auntblabby wrote:
first off, please don't be so hard on yourself. secondly, what you use for fuel is very important, and refined carbs must go. those would be anything white - white potatoes, sugar, wheat flour, anything mainly starchy. IOW if it is high glycemic index, find something lower on the index scale to replace it. low glycemic index foods take longer to metabolize so you will avoid the ups and downs of energy [and hunger] one normally gets with regular [high glycemic index] foods. another thing is to recognize the difference between hunger and anything else. some people when they get sad they eat to comfort themselves, even if they are not strictly hungry. true hunger is felt in the pit of the stomach and the back of the throat and one's mind gets a bit fuzzy [brain screaming for more glucose]. THAT is the time to eat. there is some controversy regarding several small meals versus 3 larger meals, but if you eat strictly low-glycemic index foods that issue is moot.
then there is the subject of exercise- it is necessary to keep one's metabolism revved, plus if one is dieting, the failure to exercise will cause the body to sabotage the dietary efforts by ratcheting down said metabolism because in the absence of physical work the body interprets the reduced calorie intake as famine and prepares accordingly by conserving the most calorie-dense stuff known, which is body fat. when [during the carb restriction] you exercise vigorously for about a half hour daily, that forces your body to burn the fat rather than to burn carbs. that is the key, to train the body to burn fat for energy. you do this by restricting refined carb intake in conjunction with limited but vigorous exercise [preferably interval training].
I've thought about going gluten free. I've heard that gluten is horrible for you're complexion and skin. Sorry if I was so hard on myself. Calling myself "lard" is ridiculous especially when I've worked hard to maintain my clothing size.
It's really interesting you bring up wheat because of my gluten free consideration. Sometimes during my...uh...womanly time I tend to eat less, but I eat until the cows come home the day before I start.
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“There’s a lesson that we learn
In the pages that we burn
It’s written in the ashes of the fire below”
-Down, The Birthday Massacre