Well, that and walking my ass off, yes. 
As a bonus, I’ve now found where the good blackberries are. Too late for this season, but come next year…
Epimetheus, an old Scottish saying for which I’m indebted to George MacDonald Fraser: “This and better may do, this and waur (worse) will never do”. IOW, let this blip be as bad as it gets. 
For heaven’s sake, Epimetheus, you’re human. And part of being human is letting yourself go once in awhile. It’s not something that you need forgiveness for, it’s just something you HAVE TO DO. Did you have fun?
I went looking for a dress for a stupid fundraiser thingie we’re going to. I tried on several dresses in 12-18. I bought a 14, but I was really puzzled by the sizing - a 12 fit, but a 14 was too big? Vanity sizing much?
Of course, the size 14 $800 dress fit perfectly. I ended up buying a slightly less expensive ($30) one.
That’s a take-home lesson there, definitely something that I have to watch. It’s OK to have some guilty-pleasure eating, very occasionally. All too often though, when you consume alcohol, you lose presence of mind. You tend to overdo it, you don’t even get to remember the pleasure, and it may all turn to indigestion anyway. Definitely I am having to change my relationship with alcohol.
I think that’s great advice, but is that what you do? My guess is that you have to live by a completely different set of rules than the rest of us.
No, it’s not what I do, just good general advice I thought I’d pass along. You’re right that the way I’m supposed to eat (and usually do) is pretty counter-intuitive to most people who are trying to lose weight. When I eat carbs, I look for ways to up the protein/fat content to make them “better” for me. That probably doesn’t work too well for most folks. My rule about junk food, in general, is that the fat calories plus the protein calories have to add up to more than half the total calories. That means that some things I used to love are pretty much out of the picture (candy corn, for instance). And I never drink sugar-sweetened soft drinks, ever at all. If I consume straight carbs, not tempered by fat/protein, I get sick to my stomach. If I want juice (still love juice), I’ll mix a couple of ounces of juice with a complimentary flavor of Crystal Light.
Yeah, but you’ve had surgery and your body reacts differently than others’ who haven’t had bariatric surgery. I could eat carbs all day and not be bothered by them, same with sugar sweetened drinks.
I find it pretty simple to eat what I should 90%, and eat what I want 10%. More and more as you go along with dieting, the two are closer than you think.
That was my understanding. After you undergo surgery, your whole way of approaching food needs to change.
In fact, I’m going to ask a friend who’s a nurse about this. I’m also going to tell her that we need to hang out. It’s been way too long, and I can’t wait to see the look in her eyes when she sees the changes in me.
My mother (who is a certified addictions counselor) is something of an expert on the physical effects of alcohol. She tells me all the time that the first part of the brain that it effects is the area that controls decision making. This is why people who know better when they’re sober drive themselves home when they’ve been drinking.
Alcohol also dulls your satiety cues so you’re much more likely to overeat if you have drinks before or during dinner than if you don’t.
I’m fairly certain that my recent small measure of success is partly because I haven’t been drinking. Not only the calorie deficit from not having wine with dinner but the ability to push my plate away when I’m satisfied even if (gasp!) there’s still food on it.
Today’s workout was a bitch. I am a bit tired, having been woken up at 2am by a cat desperate for affection and then a 3-year old who’s going through a fear phase. I made it to the gym easily enough, and since my usual elliptical cross-trainers were taken, I went to the treadmill to walk the hill program. My shins were killing me! I had to drop my speed from 3.0mph to 2.5mph. I managed to get up to 2.7, but it wasn’t easy. I was feeling disappointed because I wasn’t having cardio problems (I could have gone faster), but I just couldn’t do it with the shin pain.
Ah, well, tomorrow’s another day.
I’ve been slacking lately. I’m up a pound since my last weighing. And the weekly tradition of going to the local Indian buffet with the coworkers isn’t helping…
Did another 20 this evening. Only got vertigo a few times towards the end. I’ll keep trying a little more each night.
According to Prevention magazine (quoting a study from I can remember where) 30 (or 40 or 60) minutes of exercise = 30 (or 40 or 60) minutes of exercise.
Whether you do it all in one shot or in 10 minute increments the health benefits are the same.
So, if you can only handle 15 minutes before you get dizzy, then stop and just do another 15 later once you feel better.
Hope you’re over the vertigo thing soon. That can be really difficult.
Today is my 6th day in a row in the 160s which is way cool. I’m really thinking it’s the lack of alcohol in my diet that’s making the difference. I’m eating a bit less at dinner and I’m sure that’s in part because I’m more aware of when I’m satisfied than I was when I was having wine with dinner. Funny, the first week I was feeling really deprived and really, really wanting some wine which also worried me a bit since there’s alcoholism in my family but after that first week that feeling left and now I just feel good and don’t really care if I drink or not. I have a lot more energy too.
My original goal was 166 by my vacation on 10/22. I had given up on that and was content to just be in the 160s but today I weighed in at 167.5 so I might actually make my goal. That would be way cool. My husband says I look thinner. 10 more lbs and I’ll weigh the same as he does which hasn’t happened since I’ve known him.
I’m thinking about giving up what I’m doing and trying out the GM diet. If I can get myself down to 20 pounds by Christmas by eating nothing but bananas and milk, I think that’d be worth it.
Awesome! Don’t you love it when that happens? A couple of days ago, an aquaintence greeted me by saying “Hi, skinny!” That was great.
I’ve been doing really crappy with getting in my daily exercise (besides hauling around a 17-pound baby, I mean), but still managed to drop 2 more pounds this week, for a total of 6.5. Keeping on chugging, and trying to build up my willpower for the oncoming holiday season…
I’m baking pumpkin cookies for my son’s school for a bake sale tomorrow, please wish me luck in avoiding actually eating any of the damn things.
Don’t discount keeping up with two kids, that’s a lot of work. “Exercise” isn’t just lifting weights and running marathons.
Talking of exercise… two miles, five furlongs this lunchtime. Walking speed is knocking on 3.5mph at the moment. And the dog will be waiting for his evening walk when I get in, and it’s stopped raining.
It’s official. I’m now a resident of Stuck Zone. Holding steady at 220.
I think I’m really paying for being lax while being sick. A while back I asked how long it took for lifestyle changes to reflect in the scale. Nobody could answer me. Now we have an answer: About three weeks.
I thought I’d post so I’d be subscribed, too. I’m looking to 36 pounds to get me back in the middle of my ideal weight range.
My concern is mostly health-related and the example I’m setting for my son - I just got my cholesterol checked and it was way, way higher than I had imagined. I’ve got to change what I’m doing to my body. I thought I was doing well, but it’s evidently not well enough. I’ll start with adjusting my diet & exercise program, then get checked again.
To keep me on track, I joined Weight Watchers online - I’m using the POINTS system. Already I’m more aware of what I’m eating than I was before, so whatever happens, that can’t be a bad thing. Funny how you don’t realize what kind of crap or how much of it you’re eating until you’re forced to record it then look at it.
Good luck everyone - I’m glad I’ve finally joined this thread. I’ve been thinking about it for over a month now.
Welcome aboard, loser! 
It is amazing when you write down everything you eat. It’s a great way to feel like a glutton.
OK all the blood tests came back negative *except *for an elevated B6 content.
A quick google shows that this *could *be a cause of many/most of my symptoms.
This makes sense too. Since I have been diagnosed as B12 deficient, I take a B-Complex vitamin. Due to the things that have been done to me a get some massive mal-absorption. B12 and Potassium deficiencies have both caused me troubles in the past.
The good news is: the B vitamins are water soluble and if I stop taking the supplements I should see many of the symptoms subside. It may take a few weeks, but I should see things improve. (I wonder if drinking lots of beer would help flush the system faster… :D)
This means that we are going to have to be very diligent in monitoring my blood levels. I will need to have all the majors checked every 4 months. (Due to insurance issues every 4 months and 1 day.)
But if it makes me go back to feeling normal, I guess it will be worth it.
I may be able to go back to working out hard very soon. That is a big hooray!
(I’m reserving judgment.)