Why should I lose weight?

Recently I saw a person I had not seen for a few years, she looked 50 pounds heavier. The level of her attractiveness (in my eyes) was much less in general. I know this is a terrible thing to think or admit, but it is true. Today I'm thinking about myself, I am about 30 pounds heavier that the last time I saw her. I definately look less attractive by a lot. My face is round, my belly looks pregnant (I gain weight in my belly). My clothes look terrible.

On one hand I want to look thinner because it is more attractive to me. Clothes look better, people don't ask if I'm pregnant...etc

My husband does not like overweight women, we have talked about body weight a lot and he told me if I'd been very overweight when I met him, he would not have pursued me.

In society, everyone is expected to look fresh, perky, well dressed, and thin. Wow. The thin is in.

Why do I want to lose weight? I feel very unattractive. My clothes always look horrible on me. I don't want my husband to see me as unattractive because of my weight.

I am an "all or nothing" type of person. I either eat too much or too little. I probably have an inactive eating disorder.

I do not know how to go, to calorie count, use a diabetic diets as a guide, or just have "free foods" all fruits and veggies and monitor all the other foods.

As I sit her typing I just feel like everything is a problem now. Not everything is a problem, my work is great, I have a great house, my hubby is a great guy, my health is not bad...... It's just how I look and feel.

How I look and feel is very important because I see everything else as related to how I look and feel.

Hi,

My food intake is poor. I bought ice cream the other day and have been having it continually. It will be gone today.

My weight is very heavy. I often think of how unattractive my body is. My clothes do not fit well.

I need to make a committment to change my food. I am not in a place where I am willing to do that now.

M

My food intake has been very bad. I bought a 12 pack of Haagen Daaz and ate them all, secretly, in 2 days. There are some foods I cannot be around and there are many many foods that are something that I will not overeat.

I am readyfor a make-over with food and my weight. I am giving myself a new start.

I have been going to some overeaters meetings. It is not a perfect fit for me, but I will take what I can to help me. I had been looking for a food plan and could not find one. Did a lot of surfing and developed my own.

This food plan is manageable for me because it addresses my problem areas. I am very very motivated. My goal weight is 135, which will make me slender again. The biggest thing for me is to just think one meal/snack at a time and to make one decision at a time. I need to be rigorous with my foods.


Food plan:

1. Must eat every 3 hours
2. Free foods, ok to eat any reasonable quantity. Must be fruit or veg or not a high risk item. 2 pre-approved foods daily. If not pre-selected, must be fruit or veggie.
3. Must be accountable to a food sponsor daily.
4. Be truthful with food consumption
5. Keep only appropriate foods at the house.
6. Must have food stored in standard storage areas without concealing items.
7. Find alternate way to manage stress without food use.
8. Reduce weight to 135 lb
9. Eat normal amounts of food (no binges)
10. Do not have on ice cream/cakes/cheesecake or other foods which are high risk for me. No cookies. No chocolate.
11. No secret eating
12. Pre-plan meals for each day.
13. If in situation high risk for binge, must contemplate reason.
15. Follow food "exchange," or similar program to follow balanced diet.
16. Food shop with Pete or must buy pre-selected or pre-approved items. Never shop hungry.
17. Must abide by portions designated by food plan. Can adjust fruit, veggie and protein only if legitimately hungry.
18. Ok to estimate serving size for convenience using standard portion estimation plans.
19. Must keep appealing food choices at home and work which support this food plan.
20. Develop plan for "emergency food" situations or planned events such as eating out, drinking alcohol, parties.
21. When eating out, develop plan of not over-eating i.e., ask for takeout container at beginning of meal.
22 Plan on what to do for "slips"
24 Free foods cannot be binged, can be used in moderation for "munchies"
25. Hard candy ok, up to 2 per day.
26. Be forgiving to yourself as you are with others.
27. Do your best on a daily basis.
28. If fast food is necessary, ok to get a reasonable sandwich only. (use sparingly)
29. Take food to work for meal and snacks.

Well Sounds Like Your On The Right Track And Dont Run Off Again We Cant Help You Unless You Let Us! We Are Very Supportive And I Think You Are Making Good Choices You Can And Will Do This!

My situation now is that I have been on my food plan for 2 weeks. When I eat I eat a small amount, but eat every 3 hours. At the end of the day, I have often not eaten enough calories.

I feel like my food program is going well.

I have attended some meetings which helps me with my food intake. They also help me identify why I am eating and what I am eating. The other thing is that there are people there in worse shape than me. :-)

My current weight is about 162 lbs. I want to get to 135 pounds, approximately.

I feel so unattractive in clothes. Nothing fits. My belly makes me an "apple" shape. Yesterday I was thinking that even if I had a "perfect" body, it would never be enough, unless I looked like a centerfold. :-)

My hope is that I will be able to be on a maintenance program (after I get to my weight) without getting Hagen Daz bars and eat 5 a day. I eat for reasons which are not related to hunger and that is very difficult for me to manage.

I used to be very thin during my 20s-30's. I was on a "poor" diet. I had no $ for food and ate sparingly and ate only when hungry, no recreational eating. My hope is that I will be able to eat that way again and maintain that plan, which I think is best.

In this life, weight and food are among my largest struggles. I should be greatful that my problems are not life threatening. I have a very good life and so much to be thankful for. As Oprah says, American women are among the most fortunate in the world. I sometimes struggle to remember that.

Marsto

My food plan is going very well. There are some times that I do not want to eat but must. There are sometimes days when I eat too few calories. The foods that I am eating are not the most appealing, but are mostly healthful. I am now eating to live instead of living to eat.

Lately I have not thought much about eating due to stress. In the past I have graviated toward food when emotions get tough. This is a major change.

I am proud of my accomplishments. My hope is that I will be able to maintain this food program.

M

I have attended overeaters anonymous meetings which have been helping me a lot. I do not subscribe to 100% of OA, but use what I need. The people are supportive. They understand food.

With my food, I have become more aware of emotions which drive me to eat. Now that I have a more normal diet, I taste food much more. My food consumption is about 1/2 to 1/4 of my normal intake. My food problems relate to eating unhealthy foods when I am not hungry. When I'm tired. Lonely. Depressed. Happy. Bored. Tired. Mad. Sad. The OA meetings really deal with the problem underneath the food, which is what I need.

With my plan, I always make sure I have food about every 3 hours. If I become too hungry, it is difficult to eat what I should, instead of what is easy. My lunches and snacks are almost always packed for work. I keep an extra granola bar in my car for "emergencies."

My food spending is so much less. I buy a lot of produce and good meats, but save a ton of $ on eating out & "bad" foods. Food preparation time is the biggest dis-incentive to healthy eating.

M

This week I was contemplating my body. My realization is that no matter how thin or attractive I look, it will never be enough. No matter what I look like, I will never look perfect enough for me. One of my co-workers tells me I have a body image problem, that is true.

Even when I was thin as a rail, I was not happy with my belly. I keep a pooch on my belly no matter how thin I am.

M

My food shopping has changed. I buy the most nutritious low calorie foods possible. I do spend my fat calories on some junk, but most of my food is nutritious.

I need to add more fruit and veggies though. There is so much prep time for fresh fruit/veg.

My food plan is going very well. I'm not perfect, but do very well.

M

Well, tonight I decided to have a mint patty which was 30 calories. Then I had a few more. Then had about 5 kisses. Then decided to go all out and went and bought 3 Haggen Daz bars and ate them.

My thought process was that if I am going to binge, I should do it right and go all the way to see how I feel.

Physically, I feel stuffed, heavy, and slightly nauseus.

Emotionally, I feel numb. Tomorrow I will feel disappointment.

M

Well, yesterday I ate my regular food and supplemented it with the Haagen daz, way going over my food plan. Last night I thought I would be very dissappointed and upset, I am not. There is some disappointment, since I've been doing so well.

Today is a new day and an opportunity to do today, what I did not do yesterday.

Sometimes I remember that I should be as forgiving of myself as I am with others.

Tonight I will go to a meeting which will help keep me on a straight and narrow path.

Last night I could have called someone, but didn't want to bother anyone. I'm not sure if I would have eaten anyway. In the future I am going to do my best to call rather than eat.

M

Well,

Today was a better food day 4 me. Today my calorie count is about 1400, which is acceptable. I felt like I was eating too much.

Tomorrow I hope to go back to my food plan.

Tomorrow I am a little hesitant. My day will be spent with other people and I don't know when/if they will eat. I need to take food along so I can eat as needed.

M

Hi,

I just weighed myself and the scale does not reflect a weight loss for about 2 weeks. Weighing myself is a BAD idea. My clothes show a modest weight loss. It is discouraging to me.

Maybe I should weigh myself only once a month, or never.

M

HI,

I am quickly slipping back into old food habits. I need to get some traction to keep me from slipping too far.

Why is this SO HARD???

M

Do you maybe have someone you can call when you feel like going out and buying bad stuff? maybe that would help..We've all been there before, tho. Don't get discouraged!! Before you go out and buy stuff, hop on here- theres usually someone online, just message them, talk it out...that sounds kinda lame, lol, but I'm totally serious, we can all overcome this, we're all here to help!!