Conference rocks::weight_control

	While I was dieting, I cheated every weekend, usually on
    Saturday.
    
    	It was a calorie cheat - I'd eat more of the allowed low-fat
    foods, not forbidden foods.
    
    	It didn't seem to affect my weight loss, and it did make it
    easy for me to stick to it during the week, I had Saturday to look
    forward to :^).
    
    -mike z

I cheat, but keep going because THIS IS THE LAST TIME I WANT TO DO THIS!
There is no doubt in my mind that my overall eating is in much better shape
than it ever was.  When we go out and have a really big meal, which in 
not often anymore, we remark that it's hard to believe we used to eat
like that a LOT!  (we still go out a fair amount, just don't eat as much!)

It's a bit difficult for me right at this moment.  I'm pregnant, have a 
copy of the WW plan, etc..  but find my motivation waning.  On the other
hand, I don't want to gain the 50+ that I did first time.  So, the frame
of mind is really better now.

BTW, I've been going to WW since January '88.  Have missed a few meetings,
have backslid a lot now and then, but am still plugging along.

    Praise without pressure keeps me going.  What I mean is this:  Some
    people I know will say - You've lost a little of what you need to do -
    keep it up.  Now, I always look at this negatively.  I've done
    something pretty good.  It always seems to me that it diminishes what I
    have done now and puts pressure on the future.  I have a really good
    friend - In fact, she became my housemate a few months ago and she does
    a wonderful thing.  When I weigh in and show a weight loss, she gives
    me a hug and says "I'm proud of you!"  There's no pressure in that.  It
    makes me smile a few hours and want to do more.  When I get depressed
    and down on dieting, she has often said she would like me the same fat
    or thin.  This makes me accountable for myself.  I have several friends
    here that seem to work the same way.  With me, a little praise goes a
    long way.
    
    As for cheating, I do some of that.  I'm not on a diet plan so cheating
    is relatively unknown.  If I cheat, I try to use some self control. 
    If I can stay the same weight when I allow myself things I would not
    normally have, I consider this as a success - this is how I'm going to
    have to live once I reach my goal.  Each little success will keep me
    going for awhile.
    
    I think my biggest motivational problem is my own self-image.  If I
    don't like myself, my first reaction is often to go eat.  I have
    controlled this impulse.  If I can keep my self-image positive, I can
    do well and stay motivated (except for those little lapses).
    
    Denise
    

    When I am tempted to cheat, I just keep telling myself...
    
    	"NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD...   AS THIN FEELS!"
    
    
    
    peggy

    DEAR PEGGY
    
              THE BEST WAY TO LOSE THE WEIGHT IS TO SPEND A LITTLE MONEY
    AND JOIN NUTRI SYSTEMS WEIGHT LOSS CENTER.  THERE ARE ALOT OF NUTRI
    SYSTEMS AROUND JUST LOOK IN THE PHONE BOOK.  ON THERE DIET YOU CAN HAVE
    ONE HEAVY CALORE TREAT EVERY OTHER DAY.
        

    
    
    Re: .6
    
    I've been on Nutri/System since May, and I must admit that I haven't
    the foggiest idea what you're referring to!
    
    Could you please explain it to me?
    
    Thanks,
    Donna Gibeau
    

re .6
    
    	Not only will it NOT help you lose weight, and actually PROMOTE
    fat storage every other day when you semi-fast, you may be setting
    yourself up for stomach problems like gastric ulcers.
    
    -mike z

    What kept me going was success.  As the pounds came off I was so
    proud of myself.
    
    Then the weightloss slowed down, I had an illness, and my motivation
    waned.  Now I'm almost back at the weight I started from.  
           
    So, here we go again...
    
    Greg.

    Please realise that "dieting" per se doesn't chnage your weight
    forever. If you immediately revert to old food habits, on goes the
    weight!
    
    - and this from one who knows!

    
    What keeps me going is the praise and encouragement I get from others.
    I have been on a steady diet since Jan. and I have cheated a few
    times, but I've always gotten back on the program.  Discipline is
    a major factor in controlling what and how you eat.  Although I
    dream of eating those 'forbidden' foods, I enjoy the balanced meals
    and look forward to healthy treats.  I've adjusted my whole
    consciousness about how I look and what I eat.  It took me 7 yrs.
    to realize how important my body is to me. Achieving your goal
    and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the only way to go!

	What keeps me going?...

	1.  Comments from friends and family about how well I'm doing.
	2.  Putting on clothes that I haven't been able to wear in a long time!
	3.  Being able to ride my stationary bike 10 miles in about 30 minutes
	    and knowing that I'm improving every day.
	4.  Positive images of what I will look and feel like when I've reached
	    my goal.
	5.  The fact that my kid's won't have to be embarrased by a "fat mom" 
	    when they start school.


	Do I cheat?...

	I like to think of it as a "pause".  This way I don't cheat or blow it.
	There's nothing to start over or get back to...
	
	I simply take a pause from my food and exercise program.  After the
	pause, I continue on with my new, life-long way of taking care 
	of myself.  

	It works for me...  
	I'm down 27 pounds since April 9th - Goal: 73 more!!

	Kerry

    See myself in a different light.  A happier me, a more relaxed me, a me
    with more of a sense of humour than ever!
    
    Having my daughter and her boyfriend pick me up at the airport and
    comment on how much weight I had lost.  (This is from my daughter who
    really didn't notice the 90lbs coming off (^)
    
    Being able to taste all the American treats and know it wouldn't make
    any difference.
    
    And, loving my low-fat lifetime plan than means I can eat HUGE amounts
    of pasta, grains, veggies etc and still lose inches.  
    
    When I want a treat (not cheat!) I have an extra serving of my
    favourite non-fat yoghurt or a big bowl of oatmeal (^'
    
    ...dale

    Well, I got down to my target weight (about 185), just in time to buy all
    new summer clothes for vacation. It's a good thing I have more than
    one credit card, one alone would have overheated and sufferred over-charge
    melt-down.

    And yes, after one week of vacation (in Hawaii), I came back at the same
    weight.

    I started in February, "finished" in June. I have to admit, though, that
    I remember 185 as "thinner" than I look now. [I was 185 for an all too
    brief period right after college.] Maybe a few more pounds...

    I had _never_ been able to stick with a diet for more than a few weeks.

    Motivation: tired of huffing and puffing
    		tired of pants always slipping down because my circumference
    		  shrank as they descended from about my waist
    		tired of looking like a beached whale in swim trunks

    Cheating:	rarely, though this time around _the_ key was finding
    		  acceptable substitutes for the unavoidable indulgeneces
    		  (popcorn for potato chips, sweet fruit like pineapple for
    		  candy bars, etc.)
    		...and not getting discouraged about blatantly anti-diet
    		  behavior (sucking down a box of Nabisco sugar wafers) as long
    		  as I hadn't done that for a month or two -- and didn't let
    		  it open the proverbial floodgate

    Burn-out:	avoidable with enough patience, a measure of NON-self-denial,
    		  and keeping the cupboard spartanly stocked -- you can't
    		  eat what you don't have

    Remember, will-power alone makes for a sometimes effective, _always_ short,
    diet.


    /Peters