Hello FELLOW Losers!- Confidence Booster Inside

[Probably a Skeleton]

I was recently invited to this guild for posting support on someone's weightloss goal in LI in the Lifestyle Discussion forum. I figured I'd come on here and share with you all my tips and tricks. But first I'll begin with my story.

About a year ago I weighed a total of 355 lbs and was very, very unhealthy. All of my life I've been overweight due to an oral fixation I have (plus I really like to taste, not so much eat). Either way, there you have it, I was a big girl for most of my life.

It was a year ago when I grew tired of hearing my family say 'I'm worried about you' or 'I'm scared we may lose you'. At the same time they said it with the 'I totally have no confidence in you' tone, which is very unfortunate because without support it's next to impossible to get the gumshun to do such a hard task.

So I started eating less, not too much less, of course, but y'know I didn't go back for seconds, I made my portions smaller and treated myself to sweets only on special occasions (only about once a month).

Note: For those of you who are reading this and it's the Christmas Season, do not fret! I will talk about that momentarily

Over the course of the year my diet consisted of high fiber, low calorie food, it was also my first year of college so I was virtually always active.

On a daily basis I would eat fruit for breakfast, whatever my grandmother cooked for lunch (small portions) and then something filling for supper like oatmeal, soup, salad, things like that. A diet doesn't have to be a death sentence, people don't like dieting because they don't like giving up what they love to eat- you don't have tive up these things, just eat them at correct times and don't overindulge!

Over the next few posts, you will see tips, mostly on Holiday eating as I'm posting this during the holiday season.  

[Probably a Skeleton]

Making the Descision

You're not dieting to please anyone but yourself. It doesn't matter how you look, you're beautiful as you are now and if you don't see that, chances are you're not going to be a very good dieter. Accepting yourself as beautiful in any size is key here, you have to tell yourself that you're not doing this for your looks or to attract a man or woman to date- that's no reason to diet anyway. You're doing this for your health!

Here are a few things to do to help you realize your potential:

Look in the Mirror If you look in the mirror, don't cirtique yourself about the bad- look for the good. When I first started my journey to health, I had to stare long and hard before realizing I had a very pretty face. Do this for about five minutes a day, look for new things. Do this about a week until you feel your self esteem building!

Compliment yourself! It doesn't hurt to be a little full of yourself now and then. If you look particularly good in a pair of jeans or a skirt or a shirt you just bought, tell yourself, you'll be suprised how it boosts your confidence!

Listen to compliments given by close family members Even if they're only saying this to make you feel better, take it as truth! If it is coming from a parent or a sibling, you know it's true because they live with you and see you transforming before their eyes.

Do not let insults from people get to you Emotional eating is caused by this. People who call you ugly on the basis that you're overweight tend to have issues with their esteem in some way too. Take every insult with a grain of salt.

Do not convince yourself that just because you're dieting doesn't mean you're not going to enjoy it If you convince yourself that dieting is going to be a pain, you won't diet- plain and simple. You can splurge now and then, it's not going to hurt, but don't over do it!  

[Probably a Skeleton]

Tips and Tricks on Eating

The main part of losing weight is to not gorge yourself on junk food, we all know that. Making healthier decisions are easy when you put your mind to it! But here are a few tricks to help you to go easy on your portions:

Eat on Small Plates You know those old salad plates you see that come with every dinnerware set? Eat on those. Doing this gives the illusion that you have more food in front of you than you really have.

Do as the Japanese Do!!! Eat on SEVERAL plates! In Japan, meals are often served not on one big plate as is customary here in America, but several, small plates with a portion of food on each. This, again, gives the illusion of more food.

Drink water between bites This doesn't mean between every bite, this just means between every few bites. The more water you drink the fuller you will feel. Don't drink soda when eating

Put your fork and knife down every now and then This is especially handy at restaurants, I'll get into that later. Give yourself time to chew and enjoy the food, savor it while you have it as it is a very brief pleasure to have.

Don't watch tv when eating I have trouble doing this because my grandmother eats with me and she has to have the television on. If this is the case with you, I would suggest you get on some headphones and fight the urge to look at the TV. You mindlessly eat when you're distracted.  

[Probably a Skeleton]

Its that time of year again!

Dieters dread the holidays. I use to too, but I found that there's nothing to worry about as Holidays aren't but once a year. When you think about it, we only have four big feasts (in America) to celebrate. Easter (Passover for the Jewish readers), July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas (Hannukah, Kwanza, etc. etc.) These feasts don't occur one right after the other either (Save Thanksgiving and the Holidays to follow no matter what your religious belief).

DON'T STRESS IT The stress will cause you to retain weight and we don't want that, do we?

DON'T STARVE YOURSELF If you starve yourself before a feasting holiday, you'll be more likely to overeat.

Sweets are OK Christmas is all about indulgence, but as I've mentioned before, don't over indulge. Stop yourself if you feel as though you're going to overdo it.

BEWARE OF PUNCH AND MIXED DRINKS By far, mixed drinks at holiday parties are more fattening than the Red Velvet Cake on the dessert table. Lay off the Alkie hawl, kay?

Don't linger If you hover around the hour deurves and the sweets, you'll be prone to eat them. Don't look, don't touch, out of sight, out of mind.

After the holidays

I know that people will gain weight over the holidays, that's just how it goes. But so what? You're supposed to enjoy yourself a little, and gaining 1-3 lbs (which is the statistic) isn't going to kill you and you can get it off easy as pie if you stick to your guns.


Moral
Don't worry about the Holidays, it'll come and go faster than you can realize. Don't starve yourself and try to enjoy the food and family while you can. Don't overdo it and if possible eat on the smaller plates at meals.  

[Probably a Skeleton]

Restaurants

We all go out to eat now and then, there's nothing to fear!! If you find yourself worried you're going to over eat, do as I do:

Read your Menu Carefully Fried foods are okay tasting, but baked is much better for you. If baked is unavailable, check out the grilled stuff!

Know your portions When you're ordering, get them to put half of it in a to-go box (tip from Michaels) If it's not there you don't feel compelled to eat it.

Remember the plates Ask them to bring you a small salad plate like the ones at home.

Beware of Bread If its a long wait you're gonna get hungry, if you're going to have bread, don't have more than one piece, no matter how hungry you get. Drink coffee if it gets to be too much, the warm liquid in your stomach will make you feel as though you've eaten when you haven't and should tide you over til your food arrives.  

[Probably a Skeleton]

So! I hope this thread has helped those who read it, I've stayed up til 4 in the morning writing this so I hope it's comprehendable (is that a word?) I'll post a few books you may be interested in reading in this post later, but for now, this is it! Post questions and suggestions as you feel like it, don't be shy to ask me a few things ^--^


My prayers are with all of you! Good luck and happy dieting  

[LOL DROP MY NAME]

Comprehendable is a word.
I like this thread.
How much weight have you dropped in the year?

 

[Sunsway]

Wow, thanks! Information overload, lol. I'll read over it a few times.

I think it's *comprehensive ;3  

[Probably a Skeleton]

I lost 100 lbs :3  

[Anbaachan]

I just have to say, GOOD FOR YOU! That's an amazing story and I'm so grateful that you shared it. It instills a little more confidence in what I am doing. Thanks.

 

[Probably a Skeleton]

thank you!  

[Little Miss Poet]

Wow! I'm so impressed! I'm going to call you my role model!  

[Probably a Skeleton]

Thank you thank you!!! Again I've got a little work to do on this thread, I hope that eventually it'll get stickied so it can be a motivational thing... It probably won't be though XD  

[Tandahda]

Fantastic! Congratulations, this is a great list by the way. Chances of stickying are not good, the guild owner rarely and no one who comes around regularly has any stickying power. So if it doesn't get stickied it's not your thread, it's the busy lives of everyone else.  

[Probably a Skeleton]

yeah I know but the hope remains alive!!