Your post really hit home with me. I do the same thing - in fact and going through it right now, today, in fact. Trying to sneak in some weightloss without awakening the beast. It sucks mightily. Thank you for the post.

You know, I'm really not liking her right now. In less time than you had before, you had nearly double the weight loss. WTF? And Turkey & provolone? Good protein. I reiterate, WTF?

Ok, calmer now. Sure, she's a nutritionist, and not a therapist - however, one would think that she'd learn to deal gently with those that are trying to lose weight. I, personally, am something of a delicate flower when it comes to criticism, and would have totally wilted under those conditions.

Don't be disheartened, Weet. You recognized the self-sabotage. That's the first step to owning it. And if your nutritionist gives you any more crap, just remember that most of us abbreviate their profession as NUT, and she is one.

This was actually really hard to read! I don't get inflamed very often, by nature...it's just me. And I've been a reader for a short time but I just...I really like you. And this upset me. You made yourself so vulnerable when you went that first time...you truly did...especially when you stepped on that scale. You didn't have to...you could have gotten a food plan without her knowing your exact weight...but you placed what, to me, is one of the most sacred of trusts into her hands.

Surely, she realises this. Surely she understands women and weight. (Yes, men struggle with weight too, I do not wish to diminish that, but I'm writing what I know.) She's a nutritionist with training, AND a woman! And then she marks up your paper...was it with a red pen? What are you, a fourth grader?

Would a conversation not suffice? Why was turkey with provolone on wheat a "bad" choice? Do we have to talk about "bad"? Can we instead talk about what would be "better", keeping in mind what your goal is (whatever it is)?

Ooh this stuff irks me. But you keep at it. You keep on going back. You are a brave, strong woman. Whatever your goal happens to be, bravo, Weet. Bravo.

Oh pretty girl, do you really need to pay someone to tell you that you're a bad girl? Don't we all get this enough, everyday?

Get the help you need, but get it from someone who doesn't make you feel like this.

Whatever happened to the standard diet advice of the 1970s and 1980s, that was in all of the women's magazines at the time, that more than a pound a week of weight loss is unhealthy? Has that gone by the wayside now? Seems to me like you're doing fine.

Try reading Martha Beck's *The Four-Day Win* -- I just picked it up at the airport and have really been impressed. She talking precisely about that tension between your "inner dictator" and your "wild child." Really, so far it's great, and I usually really hate self-help books.
Lyn

You did amazingly well. Amazingly well.

Like some of your other commenters, I really don't see how your turkey sammich is anything but healthy. A complex carb, protein, veggie and a small amount of cheese because fat (through the cheese) helps us feel satiated ... seems like a great, balanced choice to me.

Weet, you don't want to be losing vast amounts of weight quickly. First off, that sort of weight loss indicates extreme deprivation, and nobody can sustain that. What you're aiming for is sustainable change, right?

Second, your body can re-absorb extra skin at your current pace of weight loss. What you're doing now will allow your body to reshape itself.

I'm don't know how you do it. Juggle work, school and try to make major life changes. I feel weary just thinking about it.

I think I'd have to agree with the others--the idea of a nutritionist jumping on you for a whole wheat turkey sandwich just doesn't sound cool at all. Maybe if you'd eaten two or three of them in one sitting, or if you'd turned it into a full-fat club sandwich, but you shouldn't be dinged for eating healthy food. Especially with a 7 pound loss over 4 weeks!

And to think it took me 3 months to lose 13 pounds. Woe is me, my life is terrible.

Right.

Your nutritionist doesn't sound very... realistic. 1-2 pounds per week is normal and sustainable. I'd switch nutritionists. She sounds like a hack with body issues herself that she's now projecting on you.

(A freaking turkey sandwich isn't good enough? WTF.)

I'd try for a nutritionist/personal trainer who used to be an athlete in a sport where body weight isn't an issue (no wrestlers, gymnasts, cheerleaders, divers, ice skaters, or dancers). People who played soccer, baseball, basketball, swimming, track, fencing, etc. will probably be more about getting strong and healthy and making it a real long term thing instead of dropping weight for the sake of dropping weight.

When you think about it in the long term, your mindset changes. It becomes about making it routine instead of binge dieting for the hell of it. The guilt when you really want that 2nd plate of pasta sort of gradually ebbs away when you know that you'll be fine because your normal weekly workout routine will make it so it doesn't matter.

Wait, one more thing. Did the words "really screw up then" actually leave her mouth?

If so... either her own food weirdnesses are uncontrollably spilling out of her or she's incredibly unprofessional. Regardless, you ought to find someone better.

I'm no professional, but saying you "are drawn to nutritionally empty foods" would sound to me (a) more professional, and (b) make it about something other than failure.

(You remind me of me when I purposely didn't study or do my homework in school so when I failed and pissed off my parents, I'd be able to calmly accept it because I didn't try my hardest. I eventually decided that cutting off my nose to spite my face was less than ideal, I was going to go as far as possible because stagnation just kind of gets boring after a while, and I wanted to go to college. This is why I say long term goals instead of losing weight to lose weight. Thinking about college was easier than thinking "I'm going to be perfect on this test right now," b/c when I inevitably didn't get a perfect 100%, I didn't beat myself up, and it wasn't such a blow to my grades because I did my hw, studied, etc.)

I feel your pain! South Beach, while it helps you lose weight really fast, is really HARD! If you never go anywhere it's not as hard but do it and try to live a busy lifestyle! Go to Taco Bell and what can you eat? Pintos and Cheese. Have you ever had that?? HORK!

I would be skeptical of anyone who is a "nutritionist" - what are her actual credentials? Nutritionists often have little to no training, and much of it is suspect and based in fads rather than research. If you're going to seek help in this area, you need a registered dietician.

I go through the same thing. "Try not to awaken the beast" is right. When I start going there I just remind myself that I am fit, I am healthy, I am beautiful, and it is okay that I am not a size 6.

I think you've done really, really well. Four pounds is fabulous and seven pounds is even both. Both should be celebrated.

I agree with M. Get a trainer who focuses on health not weight - that's what really matters anyway. I'm a swimmer and I can tell you we are not a tiny group of people, you have to have some body fat to float! but we are fit.