Just sent you a friend request.

 

Oh hai there Accepted

 

I had a similar experience with peach Schnapps as a yute, I think I was drunk for a week!  To this day I cannot even look at it on the shelf without the room spinning, blech.

Whenever I hear a story like that, I note that if I avoided drinking everything that ever made me sick, I wouldn't drink anything.

I have fortunately never had a major weight problem, but started eating healthier around when I hit 40, figured before it was too late. A lot of heart disease in my family. My cholesterol tends to the high side, but by minimizing the fat intake, I can keep it in normal range & avoid taking statins. Drives me crazy that some people take them so they can eat whatever they want.

Weight watchers seems like a good program - DW has been on it a few times. She says I have to eat what she eats, which is great because it's how I normally prefer to eat anyway. It's nothing radical, just sensible eating.

Not too militant, other than a few zero-tolerance items - I have not had anything breaded/battered/deep-fried in years, including french fries.

Like some others I also cut out soda, even though it was always diet. I pretty much only drink water, black coffee & unsweetened tea. Unless occasional fruit smoothies count. And Gatorade after a run. And I think I recently posted about my crackuccinos. Oh and of course beer. But you get the idea.

Most important thing for me, was to stop using the word diet as a verb and just change how I eat and live.  

+ 10,000

I think it's a lifestyle choice. Eating real food in controlled portions and being active.

Then again, it's not easy to lose weight and we all know that. Some specific things that have worked for me:

• Having a motto: "When in doubt, don't eat." I read in an article somewhere that each day we make about 220 food decisions (conscious and unconscious). Those "I'd love a ~~ (insert snack of choice here)" thoughts creep into my head ALL the time. Now I recognise them for what they are and consciously attack them with N0! I don't always win, but cutting out snacking really works for me.
• Limiting my portion size at dinner with plate/bowl size. My husband is Chinese and is a chef and we eat Asian style food most nights. I limit my rice to one bowl, unheaped. I used to have seconds all the time. I also resist buying bigger plates - my dinner set is quite a small one and that's a good think imho,
• Focusing on losing weight in the spring/summer/fall. I just can't do it in winter. Because it's winter where I am now I'm just trying to maintain and will try to lose about 5 - 10 more pounds in the spring. I like my winter comfort, high-carb foods.

I lost 20 lbs on WW earlier this year. However all the calculating was a lot of work. Technology made it easier, I could plug everything in on my smartphone,  but all the keeping track of every single thing I ate all day every day was still exhausting to me, and took the joy out of food. Also, I changed jobs in May, and at my old job I was doing WW with 5 other co-workers, and without them the motivation dwindled. Now I've returned to what I've done to lose weight/maintain weightloss in the past.... which is to try to make most of my food choices natural foods lots of veggies, fruits, whole grains and lowfat dairy products. That kind of stuff fills me up more and leaves less of a desire to pig out on the crap. But when I DO really want something, I let myself have it in moderation. I tend to be very disciplined during the day in regards to breakfast, lunch and snacks and a few times per week allow myself  treat in the evening, such as a glass of wine, beer, dessert, or less healthy dinner that I love. If I have something big  coming up such as a wedding that I want to be able to eat and drink guilt free, I will try to be"extra good" the week before. Kind of like the concept of having the 49 extra points each week in WW without actually calculating out the points. So far I have not gained back anything I lost doing WW formally and I have not tracked points in probably a month and a half. I have about 8-10 more pounds I want to lose though, so I want to start being a little stricter with myself....I know I have been a little "bad" with some of my snack choices lately. I lose weight best when I stick to mostly fruits and vegetables as snack like an apple, or carrots with hummus, or a handful of almonds if I'm a bit more hungry.

One of the saddest realizations for me was how much the alcohol counts. 

I almost felt as if I was in labor when I gave up the purple stuff for three months!  So glad that's over, hiccup!   8- )

Currently I eat too much and therefore I'm obese, again. I have, however, lost weight on the new WW plan. I followed the plan for 4 weeks about two months ago and lost 17 pounds and felt fabulous. I fell off the wagon, gotta get back on dammit.

 

Ya know, it's funny you say that.  I actually rewrote that a couple of different ways before posting it but you are right, nothing compares to being in labor!

 

My apologies to all the moms out there!

 

Can I say that three months without my beloved wine was as bad as having a root canal without anesthesia?

I'm only teasing. I didn't make it to the hospital for my last kid but I wasn't in pain for 3 months. But you know, there were those 40'weeks when I couldn't have wine. 40 WEEKS! So glad that is over.