Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've posted this before.

I have to agree with some of the posters about stop worrying about what you're eating. I'm not very skinny (5'4 and 125) but after giving birth I was up to 178! For two years I couldn't lose much weight (maybe down to 160). I counted calories EVERYday and made sure I had veggies, and dairy, and protein blah blah blah. I was never satisfied and usually ended up staying on calories for just a few days at a time and then completely messing up. Then I went on travel and decided that I would eat whatever I wanted. I ended up eating way less because I was skipping healthy food (not entirely, but not on top of what I wanted since they are still calories!) and eating what I wanted. Sometimes that was cheesecake for dinner, sometimes it was a salad or grilled veggies for lunch. I found that I didn't want to finish everything (I walked some...) but I also couldn't snack because I didn't have the opportunity since I didn't have a kitchen. I lost 5lbs in a week! I kept up that philosophy and am now at my current weight. I normally try to just have a latte and a piece of good cheese for breakfast. Lunch...again, whatever I want. Dinner...whatever I want. I try not to finish every last bite. I actually like real food better than junk food so I don't eat a lot of processed stuff (average, but not the rule). I don't snack except for a latte here or there. Oh and as for exercise...when I started exercising a lot, I gained 5lbs because I got too hungry and overcompensated. I started back just doing "gentle" exercise (pilates, yoga, climbing, hiking, short runs etc...not 10 mile runs) and I lost a few pounds again.

It's not that I don't have the energy for tough workouts but they make me binge. I'm still in pretty good shape. It's really just hard cardio that does it so I could lift. And I don't eat junk all day. I enjoy and crave healthy food. I just don't eat extra food bc I missed a vegetable or dairy serving for the day. But I definitely eat higher fat content than I did before. It keeps me full and happy. I eat cheese and 2% etc.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess - I know I would feel like garbage if I just did "gentle" exercises and ate junk everyday. I am about 20 pounds overweight (lost 30 pounds gradually over the last year, due to true lifestyle change). I work out hard about 5 times a week, and love my workouts, and love watching my body change and progress -running faster, lifting heavier. I would rather stay this weight (and eat to fuel my workouts) than be 20 pounds lighter and not be able to sustain these workouts.

Anonymous wrote:Simple. To paraphrase Kathy Griffin....I'm always hungry. I don't eat much, ever. Few carbs. No sweets. Exercise. Eat veggies/fruit/lean protein. It's not genetics for me, it's purely not eating much. At all.

I'm pretty tall (5'8"), and a size 4 (135 lbs). 45, 2 kids.

I'm also kinda bitchy sometimes, thanks to being hungry. But I look good.

Anonymous wrote:Really? Interact with clients much? Also, I'm curious about your after work eating. How many children do you have and how old are they?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, have you ever read Judith Beck's books? Her approach to weight loss is based on cognitive therapy. I've just finished her first book and in it she explains how most thin people think about food differently than overweight people. The responses from the skinny moms on this thread reinforce what Beck says in her book. They don't think about food very often. They're disgusted by large portions. They dislike feeling full. They eat for fuel not pleasure. Hunger is not an emergency to them...they can withstand the discomfort and wait until the next meal to eat.

So what seems simple/natural to these thin moms requires much more effort from us fat moms.

I've always been thin - was underweight till I was 30. (5' 7.5", less than 125lbs - as low as 115 when I was in grad school)

Now I am 42 and weight 145 - definitely have the mom belly but the rest of me is still pretty thin.

The Beck book does not sound like me at all. I think about food all the time. I definitely eat for pleasure. I hate being hungry. I love feeling full.

I struggle a lot to keep my weight down now. 2 kids - ages 6 and 3. I try to exercise 3x week - two zumba classes & a muscle conditioning class. I use My Fitness Pal app to track calories. If I stay under 1300/day (I do eat more on days that I exercise) then I can lose about 1 lb/week. But I find it extremely difficult to do that, given my stressful job.

Recently I tried cutting more carbs and had more success w/weight loss. I'm about to start up again and the general plan is:

breakfast: small, nonfat mocha; oatmeal w/cranberries or a cheese stick & serving of fruit
lunch: salad w/spinach, chicken, feta cheese, cranberries, cucumbers, balsamic vinaigrette; 90 calorie Coke (HATE diet coke and I need the midday caffeine)
snack: 70 cal yogurt
dinner: depends... often a small serving of pasta; large serving of vegetables. I'm trying to do more protein so rotisserie chicken or salmon.

My normal inclination is more like 2000 calories/day and lots of carbs & sweets...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've posted this before.

I have to agree with some of the posters about stop worrying about what you're eating. I'm not very skinny (5'4 and 125) but after giving birth I was up to 178! For two years I couldn't lose much weight (maybe down to 160). I counted calories EVERYday and made sure I had veggies, and dairy, and protein blah blah blah. I was never satisfied and usually ended up staying on calories for just a few days at a time and then completely messing up. Then I went on travel and decided that I would eat whatever I wanted. I ended up eating way less because I was skipping healthy food (not entirely, but not on top of what I wanted since they are still calories!) and eating what I wanted. Sometimes that was cheesecake for dinner, sometimes it was a salad or grilled veggies for lunch. I found that I didn't want to finish everything (I walked some...) but I also couldn't snack because I didn't have the opportunity since I didn't have a kitchen. I lost 5lbs in a week! I kept up that philosophy and am now at my current weight. I normally try to just have a latte and a piece of good cheese for breakfast. Lunch...again, whatever I want. Dinner...whatever I want. I try not to finish every last bite. I actually like real food better than junk food so I don't eat a lot of processed stuff (average, but not the rule). I don't snack except for a latte here or there. Oh and as for exercise...when I started exercising a lot, I gained 5lbs because I got too hungry and overcompensated. I started back just doing "gentle" exercise (pilates, yoga, climbing, hiking, short runs etc...not 10 mile runs) and I lost a few pounds again.

It's not that I don't have the energy for tough workouts but they make me binge. I'm still in pretty good shape. It's really just hard cardio that does it so I could lift. And I don't eat junk all day. I enjoy and crave healthy food. I just don't eat extra food bc I missed a vegetable or dairy serving for the day. But I definitely eat higher fat content than I did before. It keeps me full and happy. I eat cheese and 2% etc.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess - I know I would feel like garbage if I just did "gentle" exercises and ate junk everyday. I am about 20 pounds overweight (lost 30 pounds gradually over the last year, due to true lifestyle change). I work out hard about 5 times a week, and love my workouts, and love watching my body change and progress -running faster, lifting heavier. I would rather stay this weight (and eat to fuel my workouts) than be 20 pounds lighter and not be able to sustain these workouts.

Anonymous wrote:I've posted this before.

I have to agree with some of the posters about stop worrying about what you're eating. I'm not very skinny (5'4 and 125) but after giving birth I was up to 178! For two years I couldn't lose much weight (maybe down to 160). I counted calories EVERYday and made sure I had veggies, and dairy, and protein blah blah blah. I was never satisfied and usually ended up staying on calories for just a few days at a time and then completely messing up. Then I went on travel and decided that I would eat whatever I wanted. I ended up eating way less because I was skipping healthy food (not entirely, but not on top of what I wanted since they are still calories!) and eating what I wanted. Sometimes that was cheesecake for dinner, sometimes it was a salad or grilled veggies for lunch. I found that I didn't want to finish everything (I walked some...) but I also couldn't snack because I didn't have the opportunity since I didn't have a kitchen. I lost 5lbs in a week! I kept up that philosophy and am now at my current weight. I normally try to just have a latte and a piece of good cheese for breakfast. Lunch...again, whatever I want. Dinner...whatever I want. I try not to finish every last bite. I actually like real food better than junk food so I don't eat a lot of processed stuff (average, but not the rule). I don't snack except for a latte here or there. Oh and as for exercise...when I started exercising a lot, I gained 5lbs because I got too hungry and overcompensated. I started back just doing "gentle" exercise (pilates, yoga, climbing, hiking, short runs etc...not 10 mile runs) and I lost a few pounds again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I"m a skinny Mom of 2:
Here's what i eat on a typical day:
6:30 am - Piece of fruit
8:30 - handful of peanutbutter and crackers on way to drop kids off to school
9:00 - bagel with butter and coffee
10:30 - greek yogurt
11:30 - piece of fruit
12:30 - turkey sandwich with chips
2:00 - piece of fruit
5:00 - couple of twizzlers on my way to pick up kids
6:00 - dinner - chicken, rice, veggies, glass of wine
7:00 - couple of cookie
8:30 - chips with dip, glass of wine

Wow. You obviously don't work. No way do I have time to be constantly eating like that.

I work full time in a very demanding job in a senior position (albeit a job where I can do alot of my work at a computer). I eat at my desk. I don't go out for lunch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, have you ever read Judith Beck's books? Her approach to weight loss is based on cognitive therapy. I've just finished her first book and in it she explains how most thin people think about food differently than overweight people. The responses from the skinny moms on this thread reinforce what Beck says in her book. They don't think about food very often. They're disgusted by large portions. They dislike feeling full. They eat for fuel not pleasure. Hunger is not an emergency to them...they can withstand the discomfort and wait until the next meal to eat.

So what seems simple/natural to these thin moms requires much more effort from us fat moms.

Hmmm, thin Asian mom here. This does not describe me or any thin Asian moms I know. Maybe it's cultural, but we love love good food, think about it all the time, and enjoy feeling full (but not overly so). I think it's important to associate food with friends and family, not eat alone, and to take the time to cook at home.

Anonymous wrote:I'm 5'9" and 120 lbs, at age 47. I've always been thin (genetics) but was parked at 135-140 for about the past ten years (basically, post kids). Got the weight back off basically by cutting way back on wheat-based carbs. Breakfast is nuts and dried fruit and a glass of milk, rather than a muffin or bagel. Lunch is greens & tzatziki, or tomatoes and cheese, or maybe some leftovers from dinner the night before. But not a sandwich. Snack is fruit, popcorn, sometimes a modest portion of potato chips. Dinner is a protein, salad or veg, and potatoes or rice, but almost never bread or pasta. Oh, and a glass of wine most nights. I really don't crave the bread, cookies or cake anymore; it's become a habit NOT to eat those things. But those few changes were enough to make the difference. I know I'm lucky.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I"m a skinny Mom of 2:
Here's what i eat on a typical day:
6:30 am - Piece of fruit
8:30 - handful of peanutbutter and crackers on way to drop kids off to school
9:00 - bagel with butter and coffee
10:30 - greek yogurt
11:30 - piece of fruit
12:30 - turkey sandwich with chips
2:00 - piece of fruit
5:00 - couple of twizzlers on my way to pick up kids
6:00 - dinner - chicken, rice, veggies, glass of wine
7:00 - couple of cookie
8:30 - chips with dip, glass of wine

Wow. You obviously don't work. No way do I have time to be constantly eating like that.