Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE & sugar & weight gain

Trish - you sound like me--I love sweets and they are my downfall. It's difficult to train yourself to eat in moderation because everything tastes so good. But, as my Wt Watchers Leader says...you only taste it while it's in your mouth. So savor the flavor while you're chewing it and chew it as long as you can so the flavor can last.

But I think the most important thing is portion control. That's been one of my hardest to control. This is what I do. My husband and I sit at the kitchen/dining room counter and eat our meals because it's only the 2 of us. We could sit at the dining room table but it's so big, the two of us get lost there. Anyway, when I serve our food, I DO NOT PUT THE WHOLE CASSEROLE OR PLATE OF FOOD after it's been served in front of you. Measure your portions, put it on your plate and know that when you've finished eating it, you shouldn't take any more. With the remainder of the casserole or serving plate is not within arm's reach, the desire to eat more diminishes. For instance, for me I dish up a 1/2 cup of pasta or rice (it doesn't seem like much but it is) and then 1 cup (or whatever the serving size is) of topping on top. By the time it spreads out, it will fill the whole plate and is really a lot of food. Your stomach doesn't tell your brain that it's full until about 20 minutes after you stop eating. So, don't eat until you feel full because then you've eaten too much.

It's rather difficult to explain if you're not familiar with WW (Wt Watchers) but I'll try. According to how much you weigh, you're assigned a points range. For instance, if you weigh 150 to 174 lbs, your point range for foods to eat per day is 20-25. That includes main meals, snacks, drinks--everything. So the key is to know the point value of foods. WW has books that tell you this. They even have books for eating out with restaurant names and foods they serve including ethnic eateries and fast food (which I stay away from...much too tempting since I lived on McD's chicken nuggets and fries and turned into a big MommaLuke!)

I can give you some guidelines on a few things, tho.
1. Plan your meals for the day in your head or on paper.
2. Don't starve yourself because your body will go into starvation mode and start to conserve body fat.
3. Do physical activity. From gardening to running, it's all exercise. Gardening is considered moderate. In WW, activity is measured in points, depending upon the strenuousness of it and duration. For the amount of time you spend doing an activity and the severity of it, you get to "bank" points (i.e. gardening for 2 hours equals 6 points: 1 pt for each 20 minutes spent doing it). So I can deduct 6 points from my daily total used. It does get complicated but once you're used to it, it's not so bad.
4. Keep a daily diary of what you've eaten and the pt value. The people who don't keep a diary aren't as successful as those who do. After a while, it becomes a habit. I've been doing it for a year and a half.
5. Weigh yourself only once a week, preferably at the same time of day on the same day of the week. Usually when you first get up is the best time.

There's much more I could tell you if you wanted to know. Just post and I'll answer.

Good Luck.

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Sharon
"Anything Chocolate"...that is all!

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