Pinkhippies daily check in

[Ellis]

Hi Pink, I read back through some of your comments, and it’s super interesting to hear your observations. I’m the complete opposite when it comes to vacations—I have a sort of fear of missing out on the special desserts and snacks, so I end up eating way more than usual.

The festive treats in December used to make me restless too. This year, in the spirit of reducing waste, we didn’t get a holiday gift box from work. However, there’s still some chocolate waiting for me with a gift card, but since I’m already on vacation, that can wait until the new year. I think a small dessert is a great idea if it helps you stick to your three meals a day.

Oh, and last week I also ate earlier. On some days, I wait until my partner gets back from work, which makes the time between lunch and dinner really long. I decided to make my portion earlier, and I didn’t have any issues all evening. I had no trouble resisting snacks.

I completely relate to emotional eating, especially after a very stressful day at work—then you just want everything. That full feeling used to be something I craved. Now, I feel bad and uncomfortable afterward. It’s amazing that dessert helped you!

[Amy3010]

Oh, gosh, Pink, what a rough day you had at work But, wow, I am so impressed how you used it to reinforce your eating habits, instead of letting it drag you down! I love where you say "I was so happy and grateful I didn't destroy my habit for basically no reason."

It makes me think, is there ever really a good reason to destroy our habit and sabotage ourselves? Our brains trick us into thinking that we "need" the food to relieve stress or whatever, but in the end it just creates more stress afterwards when we end up beating ourselves up for breaking our habit.

I also do better when we have dinner early enough (btw 6 and 6:30 latest). My mod is to have a piece of fruit and some nuts at about 4 to tide me over til dinner. If I do that, and have my dinner on time, I am actually okay, hunger-wise, for the rest of the evening. Any evening eating after dinner is always purely recreational

I'm so glad that you were able to restore the hard drives! Phew!

[pinkhippie]

Hi Ellis! Thanks for stopping by! It is interesting how we all react differently to different stimuli when it comes to food isn't it? I know what you mean about craving the full feeling! I have been slowly moving away from that with the help of desserts and I feel so much better! I don't have any troulb with evening snacks either. Even if Im hungry before bed. I really need to take advantage of that and ease down on dinner portions. (which I have been doing)

Hi Amy, Thank you! I was SO relieved about the hard drive! I don't want to go through that feeling ever again! You are right, there actually is no good reason to make ourselves feel worse by breaking the habit we are working on. That creates its own stress too. Early dinner has been great! I have been trying to embrace that these past few weeks.

So, over my holiday break up until about Dec 26th, my eating was nuts. I didn't even try to do No S. 5 desserts a day, snacking, eating whenever, ( except after dinner) I just was surrounded by food and it felt too hard to try to control any aspect of my eating, especially as I got over the stress of work. But on Dec 26th I went back to 3 meals, and I decided to try to make sure I was actually hungry for about 30- 60 minutes before my meals.(per the book Lean Habits) This has been a game-changer. Practicing being hungry while on break and not in a stressful situation like work really helped. It was a very quick habit to get into because food tastes so much better when Im hungry, I can really tell when to stop eating a lot easier, and this is the way I used to eat. Three other things I have been doing are

1. trying to slow down my eating. After I had kids I became such a fast eater. Like wolfing down my food in 5 minutes. So over break I started setting a timer at dinner only for 20 minutes and trying to eat as slowly as possible . I still can only make it to 15 minutes! But it makes me more aware and conscious of my hunger and fullness sensations.

2.I have been serving myself full portions of everything including dessert so I don't go back and get seconds.

3.And the last thing I have been doing is trying to leave a bite or two on my plate at every meal. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don't but this really helps me not overeat as well, gets me in the habit of not mindlessly eating everything because its there, and not feel guilty for not eating all the food.

I had to go back to work this week and I noticed when I got the feeling at work that I used to associate with hunger but now realize is stress/boredom/ slight peckishness. I was not truly hungry.

Im hoping to be able to keep this up. Beyond the scale, I just feel so much better, am enjoying my meals so much more, and I am not obsessing over food anymore either. I am going to keep the dessert at dinner mod until it doesn't serve me anymore. Right now, it feels like it really helps me eat moderately at dinner so Im going to keep it. Now, dessert is a piece of fudge, rather than 5 pieces of fudge, 2 cookies and a scoop of ice cream which is what it turns into when I banish it from weekdays. I am also trying to do 3 meals pretty much every day including weekends.


So, I am feeling hopeful for the new year! I have had green days every day since Thursday 12/26. We will see! Im going back to school (augh_) and my schedule will change, and I will have MORE stress. I will have to make more adjustments as I go.

[Ellis]

So glad to hear the dessert after dinner mod helps you! Getting rid of that food noise is such a win.
And hooray for the green days! What makes a day a green day for you? Having 3 meals and the dessert mod?

I’ve been going back and forth with my diets and I am in doubt to allow sweets everyday. I have a severe case of diet hopping currently.

[Amy3010]

Pink, it sounds like you are really on track, focusing on habits that help you get into a good eating groove - well done!

[pinkhippie]

Hi guys!

Thanks for the support! I was doing so well and then I tried intuitive eating again in late January through mid March. Sigh... Why do I constantly fall into that trap?

I am also taking 2 college classes so I have been so busy and consumed with schoolwork. I haven't done any typing for fun anymore, including on message boards like this.

So... Im back. Again. 10ish pounds heavier.

More sighing.

I have been doing really well with eating my 3 meals in an eating window and making one of them a protein shake with fruit and yogurt in it. its like 35 grams of protein and it helps me so much with feeling hungry between meals.

So breakfast is typically a protein shake, lunch is some kind of bean soup or bean burrito with veggies, and dinner is whatever I made for the family which is usually pasta, a sandwich, and some fruit or something like that. However, I have been having a salad with dinner every night for at least 2 months now and I definitely feel better for it.

Also my intuitive eating where I ate all the dessert I ever wanted, actually did let me start having dinner without dessert. I just got tired of dessert so I guess that is a good thing.

So here I go again...

[pinkhippie]

So glad to hear the dessert after dinner mod helps you! Getting rid of that food noise is such a win.
And hooray for the green days! What makes a day a green day for you? Having 3 meals and the dessert mod?

I’ve been going back and forth with my diets and I am in doubt to allow sweets everyday. I have a severe case of diet hopping currently.

Ellis sorry I missed your question for 3 months.

A green day was definitely 3 meals plus the dessert mod. Lately though I haven't needed the dessert mod so its just 3 meals. However, if I feel the need for a dessert I have it with my meal. I think for myself its very important to not trigger that deprivation mindset.

[pinkhippie]

This week went great. All green days. Its interesting how sometimes its easy and sometimes its hard. I do think when Im at a higher weight it's easier. I wonder if that means my set point Is higher than I think it is? Or if I am extra motivated at a higher weight? Or all of the above? I had a ton of stress this week and it didn't seem to matter. It wasn't hard to keep my days green.

I also have come to the realization that you have to be a little bit hungry to lose weight and I think maintain. You can choose your hungry, hunger between meals, or hunger for a big portion of the day. I seem to do better with hunger for the big portion of my day. I think that's why IF works so well for me. I hesitate to call it IF because IF has a bunch of rules that I don't follow. I eat 3 meals, just spaced more closely together. That way, I don't get super hungry between meals and I don't eat several hours before bed( helps with my reflux.) I experiment with my first meal time but I can actually eat 3 meals in a 6 hour window no problem. Not big meals but that feels best to me.

Anyway, this week I have been doing something different. Not eating until lunchtime around 12:30, then having a small lunch, my protein shake "breakfast" around 3:30 or so, and then dinner between 5 and 6 pm. I love this because the hunger eat everything when I walk in the door after work isn't there anymore and I can calmly and easily get my dinner, and I don't eat a huge dinner either because I am not super hungry.

We will see if that continues to work.

[Amy3010]

Hi Pink! I think what you said about choosing your hungry is interesting - I think a lot of us have a hard time dealing with feeling hungry, and the idea that we have to accept it to a certain extent is sometimes a hard realization. It sounds like you have found a way to deal with this for yourself. Congrats on your green week!

[oolala53]

The hunger issue is a big deal I think because so many people say they like something like keto because they don't feel the hunger the way they did. (I have tried it and didn't feel hunger but didn't feel sated either. ugh) And because people on the new meds say they never knew they could have so few food thoughts. But I still see that as a problem because so many of them can't stay on the drug for one reason or another and they have not learned how to navigate reasonable hunger. But I also don't believe most obese people who have been heavy their whole lives are meant to be normal weight.

Not only is some hunger likely necessary for weight loss, some hunger is probably highly desirable to long health spans. Hunger is natural. Humans would likely not have survived if hunger didn't motivate them. Being constantly fed isn't how our bodies evolved even if we don't know what people ate.

Finding the right pattern can be so helpful but in the mean time, some kind of meal structure is a sane way to manage it all, I say.

[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy! For now, it seeems to be working, I am starting to miss breakfast!

Oolala yes! I never feel sated without carbs either! I also don't feel sated on JUST carbs. I think we try really hard to avoid hunger but I think you are right, that some hunger is healthy for the body.

There is a woman at my work who lost a lot of weight with weight loss drugs a few years ago and has kept it off. She eats tiny portions and really works at it, and to my eyes she is so much thinner than looks healthy. But she is happy with how she looks. Honestly,when she first lost weight, I was worried that she was sick. It was so drastic. I dont' know how she was her whole life, but she is maintaining for now.

[Ellis]

Hi Pink. Seems like you found something that works really well for you! Are you tracking your days green etc?

[oolala53]

A fellow teacher at my old school had weight loss surgery and did keep it off as of when I retired at the end of 2018, and that was several years of maintenance. She had had to lose 40 lbs on her own before the surgeon would work on her, I assume to get her to see what her eating was going to be similar to after surgery. She had to have several follow up surgeries but was pleased with her body and didn't complain about how she had to eat. I thought she was rather too thin, and was surprised because she didn't dress to flatter her new shape but maybe that's better. She liked her look but didn't obsess. Another ex-colleague from a different job was also successful with it, but I have known two who gained back more, just like with so many diets. And the beat goes on...

[pinkhippie]

Hi Pink. Seems like you found something that works really well for you! Are you tracking your days green etc?

Hi Ellis!

yes, pretty much. There was a retirement party yesterday and I had a pretty small lunch and I included a cupcake as part of my plate and felt fine about it. Im kind of loose with adding a dessert if it comes up, but as long as I compensate with less "real food," it seems to work. Probably because I am eating less food, because I am eating in a smaller window. On those days, I try to make sure to have plenty of protein to make up for the sugar and the less food.

Oolala, yes its interesting. I have been watching this colleague a little more closely now that I am trying to lose weight and from what I see she just eats really small portions. She does snack though. And at least twice this week she has said shes not hungry and only eaten fruit for lunch. But at the retirement party, she also had a cupcake and some of the snacks. It is fascinating to watch how people eat. Or maybe that's just me...

I am doing ok, I have also had to eat smaller portions than I used to eat. One thing that delaying lunch so late does for me, is it really puts me in touch with my hunger and fullness cues. I am pretty much doing a 19/5 IF at this point, but not sure if I will continue. Right now I do lunch/breakfast at 1 pm and dinner around 5:15 pm. My work schedule is about to change to 10 hour days Mon- Thu as it does every summer and thats always a hard adjustment for the gap between lunch and dinner because I wont get home until almost 6 pm. In order to do 19/5 on those days it would have to be not eating lunch until 2 pm and I just don't think I can do that. So I will have to tweak it.

My BMI is still in the barely overweight range and it's driving me crazy, but I have lost about 10 pounds since I got back on No S and modified IF.

[Amy3010]

Hi Pink! Eating a little bit less of "real" food to make room on your plate for a special occasion cupcake - this sounds like a perfectly rational, normal eating thing to do. And I am in awe of your ability to do 19/5 IF - I have read/seen a lot about IF and the benefits, but the thought of actually doing it is scary to me. I do always try to keep at least 12-13 hours between dinner and breakfast.

I hope you find a good way to navigate your 10 hour days!

Definitely fascinating to observe how other people eat...

[Imogen Morley]

You're essentialy doing virtual plating! Glad it works for you, and congratulations on your weight loss. I do think that NoS is very compatible with IF, but like Amy said, it scares me

[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy!

I think the reason I can do IF is because I was raised not eating breakfast. So my parents were hippies who followed the Paul C Bragg diet, which I am pretty sure was a vegan diet, and he said that no breakfast should be had until noon and only after at least some exercise. So they applied it to their five-year-old, and I grew up never eating breakfast. And what's annoying is, for the rest of my life, it seems like when I try to incorporate breakfast, I inevitably gain weight.(unless I am calorie counting) I think that is one reason I keep coming back to No S, though. I love the idea of being able to eat breakfast and lunch, and dinner.

So, 19/5 is as hardcore as I have ever gone. I think my natural time to get hungry in the morning is usually after about 15- 16 hours after my last meal, and when Im not trying to lose weight that is more of my typical schedule. It just seems like once I eat, I am hungry for the rest of the day, so I try to delay it so I can have much less time between meals. And with my acid reflux, I can't eat after about 6 pm, so it naturally makes for a longer fast.

Hi Imogen!

Thank you! I have struggled with virtual plating in the past and it feels good to finally be figuring it out 15 years later...

[Amy3010]

Wow, Pink - I never heard of the Bragg diet - is that the same Bragg as the aminos condiment? What was that like for you as a child? It sounds like your body fully incorporated that eating rhythm.

[Imogen Morley]

Fellow reflux sufferer here. May I ask, how do you manage eating three square meals with it? I know that we're told to eat more frequent but smaller meals, but it seems to me that it's not always true, and taking a break from digesting food may be beneficial for some individuals. Is that your experience?

[Ellis]

Hey Pink, You are indeed virtual plating! It's smart to allow yourself that cupcake and just put it on your plate! And I am the same, I love to observe other peoples eating habits. Not in a creepy way of course, haha. I have a very petite coworker and it seems like she can eat everything, but she eats very tiny portions. And she says she forgets to eat sometimes... That would never happen to me haha.

[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy!

yes, its the same Bragg! It was honestly terrible for me as a child. I assume and hope that all that healthy eating paid off for me physcially now because emotionally it sucked. No sugar or meat. Class trips to Mcdonalds were me not even being allowed to have fries because of beef tallow. Birthday parties were me not being allowed to have any cake. And I still loathe zuchinni, eggplant, and yellow squash because we had it SOOO much either sauteed or with red sauce. I think it has contributed to my difficulties with food unfortunately. If I ever even feel like I am depriving myself I rubber band hard back into eating whatever I want because I can. As soon as I had my own money I was buying and hoarding candy. So, with my kids I let them have dessert and we have a small amount of ice cream every weekend.

Hi Imogen, yes! My reflux is way better when I do IF. I know its not true for everyone but my stomach seems to benefit from a break from digestion and eating. I do always have to finish eating at least 3 hours before I lay down, ideally 4 hours. And I take a betaine with pepsin if I feel refluxy after a meal, it really helps. (It doesn't help everyone and in fact it can hurt some people but for me it has been magical) With IF I need to take it way less often. Also for silent reflux, the acid watchers diet really helped me get to baseline. It IS restrictive but I think it healed me a lot. Not sure if you have looked at that much.

Ellis, glad Im not the only one who observes peoples eating habits! Forgetting to eat... yeah that doesn't happen to me anymore!

So, I was eating lunch with 2 other co workers on Friday. We had a special employee appreciation meal. Chick fil a. A chicken sandwich, salad, a cookie, and chips and mac n cheese. It was me, that super skinny co worker who lost all that weight, and then a co worker who is young and quite a bit bigger body size. My skinny co worker ate 1/4 of her sandwich, no chips, her salad, and most of her cookie, but she broke it into little pieces and ate slowly. She was done last. I ate my whole sandwich, my salad, my cookie, and 3/4 bag of chips. I was done second. And then my bigger co worker ate every single thing on her plate, plus the mac n cheese they served that neither me nor my other coworker got. She was done first.

So my goal is ALWAYS to slow down. And not eat everything on my plate unless I am really hungry and feel like I need it. Its tough.

I ate quite a bit this weekend. But its period time and mothers day weekend and there are challenges there. Not sure how I want to proceed with IF. Tomorrow starts the 10 hour days. I kinda feel like I will need breakfast to survive. This morning I made myself a bowl of cereal with strawberries and nuts, with a piece of toast and with a latte made with milk for breakfast. It felt incredibly decadent and luxurious since I almost never have breakfast or any coffee but black. It was at 10 am but still early for me, but I was really hungry.

[Amy3010]

Oh wow, the story about you and your co-workers and the speed of eating lunch - I am the person who cleans her plate and finishes before everyone else, always have been By the time I remember to tell myself to slow down, I have usually already eaten 2/3 of my meal. But I know it is something I really need to pay attention to - learning to eat slowly is so important!

I am sorry you experienced such a restrictive food environment as a child - I can definitely understand how that would have a huge impact on your life.

[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy, thank you!

I used to be a much slower eater before kids! Then I got in the habit of wolfing down meals between baby cries and never broke it.

So I am here at my 10-hour days. I also took this time to re-read my ENTIRE food journal, and I see a pattern. That pattern is this: I am impatient.
I change up what I am doing as soon as I run into any kind of issue, rather than continuing to work on keeping the habits the same. My most successful times for weight and food happiness had two things I was doing consistently. 3 meals a day every day, even on S days, saving the sweets and seconds for weekends, and regular exercise. Sigh...
Keeping a food and exercise log and writing down my thoughts and feelings with every meal, and what level of satisfaction I ate to seemed also to be key.

In thinking about it, I realized that No S is sustainable, but its HARD to get those habits set. And as soon as it's hard,or uncomfortable, I think it's not working and I try something else. I have gotten rock solid the habit of not eating after dinner, where it's NOT hard. And so my goal is to get the habit of 3 meals a day, no seconds, or sweets on N days, rock solid. I got the 3 meals pretty solid but the seconds and the sweets have been difficult. Well, change is hard.

I am ready for the hard. I am not going to do 19/5 anymore because that is a hard that doesn't feel good. Not physically, all the time, but mentally, I really need 3 meals. I will go back to doing what feels more natural: breakfast between 9 and 10, last meal around 6ish. I am going to put my times on my food log from here on out for a while so I can see what times work best for me. So here I go. I will update this throughout the day.

10am: oats with strawberries and almonds, coffee with cream
was hungry! Had gone through a wave of hunger around 9 am, but went for a walk with a coworker first. Really enjoyed eating breafast. Stomach growled through out the meal and when I was done, I didn't feel satisfied. I am drinking water and hoping that I will eventually feel satisfied over time.
1 pm: Chicken quinoa bowl without the quinoa, grapes, and 1 chocolate cookie
I always eat with my coworkers at 1 pm. We have a chef in our building and he came and offered us his fresh baked cookies! I didn't have the willpower to turn him down. I did stop being hungry after my oatmeal around 11 am.
3:pm Decaf coffee
Feeling the munchies. Having to wait until 6ish will be challenging.
6pm: Chickpea mediterranean salad thing with a ramekin of yogurt with blueberries, drizzle of peanut butter. Some licks of a strawberry ice cream spoon and cool whip spoon.
Managed to not walk in the door and start eating. Waited to eat until everything was on my plate, which I have really gotten out of the habit of.
Tomorrow is my daughters 16th birthday and I am making her a strawberry ice cream crunch cake. I had some licks of the spoon when i was done making it. I didn't finish all my dinner. As noticed before, if I eat a healthy dinner meal, I am much less likely to overeat. I can tell quite quickly and easily when I have reached satisfaction.

This was not a green day but I am pleased with the progress I have made. Tomorrow is a birthday so there are waffles for breakfast, and ice cream cake for dessert so I will be at least eating some of that.



Exercise: 30 minute walk with a coworker
15 minute walk with co worker
20 min weights

[Amy3010]

Hi Pink! I turned into a fast eater with my babies, too!

Such a good idea to go back and look at your food logs to see your patterns, and where you need to adjust things. It really is hard to change habits, but once a habit is established, it becomes much easier to maintain it, and that is what we are going for. I am with you on being ready for the hard!

Like you, I have the three one plate meals as a pretty solid habit, but what still trips me up is afternoon and sometimes evening snacking. I have felt for a long time that No-S is the only really sustainable way to work on this, and that is why I am still here! Years ago, I used to habitually have a morning snack, and I successfully eliminated that habit, so I know it is possible

Happy Sweet 16 to your daughter!

[Ellis]

Interesting to read about how fast your colleagues ate. I’m a fast eater too, mostly because I really don’t like it when my food gets cold. Drinking during meals also helps me feel full faster.

I’m just like you—I get so impatient and can be totally committed to a diet choice for three days, and then suddenly I’m over it and need to try something else. I’ve also kept constant notes on what works, how it works, and how I feel about it. Even though sometimes I have to try a diet multiple times before I finally admit that it’s just mentally not doable, haha. I’m a slow learner.

Happy birthday to your daughter!

[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy! Thank you for the birthday wishes to my daughter! I can't believe she is 16! Yes! We can do the hard things! And change and eliminate habits!

Hi Ellis! Thank you for the birthday wishes for my daughter! Do you find that your notes help? This is really the only place I keep eating notes, so I find it super helpful.

Thursday

9:30 coffee, oats with strawberries and almonds
I was hungry after this breakfast. Not as hungry as fasting, but close. Need protein for breakfast, or more food

1:10pm: chickpea salad, a few grapes, a few fruit snacks, a granola bar.
So, my grapes I brought for lunch were mostly bad, my apple was bruised and had some open gouges on it, but I was still hungry. A co-worker gave me a few fruit snacks and I ate the granola bar since my fruit was all bad and I was still hungry. Not ideal.

5pm: broccoli with homemade mac n cheese, 1 slice of homemade strawberry crunch cake.
This is an unassuming looking victory. I left work early to cook dinner and get things ready for my daughters birthday. I was the only one home.
Driving home I was fantasizing and justifying making a peanut butter jelly sandwich and having some oreos. My mouth was practically watering. I was justifying it becuase I was going to eat cake anyway, S day! But that was not my original plan. I got home, I had to let out the dogs, and while I was outside with them sanity reasserted myself and I made myself a cup of tea instead. Then I curled up in my chair with tea and a book for about the 20 minutes of alone time I got before husband got home. I feel like that is one of the first times I have had an after work eating urge that strong and yet managed to make a different choice. I also realized once the madness receded that I wasn't actually hungry. It was emotional eating in disguise. I was tired, I was not looking forward to making this big dinner and dealing with the cake. I wanted to celebrate being home by myself. Apparently very strong reasons in my head to eat. But I didn't. So yay me!


Exercise: 20 minute walk with coworkers( I put in the with coworkers because its less of a power walk more of a walk and talk, although today we were booking it!)

[pinkhippie]

Friday yay!

9:25 am: two fried eggs, one waffle, a dollop of whole milk plain greek yogurt, syrup and some strawberries
I get Fridays off in the summer and one of my favortie things about it is being able to have hot breakfasts, and whatever I want to make for lunch in the moment. I have also really gotten into plain greek yogurt on my waffles. It gives me the boost of protein and its delicious! Like a crepe.

Took the dog to the vet this morning and had lots of running around. I plan to just relax at home and I am reading a book about how we should have 5 hours between our meals to initiate fat burning and keep our blood sugar stable. Sounds like the benefits of IF without IF. I very rarely go 5 hours between meals. I wonder if I could do that? It fits perfectly into the framework of No S so I might try it. One thing I like about eating breakfast is, I don't eat as much at dinner because I am not trying to top myself up because i know I won't eat until 1 pm the next day. I know the next meal is just the next morning and that really helps me not overeat.

1 pm: mediterrean chicken bowl, 1 mini pita with peanut butter.
I started eating this and realized I didn't really want it. I ate about half of it and then put peanut butter and honey on a pita. THat was much better. I thought about taking another mini pita and putting peanut butter on it but I realized that dinner was only 3.5 hours away

4:50 pm: Early dinner with the family 2 chicken strips, broccoli, and a small vanilla ice cream sundae with nuts
Wasn't particularly hungry. Lunch was too recent. But wasn't not hungry either. I had been looking foward to the ice cream all day. Two wins with this meal. I normally eat the broccoli as I wait for dinner, and eat it standing at the stove because its broccoli right? No big deal its healthy. But its all about the habit so I did NOT nibble on broccoli. The ice cream. Normally I scoop some out AND eat some spoonfuls as I stand and scoop my ice cream(Im the only one who eats this particular ice cream so its ok to eat it out of the carton. germwise anyway) This time I did not. I didn't eat any ice cream until I was seated at the table with my dish. And the same with the broccoli. I waited for my meal to be plated and for myself to be sitting down.

Exercise:
20 minutes weights

[pinkhippie]

Saturday

I decided to try to do food spread out across more hours like I was reading about yesterday. Five hours is pretty hard to do on a sleeping in weekend but I decided to aim for a minimum of 4 hours. Since I started 3 meals I feel like my reflux is worse. So Im wondering if its just too much food to digest in a short amount of time? Another reason to try spreading out meals. I want to give this a fair trial because reflux is random sometimes with hormones and time of the month as well.

This morning I put on shorts that were too tight(which are usually too big) at the end of March and they are back to being loose again! That was a good feeling. I had to use a belt again.

8:30 am: bowl of full fat plain greek yogurt with berries, sliced almonds and honey. Coffee with milk
I was actually a little hungry shortly after I woke up. I ate too much of this(all of it) though. My stomach was FULL. However I had so much energy after this meal! I was surprised at the difference I felt between having food as fuel in the morning versus(supposedly) my fat with fasting

I had a very active morning doing chores, scrubbing down bathrooms and tubs, bathing the dog. I started to feel hungry around 12:10. Not an anguished hunger, just a food is starting to sound good hunger.

1:10pm Medditerranean veggie sandwich on whole grain bread with pesto, baby spinach, roasted red peppers, avocado, red onion, mayo and tomatoes. Some green grapes.
SO DELICIOUS! This sandwich was like something you would get in a restaraunt and so filling! I actually couldn't finish it. I was tempted to keep on eating it to not "waste" it, but I remembered my full stomach from this morning, and I also know another meal is in the next 4-5 hours and I want to be hungry for it, so I dumped about 1/4 of it and didn't finish my grapes. I feel very satisfied, phsycially and mentally because I ate something so delicious.

4pm Decaf coffee with milk and stevia
was starting to feel a little hungry

5:30 pm 3 green grapes

5:40pm : 2 slices great white pizza Mellow Mushroom, 1 slice ice cream cake
I was quite hungry. We ate much later than normal for a weekend because we decided to order pizza from a restaraunt since its my 16 year olds last night before she goes to Florida with her choir for a week. It was good and hit the spot. I tried to eat slowly and after 2 pieces I thought about eating a third, but I knew I had ice cream cake and decided to wait a few minutes. It was a good thing because by the time I was done with the ice cream cake I was pleasantly full.

6:45pm: herbal tea with stevia

I was very pleased with today. It's an S day but Im still trying to do only 3 meals, and stay in touch with hunger fullness. Not a good test for the reflux because Pizza but hopefully I can test that more during the work week.

[Amy3010]

This is a very interesting experiment you are doing, Pink! And that sandwich sounded wonderful

[pinkhippie]

HI Amy,

Thanks! I hope it works or that it gives me good data. And yes, that sandwich was so amazing!

Sunday

Today we had to get my 16 year old off to her Florida trip, which is a 17 hour charter bus ride so its a big deal. She had to be at the schoolat 8 am so we were up early.

7:30am: A concoction of shredded wheat w bran, chopped walnuts, raisins, a little honey, strawberries and milk. Coffee
This was amazing! I was so surprised how full it kept me. I noticed I got hungry about 3 hours after this and I drank 2 big glasses of water and the hunger went away. I easily made it 5 hours before my next meal

12:50pm: 2 pieces of pizza, broccoli, some grapes
I knew I was hungry but didn't feel super hungry and therefore wasn't really sure where satisfaction was. I ate the whole thing and wasn't really that hungry for dinner 5 hours later

5:45pm: shredded beef taco, some green grapes with a ramekin of chocolate frozen yogurt and two oreos.
I had a really hard time figuring out what i wanted for dinner because I wasn't that hungry, but I finally figured it out and then decided to have some chocolate frozen yogurt to top off the meal. I defintely ate too much.

Today was a good experiment because I ate too much at both meals and so it took me a long time to be hungry. Its good to keep this in mind. I don't like that overfull feeling. Tommorow is a work day, so will be more controlled hopefully. I would have been ok today with only 1 piece of pizza, and no ramekin of frozen yogurt. I think that would have been the right play. Today I felt more like I had to eat everything on my plate. Also today was kind of tough with seeing my daughter off on this big trip that she has never been on. My husband was freaking out. Probably even though I ate in the framework of No S, some of my eating today was emotional. Like, if I was not eating emotionally I would not have eaten my whole plate past my fullness cues. Something to watch for in the future.

No excercise and one nap.

[Amy3010]

Being so mindful of how you feel after eating and taking care to note it down is giving you really good data, which I imagine should be encouraging to make changes?

[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy,

It is good data and I hope it helps me make changes. I am feeling a bit discouraged today but I am going to give this a month before I make any tweaks.

Yesterday I got sooo hungry, and I was home early because of possible tornadoes.

Monday

8: am- shredded wheat concoction, almond milk, coffee

1pm: lentil salad that was not very good or filling. Grapes

3 pm: slice of bread with peanut butter

5pm: broccoli pasta chicken bowl, 2 granola bars, and 1.75 peanut butter cracker package.

I was soooo hungry! I don't know if it was emotional eating or what but I felt hungry. I actually stopped eating as soon as I felt full which is why I only ate1.75 cracker package because I realized I was satisfied. but it was weird.

Exercise: Weights, 30 min walk with co workers

Tuesday

8am shredded wheat concoction

1pm broccoli chicken pasta

3 pm: a peanut butter cracker package, 1 brownie
What can I say? I was so hungry again. I think that my meals aren't big enough during the week. I need to up my breakfast game in terms of protein and fat. maybe there is a difference because Im using almond milk and not whole milk. The lentil salad had no fat which is why I brought the broccoli pasta bowl for lunch but maybe its just not enough food. Typically, when I crave peanut butter I am missing calories or fat or both. Brownie was a work event. It was super tiny but still a brownie. I hope I can do better for dinner!\

[Amy3010]

Almond milk is definitely lower calorie density than regular milk or soy milk, so that could certainly have been an issue. I notice the same thing when I am craving peanut butter, it tends to signal that I'm not getting enough protein or fat.

For the past year or so, I have been adding a scoop of protein powder to my breakfast (I make overnight oats ahead of time for my breakfasts during the week) and I notice it really helps with satiety though the morning. It took a while to get used to the taste, but now I don't even notice it and my breakfast really holds me til lunch.

Hang in there! Consistency, not perfection, is what we need to keep focusing on. And tweaking things until they work!

[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy,

Thank you so much for the encouragement! I think you are right. I really need to get back to my protein powder. The taste is hard for me to get used to, but you can't beat it for being more satiating. I also need to make my breakfast ahead of time for the week, like you do. I realized this morning that even though I have all my food premade, it takes me about 15 minutes to get it all portioned out and packed up. Way too much time in the morning!

My goal today is to only eat 3 meals even if I get hungry. I will eat a bigger meal at my next meal than I was planning to if I get really hungry between meals. I really want to get this habit solid again, and I have been justifying it by telling myself that I would eat a bigger meal at dinner so what does it matter if I eat a snack between dinner and lunch if I make sure not to have extra at dinner but that is completely missing the point of creating the HABIT.

Wednesday

8am: Full-fat Greek yogurt with shredded wheat concoction, strawberries, coffee with half and half.
This was definitely better. I wasn't hungry in any meaningful way before lunch

1pm: lentil salad with smashed avocado, 1 piece whole grain bread, grapes, 2 clementines
I decided to try for some fat with my salad, some extra fiber, and some extra fruit to see if that would make the difference.

3pm: decaf coffee with creamer

6pm: chicken orzo broccoli, yogurt, half a banana, peanut putter
The fat defintely made the difference. I made it to dinner without issue.

7pm: caramel apple tea

Exercise 3 30 minute walks with coworkers.
Weights

I had 12,000 steps when I got home from work today! We had to go to different places on campus and so ended up walking a lot and pretty far

This was a successful day, yay! Fat and protein really make a difference. And probably more calories. But right now my goal is just 3 meals with no snacks, however I have to make it happen.

[Amy3010]

Way to go on using info you've been noting about how you feel after meals to adjust them -it sounds like it really made a difference to have a bit more protein and fat with breakfast and lunch!

I make up three portions of overnight oats in advance and I love being able to just pull it out of the fridge in the morning. I use 1/3 c oats, 2/3 c soy milk, a scoop of protein powder, a T of ground flax seed, and about a cup of blueberries.

[pinkhippie]

HI Amy! Thank you for sharing your recipe, I have all those ingredients on hand and will try those overnight oats this week! Yes its amazing what a difference protein and fat can make!

Thursday

Still stuck at 170 for like ever, it feels like. Trying not to mind too much because Im trying to establish the habits, Im not actively trying to lose weight. Still, Im at the top of my comfort weight, and I don't like it.



8 am: Greek yogurt, berries, shredded wheat concoction
Stomach is growling at 7:45 am now! I am hungry for breakfast and enjoying it. This is more satiating with yogurt, and I plan to keep it up for now

1 pm: lentil salad with avocado, clementine, whole grain bread
I was hungry, Was satisfied when done but not full

6 pm: Chicken orzo with broccoli, greek yogurt with banana and peanut butter.
I ate too much! I was sooo hungry that I ate way too much. My stomach felt very full

Exercise 30 minute walk

Friday

Today is the day my daughter came home from her Florida trip! Apparently they didn't eat very often at places that her picky/sensory issue self would eat so she didn't eat very much on her trip. She was HUNGRY when she got home.

8am: Shredded wheat concoction with milk and coffee
Chose to do milk because I knew I was having an earlier lunch and dinner than normal since its Friday

12:30 pm: was very hungry! Peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole wheat bread with 2 clementines and half an apple.
Felt good after this meal. Satisfied mentally since I was craving and full

5pm: Fried chicken sandwich, Fries, Diet coke, frozen yogurt with whipped cream
I ate way too much. I had been craving fries. I would have been better off eating the fries and not finishing my sandwich but for some reason today I felt compelled to finish everything on my plate. I did stick to 3 meals only and no seconds so I am proud of that.

No exercise today. Got to do better tomorrow.

[pinkhippie]

Saturday

10:30 am: whole wheat bagel with cream cheese, strawberries, grapes, coffee with half and half
I was so not hungry this morning! So much food last night. But I started getting hungry around 10ish and after I unloaded groceries, I sat down to breakfast. I didn't finish my bagel because I got full but I kept eating the fruit. My brain does crazy things at mealtime! It won't let me stop eating even if I can feel in my stomach that I am full and satisfied. In this case it was "fruit is good for me, I should eat it all" I was really proud that I managed to not eat my whole bagel, but I find myself eating more than I need or even want so often. If I serve myself smaller portions I feel deprived and rubberband my eating later. I have to learn to get better at leaving food on my plate or throwing food away. I think this is my number one habit affecting my weight loss once I have 3 meals and no seconds down.

1pm: a handful of tortilla chips
was feeling mildly hungry but not enough for a meal. My dh opened the bag and they were fresh and crispy... I don't normally like tortilla chips but these were my favorite kind

315 pm:bowl of lentil salad, a few bites of broccoli, one bite of chicken, 2 clementines
I was super hungry. I had this crazy idea to count the chips as lunch and just make it to dinner but I coudn't. I was super hungry and shaky and all that. I COULD have powered through it but why do I want to put myself through that and on a Saturday no less? I tried to make it a light lunch with the lentil salad, but was still hungry afterwards so had a few bites of my broccoli chicken meal and the fruit. I am not sure why but fruit actually does seem to help fill me up if its at the end of a meal

5:pm: chicken alfredo pasta, bread sticks, strawberry ice cream cake
I actually only ate about 1/4 of my pasta, and 3 bread sticks. I managed to stop eating when I was full. Maybe easier to do because I had eaten only 2 hours ago, but it was very nice. I need to set the intention of stopping eating when I am full no matter what my brain thinks I should do at meals. I need to listen to my body, not my brain.

6pm decaf coffee with milk

[pinkhippie]

So I was thinking, and trying to remember the messages I got regarding food as a child and eating everything on my plate. It came to me that I don't remember ever throwing food away, or putting it away as leftovers, and I don't remember my parents doing that either. In fact, when I thought about it I realized my dad never leaves food on his plate. He is a vegan who eats small slow portions but he eats everything. Although I don't remember anyone in my family saying "you better eat everything on your plate or else" I am wondering now if it was an implied thing. I was a make everyone happy at the expense of myself kid and also a very sensitive to the vibes of the dysfunctional family environment to stay safe kid so I would totally believe that I picked up on the fact that it made my dad and mom unhappy if I didn't finish everything on my plate. I do remember having to stay at the table to finish my vegetables, but nothing else was explicitly said about the rest of the food. I also remember as a kid eating so much food sometimes at dinner that my stomach would hurt and I would go lay in the backyard and look at the stars, waiting for my food to digest. So clearly there was an issue there.Its hard to remember that far back but I think I have mentioned i was raised on super healthy vegetarian vegetable no sugar diet. It's possible that when there was food I actually liked, I gorged because I knew the next meal was going to be something I didn't want. So I could have two things working against me. Eating everything on my plate even if I am full, and eating a TON of something that tastes good because that is what I taught myself to do as a kid.

10:30 1.5 waffle with strawberries, spoonful of greek yogurt, 1.5 piece bacon, syrup, coffee with milk
I didn't feel super hungry when I started eating this but I realized that I was full before I was done with my half waffle and my bacon. So I... threw it away! It was hard to do, my brain didn't want to do it. I have committed to listening to my body and not my brain at mealtimes. So far so good

4pm: chicken alfredo pasta with broccoli, green grapes, a few pieces of crusty baguette
I was not hungry for a long time today. I worried about skipping lunch but decided to wait for hunger since its a holiday and I can eat later. I left a bite of pasta and broccoli, ate about half my grapes and 2 pieces of baguette. I was trying to leave room for desert but alas I am out of practice. I will have that in a couple of hours at dinnertime. I think that will work well. But once again, body over mind. I was conscious the whole time I was eating that I was worried I would be full too soon and wouldn't be able to eat it all. I had to talk myself down by reminding myself I could save the grapes and the bread, and that the pasta was a waste if I ate it while I was not hungry. I tried to focus on the part of the meal I wanted the most which is why I ate most of the pasta but left the grapes and the bread. Also was aware that I was telling myself I should eat all my broccoli even though I was full because they were vegetables and good for me. I did not, and feel like that is a win.

5pm: banana split with chocolate frozen yogurt, vanilla frozen yogurt.

[RG12]

Hi pink,

I’ve also been pondering my hunger which I don’t understand. It sounds like you’re often getting full halfway through a meal. Maybe serve yourself half as much with permission to eat more if you want more? I can’t remember ever throwing food away, though my mom eats slowly and sometimes gets tired of chewing and puts her breakfast for later.

Anyway i am finding the opposite happens for me. I start off thinking I’m not hungry, I’ll eat some veg for nutrition. Then my gastric juices start flowing and I end up eating a full dinner. If you’re preferring body over mind, I’m doing the reverse. I serve myself a healthy balanced meal and if I’m still hungry I wait it out.

I don’t think I’ve had days of little hunger, the reverse happens where I’m just kind of cravey all day.

I don’t know. I seem to go from not hungry to hungry and shaking in 20 minutes. Even after a month of eating on schedule, I get hungry at 5pm, two hours before dinner. I can usually defray hunger for a little while by drinking tea. Someone said to me, hunger is not an emergency. My brother does 3-4 day fasts with water. I guess if he ignores his hunger it goes away. He’s certainly not miserable.

[LifeisaBlessing]

Hi pink,

Thanks for saying hello on my check-in thread! I answered you there, but wanted to say "hi" on your thread.

I think one of the biggest things I learned since 2016 when I initially lost weight was staying flexible with eating. Being strict worked for me for a bit, but over the long haul, I think (for me, at least) it's better to keep a more fluid, responsive approach to diet. It's enabled me to maintain at a healthy weight range for the past few years.

Take care and have a wonderful week!

[pinkhippie]

Hi RG! Thanks for stopping by! I have tried serving half with permission to add but mentally it makes me feel like I overate because I had 2 portions and I think it activates restriction brain for me too. Like its better for me mentally to make 2 pieces of toast and eat one piece and a few bites of the other and then throw it away versus make one piece of toast and wonder if I should have had more.

I do have days where I feel really hungry all day and never feel full but I also think those days are related a bit more to my meal compositions. Protein and fat are paramount for me. Are your lunches big enough? Maybe you need more fat or protein? How many hours between meals? I usually find I can only go 4-5 hours before I get the shaky feeling.

Hi Life! Thanks so much for stopping in! Im glad to see you are still around! I think flexibiltiy without being TOO flexible is one of the biggest challenges for me. I tend to do all or nothing in every aspect of my life and I am working hard on moderation. It sounds like you have truly achieved it!

Monday Memorial Day

Yay!

9:30 am shredded wheat concoction with strawberries, almond milk coffee
Did almond milk because I planned to have an earlier lunch but... got busy planning vacay with dh and kids and went way over planned lunch time

1:45 pm: Green grapes(virtually plated nibbled as I cooked my lunch) 1 mediterranean chicken couscous wrap
Im working on experimenting with fullness. Feeling it in my stomach in a very noticeable way is too much fullness for me. Im working on getting more to the point of feeling satisfied. Ate to feeling it in my stomach. FIS for short.

3:30 pm decaf coffee with almond milk

6pm:3/4 cup Garlic cheesy butter beans with toasted french bread, ramekin of greek yogurt with 2 clementines
These beans were amazing! I was a bit trepedatious but they tasted like alfredo cheese pasta, only beans. I was still a little hungry after my portion which was very carefully measured because these are my premade dinners for the week and I don't want to run out. The greek yogurt hit the spot but after I drank a glass of water, once again I felt a little too full. FIS

6:30 pm still working on the decaf coffee

[Amy3010]

You are doing such a great job really tuning into your hunger, but also the underlying reasons that trigger you to eat more than you need. I bet a lot of us could trace our current eating issues back to when we were kids...

[Ellis]

Hi Pink, I am the same as you. It’s mentally better to have it all in front of you and not feeling deprived. It really is a struggle to find that balance between all or nothing haha.

[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy, thank you!

Yes probably. I have tried to figure it out based on my childhood before but I can't usually remember that far back.

Hi Ellis, yes it is such a careful balance!



I am still 170! I am getting tired of it. I know we just had a holiday, and I ate more treats than normal. And Im obviously eating more than my body needs since I am eating a little more than feels good at mealtimes.

I got pretty good at not diving into chocolate when I am sad or depressed, but the emotional aspect of eating too much at mealtimes is so much more tricky!

Also, I know I write novels. No one needs to feel obligated to read it all, it just helps me to write it out. )

Monday

6:30am: Coffee with half and half

8am: Overnight oats with protein powder and blueberries(Amy's Recipe )
Didn't finish these, left about 1/4 they were super filling! Thank you Amy! It was a little scary to stop eating. I hope I will make it to lunch without getting too hungry.

1pm: Green grapes, couscous chicken spinach wrap
I was hungry(not too hungry, but only ate half my wrap. It had a lot of chicken, so was quite filling, but it also isn't that delicious. Sadly. I took a bite of the second half and was like yuck why am I still eating this? Nervous about being hungry for dinner.

3:30 decaf coffee with creamer

6pm: Garlic parmesan butter beans, baguette, a ramekin of plain greek yogurt with honey and peanut butter, most of a banana
I only ate about half the beans and baguette, because when I started eating the yogurt and banana it tasted AMAZING and I realized that is what I really wanted. ate to satisfaction. I noticed the theme of my food log was fear of hunger so I decided to not eat to prevent hunger and just eat what sounded good and what felt good for now. Can you believe it was scary? I am interested to see how I feel tonight and tomorrow. I have done this before but with calorie counting, not just choosing when to stop eating because of how I felt.

Exercise: 30 min walk with coworker- by the way, this coworker walks FAST. Like speedwalking. I almost can't keep up and I am taller than she is. I think she is used to walking with her taller husband maybe?

[pinkhippie]

I have been going and reading my old check-ins when I was maintaining at a lower weight, and some members ' check-ins who have been successful at reaching the weight they want and maintaining. Obviously, I can't read them all, but the ones I did read had something in common. They don't eat a ton of food, they rarely eat to Fullness(with a capital F), and they exercise regularly. I know, I know, such a shock, right? But I always have this weird worry that I am not eating enough. Which actually makes no sense on the face of it. Im trying to lose weight, and Im currently eating more food than my body needs. So, it's ok to eat less. Therefore, Im trying to be mentally ok with reducing portions. what am I so afraid of? Being hungry? It's ok to be hungry. Next time I get hungry I need to sit with it for a while and see what feelings come up.

So, my 2 daughters eat when they are hungry and sometimes not even then. Often, they will eat once or twice a day, and I never push them into eating when they are not hungry. I was talking to my 16-year-old, and I asked her if she got hungry in the morning or afternoon, and she said, "Sometimes, but then the hunger goes away, and it doesn't come back for a while." My 13-year-old is the same way. As far as I know, they are not starving themselves because of weird food issues or body issues, they just don't have food issues. They get hungry and they are busy doing something or too lazy to make themselves something, and so they just don't eat... eventually they have a big dinner or maybe a breakfast and then dinner, but it's really interesting to observe. My 13-year-old especially won't eat unless she is hungry and stops the minute she is full. I worry about the 16-year-old because she seems to eat a LOT at one sitting, but I never say anything to her. I have always told my girls you don't have to eat if you are not hungry, and you don't have to eat all your food. I have also told them to listen to their bodies and eat if they are hungry. I really hope they have escaped my food hangups. Anyway, all that to say, they are definitely not scared of hunger. So why am I?

[Amy3010]

I applaud you for how you have encouraged your girls to have a normal relationship with food! The fact that they are able to listen to their body's hunger signals will serve them well. My grandma always told us that not eating all our food was "throwing pennies down the sink" and that was a message that stuck.

I hear you when you talk about being afraid of hunger - for me, being hungry makes me feel a kind of panicky feeling. I have no idea where that comes from, because, like you said, there is nothing to be afraid of.

You're welcome for the oats recipe! Yes, it is filling - keeps me going for the 5 hours between breakfast and lunch. If it's too much you can easily do 1/4 cup of oats and 1/2 cup soy milk and a bit less berries.

I have been enjoying what you have been sharing lately, you are really digging in deep to your thought processes around eating, meals and hunger! Thanks for sharing!

[pinkhippie]

Hi Amy,

Thank you! I am glad you find my thought processes and ramblings helpful! It seems like I go in waves on digging into my thoughts and feelings about food. For a while, it's dominant and then I go back on autopilot without noticing things. I can imagine how a message about throwing money(even just pennies) down the sink would stick! I will try reducing the recipe if I continue to not be able to finish it. Thank you!

So, last night my stomach did a lot of gurgling and growling, with its much smaller dinner, but I never felt *hungry*. This morning I woke up and felt fine. I started to get hungry around 7:30, but I was busy and didn't eat until 8:30. Unfortunately, I brought a whole wheat bagel and cream cheese, not the overnight oats, and even after eating, my stomach is all growly. We will see what happens.

Also, I wanted to note this down for future reference. I have noticed many times, especially between meals, that if I feel hungry about 2-3 hours after eating, drinking a big glass of water makes the hunger go away completely. I am not sure if I am super dehydrated (doubtful) or if it's because my stomach being more empty makes me think Im hungry, so I have to eat, but water satisfies? Anyway, it's a good realization to have.

Another thought I had. With IF, it's easier to be hungry when I have not had any food for hours. I think because I was already hungry overnight, and then the hunger went away. when it comes back, it's mild. I find hunger between meals MUCH harder, but also much better for me. I can really stop eating better when I am hungry before a meal versus when I haven't eaten for 19 hours and I "open my window". I have a tendency to overeat and still not feel full. Regardless of being fat-adapted, and not that hungry before my window opens. I think it's mental. Maybe that would go away, but I have done it for years, and it never seems to. I like working on getting used to hunger between meals. I was using IF as a way to avoid that because once my window opened, I was eating every 2-3 hours.

[pinkhippie]

Wednesday

8:30 am: Whole wheat bagel with honey pecan cream cheese, coffee
This was an ill-advised treat. I need to save this for weekends when there is less time between meals. I kept reading about how some people eat GRANOLA BARS for breakfast, and I wanted to be able to make it work. Tomorrow is overnight oats

1pm: More yucky wrap. Its not terrible but not delicious. I ate the filling and half of the tortilla and some green grapes.
Ate to satisfaction, didn't finish wrap or grapes

3pm: decaf coffee with creamer
This gets me through my afternoon slump peckish time

6pm: a small square of french toast casserole, 2 sausage links, ramekin of yogurt with peanut butter and banana
Yum! I am working on leaving a bite of food on my plate for every item so I didn't finish all of this but I wanted to! I have noticed that a lowfat lunch seems to make me crave peanutbutter when I get home. Combining it with greek yogurt is so delicious and the hit of protein and creaminess really helps too. Felt mostly satisfied, maybe slightly on the side of less than more.

7pm blueberry herbal tea

Exercise 25 minute walk with coworker
20 minutes weights

[RG12]

I think your refined hunger is interesting. Like when you ate a piece of toast and a bite or two of second one. I don’t know if I eat too fast or am always hungry, but I would have finished that second piece long before I realized I was full. It has to be Thanksgiving and I’ve already had two plates of food for me to say I’m stuffed.

You asked me if I’m eating enough. I think I am. I am trying to lose weight but bad days balance good ones and I’m maintaining. I seem to get hungry every 2-3 hours unless I drink tea.

Are you eating too much? To go 8 or more hours without hunger, to quit eating a wrap? I guess I’ve never had a wrap that bad, maybe needs doctoring with mustard or chutney? The tortilla itself was yucky? I love bread.

[pinkhippie]

Hi RG!

Yes I think I have been eating too much for sure! I think that when I get to my higher weight setpoint I am less hungry which makes sense. My body truly doesn't need or want all the food I have been feeding it. Once my weight drops I start getting hungrier. I love tortillas but this was a funky spinach wrap tortilla. It was NOT hitting the spot and I was at work so alas, no condiments were available.

It sounds like slowing down your eating could help a bit. That is something I have been working on for years and finally am getting better at. I am glad the tea is helping! I drink a lot of tea as well.

[pinkhippie]

Thursday!

Book club tonight.

8:30am Overnight oats with almond milk
Realized at about 11:30 that almond milk is useless But seriously what is it good for? It doesn't have enough staying power. When I made my oats with lowfat milk, I was satisfied until lunch

1pm: half the yucky wrap, green grapes

6pm: Parmesan garlic butter beans, spinach, strawberries and plain greek yogurt.
Ate most of this, left a bite of each like I am trying to do to get more comfortable with not finishing all my food. Didn't feel full but felt satisfied later. A little growly stomach at bedtime but not too bad. Its weird, I don't FEEL hungry, its just like my stomach is making noise.

Exercise: 1.5 mile walk

So today for "fun" I totaled up the calories of my day because I always have this worry that Im not eating enough food. I know that makes no sense when I am trying to lose weight. I was SHOCKED to see that this day totaled over 1500 calories. That number is fine but I have felt like Im barely eating anything. I now understand why I have been stuck at 170 for so long. Who knows how many calories I was eating when I thought I was eating "moderately" and when I was eating "a lot"? Very eye opening! I might start checking in with calories for a bit just to get a better baseline awareness for a while. It also makes me feel better because then I know I am eating enough. Since I almost always eat the same thing for BLD 4 days a week it should be pretty easy. Once I get that awareness back, and get used to my meal size, I will stop.

[Amy3010]

Smart to track calories for a little bit to get a realistic idea of what your meals are, calorie-wise. I think a lot of us underestimate how much we are taking in, and it is easier than we realize to eat way over what we should be eating.

[Ellis]

What we eat can be so misleading sometimes. I also tracked calories for a while, because I was losing weight so incredibly slowly that I was sure I must be eating too much. It helped to use a smaller plate, because I was eating almost the same portions as my partner — and he’s two heads taller and broader than I am!

[pinkhippie]

HI Amy, thank you! Yeah I hate to have to do it, but No S makes it so much easier! And so does my automated eating life these days. I eat the same thing for breakast lunch and dinner basically 4 days of the week, and with no snacking to shake things up, I figure out the calories and serving size only once.

Hi Ellis, Today I have been trying a 7 inch plate. So far so good. I think sometimes I hate realizing how little food we really need to be satisfied.

[pinkhippie]

Friday day off Yay!


9am: whole wheat bagel with cream cheese, coffee with half and half

12:15 pm: peanut butter banana sandwich on whole wheat, green grapes, ramekin of plain greek yogurt, a clementine
was quite hungry from my walk and my lesser breakfast. But I noticed I was feeling satisfied when I had about 1/4 of my sandwich left, half my grapes, and a spoonful or so of yogurt. I totaled those calories up and even with not finishing my meal it was about 500 calories. Amazing! Normally I would have eaten the whole amount of food but when I felt satisfied I was like "I could stop eating", and then I was like "but it can't be enough food", so I added them up and I was like "OH! It is enough food". And my body was TELLING me that. Pretty amazing

4:45pm: 2 chicken strips, steamed broccoli, honey mustard, ramekin of vanilla frozen yogurt
[iAte to satisfaction, but felt my stomach yelling at me again last night. [/i]

Exercise: 3 mile walk with daughter this morning. I got tired at about the 2.5 mile mark.

Saturday

Woke up not hungry at all despite last nights stomach yells.

845am: Coffee with half and half

10:45am ramekin of plain greek yogurt, strawberries, slivered almonds, honey, rest of coffee with half and half
I dont have a routine on weekends except to sip my coffee in bed for 30 minutes before tackling the day, so I forogt to eat breakfast. I noticed i was hungry around 10:30 but had to unload groceries before I ate. I ate a small breakfast because I want to eat lunch at close to normal time

12:15 pm: Garlic paremsan butter beans with spinach, some grapes.
Ate most of this but started feeling fuller about 3/4 through and left the rest

5pm: 6" Chicken club sub, chips, 1 macaron
Ate most of the sub, then realized the bread was really good but I was done with the filling. I took out the filling, ate the bread, and tossed the rest and was super satisfied. Ate about half the chips. My 16 year old daughter made macarons. For her birthday I got her a baking cookbook and promised to get her whatever she needed if she would pick out a recipe to make. She picked out macarons and it took her at least half the day! But they were delicious! I would have had one more but they are supposed to be refrigerated for 24 hours so will have one tomorrow

Exercise: 30 min elliptical
I discovered that listening to my audio book whilst being on the elliptical helps a lot and I felt so much better mentally and physically after being on it. Im going to try to work this into my routine somehow.

Sunday

Got a new fancy scale that supposedly does body fat and has an app. Our old scale that we have had since 2015 is finally on its way out. I have read that although the body fat is not super accurate, its still helpful to watch the trend of time. I noticed the weight was about the same on both scales.

Weight this morning was 168 but weekend weight tends to be lower because I weigh later in the morning. The true test is tomorrow at 5:30 am.

10:45 am: Half whole wheat bagel, one egg, slice provolone cheese, some baby spinach, strawberries. Coffee with creamer
This was yummy. I made an open faced egg sandwich. I waited until I was hungry to eat this morning, got involved in a project of cleaning out my closet, putting winter clothes away and bringing out the summer. Its going to be in the high 80's all week. Time to say goodbye to the sweaters. I ate most of this but left 1 bite

1:45 pm: black beans, rice, cheese, salsa and avocado, strawberries, 1 macaron
was hungry before I started eating but the hunger faded pretty quickly. I didn't finish this. I guess because it had only been 3 hours since breakfast?

3:30 pm: decaf coffe with creamer
My brain is hungry but my body is not. I have had good practice with No snacking and I am now beginning to recognize true body hunger and mind hunger. So, I made some coffee. I feel like I have been here before with recognizing hunger but then I go back to snacking and get out of practice.

5:15pm: half a quesadilla, a few bites of broccoli and a slice of chocolate cream pie
I was still not hungry but everyone was eating and I wanted to eat. Halfway through my quesadilla and broccoli I realized I was REALLY not hungry and so I decided to have what I really wanted, which was the chocolate cream pie I had been thinking about yesterday but was too full from macarons to have. I also didn't want to hurt my daughters feelings by having a different desert. Pie was delicous! It was exactly what I wanted. Its too bad I wasn't confident enough in my choices to just have the pie for dinner like I truly wanted. I also noticed when I was eating and not hungry that I found myself trying to speed through it, rather than eat slowly like I have been. That was one of my first cues that I actually wasn't hungry. Its only pleasurable to eat slowly when you are really enjoying the food and I am only really enjoying the food when Im hungry

No exercise today

[pinkhippie]

Monday

168.6 at 5:30 am! Amazing!

Also, today at work, I had a big victory. We had a work event with treats at 2 pm and I looked at the cookies and I was like" These are not S worthy treats." They are just box cookies, and I felt no pull. I got a bottle of water instead and felt fine. Not deprived in any way. I had homemade macarons on the weekend, you know? So, my treat meter on the quality went up.

8:20 am: overnight oats with cow milk
big difference in satiety. I was just getting hungry for lunch at lunchtime

1 pm: half a quesadilla, half a small bean burrito, green grapes
I had brought more food but was unable to finish it. I was full very quickly. I left half my grapes and half my burrito.

3pm: Decaf coffee

6pm: being lazy this week and doing frozen dinners. It was super nice to have a break from cooking this Sunday. Healthy Choice beef and broccoli, extra broccoli, greek yogurt, half a banana

SO much walking today! 3 walks, I had over 12,000 steps
2Exercise:20 minutes of weights

[pinkhippie]

Tuesday!

Got so much better sleep than Sunday night! Sunday night our dog had a stomach issue and was sick in his crate at about 3 am. I can feel the difference. According to my genetic data, supposedly, my genetic type is most affected weight-wise by sleep! Kind of crazy. There are many other types, and they are affected by things like saturated fat or processed foods, or movement, but supposedly mine is just sleep. It's interesting to think about. When my girls were babies, I could not lose weight for anything, and I got terrible sleep for those few years.

8:30am : Overnight oats,coffee

12:30 pm: Nothing but I am sooo hungry. I thought it was odd that all my walking didn't make me hungry yesterday. I think its delayed to today. But, I feel like I feel at night after bedtime. The idea of eating right now feels so foreign to me, like a snack would be wrong. I guess I have done pretty well over the years of eliminating a snack between breakfast and lunch. probably because of IF. So the only snack that is still lingering and the hardest association to break is the snack between lunch and dinner. Lunch is in 30 minutes, and I am so ready!

1:10pm: 1.5 bean burrito, some grapes
These burritos are pretty small, they are made with taco size burritos not burrito size burritos but I decided to eat one and see if it satsified. 20 minutes later I was still hungry so I ate another half and now I feel good. Especially after being so hungry all

3:30 pm Decaf Coffee

5:45pm Healthy choice cafe steamer pesto chicken vegetable with added spinach. ramekin of greek yogurt with peanut butter and banana
This wasn't very tasty. As usual for all my meals today I left at least one bite. With this meal I left several. The yogurt was delicious though

Exercise: a lot of walking. about 50 minutes divided into two walks
10 min elliptical

[pinkhippie]

Wednesday!

Woke up feeling lethargic and tired. Doing my weights was really difficult. This week, I have had trouble sleeping. Last night I realized I was feeling SUPER anxious.

A realization that I had about food and emotion last week and have been noticing this week, is that I have a few more emotional eating hurdles to overcome. The first is that I want to eat to comfort myself. To me, food and a full belly are nurturing. This probably stems from the fact that my mom has a mental illness (and an eating disorder), and when I was growing up, we often didn't have food. I had to eat at my best friend's house. Her parents would let me snack at their house after school and then invite me to dinner. That feeling of being at the dinner table eating food until I felt FULL( because there would be no more food until after school again) was the best feeling. I felt loved and cared for and safe.

My friend's family was so consistent. She would complain about dinner like "chicken again?" And I was just like "amazing! Chicken! Yay!". They had milk in a milk pitcher, a butter dish, and a cloth tablecloth. So yeah, I have some very strong associations with the feeling of being FULL. And I realized at work, when I feel even just a tiny bit uncomfortable, it doesn't have to be major stress, just discomfort. Im suddenly "hungry". Going to the 3-meal day structure has really helped me recognize the difference between physical hunger and mental hunger, which is why I can really see that.

And finally, anxiety. without my soothing blanket of food for my anxiety, I am exposed. I need to develop other coping methods for my anxiety. I think it's always low-level in the background, and I have been using food to cover it up. Also going to lay off decaf in the afternoon and switch to chamomile.
Im sure the extra caffeine, as small as it is, isn't helping.

[pinkhippie]

Wednesday cont

8am: overnight oats, coffee

11am-1pm: So tired and dragging today. Food sounded great but only because I am so tired and bored. Eveyrone at my work said they felt tired today. Its a rainy gloomy day out there

1pm: 1.5 burrito, grapes
Did not even try eating just one and planned to have 1.5. After feeling so tired and hungry I didn't have the mental energy for it. but it was a good amount. I was satisfied but not stuffed.

4pm: chammomile tea

6pm: healthy choice pasta alfredo with extra broccoli, ramekin of plain greek yogurt with sliced strawberries

7pm: herbal tea

Exercise: 25 minute walk
20 minutes weights

observations for today: I was very tired and that made me a lot more hungry. It felt like I was operating out of more willpower than I had in a while. The kids are at the grandparents and I was SOOOO tempted to declare it a eat dessert day because they weren't there and it was "special" But I talked myself down by promising myself that same dessert on the weekend.

[pinkhippie]

I had all my entries written out for last week, but forgot to save the draft. So, alas. It's ok though, I don't think I need to log my food every day currently.

I have come to the realization that I have to get moving more if I don't want to be hungry all the time. I can't eat the small amount of food required for sitting around all day. So I have been walking a lot more. I get to work early and walk for 20 minutes and then go for a walk with co workers for about 25 minutes. Both are about a mile long, so 2 miles 4 days a week. Im also trying to get up and walk more in the building through the day.

I have also been suffering from reflux way worse since I went to 3 meals a day and stopped IF. But I don't want to do IF again so after giving it a few weeks of testing, I decided 3 meals won't work.

Now Im taking my 3 meals and basically dividing them up into 5 small meals. So now it's 8 am half breakfast, 10:30 rest of breakfast, 1 pm half lunch, 3ish rest of lunch, 5:30ish 6 pm dinner. In order to stop eating 3 hours before bed, I can't divide dinner so I have just been trying to have it be smaller.

I have only been doing this this week but so far the reflux is pretty much non existent through the day, and now after dinner is the only time I feel it. But its also been very stressful at home this week. So, we will see!

[Amy3010]

Oh, Pink, I am sorry to hear your reflux has flared up again. Hopefully the new schedule helps!

Such a tricky balance to find between hunger and activity...I remember when I was running, a longer run would make me ravenous. Now a really long day hike can do that. But like you said, sitting around all day isn't great either. I hope you find the sweet spot for yourself!