"Cox SMTP east" wrote in message
news:HEaob.43207$iq3.17291@okepread01...
Congratulations! I am really inspired by your ability to go from food to
HMR to kinda food and sticking with it. (I say kinda because you still
use
their food). I liken it to an alcoholic being able to kindof drink. And,
I
don't say that in a mean sense...it's just that I know that the real
challenge for me would be maintenance and I applaud your ability to
maintain
your discipline during the transition period. Just out of curiosity, are
there any statistics on how many people hit transition one time, fail when
real food is re introduced and then have to lose the last 10 lbs again
after
they learn what they really need to do? Again, my curiosity is not
intended
to be critical, it's just that...curiosity. Again, congratulations.
Elise

I'm not sure about those stats, I'd have to check. I know plenty of people
who gained their weight back within months of stopping the fast, mostly
because they went right back to their old WOE. One person in my fasting
class as of last week was still looking forward to being able to eat
cheeseburgers again "as soon as she can keep them down." I know another
person who has never stopped whining since January when she went on
maintenance about how hard it is to keep off the weight and how she hopes I
don't get sick of exercise like she is, etc. She went on the South Beach
diet recently to lose the 15 pounds she put on.

How am I different from these two? I ask myself these things. Well, I
exercise religiously and with pleasure. 99% of the time I do not see it as
a chore that needs to be done but instead relish it and look forward to it
as my time to do something just for me. It is my sacred time to make a
connection with my body and challenge myself to go faster, farther, or just
go. The other 1% comes when I'm extremely tired, sore, sick, or enjoying
something else that's going on and don't want to make time and then I just
take a walk or even skip a workout.

The food that I'm eating now is real food. It's like eating Lean Cuisines
only they're put out by HMR so they're smaller portions and in many cases
more nutritionally dense. For example, I had turkey chili for lunch. For
dinner I had "savory chicken" which was roasted chicken with carrots and
mushrooms served with a wild rice combo with herbs. I wilted some fresh
baby spinach in crushed garlic (and non-stick spray) to go with it.

I take time to make myself special things like the spinach because I
appreciate the fact that the quality is so much better than fast food. I
went nuts the first few weeks, trying every vegetable in sight and even
losing control a few times. I made a 3 bean salad that was so good that
instead of 6 servings, I ate it in 2 sittings. This is why I haven't really
added other stuff into my diet yet. At least if I lose control, it's not
with things that will kill me.

I've had no problem turning down every piece of candy, cookie, and cupcake
offered to me - and today was a killer. We celebrated Halloween because the
kids have tomorrow off (inservice day for the teachers). People were
walking around the building all day stuffing candy into their mouths and
kids were bringing all kinds of treats to their teachers. Most skipped my
room because they know I don't do sugar The teacher across the hall has
his students do very elaborate pumpkin carving all week and then they roast
a ton of seeds. They roasted some without salt so I was able to indulge in
a small amount as a snack (instead of my apple).

I didn't really have a problem today, didn't even want the junk. Maybe it's
like Wendy in the chocolate shop...maybe I've internalized the desire to
keep my weight off enough that I realize there really isn't pleasure to be
found in that stuff. OTOH, the garlic spinach is to die for in my book.
Here's to hoping it stays like this!

DH and I are going out to dinner tomorrow night. I'm going to have broiled
fish while he has a fish fry. My first complete REAL meal since the
beginning of January. I want to test my sea legs a little. I'm planning a
decent bfast and lunch and a late afternoon snack so I won't be going to the
restaurant hungry. It's quite a bit like the alcoholic returning to a bar.
It's another hurdle I just want to get over.

Thanks for the support!!!

Jenn