DANGER ZONE Foods

I'm finding that there are certain foods that are fine for the way of eating I'm doing...but they are just too easy for me to overeat with.  These are foods I need to avoid because I can't seem to stop with one serving, and they are either really high in calories or really high in fat.

The cheese chips.

 Oh my heaven, I can eat these forever...they are so good, but they absolutely do not  fill me up...yeah, I've tried.  So I'm not going to bring these into the house any more.  They are super high in fat, and go down way too easily.  Sonoma Creamery also makes cheddar crisps as well as the cheese and bacon crisps that Costco carries.  DANGER DANGER WILL ROBINSON!

DATES  
I easily ate over 1200 calories of dates (from the Date Lady - they are AMAZING!).  I can't seem to just pull 5 dates (1 serving) out of the bag and be satisfied with that.  Nope.  I eat the whole bag.  Then pull out another bag and eat that too.  I can't even imagine how much sugar that was.  Did it fill me up?  Not even close.  Not going to order those anymore either.  Just not safe to have around. 

These are the two most recent danger zone foods.  I don't know if I will ever be able to have them...and stop at just one serving.  So it's better to just skip them altogether.

More Wisdom from the FB Support Group

As I look in the mirror this morning I am made keenly aware that my body has many imperfections.

Saggy boobs
saggy thighs
saggy arms
crepey skin...

But I am also reminded that all of those imperfections are imperfectly perfect. They tell me that I:

Have lost a considerable amount of weight
can breathe
can touch my toes
can sleep
can walk up and down stairs
can wear boots
am off many medications
am getting healthier by the day

When I see those girls at the gym whispering or snickering at my jiggling beauties they don't know:

Where I've been
Who I am
What my journey has been like.

I will not be a slave to:
Societal Standards
The scale
My low self-esteem
Fear

I will empower myself to:
Embrace my successes
Embrace my scars
Not compare me to others
NEVER GIVE UP

My journey is my own.
I do not owe anybody an explanation.
I do not need to change who I am for someone else.
I will own my journey and know that it is my choices that cause me to succeed or fail.
Failure only happens when I stop trying.

I stand in front of the mirror every day and have this conversation with myself.

You can do it! Don't ever give up.

Much love from a 62-year-old 1-year sleever.

Discipline! Consistency! New Habits!

Discpline.  Consistency. New Habits.  These are three things that I have GOT to work on, not just in the way I eat, but in all areas of my life.  Like this blog, for example!  I want this blog to be a record of this life-saving (life-changing) journey that I'm on, yet if I don't blog, there's no record.

Discipline.  This is something that I'm really coming up short on.  I keep losing sight of what I want most, and going for what I want right now.  Whether it's something I buy, or something I eat, or something I do, I am very habituated to instant-gratification.  I have bursts of self-discipline, but they rarely last longer than a few weeks or months. 

I absolutely HAVE to practice this...it's not something that comes naturally to me, so I have to keep doing it, daily, and it will become more and more natural to me. I'm so self-indulgent, and that self-indulgence has gotten me to this point...where I am willing to let them remove over 80% of my stomach so that I can finally lose the weight.   I must keep in the forefront of my mind what I want most. I will weigh every decision I make, everything I put in my mouth, against what I want MOST.  Do I want that (fill in the blank) right now, even MORE than I want to be a normal size, healthy and active and enjoying being in my own body? 

I commit right now, that before I eat anything that isn't part of my plan I will ask myself if I want that more than what I want most.  

Consistency.  I need to be consistent in blogging. It not only helps keep me motivated in this journey, but it helps me to put my thoughts down...to see where my head is going...and to have a record of this process. 

I have only blogged twice so far this year, and one of those times was simply copying a wonderful post from a Bariactric FB group!  I need to be consistent in my blogging...make it a habit to blog at LEAST once a week...ideally more often than that.  There is so much that happened since I last blogged a month ago that I haven't blogged about.  My new PCP, my continuing therapy with Janys, the acupuncture I've been getting, the experience with my feet and trying to get that resolved.  My new SUV!  Refinancing my mortgage. The monster boss at work.  SO many things that have been happening that I haven't written about.  I really regret that.  And I don't want to live a life with regrets. 

So right now...right here....I am committing to blogging at least ONCE A WEEK.

New Habits.  My old habits haven't worked very good for me, obviously.  I need to develop new habits BEFORE I have my surgery.  I need to make it a habit to eat every 2.5 to 3 hours.  And to eat only what I have planned to eat. I need to BREAK the habit of night-time grazing. I need to make it a habit to eat slowly and mindfully.  To actually experience every bite, and to chew each bite at least 10-15 times.  I still eat very fast, and am barely conscious when I do it. I still look at my plate in surprise when I've finished, because I eat so fast, and without even thinking about the bite in my mouth.  Also, I need to make it a habit to move more every day. Right now it's difficult because of my issues with my feet (Plantar Faciitis and tendinitis) but I am seeing a foot doctor (who is GORGEOUS, btw) and I really believe that I am improving and will be back on the treadmill every morning very soon!  I also want to start kettlebell training again.  Kettlebells will be a huge part of this journey, and of my overall health. 

Right now, I am committing to eating slower and more mindfully, and to start moving more, as my feet allow. 

In my last session with Janys, she told me to work on finding other ways to soothe myself, rather than using food to do it.  I have been soothing myself with food this past week or so. Worrying about Max having cancer, stressing over the work situation...but I'm using it as an excuse.  I will find other ways to soothe my soul, other than eating. 

Til next time....Discipline!  Consistency!  New habits!

Let's Talk About Expectations

This was posted in one of my FB Bariatric groups...and I loved it so much that I want to preserve it here so I can come back to it when I need to.  

TODAY, LET’S TALK ABOUT EXPECTATIONS.

Mainly unrealistic expectations. We have spent years, decades even, being overweight and eventually morbidly obese. The swollen knees, painful joints, high blood pressure, high cholesterol have taken its toll.

We choose bariatric surgery to help us to make permanent changes to the way we live and the way we eat. This will finally be the answer we need for our multitudes of problems. Our date has arrived; now our surgery has happened. We’re sipping, we’re walking, we’re chugging down protein. Now, here comes the expectations part.

Suddenly, we believe that the years of weight we have layered on will magically disappear like a thief in the night. The day after surgery we are disappointed because we’re heavier than we were before we went in. We forget that we were pumped up full of fluids during the procedure.

Things snowball and you begin to question why you even had surgery.

Three weeks have gone by and you’ve only lost 17 pounds; you haven’t lost anything in three whole days! What’s wrong here? Why am I not losing? What’s wrong with my band? What’s wrong with my pouch? What’s wrong with my sleeve?

Answer: Absolutely nothing. What’s wrong is our thinking. Why is there the need to put unnecessary pressure on ourselves to drop a massive amount of weight in a short amount of time?

Why do we constantly compare our losses to other folks and think of ourselves as failures when our losses are slower? We never compared our weight gains with others and become depressed when we found out that Robin gained less than I did last month.

Who determines what is “fast” and what is “slow”?

When is the last time we lost pounds in the double digits in two weeks?

Why are we putting ourselves on a timeline?

What’s the hurry – where are we going?

What happens when we get there?

Here’s the thing… our doctors guaranteed that our surgery would result in weight loss as long as we followed the guidelines.

What no doctor can guarantee is the rate of speed it comes off, how your body looks afterwards, how your family and friends treat you afterwards, if your relationship survives, or whether you’ll have complications.

Remember, this is a journey, not a sprint. You won’t win a prize for losing weight the fastest, nor will you be burned at the stake for losing weight at a rate that you consider slow. Your journey (just like you) is unique.

Follow your plan, make great nutrition choices, walk, and enjoy the ride. If your best friend came to you and told you that he or she lost “only 12 pounds in two weeks”, would you congratulate them for doing such an excellent job with their weight loss or would you shake your finger at them and say “THAT’S TERRIBLY SLOW”?

Why can’t we give ourselves that same encouragement? Think about it!