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Weight Loss Forum / Low Carb / March 2004Sick of Fitday (rant)
After a week of tracking my eating on Fitday, I haven't done it since. It doesn't do good things to my brain. I find myself obsessing even _more_ about food, being completely anal retentive about writing everything down, making sure I have my little notebook, measuring everything, etc. I really hate it. I also feel like it's a crutch. I feel like I'm eating less because I know I'll have to write it down and I'll feel guilty if I see high numbers on the screen, when I should be eating less because I DON'T NEED ALL THAT DAMN FOOD. I'm going to try a new strategy. From now on, I will make my portions half what I think I want to eat, and eat it slowly.  SignatureMichelle Levin http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws. > I'm going to try a new strategy. From now on, I will make my > portions half what I think I want to eat, and eat it slowly. I call that the "small plate diet". Use the small plates :-) >After a week of tracking my eating on Fitday, I haven't done it since. It >doesn't do good things to my brain. I find myself obsessing even _more_ [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >I'm going to try a new strategy. From now on, I will make my portions half >what I think I want to eat, and eat it slowly. If you are restricting (eliminating, preferably) carbs, don't worry about how much you eat! Have a couple of steaks. Or a nice big omlette. FILL UP!!! Just don't eat any junk. Hell, I never kept track of anything, and lost 75 lbs in about 10 months (target weight, btw). So, there is no need to obsess with this diet. Eat all you want, just eat right, and stay away from the crap that is bad for us. Good luck, CD I was obsessing over Fitday too, but it honestly seems like the more I try to watch calories, the less I lose. If I just eat whenever I feel hungry, I seem to lose faster. I recall "last time" I did this, people would supplement their daily intakes with extras like eating a tablespoon of olive oil, and other things like that, because they felt they weren't getting enough calories/fats. Dunno if that logic is still accepted. > >After a week of tracking my eating on Fitday, I haven't done it since. It > >doesn't do good things to my brain. I find myself obsessing even _more_ [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Good luck, > CD > >After a week of tracking my eating on Fitday, I haven't done it since. It > >doesn't do good things to my brain. I find myself obsessing even _more_ [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Good luck, > CD I lost about 40 pounds since April of last year, but I've been stalled since January, even with increased exercise. So, limiting calories is the next step. SignatureMichelle Levin http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws. > If you are restricting (eliminating, preferably) carbs, don't worry about > how much you eat! Have a couple of steaks. Or a nice big omlette. FILL > UP!!! Just don't eat any junk. Hell, I never kept track of anything, and > lost 75 lbs in about 10 months (target weight, btw). Would that we were all that fortunate. Some people's appestats (the trigger that tells us to stop eating) are weak, some are less responsive to fats and proteins (I, for instance, never feel full from eating fairly lean beef. If we have steak for dinner, I have to float a thick pat of garlic butter on top or have a chocolate egg cream for dessert). Some people eat for emotional or psychological reasons, unaffected (and therefore unmoderated) by physical appetites. (I've been homeless and lonely, so I have experienced both kinds of appetite. For _me_, mere hunger is far less compelling than psychological cravings. I don't tell people to 'buck up' because I know that I can't know the size of their burden.) > So, there is no need to obsess with this diet. Eat all you want, just eat > right, and stay away from the crap that is bad for us. Good luck, Low carb diets work really well for people whose appetites are controlled by moderate quantities of fats and protein, who don't experience strong psychological or emotional attachments to food, and who are sufficiently creative cooks (or sufficiently persistent eaters) that they do not get bored. Not everybody is so lucky, and it is, IMHO, as rude to ignore the misfortunes of others as it is to disparage them. Martin (215/162/165 since 4/2003) SignatureBrandishing our frying-pan as censer, let us offer sweet incense to the Devil, and live at ease on the fat things he has provided for his elect! What is a chocolate egg cream? Pj >> If you are restricting (eliminating, preferably) carbs, don't worry about >> how much you eat! Have a couple of steaks. Or a nice big omlette. FILL [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > >Martin (215/162/165 since 4/2003) >> ... I, for instance, never feel full from eating fairly >>lean beef. If we have steak for dinner, I have to float a thick pat of >>garlic butter on top or have a chocolate egg cream for dessert. > What is a chocolate egg cream? Cream, chocolate syrup, seltzer. "But where's the _egg_?" one might ask. The name is said to be a corruption of 'chocolat et creme', invented in France. I originally encountered it at Friendly's (a northeast US family restaurant chain) when I was in high school, which was a very long time ago. I _think_ that it's officially made with milk instead of cream, but for home use, cream is lower carb. Roughly, 2 T cream plus 2 T DaVinci chocolate syrup in a 22 oz glass, fill with seltzer. ~100 calories, < 1 gram carb. When we went low carb we converted my beer fridge to a seltzer fridge. A CO2 bottle hooked to a pair of Cornelius (five gallon soft drink) kegs hooked in series to a tap in the door of the fridge. We go through about five gallons a week, flavored with a few drops of citrus extract or, as with the chocolate egg cream, DaVinci syrups. Martin (215/165/165 since 4/2003) SignatureMartin Golding | Anyone who eats three meals a day should understand DoD #236 | why cookbooks outsell sex books three to one. >>>... I, for instance, never feel full from eating fairly >>>lean beef. If we have steak for dinner, I have to float a thick pat of [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > The name is said to be a corruption of 'chocolat et creme', invented in > France. Never heard this one before. It's rather unlikely given that there's no such drink with any popularity in France. The name is, indeed, a mystery. The history of the egg cream is pretty well-established as originating in Brooklyn, NY. It's made with U-Bet chocolate syrup, milk and seltzer, for the purists. <http://www.newyorkfirst.com/gifts/1002.html> And more speculation: <http://www.lowcarbluxury.com/eggcream.html> A funny one: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_cream> We made them in my parents' soda shop in the early 50's in New Jersey. Even made a heretical group of them with the addition of fruit-flavored syrups. Cherry-chocolate was my fave. Lemon and pineapple were also good. Pastorio > I originally encountered it at Friendly's (a northeast US family > restaurant chain) when I was in high school, which was a very long time [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Martin (215/165/165 since 4/2003) > The history of the egg cream is pretty well-established as originating > in Brooklyn, NY. It's made with U-Bet chocolate syrup, milk and > seltzer, for the purists. > <http://www.newyorkfirst.com/gifts/1002.html> [snip] hooboy ... way to make me nostalgic for my Flatbush childhood. Signaturecarla http://geekofalltrades.typepad.com/geek >>The history of the egg cream is pretty well-established as originating >>in Brooklyn, NY. It's made with U-Bet chocolate syrup, milk and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > hooboy ... way to make me nostalgic for my Flatbush childhood. Bay Ridge here. Until I was 6 months old. Not a lot of clear memories... Pastorio Coney Island.. at Handys Ice Cream shop and Billy's Candy Store..and they were served in a cardboard cone shaped cup with a metal holder... no glass here.. >>>The history of the egg cream is pretty well-established as >>>originating in Brooklyn, NY. It's made with U-Bet chocolate syrup, [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Pastorio >> hooboy ... way to make me nostalgic for my Flatbush childhood. > >Bay Ridge here. Until I was 6 months old. Not a lot of clear memories... Dyker Heights until I was 11. Good times. Piedlourde :: After a week of tracking my eating on Fitday, I haven't done it :: since. It doesn't do good things to my brain. I find myself [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] :: I'm going to try a new strategy. From now on, I will make my :: portions half what I think I want to eat, and eat it slowly. Then why weren't you doing that before? > After a week of tracking my eating on Fitday, I haven't done it > since. It doesn't do good things to my brain. I find myself [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > I'm going to try a new strategy. From now on, I will make my > portions half what I think I want to eat, and eat it slowly. Luna, One way to get around that is to plan your meals in Fitday in advance. Then there's no need to obsess about how much you can or can't eat at the moment because you already know. Once it becomes second nature to know what portion size is right for you, cut back on using it and see if the awareness sticks. That makes it more of a tool than a crutch. :: "Luna" <lunachick@NOSPAMmindspring.com> wrote in message :: news:lunachick-EC285E.23474926032004@news01.east.earthlink.net [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] :: on using it and see if the awareness sticks. That makes it more of a :: tool than a crutch. I've been using fitday for a long time...it's a useful tool? I don't need it, but it's useful and helps get the job done (like any tool should) for losing weight. Besides, losing weight and maintaining weight are two different things. If one needs a crutch (or a tool) to lose weight, does that imply that the same crutch (or tool) will be need to maintain weight? IMO, they to two different things that require different strategies. Anywho....if your friggin leg is broke, how you gonna walk without a crutch? A crutch is a useful tool, not some negative ball and chain. And once your leg has healed, you're walking fine. <snip> > Anywho....if your friggin leg is broke, how you gonna walk without a > crutch? A crutch is a useful tool, not some negative ball and chain. > And once your leg has healed, you're walking fine. But eventually you need to stand on your leg to make it strong again before you get to where you're walking fine. If you continue to use the crutch all the time to walk is it still a useful tool or does it become a ball and chain that holds you back? IMO it's much better to devise a way to use 'tools or crutches' in a manner that you can safely wean yourself off them when they're no longer needed. :: "Roger Zoul" <rogerzoul2@hotmail.com> wrote in message :: news:106antg9o1n5o3a@corp.supernews.com [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] :: devise a way to use 'tools or crutches' in a manner that you can :: safely wean yourself off them when they're no longer needed. And one can easily do that in this instance once one learns how to lose weight again. One still has to use the tool for what it is intended for. She couldn't even go a week using fitday. > And one can easily do that in this instance once one learns how to > lose weight again. > One still has to use the tool for what it is intended for. She > couldn't even go a week using fitday. Um Roger...you may want to reread my original post. I didn't suggest she stop using it. I suggested that she use it in a different way. By using it to plan rather than as a dreaded tally at the end of the day she might be able to stop obsessing over every bite she puts in her mouth. :: "Roger Zoul" <rogerzoul2@hotmail.com> wrote in message :: news:106b0be4fdi0v46@corp.supernews.com [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] :: day she might be able to stop obsessing over every bite she puts in :: her mouth. Actually, I have no problem with your advice -- in fact, your advice is really good, imo. I just think Luna ought to stick it out longer and not view it as a crutch. > After a week of tracking my eating on Fitday, I haven't done it since. It > doesn't do good things to my brain. I find myself obsessing even _more_ [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I'm going to try a new strategy. From now on, I will make my portions half > what I think I want to eat, and eat it slowly. I don't like Fitday because it just takes too long to enter stuff. I have a paperback with food counts that I look stuff up in. I used the USDA database as backup. I do the math in Excel. I don't enter what I am eating daily. Rather, I have calculations for a whole bunch of my favorite meals already done. That way, whatever I'm having, I know how much to have for a certain carb/protein/fat count. Not that I count fat per se, but... I track carbs to keep them down, protein to make sure I'm getting enough, and calories of each meal... which ends up sorta equivalent to counting fat too. Most of the meals actually contain some fat ingredients, meaning I can adjust calories easily without changing carb and protein counts by using less mayo or whatever. Anyway, I don't use it to track what I'm doing, which is too much time spent on food for me, but more for planning purposes. I have a list of a bunch of favorite meals with their counts included, so it lets me know, for example, how much onion I can add to a burger to get to my target ranges. :: I don't like Fitday because it just takes too long to enter stuff. Only takes me seconds....and I use it daily. You simply build up a database of what you eat over time.... :: I have a paperback with food counts that I look stuff up in. I used :: the USDA database as backup. I do the math in Excel. And this takes less time than fitday? :: I don't enter what I am eating daily. Rather, I have calculations :: for [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] :: know, for example, how much onion I can add to a burger to get to my :: target ranges. I like fitday, I've been writing a journal at atkins.com for 4 months, and fit day for 1 week. After I entered in my custom foods ( searching was a pain to me) its is quite fast to enter my daily menu by clicking on recent foods. I'm a creature of habit- so if I ate it last week, it will be there on this list. I even entered the supplements, so the nutrition requirements came out right. What are you using as a custom (fiber, protein,) daily guideline? SignatureDiane Atkins since 12/4/2003 234/208/150 5"8 > :: > :: I don't like Fitday because it just takes too long to enter stuff. [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > :: know, for example, how much onion I can add to a burger to get to my > :: target ranges. > :: I don't like Fitday because it just takes too long to enter stuff. > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > And this takes less time than fitday? The reason it takes less time than Fitday is... first of, it *is* faster to look something up in a book than to type, hit send, wait for the site to respond. Well, for me it is faster... I'm on dialup - there's no broadband available where I live. Cable is across the "street" - which happens to be I-81, they said it'd be $10K to install cable... and no DSL either. So, yeah, a paperback book of foodcounts is faster - especially with a meal containing several ingredients. Fitday would probably be more useful if I weren't too cheap to buy the client-side version. The second thing that is faster is... I don't enter what I eat every day. Rather, I entered a bunch of meals at different carb/protein/calorie ratios and just choose from them depending on what I want. So the entering is done once, not daily. So... like last night, having corned beef and cabbage for dinner, I just "look up" how much of each to eat to hit my targets rather than entering stuff. Or if I want to make pasta-less lasagna (basically, nuking a bowl of ricotta & chives topped with sauce and mozzarella), I have the amounts to hit my targets already figured out. Thus I use my spreadsheet more like a recipe than as a tracking device. It's also faster to figure "new" meals cause I have the counts for ingredients I use a lot in my spreadsheet and don't have to look them up on Fitday *or* in my paperback... I just cut-and-paste the nutritional info from one recipe to another. ::: jpatti wrote: ::::: [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] :: cable... and no DSL either. So, yeah, a paperback book of foodcounts :: is faster - especially with a meal containing several ingredients. :) Sure. :: Fitday would probably be more useful if I weren't too cheap to buy :: the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] :: carb/protein/calorie ratios and just choose from them depending on :: what I want. So the entering is done once, not daily. If I understand you, that can be easily done in fitday, too. :: So... like last night, having corned beef and cabbage for dinner, I :: just "look up" how much of each to eat to hit my targets rather than :: entering stuff. If fitday, you'd just enter that as a custom food with an amount, and it would give you the totals. So it could be made effortless as well. :: Or if I want to make pasta-less lasagna (basically, nuking a bowl of :: ricotta & chives topped with sauce and mozzarella), I have the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] :: Thus I use my spreadsheet more like a recipe than as a tracking :: device. Right. I do similar things in fitday. :: It's also faster to figure "new" meals cause I have the counts for :: ingredients I use a lot in my spreadsheet and don't have to look them :: up on Fitday *or* in my paperback... I just cut-and-paste the :: nutritional info from one recipe to another. Everything that I buy, I enter directly into fitday. So I can build up menus too. I rarely bother looking stuff up...but I do only when it is something atypical. But as long as you're happy with what you're doing, more power to ya! :: After a week of tracking my eating on Fitday, I haven't done it :: since. Do you remember *WHY* you started using fitday *AGAIN*? :: It doesn't do good things to my brain. That's an excuse. Sorry. In truth, it's probably helping you to process the information on what you eat through your brain. :: I find myself :: obsessing even _more_ about food, being completely anal retentive :: about writing everything down, making sure I have my little :: notebook, measuring everything, etc. That's exactly what you need right now to break the stall *YOU* claimed to be in. A little obsessing ain't gonna ruin your world, Luna. :: I really hate it. I also feel :: like it's a crutch. What do you hate more -- being fat or having to endure a little inconvenience of watching what you eat much more closely, so you can relearn what/how to eat to continue to lose weight? Are you not willing to put more than a weeks worth of effort into it? :: I feel like I'm eating less because I know I'll :: have to write it down and I'll feel guilty if I see high numbers on :: the screen, when I should be eating less because I DON'T NEED ALL :: THAT DAMN FOOD. Good. Then it's doing it job. As long as you're not constantly hungry (which you claim you don't like or it makes you dizzy, etc.), what's the problem? :: I'm going to try a new strategy. From now on, I will make my :: portions half what I think I want to eat, and eat it slowly. Again, why weren't you doing this already? [snip] >>> I'm going to try a new strategy. From now on, I will make my >>> portions half what I think I want to eat, and eat it slowly. > > Again, why weren't you doing this already? "Half" sounds too extreme to me - Luna, it didn't sound like you thought you were overeating by a factor of two. If you cut your portions in half I predict that you will only find yourself still hungry and be annoyed at yourself for a while and then go and eat seconds. Why not try 2/3 or just somewhat smaller portions - half is way too drastic for the amount of overeating you thought you were doing. It will backfire. Signaturecarla http://geekofalltrades.typepad.com/geek > :: After a week of tracking my eating on Fitday, I haven't done it > :: since. > > Do you remember *WHY* you started using fitday *AGAIN*? Yes, because I'm stalled. I wanted to know how much I was eating, but Fitday doesn't show me how much I _normally_ eat, it shows me how much I eat when I'm using Fitday. > :: It doesn't do good things to my brain. > > That's an excuse. Sorry. In truth, it's probably helping you to process the > information on what you eat through your brain. Perhaps. > :: I find myself > :: obsessing even _more_ about food, being completely anal retentive [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > That's exactly what you need right now to break the stall *YOU* claimed to > be in. A little obsessing ain't gonna ruin your world, Luna. Well, it's definitely making life more unpleasant. I don't just want to lose weight, I want to have a healthy mental and emotional response to food and eating. I want to put a stop to obsessive thoughts and behaviors. Using Fitday every day is detrimental to that goal. > :: I really hate it. I also feel > :: like it's a crutch. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > what/how to eat to continue to lose weight? Are you not willing to put more > than a weeks worth of effort into it? I am willing to put a lifetime's worth of effort into losing weight. It's not just a matter of an "inconvenience." Having to cook instead of go get fast food, having to go work out, those are "inconveniences." If I could just write down what I eat, and enter it into Fitday when I get home, that would be fine, that would be just an inconvenience. Instead, I find myself throughout the day continuously checking the notebook to make sure I didn't forget anything, checking and rechecking labels of packaged stuff to make sure I wrote it down correctly, ripping off and saving the labels just in case, even though I already wrote it down, and then checking and rechecking my purse to make sure the labels didn't fall out. It becomes a day long obsession where I think of almost nothing else. Even if I'm not physically going over my notebook, I'm still thinking about it in the back of my mind. > :: I feel like I'm eating less because I know I'll > :: have to write it down and I'll feel guilty if I see high numbers on [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Again, why weren't you doing this already? Because I was trying to see what I ate on a normal basis, I was trying to find out how many more calories I was eating than I needed so I could determine how many to cut back to end my stall. But it didn't work, because I was limiting myself because I knew I'd have to read it on the report and I didn't want to be embarassed. My goal is to be a healthy person, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Using Fitday was helping the first one, but hurting the second two. That day when I ate a lot over 1200 calories, when I saw it on the screen, I cried for several hours. That's not good. There has to be a better way. Fitday was useful in showing me that I am more prone to overeat when I go a long time without eating, and when I eat too fast. Cutting my portion in half, and eating it slowly, is my new strategy for trying to learn to eat by "feel" rather than by counting. I want to know I've had enough without Fitday telling me. If an hour after eating I'm still hungry, really hungry and not just bored, then sure I'll eat some more. I want to change why I eat to "because I need some food" rather than "because I'm bored" and why I STOP eating to "I feel like I've had enough" rather than "because a computer program told me to." SignatureMichelle Levin http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws. > I am willing to put a lifetime's worth of effort into losing weight. It's > not just a matter of an "inconvenience." Having to cook instead of go get [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > obsession where I think of almost nothing else. Even if I'm not physically > going over my notebook, I'm still thinking about it in the back of my mind. i don't think it's the process of tracking that's the problem, i think it's your attitude towards it. maybe try to work on changing that, although i'm not sure how you'd do that. if it were me, i'd make a concerted effort to just be matter-of-fact about the tracking and anytime i felt myself wandering into the territory of thinking obssessively about it, i'd do something to distract my mind from it. it is possible to change the way you think and react to things like this. it may not be easy, but it is possible. > > I am willing to put a lifetime's worth of effort into losing weight. It's > > not just a matter of an "inconvenience." Having to cook instead of go get [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > it is possible to change the way you think and react to things like > this. it may not be easy, but it is possible. That's a good idea. I would like to be a less obsessive person, and so far my strategy has been just to not do things I get obsessive over. Most of the time it's not a great loss, for example I don't need to play scrabble online. Learning how to find a balance is a good thing for me to work on, thanks. SignatureMichelle Levin http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws. >Well, it's definitely making life more unpleasant. I don't just want to >lose weight, I want to have a healthy mental and emotional response to food >and eating. I want to put a stop to obsessive thoughts and behaviors. >Using Fitday every day is detrimental to that goal. I strongly resisted using FitDay, too. I have OCD, and was very concerned about becoming obsessed about monitoring my food intake. But I found that, when I don't log my foods, I get very sloppy and stop losing weight. FitDay gives you a kind of accountability to yourself. You can't pretend that such-and-such didn't really have much impact on your desired goals. It's all there in black and white (or olive green and turquoise). If you tend to be obsessive, choose a positive obsession. One which will help you lead a healthier life. Over a period of time, you may no longer need FitDay, but in the meantime, it's really helpful to determine whether your vision of what you're eating is in line with the reality of what you're eating. I hope this makes sense. I wish nothing but the best for you, Michelle! You're an inspiration to us all. Carol, the fit and trim person who is temporarily wearing a fat suit Signature227/220.5/150 (mini-goal, One-derland) Low Carb (again) since March 12, 2004 Type 2 Diabetic since May 15, 2001 This is what backsliding does: http://photos.yahoo.com/carol_arie > But I found that, >when I don't log my foods, I get very sloppy and stop losing weight. >FitDay gives you a kind of accountability to yourself. I discovered the same thing. If I don't record what I eat, it's far too easy to mentally weasel out of having eaten certain things - that's how I ended up eating two 'no sugar' white chocolate bars in one day. And I'd completely stalled, too - if anything, my weight loss was going backwards. So I'm back counting everything and recording it on fitday. I did find, too, that the obsessional part of it passed off after a while, and it became simply something I do. -- Lexin (300/223/182) (5'7) LC since 9 June 2003 >> But I found that, >>when I don't log my foods, I get very sloppy and stop losing weight. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >recording it on fitday. I did find, too, that the obsessional part of >it passed off after a while, and it became simply something I do. As I mentioned in another post, I like that I can glance at it later in the day to see what types of foods I need to eat. I don't have to keep a running tally in my oft-unwired brain, so I can tell if I need to eat more vegetables, fiber, fat, whatever. Glancing at the calories helps me, too. I know what my "normal" day's eating is and having a gauge is helpful. I have also used it to see what foods have caused water retention, stalls, etc. For me, that is much better than guessing at what I was eating a week ago. By all means, if the program is stressing someone out, don't use it. Jean M Loser and Quitter Signature348/318/180 - 5'10" Atkins Since 01/28/04 Quit Smoking On 03/07/04 Curves Since 03/19/04 > Because I was trying to see what I ate on a normal basis, I was trying to > find out how many more calories I was eating than I needed so I could [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > STOP eating to "I feel like I've had enough" rather than "because a > computer program told me to." If you do not like fitday, then you don't. If you feel its not working for you, then go by Your gut instincts. To hell with others opinions. Its your body, your life. I feel the same way as you do in alot of ways. I used to eat when bored. Now I eat when hungry. You also gave up smoking recently. I am proud of you for doing that. Quitting smoking causes alot of other triggers too. I hope you are taking that into account? Maybe you are being too hard on yourself? You will find a way to lose weight again. The stalls are so hard. I havn't stalled yet. When I do, I hope to handle it OK. Make a menu plan out for a week. Go by the calories. Stay within your carb count. Drink lots of water in between. Water helps to suppress the appetite. Stay determined the best you can. I wish you the best! I know you can do it! > You also gave up smoking recently. I am proud of you for doing that. > Quitting smoking causes alot of other triggers too. I hope you are > taking that into account? Maybe you are being too hard on yourself? Oh, I started smoking again. I thought I mentioned that here, maybe I didn't. Yeah. That's just one of the things that's a mess right now. At least my exercise is on track, my eating is on track according to last week's FitDay reports, and I've been using that as a guideline at least for how I've been eating since. Job, relationship, money, and quitting smoking are all a big messed up PITA at the moment. SignatureMichelle Levin http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws. > Oh, I started smoking again. I thought I mentioned that here, maybe I > didn't. Yeah. That's just one of the things that's a mess right now. At > least my exercise is on track, my eating is on track according to last > week's FitDay reports, and I've been using that as a guideline at least for > how I've been eating since. Job, relationship, money, and quitting smoking > are all a big messed up PITA at the moment. I'm probably not a great person to give advice on this, because I haven't quit smoking yet, but... over on the quit smoking newsgroup, there's a book recommended by Allen Carr "Easy Way to quit smoking." (or something similar) Hubby tried to quit when I started low-carbing, didn't succeed though, so I bought him the book for Valentine's Day. He hasn't finished reading it yet, but I have. Ummm... previous to reading this book, he'd bug me about when we'd quit and I'd have a big emotional stress reaction to the idea and I'd want to postpone a quit date into sometime in the nebulous future. I always had big stress reactions to attempting a quit and had an avoidance thing happenning... in fact, I was scared reading the book, if you can believe that. Major anxiety. Had to keep telling myself the book couldn't *make* me quit to get through it. It really totally changed my attitude about quitting. I'm the one who pushed for us to choose a quit date and he's the one who procrastinated this time. ;) I haven't done it yet, but it is already a much more manageable task than it was before. I wouldn't call it a "good" book... the writing is awful and it's kind of patronizing towards it's readers and such. But... it seems to install the appropriate thoughts in your head for doing a quit without the *major* stress. From listening to folks who quit easily as opposed to those who fought with it like crazy, it seems to me that the ones who quit easily thought about it the way the book taught me to think about it, whether they read the book or not. I've also found a lot of the ideas very useful for low-carbing. Both involve dealing with cravings after all... so some of it is directly relevant for me even now before attempting a quit. :: In article <106aqa8nn3oc249@corp.supernews.com>, :: "Roger Zoul" <rogerzoul2@hotmail.com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] :: much I :: eat when I'm using Fitday. But what you need to know is how much to eat to lose weight. Even if tracking causes you to eat less, you still know if I eat X cal per day, I lose weight. And if you think to lost too much, you and eat X+Y cals per day to lose less. ::::: It doesn't do good things to my brain. ::: [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] :: behaviors. :: Using Fitday every day is detrimental to that goal. If you say so. ::::: I really hate it. I also feel ::::: like it's a crutch. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] :: instead of go get fast food, having to go work out, those are :: "inconveniences." Really? I think of them a necessities for good health and improving health. If I could just write down what I eat, and enter :: it into Fitday when I get home, that would be fine, that would be :: just an inconvenience. Then do just that. Instead, I find myself throughout the day :: continuously checking the notebook to make sure I didn't forget :: anything, checking and rechecking labels of packaged stuff to make [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] :: Even if I'm not physically going over my notebook, I'm still :: thinking about it in the back of my mind. Well, that is a problem. You seem to be obsessing over it. Ease up a bit...it doens;t have to be perfect, just the process of doing it will provide you with valuable info...and over time you'll get better at it. You could have asked for ideas from people here, too. One thing that I did was take an inventory of the foods a normally eat. Then I sat down and started entering them, one by one, with the packages by the computer. The next week things went way smoother. And when I eat something new, I do my best to enter it. And if I mess up a little, or can't measure, I take my best guess. Since I regularly measure food, my guesses have become better. It, like anything else, is a process and the longer you do it the more skilled at it you become. ::::: I feel like I'm eating less because I know I'll ::::: have to write it down and I'll feel guilty if I see high numbers [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] :: because I was limiting myself because I knew I'd have to read it on :: the report and I didn't want to be embarassed. In the end, you don't need to know exactly what you were eating, you just want to start weight loss. And if entering in fitday caused you to eat less and you weren't overly hungry, then I'd suggest you go with that. The goal is to come out of a stall. :: My goal is to be a healthy person, physically, mentally, and :: emotionally. Using Fitday was helping the first one, but hurting the :: second two. If you say so. I see it as being slightly uncomfortable because you were relatively new at doing it. A week of using fitday is unlikely to cause you to become mentally and/or emotionally ill. That :: day when I ate a lot over 1200 calories, when I saw it on the :: screen, I :: cried for several hours. That's not good. There has to be a better :: way. You cried because you at a lot over 1200 calories? Why? At least you had now a connection between how many calories you ate and the amount of food you ate, and how that felt. Basically, you learned something. :: Fitday was useful in showing me that I am more prone to overeat when :: I go a long time without eating, and when I eat too fast. Cutting :: my portion in half, and eating it slowly, is my new strategy for :: trying to learn to eat :: by "feel" rather than by counting. I want to know I've had enough :: without Fitday telling me. Well, I find when eating foods high in fat, it can sometimes be difficult to eat by feel. And if you could do that, then there would have been no stall in the first place and you would not be using fitday. If an hour after eating I'm still :: hungry, really hungry and not just bored, then sure I'll eat some :: more. I want to change why I :: eat to "because I need some food" rather than "because I'm bored" :: and why I STOP eating to "I feel like I've had enough" rather than :: "because a :: computer program told me to." A computer program told you to do nothing. You associate a number with the food you eat and how you feel. You then decide if you need to eat more (or less) based on that information. I carry a cheap palm PDA with me most of the time . I downloaded this free 2 week trial program and keep installing it when it runs out ..I find this very handy and data base is quite huge .It remembers and tracks carbs,calories and exercise for as long as you want.The best thing is I can enter stuff where ever I am ...right at the table. http://www.nutricounter.com/palm.htm Peter > After a week of tracking my eating on Fitday, I haven't done it since. It > doesn't do good things to my brain. I find myself obsessing even _more_ [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I'm going to try a new strategy. From now on, I will make my portions half > what I think I want to eat, and eat it slowly. Fitday keeps people realistic about what they are eating. I like it. CM > Fitday keeps people realistic about what they are eating. > I like it. that's one of the main reasons i use it. by now i know pretty much what i can and can't get away with eating as far as weight loss goes and i don't *need* to track everything every day, but i find that doing so helps me focus. it's a lot easier to lie to yourself about what you're doing when you don't have to look at the numbers. > > Fitday keeps people realistic about what they are eating. > > I like it. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > to yourself about what you're doing when you don't have to look at the > numbers. Agreed. One of the themes of becoming and STAYING overweight for ME was DENIAL. I would stick my head in the sand, turn the other way, whatever I could do mentally to DENY the logic that if I ate an entire bag of M&Ms or an entire batch of cookies, there WOULD be consequences. Once you eat something, you can "forget" you did it or at least blithely go on as if it didn't matter or didn't happen, even if your brain is yelling at you for it -- I would just mentally turn away or shut the door to that part. By logging what you eat, you can not only budget your food, but you cannot DENY to yourself that it's been ingested. You are AWARE of it. If there's one "theme" I got out of years of therapy, it's that the first step to changing ANY behavior is to be AWARE of it or NOTICE it when you're doing it. By keeping track of what I eat, I'm AWARE of what I eat, and I eventually make better choices for myself simply because I'm aware of it when it's happening. It's not an obsession, it's just paying attention. Paying attention keeps me on track in a BIG way. It's been a TREMENDOUS help for me so far. I use Fitday to look things up sometimes, but I log everything in an Excel workbook where I have gradually built up a nice database of foods I tend to eat or might eat. It's on my laptop and easy (for me) to maintain. I also use the same workbook to track my weight, my exercise, my periods and recipes. I've been doing so since 6/14/03, and it's been very enlightening in spotting trends. Fitday is kind of tedious for me to use, even with DSL and/or a cable modem, and I like to have more control over how things are calculated and what I want to know. SignatureSaffire 205/162/125 - 5'2.5" Atkins since 6/14/03 Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333 > I use Fitday to look things up sometimes, but I log everything in an Excel > workbook where I have gradually built up a nice database of foods I tend to eat [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > I like to have more control over how things are calculated and what I want to > know. I pretty much do the same thing... one excel workbook that has weight, exercise, food list, a daily food long (when I'm actively logging), recipe calculation sheet, and work hours. It certainly helps to have information all at one place and under your control. SignatureRudy - Remove the Z from my address to respond. "It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees!" -Emiliano Zapata Check out the a.s.d.l-c FAQ at: http://www.grossweb.com/asdlc/faq.htm Everything you hate about FitDay makes an amazing pro-FitDay testimonial. The only exception is the business about writing everything down. Why not just enter the info directly? I'm guessing you didn't pay $20 for the download. A written log does suck. Can't you leave the computer on all day, while you are at home? My guess, from your previous posts, is that you are fighting carb-induced hunger. Seeing that you are eating too much on FitDay is a wonderful tool. How many calories per day did you average for the week you were logging? > After a week of tracking my eating on Fitday, I haven't done it since. It > doesn't do good things to my brain. I find myself obsessing even _more_ [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I'm going to try a new strategy. From now on, I will make my portions half > what I think I want to eat, and eat it slowly. > Everything you hate about FitDay makes an amazing pro-FitDay testimonial. > The only exception is the business about writing everything down. Why not > just enter the info directly? I'm guessing you didn't pay $20 for the > download. A written log does suck. Can't you leave the computer on all > day, while you are at home? Yeah, but I don't eat everything at home. I have to write it down in my journal or I'll forget, for example, how many cheese cubes I ate on my break at work. > My guess, from your previous posts, is that you are fighting carb-induced > hunger. Seeing that you are eating too much on FitDay is a wonderful tool. > > How many calories per day did you average for the week you were logging? 1206. Which is where I want to be anyway. I think what I'm trying to articulate is that I am almost certain that I _know_ when I'm eating "too much." I know that if I slowed down and let myself have time to digest, then I won't eat too much. When I run into problems is when I have gone until late afternoon without eating, and then I fix a huge meal of something, gulp it down, and an hour later I feel uncomfortably full. Or I try to restrain myself, have a small meal, and as soon as I'm done I go back into the fridge looking for something else. If I eat breakfast, lunch, a small afternoon snack, and dinner, I do just fine. Fitday showed me that on the days when I do that, I consume fewer calories overall. SignatureMichelle Levin http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws. > 1206. Which is where I want to be anyway. I think what I'm trying to > articulate is that I am almost certain that I _know_ when I'm eating "too [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > lunch, a small afternoon snack, and dinner, I do just fine. Fitday showed > me that on the days when I do that, I consume fewer calories overall. I do better too when eating smaller more frequent meals, or snacks. Instead of the main meals, when I am starving and gulp it all down in a hurry. Can you fit that back every day into your daily lifestyle though? Eating more smaller meals. I know its hard if you are working, and all. But can you give it a honest to goodness try? Slowing down does help. You can then feel when you are actually feeling full. Then you won't want to go back to the fridge. It took me a few days once starting the Atkins, to feel the fullness in my stomach. Then say to myself, you are full. No need to eat more than you need. How about exercise too? How many calories are you burning during exercise? Do you feel hungry afterwards? Just trying to offer some ideas, help you. :) > > 1206. Which is where I want to be anyway. I think what I'm trying to > > articulate is that I am almost certain that I _know_ when I'm eating "too [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Eating more smaller meals. I know its hard if you are working, and > all. But can you give it a honest to goodness try? It's not hard at all, really. I only work part time. I just get distracted and run out of time sometimes. > Slowing down does help. You can then feel when you are actually > feeling full. Then you won't want to go back to the fridge. It took [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > How about exercise too? How many calories are you burning during > exercise? Do you feel hungry afterwards? I do exercise, almost every day. I have no idea how many calories I burn. Sometimes I feel hungry afterwards, sometimes not. > Just trying to offer some ideas, help you. > > :) Thanks! SignatureMichelle Levin http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws. What did you get with the paid version that isn't on the free website besides for being able to work offline. SignatureDiane Atkins since 12/4/2003 234/208/150 5"8 > Everything you hate about FitDay makes an amazing pro-FitDay testimonial. > The only exception is the business about writing everything down. Why not [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > half > > what I think I want to eat, and eat it slowly. > After a week of tracking my eating on Fitday, I haven't done it since. It > doesn't do good things to my brain. I find myself obsessing even _more_ [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > high numbers on the screen, when I should be eating less because I DON'T > NEED ALL THAT DAMN FOOD. So, you don't like too much structure in your life. At least for the one week that you used it, you learned something, right? Marsha/Ohio |
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