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2013-03-30 9:46 PM

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Subject: Taking Care of Myself

I feel like I overeat sometimes and it's really discouraging. I'm also concerned about how it will effect me in my long term health. I want to have an attitude of caring for myself in all areas of my life. 

I really think the answer is in the mind and heart. So, I've decided to share my journey here.  I'll share my experience, hope and encouragement, to whomever wishes to share some of the journey with me. 

I'm placing this thread in the "Weight loss Discussion Forum" because I think some of the people who come here have some of the same issues. 

My focus isn't really getting to a "goal weight". I'm not interested in weekly weigh ins. I am more interested in working toward caring for myself better, with the emphasis on diet. And how to mentally overcome the times when I get off balance in my eating. Hopefully, identifying triggers to overeating and how to deal effectively with them. 



2013-03-31 7:36 AM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself

So all the candy has come out of the Easter eggs and my son's yum yum filled basket is sitting on the counter. I'll wait a while, then put it all in the freezer. He'll forget about it, but it will call to me for weeks.

My goal for today is to ride my bike, and stay away from the sweet stuff. 

2013-03-31 8:13 AM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself
Those Easter treats are calling my name too!

I'm training for IM and had found my weight creeping up despite sometimes logging over 13 hours per week of s/b/r. turns out I was over rewarding myself for exercise. I downloaded the app MyFItnesspal onto my phone and iPad and started tracking calories and exercise.I feel so much better about everything now !
2013-03-31 9:16 PM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself

slowbuthappy - 2013-03-31 9:13 AM Those Easter treats are calling my name too!

I'm training for IM and had found my weight creeping up despite sometimes logging over 13 hours per week of s/b/r. turns out I was over rewarding myself for exercise. I downloaded the app MyFItnesspal onto my phone and iPad and started tracking calories and exercise.I feel so much better about everything now !

That's awesome SBH. I got my bike in today, but did eat some chocolate. Arghh..

I'm gonna throw most of that stuff out tomorrow. 

2013-03-31 10:11 PM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself
Some people can handle a bite of chocolate, I can't. I'm sure it just effects my body chemistry more than it does others. My husband won't think about it, but if I know that their is candy in the house it is all I can think about. My kids hide stuff from me so I don't eat it. It does make me feel ashamed. I know that if I could go cold turkey for a while it would be easier to just say - "that's not my food". I've had that experience, but then thought I could have a bite and fell off the wagon.

I like your focus on self care. Also, recording can be great, but I can record and then just record my overeating. It doesn't make me accountable, though sometimes I'd think I was hungry but seeing that I hit my daily limits I'd tell myself I wasn't hungry and sometimes it worked - if that makes any sense.

Have a great Monday!
Mitzi
2013-04-01 9:15 PM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself

MuscleMomma - 2013-03-31 11:11 PM Some people can handle a bite of chocolate, I can't. I'm sure it just effects my body chemistry more than it does others. My husband won't think about it, but if I know that their is candy in the house it is all I can think about. My kids hide stuff from me so I don't eat it. It does make me feel ashamed. I know that if I could go cold turkey for a while it would be easier to just say - "that's not my food". I've had that experience, but then thought I could have a bite and fell off the wagon. I like your focus on self care. Also, recording can be great, but I can record and then just record my overeating. It doesn't make me accountable, though sometimes I'd think I was hungry but seeing that I hit my daily limits I'd tell myself I wasn't hungry and sometimes it worked - if that makes any sense. Have a great Monday! Mitzi

Hi Mitzi, thanks for the comment. I agree with you about the chocolate. I think everyone has their go to food, whether it's salty or sweet. I think that's also the key to my thoughts about my eating habits.. I don't want to feel like I "need" to eat when I am not hungry. I want to be able to successfully catch myself before eating something compulsively. That's what I am planning to work on more. I've incorporated that kind of self monitoring in other areas of my life, and have done it successfully over the years with my diet.

But, I"m just coming off a big race and I don't want to get lazy or take on the attitude of getting sloppy with nutrition. I'm feeling a bit that way in my head. I don't want to make big changes in my diet, just have more self awareness. 



2013-04-02 7:41 AM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself

Hey Kate, I really like your thoughts on this, and am also in a period of trying to take better care of my self in areas other than training.  You're coming off a HIM, and me off a marathon, and with both of those, I think it's hard to focus on much more than the next workout. 

As far as food goes, I don't usually get way far out there in terms of overeating.  But I find it so easy to fall into snacking after dinner.  It's more of a concern to me than most because with Type 1 diabetes, it's best if I can see where by blood sugar level settles out after dinner and make any needed insulin adjustments (or consume some fast acting carbs) before bed.  I've been trying to eat more at dinner to take physical hunger later off the table.  That works well much of the time, but when I hit a busy/tired patch, I tend to revert back.

2013-04-02 8:07 AM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself

I grew up in a house where the dessert is the most important part of the meal (I am 48). Well to be exact, many times in those days I would eat the meal, simply to get to dessert and not feel guilty. I could have skipped the meal and been happier with more sweets. 

I realized in 2010 that if I ever had any hope of fixing my life and health once and for all, I needed to handle sweets as any other addictions out there. I announced to my family on March 01, 2010 that I would never eat added sugar or sweets of any kind ever again. Once the laughter died down and they realized I was serious, months had gone by.

Last March 01, I celebrated my 3 years, and I have no regrets. I see how everyone else in my family are having all sorts of health problems due to sugar, while my health and overall enjoyment of life has increased 10 folds.

I knew I was not one of those lucky person who could control sugar and enjoy it once in a while. So there was only one solution, and it has been a good one.

2013-04-02 8:31 AM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself
Wow that's amazing - to completely eliminate sugar, especially since it's lurking in almost all processed food in some form or other - congratulations. I myself have taken the first step to Easter recovery by throwing my Reese Peanut Butter cup chocolate bunny in the compost bucket underneath some onion peelings - I am seriously addicted to Reese peanut butter anything and that bunny contained 800 calories - seriously who decided that was a good idea?
2013-04-02 8:51 AM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself
outlandluc - 2013-04-02 9:07 AM

I grew up in a house where the dessert is the most important part of the meal (I am 48). Well to be exact, many times in those days I would eat the meal, simply to get to dessert and not feel guilty. I could have skipped the meal and been happier with more sweets. 

I realized in 2010 that if I ever had any hope of fixing my life and health once and for all, I needed to handle sweets as any other addictions out there. I announced to my family on March 01, 2010 that I would never eat added sugar or sweets of any kind ever again. Once the laughter died down and they realized I was serious, months had gone by.

Last March 01, I celebrated my 3 years, and I have no regrets. I see how everyone else in my family are having all sorts of health problems due to sugar, while my health and overall enjoyment of life has increased 10 folds.

I knew I was not one of those lucky person who could control sugar and enjoy it once in a while. So there was only one solution, and it has been a good one.

So do eat a "raw" or "whole foods" type of diet? Or do you mean you just don't eat candy and that kind of stuff... 



Edited by KateTri1 2013-04-02 8:52 AM
2013-04-02 11:05 AM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself
KateTri1 - 2013-04-02 9:51 AM
outlandluc - 2013-04-02 9:07 AM

I grew up in a house where the dessert is the most important part of the meal (I am 48). Well to be exact, many times in those days I would eat the meal, simply to get to dessert and not feel guilty. I could have skipped the meal and been happier with more sweets. 

I realized in 2010 that if I ever had any hope of fixing my life and health once and for all, I needed to handle sweets as any other addictions out there. I announced to my family on March 01, 2010 that I would never eat added sugar or sweets of any kind ever again. Once the laughter died down and they realized I was serious, months had gone by.

Last March 01, I celebrated my 3 years, and I have no regrets. I see how everyone else in my family are having all sorts of health problems due to sugar, while my health and overall enjoyment of life has increased 10 folds.

I knew I was not one of those lucky person who could control sugar and enjoy it once in a while. So there was only one solution, and it has been a good one.

So do eat a "raw" or "whole foods" type of diet? Or do you mean you just don't eat candy and that kind of stuff... 

Actually I would categorize myself as low carbs now. The biggest step was giving up sugar.

It is impossible to go Sugar free, since you find sugar in vegetables, nuts and fruits. What I have given up, is any food with added sugar, so processed food has mostly been banned. I still eat bread on occasion, and I have found a local bread that is sugar free. 

The first 2-3 months were hell, but once the physical withdrawal effects were gone, I only had to deal with mental cravings.

I have realized in the last few months that the mental cravings are gone. The smell of something sweet now makes me noxious. 

I still love vegetables, but can only handle fruits that are not too sweet. Even an apple is now too sweet for my taste buds.

I can't even drink diet colas lately, as the sweetness of it is also making me noxious. 



2013-04-02 11:12 AM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself

slowbuthappy - 2013-04-02 9:31 AM Wow that's amazing - to completely eliminate sugar, especially since it's lurking in almost all processed food in some form or other - congratulations. I myself have taken the first step to Easter recovery by throwing my Reese Peanut Butter cup chocolate bunny in the compost bucket underneath some onion peelings - I am seriously addicted to Reese peanut butter anything and that bunny contained 800 calories - seriously who decided that was a good idea?

The worst time was the first Christmas. After the main meal, my mother clears the table, and then fills it up with 25 different types of desserts. I still remembered how everything tasted and all the memories it brought back. Resisting was very difficult and the only time I almost broke.

Last Christmas, the table actually turned my stomach, so it's not a question of resisting, it simply does not enter my mind to eat sugar any more. I tried eating a salad that included a small amount of sugar at a friends house a few weeks ago. She forgot to mention it had sugar to me. I took one bite and had to go spit it out and clean my mouth. The taste of sugar was really disturbing to my taste buds.



Edited by outlandluc 2013-04-02 11:14 AM
2013-04-02 11:18 AM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself
Not trying to overtake the thread, I thought my experience could help. I used to overeat and binge all the time. I no longer have that problem, and came to realize that in my case, it was sugar that was the trigger to overeating.
2013-04-02 11:36 AM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself

outlandluc - 2013-04-02 12:18 PM Not trying to overtake the thread, I thought my experience could help. I used to overeat and binge all the time. I no longer have that problem, and came to realize that in my case, it was sugar that was the trigger to overeating.

Thanks for your input. I had some issues with binging in college when I was a teen, but after some counseling, I realized it was unmanaged stress. Learning to deal with the stress helped me to not need to overeat.

I don't really have a big problem with sweets personally, but in general I try to keep them in the freezer or out of the house. If they are on the counter, I'll grab them without thinking.

I've found that for me, I have the most success when I focus more on being in tune with  myself. How am I feeling? What's going on? Less focus on food, more focus on.... peace..? 



Edited by KateTri1 2013-04-02 11:37 AM
2013-04-02 1:19 PM
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I'm with you Kate - my problem is mindless eating . I'm trying to think carefully before I put anything iin my mouth .Its so easy to pick up a handful of almonds and scarf them down - now Im counting them out!If, I really want for example Doritos or Reese peanut butter cups then I will allow myself to eat them in moderation but as soon as I really think about what Im about to put in my mouth 9 times out of 10 I can avoid it. I have had success with this method before.I really want to eat as clean as possible and to have my family eating the same way but with 4 teenage boys in the house the avoidance of all processed food is almost impossible!
2013-04-04 11:20 AM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself

I'm so glad I found your thread.  I am also trying to focus on taking care of myself, becoming strong, and regaining confidence. I don't want to watch the scale, just the way my jeans fit!

My weakness is alcohol. I LOVE to have a cocktail or wine in the evenings, but I have realized that I can't do it EVERY night.  It would be the same as eating half a cheesecake, which I would never dream of doing. 

I would love to follow your journey. It seems we have similar struggles.

 

Mel



2013-04-04 11:48 AM
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Colomingle - 2013-04-04 12:20 PM

I'm so glad I found your thread.  I am also trying to focus on taking care of myself, becoming strong, and regaining confidence. I don't want to watch the scale, just the way my jeans fit!

My weakness is alcohol. I LOVE to have a cocktail or wine in the evenings, but I have realized that I can't do it EVERY night.  It would be the same as eating half a cheesecake, which I would never dream of doing. 

I would love to follow your journey. It seems we have similar struggles.

 

Mel

Sounds awesome Mel. 

So, next week my friend and I are going to start doing some Insanity workout after school combined with some running on the school track. 

We are also going to start doing the low-GI diet. It will be nice to have support. And because she is trying to take off some weight we are going to have weekly weigh ins. I'm hopeful that this will help me keep on course. 

2013-04-09 10:02 PM
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Well, I did my first day of "Insanity Workout" yesterday. I'm in more pain than I was coming out of my first 70.3 two weeks ago. Everything hurts. Tomorrow I will try it again. 

I spent the weekend out of town. I didn't overeat, but it wasn't the healthiest. This week my goal is to eat green in the evenings. 

Random thought but, I read some interesting stuff today about overuse of technology and narcism. It really kind of hit a nerve. I've always been obsessed with computers. I was also really into gaming for a while but I quit that a few years ago.. it was amazingly difficult for me to do. 

One thing I love about S/B/R is that it gets me out of the house and into the sun. 

So, going to put down my laptop.. stare out the window.. and listen to the crickets. 

2013-04-12 10:44 AM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself

My week, 

I got plenty of sleep.. well tried.. and succeeded for the most part.

When I got stressed, I did a step back and tried to take moment to get perspective. Self calming has been one of the best tools I've found to avoiding eating when not hungry. 

I didn't eat as green as I wanted to soo... I guess I'll work on that more this weekend when i go shopping. I need to plan meals better. My friend backed out of the GI diet, but I am going try to do it...

2013-04-15 12:53 PM
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Just read some great wisdom today: 

'Take the words success and failure out of your vocabulary. Replace them with honesty and effort.'"

Escondido, Calif., August 2001
From: "Win Or Lose" 

 

2013-04-15 1:03 PM
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Subject: RE: Taking Care of Myself

Hope you the best.

Here's to making those changes into habits.



2013-04-17 11:23 AM
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eabeam - 2013-04-15 2:03 PM

Hope you the best.

Here's to making those changes into habits.

Thanks EB. 

This week has been pretty good so far. Had a chance to go out to dinner last night but stayed home and had salad. The schedule is a bit changed over the next two weeks and my husband is working a bunch of overtime. Little stresses like that, even though not a big deal can often cause me to rationalize eating foods I normally wouldn't. I"m trying to keep perspective and use other methods to keep myself in a good place. 

I've found the practice of "mindfulness" to be somewhat of a miracle in helping me to do that. 

One thing I'm working on this week, is being mindful of positive experiences. 

I focus on the details of the moment to distract myself from thinking about negatives like, 

  • when the positive experience will end
  • whether I really deserve this positive experience

I'm doing something pleasant every day and letting myself really enjoy it. 

 

2013-04-20 1:19 PM
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Rainy day today.

I'm glad I was able to get up and get out for a run before the bad weather settled in. My son has a friend over and my husband is working today. 

I've already done most of my chores.

Sitting here with some moments for myself, playing music and thinking about what to do this summer. 

It's good to take time to just.. "be"

2013-04-25 8:20 AM
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So how am I doing? 

I'm keeping up with my workouts, which feels great.

I'm using mindfulness to deal with stress. When I feel it coming on, I slow down, both physically and mentally. Doing so, helps me to not get overwhelmed by negative emotions. That way I can move on and do what I need to do.

Eventually, those feelings pass and I feel a lot better.

I know I need to take things one day at a time. 

2013-04-29 5:53 AM
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I've some big stress this week. Not really looking forward to it. I'm having an evaluation at work tomorrow. It's annoying that a years worth of effort all comes down to a 40 minute observation. 

Went running this morning and it wasn't too fun. I felt tired and lethargic. I found myself wanting to keep stopping. After a while I stopped thinking and just focussed on breathing. That distraction was enough to help me get home strong. Little things can help a lot. 

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