Well--I just shot my diet to hell...

[Arkham House]

Gadzooks--you know--if you've been relatively good for awhile, and think that, well, "just this once doesn't count"...I have news for you--it goddamned well DOES "count"...yikes. Had some good news today, and felt like celebrating...thought I'd make a buffet supper...and if I described what said buffet consisted of, including my dessert, it'd wipe the moisture off of everyone's eyeballs...ugh. Hopefully, I've learned my lesson...and if not, my stomach will be reminding me for a day or so...

[TexasLady]

1. ive maintained a thirty pound loss..how?

damned if i know! i spent five months losing those extra pounds, cut out my wintergreen lifesaver addiction, and started cooking my own food. i eat what i want. i walk when i feel like it. i havent gained or lost anything since May. i have NO idea why I havent gained a few....

I even do beer on the weekends!(and occasionally weekday if we have company..like tonight...)

The only thing i can figure is I quit going out to eat so much..and control my portions, and eat till im full then quit.

I think there's something to just listening to your body..

but I know what you mean by stomachs reminding us of those upsets occasionally.

[OnionPatch]

2. I think eating out is a factor

For some weird reason, if you look at the caloric count of foods on restaurant menus, they are so much higher than the same foods made at home. I never could understand that.

[Random_Australian]

6. In hospitality, the important thing is that it is pleasant for them.

To make sure things don't dry out, you add oil. And lots of fat. And needle things with lard. And brush with oil. And mix oil into the dressings of salads and stuff.

It adds up.

[kiraboo]

3. Controlling your portions is the key.

The stomach will shrink if you don't eat too much, and after a while it takes much less food to keep you feeling full and satisfied. This is why one or two bouts of overeating can have long-lasting effects. Sigh.

[Random_Australian]

7. Not that if one does eat lots on occasion, it makes them a failure.

A few slip-ups can be overcome.

[kiraboo]

9. I agree. I believe that the occasional indulgence keeps us

happy!

[RebelOne]

4. Everyone deserves to pig out once in a while.

My life has been a constant diet to keep my weight down, but occasionally, I will indulge in some really decadent food, such as moose tracks ice cream smothered in CoolWhip.

[Arkham House]

5. My downfall has always been butterscotch sundaes...

...just cannot get the craving for them out of my system totally...like tonight...*sigh*...wouldn't have been that bad, though, if not for the whipped cream...:-(...

[Floogeldy]

8. I am not concerned with your petty weight issues.

Any more than I am mine! ;)

[BlueIris]

10. I'd like to recommend a book for all you Lounge dieters:

"It's Not What You're Eating, It's What's Eating You," by Janet Greeson, Ph.D.

It's the smarter, scientific version of the appalling "French Women Don't Get Fat," (Greeson's book was published in '97, before the fad dieting insanity even started getting endorsed by the government--apologies to all your dieters who think it's always been this bad, but I'm now rec'ing this book because I've never seen our society so obsessed with thinness before and it scares me).

It's a well-articulated, valid explanation of the science supporting the idea that the more stressed out over losing weight you are, the less you will lose. There's a lot more in it, of course, and I'm not suggesting that it is the only book you should read about how to arrange your diet so it is healthy and appropriate for your overall health profile, but. The idea that those who agonize over appearance have a) a terrible time getting to and actually staying at the weight they want and b) generally less desirable health (especially mental health) is a valid one, which can be backed up by long-standing medical research, and something that I think most Americans would find themselves really changed by if they could internalize that concept. There are also practical steps outlined in there for how to improve your self-image, self-concept, self-esteem and basic emotional health that aren't present, from what I recall, in the evil FWDGF. And no, Greeson's book isn't some simplistic "you can think yourself thin" pile of crap. It's more like a detailed explanation for the bio-chemical and pyschological reason that dieting, as opposed to eating (and being) healthy, is very bad for you. Order it. Read it. Start feeling better now. That's more important than your size, trust me.

[Arugula Latte]

11. I find that exercising daily if possible keeps you in line because

you figure that you've spent all that effort, you don't want to undo the progress you made that day ... Not that it's foolproof!