Final weekly update

It sounds liek you have really thought about maintainace, and have a
good plan for slowly getting back to a normal way of eating, I wish
you all the best and beleive you can do this.
Michelle
Ozzie in Switzerland

WW WI 69.8 / 63.1 / 61kg 134 lbs

On Thu, 30 Oct 2003 20:54:27 -0600, "Jennifer Austin"
wrote:


"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

"Jennifer Austin" wrote in message
...

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

With the determination you've shown throughout the program I doubt the
restaurant is going to be a hurdle for you. You'll tackle this one just
like all the others you've encountered along the way. Have fun!

Beverly

"Michelle Guy" wrote in message
...
It sounds liek you have really thought about maintainace, and have a
good plan for slowly getting back to a normal way of eating, I wish
you all the best and beleive you can do this.
Michelle
Ozzie in Switzerland

WW WI 69.8 / 63.1 / 61kg 134 lbs

Thanks! I believe I can do it too. I just need to keep the faith.

Jenn

"Beverly" wrote in message
...

With the determination you've shown throughout the program I doubt the
restaurant is going to be a hurdle for you. You'll tackle this one just
like all the others you've encountered along the way. Have fun!

Beverly



It worked out pretty well. We had to switch places because where we planned
to go was closed. We ended up at another place that I never really cared
for but they changed their menu since the last time we were there and it
turned out really great. I had salmon that was grilled without butter or
oil but with some spices. It came with a honey dijon sauce that was on the
side and I dipped my fork into it a few times. I cut a piece that was
approximately the size of a deck of cards (DH double checked for me). It
came with a baked potato which I cut to the size of the potatoes I normally
eat at home and kept the rest in the foil. I put vinegar and pepper on it
and it was good. It also came with a small plate of lettuce and 1 cherry
tomato that counted as the salad which I also ate with vinegar and pepper.

I was very full and while still tempted to eat the rest of the salmon, I
decided to listen to my body and stop eating. I have enough calories left
today to have some HMR pudding with fruit tonight - my favorite bedtime
snack.

Next time I'll probably try the walleye

Jenn

"Jennifer Austin" wrote

It worked out pretty well. We had to switch places because where we
planned
to go was closed. We ended up at another place that I never really cared
for but they changed their menu since the last time we were there and it
turned out really great. I had salmon that was grilled without butter or
oil but with some spices. It came with a honey dijon sauce that was on
the
side and I dipped my fork into it a few times. I cut a piece that was
approximately the size of a deck of cards (DH double checked for me). It
came with a baked potato which I cut to the size of the potatoes I
normally
eat at home and kept the rest in the foil. I put vinegar and pepper on it
and it was good. It also came with a small plate of lettuce and 1 cherry
tomato that counted as the salad which I also ate with vinegar and pepper.

I was very full and while still tempted to eat the rest of the salmon, I
decided to listen to my body and stop eating. I have enough calories left
today to have some HMR pudding with fruit tonight - my favorite bedtime
snack.

Next time I'll probably try the walleye


Oh Jenn, this is so cool! I hope you enjoyed it.

(btw, I think it made the national news, but did you hear about the poor
student at Ellsworth HS? One kid lit another's costume on fire during a
Halloween assembly/ rally type thing. A friend's daughter was onstage and
saw him running towards the front. A couple teachers put the fire out but
he is badly burned. The idiot kid has been charged :-( )


--
Walking on . . .
Laurie in Maine
207/110 60 inches of attitude!
Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03

"SnugBear" wrote in message
...
(btw, I think it made the national news, but did you hear about the poor
student at Ellsworth HS? One kid lit another's costume on fire during a
Halloween assembly/ rally type thing. A friend's daughter was onstage and
saw him running towards the front. A couple teachers put the fire out but
he is badly burned. The idiot kid has been charged :-( )


--
Walking on . . .
Laurie in Maine
207/110 60 inches of attitude!
Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03


Didn't hear about it here, but I haven't watched much news the last day or
two. Unfortunately that kind of tragedy doesn't surprise me anymore.

--
Jenn
300/145 in maintenance since 10/28/03
Living well is the best revenge

(btw, I think it made the national news, but did you hear about the poor
student at Ellsworth HS? One kid lit another's costume on fire during a
Halloween assembly/ rally type thing. A friend's daughter was onstage and
saw him running towards the front. A couple teachers put the fire out but
he is badly burned. The idiot kid has been charged :-( )


That's horrible, Ellsworth was always quiet while I was in school.
Bucksport BTW.

Dan - 305/290/220