I've got it! I know what my problem is now!!

[Waterlilly]

So then next logical question would be, "gee waterlilly, what IS your problem?" We'll, I'll tell you.

I'VE BEEN EATING TOO FREAKIN' MUCH!!!   

Now don't get me wrong. This WOE is REALLY good!  I feel GREAT and I'm NOT HUNGRY for HOURS. My blood sugar is nice and stable and I can walk right past dessert. Last night I had a dream about chocolate cupcakes with that nasty thick, grainy icing and they grossed me out. Someone was bugging me to take one and I'm like, "Ewww, gross!". So even in my dreams, my cravings have subsided. Once upon a time, they used to have a HUGE hold on me. Like to the point that avoiding a doughnut was an internal battle of the soul and I would buy sugar off of a stranger like it was crack, regardless of where it had been  . (The cravings were THAT bad).

However, back in the day when I was eating wheat  and "watching the weight" and counting "points" I would eat my little tuna 1/4 cup serving (with fat free mayo, of course) my 5 little poisonous high carb wheat crackers and MAYBE  a "low fat" cheese stick and a piece of fruit. High carb for sure. You can bet that 2 hours later, I was hungry and the only thing that kept me from eating the table was the non fat tuna. Still, the calories were limited which was good. The issue was that I always had to watch my blood sugar which could tank at ANY TIME  because I was eating high carby garbage.

Fast forward to today. That lunch is transformed.  I still have that tuna but I might have the "in oil" version. Or, the mayo is full fat. The crackers are flax crackers (10 carbs but 9 g fiber so = 1 net carb!) and a FULL FAT  cheese stick and LOW CARB Kroger yogurt. Yay!!  Fat is my good friend! I love you fat!!! 

Other snacks might include a glob of butter dumped into a pan to fry the veggies (perhaps 4 tbsp of olive oil for 2 stir fried servings of veggies and chicken), a big 'ol bowl of pork rinds with a little cup FULL of blue cheese dressing, or perhaps my favorites: 4 tbsps of heavy cream mixed with cocoa and stevia to be like runny chocolate ice cream, or late night cheese crisps (take a giant handful of shredded cheese and nuke until crispy...then break apart and chomp like chips).

I can only imagine that the same little wheaty nasty lunch, as been turned into a wonderful low carb but SUPER HIGH calorie fiesta!  No wonder my weight stays the same. If I really go bonanza and eat like a hedonist, the weight "can " go up but if I carry on as usual, it stays the same. A testament to the power of this WOE but still, not a way to LOSE it . (I can go gonzo when I'm maintaining but not right now).

The verdict? I'm eating too much. I think my brain has been programmed to associate watching portions with counting numbers and other unpleasant math like activities.

I like Doug's idea of "eating only when you're hungry". However, from my past dieting adventures and living in the land of deprivation, limiting a high cal but low carb portion makes me think I"m going to starve to death (when in reality, I' might eat that and not be hungry for hours! Still, tell my emotional brain that....)

So, how can I limit my calories a little more? Remember that I'm probably consuming at LEAST 2500-3000 calories. As a shorter female, I can't quite get away with that many calories, especially now that I"m into my 30's. I plan to get more active and am gradually. Still, I'm eating WAAAAYYY too much and I don't know if my appetite and I are friends yet. I think it needs some more coaching. I have about 50 pounds to lose before I can firmly qualify for the "hot chick dance" so I'ts not like I have hundreds of pounds to lose (that would make any reduction work like magic...I have to be a bit more careful as would anyone with less to lose). Any suggestions?

[AliciaInTX]

Yay!!! So glad that you've got it figured out!! It was hard for me to realize how little I actually need to eat to stay full and still have energy. I actually did cut down a bit on the fat because I'm trying to eat a bit more heart healthy. I use Smart Balance Light instead of butter and it cooks up and tastes just as good as butter. You could try that! I do try to not go too heavy on the fats. I eat some but try not to overdo it. I know that if I eat a ton of bacon and sausage, it will slow down the [url=http://www.fattoskinny.com/]weight loss[/url] and it's not good for me. So, I try to mostly eat lean meats and eggs for protein. I also limit my veggies to one serving of green veggies each day....usually some okra or broccoli at dinner but occasionally I'll treat myself to a big yummy salad while out to lunch or dinner. For breakfast, I am pretty strict...typically an OMM pancake with sugar free syrup and for lunch, if I'm at home, I'll have a fried egg in a low carb tortilla but not until I'm hungry...which is usually between 12:30 and 2pm. Then, I'm good until dinner! I know I'm not eating a lot and it's taken me a while to wrap my head around it but I'm paying attention to my body and REALLY only eating when I'm hungry and keeping myself from over-eating. It works!

[fineman]

Hi! Both calories and carb count is important. More important is keeping your carbs under 20. But DOug advices you to watch the portion size also. Please go through the portion size post. Also if you are consuming that many calories your carb intake is most likely to be more than 20.

[mouseissue]

Hi Waterlilly!

Portion control is just as important as carb counts.
Eating more than our bodies need for fuel will cause stall outs and even gains.

Unlike cars, when we overfill our tummies, the "fuel" won't spill out on the ground.
It will get stored in our FAT cells.

You say you're "probably consuming at LEAST 2500-3000 calories" a day is a real clue to the amount of food your eating.
Unless you're eating stick butter as your primary food source, it takes a LOT of food to reach that many calories!

The point is NOT the calories... It's the AMOUNT of food!

If you really want to know how much food you need when you eat, use Doug's 15-minute rule.
That is, take a "reasonably sized" meal and only eat half. Wait 15 minutes, and if still hungry, eat a bit more.
You will be amazed at how little your body really needs!.. I know I was!

Tony

[umpa]

Waterlily I love an A PERSONALITY because I am one. You make me smile. You need a food journal so you know exactly what you are eating. Grazing is a no no. Doug and i eat fats but we make them as healthy as possible. Its your relationship with food that you need to change.Its no more than fuel. People over analyze things. Its just fuel  Post your meal plans that may help You will get that hotchick I promise

[Waterlilly]

Wow! Thanks everyone! This is all excellent advice. After I posted this, I thought "everybody is going to think I'm CRAZY  for asking this" but it sounds like this is a common problem.

To just READ that it's OK to have a MIM for breakfast (one) and ONE EGG with a tortilla for lunch is helpful.  I know I am (like Umpa said) a Type A personality. Still, I really do believe that it was years of watching weight with wheat  that conditioned me to associate smaller portions with starving to death.  As a society, I think we are all messed up about portion sizes and quantities. With wheat driving us to eat more and more and more, I think that also doesn't help.

For me it was the fat. No carbs in butter? bring it on!  No issues with olive oil? 4 tbsps please! and a big 'ol handful of nuts. When you eat heavy fat laden foods (although good for you) it's easy to watch the calories pile up quickly.

I'm going to try an experiment this week: I am going to eyeball the calories as well as the carbs and try to keep each meal at 500 or under, just so I can get a feel for how much I should eat. I like to eat 3 meals per day but I also need to STOP  eating at night. NO FOOD after dinner. Just some bad habits that need to go away.

Then, I will see if I die by the end of the week.    No seriously. I just don't want to be hungry.  Once I'm at my stable weight, I can eat a little more. But not a LOT more because I know what that does to me. Thanks everyone. 

[Waterlilly]

Hi Waterlilly!
You say you're "probably consuming at LEAST 2500-3000 calories" a day is a real clue to the amount of food your eating.
Unless you're eating stick butter as your primary food source, it takes a LOT of food to reach that many calories!

HI Tony,
Not a whole stick but LOTS of extra fat and a snacky snacky here and there (nuts, cheese, pork rinds in dressing, the quick microwave brownie with 1/4 cup of cream  ) and even eating at night. A 1/4 cup of my favorite flavored almods is 250 cal!!  I can find PLENTY of fat if I want to.

I'm excited to find out how to let my body eat it's own fat instead of me providing a steady stream. Bring it on!!!

[Waterlilly]

It was hard for me to realize how little I actually need to eat to stay full and still have energy. I actually did cut down a bit on the fat because I'm trying to eat a bit more heart healthy.  I know that if I eat a ton of bacon and sausage, it will slow down the [url=http://www.fattoskinny.com/][url=http://www.fattoskinny.com/]weight loss[/url][/url] and it's not good for me. So, I try to mostly eat lean meats and eggs for protein. I also limit my veggies to one serving of green veggies each day....usually some okra or broccoli at dinner but occasionally I'll treat myself to a big yummy salad while out to lunch or dinner. For breakfast, I am pretty strict...typically an OMM pancake with sugar free syrup and for lunch, if I'm at home, I'll have a fried egg in a low carb tortilla but not until I'm hungry...which is usually between 12:30 and 2pm. Then, I'm good until dinner! I know I'm not eating a lot and it's taken me a while to wrap my head around it but I'm paying attention to my body and REALLY only eating when I'm hungry and keeping myself from over-eating. It works!

Alicia - This is great info! I will try this. I never thought about the bacon and sasuage. I suppose if I lived on a farm and woke up to bacon, sausage, eggs and toast I would burn it off, but I don't care for bailing hay so I will stick to the OMM!  I appreciate your support.

[Waterlilly]

Waterlily I love an A PERSONALITY because I am one. You make me smile. You need a food journal so you know exactly what you are eating. Grazing is a no no. Doug and i eat fats but we make them as healthy as possible. Its your relationship with food that you need to change.Its no more than fuel. People over analyze things. Its just fuel  Post your meal plans that may help You will get that hotchick I promise

Thanks Umpa. I'm actually working on a career change to a profession that will allow me to analyze words  and organize information all day! Hopefully that will feed the beast a little more and take the pressure off the rest of my life.

Good point about grazing. That is yet ANOTHER bad habit I learned over the years. "Oh, graze throughout the day to keep hunger at bay". This WOE is a whole new way of thinking too. I do like your journal idea. I was doing that for a while and then stopped. If I pay attention, I can ballpark calories by adding them up along with carbs. That seems to work but only if I pay attention. I will try that. Yay for Type A!!!! 

[Doug Varrieur]

Waterlilly, the 15 minute rule will be your best friend. make a plate....then take a second plate and cut the portion right down the middle. Eat one plate and wait a full 15 minutes. The easiest way to do that is to do something while your waiting. Heck come onto the forum, go water the plants, something to take your mind off the fact that you're waiting. Then after 15 minutes take a body check...Are you still hungry? If not wrap the other plate and put it away. If s, eat a little more and wait another 10 minutes or so. Soon you'll discover "your" proper portion sizes 

[skychant]

Have you tried pre measuring out your portion sizes in conjunction to your 20 grams of carbs a day and 5 grams of sugar a day.  I t helps me out a lot especially when eating vegetables.  I made guacomole and could sit back and eat the whole bowl with porkrinds. I made myself leave the fried pork rinds in the store because I knew that I would have a problem with my portion sizes.  I measured out a half a cup of guacomole and dipped vienna sausages in it instead.  I ate that for lunch instead.  You can get past it ...kudos for acknowledging what gets in the way of alot of us losing as much as we should.

[Waterlilly]

Thanks Doug. I think there is great value in slowing down while eating. It almost seems foreign to the American way to stop and ask yourself "am I still hungry?"  Remember, there are children starving in........somewhere.  Like me eating too much is going to help that!    I think I'm going to make it a habit to get up and move away from wherever I'm eating when I'm done. Something to signal "the end". I can always have a snack if I need it later.

Skychant - I like your name! It sounds like you did the right thing with the guac. There is a Mexican restaurant in a true ethnic area near me and their guac is AWESOME! I HAVE actually eat the WHOLE THING.  It sounds like you did the right thing.


UPDATE: I tried something yesterday. I counted the carbs but also kept the calories to less than 500 per meal and I DID NOT DIE! In fact, I felt NOT hungry. Who would have thought that just a MIM would have been enough to hold me to lunch? Of course, I'm measuring everything. Eventually I will get a hang of what it means to eat like a normal person.  After years of a blood sugar rollercoaster, this is new territory! But it's friendly territory. I'm still amazed by now NOT hungry I was. NICE! And to think I was overeating because I was afraid I wasn't eating "enough". You really don't need that much food. Gotta give my body a chance to use what it's already stored. I really appreciate everyone's advice. It was very helpful and you encouraged me to try things the right way. 

[Doug Varrieur]

Great update Waterlilly 

[Waterlilly]

Just want to add another update here...

I've been seriously thinking about how hungry I am or how much I am eating and it's working GREAT!!!  I don't know why I was on overconsumption autopilot but I was. 

I "did" count both the calories AND carbs for breakfast and lunch, but I eat the same thing every day for those two meals unless it's the weekend so that's easy. It's a little harder to keep the dinner cals down but the other day, I made my stir fry green beans and said "one tbsp of oil is plenty for this" and it worked well. I think I see what they mean about eating fat is good for you but eating too much is not.

Of course, I had a few slips but just in general, I feel MUCH better now that I'm not overconsuming. As a bonus, I don't go through as many groceries and I don't need to spend as much money! 

I have no idea why it took me so long to figure this out.  Oh well.

[umpa]

  Good job