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Linda0818
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18-02-2017, 04:59 PM
11

Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

Thank you, Realist, I needed to hear all of that and I appreciate you taking the time to write it all out. It definitely makes sense to me!

I haven't counted calories in several days now. And I got on the scale this morning, totally expecting to see that I've gained a little weight. But, to my amazement, I'm still where I was when I stopped counting. I haven't lost anymore weight, but I haven't gained anymore, either. And I've been eating when I'm hungry and forgetting about food when I'm not. Yesterday I made a nice risotto with shrimp, fresh spinach, diced tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and corn. Had a small plate of that and it was quite filling, I didn't need anymore and stuck with my general rule of "don't eat until you're full; eat until you're no longer hungry."

But it took a long time and a lot of struggling to inherit that mindset.

See, I grew up in one of those families where we had to eat everything on our plates before we could get up from the table. And I carried that into adulthood. I was never fat as a child, but once I hit about mid 20's, that's when I started gaining and the struggles with my weight began. I still had it stuck in my head that I must eat everything on my plate. So no matter how big or small the plate of food was, I would continue eating until it was gone, whether I was full or not. I must say that was one of my hardest habits to break - that when I was full, just push the rest away. Very difficult indeed, but I finally got past that and when I'm full, or feeling close to full, I stop. Finally breaking that mentality has helped me a lot. I had to overcome that in order for any weight loss regime to work.

I don't do actual 'diets' and I don't believe in wasting money on slimming clubs, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't try it in the past. I went to Weight Watchers. I would find and try this diet and that diet. And yes, they worked... temporarily. As soon as I stopped the diets, I'd gain everything back, and then some. I honestly believe that dieting is what made me fat, along with plain old fashioned overeating.

I also went through a period of starvation. My doctor told me I was borderline anorexic. I starved my body for so long that food literally made me ill anytime I'd try and eat. Just eating a half of a sandwich was a struggle and my friends told me I was so skinny that I looked ill and that they were ready to hold me down and make me eat. My sister was opposite; she struggled with bulimia for many years. So both of us struggled with eating disorders in our 20's and while I can't lay the entire blame at my parents' doorstep, I *do* believe they instilled a dangerous mindset into us - eating on schedules at only certain times of the day, making us finish everything in front of us whether we wanted it or not, etc etc etc. It surely didn't help. And that's why, ever since my son was little, I've always told him, "If you're full, you don't have to eat anymore" regardless of how much was still left on his plate. And when he was very young, I was actually concerned about him because he never ate much. He'd eat a small amount, then want to go play. And because I never made him sit there and finish every morsel, I was concerned he wasn't eating enough.

You know what his pediatrician told me? He said, "Don't worry about it. He's getting what he needs."

So I stopped worrying about it and continued on with letting him push his plate away when he said he was full and to this day he eats when he's hungry and only eats as much as he needs. He's not overweight, he's not underweight, he's a healthy 17 year old kid. And I'm glad because I didn't want him to grow up struggling with food the way I did. I've been obsessed with my weight since my teens. And I'm damn tried of it and don't want to carry that obsession to my grave. I want to focus on life... not how much I weigh.
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18-02-2017, 08:15 PM
12

Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

Hi realist , as always you give wise information , would you advise that we eat natural fibre like all bran to help with controlling healthy eating ?

One thing surprised me was what you said about natural yoghurt being full of sugar , I eat this quite a lot with fruit . Now in wondering about eating this
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19-02-2017, 01:03 AM
13

Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

Originally Posted by susan m ->
One thing surprised me was what you said about natural yoghurt being full of sugar , I eat this quite a lot with fruit . Now in wondering about eating this
Yep, and this is something I've covered repeatedly in other threads here regarding sugars. You must have missed them. Here are a couple of pictures I created to show what's in some of these products, take a look:






Remember that 1 teaspoon of sugar is approx. 4g.

All that yoghurt is touted to be healthy isn't it. You instinctively know that flavoured yoghurts like Muller Corners are laden with sugars so like many people I guess you reach for the Natural Yoghurt thinking that can't be bad. But look at how much sugar is in there and note that there is absolutely no fibre at all. So when you eat that, those sugars, AND the sugars from the fruit are going to get converted into energy very quickly and since your body doesn't have a use for it at that point in time, it stores it away as fat. This might be lessened if the fruit you are adding has plenty of fibre though.

Those little pots of actimel and yakult are a surprise for many people too I would think. Tiny pots but look at the teaspoons of sugar in them !
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19-02-2017, 01:12 AM
14

Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

Originally Posted by Linda0818 ->
Yesterday I made a nice risotto with shrimp, fresh spinach, diced tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and corn. Had a small plate of that and it was quite filling, I didn't need anymore and stuck with my general rule of "don't eat until you're full; eat until you're no longer hungry."

But it took a long time and a lot of struggling to inherit that mindset.

That sounds a delicious dish Linda ! The Arborio rice will have filled you up of course.

You've clearly been through a lot of experiences with weight and diets like so many others have. Seems to me though that you have gradually come round to an understanding now that diets don't work (they never will) and Slimming Clubs too rarely result in permanent weight loss.

You are now starting to listen to your own body which imo is the correct way to live. When your body tells you it is hungry, you eat something. Otherwise you don't eat.

Also worth remembering that it can take some 20 mins before the food you eat results in you feeling full so "eating till you are not hungry" is slightly more complicated. You need to eat, wait 20 mins or so and then see if you still want more.

Also bear in mind that it took years to gain the weight you have. It should seem logical therefore that it will take a similar time to rebalance your body and lose it permanently.
That's one of the reasons diets are the wrong approach. They appeal because they purport to get the weight off quickly, but that's not natural and that's part of the reason the weight goes back on when you stop.

So, really, just forget about your weight for the foreseeable future. Just resolve to live, and live well, making good food choices, checking those labels and making sure that when you take in sugars you are also taking in fibre. Your own body will do all the rest, it is a very capable engine, and all it needs is decent fuel. It will reject and eject anything it doesn't need, all by itself ! Eat well, be happy, be healthy.
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Linda0818
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19-02-2017, 02:38 AM
15

Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

Originally Posted by Realist ->
That sounds a delicious dish Linda ! The Arborio rice will have filled you up of course.

You've clearly been through a lot of experiences with weight and diets like so many others have. Seems to me though that you have gradually come round to an understanding now that diets don't work (they never will) and Slimming Clubs too rarely result in permanent weight loss.

You are now starting to listen to your own body which imo is the correct way to live. When your body tells you it is hungry, you eat something. Otherwise you don't eat.

Also worth remembering that it can take some 20 mins before the food you eat results in you feeling full so "eating till you are not hungry" is slightly more complicated. You need to eat, wait 20 mins or so and then see if you still want more.

Also bear in mind that it took years to gain the weight you have. It should seem logical therefore that it will take a similar time to rebalance your body and lose it permanently.
That's one of the reasons diets are the wrong approach. They appeal because they purport to get the weight off quickly, but that's not natural and that's part of the reason the weight goes back on when you stop.

So, really, just forget about your weight for the foreseeable future. Just resolve to live, and live well, making good food choices, checking those labels and making sure that when you take in sugars you are also taking in fibre. Your own body will do all the rest, it is a very capable engine, and all it needs is decent fuel. It will reject and eject anything it doesn't need, all by itself ! Eat well, be happy, be healthy.
Thank you, my dear. Clearly wonderful and sound advice. When I created this thread, I was secretly hoping you would chime in because everything you have said is stuff I REALLY needed to hear and I knew you'd be the voice I so desperately needed.

Thank you so much
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19-02-2017, 02:42 AM
16

Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

Never count calories and still have the figure of an Adonis.

Just lucky I guess.......
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Linda0818
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Linda0818 is offline
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Linda0818 is female  Linda0818 has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
19-02-2017, 02:54 AM
17

Re: I'm really tired of counting calories

Men, lol.
 
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