[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Andrea

I love to eat naked salads. It is amazing how good they taste without the dressing.

Andrea

I am impressed with you all who can do this. I'm not there and not sure if I'll ever be. I do try to make better options, though, with the dressings that I do choose.

Originally Posted by nycfembbw

I like to mix a little yummy dressing with apple cider vinegar (very good for ya) or some other type of vinegar (like balsamic) or even one of the not as good low cal/no cal dressings.

Cider vinegar is excellent for those with blood sugar issues! Using it actually decreases the glycemic index of the food it's on, which is fantastic.

Originally Posted by sylvie

*takes a deep breath* lol!!!
i was happy for the weight loss, but - it wasn't a good way.. this was some years ago, and my doctor found me out and stopped me.. i had a lot of stress in my life, and was in a very dark spot .. i'm also an emotional eater, which didn't help.. i dealt with the stress by binging & purging... sometimes just binging, and often just purging... not proud of that fact and caused me more problems than anything.. it's been what feels like a long road to overcome that... i worked myself to just binging for awhile, and then gained my 15 lbs back... almost instantly... i maintained that weight for awhile, but then the last couple of years, have gained even more of that weight back and that is because of my lack of eating healthy, my occasional break down and binge nights and of course, my emotional eating, diet soda habit i picked up and no exercise.. also, my mind was so messed up, i had days of binging, that i would beat myself up and have days of no eating at all, as a punishment to myself..

that's why it's so crucial now that i do this the right way.. i do well with not binging, purging and have really pushed passed that 'stinkin thinkin' pattern i had... i really excel on days that i'm eating healthy and days i'm exercising... i want to lose that weight all over again, but the proper way so that way i get it off and keep it off, by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.. it's almost like retraining my brain, (sounds strange) .. been a long journey for me to get this far, especially to even feel worthy of doing this for myself..

and it's extremely hard for me to admit this stuff, especially in a forum, lol.. but, one thing i've learned is by doing so, is keeping it real for me, helps me strive for better , i try not to be ashamed of what i was doing but to be proud of how far i've come with it.. i do admit i've had a few stressful nights over the years that i've punished myself by binging, but now, if something brings me that down - i distance it from my life as much as possible, i recognize it as something toxic for me..

wow, did i write a book or what...
i'm so sorry, once i get goin' sometimes i find it hard to stop, lol..
so sadly, that weight loss i achieved, i no longer see at all.. i've gained it all back over time, but i continually keep myself motivated to get on track and do everything possible to do this the right way, and be healthy because not only do i want to lose it and keep it off, but i want to make healthy choices because i love life, and the people in my life enough to wanna stick around.. heh...

wish i had an inspiring awesome weight loss story for you, lol.. *sad sigh* =(
now i'm going to walk away from the pc abit, because while this allows me to edit, i'm probably going to try and delete this post somehow because i get all paranoid about sharing this part of me - but its a good thing for me to put it out there like this.. for more reasons than one..
♥

Just keep in mind you've come a long way. Don't get so focused on the destination that you don't enjoy the journey and don't minimize your progress along the way. You're doing great!

Originally Posted by Kelt

Hey Tommi,

I thought it was interesting that you said you felt like you were writing a food log. I was wondering if you do keep one. I know you know how to do research and this tool (food log) is something I have found to be a wealth of information. I was getting all wound up in emotional responses to what was happening around my eating until I depersonalized it through tracking. I don't know if it would work this way for anyone else but I found that once I was using a food tracker and started being able to see trends develop in easy graphs and charts somehow it just became "the data is what the data is" and I could start manipulating it with my actions and not get all hooked up on emotions. I don't have eating disorders per se, but am no stranger to addictive behavior. I was just surprised at how much this one little trick allowed me to take responsibility for my actions without beating myself up about it. There are a whole slew of programs out there, one probably as good as another; I use fitday.com but as long at it tracks macronutrient proportions and whatever else you want to see I don't think it matters. They should work with any eating program you are on.

Sounds like you are doing a great job of noticing what is wrong and taking the bull by the horns. Keep up the good work.

You're right. Food journals are excellent. I took a page from Jennifer's book and try to log how I'm feeling when I'm eating stuff and how full I am. I use a site to log my stuff into as well. I use thedailyplate dot com. It's a part of the Livestrong site. You can log your exercise, food intake, look at your nutrients for the day, see graphs of your progress, and it's free.