over 2500 calories the day before! And if she were trying to lose weight, she'd consumed way too many calories for that one day. (And I had to wonder how much she was eating...every-day.)I recommended for her, (and for you), that she try my FoodMover. The FoodMover helps you become accountable on just how many calories you're eating per day. It also helps you determine what the correct portion size of a food really is. And, if you want to successfully lose weight, these are things you have to know.I told her that she was not eating enough fruits and vegetables. And I've told you all a zillion times how important those fruits and veggies are to your weight-loss efforts. You''ve got to eat the right size portions, five servings of veggies a day and four servings of fruit would be ideal.

The same goes for your other food groups. Gotta have those carbohydrates in the right-size portions. And I mean complex carbohydrates like whole wheat breads and pastas. Two servings-a-day from the dairy group should also be included in your food plan. And when you choose your fats, make sure you're eating the right kinds of fats. (And no, chicken skin is not one of the good sources of fat!) When it comes to your proteins, remember, you want the ones that are lean. Again, that's where my FoodMover will help you.And one more thing I suggested she do is journal the foods she eats everyday. I told her to take a gander at her journal on a regular basis to review how many calories and fats she was eating. To successfully lose the weight, you've got to know what you're eating and be honest about your totals at the end of the day. And when I say "journal", I mean record everything, including those snacks so many of us "forget" to count.

Look, you may be consuming more calories than you think and, if you are, you need to know. So you can fix it!Love,