# Here I go again....



## my4fireflies (Sep 3, 2014)

I am a walking nightmare, or so it seems. I am 5'4" and my weight can fluctuate anywhere from 125-245 at any given time. Losing weight is no problem--its keeping it off! I signed up for WW (again). Last time it actually made me WORSE, so we will see. I am in a very different place mentally/emotionally this time around, so I have some hope that it will help. Anyone have any tips for KEEPING the weight off? I need strategies for not falling off the wagon when life gets tough.


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## plowjockey (Aug 18, 2008)

When you get stressed, exercise instead of eating. If this seems simple, it is. Good luck


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Have you been able to pinpoint triggers? Is it how much you eat or what you eat?

I just pcked up a copy of October&#8217;s _First for Women _(photo of Dolly Parton on the cover). It has several strategies, some of them refuting what we&#8217;ve been told. There may be something in there that would work for you.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

My "trigger" is too many carbs. I can eat some, just not too many! So, if I eat a lot of carbs only once every week or two my weight stays good. I maintain. 

But, if I overdo the carbs more than that I gain weight! So, mostly I tell myself "if you are still hungry eat more meat or salad". So, mostly when I eat out I can have the sandwich or burger, bun and all, just not the fries that go with it!


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## my4fireflies (Sep 3, 2014)

Started WW a month and a half ago. Down -8lbs


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Congrats on the weight loss!


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## my4fireflies (Sep 3, 2014)

Thanks


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## ClubMike (Nov 18, 2004)

I started 1 month ago and I am mostly watching my carb intake and exercising more. I got an exerpeutic recumbent exercise bike and it helps a lot. I am losing weight and I feel pretty good. Carbs just kick the crap out of my system. I love carbs, I even made it thru the Christmas holidays without going crazy. I am down 20 pounds this month.


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## Mid Tn Mama (May 11, 2002)

I don't know your age, but as we get older our needs for large amounts of food gets smaller. Unfortunately, no one told our "Wants" this fact.

I have found that sparkpeople is a great motivational website and when I started changing my diet, I used the nutrition tracker to help me see where I was losing the battle. I made some small daily changes that lead to a five lb drop just making small changes. One was, I don't use cream or sugar in my coffee. In fact, I reduced the amount of unnoticed sugar in what I was eating so that I COULD have a daily small "dessert", which I crave. 

Because of my cholesterol, I cut down on the amount of meat I eat. Breakfast and Lunch are always vegetarian and my dinners don't include big slabs of meat either. I consciously eat things that have more protein: brocolli, beans, hummus, tofu, peanut butter, nuts throughout the day.

The biggest thing I did was switch to a smaller plate. That wasn't easy at first, so I did as someone suggested and gave myself permission to have many extra servings of vegetables when I was hungry. A small change that is a big one is that I DO eat carbs but try only to eat whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat products) and I look at the whole day in terms of: If I have pancakes for breakfast, then I don't eat bread with dinner. Or if I have a pasta meal, I don't load my plate with it, I only fill 1/4 of my salad plate with it.
Good rule of thumb: 1/2 of your plate should be veggies (and all veggies are not the same--talking about green beans/brocolli here, not french fries)1/4 should be meat and 1/4 starch (potato, rice, pasta). That's a little off, but it's a start. So if you are having a big hunk of bread--that's your 1/4 of your meal. Ok if that's what you want, but don't load pasta on top of it.

Last thing: I try to have some type of beans and a salad (not your usual salad) with my lunches and dinner. The salad is SOME romaine/spinach or some better quality green and more vegetables like: shredded cabbage, carrots, avocado, Cooked dried beans, n uts, a tiny bit of feta. Sometimes I dump a can of three bean salad on my greens if I don't have time to chop. 

The devil is in the dressing. Where I used to work I noticed that the heavier people would bring a big salad to lunch (with the least nutrition in their salad and no protein. But where I think they really went wrong was that they covered the salad in dressing that was so fat laden and full of calories that they could have just eaten a cheeseburger and at least would have felt full.

When you compare things, it really opens your eyes. Most cereal is so full of sugar (yes, even Raisan Bran--that was an eye opener) that you might as well hand your kid a snickers bar for breakfast and be done with it!


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

my4fireflies said:


> Started WW a month and a half ago. Down -8lbs


Good work!


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

if you want to take it off and keep it off, it will require a long term lifestyle change. we have taken on a new way of eating called NSNG, it stands for NoSugarNoGrains. IT means we dont eat any grains, or any refined sugar most of the time. We have both lost weight, feel better and dont have any desire to go back to the Standard American Diet. Once you are off sugar for a while, you recalibrate your sweet tooth and everything tastes sweeter. The folks who propose this lifestyle, understand that nothing is 100% so they encourage putting life in to living, aka cheating just not every day or even every week. There is no cost to this program, its all available on line, except that real food costs more than packaged junk.


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## unregistered358895 (Jul 15, 2013)

We are getting back to a more reasonable diet as well. My weight fluctuates between 145 and 200, so I certainly feel your struggle. Several years ago we started moving away from processed foods. Unfortunately, when we are stressed we do terrible with portion control. I second the idea of switching to a smaller plate. It helps psychologically for us to have a small plate that is full than a large plate that has a lot of gaps.


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## Janis R (Jun 27, 2013)

Are you married? A spouse can sabotage your plans. 
Do you start keeping trigger foods in the house once you have lost weight? If you don't have it in the house you can't eat it.
Do you exercise?
Don't keep "fat" clothes in the house, it is so easy to just go up a size instead of losing the 10 pounds you gained.
Do you reward yourself with food? Try to reward yourself with a non food treat like a book, jewelry, movie, a new gadget.
Do you eat out as a social thing, what about going to a movie, walking with a friend, a museum anything that doesn't revolve around food. 
If you do go out to eat with friends, have the waitress immediately put half you food in a to go box.


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## MCJam (Dec 27, 2012)

..."if you want to take it off and keep it off, it will require a long term lifestyle change. we have taken on a new way of eating called NSNG, it stands for NoSugarNoGrains..."

I have to agree with Greencountrypete. I topped out at 190lbs. Cut out all sugar and grains, lost 60lbs and have kept it off without cravings, or feeling hungry. The key is to eat real fats, real food. Anything that must be made in a factory is NOT FOOD! We are homesteaders and understand this. If I can produce it at home it is food. Eating real fats (butter, lard, olive oil, meat with fat on it, chicken skin etc.) makes you feel satisfied much sooner than empty grain calories and you just naturally feel full and will eat only what your body needs. Lots of veggies,pastured meats, raw milk and cheeses, pastured chicken and their eggs. 

I FEEL GREAT!


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

Firist, have you had a thyroid check?

For most of my life I battle wieght gain. Heck I starved myself to be thin. I gained weight by walking by a doughnut.

Then I had my thryoid tested and discovered it was almost nonfunctional. Got the right med and the weight fell off. I also found out that a great many ppl on my maternal side of the family have thyroid issued.


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