writingwyo's Journal, 22 December 2022

Office grazing is the entire reason I got fat. Once I figured out how to apply my brakes, the weight fell off. You will beat this beast! I find it’s useful to ask myself if I’m hungry, first. 

Stay warm over there. I hear it’s real bad so stay safe too 

I don't consider it a beast at this point, just working in a treat here and there 😊 My office is good about making food an occasional thing, not constant. Office grazing, at least in this office, hasn't been a driving factor on weight. It sounds like your situation was different. It really wasn't hard to limit myself to what I considered a reasonable amount  

Thanks Daddy Manatee! So fortunate to stay home today. Not like my car would've started anyway 🙃 

We dropped 41 degrees in an hour yesterday. 47* at 3:30, then 6* at 4:30! Crazy weather!! 

One less mind challenge to work through -- office food 😮‍💨. Though it does relate back to a bigger issue, which is free food: parties, buffets, etc. What do you believe was your mental challenge to stop overeating? 

I go to few parties, JB. Kind of a homebody. It definitely wasn't the 3 or 4 office parties that did me in. I also only rarely went to restaurants. At my heaviest (200 pounds), I had an undertreated thyroid condition and was taking a med that caused weight gain. Once I got those resolved, I dropped 40 pounds to 160. Went on another weight-gaining med and put on 20, got off of it and dropped down. The last time I got up to 180, it was a foot injury and menopause. So a lot of my weight gains and losses had medical issues involved. That said -- for me, it's always been portion control. I still don't do hungry well -- and eat in a way that doesn't leave me hungry. But tracking has taught me to stop before I OVERfeed myself. I'm not super gung-ho about getting down to a specific weight. I'm trying to find what Dr. Yoni Freedhoff calls a "happy weight" -- the lowest weight I can maintain without making myself miserable. 130 is feeling pretty good right now. But, short version is portion control, which FS has really helped me learn. 

3 or 4 office parties a year, I meant to say. My office is truly not excessive about treats and parties 

Portion distortion is real. (Part of my general dislike of food photos on FS is that too often there's enough on plates to feed 2-3 people, and the drooling comments are leading everyone to believe it's normal rather than gluttonous and binge-y.) Sounds like you're in no danger of a rebound 😊 

I think a lot of people might think my calorie goal of 1800 is a bit much, but it's worked for me. So, enough for 2-3 people can be relative sometimes. FS has really taught me, though, the things I need to watch and the things I can relax on. I doubt I got heavy on carrots. For example, I'm not giving up bread, but I need to watch quantities on it. Pasta is notorious for portion distortion, but we don't eat it often. Since I let dairy back in my life, I'm struggling not to fall into the cheese pit LOL. I recognize it, though, and can watch it and reel it in.  

I also really try to watch food quality, for the most part. Work a few treats in here and there, but not let them become too big a proportion of my diet. I've been falling down on that front with candy, but like the cheese, I know it and can reel it in. I think I'm going to do much better with food/fitness when I retire, which won't be long 

Does candy exist anywhere besides the office? This is part of the grazing. It's food I never buy or keep in my home. And regarding carrots: if only FS members ate 2-3 servings of veggies! We are about to see a tsunami of new & returning dieters land here, over half of them on Keto, Atkins, LC/HF diets who will shun low calorie/high fiber vegetables. 😒 

Not really, JB. We have a bag of chocolate chips, but I'm perfectly happy to stop at one serving a day with those. Or I'll buy the 90% cocoa chocolate and eat a single, 50-calorie square. It's pretty heavenly paired with one dried apricot. It's less grazing at the office, and more exhaustion in the afternoons. Trying to get a little sugar rush to get through the day -- that's where I fall down. Not ideal, I realize. I usually still keep it to 1800 even so, but I do want to keep my sugar intake under the WHO recommendation of 6 teaspoons. I was limiting it well before, so I know I can get back to that 

No wonder you were worried about the furnace! I feel like I'm freezing when it's in the 40's outside or inside 

Fritzy -- believe it or not, I used to live in a colder climate! 😂 

We are having the same weather. The temp is tanking. Snow is blowing sideways. So windy.  

Sorry you missed the party but were able to enjoy a few treats!:)😋👍 Stay warm! 

Glad you got to stay home to work! It was -35 here for a few days and today it warmed up to -29. I sometimes can’t believe how different five degrees can feel! 😆 

Writingwyo, I'm more concerned about vehicles stopping midway! Vehicles get really cold very fast. Hoping you have safety kits and sending prayers. Oh, utilizing this food diary has been one of the best things I've ever done, especially regarding portion control! I had no idea about so many things.... Yesterday's dinner out was split in half 'before' I started in on it. The looks I got were 'quizzical' as I rambled on thoroughly enjoying 1/2 of everything 🤣 

It's only a mile to my office, LivinBreezy, through a residential area, so I probably would have been OK even then...but I dislike the word "probably," as it implies more of a chance of things going wrong than I'd like. My husband does keep survival gear in every vehicle