Share some of your tricks............

[LoriB]

When I am on track, and doing things the right way, I:

Eat at the table only. Never at the computer, in front of the TV or in any other room. It makes the eating mindful, and you recognize the "full" feeling.

Always put the fork down between mouthfuls, and chew each mouthful at least 20 times.

I eat my "least favorite" part of the meal FIRST, so that I can finish with something I love.

Always have water before, during, and right after my meal.

*************
When I would go out, I'd observe the other people around me. What I noticed, and ashamedly was guilty of was:

Thin people in restaurants eat some, but very little of the bread.
They always put their fork down, and wait between bites. At parties, they take something from the food table, and move to another room. They don't fill the plate a lot, and if they are still hungry, come back for more.

The heavier people tended to start in on the bread basket, until it was gone. They would take a forkful of food, chew 3-4 times, and have another forkful ready before swallowing. They tended to hang around the food table at parties.

I found that adjusting my own habits made it easier in party or restaurant situations. I follow the lead by thinking and acting like a thin person...even when I wasn't.

I hate that I lost so much focus in the past 5 years, but something has clicked in the past few days. I feel the same as when I did 6 years ago when I was successful for the first time in my life at this battle.

Please add, I'd love to hear more suggestions.

[Mary Ann]

I'll mull on this more, but I just have to throw in how I get a little creeped out when we go to the local Chinese buffet. I look around and nearly every American body in the place is overweight or downright obese. And as they go back and forth to the buffet, their plates are freaking heaped. It makes me wonder what these very slim Chinese girls think of Americans, if we don't all look like total hogs to them. I know the foods they put in the buffet aren't what they eat.

[LoriB]

MA, I felt the same way the last time we went to Golden Corral. We have not stepped foot in that place in about 2 years. We are never going back. We are trying to teach our kids to make the right choices, without making anything forbidden. It is a fine line raising a girl these days, with all the body image problems they have.

Luckily, neither of my kids are overweight, and they do make a lot of great choices. I'm glad about that.

As to the restaurantes we don't call them buffets. We call them barfetts, LOLOL!! )

[Trailpal]

Here's what I did the last time I was successful:
When visiting restaurants, I only ate half of what was on my plate, and had the rest packaged to go. I did eat all of my salad though.

In California, it was possible to get very good salads with great greens and a protien of somekind, that was the best! But they were so big, I usually took half of it home.

Get my dressing on the side, and just dip some edges in it, rather than slathering the greens with dressing. Many times, I just skipped the dressing altoghether.

Ditched the croutons - they usually weren't all that good and I was going low-carb - I wanted to save my allowed carbs for stuff I enjoyed better.

With most dinners, you get a protein, a veg and a starch (like salmon, potato, mixed veggies) I would substitute a second veggie for the starch and still take about half home.

I did drink water quite a bit, I liked a slice of lemon with it.

There are no restaruants here, so I don't have to worry about it. (I mean, really, McDonald's and Arbys are not restaurants!) Wait, there are steakhouses, they serve bagged salad and a roll, potatoes and BIG steaks! Most will offer fish or shimp, so I'd probably do that. Luckily we only go every couple of months if that.

I hate going to buffets! (love your word - barfetts!) people of questionable hygiene handling my food, how long has it been out, etc. blech. Besides, for me part of the restaurant experience is being served and I appreciate good service.

[Sheryl]

-Don't let yourself get starving hungry.
-Respect and listen to your body. Somedays you just need more!
-Eat more whole and real foods, they are much more satisfying.
-Don't be afraid to eat. Overly restrictive eating is a formula for falling off the wagon. You can eat well and still eat healthy.
-Plan for special occasions and don't feel deprived; even overweight people are allowed to enjoy food.
-don't use special occasions or restaurant meals as an excuse to make horrible choices. Our leader asked people last week how many people eat at restaurants at least once a week... many did... and then she asked "then just how 'special' is that occasion?"
-have some sort of plan and backup plan for your real life, not somebody elses. For example, I don't care much for fast food, but I know where to get point friendly fast food and exactly how many points it will be (my favorite point friendly place is Taco Bell fresco style food followed by subway sandwiches). Sometimes it is the alternative that works between work, soccer etc and it better for me to have a plan. We had a substitute weight watchers leader and she made some kind of snide comment about how there is "always a grocery store" and no reason to get fast food.... well, how many teenagers is she shuttling around between work, soccer, visits to the gym, to the barn etc? My point is, you have to be realistic about your own situation and plan accordingly.


I know that nothing was meant by the remark about all the obese people at buffets, but I think passing judgement on other people's bodies isn't totally healthy or loving (in a spiritual kind of way). I have a young woman who works for me that has always been plump, but has really gained massive weight. She is going through emotional hell about it, and I told her, "you know, most people just aren't that interested in other people to really concern themselves about YOUR weight" and she nearly broke out crying. She told me that she has always EXAMINED people to guess how much they weigh, see what they are ordering at restaurants or buying at the grocery store. In her case, she was really judging people to make herself feel better; and she has always hated fat people and how they look. Now that she is one of the obese people, she is in a total emotional spiral about it all - imagining that everyone is passing this same judgement on her. Excessive fat can be dehumanizing in some ways and I just don't want to contribute to that energy.

[LoriB]

In my case, I wanted to learn from the people who where NOT overweight, to see if their habits were different. If they were, I wanted to emulate them.

In the Golden Corral, I saw myself heading down that road.....you just don't see too many thin people at the buffets, at least not down south.

So, we made a personal decision NOT to go to those places.

They are not necessary, and we get so much more out of going someplace else.

So, while not being insulting, you can learn from what you see.

[Chrisnstar]

Here's a few tips I've learned.

When I worked at an office, I noticed all the thin girls brushed their teeth right after lunch. Hmmmmmmmmmm sometimes we keep eating when we're not really hungry to get the taste of the last food out of our mouths.

Then I learned to ask myself:

Am I mouth hungry or stomach hungry? If I'm mouth hungry, I don't really NEED food, I just want somethign to chew on just because. If I'm stomach hungry, then my body truly needs nourishment and I should feed it.

[LoriB]

That is a good one, Chris. When I was at WW, the last journey, someone said that if they want something to eat, they wait, count to 100 and see if they still want it due to hunger, or if it was just a craving.

I also agree with planning for splurges, whatever they may be, and eating more whole foods.

Keep 'em coming!

[Trailpal]

Hubby was at a dinner meeting, and one of the other guys couldn't decide what to get, so he asked the waiter for his recommendation. The waiter replied, "Well, it depends.... are you hungry or are you eating for sport?" Cracks me up, but makes me realize how often I eat "for sport".

[Mary Ann]

I know that nothing was meant by the remark about all the obese people at buffets, but I think passing judgement on other people's bodies isn't totally healthy or loving (in a spiritual kind of way).

I don't disagree, Sheryl. In our area, most of these young twentysomething Chinese girls barely speak English; they haven't been here long. They come from a country where people bike everywhere; cars are very rare on a per capita basis. The food choices are simpler and a lot more wholesome, as they lack the processed stuff we eat here. And on the whole, overweight people there are very unusual too. To come to a place where virtually every warm body in the place has lots of excess poundage must seem really weird. *WE* must seem really weird. A culture shock, if you will. I'm not judging anyone; I'm just musing on the thoughts someone in that position might have.

[MJ]

I had a doctors appointment today and we talked about my weight and alot of the problem is portion size. He told me to get a tray from a Healthy Choice Meal or a WW Meal and put my portions into it. If the food did not fit without shoving it or cellophane wouldn't fit over the top, I needed to take some out. Also, he said to eat that food and leave the table for at least 30 minutes, if after that time, I was still hungry to eat a little bit more but be sure I made wise choices.

He also told me to buy smaller plates so I would feel more full. I have heard this many times, but not practiced it well. Now is the time to start.

On a good note, my cholesterol is down to 102 - he wants it below 100 - but I am on Tricor, Crestor and 3 fish oil capsules a day. My blood pressure has been up for 3 months so he put me on medication. My blood pressure has never been high before all of Bob's medical stuff that has kept me stressed. I'm sure losing the weight, eating healthy, and exercising will get it back down though.

MJ

[DorothyB]

admin said:

Here's a few tips I've learned.

When I worked at an office, I noticed all the thin girls brushed their teeth right after lunch. Hmmmmmmmmmm sometimes we keep eating when we're not really hungry to get the taste of the last food out of our mouths.

Then I learned to ask myself:

Am I mouth hungry or stomach hungry? If I'm mouth hungry, I don't really NEED food, I just want somethign to chew on just because. If I'm stomach hungry, then my body truly needs nourishment and I should feed it.

Great tips! I've been trying to brush my teeth after lunch for weeks now, but haven't remembered a single time! Today I had 2 Jr Mints (yes, 2 of those teeny ones) to get the taste of tea that I had tried out of my mouth. I could have brushed my teeth instead.

[Newfygirl]

The American way of eating is catching up with China. I just read (maybe a week ago) about the higher rates of childhood obesity in China. Used to be unheard of there, and now the rates are climbing.

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to slice up a lemon and freeze the slices. I put the frozen slices in my water. It keeps the water cold and of course gives it that lemon flavor. I have done it time to time with frozen oranges as well.

[Sheryl]

MJ - you reminded me of an important tip!

I measure portion sizes. I have a serving spoon that is 1/2 cup and another that is 1 cup. Keeps me honest when serving casseroles etc. I weigh some foods too, especially if we have steak or something calorie dense.

I agree you can learn alot from observing what makes people successful. I have heard many heavier people complain that skinny people can eat whatever they want, not exercise etc and according to my observations, that simply is not true. Thinner people may not order the "diet plate" but generally speaking, they don't eat calorie dense food all the time... there are trade offs and choices made. Also, though people may not exercise, thinner people tend to be a lot more active. I notice that in myself even... how many trips you make around the house, up the stairs etc makes a difference.

[Stephanie]

I baggie cereal and take two baggies to work. I eat one throughout the morning as breakfast, generally have my 500 calorie taco from Taco Bell for lunch, and then snack on the other baggie as I need to in the afternoon. Then for dinner I generally have a can of soup and popcorn, or vegetables and soup or something. Generally it's light. The cereal is good though because it's about 200 calories and keeps me away from the vending machine where I'll get something with 250+ calories (or somethings!) and it gives me something to munch on. Plus, I normally never finish both baggies of cereal, but it's ok if I do, if I don't, then those extra calories are "saved" for when I splurge on dinner.

I also drink a LOT of flavored tea and coffee.