And Now a Word on Eating

Funny where you get when you hop around the web. I started at Loobylu this morning, then jumped from there to French Toast Girl, where I saw a link to a diet that involved eating everything with chopsticks. The description of it reminded me of a book I read back in the mid-90s called Overcoming Overeating. I totally understood the principles, but it was really hard to let go and surround myself with food, to trust that eventually I'd stop wanting to eat everything if I realized I could have whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it.

Lately I've been following a modified Atkins plan. I didn't start with Induction (where you eat as much meat as you want and only 3 cups of salad greens a day for at least two weeks) because I only have about 10 pounds to lose, and because Induction is difficult for a semi-vegetarian (I eat fish). I lost about 4 pounds at first, but lately I've been bouncing around in that 4-pound range. Some days at the top, where I started, and some days closer to the bottom. So for weight loss, apparently I have to be more diligent about counting my carbs. The best thing about this plan is that I've managed to kick my addiction to candy and baked goods. I don't worry too much about small amounts of sugar in my foods, and I eat diabetic-friendly chocolate (sweetened with maltitol or sucralose), but I've cut out the overt sugars that used to make up the majority of my daily calorie intake.

Getting rid of sugar is great, but I've never really been able to get a grip on eating normal quantities of food. I like to eat things one-after-the-other too much. It seems almost impossible for me *not* to eat while I'm working, too. It's something to do when I'm stuck. I'm not sure that chopsticks will slow me down all that much, either, since I'm fairly proficient with them (Al's Korean relatives were impressed; they had been prepared to offer me a fork until they saw me tackle my sushi and soba noodles like a native). I've tried banning food from my cube, but that goes out the window during crunch times.

The trick for me really is determining whether I'm hungry, or whether I'm just bored or frustrated. Since I've been bored or frustrated most of the time since age 6—but rarely truly hungry—is it any wonder that I can't tell the difference?

Posted by Lori in food at 2:40 PM on March 20, 2003

Comments (7)

Anon:

I have read over many of your web posts on your interesting web site. The comment I have is for you to think about what you do for others, because it seems to me that the world has given you a lot: beauty, intelligence, insight, and a strong quick body. I see that your life seems to be complete except that I do not see you giving back anything. I do not see volunteering or contributing to charities or helping friends down on their luck. Open your eyes to others and try to find someone or some cause which will benefit greatly from your time or generosity -- for whom the benefit will be greater than the effort exerted. If you understand the message, you may also know the poster.

While I wish to remain unidentified at this time, I ask that you consider the message and know that, as the sender, I respect the potential gifts you can give back to the world.

peace,
Anon

Lori:

Thanks for taking the time to comment. Just because you don't see something doesn't mean it isn't there, though. Despite appearances to the contrary, I don't blog everything I do.

goalie jason:

You know that diets don't work right? You can change the way you eat, take the Atkins, Pritkin, all-grapefruit, all-celery, all-chicken, chopstick, no-carb, all-protein, diet as far as you like, but in the long term it's lifestyle change that will keep the weight off.

Exercise works so much better than diets. Throw in a few more workouts. Bike to work, go for walks at night, play more hockey, whatever. Burn more calories, then you can eat more of what you want.

When I stopped eating meat I lost a couple of pounds, but when I started exercising more and eating *better* is when I really started losing the weight. Like anything in life, you get back what you put in. If you try to keep weight off just by starving yourself or dieting, you'll have a hard time and likely be unhappy. If you put in extra time exercising, you'll feel better and won't obsess about that third slice of pizza you just ate because you're out of points. Eating right and exercise beats the diets every time, not to mention all of the additional benefits of exercise.

Starving myself would have never worked. I can't eat a shake for breakfast and lunch. No chance. More veggies and little or no fast food really helped though.

I probably work out more than most however, but it's worked like a charm. 30 lbs in 18 months....

Congrats to both Al and yourself on getting married BTW. Hope to see you on the ice again sometime...

Lori:

Hi Jason! Congratulations on your weight loss. :) Hope to see you on the ice soon, too.

goalie jason:

It seems almost silly for me to even mention losing weight. At 6'5" 220 I didn't think I looked overweight, now I'm 30 lbs lighter and I'm quite skinny. I'm running much faster now than I ever had before, which is neat. Playing hockey a little better as well. I have noticed that I'm a little bit colder when I SCUBA dive however. Less insulation I guess.

Best of luck to you anyway and ummm.... give back to the community or something. ;)

Lori:

I was wondering whether you'd gained a bunch of weight since the last time I'd seen you or something, because you looked perfectly normal to me then. :) I can see how dropping fat would make you colder when you dive -- though since fat floats, being leaner also probably helps you descend faster...

goalie jason:

The diving benefit is that I've been able to drop about 6 lbs from my weight belt over the last year. That's 6 less lbs that I have to carry across the beach or the back of a boat.

Descending fast isn't really a concern while diving. It's not as dangerous as ascending fast, however your descent speed is actually limited to how easily / quickly you can clear your ears on the way down to equalize the increasing pressure. You don't want to push too hard trying to clear your ears and blow your ear drums.

Comments

I have read over many of your web posts on your interesting web site. The comment I have is for you to think about what you do for others, because it seems to me that the world has given you a lot: beauty, intelligence, insight, and a strong quick body. I see that your life seems to be complete except that I do not see you giving back anything. I do not see volunteering or contributing to charities or helping friends down on their luck. Open your eyes to others and try to find someone or some cause which will benefit greatly from your time or generosity -- for whom the benefit will be greater than the effort exerted. If you understand the message, you may also know the poster.

While I wish to remain unidentified at this time, I ask that you consider the message and know that, as the sender, I respect the potential gifts you can give back to the world.

peace,
Anon

Posted by: Anon at March 20, 2003 11:12 PM

Thanks for taking the time to comment. Just because you don't see something doesn't mean it isn't there, though. Despite appearances to the contrary, I don't blog everything I do.

Posted by: Lori at March 21, 2003 1:07 PM

You know that diets don't work right? You can change the way you eat, take the Atkins, Pritkin, all-grapefruit, all-celery, all-chicken, chopstick, no-carb, all-protein, diet as far as you like, but in the long term it's lifestyle change that will keep the weight off.

Exercise works so much better than diets. Throw in a few more workouts. Bike to work, go for walks at night, play more hockey, whatever. Burn more calories, then you can eat more of what you want.

When I stopped eating meat I lost a couple of pounds, but when I started exercising more and eating *better* is when I really started losing the weight. Like anything in life, you get back what you put in. If you try to keep weight off just by starving yourself or dieting, you'll have a hard time and likely be unhappy. If you put in extra time exercising, you'll feel better and won't obsess about that third slice of pizza you just ate because you're out of points. Eating right and exercise beats the diets every time, not to mention all of the additional benefits of exercise.

Starving myself would have never worked. I can't eat a shake for breakfast and lunch. No chance. More veggies and little or no fast food really helped though.

I probably work out more than most however, but it's worked like a charm. 30 lbs in 18 months....

Congrats to both Al and yourself on getting married BTW. Hope to see you on the ice again sometime...

Posted by: goalie jason at March 24, 2003 11:43 AM

Hi Jason! Congratulations on your weight loss. :) Hope to see you on the ice soon, too.

Posted by: Lori at March 24, 2003 4:53 PM

It seems almost silly for me to even mention losing weight. At 6'5" 220 I didn't think I looked overweight, now I'm 30 lbs lighter and I'm quite skinny. I'm running much faster now than I ever had before, which is neat. Playing hockey a little better as well. I have noticed that I'm a little bit colder when I SCUBA dive however. Less insulation I guess.

Best of luck to you anyway and ummm.... give back to the community or something. ;)

Posted by: goalie jason at March 25, 2003 4:01 PM

I was wondering whether you'd gained a bunch of weight since the last time I'd seen you or something, because you looked perfectly normal to me then. :) I can see how dropping fat would make you colder when you dive -- though since fat floats, being leaner also probably helps you descend faster...

Posted by: Lori at March 26, 2003 3:42 PM

The diving benefit is that I've been able to drop about 6 lbs from my weight belt over the last year. That's 6 less lbs that I have to carry across the beach or the back of a boat.

Descending fast isn't really a concern while diving. It's not as dangerous as ascending fast, however your descent speed is actually limited to how easily / quickly you can clear your ears on the way down to equalize the increasing pressure. You don't want to push too hard trying to clear your ears and blow your ear drums.

Posted by: goalie jason at March 27, 2003 10:04 AM

Comments are now closed.