Vomiting and dry heaves

[The Red Lady]

Gosh guys, you're going to make a girl blush Tigger, I think loosing that weight was easier than learning the horn! Jeroen, what you say totally has merit. I found myself going from three meals a day to around 6 smaller meals, with the largest being breakfast.

Because I am among friends, I will post this pic. It is of me at my heaviest, 221 I believe, in the spring of 2006. The lovely lady on the right is my mom I keep this picture and a pair of size 24 shorts, just to remind myself of where I'm never going back to.

[floating dutchman]

You halved your weight! Well done, I don't think I've ever heard of someone doing that.

[Orestes Munn]

Wow, Jess. What a metamorphosis!

[Brooke]

Wow Jess, that is amazing!

I also second the grazing theory. I'm naturally really skinny (5'7" and 120 lbs) and that's how I always have eaten. In my case I simply can't eat enough at one sitting to get me through the day. I also don't get cravings for carbs like a lot of folks do, and I need a lot of protein (the actual animal kind) or I don't feel good. And before you all start yelling about how lucky I am - it's a PITA... I'm always freezing, I get hungry and/or hypoglycemic very quickly, and it's really hard to find calorie dense food that isn't bad for you. (I COULD eat ice cream all day but that's not very good for anyone).

[Lin]

Jess, a huge kudos for you to make such a significant, lasting and healthy change in your life. I am glad you feel comfortable sharing among us.
Your story is very inspiring. It's amazing how many people judge other people by appearances and weight, and they think it's ok to do so and have a bunch of rationales to excuse their rudeness. (which is not saying that helpful and supportive concern is not welcome)
Very well done, girl.

[Joli]

I agree, 110 ponds is a heap, good for you red lady..

And Rob, hope you are on the mend.

[Orestes Munn]

a huge kudos

Lin, you just made my night.

[Lin]

a huge kudos

Lin, you just made my night.

Uh oh ...I made a boo boo! : P
I won't edit my boo boo as I would hate to ruin your evening!

[SloopJonB]

I've had this theory about peoples weight for years, never had to put it to the test my self and could be utter bullshit but here it is anyway.

Look around at the people you know and their eating habits, Heavier people tend to stick to three meals a day and skinny people tend to graze, How many times has skinny people been asked "how can you eat so much and stay skinny?"
We can play chicken and egg with this all day.

Years ago a couple of mates of mine that weighed in the 90's (kgs) decided to have a race to 100 (young a stupid and often drunk).
One of the things they did to pack in extra calories was to have an extra meal a day, Both lost weight!

Couple of years ago my FD skipper told me he wanted to lose weight, I told him about my unproven theory and a couple of weeks later he told me that he had lost a decent amount of weight. "Have you been eating little and often?" "well, I've been eating often!"

About a year ago I read an article regarding this same concept, one of the things that they said was that if you have lunch at 12 and don't eat until 6 pm you tend to eat a lot at 12 to carry you over, if you body gets used to eating at 3pm as well you have the need for a big lunch and you tend to eat less calories in the course of the day, Same goes for dinner and then having supper, add in morning tea and your eating 6 times a day without the big carry over times so you can eat less.
There was also a comment about your Metabolism speeding up and helping to keep weight down.

I could not imagine having to starve myself to lose weight, but a habit change I could see people sticking with forever and even if its a slow change it doesn't matter because you keep the change of eating habits forever.

Your mileage may vary from person to person.

Jeroen

I've known very skinny people who ate continuously - full dinners for lunch, perpetual snacks on their desk etc. and I've known very fat people who ate like birds.

You have to tailor your eating to your personal metabolism.

[SloopJonB]

Outstanding job Red. You should be a spokesman for one of the weight loss outfits.

[Orestes Munn]

a huge kudos

Lin, you just made my night.

Uh oh ...I made a boo boo! : P
I won't edit my boo boo as I would hate to ruin your evening!

No, "a kudos" is highly correct and rarely used!

[BeauV]

a huge kudos

Lin, you just made my night.

Uh oh ...I made a boo boo! : P
I won't edit my boo boo as I would hate to ruin your evening!

No, "a kudos" is highly correct and rarely used!

Lin - kudos is plural (It's Greek and my lovely Admiral is Greek) So, OM should be saying "Kudos for using the word correctly". Sadly, we English speakers have created (out of thin air and quite incorrectly) another singular version which is "judo". So, acceding the our now corrupted English dictionary, you can say Kudo or Kudos as you choose. Being the classy lady you are, I'm sure you'll use the correct "kudos". BV

(Goofy English speakers just can't accept a singular word that ends in "s")

[Ish]

a huge kudos

Lin, you just made my night.

Uh oh ...I made a boo boo! : P
I won't edit my boo boo as I would hate to ruin your evening!

No, "a kudos" is highly correct and rarely used!

Lin - kudos is plural (It's Greek and my lovely Admiral is Greek) So, OM should be saying "Kudos for using the word correctly". Sadly, we English speakers have created (out of thin air and quite incorrectly) another singular version which is "judo". So, acceding the our now corrupted English dictionary, you can say Kudo or Kudos as you choose. Being the classy lady you are, I'm sure you'll use the correct "kudos". BV

(Goofy English speakers just can't accept a singular word that ends in "s")

One of the reasons I stick to easy stuff like "hats off". I'm pretty sure it's not "hat offs".

[Brooke]

As long as you don't write "hat's off".

[Soñadora]

JESSS!

my god, that's amazing.

[BeauV]

Jess, I have two relatives who have struggled with weight their entire lives. I know how hard it is to do what you did - it shows true grit girl! Well done! Very well done, indeed! BV

[The Red Lady]

Thanks for the hats,hat's, hats' and (a) kudos. Even though most people won't need to loose the magnitude of weight I did, I have found like talking about it helpful for a lot of people, especially very overweight people who think that it is an impossible goal to loose it naturally. I think it always helps to talk to someone who has been there.

Lin, what you said really hit home for me. Having been on both sides of the weight spectrum now, I am sorry to say that I have noticed people treat me very differently now than when I was heavy. I still have the same personality, talent, and problems, but people seem more helpful and accepting of me now. I think many people are so ready to pass judgment and dish out insults, I can't even begin to tell you all the names I was called...as an adult by other adults. When I do tell people or show them that photo, I get a lot of "wow, I just can't even imagine you that way, I don't even want to think of you that way". I think they mean it well, but it is almost like they are imagining me as a different person.

[BeauV]

Jess,

Somehow we need to understand that in many situations a person's weight is NOT a failure of their character. Far too many of us are quick to say that the heavy person is "weak" or lacks "self control" or any number of other slanders to their character. Our "food industry" has done no one any favors by utilizing sophisticated marketing techniques and food engineering skills to take economic advantage of those who do have difficulty maintaining a lower weight. But, as you so accurately point out, you're the same person - heavy or light. Your basic character didn't change when you lost weight. You didn't become more "moral" or a "better" person.

Sadly, many of us who don't have difficulty maintaining a reasonable weight has no frigging idea what it's like to do what you've done. I only know from watching people I love struggle and strain to make progress. Having watched that, I have tremendous respect for what you've accomplished and even more respect for your courage in being willing to discuss it to help others.

Again - WELL DONE!

Beau

[SloopJonB]

Speaking as a furriner, I can say that a very big part of the weight epidemic in the States is due solely to portion sizes. Every time we cross the border we are astounded by the size of meals served. They are at least 50% bigger than here generally and often double - especially breakfasts. A standard bacon & egg breakfast in the States is called things like "The Fisherman's Friend" or "The Lumberjack Special" here.

I spoke to a restauranteur about it and he completely agreed but said he was trapped - if he gave people reasonable portions they thought they were getting gypped and wouldn't return. Maybe putting the total calorie count for each meal right on the menu would help open peoples eyes.

Saw a great symptom on an American TV channel recently - Sonic was offering jumbo sodas for 1/2 price before 10:00 A.M.

Who the hell drinks soda, let alone a jumbo before 10: A.M.? I worked shift work for a long time and I never did, even when that was effectively my dinnertime.

Please note: I'm saying all this from a 40 Lbs overweight perspective, all of which was put on through sheer greed for my wife's cooking. In my case it IS sheer character failure.

[BeauV]

Speaking as a furriner, I can say that a very big part of the weight epidemic in the States is due solely to portion sizes. Every time we cross the border we are astounded by the size of meals served. They are at least 50% bigger than here generally and often double - especially breakfasts. A standard bacon & egg breakfast in the States is called things like "The Fisherman's Friend" or "The Lumberjack Special" here.

I spoke to a restauranteur about it and he completely agreed but said he was trapped - if he gave people reasonable portions they thought they were getting gypped and wouldn't return. Maybe putting the total calorie count for each meal right on the menu would help open peoples eyes.

Saw a great symptom on an American TV channel recently - Sonic was offering jumbo sodas for 1/2 price before 10:00 A.M.

Who the hell drinks soda, let alone a jumbo before 10: A.M.? I worked shift work for a long time and I never did, even when that was effectively my dinnertime.

Please note: I'm saying all this from a 40 Lbs overweight perspective, all of which was put on through sheer greed for my wife's cooking. In my case it IS sheer character failure.

A lot of us simply have trouble dealing with what seems to be natural changes in our metabolism. At 20 I ate 4 eggs, 4 pieces of bacon, two pancakes and a bowl of fruit for breakfast every morning (I worked in a restaurant as a cook). At 40 I was down to 2 eggs, 2 piece of bacon, and fruit. Now at 60 I am down to 1 egg, 1 piece of bacon and no fruit. I weight almost exactly the same amount. I've had to reduce my food intake by about this much at all my meals. Seriously, I now eat almost exactly 1/4 of what I ate when I was 20 and I'm exactly 10lbs heavier. When I talk to my dearly beloved relatives about eating 1/4 of what they ate when they were 20, they tell me they simply can't do it. It was difficult for me, and appears impossible for them.

The idea of serving the same sized meal to 20, 40 and 60 year old people appears to be stupid. That they all want to eat the same amount is easy to understand, but probably stupid also. I figure that I'll eat about 1/8th of what I did when I was 20 by the time I'm 80.

BV

[JoeP]

I guess I will weigh in here (pun intended). I have struggled with my weight nearly all of my adult life and now suffer the consequences with diabetes and other problems. It has led me to stop sailing because I was not having any fun struggling to get around the boat. It sucks. I would "diet" and lose weight only to stop and regain what I lost, and more. After doing this numerous times I stopped the dieting figuring it was better to maintain a stable weight than to keep going up. I have now started to change my behaviour instead of dieting. The steps Jess took have been pointed out to me by many who have lost and maintained their weight loss as a solid method of doing this. The key is to change my behavior. It is hard, but I gain a little ground every day. Calories taken in must be less than calories expended.

I agree that restaurant portions are way too big. When I eat out I look at the meal and say to myself, "this is way too much", then proceed to clean my plate, a habit ingrained since childhood by my mom. My son was a chef and my brother works in the food industry. I suggested to both that restaurants need to cut their portion size and got the same response that SJB did. My wife and I have decided to split meals now when we go out. We both get enough and we save money to boot. I have started to ask for extra veggies instead of "white carbs" as I call them when we go out. I actually find that I enjoy vegetables a lot more as I get older. I wish restaurants would offer more low carb veggie dishes.

Genetics have something to do with it according to my doctors. When I look (unscientifically) at those in my family with the Croatian features they are thin. Those like me, with the Irish features, tend to be heavier. There's probably something to it.

[SloopJonB]

I get a lot of "wow, I just can't even imagine you that way, I don't even want to think of you that way". I think they mean it well, but it is almost like they are imagining me as a different person.

That's because they are - very overweight people are widely perceived as simply lazy and greedy.

In my case it's true.

[Orestes Munn]

My wife and daughter have both fought the weight battle, wife since late adulthood and daughter since adolescence. I sympathize deeply with them and anyone else with that problem. I don't think I have anything helpful to say to anyone one the subject.

I am skinny because I am addicted to exercise. I actually like and crave the feeling of pushing the effort to the last bearable level and, like many anxious people, I use exercise like a drug to control anxiety. Think rat on wheel. In my old age, I have also learned to eat a lot less.