As I hover just above my low weight, waiting to finally break through to 200 pounds lost, I’ve been anticipating making the announcement that I’ve passed that landmark. But I haven’t, yet. I’m just above it, but it’ll be soon. My shot is coming!
Instead of my normal meanderings, I’m going to answer a few questions that readers submitted to me, both publicly and privately.
How do you deal with cravings?
For me personally, there are two major kinds of cravings. The first is caused by blood sugar, usually an insulin response I’ve had to something that tastes sweet (and that includes artificial sweeteners). If my blood sugar goes a little wonky, my body is more likely to crave food. To curb these, I control carb intake, as well as supplement with chromium, which can help control blood sugar. There are several such supplements than can help in that regard, but remember, I’m not a doctor — which is one of the big reasons I don’t discuss my own particular regimen.
The second is totally mental, and that’s the one that is the bigger challenge. While I don’t consider myself an emotional eater, I’ve found that to be a bit less true during the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve had more woe-is-me moments that, at least for a moment, suggested that the world’s ills could be cured with a Sonic Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Blast. I have to work through those moments, if they’re major challenges that truly upset me; I know if I were to give in to the evils of Sonic, I’d regret it later. If they’re minor flashes through my mind, I look for distractions. I stay busy whenever possible. I get out and walk, if it’s really bad.
And — while I rarely do this — sometimes, at night, I’ll treat myself to a full fledged anything-goes meal, complete with 5 star service. It’s totally imaginary, though. I know what everything I want to eat tastes like, already, so I imagine myself sitting at a that meal, no matter how weird the combo may be, no matter how outrageous the amounts. Usually, by dessert, I’m asleep, and the craving is long gone.
How do you still drink (alcohol)?
While I fully enjoy playing a lush online, I do limit my drinking forays. 😉 The truth is that if I drink too much, I end up doing intensely silly stuff, like having a beer fight in the backyard with my husband. (This actually happened a few weeks ago.) I try to listen to my body and back off if I start feeling anything more than a bit happy. Not eating much in the way of carbs means that alcohol carbs hit me pretty quickly, so I plan what I drink and when. I also try to be inventive with drinks, so I’m more likely to savor them slowly rather than chug them.
I also don’t really like “diet” alcohol drinks because I don’t trust what’s in them. An example: low carb seltzers are all the rage, right now, but if you’re really counting carbs, and you plan to have several, 2 carbs a can will add up over the course of a July 4th celebration, for instance. I’d rather add vodka to flavored seltzer myself and it’s 2 less carbs. (I’m specifically talking about sugar carbs and not alcohol carbs, here.)
How do you maintain motivation in the midst of setbacks?
That’s one of the biggest things I’ve grappled with over the years. I’ve ended some really stellar losses by just tossing my hands up and eating ALL.THE.THINGS, undoing all the work I had done.
Motivation, for me, is a lot like a roller coaster. I am not always strong. Challenges come, sometimes progress works against me and I start deviating from my work a little too much. If something isn’t working, sometimes I have to take a step back and make sure I’m on the right path; even after all this time, I find I need to correct my course on occasion.
When times are especially challenging, I have to look at the small picture instead of the bigger one. I find things that give me small successes that I can take joy in, even if that means that for one day, I was in control of my decisions, even if some of them weren’t the right ones. When I first started this journey, just the mere action of taking control of what I put in my mouth meant I was in control of something, even if I wasn’t yet seeing a change on the scale or the tape measure.
Even now, I work on small goals rather than huge ones. Had I set out to lose 200 pounds, I would have immediately given up the whole idea as ludicrous. But I knew I could lose 50, so that’s what I set my goal at. Once I reached that, I added another 50 as a goal. Now, my goal is 1.8 pounds away (at the time of this writing), and once I’ve achieved that goal, I have 10 more after that. Setting micro goals has kept me moving forward for a long time, and since it still works, I’ll probably still keep with those small goals for as long as necessary.
How do you stay on track when the rest of the family eats whatever they want and doesn’t need to restrict certain foods?
As I’m writing this, my husband finished off some dutch chocolate ice cream, so you bet I can relate! It’s a good thing he’s not a fan of pretzels, or I’d be a goner.
It’s tougher, I think, with children — and I don’t currently have children in my home. I think it pays to develop strategies that work for you. Sometimes that might mean a compromise, where you substitute a food you can eat while the family enjoys a treat so you can participate in a food centered activity (popcorn during a movie at home, for instance) so you don’t feel left out/different. If you know the family wants a meal or food you want to restrict for yourself, and you want them to have it, such occasions might be a good time to indulge in something for yourself that you particularly enjoy.
It does help to have an understanding with your family, especially your spouse. Mine knows I dislike the smell of some of the candy he really likes to eat (hello, Strawberry Twizzlers! You smell like stale PlayDough!), and that I’m not about to eat some of the things he really likes. Since it’s just the two of us, though, we’ll work out nights where we eat what we choose for ourselves, or he’ll get a pizza and order hot wings for me. That’s more difficult with families, but not entirely impossible, depending on your chosen foods.
How can someone over 50 lose weight and not develop wrinkles in the fat-depleted skin of the neck, breasts, arms, and buttocks?
When you find out, let me know! 😀
Honestly, that’s a tough one. I have known people who have honestly favored remaining overweight instead of risking wrinkles and skin folds from excess skin. Personally, I I have a lot of excess skin, but I’ve also grown to accept it. I fully realize that for some folks, that’s possibly an insurmountable task.
There are some methods that reportedly can reduce or help the situation. One is skin brushing, though I know very little about it. Another is autophagy, accomplished with extended fasting methods. Some swear it helps; while I do fast on occasion, removing a good 25 or so pounds of excess skin through autophagy would be nothing short of a miracle.
I’ll say this, though: I thought I’d be one big sagging bag of skin. While I have excess skin in places I don’t tend to show off (I am NOT a belly dancer!), I haven’t had the damage I thought I would. I don’t miss my chins one bit. So why not give it a try and see what your body does for you?
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Thanks for the thoughtful questions!