Geoff wrote:
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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.

I found that to start with I had real difficulty eating all the points!
I was so keen to eat healthy low point stuff that I filled up on it
and left no room for the energy and brain food stuff! Duh! And the
sheer QUANTITY that my points represented could be daunting...

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.

It sounds like you had a bad experience with one thing in the past
somewhere (probably as a small child, and too long ago to trace!), and
that put you off. It may be a texture thing: I hated fried eggs as a
child because of the slimy texture of the white! I hated fatty meat for
the same reason. Try changing the textures of foods: process the
veggies to a pulp and use them in sauces, or try juicing them: not as
good as the 'real thing' from the dietary point, but still better than
no veggies! Zero point veggie soups can be pureed too, and that
disguises all sorts of horrors! Fruits can also be mangled up
nicely! Fruit smoothies made with zero fat Yoghurt are a great way to
get a nice creamy couple of portions in, along with the daily milk
allowance.
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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.

This I understand. My Little Sis was a veggie hater as a kid, and
wouldn't eat most 'Sunday Dinner' vegetables. We ended up making
coleslaw to go with her dinner, and feeding her the vegetables in soups!
Nowadays she does eat vegetables, but far fewer varieties than either
of her kids or her hubby! He likes dinner here and at my mum's because
we always do LOTS of veggies! I once got her to eat two portions of my
red cabbage and apple casserole (recipe below), and the whole family
regarded it as a minor miracle! Do keep trying, and as I said
elsewhere, try a little, and don't give up. Keep trying the same things
done different ways, as something may just take your fancy...

--------------------8-----------------------------------------------

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.

Email me then! The address above works. Most people won't criticism,
except in a constructive way. We know you know your eating habits are
not good, and we know and admire your efforts to change. Most folk here
will do their best to help you rather than slap you down.
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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.

If you ate 5 bananas a day, you'd not be short of potassium! (I was
after a bout of gall bladder disease, and 5 bananas a day would have
been WONDERFUL compared to the poisonous tasting concoction they made me
swallow! BLEARGH!)

It definitely sounds like a texture thing to me, possibly related to a
choking incident as a child (my son went off ice cream for a week or two
after one of those!). Frozen grapes are a wonderful thing in the heat
of the summer, and you cannot eat them fast! Grapes are 1 point for
100g.

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'.

Fibre from cereals tends to be more processed than raw vegetable fibre,
and sometimes you need to watch it a bit... Shredded Wheat is good,
even if it is a bit like eating Brillo pads! Porridge is good as oat
bran is soluble and less likely to irritate the gut than wheat bran.
Any high fibre version of bread and the like is better than the white
sort, but personally i draw the line at pasta! Whole wheat pasta has a
texture that I find loathly, and it tastes like cardboard!

In some way I know I'm very lucky, because I LOVE all the high fibre
stuff (except pasta!), and most fresh fruit and vegetables. About the
only vegetables I don't like are broad beans and okra!
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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?

We do get bigger bananas here, and they have to be pointed higher... q
100g (peeled weight) banana is 1.5 points.
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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!

Peel pears as well: I don't like pear skin texture much.
-------------------8---------------------------------------------
Is apples and bananas ok?

Yummy!

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.

I dislike Coke in all its forms, so it's never an issue with me.
-----------------------8--------------------------------------------------

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

OK, I dare you! Slice it thin or grate it, and eat a little at a
time. Don't worry if it makes you gag a bit to start with - you need to
train yourself out of that learned reaction. And try just chewing the
first couple of mouthfuls, for the taste and texture. If you know you
don't have to swallow them, you can explore the other side of carrots
without the pressure. Once you get used to the taste and texture, try
swallowing a little. Take it nice and slow, and don't let the gag
reaction scare you off.

You can tell I was a teacher in a former life, can't you!
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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.

Slowly! Try a little of something different every day. And keep trying
lots of things. You may never come to love vegetables the way I do, but
you may eventually find a variety you can eat comfortably. This will be
a HUGE victory for you, and we will cheer madly at every success.
Failures will be met with 'Never mind, at least you tried' and 'try this
instead'. Think of it as an adventurous journey, full of challenges and
new experiences.
-------------------------------8----------------------------------------

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.

This is why I think that it might be worth trying the meetings: real
live real world support from people on the same journey you are on, who
can help you with the hard parts and cheer the good days. I also want
you to ask yourself why you feel the way you do, and do what you do: it
helps you to realize what your motives are, and that is a step on the
way to changing them. No-one will condemn you for the past, but in
order to change the future, you need to know WHAT went wrong and WHY.
This will help you to avoid making the same errors of judgment and
choice now and in the future. Yes is will sometimes be painful, yes it
will be difficult, and yes some days you will blow it! If it was easy,
you and I would both be slim and fit tomorrow! As it is, tomorrow we
will both look much the same as today, BUT six months from now we will
both be in smaller trousers and able to walk further and quicker than we
can now, and ten years from now we will both be alive and well, not
dying of a weight related condition.

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

You are very welcome. Remember, learning the discipline will be as hard
as learning to love carrots, but it CAN be done! Good luck!


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