The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[raederle]

Hi all, just wanted to share a small (but huge!) victory I accomplished over my food last night. I have a TERRIBLE predeliction for stuffing my face with the ingredients while I'm making dinner... I'll nibble at the cut up veggies for the stir fry, the shredded low fat cheese for the lasagna, even the fat free sour cream topper for the pumpkin soup... (You know how it is-- one teaspoon for my soup... one teaspoon for (slurp!) me! One teaspoon for DH's soup.... one more teaspoon for (slurp!) me!) I used to choke down still-frozen french fries, dry bread flour by the spoonful, pancake batter by the cupful... yuck! I also tend to finish everything on my plate whether I'm hungry or not, and when I go back into the kitchen to clean up the mess after dinner, I pick at everything left on DH's plate or in the pots & pans. (Less to clean up, right??? ) I've been trying to battle these urges by simply cooking only single servings of things for myself, while DH fends for himself.

Anyway-- last night I had something of an epiphany as I was cooking dinner for DH and me. I was chopping veggies for a stir-"fry" (with Pam) and, instead of popping most of them into my mouth, I poured myself a diet soda to slurp on while the pan warmed up. I drank my soda and thought, I could eat those veggies, gulp some of that tofu, or lick some of the teriyaki sauce, but WHY? What would it get me? I'll get to eat it all in a few minutes! Stuffing my face now will just make me angry, ashamed, and HEAVIER!

And you know what? It worked!!! In fact, not only did I back away from the nibblies during dinner, I LEFT FOOD IN MY BOWL after we'd eaten!!!! I just wasn't hungry anymore, and I realized that I'd rather save those calories for another time when I *was* hungry! And when I went into the kitchen to clean up, I just dumped the leftovers (not quite enough to save, which normally would have meant I had to eat them!) without touching them. I certainly *thought* about eating them, but again, I talked myself out of it, saying, "Doing that won't make me happy, just HEAVY!"

All I can say is, wow! Maybe there's hope for me after all! I wanted to share this with you guys even though I'm not in weight loss mode anymore because if *I* can back away from some serious foody urges, I know you guys can, too, when you make goal and start living with real food again. Maybe there's hope for all of us bingers?

[kassilou]

That's a huge victory! The real battle is changing those thought patterns, and you sure did! Yay you!

[tumbleweed]

Woooohoooo! Thats wonderful raederle. I'm doing a happy dance for you right now!! Keep up the great work and keep motivating all of us!!!!!

[want2Bthin]

Rae-

You go girl! You should be very proud of yourself!

Thanks for sharing that with all of us. You inspire me. I can relate to everything you said.

Angelia

[Dean0408]

Rae.....

YOU DONE GOOD!! Congratulations on your achievement.

That nibbling you described seems like a habit to me........and not really a "I just gotta eat this or I will die" type urge. It is too bad when you do this.....expecially the still frozen fries or raw batter.......because you are getting the calories, but not really the full flavor of the food. At first I thought that it didn't matter because eating before a meal (You'll spoil your dinner!!) usually means that you will eat less at the actual meal. You then stated that you STILL will eat a full meal.......so that theory goes out the window.

If you ever find yourself slipping back into this habit.........get a few of those masks that people wear when they are doing wood working so they don't breathe in dust or fumes. Wear one when preparing the meal. Every time you subconsciously go to nibble, the mask will be in the way making you realize what you are doing and giving yourself a chance to "Just say NO".

I too had a success last night. Heidi was meeting with a group from Cal State at a TGI Friday's last night..........she did well and had a "lean and green" type meal. She called me and said she would bring me something and to go on line to see the Friday's menu. I did that and was drooling at the potato skins........burgers........fries........and other fattening things. I then noticed that Fridays has an "Atkins Approved Menu". I clicked on it........and wonder of wonders, told Heidi to get me the Atkins Chicken and Brocolli meal. It tasted great!! Fairly low carbs........nicely seasoned baked chicken breast on a bed of onions and red and green peppers, topped with cheese and a side of brocolli seasoned with lemon. I know the cheese is a bit iffy.........but heck, I am on maintenance, so I think I can handle a bit of dairy at this point. (protein in cheese too)

I have been on maintenance for a full week. My weight has fluctuated but no more than two pounds in either direction. Yesterday morning in fact, I was BELOW goal!! Down to 208.......so I need to get back to 210.

Keep posting your maintenance saga........it really helps me and spurs me to tell my story too.

Dean

[DonicaB]

Rae~~I just wanted to tell you that I am so glad you are sticking around here. It does me good to see what I can expect when I get to maintenance ( and I will get there this time ). Your posts are always so encouraging and inspiring.

I have that same problem Rae~~I used to nibble while I cooked, but for some reason since I started MF, I just don't have a desire to do it anymore. Though, I had to laugh when you said you licked pancake batter, because I made pancakes for my family the other night and I did lick the batter once, and then thought "What am I doing?" I'll admit it I like pancake batter.

I am amazed at how I actually think about things now, like nibbling when I shouldn't. I find myself saying "SELF..........it is not worth it."

You should be very proud that you are learning to live life as a skinny person. You will still have bumps (you already know that), but look.......you are dong it........you are maintaining.

I look forward to the day when I can share maintenance stories with you and Dean.

DonicaB

[raederle]

Thank you for the back-pats! I *am* rather proud of myself...

Donica, I think you've got it right-- it *is* about learning to live and think like a skinny person. I'm still learning what that really means, but I know that MF gave me structure when I needed it; that structure, rigid as it was and as much as I hated it sometimes, saved me from finishing the pancake batter with my tongue because ot just wasn't on the menu. So now that that structure is gone, it's up to me to replace it with a new plan, and to make choices on that plan. I didn't make good choices when left to my own devices in the past, but now I have to learn to make those choices like a thin person would. And I think a thin person might choose to have a lick of pancake batter, but wouldn't have scoopfuls of it before moving on to polish off a full breakfast of pancakes, plus my DH's leftover pancake, plus the three that were cooked but got left in the kitchen... (Yup, that's what I would do, Dean! ) What's weird is how simple the logic is to recite, and how hard to actually put it in practice!

But Donica-- you and Kassilou are both a third of the way here to meet me and Dean in the Maintain Lane.... So you'll get to know the "joys" of keeping the weight off soon enough!!!

[dlr2424]

.........Rae....thanks for sharing that...... ......I can so relate.... .....well not to the pancake batter..... ....but if it was cool whip..... .......thats a different story..........sometimes I wonder why we do the things we do..... .......when I was a kid it would kill me to eat everything on my plate....i never would finish it.....so eating before dinner or off someone elses plate would be out of the question..... ......had no interest..............so...RAE..... you have made me wonder what has changed my way of thinking from then till now?......... ....I look at some kids...or teens.....they are to busy.....they have very little interest in most foods... .....WHAT CHANGES?.......something else to add to my list of "things to learn about"....gosh..... MediFast is so much more than a diet..........while losing weight we at the same time are gaining insight to our fatty ways...........PRICELESS
Donna...dlr2424

[Dean0408]

Ya know Rae.......something just occurred to me when I read your last post. You mentioned you ate what was left from DH.......and also what was left unserved in the kitchen.

When you were a child.......did your parents drum into you that it was sinful to waste food? I used to get that "people starving in China" story all the time..........(as if my cleaning my plate would somehow feed starving people a world away).

Anyhow, I just thought that there may be some deep rooted psychological thing that would not allow you to throw away perfectly good food.

After all..........as we have learned from everyone since Freud.........WHATEVER WE DO WRONG........IS THE FAULT OF OUR PARENTS!!

Dean

[raederle]

Ha ha ha ... I blame my parents for lots of things-- my "fat butt" genes, my prematurely-graying hair (aused by the emotional trauma of planning a wedding recently, to the Jersey Devil), and not knowing how to peel garlic properly. (We NEVER had fresh spices or herbs in the house. For that matter, I had to teach myself how to prepare fresh veggies and-- GASP!-- lean protein meals!)

Really, though, I sat down and thought about your post. And you know what? I'm just now realizing that, though it wasn't a "starving child in China" thing (what IS it with that silly non-sequitur mind trip thing parents try?), my parents simply never had leftovers. Ever! If my mom made it, we ate it. All food was served at the table from bowls, family style, so the bowls sat there at the table until they were empty. Hmmm. That's interesting, huh? I never thought about it before, but you're absolutely right-- I must've picked up this habit of always finishing my food (where "my food" means "all available food") at the dinner table.

So, Sigmund, Carl, Jean-Paul, Friedrich, Dean-- whatever your "real" name is-- THANK YOU! Now I know where to direct my anger! When I see my mom this weekend I'm gonna toss a bowl of pancake batter in her lap!

[Dean0408]

Ya know Rae......(or whatever your real name is)...........I kind of thought you came from a home of no leftovers. It truly sounded like that to me.

Now that you know it is OKAY to have leftovers.........or even toss outs, ya don't have to be the food vacuum any longer. Heck.....that might have been what caused the gain in the first place.

You got me to thinking of those parental things.....especially the questions all parents used to ask: "Do you want me to come over there and smack you?" (has any kid ever answered "yes" to this?).......and the ever popular, "Do you want to put your eye out?" (again, the overwhelming response would certainly not be "yes") These are the old time parent to kid questions.......they have been replaced with NEW parental questions such as, "You are 37 years old.........don't you think it is time to move out and get a place of your own?"

You have to crush fresh garlic with the flat side of a large knife before you try to peel it after breaking it into individual cloves.

My real name is Dean.....

See ya,

Dean Realname

[DonicaB]

You know in my house (not that you asked, but I'm gonna tell you anyway ), I never got any left overs. My mom certainly never made me finish my plate as she was a lifetime WW. My dad, on the other hand, well let's just say we called him the HUMAN GARBAGE DISPOSAL. He cleaned up after every meal, he cleaned every plate, every pan..........of course, he didn't wash the dishes though.

Maybe because I never got any left overs I somehow felt neglected and made up for it as an adult by eating anything and everything I could get my hands on (food of course). Until recently I was the HUMAN GARBAGE DISPOSAL in my family. Not anymore.

Donna is right, this place is sooooo educational.

DonicaB

[raederle]

Well, Donica, I guess we're both living proof that parents just can't do anything right-- whether they make us clean our plates, or if they give all the leftovers to dad, either way, we still end up fat!

[DonicaB]

Makes me wonder how my boys will end up as adults? I never make them clean their plates. But, I do make them do the dishes.

We are quite a group around here, you being FORCED to get fat by being FORCED to clean your plate, and me being DRIVEN to get fat by being deprived of leftovers. What is the world coming to? Lord knows what happened to everyone else on here?

DonicaB

[Dean0408]

Well Donica......don't know what your boys eatin' habits will be.....but sounds to me like once they are out on their own.......they will eat off of paper plates so they won't have to do dishes.......since you MADE them wash the dishes at home.......haha

Dean