Hi,

I have been on my food plan since 5-1-05. I am not sure how much i weighed initially, but my recorded weight was 162. I plan to be at 135, which is light, given that I am 5'10". I have the smallest bones in the universe and at 135 I still have a significant amount of body fat with the pinch an inch tests etc.

My food plan is that I get all my calories from natural foods, beans, veggies, fruits, etc. I do have things from time to time that are not the greatest, i.e., a granola bar yesterday. I try not to cheat becuase one day turns into a week+ with significant weight gain.

My husband agreed to be on the plan with me but has changed his goal to "eat less junk food." Pete thinks there are 2 food groups: Hot dogs and sandwiches. He has been a bachelor a little too long for his own good.

More later,

Marilyn

Hi,

Pete and I went to the Florida Keys and stayed in a furnished house. We went shopping a few times to pick up foods. When I went to the store, I picked up a box of Krispy Kreme donuts and single handedly ate about 10 in a day or two. I was ashamed of gobbling them down so quickly. I was also overeating singificantly.

I don't remember the exact minute I decided about my food plan, but it was a decision I have worked toward since, almost daily.

Dr. Phil has some good advice. The one I have taken to heart has been, make your environment support your decision.

The only junk food in our house is hard candy, diet popsickles, gum, peanut butter, sometimes chips. These foods are not something that I will generally eat until they're gone. It is really hard for me to get in trouble food wise, with these items.

I bought ice cream that was low cal but ate it in 1-2 days about a month ago. No ice cream in the house.

I am an emotional eater. I have eaten when I'm happy or sad. Excited or depressed. Neutral, bored, you name it, I ate it. I think that modifying my food intake has resulted in emotions being expressed differently. I went to a counselor a few times, but stopped when my husb told me I am upset after each session. I think he's right.

M

Most of my life I had been very poor. I was in school the majority of the time, worked, and didn't make much. I simply had no $$ to spend on food or entertainment. I never ate. I was very thin. I spent a lot of money going to school. Now that I have finished school and make a decent income, I can afford to throw Ben & Jerrys in the cart, oreos, chips, dip......Unfortunately, I have spent to much time with Ben and Jerry. :-)

Now when I shop, I go to the produce department. My bro in law is diabetic, his doctor told him to go to the produce department, the bean/bread department, and to leave the store after he filled his cart with veg, breads, beans, etc.

I used to have pathetic items in my cart at the store. I would have ice cream, frozen dinners, candy....I used to look at people who bought produce and wondered what they did with all of it. Now I know. Now i know what people who bought produce did with all of their time, preparing it. :-)

M

Jennifer Weiner wrote fiction novels, two books, about larger women as the main character. Good in Bed and In her shoes. She understands real women who are larger. Both of these books gave me a deep sense of someone understanding me and my issues. The characters are both amazing women and I am not even close to what they become, but I felt understood.

I would strongly recommend these two books to any woman with weight issues.

Hi Marilyn... it sounds like you really have a plan and are sticking with it... I too eat whatever is in my environment. I just moved back to grad school and have a much easier time controlling what I eat when I get to buy all of the groceries. =) I too have a soft spot in my life for ice cream, and it is very hard for me not to buy it. I have found that the no pudge line of ice cream treats is very good tasting, and has a manageable amount of calories, so i sneak it in that way. although i do have to admit, that I bought a pint of moose tracks last week.. =( but luckily i haven't eaten any yet.

Hi,

My hub and I have a treadmill, prominently displayed in our living room. I used to cover it with a japanese screen, but since it is being used daily, I have it uncovered.

I love tv. I love to sit while I watch tv. I like to eat while I watch tv.

I have told myself that if I have time to sit and watch tv, I have time to walk on the treadmill 20 minutes. Most days (4-6 days) weekly, I am on the treadmill.

I can find many reasons to not get on the treadmill......but I keep my butt in gear and feel much much better later.

***This post is graphic with regards to vomiting and use of ipecac. Do not read if you're sensitive to these things.

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Hi,

There is a restaurant called the Stinking Rose, which is a garlic specialty restaurant. We went there tonight and I enjoyed the food and drink. I feel a little guilty about engaging in such "loose" behavior in what I was eating and drinking.

I feel overstuffed and lethargic. I ate a "normal" portion of the foods (like I would have in May) but I still feel like I ate too much. My guilt has caught up with me. Sometimes when I feel guilty I think about ridding myself of the food. I have made myself vomit about 3 times in my life, over about a 20 year span. That is a road I do not want to go down.

The last time I self induced vomiting was very scary, it was about 3 years ago. I had overeaten, after going to a restaurant and bar. I realized I had ipecac in the medicine cabinet, which I had bought for the purpose of inducing vomiting. I took the recommended dose of ipecac and awaited "relief" from the food. The vomiting and gagging was so violent, I was scared that I might gag to death. My gut would tighten up and my throat would close up and I would wretch for many seconds at a time. I lost bladder control. I got the cordless phone and put it by the toilet with me and monitored myself, determined to call 911 only if I was really gagging to death. I would have "died" from embarrassment if I'd called 911 and was not in a severe life threatening condition. Eventually after a tortusome period of time, I went to bed. Fortunately I went to sleep.

To this day, anything tasting similar to ipecac, like syrupy sweet cherry stuff, I feel sick. Just thinking about the ipecac (right now) makes me very nauseus. I had never considered ipecac to be dangerous, but I do now.

So, no ipecac for me tonight.....

So tonight I'll feel over-stuffed. I feel like I "blew it," but it was my pre-designated "free" day where I could eat and drink as I wish. Tomorrow is a new day for me to pick up where I left off.

One day does not have to make or break me.

M

Tonight I felt so sluggish and did not want to exercise. I dragged my large behind on the treadmill and walked 20 minutes and feel fabulous!

I feel so relaxed and energized.

That push onto the treadmill can sometimes be a difficult one, but I need to remember what my goals are.

To be thin. To be healthy. To be happy. To be toned.

Hi welcome to the forum!! hmmmm happy i never tried ipecac lol your off to a good, start jumping on the treadmill and making yourself exercise is awesome, your on your way!

Hey! Huzzah for forcing yourself to exercise when you don't want to. I think it's awesome that you have that kind of determination

Welcome!

Hello all,

I have to say that this board is worth its weight in cyber-gold. The kindness that has been extended here, has been so touching to me.

Marilyn

It's awesome here isn't it!!!!

Even better yet, you could watch TV while on the treadmill. After a while, I think you would get so engrossed with your show that you wouldn't notice that you were walking. Well, as long as you didn't get too interested, and forget to walk, and fall of the end. That would be me.

Hello,

I am on an ultrastrict food program right now. My weight has leveled off and it's driving me insane. Being patient is so difficult for me, both in food management and other areas of my life.

With my food I'm on a chicken/fruit/yogurt/tofu plan. I eat a small portion, and pretty much only until my hunger is satisfied.

Today I feel so depleted. At work, it was very stressful because of staff issues. I am not sure if my feeling depleted is related to my food program also. It is so difficult sifting out things.

Life used to be so simple when I was young and I knew everything.

This weekend I blew it. I went to a dinner, a buffet (buffet is bad).

I feel discouraged about my weight. I feel like I just need to muscle my way to discipline. My weight bothers me so much.

My goal was to be at 135 by the last week of Sept. I will need to lose 2.5 pounds weekly to get there.

I know how to do it, to exercise and maintain low food intake. Why does it have to be so hard? Why do I eat desserts and ice cream when I should not? It was stupid. I knew I would regret it.

This seems to be a pattern for me. going out is impossible for me to maintain a food plan. We used to eat out 2 times weekly, approx. Now I dont ever want to eat out because I blow it so badly.

These foods issues bother me so much. I feel almost possessed at times. I have food and weight problems. I wish there was an easy way to manage this and make peace with my weight and my food.

This weight food thing is one of my life long issues with which I have been blessed.