172.2 A Dear Bob Letter

Today I received a note from a friend who asked me to share my diet with him. This is probably way more than he expected, but it forced me to clarify how I did lose these 80 pounds by responding to his request. Here's my post weight loss view of how I did it.

"Dear Bob, It was great to hear from you! I'd love to share some basic ideas with you. My success was not based on a quick weight loss diet or special products. I had to figure out why I was overeating and I learned to change a lot of my behaviors around food. So, if you're still with me, here we go!

First of all, don't view this as a diet. To be successful over time (especially at our ages) this is a life style change that will be yours for the rest of your life. Once you reach your goal weight, you can ease up a bit, but you will never want to return to your old ways, because you are going to feel so much better and look better.

Okay, so where do you start?

Start by eating one-half the amount you now eat. In other words, don't cut out all of your favorite foods and then feel deprived, just eat less. Serve yourself the half amount and then no second helpings.

Consciously eat much more slowly so that your plate isn't cleaned while Dorli still has lots left to eat. Try to eat more slowly than she does so that doesn't happen. Also, by eating more slowly, you will begin to enjoy your food more, the tastes, the textures, etc., and you'll give your body and brain a chance to get into sync about feeling satisfied.

Learn, if you don't already know, what a healthy list of foods consists of. So, when you do feel hungry, you turn to something on that list to stave off hunger pains. For example, always have raw carrots, apples, berries, sugarless gum (a big favorite of mine for night hunger), etc., so that you don't have to go around feeling hungry. And drink lots of water...between 50 and 70 ounces a day in addition to coffee, etc.

And now the biggie...think about cutting back on the alcohol. I ended up not drinking at all during the period of weight loss. I was drinking about 18 - 20 oz. of wine most nights. What I learned was that if I drank at all, it weakened my resolve and I'd give into more wine and then eat what ever and all I wanted to eat. I'm sure that lots of folks could just cut back and stay in control of their food choices and food intake.

And, there are some foods you really have to think about cutting way back on and those include cheese (oh, I hate to say it, but it is so full of fat), beef, and starchy veges at night - potatoes and corn.

Push fish, chicken, salad with little bits of dressing, and non-starchy veges. I would eat 2 or more servings of green veges at dinner time as insurance against feeling hungry before bed. And yes, put a little butter on those veges, make things taste good, but stay AWARE of all that you eat. Aware is the big word in all of this.

Maybe you didn't expect this long note, but I really want to share my ideas with you. I think you'll find that once you break the habits that aren't healthy, and find new foods you really enjoy (mine was/is spinach - who knew?), you'll enjoy your meals and have success.

Oh, one more thing that is hard and not usually recommended, but that is to weigh yourself at the same time everyday wearing the same thing (your birthday suit is perfect). Yes, your weight naturally fluctuates, but staying aware of where you are everyday will be motivating and give you information. As my wt. loss therapist always said the weigh in process is not judgmental, it's for information. And when you see that you've lost you will feel great and motivated to stay aware during the coming day. And if you see that you've gained, you will be motivated to stick with it so that you can experience the joy of success when you see your weight go down a bit.

If you have any questions about any of this let me know, and if you like, we could stay in email conversation as you move forward.

Love and best wishes for success."

171.2 A Good Habit

It's warming up so I think I'll be out walking tomorrow and in the (heated) pool by mid week. I know, it's tough, but somebody's got to do it and I've volunteered. I think upping the exercise with the Wii Fit Plus yesterday really did help, and I have stopped gorging before bed. What got into me? Nuts, peanut butter, all sorts of crazy things got into me before bed. I was hungry at bedtime last night, but I stood my ground after eating an apple and fell asleep. It felt great to get up and see that my weight is heading back down.

I am so glad that I trained myself to get on the scale every morning. It's habitual now, and one of the best habits I've ever had. Just like the weight loss, the maintenance is hinging on weighing myself everyday.

175.4 What The Hell Is Going On?

Every so often during the ESL class, I teach the students some idioms. Rather than thinking they are too superficial or difficult to learn, they really like to learn about them. One of the idioms we talked about today was "all hell broke loose". After we finished with that one, the student from Burma/Myanmar asked me what "what the hell is going on" means. She said that she hears the women at her gym say that all the time.

Well, I just had to laugh out loud because that is exactly what I said to myself when I got on the scale this morning. Of course, I don't always know why my weight jumps around, but late last night there was some emotional eating going on so that may be one reason why my weight popped up. And I now have to deal with it and move on. Hmmm...5 pounds, so close and yet so far. I think that's an idiom, too.

176.6 Breaking Away, First Night!

I did it! I didn't eat after dinner, but :) what I did do was eat a 100 calorie "ice cream bar" for dessert with my dinner. I thought a lot about doing that. It wasn't an impulse treat. This was actually a big deal for me because I rarely, very rarely, have been eating any dessert with my dinner. So last night I decided that if had that treat I could have a sense of completion and not feel deprived. Did it work? Did I experience the night hunger pains?

Well, I did feel a little hungry by about 9:30 PM, but my attitude was so what! I had had a great day food wise, a healthy day with a little treat, so I just let it go. I fell asleep without a problem and I'd love to write that I slept soundly through the night. Well, that wasn't the case. I actually had a rough night, but I never felt hungry, and when I got up this morning I didn't feel hungry. (And, I've had sleep issues over the years, no matter how much or how late at night I have eaten.)

And I lost a pound! What more could a gal on a mission to reach her goal want? I'm sticking with this new plan knowing I won't lose a pound a day, but also believing that this new strategy may serve me very well.

177.8 Breaking Away!

I've been doing self hypnosis on a regular basis now and find it quite amazing. While doing it, things come into my mind that I haven't previously given any conscious thought to, and it's in some ways startling.

For example, today it came to me that I would no longer eat anything after dinner. I've been writing about night time hunger in this blog forever and yet I have never really found a good solution to it. The message is simple - after I finish eating dinner I won't eat anything until breakfast the next day. Then I won't have to deal at 9:30 at night with decisions about what to eat, how many calories the alternatives contain, and how will it affect what I have eaten all day. What I really believe will happen is that I will break away from an old, bad habit! I think I've always eaten "a little something" before bed almost every night for much of my adult life.

It also came to me while doing this hypnosis today that I didn't need to fear hunger, that if I eat a healthy amount of food every day, I don't need to fear hunger. Hmmm, another novel thought.

Yes, I will probably be hungry for several nights in a row once I start this new regimen, but soon it will disappear like the desire to bite my finger nails or drink wine. What an exciting and liberating thought!

178.4 Noodles, Anyone? Miracle Noodles?

My brother-in-law sent me this today and I am tempted to order these miracle (!) noodles. Let me say I'm not in any way endorsing these noodles since I have not yet tasted even one! But here's a natural product that has no calories and makes you feel full, and they will absorb any flavor you combine them with.

I do crave pasta occasionally, and so I am thinking about this. But I've also prided myself on losing this weight without taking any drugs or weight loss products. I'm wondering if this would count as a weight loss product.

Here's what I am thinking since I'm still fighting the right before bed hunger pains! What if I have a portion of these noodles every night before I head off into dreamland? Maybe that will solve everything, especially if they taste okay with nothing added that is high in calories, or salt.

Remember the commercial where the kids want to get the little brother Mikey to taste the new cereal? I'm working on my brother-in-law to take the role of Mikey and order the first batch! Here's the link, if you're interested! http://www.miraclenoodle.com

Maybe this is one of those times when if it looks to good to be true, it probably is! Let me know if you try this.

188.0 Chew, Chew Chew Chew, Chew, Chewing Gum!

Today was another date day and this time we invited another couple to go with us. Being an advocate of chewing gum when hungry, I thought we should go visit the Wrigley Mansion, actually their "winter cottage". The Wrigley Mansion is not huge or terribly pretentious, but it is certainly grander than your everyday winter cottage. Today was an absolutely gorgeous day here as you can see from the day time photos. We kept talking about how much we'd like to come at night because the views are spectacular. What was really interesting is that you paid what you wanted to for lunch. and we did, and we paid them well because the food was delicious.

So what did I have? I had the Chipotle Chicken Caesar Salad. The chicken was tender and moist, and the romaine was crisp and fresh. I either dipped the salad greens into the dressing, or dipped my fork in the dressing and then stabbed some lettuce. What I didn't do was eat all of the dressing! It's amazing how little I eat when I use the dipping method instead of pouring it all on.

We had a great time. It is so beautiful here now. Yes, it was hot but as we say out here, it's a dry heat so it is much easier to tolerate. It's true. So much better than the humid heat that plagues most of the rest of the country. I just love it out here!

191.4 Night Hunger Revisited

Boring! I am reaching the nudgey stage since I have been at this weight for the last 4 days. You'd think it would vary by at least 2 ounces. (That is the interval my scale is calibrated on.) I'm wondering if I will ever lose another pound. I know I will, but when? :) I'm ready now!

I don't know if any of you have this problem, but the hardest time during the day, everyday, that I have around food issues is about an hour or two after I finish dinner. It doesn't seem to matter what I have for dinner. I get really hungry. If I give into the hunger I feel like have have blown the whole day of being on track with everything. I've tried the gum chewing routine, which works sometimes, but not always, and then I wake up during the night feeling hungry. I often eat an apple, but sometimes I just go nuts and eat nuts, or peanut butter unconsciously or by becoming delusional and telling myself it is okay. And then I get really mad at myself for "falling off the wagon". I think this is basically a bad habit. I need to listen to my inner spirit for encouragement and just not eat anything after dinner for a couple of weeks and let this night hunger lose its hold on me.