How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

[loliloli]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

It's kind of crazy going on a binge once you're done the diet. I was under the impression you can gain up to 5 pounds per that weekend, so it really wouldn't be worth it for me. Now having a plate of fries or a meal is a more resonable to me.

My long term goal would be for a diet to be a way of life so you don't have to go back to lifestyle. As a vegetarian though I find this really hard so I doubt I'll be counting my carbs once school starts again. I'm just in it for the fast weight loss. once I'm on maintenance I'll probably figure out how to eath healthy and exercise to maintain my weight. It probably won't even be atkins, but maybe the regular low fat diet which also works. As long as you burning what you eating, whether it be carbs or fat you're set to go. portion control and exercise are the way to go

[not2late]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

Angelstar you're from the UK. Is obesity a problem there too?

Anyhow, here's another crock about food habits......Before the late 20th century, the big dietary problem was being underweight and malnourished. So all the dietary recommendations were basically set up for these skinny folks to gain and maintain proper weights. My boss has a nutrition book from the 1890s. A meal plan for a working class family at that time included dishes like bread soup, macaroni and cheese, porridge, bread, cornmeal mush (aka polenta), and very little meat. She was debating someone and actually plugged the menu into fitday.com and found that the meal was high carb, lowish fat (about 20%) and lowish protein (about 15%). Okay, these are working class people from the 1890s----no cars (they walked to work), no cellphones (they want to talk to Aunt Jill two blocks over they had to walk over there), no washing machines/dryers/automatic dishwashers, etc---so they were getting more exercise than we are. That diet was to help them gain weight and/or prevent them from losing weight. So how can you apply that high carb, low fat/protein diet to our current obese and sedentary population? You can't, if you think about it, but they do. And now look how gorgeously fat our society is.

[changing]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

And now look how gorgeously fat our society is.

Lol, I love it! "Gorgeously fat." I'm totally going to start saying that all the time... let me know if that'll be a problem.

[GiGi Lafoo]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

I think I'll put on some heels, a long strand of pearls and nothing else but one of the thongs my husband has bought me and begged me to wear and give him an eyeful!

[not2late]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

Go ahead changing!

But if you think about it, our society is fat. I have a friend who thinks that our society is actually promoting obesity subtly. He thinks the reason for all those huge McMansion-style houses is because we need big houses with big hallways, rooms and closets to house our big bodies and big clothes. He thinks that's one of the reasons why people don't want to buy the smaller houses built in the 1950s-1990s----because they simply can't fit into them! It sounds outrageous but he might have a point. Most of the McMansion developments in my area are huge houses with tiny yards and short driveways. They look ridiculously obese sitting on their tiny lots. I mean I saw one development where the " front yard" was literally one yard length (about 3 or 4 feet) and the back yard was maybe twice that. Okay, so you could probably put a few chairs and a table and maybe a grill back there, but forget about playing football or tag or even digging in a swimming pool! The older houses in my area are smaller, but they have large yards where kids and and older people can play.

In the past I've mentioned my mom's dinnerware. A couple of years ago, she was downsizing her house and gave my sisters and me her old china dinner sets. I got a set from the late 1950s to early 1960s. Anyhow, all the plates are about 1/4 to 1/2 inch smaller than 2003 standard dinner and salad plates. The bowls only hold about 2/3 cup and the coffee cups hold about 5 1/2 ounces comfortably. This set was regular "everyday" china from that era. I used that set for a dinner party once and alot of people remarked how small everything was!

[boonie stomper]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

Not2late - I'd venture to say there is a much more insidious societal conspiracy afoot. And it is based on money.

Profit is gained along the whole spectre of it from the raping of foods to sell the cheap substance pushed at us constantly through all facets of media, and then selling what was taken out of that food as essential supplements; the medical and pharmaceutical industries get guaranteed future business from an obese, unhealthy herd of misfed people; the clothing, housing, transpotation and even new services all stand to benefit from keeping people on their couches shopping by mail & delivery services, and being fed without getting out of their car or house.

I'd look great on a moped at my goal weight... Even better on a bicycle!

[Elizellen]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

What an interesting thread this has turned into, folks!

My heart sank when I read the initial post but well done everyone for turning what could have been a fight into a great discussion!!

[angelstar]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

[QUOTE=not2late]Angelstar you're from the UK. Is obesity a problem there too?

QUOTE]

I think its becoming an increasing problem over here. I havent researched much into it but its probably the same as the arguement the Americans have. The government told us to go on a low-fat high-carb diet in the 80-90's and look where is has got us. The average size for a girl was 10-12 and now its 14-16, stores are catering for this sort of size alot more now, whereas before u would struggle to find anything in 16+ in most high street/fashion shops. Now whenever I go shopping all I can find are 8's, 10's and 12's , the higher sizes are sold out.
I think that portion sizes have got bigger as well as alot of peoples lifestyles have changed. Alot of women (and men) nowadays are more career driven and put more work hours in. Apparently the UK has one of the highest working hours compared to other countries in Europe and have less holidays. With people working longer hours and having less time to cook/exercise/take care of themselves, they take the easy option with alot of the high carb junk food, ready meals and take aways that our streets and 24 hour shops are full of. Working longer hours and less time off promotes stress amongst people and can lead to more time spent drinking alcohol which is full of empty calories and causes other body problems if the drinking becomes addictive.
Child obesity is becoming a problem and the Government is looking at more ways to keep kids healthy by introducing more physical activity during school hours and better food in school canteens. A famous chef, Jamie Oliver, took aboard the problem of unhealthy food and make a TV programme out of it and put a proposal to the Government to introduce more fruit and veg into school meals, instead of burgers and chips. Kids are becoming more fussy eaters these days and refuse to eat veg and fruit and only eating junk food. And instead of starving their children ,parents tend to 'give in' to their demands and feed them sweets, crisps and bicuits. I hope I havent offended any mothers with my comments, i'm just going by what I've seen on certain 'nanny' programmes!

[staziaw]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

My reward will be a new wardrobe, a day at the spa (full package baby - scrub, massage, facial, mani-pedi, all of it!), the pride of knowing I accomplished my goal, looking fantastic as my friend's wedding next spring (but never as beautiful as she will look that day), overcoming my poor self-image as it relates to my physique (because my brain is a marvel to behold!), knowing that I will never again be a slave to food, and knowing that food will never be an emotional crutch, an imaginary friend, an unrelenting master ever ever again!

These rewards are far better, in my honest opinion, than pizza can ever be.

Stacy

[n0matter]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

Haven't we also grown TALLER as a nation as well as wider since the mid-21st century? With regards to the tiny houses mentioned in an earlier post, it's not usually the width of the doorways but their height and the relative height of the ceilings that bother me. As one grows taller, the body adjusts and grows wider with it, no? Thus standards established in the 50's and 60's couldn't apply in a variety of dimensions to today's standard human being.

So are we bigger people as a result of the "big things" fad that seems to have come about the past few decades or did we get bigger first and then fashion, architecture and meal sizes follow suit? According to all varieties of those "ideal weight/BMI" sites, I'm supposed to have a maximum of 25bmi for my height and age and be at or under 180lbs. As a skinny high school teenager I don't think I even weighed that little. It's a shame that part of the overweight stigma is a result of old ancient ideals, diets and measurement standards. But I wouldn't go so far as to say that larger, more comfortable homes are encouraging us to gain weight or simply stay fat. I don't think anyone will argue at any size and at any time throughout the course of history that bigger isn't almost always better.

If anything, I think certain recent medical advancements encourage people to gain weight more than anything. Liposuction, gastric bypass surgery, high tech heart surgery procedures and our inherent need to find a cure for conditions rather than preventing them in the first place all send the message that "Hey, it's ok to be or get fat! If it becomes a major health issue, we'll just operate and you'll be good to go!" And now I've gone off on my own little tangent. But I guess this thread is now basically an open topic discussion so there's my food for thought.

[Barbde]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

I just don't consider something that I've been doing all along to be any more rewarding on my goal reaching day than it was in the months beforehand. Then again, you stipulated that your Karate classes will cost money and therefore be something of a treat, so I suppose that makes sense. What doesn't make sense are replies submitted that pertain to activities that can be done any old time. It just doesn't seem very motivating to me.

But see? For many of us there are activities that weren't able to be done "any old time"? I remember hosting a birthday party for a great nephew at a local park earlier this year. I was so excited to be able to play tennis! TENNIS? yup. It was a blast. And I haven't even thought about being able to do that in YEARS! Yes, I have been walking, biking, video exercising, weights, etc. But TENNIS. That was a treat! So, yeah. Celebrations can involve exercise and be a total thrill! What motivates one - does not necessarily motivate another.

[inhisgrip]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

I plan on going to Six Flags and riding every roller coaster there! And...heck, I might even Bungie Jump!! Woohoo!! Oh, and I would love, love, love to do BRAG (Bike Ride Across Georgia)!

[Pineapple]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

At this point I'm not sure what if what I have on me is water weight, fat or muscle (probably a combination, since I gained it over just three 1/2 days of vacation). But when I get to 150 I'm dyeing my hair again, and at 145 I'm going bikini shopping ^_^ it motivates me to keep going to my gym classes in any event.

[boonie stomper]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

Hopefully I will still be celebrating being at my goal weight 50 years from now. Without Atkins WOE, at the rate I was gaining before, I should most likely be dead long before that.


My Grandmother lived to be almost 94, and never let herself gain over 5 pounds as long as I knew her. She walked every day, even the day she died on her feet.

[not2late]

Re: How do you plan to celebrate when you reach your goal weight?

Haven't we also grown TALLER as a nation as well as wider since the mid-21st century? With regards to the tiny houses mentioned in an earlier post, it's not usually the width of the doorways but their height and the relative height of the ceilings that bother me. As one grows taller, the body adjusts and grows wider with it, no? Thus standards established in the 50's and 60's couldn't apply in a variety of dimensions to today's standard human being.

We've grown so tall that we need 10 to 12 foot high ceilings in our homes? I don't think so. Some people believe that the tall thing is due to the steroids and hormones used in the meat industry. But they don't realize that many food plants are given growth hormones as well.

If you think about basic building structure you need those high ceilings to provide roof stability to those bigger rooms. Doorways are huge nowadays. Why? Wheelchair access in private homes? Maybe but most codes say that a wheelchair accessable door/hallway is 3-4 feet. Nope those hallways are wider to accomodate wider people.

Ditto for the "oversized" sofas, "oversized recliners", etc. Why oversized? Are they more comfortable? Or is that people are uncomfortable in regular sized chairs and sofas because they can't fit into them?

And the "baggy-look" style of clothing: Are these camoflage for rolls of body fat or are they really comfortable? In the 19th century when clothing was made from non-stretchy material like woven cotton or linen, if you gained weight, you'd have to spend money on a new set of clothing. I remember watching a BBC production called "1900 House". The women participants said that they had to wear their corsets because their clothes wouldn't fit if they did not. Contrast that to today with our spandex-cotton blended clothing or our stretchy cotton clothing. If you gain a few inches---big deal, the shirt will stretch to accomodate your additional fat. There is no incentive to make sure you can fit into your t-shirts or sweats because they are designed to cover up. But what if you had to wear a dress shirt and suit daily or wear a linen dress daily---you have all the incentive to make sure it still fits after a holiday weekend!

So are we bigger people as a result of the "big things" fad that seems to have come about the past few decades or did we get bigger first and then fashion, architecture and meal sizes follow suit? According to all varieties of those "ideal weight/BMI" sites, I'm supposed to have a maximum of 25bmi for my height and age and be at or under 180lbs. As a skinny high school teenager I don't think I even weighed that little. It's a shame that part of the overweight stigma is a result of old ancient ideals, diets and measurement standards. But I wouldn't go so far as to say that larger, more comfortable homes are encouraging us to gain weight or simply stay fat. I don't think anyone will argue at any size and at any time throughout the course of history that bigger isn't almost always better.

BMI has it's problems because steroid pumping professional athletes with very little body fat are "obese" according to the BMI. But for those of us who don't take anabolic steroids, it could be a useful guideline, especially for medical problems or development of medical problems. It also provides us with a decent image of what "normal" sized people should look like. Let's face it, many people don't know what a normal portion of salad looks like, you really think they know a normal sized person when they see one? Heck no. We get a very skewed version of normal-sized people: the media insists on showing us 5'7" actresses who weigh a skeletal 90 pounds and we see much larger people in real life.

Boonie has a point about the pharmaceutical companies making $$$$$$$$$$$$$ from people who have weight-related illnesses. In most cases blood pressure problems and diabetes can be controlled or avoided by proper diet and exercise. But people find it easier to swallow pills than it is to give up eating a dozen cookies for dessert. That compounded by our oversized luxury sedans, oversized sofas and loveseats, oversized clothing, oversized dinnerware and oversized homes, don't give us any incentive to lose weight or maintain a healthy "normal" body size.