Beyond Management

[6stlost]

I've been toying with the idea of starting this thread for a while.

There a quite a few threads following people's journeys through abstinence and Management but I haven't found one yet that follows people's lives after Management.

Back in the big wide world of NO RULES and SELF MANAGEMENT

The excerpt below is copy pasted from another thread but sums up where I'm at today - over a year since I started Foundation and 5 months since finishing Management.

I really hope all of you who've gone through the whole process and are now beyond Management can help me with sharing your stories, sharing your good days and bad days and sharing your continued learning about yourselves as I will do.

I also hope that it will give a picture of what life is to become (if you want to stay slim and healthy) for those just starting out. It's not all 'I'm slim now, isn't it great?'. There are some really sh*tty days beyond Management too, and I wanted to hopefully present the whole picture.

It's a long hard slog this management malarkey! It's surprising how long it takes to unravel all the years of thinking of things in terms of 'good' or 'bad' or 'allowed' or 'not allowed'. It wasn't until after management, when there were no rules to follow anymore, that I started to realise just how strict and rule-bound I was with myself and it's getting more and more apparent to me now how much those rules led to my weight gain in the first place.

In theory now I can say that I do not deny myself anything. If I want it I will have it or I know it will lead to a binge later if I don't allow myself in the first place. But sometimes it still leads to a binge anyway, and it's not until a day or a few days later that I realise that I was bingeing with the view that I would allow myself to do it that day, but not the day after or so on. So, even just the thought that I will not be allowing myself something tomorrow, or the next day, or so on could very well lead to a binge today. It's so difficult to unravel this ingrained way of thinking but I do believe I'm getting there.

It's such a liberating feeling knowing that I can have anything I want, anytime I want and now that I've truly truly started living that, I am able to have what I want but not binge on it. Why binge if you really can have it every day for ever and ever and ever. You don't need to binge if it's not off limits! I never thought I'd see the day I could just have two biscuits and say I'm completely satisfied but gradually that new pattern is emerging.

I've stayed stable at 9st4lbs for about two weeks now. I'm still a size 10. AND I've eaten chocolate, crisps, biscuits, all sorts of cakes, dairy and pastry, bread, butter, pasta and had some alcohol too - you name it, I can now manage it. I'm also enjoying gorgeous fruit smoothies almost every day made from fresh fruit, soya milk, nuts and seeds and soya yogurt, fresh salads, lovely stews full of thousands of veg and lentils or beans, baked potatoes and sweet potatoes.

The most interesting thing is that I can't remember the last time I stuffed myself so much on anything 'good' or 'bad' that I've ended up feeling bloated, queasy and sick. Knowing that nothing is off limits now means that I enjoy everything until I'm satisfied, which is normally a few mouthfuls, and then I actually feel really ok about saying 'I've had enough now, more would make me feel sick and then I wouldn't still be happy. I want to stay happy and satisfied so that means I don't want any more'.

Anway, just wanted to get that off my chest. I haven't sat down and had a re-coup of my thoughts, achievements or how far I've come in a while. That felt good.

 

[chunkychicken]

What a wonderful idea for a thread 6stlost,

Thank you so much for dedicating the time to share your thoughts on this.
It is a great comfort to read this post. Your attitude is everything I aspire to have post LL and although it must be a fight and a half to get there, what a wonderful way to lead you life around food.
We must have more wisdom from those elite few who have made it.....

Roll call please... amandajayne, Karion, Goombaggirl, and the rest of you...you know who you are!!!!!! Your apprentices are waiting for your teachings.......

 

[KD]

I've been toying with the idea of starting this thread for a while.

There a quite a few threads following people's journeys through abstinence and Management but I haven't found one yet that follows people's lives after Management.

I'm sure I've done a few I know I didn't do LL, but the story is the same once you are back into that big world of no shakes, no rules and self management.

I also hope that it will give a picture of what life is to become (if you want to stay slim and healthy) for those just starting out. It's not all 'I'm slim now, isn't it great?'. There are some really sh*tty days beyond Management too, and I wanted to hopefully present the whole picture.

Yes, the were some fantastic days, and some really bad ones. Lots of them. Sometimes when I felt things should be getting better, they would suddenly get worse. Just when I thought I was doing fab, I'd suddenly get a wakeup call that would put me very firmly back in my place:sigh:

Wouldn't know where to begin if I tried to give you my experiences of the last 2+ years of going it alone, but suffice to say that I'm now at the point where I can say 'I'm slim now, isn't it great!'

It was a huge learning curve for me, but one thing that I kept firmly in my head and didn't waver on, was that I was not getting back on whole dieting malarky ever again. It was the best thing I ever did, but I knew that it would be my last diet ever.

 

[Tiger Girl]

This is a fabulous idea for a thread. Very inspirational and personally, very well timed for me. I've gone into management too early and am having all sorts of meltdowns looking at the long game.
Please keep posting

 

[Just Do It]

Hi 6Stone Lost,
this really is a great idea for a thread. I've just started week 2 of management and I'm already terrified of being out there and whether I will make it or not. Can I ask how you found the whole management process? Did you sail through or did you find it a challenge.

I suppose what I mean by challenge is quantity wise. So far I am having no problem sticking to the food lists and I don't think I will because I have always been a creature of habit and when I have found something I like I can repeat it over and over without getting bored.

But I find that my appetite feels enormous and I'm worried that I have had too much and have stetched my stomach. Especially when you say you have a few mouthfulls and feel full, I feel I need quite a lot.

Anyway, thanks very much for the thread, I think it really will help.

Claire

 

[Goombagirl]

Hi, not exactly "beyond management" yet but working towards it.

I started LL Jan 14 2007, lost nearly 4 stone on foundation then started Route to Management (RtM). Completed RtM mid July so have been doing management for nearly 3 months.

RtM was a positive experience for me. I had been avidly reading about AmandaJayne's progress so started with high expectations. Didn't quite manage to stay completely on plan but learned a lot from a few lapses. Once I'd finished RtM the brakes were off so I "experimented" with food to see what I could cope with (even though I had a pretty good idea already). A period of trial and error, mostly error. I was not averse to gaining a few pounds as my boobs had shrunk. 7 lbs later they were a more respectable size but my tummy was bulging. Realising I couldn't have it both ways I decided to choose the flatter tummy. However as I was at the top of my acceptable weight range I felt quite panicky and couldn't stop thinking about food which led to another 3 lbs on. So I took the decision to do one of the management courses i.e. go back on packs for 3-4 weeks to regain control. Nearly 2 weeks on I'm more or less back where I was but need to go lower to compensate for the reloading of the glycogen. I was unsure about the return to packs but it has been very positive and the focus has returned. I like feeling slim too!

My short term goal is to stay at or below 8.12 until the New Year. Then I will set another goal (until Easter). I intend to stay in regular contact with my LLC as I find the sessions extremely helpful. For me, they are vital.

One thing that took me a little by surprise was how fast my mind could change from lack of interest in anything but low GI foods to total obsession with carbs! I will be more vigilant from now on (I hope!).

I agree totally with Karion about not getting back into the dieting game. Learning to eat healthily has got to be the way forward. But easier said than done.

 

[Mrs Lard]

I am SOOOO pleased you started this thread. I think it's a fantastic idea because there are a few of us who have started RtM (Route to Management) but feel doubtful and afraid about the future.

I think what you expressed below is critical:

Why binge if you really can have it every day for ever and ever and ever.

I'm beginning to really understand the connection between panic (this may be the LAST time I can eat this food) and rational thought (it's ALWAYS going to be available). And it's not just food.

Anyway, I'm signing myself up as a regular reader to your wonderful thread. We really need some more long termers (apart from Karion, AJ, GG, etc) to prove it can be done AND how!

Thank you for starting this.

Take care.

Mrs L xxxxxxxx

 

[AmandaJayne]

Hello there 6stlost!

Thanks for starting this thread, I've been 'on track' for a few days now, after a period of faffing (is that a real word?).

"Why binge if you really can have it every day for ever and ever and ever"

Well, yes. It is painfully obvious when you think about it, and so, so, welcome when the change in mindset finally happens. I think it is, anyway. It hasn't happened for me yet (though I see a glimmer), I have a long way to go. But I'll get there.

I think that changing deeply engrained (subconscious) behaviours and nullifying the powerful triggers which lead to particular instinctive reactions to feelings/situations, and to smelling, seeing or talking about certain foods, is actually really difficult, has been for me anyway.

It is not enough to want it, because that is a conscious desire and, as we all know, our behaviours are ultimately governed by our unconscious desires. So, that is where the work needs to be done. And, as I am finding out, it is hard!

I have realised that it does not actually matter what 'diet' we choose to follow to lose weight. What actually makes the difference is whether we have our heads in the right place to achieve a lasting weight loss. Lighterlife is the first diet I've tried which has actually addressed this problem.

Does anyone know of any other weightloss programmes which do this? Some do perhaps mention it, but briefly - it is not an integral part of the programme. Thank heavens I found LL because now I know that, difficult though it will be/is, I will eventually succeed in making the necessary mental changes.

The physical part is done (the easy part). The mental part is much, much harder - but achievable for the long term. Of course, here at Minis we have Karion - a beacon of hope that we can one day emulate (sorry to put you on a pedestal, Karion)!rincess: In the meantime, we will all struggle on in hope. Because without hope we have nothing.

 

[KD]

"Why binge if you really can have it every day for ever and ever and ever"

But I remember thinking "Oh...but soooo much food and sooo little time I was dead serious at the time. Couldn't imagine being able to get through everything I wanted in a sensible manner before I died

(sorry to put you on a pedestal, Karion)

I feel honoured Not too high though Could make for a nasty fall.

Talking about a nasty fall, I was thinking today, what if I do. What if my plan all starts falling to pieces.

I've been going along quite happily knowing that if it happened, I now know how to stop a binge, and also how to lose anything I might put on during one without really dieting and certainly not depriving myself, but by just tuning in to my body a little deeper and not eating past a certain point.

I've had two binge episodes in 2007 (if I remember rightly). One in January, and one in June. Incredible for me :clap: Both scared the living daylights out of me because I thought I had 'cured' myself I have more tools at the ready now and feel much more prepared.

What scares me though is that I won't want to. Either that I'll think I'm managing, when really it's my addiction taking over (and we all know how convincing that can be), or I'll be down and I wont care too hoots whether I put the weight back on or not.

I remember this happening in the January episode. I just didn't care. I managed to pull myself out of it before it became a problem, but I realise how fragile I can be at times and addiction isn't something you can play with.

Anyway, didn't mean to turn this into a negative post. It was just I've been doing a fair amount of 'what ifs' today. Nothing bad in that, I suppose. It prepares me for what might happen and maybe if it does, I'll recognise it in time.

I feel very strong at the moment, and have done for a while now and I love the way this has worked and that I don't have to follow a plan or fear food

 

[6stlost]

Wow AJ and Karion! Two very powerful posts and Karion, no it's not a negative post, it's exactly what I, and I think other people, need to hear to truly understand what long-term management is all about. Some days are good, some days are bad, some days are easy, some days are difficult. Sometimes we feel good about ourselves, sometimes we don't. But to go through all of that and not deal with it with food. That's what we're managing.

I don't have time now to do your posts justice but when I have time there's so much I'd like to respond to.

AJ, you definitely speak my language! You're an eloquent writer and every post you write is very powerful for me.

Hope to have time soon to add. x

 

[AmandaJayne]

Mornon' All,

"didn't mean to turn this into a negative post"

It's not, Karion. You thoughts about 'what if I fail, and it all goes wrong' are what are on all our minds (I know I speak for everyone here).

Actually, this morning I had an interesting episode. Next weekend we are off to Greece for the half-term:character00180:; self-catering. I am visualising making good food choices throughout the week, as I have been doing, but this morning I had a thought which I can't put into words. A bit like trying to interpret a squiggle on a page, I couldn't make sense of it but it was familier and I realised that it meant that crooked thoughts were trying to get through and sabotage my efforts.

The feelings I got from the thought were a bit clearer (anxiety). Namely 'you are going to 'eat' on holiday so you'd better get used to the idea and accept it'. The only reason I know this is because I stopped and stared closely at the 'squiggle' and worked it out. Metaphorically speaking, that is.

Now it is all out in the open I can face the fact that actually, I am really worried about how I'll cope on holiday and hiding away from this fact will not make it go away. So, what to do?

Two choices here:

(a) do nothing a hope for the best (that's what crooked thoughts would like me to do, give up before I start)​

or (b) Get writing, planning and reading to help me focus on what I really want.​

What I did last October holiday, in fact. When I was SSing on LL at the time, and did brilliantly. I took photocopies of thought records with me and filled them in when necessary.​

This time I will be slim and eating. I will take thought records again and do what I did last time.​

Wish me luck!​

Crooked thoughts are a major problem, but what about crooked reactions to those thoughts? Hmm, I'll go and get the Sunday paper and think about that one...​

 

[yo-yo-dieter]

Oh what a brilliant thread! I'm here too, and probably will be for a long time. Sadly due to money problems I can't do Management on LL cos I can't afford to, so I'm trying 2 meals + 2 food packs a day and I am so worried that all the weight will go back on! (even though it took me 7 years to put those 3st on in reality)

 

[KD]

Next weekend we are off to Greece for the half-term

Holidays are a bit of a challenge aren't they. It's not as if you can always say "I'll have it another day". For me it meant more eating. When I eat out, I can't say "I'll have it later" or "there's more where that came from in ASDA if necessary". It's often now or never and I have to make the choice. Sometimes I'm happy to let things go, sometimes I want to eat them. I really don't mind which one I chose. It makes little difference to me, as long as it’s an informed, conscious choice.

I know that I will eat a little more when I eat out, but don’t like feeling stuffed anymore, so will stop at some point, as I now recognize my hunger, satiety levels.

If I eat a bit more than intended, that’s okay, but I’m reminded that I will probably need to go for a good walk sometime soon after to feel better.

Now…notice that I don’t say “to burn off the calories”. That’s important to me. I’m not so much looking after my weight as looking after myself, and the weight takes care of itself. Somehow doing exercise to make up for overeating and to burn off those calories almost seems like a punishment for a wrong doing. I never want to feel like that again.

Having said that, I do want to feel well and there’s nothing nicer than a good walk after a heavyish meal, or the next day to make be feel alive again.

So eating a little extra for a special occasion is fine (for me anyway). There is no guilt. Nothing to be guilty for. I made the choice after all, and it’s only me that has to live with any repercussions.

This time I will be slim and eating. I will take thought records again and do what I did last time.

I think that’s a grand idea…not that I know what thought records are…but if they help then do it.

I do go through a series of questions when I eat. Do I need this? Do I want this? (often two different answers there ), can it wait? Will I enjoy it more later? That sort of thing. It takes me about 3 seconds to go through it and reach a decision about whether I am going to have it or not. I do this every single time I eat. It really is no big deal and is now so natural I couldn’t envisage just eating without giving myself a choice of whether I actually want to or not. I should imagine ‘normal’ people do this anyway, just more subconsciously?

In the pre-diet days, I would just reach for food and eat. Barely gave it thought. Almost as if on automatic pilot

Very best of luck on your Greek hols. How lovely. I’m sure you’ll be just fine. You know the pitfalls, you know about crooked thinking, you know the answers. Enjoy and don’t let it spoil the holiday. Just remember that no amount of analysis works unless you put what you’ve learnt into action.

 

[AmandaJayne]

"go for a good walk sometime soon after to feel better.

Now…notice that I don’t say “to burn off the calories”. That’s important to me. I’m not so much looking after my weight as looking after myself"

Yes, that is what I hope to do be able to do one day. Changing this dieting 'mindeset' after so many years of ingrained habit will be a challenge, but achievable one day at a time.

"I'll go and get the Sunday paper and think about that one"

Interestingly, I ended up going to four different shops before finally finding my newspaper of choice. This involved quite a long walk uphill and I ended up taking an hour and a half instead of ten minutes!

By the time I got back it was lunch time and I decided to have some soup and toast (have you tried that Seed Sensations bread - to die for), because we usually have our main meal at tea time.

After an hour I felt 'hungry'. My thoughts turned to the box of millionaire shortbread in the kitchen cupboard. I did a quick thought record (slightly adapted) because I didn't believe that I was actually was hungry not long after lunch.

"not that I know what thought records are"

This is a CBT strategy I learned doing LL and involved :

Writing down the initial situation (feeling hungry soon after lunch).

My thoughts about it (did I have enough for lunch, can I last for another four hours until tea time, I've done a good walk and used up some extra calories (!) today, I deserve it).

My feelings if I don't eat the shortbread (predominently anxiety followed later on by relief).

My feelings if I do eat the shortbread (very short-lived enjoyment closely followed by disappointment, more anxiety).

What shall I do instead, what are the other options? Have a drink, I could be thirsty, that often feels like hunger. If I really am hungry I could have fruit (but already had discounted that option). What is wrong with working up an appetite for the lovely chile con carne I have planned for tea?

What have I learned? Just because I have 'used up extra calories on a long walk' does not mean that I can 'spend' them as a 'reward' for using them in the first place... if I am not actually hungry. Well, certainly not at this time. Just because I have the desire, I don't have to act on it!

So, I quickly realised that my motivation for feeling hungry was that I felt like I needed a reward for my extra exercise. I wasn't actually hungry in any real sense (only for specific food), certainly not after a big bowl of soup and two rounds of toast.

Here is a bit of an article I put on the "Bring your Head Inside..." thread, about CBT.

"CBT can help to make sense of overwhelming problems by breaking them down into smaller parts, making it clearer and easier to see how they are interconnected and how they may affect you. These parts are:
• A situation – a problem, even or difficult situation – e.g. stressed day at work. From this can follow:
• Thoughts – have people ignored me, am I a failure?
• Feelings of frustration and feeling low
• Physical feelings – feeling puckish, having the urge to eat
• Actions – reaching for the biscuit tin
Each of these areas can affect the others. How you think about a problem can affect how you feel physically and emotionally. It can also alter what you do about it."

 

[KD]

have you tried that Seed Sensations bread

Yes! I have it whenever I want bread now. Love it. It's so tasty

This is a CBT strategy I learned doing LL and involved :

Writing down the initial situation (feeling hungry soon after lunch).

Similar to the one I did then...maybe. I tried to note how I was feeling before, during and after eating. Why did I want it, how did I feel whilst eating it, how did I feel after eating it and well yes...what I felt inbetween. I didn't write it down though, but I would imagine that would be better. It was just a quick thought.

I just couldn't be bothered

I've done a good walk and used up some extra calories (!) today, I deserve it).

Ah yes. I know that one Great thing is you've already treated yourself by giving your body a good walk Okay..it does take a while to get into that mindset.

What shall I do instead, what are the other options? Have a drink, I could be thirsty, that often feels like hunger. If I really am hungry I could have fruit (but already had discounted that option).

Aha, I was hoping this one would come up. I do realise that this is a rather far out thought, but if I fancy something and I'm not hungry, I may well have it (but probably not). I don't substitute for fruit or any other deemed healthy food. The reason for this is that if I am picking food for some other reason than not being hungry, then I'm looking for the answer for something in food. That's one of the things that I've had to really work on.....not reaching for food when I don't need it.

Doesn't matter whether it's unhealthy or healthy. I wanted to get out of the habit.

I may have the apple another time, just that if I've decided I don't need food...then I don't need food.

Also, if I'm really wanting Mil. shortbread, then I'm wanting shortbread, not an apple. So I decide I will have some later. Maybe after dinner or something. End of.

I'm not saying that this is the answer for everyone. We each have to find our own, but it seemed to work for me, and get me out of the want food/must have something now.

What is wrong with working up an appetite for the lovely chile con carne I have planned for tea?

Exactly and I certainly enjoy a meal more when I'm hungry.

What have I learned? Just because I have 'used up extra calories on a long walk' does not mean that I can 'spend' them as a 'reward' for using them in the first place... if I am not actually hungry. Well, certainly not at this time. Just because I have the desire, I don't have to act on it!

Oh yes, yes. Especially the last bit. That is one of my favourite phrases:clap:

 

[AmandaJayne]

"Just because I have the desire, I don't have to act on it! Oh yes, yes. Especially the last bit. That is one of my favourite phrases:clap:"

Yes dear, I know! It's now one of mine, too!

Night night.

 

[Mrs Lard]

Blimey! What a lot (of good stuff!) gets written in 24 hours. Thanks so much for this; I am going to print it off and read it this week.

Have a good week everyone.

Take care.

Mrs Lxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Dom1979]

I've been reading this thread since it was originally posted. And wanting to post on it myself. But feeling like that would be 'tempting fate', or 'blowing my own trumpet'. Then I decided to get over myself and post anyway!

I did LL in early 2006, lost 4 1/2 stone and have been eating since April 2006.

So, how am I doing?

One difficulty right from the start of LL was that I had no goal weight. I'd been hovering between 14 stone and 16 stone for most of my adult life, and had literally no idea what below 14 stone would look like, let alone feel like. But doctors orders were to be 12.06 or below, so that was what I aimed for, and to be a size 14 (with a secret goal known only to myself that I wanted to be a size 12 really, but didn't in a million years think I'd ever achieve that). I started Management at 11.13, and got down to 10.10 (and size 12's were baggy by then) by week 5 of Management, whereby my life exploded and I never completed it.

I didn't like being 10.10, or 'LL 10.10'. I felt fragile and weak. I had no muscle tone at all. And my boobies looked like sad little wombles noses.

I then slowly regained weight. I was very very surprised that it happened slowly. I was fully expecting a visit from the Fat Fairy in the middle of the night 'Prrrring! You're 16 stone again!' Do you want to know what happened in reality? This is so stupid that I don't want to admit it, but here I go! I had some 'goal jeans' that I had shrunk out of, and replaced with some 'new goal jeans' in the size lower. I preferred the 'new goal jeans'. I went to a festival, and got chewing gum on the bottom of the new goal jeans, so when I got home I put them in the freezer to get it off, and wore the 'goal jeans'. Then I got busy for a month or so and forgot about them. By the time I remembered to do something about them, the 'goal jeans' were fitting me again, and the 'new goal jeans' would only have been a possibility after major surgery!

So what did I do? Went into panic mode is what! And tried every diet/non-diet you can think of! And you will be surprised to learn that this got me back onto the 'binge/diet' roundabout quicker than you can say 'zebedee'!

Until 5 weeks ago. I couldn't fit into a specific dress to go to a mate's wedding, had to wear a size 16 dress that I had put away to give to a friend, which was slightly too big for me. But only slightly. I knew that something had to change. I also knew that the approach I took had to be sustainable, 'liveable with'.

I had learned up to this point that my 'triggers' are

• Alcohol - I can drink at least a bottle of wine in one sitting, if not 2. I then eat to 'soak up the calories', whether i have had a meal or not. The next day my blood sugar goes awry, and I eat and eat and eat. And I don't eat healthy foods!
• Stress - I eat to make myself feel better, to 'treat' myself, and to rebel against work.
• Strict eating rules. Some structure is essential for me, too strict and I rebel again.
• The hour between me getting home and OH getting through the door - this used to be my binge time, and I would eat as much as I could before he got in.
• Eating biscuits/chocolate at work - it sets me onto a 'sod it' day, where I eat and eat and eat!

So I gave up drinking for a month to see what would happen. What happened was that I found it difficult to start off with, but then didn't really miss it all that much. I drank (a lot) on my birthday on Thursday, but haven't since, and I won't until Christmas Day.

To tackle the stress bit, I made more of an effort to practice yoga or guitar every day, which has helped loads (PMT? What PMT? And as someone who could go from nought to ***** in 60 seconds, this is amazing!).

I didn't set any strict eating rules, but for structure I tend to have the same breakfast and lunch every day (because it's easier for me that way), don't eat 'treats' at work (apart from once a week on 'cake day' at work, where I have one portion of what's going if it looks nice, not 3 portions like I had started to do), have fruit for snacks, and plan for healthy meals. I always have some chocolate/Montezumas chocolate mangoes/low fat custard in the house if I fancy something sweet in the evening, but because i can have it every day if I want to, I find it easier to have just one.

I use the 'danger hour' to exercise, either yoga practice or running.

I have printed out a calendar, with a month to a page, and every day I note if I've stayed off the booze, if I've stayed in control of my eating, my weekly weights, and also put on there my exercise plan week by week, with tick boxes. This is so I can see any reasons for weight gain.

The result is that I have lost 5 lbs since September 1st, and dropped a jeans size! I'm happy with my body now, but am hoping that the slow weight loss continues for a few more lbs, until I settle somewhere around 11.07. But this time I won't feel 'fragile' because I'm already noticing muscles where I've never had them before!

So this is how I am living my life now. It's not totally unconscious at the moment, but I hope that one day it will be, and I won't have to think about it too much.

 

[Goombagirl]

Thanks for that. We all seem to do the same things! I can so relate to the "panic mode". Fortunately I was going to the sessions while this developed so was able to put a stop to it after 2 weeks (packs to get my focus back) before the weight zoomed up. I went to my management meeting today and everyone seemed to be struggling but I think people found it reassuring that they were not alone. Well done on the last 5 weeks - you are so organised! Just shows how well planning works. So why do I avoid it? I know labelling yourself as lazy is frowned upon but... what else can I call it?

"And my boobies looked like sad little wombles noses."

That is the best analogy yet! Mine don't seem as bad as they were when I was my current weight before - or maybe I've just got used to them.

Look forward to hearing more from everyone - it's really helpful.

 

[KD]

I've been reading this thread since it was originally posted. And wanting to post on it myself. But feeling like that would be 'tempting fate', or 'blowing my own trumpet'. Then I decided to get over myself and post anyway!

Velling interesting Dom. I wondered what plan you were doing and it certainly sounds like it's working for you :clap:

I think the difference is, we have two different goals. Yours is to lose weight, where as mine is to maintain my weight without dieting.

I also needed something that I could do forever. Okay...so yours might be a forever plan, and I wouldn't dream of telling you that you were doing it wrong Oh no siree Because you aren't. You are doing a way that works for you.

I use the 'danger hour' to exercise, either yoga practice or running.

I can understand that, and you are certainly looking after your body with that plan, but for me, I wanted to eliminate any danger hours. Not need to substitute something else so that I wouldn't have to deal with it, but be able to do nothing if I chose without turning to food.

It's the same with alcohol (though there is research out there that shows alcohol can lead to eating too much), but I wanted to be able to drink if I wanted, and not if I didn't want. Not to stop drinking because I it would lead me to eating. Not that I drink much mind you.

Some structure is essential for me, too strict and I rebel again.

That's true. The more you can't have something, the more you want it. I think there is some structure to my WOE. I eat when I'm hungry. That's structured innit

Eating biscuits/chocolate at work - it sets me onto a 'sod it' day, where I eat and eat and eat!

Again, I can understand this, but it's great when you can eat biscuits at work and know it wont send you into a sod it day, but instead it's a biscuit. That's all. Sometimes I want one, sometimes I don't. It's no big deal anymore.

Right, so having said this, and getting in such a pickle last Sunday when I suggested what I did or believed, I will add that I think what your doing Dom is great if you want to lose weight and if it's working really well for you :clap:, but I would have trouble doing that in the longterm.

Interesting stuff though