Starting to eat right...again

laurissa
laurissa Member Posts: 773
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I've been reading alot about Raw Foods Diet, I'm trying to stay away from meat, dairy, sugar, bread. Lost 6 pounds the last 3 days. Drinking alot of V8 until I get a juicer. Its very hard for me to eat right, especially when there's a Golden Corral a short drive away. Oh, their carrot cake and bread pudding is so good. I do love to eat, it is comforting. Do any of you have any tips for staying motivated? I tend to fall off the wagon. Youtube has some great photos of weight loss before and afters thats neat to watch. Its amazing how just 50 lbs can make a person look so different. Is any one else struggling with their weight? I got up to 224 last week and thought thats enough. Now I'm 218 this morning, I know, its probably all water. Anyway, wish me luck staying on the wagon this time. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Comments

  • Snowkitty
    Snowkitty Member Posts: 295
    I feel your pain
    Good for you.

    Unfortunately, I'm a definite carnivore. Love me a nice juicy steak. Ribs. Chicken wings. Anything chocolate. Got a juicer last week & am looking for easy recipes.

    I wish you luck and I would like to join you on that wagon.
  • m_azingrace
    m_azingrace Member Posts: 399
    Me too
    Laurissa, mainly I'm trying not to gain more, but losing would be wonderful. I had been walking nearly every day until we went away for 2 weeks. While I was active on the trip, it wasn't the same as 6 laps around the walking path near our home. I've also been avoiding red meats as much as possible. It seems no matter where we are, that's what is shoved in front of me. Everyone knows I have cancer, so it's easy for me to take a few bites and leave the rest ... "We understand, Dear" (followed by sympathetic look---but I'm fine, really). I love white meat chicken, fish and other seafoods, and lots of steamed vegetables, but not crazy about anything fried. I make what HubbyDearest calls "weird sandwiches". A couple of day ago I spread herbed cheese on one slice of pumpernickle, then layered on very thin slices of cucumber and radish. Another favorite is hard cooked egg and asparagus on toast with mustard-mayo. I love veggies, and can make a meal of them. My weakness has always been the bedtime snack, but I've begun to take control of that too, cutting way back on the portions & eventually cutting it out altogether. It took me years to become 35 pounds overweight, so I'm okay with it going away slowly, as long as I don't pack any more on. I hope you do well with your weight loss. It's encouraging to see the numbers on the scale going down. Keep up the good work! Hugs to you, Gracie
  • cahjah75
    cahjah75 Member Posts: 2,631
    I've been down that road...
    I've been down that road too many times. I love to eat everything that is bad for me. I just watched a repeat show of Dr. Oz and it was all about cancer. Obesity is a definite risk factor for breast cancer. I went through natural menopause at age 50. I had already quit smoking and went from 118#s to 201#s in less than 10 years. I went to Weight Watchers and then last summer I started to do a diet recommended by my naturapathic dr. I was down to 153#s by Christmas. I've been yoyoing ever since and weighed 175#s yesterday. You would think that now that I've been dx with bc that I would do everything in my power to lose the excess #s. BTW I'm only 4' 9". I've lost 3" in the past 3 years! It's a daily struggle. Good luck to you in your weight loss efforts.
    Char
  • cindycflynn
    cindycflynn Member Posts: 1,132 Member
    Good for you, Laurissa!
    I found it very difficult to eat right while I was going through treatments. I also used food as comfort, and especially when my taste was off and my hunger was boosted by the drugs they were giving me, and pretty much ate everything I felt like - most of which was just not good for me.

    I only gained 15 pounds, which wasn't too bad considering what I put in my mouth over the past 9 months, but it's still frustrating because I had worked hard using Weight Watchers just about 2 years ago to lose 30 pounds.

    I think that 2 of the most effective ways to keep motivated are to keep a food diary of EVERYTHING you put in your mouth, and to get others involved to keep you honest. I read somewhere that those that keep a food diary are much more successful at losing weight and keeping it off. Excercising is also a great motivator. In addition to increasing your metabolism, it also releases those natural "feel good" chemicals in your body so that you don't feel like you need to eat to feel good.

    I'm just now starting to get back "on the wagon" and at least have stopped gaining and am now holding steady. Next step for me will be to ramp up my activity and get that food diary started again.

    Good luck with your plan - Keep us posted on how you're doing. I know it will help to keep me motivated to know I'm not alone!

    Take care,
    Cindy
  • Chickadee1955
    Chickadee1955 Member Posts: 356 Member

    Good for you, Laurissa!
    I found it very difficult to eat right while I was going through treatments. I also used food as comfort, and especially when my taste was off and my hunger was boosted by the drugs they were giving me, and pretty much ate everything I felt like - most of which was just not good for me.

    I only gained 15 pounds, which wasn't too bad considering what I put in my mouth over the past 9 months, but it's still frustrating because I had worked hard using Weight Watchers just about 2 years ago to lose 30 pounds.

    I think that 2 of the most effective ways to keep motivated are to keep a food diary of EVERYTHING you put in your mouth, and to get others involved to keep you honest. I read somewhere that those that keep a food diary are much more successful at losing weight and keeping it off. Excercising is also a great motivator. In addition to increasing your metabolism, it also releases those natural "feel good" chemicals in your body so that you don't feel like you need to eat to feel good.

    I'm just now starting to get back "on the wagon" and at least have stopped gaining and am now holding steady. Next step for me will be to ramp up my activity and get that food diary started again.

    Good luck with your plan - Keep us posted on how you're doing. I know it will help to keep me motivated to know I'm not alone!

    Take care,
    Cindy

    I am in the same boat with
    I am in the same boat with all of you. I have yo-yo'ed my entire life. After some real examination I discovered that the 20lbs I have gained and lost over and over and over again all coincided with major events (crises) in my life. I finally named it my 20 Pounds of Grief and recognize that given any big crisis I will likely gain 20lbs during or immediately afterwards. At some point, usually 6-12 months later I wake up and decide to do something about it and lose the weight. I've never kept it off more than 3-4 years before another crisis brings on my protective layer of fat, but at least I know now where its coming from. I even traced the first 20lb gain back to an event that occurred when I was 13. Its been a recurring pattern since then.

    Anyone else have the same experience?
  • aysemari
    aysemari Member Posts: 1,596 Member
    The juicing game
    Laurissa,

    I have been juicing for 3 weeks now and have to tell you that I feel splendid.
    And I don't use that term very often.

    It has become part of my morning ritual. I take my neighbor's dog for a walk
    and when we get back everyone gets fed and I can start juicing. I love mixing
    the different vegetables and tasting them. Also shopping for them is fun, I
    discovered so many greens I never knew existed.

    When I drink my concoction it makes me feel sooo good, that I got addicted
    to the feeling. I usually use Kale, Swiss chard, dandelion greens, celery, broccoli
    stems, carrots and I add lemon, grapefruit or apple for flavor. It ties me over
    until lunch time. I may snack on some fruit.

    We can exchange receipes if you like. Have fun with it!!

    Ayse
  • Balentine
    Balentine Member Posts: 393
    aysemari said:

    The juicing game
    Laurissa,

    I have been juicing for 3 weeks now and have to tell you that I feel splendid.
    And I don't use that term very often.

    It has become part of my morning ritual. I take my neighbor's dog for a walk
    and when we get back everyone gets fed and I can start juicing. I love mixing
    the different vegetables and tasting them. Also shopping for them is fun, I
    discovered so many greens I never knew existed.

    When I drink my concoction it makes me feel sooo good, that I got addicted
    to the feeling. I usually use Kale, Swiss chard, dandelion greens, celery, broccoli
    stems, carrots and I add lemon, grapefruit or apple for flavor. It ties me over
    until lunch time. I may snack on some fruit.

    We can exchange receipes if you like. Have fun with it!!

    Ayse

    I have lost 10 pounds in the past month
    You have to train your pallete to eat differently, but you also have to treat yourself once a week with something that you really like. You cannot feasibly just eat veggies and fruit every single day. When I get up in the morning I have some organic cereal with almond milk, a whole grain waffle with blueberries and blackberries..I add just a little maple syrup. For lunch I have a salad with dark green organic lettuce...not the iceberg lettuce...that has no nutritional value...must be dark green...for salad dressing I use an organic balsamic vinagrette. For dinner I will use a bit of olive oil in a pan and combine various veggies such as asparagus, brocolli (cancer fighters), cabbage, onion, garlic, carrots, zuchini, etc. I put some sea salt and some herbs in there also. I only drink green tea with no sugar or water. Occasionally I will drink some cranberry juice but it needs to be 100% with no added sugar. At night I will eat some fruit like cherries, grapes, plums or peaches. So no dairy, for little sugar if any and no red meat. Once or twice a week I will bake some organic chicken that has no added hormones. That is about it and I feel so much better.
    Lorrie
  • laurissa
    laurissa Member Posts: 773
    thanks everybody
    Ayse, what brand juicer do you have? I just got a book from the library with so much information about the benefits of juicing and recipes. And the controversial book by Suzanne Somers "Knockout" Can't wait to read what those doctor's say in it.
  • aysemari
    aysemari Member Posts: 1,596 Member
    laurissa said:

    thanks everybody
    Ayse, what brand juicer do you have? I just got a book from the library with so much information about the benefits of juicing and recipes. And the controversial book by Suzanne Somers "Knockout" Can't wait to read what those doctor's say in it.

    I am impatient
    When I want something I want it now, so I went to Target and
    the best one they had was a Jack Lalanne pro juicer. I hear
    there are better ones.. oh well I will start with this one.

    I read some very good books about nutrition. I like "The
    ph miracle". Another good one is "the china study".

    This is one way we can heal ourselves by nourishing
    our bodies, I take that very seriously now. It is transition
    and you can do is as fast as you want or take it as slow
    as you want. Just start dropping one bad habit at a time.

    Ayse
  • QuiltingMama123
    QuiltingMama123 Member Posts: 124
    aysemari said:

    The juicing game
    Laurissa,

    I have been juicing for 3 weeks now and have to tell you that I feel splendid.
    And I don't use that term very often.

    It has become part of my morning ritual. I take my neighbor's dog for a walk
    and when we get back everyone gets fed and I can start juicing. I love mixing
    the different vegetables and tasting them. Also shopping for them is fun, I
    discovered so many greens I never knew existed.

    When I drink my concoction it makes me feel sooo good, that I got addicted
    to the feeling. I usually use Kale, Swiss chard, dandelion greens, celery, broccoli
    stems, carrots and I add lemon, grapefruit or apple for flavor. It ties me over
    until lunch time. I may snack on some fruit.

    We can exchange receipes if you like. Have fun with it!!

    Ayse

    I would love any juicing recipes you have. I mainly use my juicer to make orange juice and lemonade (what under-utilization!)
  • QuiltingMama123
    QuiltingMama123 Member Posts: 124
    aysemari said:

    The juicing game
    Laurissa,

    I have been juicing for 3 weeks now and have to tell you that I feel splendid.
    And I don't use that term very often.

    It has become part of my morning ritual. I take my neighbor's dog for a walk
    and when we get back everyone gets fed and I can start juicing. I love mixing
    the different vegetables and tasting them. Also shopping for them is fun, I
    discovered so many greens I never knew existed.

    When I drink my concoction it makes me feel sooo good, that I got addicted
    to the feeling. I usually use Kale, Swiss chard, dandelion greens, celery, broccoli
    stems, carrots and I add lemon, grapefruit or apple for flavor. It ties me over
    until lunch time. I may snack on some fruit.

    We can exchange receipes if you like. Have fun with it!!

    Ayse

    I would love any juicing recipes you have. I mainly use my juicer to make orange juice and lemonade (what under-utilization!)
  • QuiltingMama123
    QuiltingMama123 Member Posts: 124
    aysemari said:

    The juicing game
    Laurissa,

    I have been juicing for 3 weeks now and have to tell you that I feel splendid.
    And I don't use that term very often.

    It has become part of my morning ritual. I take my neighbor's dog for a walk
    and when we get back everyone gets fed and I can start juicing. I love mixing
    the different vegetables and tasting them. Also shopping for them is fun, I
    discovered so many greens I never knew existed.

    When I drink my concoction it makes me feel sooo good, that I got addicted
    to the feeling. I usually use Kale, Swiss chard, dandelion greens, celery, broccoli
    stems, carrots and I add lemon, grapefruit or apple for flavor. It ties me over
    until lunch time. I may snack on some fruit.

    We can exchange receipes if you like. Have fun with it!!

    Ayse

    I would love any juicing recipes you have. I mainly use my juicer to make orange juice and lemonade (what under-utilization!)