"Kate Dicey" wrote in message
...

Hi Kate. Thanks for your nice long post. I'll go through it bit by bit...

If you are above the top weights in the charts, see if your mum can find
out through WW what your points SHOULD be. I know it will mean eating
more to start with, but you need a certain amount to keep working while
you work on the excess. Here in the UK if you are more than 20 stone or
280 lbs and a man, you get 36 points, plus whatever bonus points you
earn through exercise.

36 is what I'm working to at the moment. I am above 20 (and a man!) and
although 36 is hard to stick to, I have almost managed it for over 2 weeks
now (have gone a little over on some days). I figured that as I'm just about
managing it, I won't try to find out if I can eat anymore than that. Maybe
that isn't the best way to do things because I may not be getting enough,
but I'm not a huge amount over 20 stone and I do feel like I'm eating enough
really, however hard it is for me.

My main problem, as with all previous diets, is that I barely like any
food
that's good for me. That isn't by choice of course, it's just the way I
am
and I can't do anything about it.

Yes you can! One of the significant things about like and dislikes
in food is that MOST of them are LEARNED responses!

Yeah I accept that, but I really do feel physically sick at eating some
vegetables and although I haven't even tried many of them, I am scared to
because of how I react to some of them. There is probably some deep reason
why they make me feel physically sick but....well I don't know what to do. I
feel that if I can eat my points without touching a vegitable then I'll stay
away from them. Of course what I asked for is help with zero point foods,
and I know full well that the majority of people will tell me 'vegitables'.
So I'm a bit stuck.

There are very few
programmed in flavours that are natural and instant dislikes. One of
the things that is quite noticeable is that in families where a LOT of
fresh foods and vegetables are eaten, the kids LIKE things like Brussels
sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, courgettes, onions and whatever, and in
families where this is NOT encouraged from an early age (as in under a
year old!), the kids profess to dislike them even before trying them!

I agree with you. I'm not saying that I don't like all vegitables without
trying any though. I used to try things like beans and peas and I would
honestly throw up if I wasn't careful. They really did make me sick because
I found the taste sooo nasty-Especially peas! I know I need to try others
but I guess I'm just scared stiff to.

And stop thinking of it as a diet! It's a healthy eating plan FOR LIFE!
And like all major life changes, it takes time to work into and get right.

Good point, and that makes me realise that I do need to try different food
even if I am coping without it at the moment. I know I can't stick at what
I'm eating at the moment for the rest of my life. I would tell you what my
daily food roughly is but to be honest, I'll only attract a lot of replies
from people critisising it when I already know it's stupid.

Potatoes count as a starch in the Great Plan, not a vegetable. They are
in the same bracket as rice, bread, pasta, and the like. For the sake
of your health, you need to include AT LEAST 5 portions of fruit and
vegetables per day.

I could eat 5 bananas a day if I really had to but that would swallow up a
lot of my pounts-7.5 to be exact, as I'm sure you know (I'm just proof
reading this now and I know you don't agree with the 1.5 points and I've
mentioned that later). Doesn't sound that bad actually. I know that I
shouldn't just stick to bananas though and I wouldn't want to. I can eat
apples too, although I don't like them very much. It isn't the taste I don't
like but they are just hard to eat! I'll eat them if I have to though. I
like some other fruits such as grapes, and someone else suggested them as a
low points fruit.

You mentioned fiber that you get from vegitables and fruit. How about if I
get it from cereal? I know that a lot of cereal has fiber in. I don't know
how much compared to what I need for the day but I have maybe 2 bowls of
cereal a day as part of my current 'plan'.

I can eat some fruit but it seems I only like the fruit with higher
points.
The main fruit I'll eat is bananas but at 1.5 points that isn't
something I
can eat 10 of without it affecting my diet.

The must be VERY big bananas! A small (80g without skin) banana is
1 point here in the UK.

I was going by one of the WW lists that I THINK says a 'medium' banana is
1.5 points. What do you think? Is that not correct or (like most things!) is
it too Americanised? Do they have larger bananas in America or something?

Apples are only half a point each, and there are LOTS of different
varieties
about. Try different varieties and see what you can find.

I definately will, thank you.

Peel fruit and chop it up: takes longer to prepare and eat that way!

I would peel the apples anyway because the part I don't like about them is
the skin! I just need to practise my non-existant peeling skills!

Mix a higher point fruit with a lower point one: a cocktail of apples and
orange, or kiwi fruit and pear, for example.

Is apples and bananas ok?

Have you tried having a drink instead? Quite often the body gets
confused and asks for food when it's really dehydrated. Have a glass of
water and wait. If you are still hungry after 20 minutes, eat a raw
carrot!

I can't eat carrots....yet anyway. I do actually drink a lot of water
and when I'm hungry it does help. I love water with tons of ice in and that
does really help me. I also drink a lot of diet coke. I know some people say
that isn't good for me but it's zero points, so when I'm as desperate as I
am to lose a lot of weight, I'll get the weight off first and then worry
about what's not good for me.

Carrots are quite a good one. If you chop them in slices and eat them
like chips, they taste sweeter and last longer. Swede and carrots
grated take AGES to eat, so make you feel fuller, and they taste sweeter
than when whole or boiled.

Someone needs to dare me to try a carrot I think! Such a scary thought.

There aren't any really good 'mad munchies' foods that are not
vegetables. I'm going to suggest something here that I want you to
think about really seriously: learn to cook! NOT just to throw a few
simple dishes together, but really learn to prepare and cook vegetables.
Get a WW vegetarian cookbook, and try lots of different things in
different combinations. If you don't like the 'two veg' of meat and two
veg dinners, ask yourself why. Do you dislike carrots and broccoli
because they are cooked to a tasteless mush?

If they were a tasteless mush that would be better to be honest.

Thanks for the recipe idea Kate. I don't know how I can eat all that stuff
at the moment but I DO want to be able to, I really do. I don't know how to
make myself like vegitables though.

The last thing I can do is say KEEP TRYING! New tastes take a while to
develop, so don't give up, and try a little at a time.

I will try, but it is tough. I've never managed to lose much weight in the
past and a big part of me thinks I won't manage this time either. I know
that isn't the way to think but I can't help that. This is why I need
support, but I need 'real' support from friends who really care. I don't
have any local friends though so I'm a bit stuck. I know I can get support
in some places like this group, but even then SOME people tend to criticise
rather than help. Some have the attitude, "Why do you think this? Why do you
do that?" and are harsh about it, rather than trying to understand and help
me, so then I just get wound up and soon give up totally.

Thanks again for your long post, it's been helpful.
Geoff.