I was hoping we could each share a lifestyle change that you have made that you can say you could do for the rest of your life. Doesn't even have to be healthy eating/weight loss related. If you have a few more minutes, share why you think that change is so permanent.

Peg

quote:

the delay trick has worked in the past, but it worked for half a day yesterday!

1/2 a day is better than none! Good job!

Peg

Peg - thanks for note....I was not too successful at the workplace yesterday...We had a goodby party for a co-worker and all the leftover sweets were there....which I did nibble on - during the day..I do need to work on the lunches...I had a small snacky lunch - yogurt, crackers and half orange which was not enough..so I nibbled,,,,

the delay trick has worked in the past, but it worked for half a day yesterday!

quote:

Originally posted by p7eggyc:
Hey Ellen! Thanks for jumping in!

My workplace used to be really fraught with food stuff. It's gotten less-so (sadly because of less than ideal morale but that's 'nother post all together!) but the 'home' for that stuff is literally 5 steps from my desk. I've had some success with a couple of strategies:

1. Delay: I used this one last week in fact. Stuff usually goes pretty quick so I told myself if it was still there at lunch the next day, I could have one. The goodies were gone by then. I find even if I delay myself later into the day, there is less likelihood that I'll have multiple servings of it. If I start first thing in the morning, I can graze my way through a significant amount of that stuff by the end of a workday.

2. On the celebratory cake, I usually can't dodge those at least for our small group of about 8-10 so I often volunteer to cut/serve and cut myself a significantly smaller portion. I've used the same trick at family events where it would be difficult to decline.

I know how hard it is to work up the energy sometimes after a day at work but do you think you might be able to bring a more interesting/appetizing lunch than those frozen entrees? Sheri used to cook her whole week's worth of lunches at one time and that might work well for you.

HTH a bit. Your life sounds a lot like how mine.

Peg

One extremely useful way to look at that stuff (also 5 steps from my desk) is to remember that not everybody washes their hands when they come out of the restroom. (And I can name one off the top of my head who doesn't in my department.) That is more than enough to keep me out of any communal food at work.

So many of the habits I work at (food, exercise related) are shifting as a result of the past year--

I am working with a very strict food plan. I am not sure if it will last into next month- let alone the rest of my life.

However, I am a super organized person- it comes as second nature to me. Writing my food and planning are far more comfortable than letting things slide. Tracking calories and nutritional information seems like a normal, sanity building thing to me.

I'm using my organized, disciplined tendencies to TRY to morph into a much more heart healthy way of eating. Eating small, whole grain, super low fat meals is not second nature to me. I'm hoping my other habits and traits help me to sustain this effort.

quote:

I was thinking that for the MOST part the habits that I'm MOST confident of keeping up for the next 30-40-50 years are the ones I don't even think about.

Exactly....that's what I was really looking at. Trying to figure out which ones have really gotten that ingrained and hopefully being able to discern why that happened. I have had some pretty tough days in the last couple of years so I feel like the ones I talked about in my 3 I identified are ones that I managed to maintain across those periods pretty well.

I don't have to have some sort of talk with myself before I go into Costco or plan to NOT eat them...I just don't tend to do samples of stuff like that anymore. I think part of it is that they don't often sample healthy stuff so I don't want to know how good those brownie bites or that gooey frozen pizza are. Then I'll just want them! Definitely a case of what I don't know doesn't hurt me. LOL It's not so much about the calories in the bite I have with the sample. That's an aha for me...I just figured that out. My motivation has to be more than simply not eating the calories.

That's interesting. I had some more grief counseling this spring and she told me that essentially I'm a person that the reason has to make sense to me. The example we were discussing is a friend of mine was concerned that I had not completed the anger portion of the grieving process because I'd really never gotten angry at my mom or the docs. I told her that I just didn't see any reason to be mad at them but did realize I had been VERY, VERY angry in the year following her death about some other circumstances/issues that did seem very reasonable to me to be angry about (although maybe not quite as angry as I was). She said that was probably my mind's way of managing the fact that I couldn't be mad directly in those involved in my Mom's death but I did have to find something to be angry that made 'sense'.

That's my long way of saying I wonder if for me to really establish some more 'bullet-proof' habits, I'm going to have to find better reasons that make 'sense'. For me, worrying about a few calories in a sample doesn't make sense. Not wanting to discover 'new' unhealthy foods does make sense.

Peg

Hey Ellen! Thanks for jumping in!

My workplace used to be really fraught with food stuff. It's gotten less-so (sadly because of less than ideal morale but that's 'nother post all together!) but the 'home' for that stuff is literally 5 steps from my desk. I've had some success with a couple of strategies:

1. Delay: I used this one last week in fact. Stuff usually goes pretty quick so I told myself if it was still there at lunch the next day, I could have one. The goodies were gone by then. I find even if I delay myself later into the day, there is less likelihood that I'll have multiple servings of it. If I start first thing in the morning, I can graze my way through a significant amount of that stuff by the end of a workday.

2. On the celebratory cake, I usually can't dodge those at least for our small group of about 8-10 so I often volunteer to cut/serve and cut myself a significantly smaller portion. I've used the same trick at family events where it would be difficult to decline.

I know how hard it is to work up the energy sometimes after a day at work but do you think you might be able to bring a more interesting/appetizing lunch than those frozen entrees? Sheri used to cook her whole week's worth of lunches at one time and that might work well for you.

HTH a bit. Your life sounds a lot like how mine.

Peg

yes, the free samples! I have stopped doing that. i used to love trying different foods at different stores. it was my Saturday hobby. now, i ignore all samples altho i occassionally will try a strawberry or watermelon just to see if it is worth buying. but that is it. boy, what a change from the HOBBY days!

I am not sure what I am going to do for the rest of my life...I had a health scare four years ago.I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes and high blood pressure. I was working in a major city and driving two hours a day in rush hour traffic (one hour each way)...I had to travel in my car once I started my work day - and sometimes ended up eating junk in the car. I decided to quit my job and take some time off for myself. I did change my eating habits. I cooked more and made tons of vegetable dishes. I ate half of a whole wheat English muffin for breakfast instead of two halves. I incorporated more whole wheat pasta into my diet...I love pasta..and went to the gym four-five times a week. I lost 37 pounds...Now I am back a bit to where I was - with some changes. I have added nuts to my diet - still mostly do the whole wheat bread and English muffins. I do bring a 100 calorie pack of snack foods to work - with a fruit, diet frozen meal, yogurt, tea and water. But I have been working for the last two years in a job where everyone brings in treats....and gets take-out for lunch. It is hard for me to pass up a slice of pizza that no one wants..and my diet lunch stays in the freezer...We have cake for birthday parties, good by parties and just because - someone brought it in...I have been able to keep the blood pressure normal with eating/exercising, but the blood sugar is still high...not diabetes, but high...

I work about 10 hours a day usually and sometimes take classes or have appointments after work so I may be gone for about 12-13 hours a day...I am frequently in one city where the road is lined with a convenience store, a donut shop, pizza/sub places and fast food places...If I have time to stop and eat, I do not always make the best choices there....I am a stress eater...and always tend to nibble in front of the TV or sometimes in the car - if I am running late.....

I would like to get back to my healthier patterns. I do walk between buildings at work - including a large hill and the staff room is on the second floor (no elevator) of an old building...

thanks all, Ellen

I'll have to go thru a week and see if there are any I notice. Although, I'm not sure if it "fair" to decide, "Oh I could do this for a LT!" during a time of life when things are more or less "easy".

I was thinking that for the MOST part the habits that I'm MOST confident of keeping up for the next 30-40-50 years are the ones I don't even think about.

Especially, in WW'ers... I'll be around people who struggle more than I. Sometimes people will post a habit or some change they are struggling with, and I'll think, "OK... THAT bad habit has never occured to ME". I don't know if it is some lucky combonation of genetics and habits or nature and nurture.

I found another one today! LOL I apparently have totally trained myself to ignore the samples at Costco! hehe...Didn't give 'em a second thought today and I don't think I've indulged in them for a very long time. Yeah!

Thanks for sharing everyone. It was super helpful to my thought process!

Peg

I'm finding that what I do is pretty fluid.

I keep exercising, but have had to completely change what I'm doing. I used to have Walk away the pounds (4 different workouts) and they were challenging, especially the longer distance ones. Now they're all gone from my collection because I don't even break a sweat. The only ones I find still challenging are Turbo Jam and the last 4 or so of Jillian Michael's workouts. I suspect all that running really has put me in much better shape than I realized.

My eating habits have also evolved over time. When I first joined here, I swore I'd never give up cheesecake or fried chicken, among other foods. Now I won't eat the chicken unless the skin is pulled off, and the last piece I had of cheesecake was so unsatisfying that I was mad I "wasted" those calories when I could have had a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead. I've noticed that food tastes better when it's organic, and canned, frozen, and processed foods really, really don't taste good to me at all.

I am totally happy with a great salad and a slice or two of great bread, and am more happy to stay in rather than deal with the next day salt bloating from eating out. (Huge thing here.)

These are things I can sustain over time.

But I still have 25 pounds to go, and have to fight for every pound I take off. I am so easily derailed by the snack monster at times that you'd swear I had no discipline or any clue how to eat or have ever learned to deal with emotional eating. I suspect that I will struggle for some time with maintenance when I finally get there.

What keeps me going is accountability and having goals. And this site, Runners World's site, my registered dietician, the scale. All things I can live with long term. But like Sheri (and others), I've been tempted to disappear when I'm hitting rough patches. It's really hard to admit it when I struggle.

I'm really glad that you are here too Sheri!

quote:

Originally posted by p7eggyc:
I think that you are unlike most people that have faced that challenge and haven't run away from the board. I bet we have seen a lot of people come and go on the board that have disappeared for just that reason.

Yes. I may not have always been as active a poster here in the past year or so, but I have never run away. I'm actually really proud that I have been on this board, day in and day out, for 6 years--despite the gain, despite my going off track last year after I moved/retired, despite my feeling hopeless and no longer part of the group at times...I hung in here.

It always bugged me here and on 3 Fat Chicks that I would feel a kinship with someone (or a group of someones) and then they would suddenly disappear with no notice or explanation...and months later would reappear, explaining that they "fell off the wagon" and couldn't come back to the board until they got it back together. And frankly, I just didn't want to be that person.

quote:

I'm glad you have stuck around and I'm sure it's paying off for you to stick around.

You're quite right! It has paid off. Has it always been easy to hear folks talking about having been at goal for 5 years or how well they're maintaining? No. But for my own sanity and well being, I needed to hang in and be here.

quote:

dodging the doggie doo,jumping over the snakes,

LOL Iz....quite a picture my dear!

Peg

quote:

Unlike most people on this board, I have gone BACKWARDS since I initially lost weight in 2003. I never got to goal weight. I hit a low in 2004 and started right back up.

Sheri,
I think that you are unlike most people that have faced that challenge and haven't run away from the board. I bet we have seen a lot of people come and go on the board that have disappeared for just that reason. I'm glad you have stuck around and I'm sure it's paying off for you to stick around. I think even my cursory visits over the past couple of years have served to help keep me somewhat in check.

Peg

quote:

So I'm kinda where you are, Peg. Trying to figure out...what am I doing that works and am I okay with continuing to do that? What am I doing that isn't working and am I okay with jettisoning that behavior?

Exactly. I'm also trying to figure out why I'm so resistant and seem to feel so much inertia around almost everything. Not sure if it's depression or what might be going on. I don't feel depressed in the same way I have before but really am having a lot of trouble 'caring' enough to do something in a lot of areas of my life, not just healthy eating and exercise. I don't like things the way that they are but actually getting the gumption up to do something about them seems to be another matter entirely. I feel like I should do something about my inability to do something and yet, that seems like too much work too. Blech....

Peg

I did think of another one. I eat a very healthy breakfast as a rule. I'm good about whole grains and fruit for breakfast and it works pretty well. I will occasionally eat a cinnamon raisin or blueberry bagel w/light cream cheese but I can avoid that pretty easily. Even when I travel, I usually find a way to have a healthy breakfast. In both of these examples I feel like I have found a reasonable level of moderation.

Denise, I totally agree that 'rest of my life' is a long time.

Peg

edited to correct typos

This message has been edited. Last edited by: p7eggyc,

I'm on the borderline about your request, Peg. One one hand, I sure would prefer to be positive and say "I KNOW I can do these certain things for the rest of my life." but, on the other hand, the realist in me (and prior experience) leads me to understand and nod my head at Denise's pessimism, too.

Unlike most people on this board, I have gone BACKWARDS since I initially lost weight in 2003. I never got to goal weight. I hit a low in 2004 and started right back up. Did I gain it all back and more in 6 months? No. But in 6 years...yes. Very slowly, I gained it back.

And the thing that seethes in my gut like an angry beast is that I don't see where how I was eating in 2006 or 2007 was all that different than how I was eating in late 2004 or 2005. Sure, I relaxed my restrictions somewhat from how I was eating in 2003 when I first started eating healthy, but I didn't AT ALL throw healthy eating (or exercise) out the window. I was still eating healthy the majority of the time and I was still exercising 5 days a week.

Every doctor I have talked to about my weight gain and inability to lose and keep off weight on hormone replacement therapy has said "HRT shouldn't make you gain weight." But none of them want to hear me when I say "BUT IT DID!" I gained 25 pounds like THAT after I started it in my mid-30s. And now that I'm weaning off of it...guess what? I'm finally losing weight again.

Sorry to go way off track there, but what I'm getting to is that I have identified things I am NOT willing to do to lose or maintain weight. I am NOT willing to live like I was living from the summer of 2003 to the summer of 2004. Eating that way had the desired effect--I lost weight and, more importantly, my cholesterol and triglycerides came down dramatically. But I was constantly obsessing about what was going in my mouth. I was happy to be losing weight. I was happy to have better test scores. But I was not happy with how I had to live to get there.

But what I found is that I could relax a bit and still have good numbers. It's really only been in the past 1 1/2 years (since I moved to Rehoboth pre-retirement) that my numbers have started to go south again (and not nearly as bad as pre summer of 2003, though) because I relaxed TOO much...and because Rehoboth had always been the place I came to "get away from it all" and not be so careful about my eating...and now I was living here...and whoa, how do I reconcile THAT?

So I'm kinda where you are, Peg. Trying to figure out...what am I doing that works and am I okay with continuing to do that? What am I doing that isn't working and am I okay with jettisoning that behavior?

quote:

Originally posted by p7eggyc:
One of the things I do on autopilot is select whole grains...The single exception to this is tortillas. I spent years trying to convince myself I liked them and I don't. LOL

That is pretty much true for me too...especially the tortillas part.

I forced myself to eat whole wheat tortillas for a number of years, convincing myself that I was enjoying them. Then, one night last year, I made a quesadilla dinner for friends and used white flour tortillas because I figured they may not like ww...and that was it. That night, I admitted to myself that I was getting nowhere NEAR the satisfaction from the ww tortillas as from the white ones.

Over the winter, I got on a kick where I went back to white flour bagels--I ate LOTS of white flour bagels--and my weight went right up.

My happy medium for the past few months is that, when I make a quesadilla, I use a ww or wg tortilla on the bottom and a white flour tortilla on the top. So, while I'm eating the quesadilla, my brain is telling me that I'm eating a white tortilla...but I am also getting some whole grains. My happy medium for bagels is that allow myself 1 or 2 white flour bagels (nearly always poppyseed--my favorite for years before 2003) per week and any other bread or cereal product I have for breakfast has to be whole grain. I have wholegrain English Muffins, wholegrain or whole wheat bagels, or rye toast some days and wholegrain cereal (including oatmeal in the colder weather) some days.