ChrisSpark's Journal, 02 July 2014

On the lower right hand side of the screen. 

Thanks C67241 ! Nice work on the weight loss.  

Before when I was starving myself I was very cranky all the time. I felt the diet was a punishment. Thankfully now I feel great, you just have to find a diet that works for you. Maybe eat a bit more, lose weight slower but at least you will be happy and not cranky. 

I agree not all diets are created equal, what worked for your friend may not work for you. If you are hungry and cranky you are not getting enough food. Add more vegetables and fruits are you drinking enough water sometimes it is water our body needs not food... 

I, too, could get cranky when I did the veggie diets or the shake diets. What works for one, might not work for another person. I can only speak for myself : little protein with the veggies helped me, whether its protein in beans, chicken, fish, nut butters, or nuts etc. It helped me with feeling fuller and quelled the cranky. Foods with sugars or wheat flour just made me hungrier as well as apples! Its a trial and error thing with a lot of people :) 

I used to get cranky when I did Weight Watchers.....right now I have been making monster smoothies in the morning.....I can make a whole blender full of strawberries, oranges, cantaloupe, grapefruit, blueberries, whatever I am in the mood for with 1/2 a cup of vanilla greek yogurt, some protein powder and ice. I get a huge sweet kick, and a lot of fluids and fiber throughout the morning and it costs me about 300 calories. I love it. I am not as cranky, I just have to fight boredom eating. 

I am loving this community ! Thanks everyone for your support and suggestions. I have to fight the little voice inside my head that tells me "dieting" is punishment. I want to think of it as doing something good for myself, improving my eating habits for good. I am getting more water these days, especially since the weather got hotter. It is always a struggle to get enough into me. Must work harder on getting my smoothies made and upping my intake of protein, fruits and veggies...I tend to eat whatever is "easy". I always thought I was the only one that found apples made me hungrier, kattay! If I have an apple as a snack, I will be ravenous in about an hour. Bananas work for me though. I made it out for a 30 minute workout in the pool with the pool weights and rode my bike to get there, so feeling pretty good about that! Thanks again everyone :-) 

Think of it as a healthy lifestyle...not a punishment, when you begin to see the way your cloths fit and the scale drop, water is very important...I am on the new Atkins and actually liking it..I am not craving and never hungry....it amazes me to void all sugar and Bread.. they were my enemy...now I choose recipes from my Atkins book and they are very tasty and filling... good luck, you will get through your struggles.. :) 

Thanks for the encouraging words Re-energize...I have tried the Atkins in the past and it worked very well for me...my body loves protein, but I find it a challenge financially these days, so I am trying alternatives and basically reducing calories and increasing exercise and drinking as much water as I can...trying to keep it simple, lol. 

Chris, I could have written your post about "dieting" and punishment word for word. It was almost spooky reading what you'd written. I've done "diets" of various durations for over 50 years. Some were a few months, some just a few hours! ;-) Somehow, this time something clicked. To quote others here, I'm not on a diet. I'm just cleaning up my eating. Also for me, nothing is off limits. I've just had to change my habits about many of the things I DID eat. That mindset change has made me more successful so for than I'd ever been before. Things that had been meals or snacks are now occasional treats -- and in MUCH smaller quantities. If it's within your budget, protein powder is really helpful. I've ordered a big tub from Vitacost (Drugstore.com has lots too) for $23 that lasts well over a month in smoothies. To me, it makes a smoothie keep me fuller longer. I've become a fan of nonfat greek yogurt and string cheese - both high in protein. I've also paid attention to what other people here are eating (and NOT eating!) and have discovered a lot of things that way. Best of luck Chris. The figuring out what works and what doesn't seems to be a process but it's fun too and ends up being habit forming ;-)  

Thanks for the encouraging words Vickie! 

my husband is VERY cranky and says hes starving! I have added more protein to his plate and fiber where I can and hes a little happier. the fiber helps him feel full.. whole wheat hamburger bun (even just half with a burger) ... good luck! the extra protein helps! 

@Vickie / funny, I also find 'something just clicked' and that this time I'll succeed. I've also done diet for 50 years (almost). You kind of know it in your heart that this time it's the right time, and this place is the right place to help you get there. I'm only sorry it took me so long.... 

I do think restricting calories makes me cranky but I found a way to work around it in my schedule -- I do not eat during the day until I get home from work.... I have a job that I don't have to deal with people except via email so it does not matter if I am cranky at work. Then when I get home around 3pm I eat and am feeling good the rest of evening. Yep, no breakfast and no lunch --- Done this for years now...