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Old 01-18-2015, 06:43 PM
 
134 posts, read 157,360 times
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Bette,
I just turned 56, and in this last couple of years, lost almost 25 pounds in the last year or so.

I wasn't happy with the extra pounds, and most of the time didn't really 'see' the weight, but I knew my back hurt, my pants were too tight, and I was uncomfortable! I'm pretty active, in the summer I'd regularly bike 125 miles in a week as a recreational cyclist, and the extra 5 pounds of winter weight gain used to just melt away, but as I got older, it stayed, and added up.

I finally 'had' to do something when a blood test came back as pre-diabetic. I was a huge lover of carbs, thought a healthy breakfast was a scrambled egg bagel sandwich with extra mayo! Almonds are healthy, right? But I'd be eating handfuls of the healthy almonds. My food serving gauge was waaaay off.

At any rate, I am now low carb, and as I lost weight and ate better, the 'yummy' things, like ice cream sandwich on warm chocolate chip cookies just didn't taste as good as I remembered. I acquired a taste for yogurt with frozen berries, and the healthy feeling afterwards, rather than the sugar/calorie bloat after the ice cream sandwich. I really don't crave that kind of thing anymore.

So maybe focus on the feeling after you eat, and it will help the cravings go away.

I also got a Fitbit, which I LOVE, and make sure I get my 10,000 steps a day. That usually means getting out and taking an after dinner walk of at least 2 miles to get my steps in. I also used their calorie counter, and recorded EVERYTHING until I could reset my serving size back to normal instead of super-sized.

Could your hubby 'hide' the ice cream so it's not right there? Another freezer? I love dark chocolate covered almonds, and I put a serving in a baggie, and make sure that's all I get over a few days (16-17 count) but my SO couldn't resist grabbing handfuls, and didn't want them in the house. So I hid them. Problem solved for us!
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Old 01-18-2015, 07:31 PM
 
Location: Dayton OH
5,671 posts, read 11,229,416 times
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I am over 60, still working full time (for a few more years). I bicycle commute year round, every one of my 220 work days per year. I've been at this routine for 15+ years. With bike commutes and a 40+ mile Sunday morning ride, I usually pedal 120 to 140 miles per week.

Here in Southern Cal the weather is mild 98 percent of the time, so climate is typically not an obstacle for bike commuting. I don't bike commute because I have to exercise, I bike commute because I enjoy it and it makes me feel good. This is the key to whatever physical fitness activity that a person chooses. It should not be a burden or something you have to do, it should be something you can enjoy and want to do. Otherwise, it is difficult to sustain over the long haul.

Walking is another great form of exercise, and I walk around plenty during the work day, and often take a mile or so evening walk after dinner.

Food wise, I have tried to eliminate carbs and calories that don't have nutrition and tried to eliminate most forms of refined or highly concentrated sugars. This means no soda pop, candy, white bread, bagels, ice cream, juice. No milk or cheese. No coffee or caffeine. No liquor, although I drink a beer occasionally at a social event or get together, or if I am on a summer visit in Germany. I do like a few cookies once in awhile, but I don't keep them at home because I would eat them all too fast. My sweet treats are eating a banana, apple and orange per day. During Summer, I eat seasonal fruit like peaches or apricots instead of apples or bananas.

I rarely eat fried food, and red meat just a few times per month. I use a George Foreman grill at home to cook chicken or fish several times a week. I also use a pressure cooker to fast steam veggies (1 minute) like broccoli, string beans, red bell peppers, onions all together and then mix the cooked veggies with some brown rice or quinoa.

Breakfast is a hard boiled egg, steel cut slow cooked oats with a serving of fruit. No fruit juice (too much sugar). Sometimes I add a slice of toasted multi grain bread with some butter.

It is a rather plain diet but it gives me what I need to avoid cravings for junk food but still have plenty of energy for bike riding and keeping in overall good health. No meds or pills either.
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Old 01-18-2015, 10:05 PM
 
Location: Southwest Washington State
30,585 posts, read 24,963,836 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bette View Post
Picky poor eater here plus could lose a few pounds.

NEG's thread about the gym inspired me to start exercising again and I'm starting very slowly.

I've eliminated some bad habits (bread, potatoes) but my one vice and unfortunately, my (more fit) husband is bad at this one also - ice cream. Trying to shake this - not a yogurt fun unfortunately.

Do you find when you exercise it ever eliminates your want for "something bad?"

What are some secrets to get around cravings?

It seems I get to about 10-14 days and have lost about 6 pounds or so and then lose it - meaning I give in to the cravings.

One guy I know says it takes about 6 weeks for the craving to get out of your system.

My good habits:

Lots of water
Green tea
No fast food - ever (my mom was a dietician; made food from scratch; hated processed food; guess she was ahead of her time)
Love fish, meat, chicken
Love breakfast so right now doing Paleo

My bad habits:

Not a fruit fan - not at all
I'll eat some vegetables but I have to force myself
Love carbs but I'm trying to stay away from them

I got "fresh" bagels one night - it was late - couldn't wait to have one - they were stale - to me, that was gross and now I'm totally turned off by them. Just that one remembrance does it for me with food. I know it's weird but that will help me not eat them - ever!

My 2 children are CrossFit addicts and by July, I want to show them that I'm back to where I used to be - weight wise. I'm small boned but I am carrying around about 40 pounds too much.
It has taken me all of my years to feel somewhat in control of cravings. DH and I are minimizing carbs in a 12 week plan to take weight off ourselves which has been acquired during the last few months. Even if I lose the weight to bring me back to where I was, I won't be slim. My goal now is be healthy though.

In 2009 through 2010 and into 2011 I followed a diet plan that allowed few carbs. You went through a no carb phase of 6 weeks, and then onto a maintenance sort of plan. I follow the maintenance plan mostly now. I hate the no carb eating, and I never could lose as much weight as I wanted to. But after all of that, cravings diminished. I still want ice cream, especially in the summer, and I still do nervous eating. But the cravings for lots of sweets is much less.

I do believe that "carb addiction" is just that--it is a pernicious addiction.

What we are doing now is allowing ourselves 1 "cheat day" per week. We talk about which day it will be ahead of time. Even then, the cheating is moderate. But it helps us psychologically.

I don't lose weight fast any more. So far after two weeks, I've lost one pound. (Sigh)
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Old 01-18-2015, 10:35 PM
 
48,505 posts, read 96,551,406 times
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Its all about calories in and physical burning that input to maintain. One or the other has to be changed . Then its a reduction to it until in good shape. Once it equals then we tend to stop because we are not see loss any more. No great secret in now to burn more calories than you take in. Even a normal weight person eating unhealthy food while staying at that level isn't improving heath. Cardio even for them takes change and cardio exercise or they have weak muscles including the heart which is a muscle. Cardio exercises the heart and rest of cardio system. Its more than walking; it has to include upper body as well including arm etc. You diet to lose weight but that does mean your physically I good shape ;slim people have heart problems also as well as diabetes.Those who lose weight often complain at a point they feel weak; they are weak as muscles are weak still.

Last edited by texdav; 01-18-2015 at 10:44 PM..
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Old 01-19-2015, 04:44 AM
 
13,754 posts, read 13,212,854 times
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54, still working. I spent time going up and down throughout life but when I'm gaining, I know darn well what I'm doing that's putting on weight. "Know thyself, nothing in excess".

I totally agree with the concept that, if you don't want to eat it all in one sitting, don't have it in the house. If I ever craved cookies (I normally don't) I'd buy a single serving pack, I don't care how much it costs in comparison to a 1 pound bag. Every now and then I may pick up some Pepperidge Farm cookies and pretty much eat them all in one sitting. That's okay. I might do that twice a year. If I'm craving ice cream I'll either buy a pint (Cherry Garcia FroYo is wonderful) of really good quality or go to Baskin Robins. But not if I just at a bag of Pepperidge Farm cookies! It's gotten to the point that I can't really eat the whole pint like I used to. It's not that important to me. Being healthy is important to me.

My mother had a self-induced nutritional deficiency from a diet of coffee and cigarettes mixed with a daily dose of alcohol. She had a painful nerve disorder and had to take medication until the day she died. But still didn't eat well. I'm not going out like that.

I eat whatever I want but if I choose to indulge one day, I have to eat light for a few days. I'm pretty much over the overindulging. It's all about self-discipline.

I read (thanks to a fellow forumer) Dr. Barnard's Diet to Reverse the Affects of Diabetes. It opened my eyes to the fact that, no, it's not always as simple as burning off more calories than you take in. Certain body types store fat in muscle cells. Predisposition to diabetes... Anywho, that book was educational for me. And inspirational for trying to help my sometimes out-of-control snacking other half bring his weight under control.

Please (everyone in the world) no matter what your bad eating habits are, don't complain about physical/medical issues when you've brought them on yourself. Behave!
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Old 01-19-2015, 05:30 AM
 
Location: Scott County, Tennessee/by way of Detroit
3,352 posts, read 2,810,545 times
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I, for one, don't lose cravings because I exercise....and I still go through those, sorry men, premenstrual salt and sweet just gotta have it moments...even though I'm 55..... Does that ever go away?
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Old 01-19-2015, 05:35 AM
 
Location: Central IL
20,726 posts, read 16,221,348 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bette View Post

I got "fresh" bagels one night - it was late - couldn't wait to have one - they were stale - to me, that was gross and now I'm totally turned off by them. Just that one remembrance does it for me with food. I know it's weird but that will help me not eat them - ever!
I had this same thing happen - I got some donuts....then started coming down with the flu, nauseous, etc. Ever since then I totally relate the nausea to the donuts! So you know it works for you, but the next time you're feeling bad, try eating some of your favorite ice cream. It won't hurt and may help!

Actually, even closer to your bagel example, have someone give you some freezer-burned ice cream - it's not rotten, hasn't actually gone bad but the consistency and stale taste could do the trick for you.
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Old 01-19-2015, 08:54 AM
 
Location: near bears but at least no snakes
26,638 posts, read 28,474,267 times
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Last time I lost a lot of weight it was because I was sick and had no interest in eating. I wouldn't recommend it though

I think cutting out fatty foods and carbs would probably do the trick, along with the snacks. I'd keep the potatoes though as they are a healthy vegetable and a great source of potassium.

If you live in or visit a warm climate during the winter it's a huge help because you can get outside. I found that when I was younger I could still get some winter exercise in the north but as I got older, the cross country skiing and heavy snow shoveling became a no-no. Now, in the north, it's about inching my way across black ice in an attempt to not fall and that's not really exercise. In fact, if you fall are end up having to be immobilized, that's counter productive.
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Old 01-19-2015, 09:16 AM
 
Location: Chicago area
18,750 posts, read 11,724,355 times
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I pretty much eat whatever I want but do so with portion control in mind. I actually lost 7 pounds over the holidays. I ride my stationary bike an hour to an hour and a half 2 to 3 times a week. I roller skate on Friday mornings for two solid hours. We went skiing last week for 4 solid hours. I walk my dogs for an hour a couple of times a week when weather permits. We also ride our bikes 14 miles once or twice a week when weather permits. I have a high octane stressful job and staying away from the comfort food at work is always a challenge for me. I had an OBGYN appointment in December which prompted me to lose some weight. He's the only other man to see my naked body in 30 years and I didn't want him to see a big fat belly. Yikes. Now that I've started down this healthy path I love the way it makes me feel and I want to keep going and lose another 15 pounds. The shorties are here eating chips for breakfast. Time to go cook them something a little healthier. Nope not even tempted to eat any of that junk food.
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Old 01-19-2015, 11:41 AM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,912,763 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ariadne22 View Post
Actually, I've lost over 10 lbs this past year, just by reducing the size of the one slice of bread a day I do eat at breakfast (toast/eggs). The "big" loaf price of the crunchy multi-grain bread I buy went to almost $5. Instead, I decided to buy the smaller loaf (same number of slices, just smaller) of the same bread for $3.69. Unintended consequence was a loss of 10 lbs. Quite surprised me that one insignificant change could make such a difference. 10 lbs - who knew?
Oh you're one of those people who can do such a simple thing and lose 10 lb. I could cut out an entire meal and not lose an ounce. I recently started on Ezekial bread (no flour, all sprouted wheat) after giving up other breads and all wheat flour entirely. Not a fraction of an ounce have I lost, after 3 mos.

As for ice cream, I do not eat dairy (causes me health problems) but I do eat coconut milk ice cream. Probably the same amount of calories. Of course if I join the gym I will be able to eat whatever I want (not).
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