Conference rocks::weight_control

    re: .0
    
    >It tasted to good why do I feel so bad ?
    
    Well, Ann, I do know the feeling you are talking about. I used to
    get caught in that cycle, too. You know, eat something, feel guilty,
    eat  more, trying to make the BAD feeling go away, feel more guilty,
    eat more, etc...
    
    I finally sat myself down and had a little talk with myself. I decided
    that if I was going to eat these things, then by golly, I was going
    to enjoy them. Feeling guilty was not a pleasant experience. And
    it does tend to take all of the enjoyment out of eating whatever
    it was. 
    
    So now, when I want some of that yummy whatever, I first talk to
    myself and decide if the enjoyment will be worth the calories. If
    it will, then I have some. And I don't let myself feel guilty. I
    enjoy every bite. Consciously. Actively.  
    
    Another thing that helps this process is to try to have small portions.
    This way I can feel good not only because it tasted great, but also
    because I kept *some* control. 
    
    I have now begun to work on being aware of the pleasure while it
    is happening. And stopping if the pleasure is not there. I mean,
    if that big plate of cookies looks *so* yummy that I decide that
    the pleasure is worth the calories, but as I am eating, I realize
    that the cookies really DON'T taste as good as I thought they would,
    I am getting better at putting them down. (HA! Another reason to
    feel good!)
    
    Please don't get the impression that I have got all this down pat.
    I don't. But I am working on it. And, I have gotten somewhat better.
    I can see definite progress when I look back, even a short 6 months
    ago.                 
    
    I wish you luck on finding your own way to deal with this issue.
    Hang in there.
    
    -Amy.

    I know EXACTLY how you are feeling....  I'm feeling the same way!
    
    I did the exact same thing over Christmas....Didn't eat TONS, but
    shouldn't of eaten what I did....(That cheesecake just did it to
    me!!!) And actually I had 2 christmas dinners,one Sat and one Sun...
    (but didn't have dessert at the second!)
    
    I lost 20 lbs from June to September, and have *luckily* kept most
    of it off....not really dieting now, just having a good day for
    each "bad" one...so it happens to be staying off.  BUT...I have
    to admit, the scale was up 2-3 lbs this morning and I didnt like
    it ONE BIT!!!!  
    
    I had been on the Diet workshop plan during my dieting, and plan
    to go back in February (couldn't afford it this month) so I don't
    really have any support right now, but I learned enough fromthe
    workshop to hopefully keep myself in line...
    
    But...I'm cracking back down today....(after seeing those 2-3 lbs)
    I know as of Friday I am going to probably eat a few more goodies
    over the NewYears weekend but I have decided to be "good" till then.
    I got back to my 8 glasses of water today and decided to skip lunch
    (I know its not good to skip meals, but it works for me if I do
     it a couple of times a week)
    
    I'm rambling on...I guess I just wanted to say that I feel exactly
    the same way you do, and am just going to try to hang in there and
    after next week........BIGTIME DIET!!!   Lets hope it works.  I
    want to go back to diet workshop in February still DOWN the 20 I
    lost over the summer...Don't want to have to backtrack!  
    
    Good luck and hang in there!!!
    

    IT WAS REALLY HARD FOR ME TO CHEAT OVER THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY I
    HAVE LOST 25 LBS SINCE THE END OF JUNE AND I SAW A LOT OF RELATIVES
    THAT HAVEN'T SEEN ME SINCE THE END OF JUNE. THEY WERE ALL COMMENTING
    ON HOW WELL I'VE DONE AND HOW GOOD I LOOK. PLUS THEM WERE RIGHT
    THERE EVERTIME I FELT THE URGE TO CHEAT.
    
    I WAS DONE 1/2 LB THIS PAST WED. AT WEIGHT WATCHERS SO I STILL WASN'T
    AS CAREFUL AS I COULD HAVE BEEN, BUT NOT BAD. I HAVE 15 MORE LBS
    TO LOSE AND I AM PLANNING ON GETTING REAL SERIOUS AGAIN.
    
    HOLIDAYS ARE REALLY TOUGH.

I went to Texas to see relatives and their eating habits are nothing like mine. 
I don't do red meat and that's all they do.  I do veggies and they don't.  The 
only veggie was the lettuce leaf on the hamburger pattie.  The only fruit was 
canned with coconut and pecans and walnuts added.  I got toxed out and had 
really bad headaches; I have had no appetite since returning and have been 
eating very healthy and moderate meals.  In short, I think that one step back 
is actually going to propel me forward more quickly than I might have otherwise 
gone!

    I am looking forward to tonight at 12 midnite when I will go back
    on program for at least two months.  I am real good at setting short
    term goals but after that two months is over I will have to deal
    with a lifetime.  But it is a learning process and I am hopeful
    that this year I will do even better than last year...
    
    I to have been feeling terrible because of the food I have been
    eating.  I do not know why I punish my body this way!

I haven't done so good for the past two weeks.  Well, Christmas wasn't so 
bad.  I made the whole traditional Christmas dinner for us, sans dessert.  
I ate some of everything, but controlled my portions.  I even allowed 
myself a glass of wine two days in a row.  That really wasn't so bad, but 
Christmas gifts from friends nearly did us in!  One gift was a box of 
Godiva chocolates, and they were *wonderful*.  Then another friend sent us 
a 3-lb. tin of Virginia peanuts, which are also *wonderful*.  We also got a 
loaf of homemade poppy seed bread with a citrus glaze drizzled over the top
-- ummmmmmmmmm.  WHY OH WHY DO I LOVE FOOD SO MUCH??????????????????????

At WW I had gained 3/4 pound, but wasn't really upset since I expected it
and had already decided to enjoy Christmas to the fullest even if it meant
a small gain. 

But then came New Year's Eve.  We had guests for dinner, and I spent two 
days in the kitchen (my favorite place to be) preparing the meal.  I had 
already made up my mind that WW was *not* going to ruin my New Year's Eve, 
but now I'm worrying a little about my WW meeting Wednesday night.  I'm 
expecting a couple of pounds at least.  We had some of the most fattening 
dishes imaginable, but darn it, it was *New Year's Eve*, the biggest night 
of the year for me!  Salmon mousse, Caesar's salad, julienne of zucchini 
and carrots tossed with melted butter and olive oil, beef Wellington, and 
lemon mousse cheesecake for dessert with homemade candied lemon zest for 
garnish.  And slightly more than one bottle of wine per couple.

Well, how many pounds can you actually gain from one meal?  We'll see 
tomorrow night.  I know one thing --  starting Thursday morning it's back 
to basics -- and I mean to stick to the WW program to the last letter till 
the remaining 20-some pounds are gone!!!

							Pat

    Pat in .6
    
    Can I come to your house for dinner next New Years Eve? You must
    be quite a cook. Why did you pick those things to make when a lower
    calorie feast under your talented preparation skills would have
    been just as great?

    Pat,

    Yes, it sounds like you overdid it a bit on New Years Eve.  

    But...

    Hopefully you enjoyed yourself, and one night isn't going to set you back
    all that far, in spite of the way it may feel.  Some of the gain you'll
    see at WW is water, and it'll go as quickly as it came.

    If a feast like this is important to you, and you'd feel that you were
    really depriving yourself if you skipped it, then you're probably best off
    having it, accepting it, then getting back on program.  Don't beat
    yourself up over it; you're not a bad person just because you indulged
    yourself for one night.

    I predict that you will have lost any weight that you put back on over the
    holidays by the end of January.

    Hang in there,
    Beverly

RE: .6
    
  >> Can I come to your house for dinner next New Years Eve?     

    Come on -- the more the merrier!
    
  >> You must be quite a cook.
    
    I guess many if not most of us have an unfulfilled desire - something
    we'd like to have done with our lives.  Well, my fondest dream is
    to own a catering service.  I'm never happier than when in the kitchen
    concocting something decadent, and if I ever declare personal
    bankruptcy it'll be caused by all the tableware I buy!  Setting
    a pretty table and filling it with wonderful food is the most
    satisfying and relaxing thing I've ever found I can do.
    
  >> Why did you pick those things to make when a lower calorie feast
    under your talented preparation skills would have been just as great? 

    Perhaps it's because I've been deprived for 10 weeks and 18-1/2
    pounds of WW membership.  I haven't really *felt* deprived, and
    haven't been particularly hungry, but the urge to overdo it New
    Year's Eve makes me think maybe I was subconsciously trying to make
    up for the deprivation over the past few weeks.
    
    Wellington is one of our favorites anyway, and there's something
    festive about putting a *beautiful* piece of beef on the table.  As for
    the lemon mousse cheesecake, I saw it in the current issue of Cook's
    magazine and knew instinctively that this would be one of those recipes
    that becomes a treasured possession.  I can honestly say it's one
    of the best desserts I've ever tasted.
    
    Soooo, all in all I believe it was worth it.  The scales will tell
    tomorrow night.  I felt pretty guilty yesterday, but felt better
    this morning when I sent the entire 3-pound tin of peanuts to work
    with Steve with instructions to give them *all* away. 
    
    							Pat

    re .6:
    
    "...but, darn it, it was *New Year's Eve*...".
    
    See "Dieter's Excuse Note  :-)", number 136 in this conference,
    for plenty more excuses to go off your food plan.
    
    Lynn T.
    :-)

    
> I sent the entire 3-pound tin of peanuts to work with Steve with 
> instructions to give them *all* away. 
    
    Good for you!
    
    Beverly
    

And, here's another one who overdid it, but am not beating myself up for
it.  I am SO HAPPY that I have a WW meeting tonight so I can get back
in control (she says after downing 8 or more chocolate covered macadamias).

Something that really amazed me was to see how bad my parents eat (my opinion).
There was only a "plain" veggie one night, otherwise, it was veg casserole
type dishes made with mayo, or cream of whatever soup.  Delicious, yes, but
not what I've become accostomed to.  No fresh fruit, either.  I did go buy
a loaf of the Lite Dark and Grainy bread and found WW chocolate ice cream.

I have not reached my goal as I stated in an earlier note, but I won't punish
myself for that.  It took me many years to get to where I was when I started
losing weight and I don't always follow WW to the letter, so I know this is
all my doing and I accept that.  It does, however, feel wonderful to know
that eating is one thing I can honestly control.

I was also amazed at how easily I let myself be taken in.  I mean, I never
passed up the chance for french fries or dessert.  Also, one of my loves
is the Friendly Ice Cream shops Reese Peanut Buttere Cup Sundae.  We don't
have Friendly's here in Colorado so I took the opportunity to have one on
each of 2 different nights.

Well, enough rambling.  Let's all keep up the wonderful work!!!

Liz

    Friendly's?  Did someone say Friendly's?  (Drool, drool...)
    
    We don't have them in California, either.  But I *lived* there when
    I was in college and working in Williamstown, Mass., during the
    summers.
    
    Butter Pecan for me!
    
    Lynn T.
    :-)

Throw a banana cream pie into the face of Guilt.  Liz, I also ate some of those 
luscious chocolate-covered macadamia nuts.  Hawaiian Temptation!!! Hula!

Guilt and Food make poor bedfellows.  So you celebrated on New Year's.  So you 
didn't take off any weight.  Food is one of life's joys and even if it slows 
down weight loss to celebrate with food every once in a while...so it slows it 
down.  Let it be, and leave the guilt in the banana cream pie pan, or else 
you'll tie too many unwanted emotions into dieting and equate it too much with 
deprivation.

Just a thought.

I have to throw one more reply in here.   I weighed in at WW last
night, fully expecting the worst and was thrilled to find I had
gained only 1.5 pounds in 2 weeks!  This has really helped me
renew my determination.  The group was huge, many new people, but
I think that's great.  What a gift to oneself to start the new year!

    I finally had the courage to step in my home scale this morning.
    Like .-1 I was delighted to see a gain of only a few pounds. After
    countless years of massive gains over the holidays (which for me,
    used to last from the week before Thanksgiving til sometime in
    February) I am so pleased that I was able to enjoy myself for a
    few weeks. I'm now back on WW and it feels good to be in control
    again. Here's to a good year!
    
    

    Yes a few pounds are something to be joyous about, my husband's
    doctor told him the *average* person gains ~6 pounds during the
    holidays.  He has my husband on a diet for high blood pressure and
    told him he would be exstatic if he stayed the same.
    
    Linda B
    
    I gained ~3 myself, but I've exercised every night since.