Curious....
No - I'm not strict about it. I'm sure it might help though. I never have really guzzled liquids when I'm eating but I do like to sip. I usually don't drink much when eating kind of naturally anyway, but especially near the end of the meal I will tend to drink a little.
I was really worried that I would stretch my pouch out horribly by this time but I am finding that I still have restriction. I have days where I can eat a whole McD's double cheeseburger (they are small, dollar value menu items), and then there are days like today where I can only eat half. So I figure if I can only eat half and I've had a sip or two of soda and it doesn't really matter. In fact, that is what I did. I had 1 sip of soda so far, but I don't time out my waiting when I drink, etc.
Truth be told, I don't drink nearly enough liquids anyway....
Yeah, that's been really hard for me. I'm like you, I only drink a little bit with meals, but now I'm wondering if maybe my pouch is emptying out faster causing me to need to eat more. I usually have 5 small meals a day.
Like, today my breakfast was a fruit and yogurt smoothie that I made at home with no added sugar, morning snack was fruit salad and a hard boiled egg. Lunch is a very lowfat, lowcal salad with ff dressing, afternoon snack will be soynuts and dinner will probably be salmon and veggies....It seems like a lot of food to me though, compared to what I thought I would "top out" at.
But I'm exactly like you, somedays I can eat a whole sandwich, somedays I can't. Somedays I can eat a little more....it depends. Do you know roughly how many ounces you eat at each meal? It might be time for me to call my nutritionist and see what she thinks too....
I'm sure a nutritionist would want to shoot me and some of the wls food nazi's would have a field day with me. I'm not perfect nor do I strive to be. Why? Because all those years of dieting I tried that and I failed miserably. Put me into black and white thinking, so when I had this surgery I thought hard and long about how to eliminate that battle. For me it is to eat as a "normal" person as much as possible, keeping in mind my portion sizes mostly, but also making sure I don't overdo things that are higher in calories.
Sorry for getting off on a tangent, but it just has been on my mind lately. I see people struggle with trying to be perfect and hell, if I could have done that in the first place I would not have needed the surgery. So it's all about making it work for me in the long run....regardless of what the experts say. 
Anyway, portion sizes...well, I started off with a 4 oz pouch right out of the starting gate, so I've been mindful of portion sizes and make sure I never feel stuffed. I don't throw up ever. Well, once since surgery and that was when I was pretty early out and my pouch was numb and I couldn't feel when I was full. Keeping all that in mind, I will guestimate that my pouch is probably about 8-10 ounces right now. I should do the cottage cheese test to find out because many foods that are soft or have sauce displace that bulk. If I can eat 1/2 to 3/4 of a cheapo McD's double cheeseburger, I would look at that and say sizewise I can eat about 6-8 ounces on a "small" day. My pouch will shrink back if I don't eat much one day.
I'm quite the opposite of you about meals though. Many days I will eat just once. Sometimes twice. I only find myself eating more meals on my weekends when I am at home and have access to food and am not on the run. I can eat a WHOLE lot more the week before my period. It's as if my pouch relaxes and I become ravenous...able to consume more than I ever want to. I find that for a couple weeks of the month I am even somewhat disinterested in food and only eat when I feel really hungry. Leading up to my period I get that hunger going and I want to eat all the time. Until about 6 months ago or so I wasn't putting 2 and 2 together and it worried me when I would go through that....thinking I was falling into some really horrible negative pattern. Having PCOS I never had regular cycles so I never recognized PMS if I ever had it. So once I figured it out, now I recognize it about a day into my eating frenzy and then try to fill up with veggies and salads before I go for the bad stuff.
I know many people would say it's a bad pattern to get into not eating much sometimes and letting myself go through feeding frenzies near my period, but like I said, I had to find something that works for me. If I stress out about this, I will put emotion into my eating and that is specifically what I need to TAKE OUT of food. So I gain 5 lbs before my period and I lose 5 and sometimes 6 or 7 lbs after. I expect that fluctuation every month, so I don't sweat it.
I definitely can gain weight and did get back up to 197 around the holidays for about a 2 week stretch. That was poor eating habits and giving into too many holiday treats. I was alarmed and got back in line, but for me getting on the scale every day is the only way I can truly keep myself in check. I'd rather be strict about that than what I put into my mouth.
What this does for me is it takes that emotion out of it for me. I don't look to any food as if I cannot ever have it again. I have junk food in the house. But when it's there and I know I can have it, I find most of the time I don't want to eat it. Take today for instance. I went shopping and saw a 99c bag of Doritos that looked good to me. I bought them and even brought them up front with me. They are still unopened in my car, though. It may be a week before I break into them, or it may be tonight at work. The point is that when I deny myself something like that, I will crave it and fixate on it and then eat it and feel guilty....then maybe eat some more because, well, hell - I just blew my day anyway. Old dieting thinking. Blew my diet, so I may as well blow it the rest of the day.
So I totally shun that stance for myself. For some it works wonderfully but for me it creates a pattern of emotion and deprivation that I need to avoid. And so far, although I've still got 30 more I want to lose, I am still seeing a loss once every couple of months instead of gaining. If I can use this strategy to maintain, then that is the answer for me. If I start to see it fail, I will feel no remorse for changing my mind and doing something else. The whole point is that I will do what I have to do to keep this in check....regardless of what nutrition experts, doctors or food nazi's say. Everyone has their own personal triggers. For me that is absolute thinking...or black and white thinking.
....so pass the chips. I want to look at them.
Anyway, portion sizes...well, I started off with a 4 oz pouch right out of the starting gate, so I've been mindful of portion sizes and make sure I never feel stuffed. I don't throw up ever. Well, once since surgery and that was when I was pretty early out and my pouch was numb and I couldn't feel when I was full. Keeping all that in mind, I will guestimate that my pouch is probably about 8-10 ounces right now. I should do the cottage cheese test to find out because many foods that are soft or have sauce displace that bulk. If I can eat 1/2 to 3/4 of a cheapo McD's double cheeseburger, I would look at that and say sizewise I can eat about 6-8 ounces on a "small" day. My pouch will shrink back if I don't eat much one day.
I'm quite the opposite of you about meals though. Many days I will eat just once. Sometimes twice. I only find myself eating more meals on my weekends when I am at home and have access to food and am not on the run. I can eat a WHOLE lot more the week before my period. It's as if my pouch relaxes and I become ravenous...able to consume more than I ever want to. I find that for a couple weeks of the month I am even somewhat disinterested in food and only eat when I feel really hungry. Leading up to my period I get that hunger going and I want to eat all the time. Until about 6 months ago or so I wasn't putting 2 and 2 together and it worried me when I would go through that....thinking I was falling into some really horrible negative pattern. Having PCOS I never had regular cycles so I never recognized PMS if I ever had it. So once I figured it out, now I recognize it about a day into my eating frenzy and then try to fill up with veggies and salads before I go for the bad stuff.
I know many people would say it's a bad pattern to get into not eating much sometimes and letting myself go through feeding frenzies near my period, but like I said, I had to find something that works for me. If I stress out about this, I will put emotion into my eating and that is specifically what I need to TAKE OUT of food. So I gain 5 lbs before my period and I lose 5 and sometimes 6 or 7 lbs after. I expect that fluctuation every month, so I don't sweat it.
I definitely can gain weight and did get back up to 197 around the holidays for about a 2 week stretch. That was poor eating habits and giving into too many holiday treats. I was alarmed and got back in line, but for me getting on the scale every day is the only way I can truly keep myself in check. I'd rather be strict about that than what I put into my mouth.
What this does for me is it takes that emotion out of it for me. I don't look to any food as if I cannot ever have it again. I have junk food in the house. But when it's there and I know I can have it, I find most of the time I don't want to eat it. Take today for instance. I went shopping and saw a 99c bag of Doritos that looked good to me. I bought them and even brought them up front with me. They are still unopened in my car, though. It may be a week before I break into them, or it may be tonight at work. The point is that when I deny myself something like that, I will crave it and fixate on it and then eat it and feel guilty....then maybe eat some more because, well, hell - I just blew my day anyway. Old dieting thinking. Blew my diet, so I may as well blow it the rest of the day.
So I totally shun that stance for myself. For some it works wonderfully but for me it creates a pattern of emotion and deprivation that I need to avoid. And so far, although I've still got 30 more I want to lose, I am still seeing a loss once every couple of months instead of gaining. If I can use this strategy to maintain, then that is the answer for me. If I start to see it fail, I will feel no remorse for changing my mind and doing something else. The whole point is that I will do what I have to do to keep this in check....regardless of what nutrition experts, doctors or food nazi's say. Everyone has their own personal triggers. For me that is absolute thinking...or black and white thinking.
....so pass the chips. I want to look at them. You should never ever apologize! You actually have a healthy approach to food in the way that you've found something you can do forever. That's the key, in my mind. If it works and you can do it forever, it's the same as "if it's not broke, don't fix it".
Yeah, nutritionists might bludgeon you to death with celery and summer sausage, but who cares! You're not gaining weight, you're healthy....the rest is up to you. And you're right about depriving yourself too...
For the person on the Atkins diet, who's happy with it....they're doing it right. I think all of our bodies are so different. One thing this surgery helped me find, through trial and error, is the thing that works for me. Amazingly enough, I've found my diet!!! I never thought that was possible, but it happened.
You have to be happy for life. I know this includes regular exercise and a diet I can live with. For the record, I've never ever ever, in my life, lost weight in the winter. I did well this year and didn't gain with the holidays, but I can't lose weight. It's summer or nothin, baby....so don't ever sweat that.
Oh, and a quick btw, I did lose 2 lbs....and on the second day of my period, which is amazing! I'm crediting my protein increase, but *****ally knows.
I love talking to you dinkykins. I think I forgot to mention, but my bf and I are moving to OR in the Spring of 08. Prolly to the portland area, but we'll be much closer. We should aim for the 30 lb deficit by then and have a girls only beach vacation. I can't wait! 
Well I have to say I've appreciated your questions here because they get me to thinking. Between you, Connie and Reenie my mind is in overdrive. 
Fact of the matter is that this group is one I've grown very close to, even though we're not (read: *I'm* not) as active as in days past. I definitely would be up for a meet, and in fact a few of us have kicked around that idea many times in the past. The longer we get out from surgery it seems the more I think about a get together. I'm lousy at making plans though...that is my biggest problem. We had quite a large group of folks who wanted to plan a 1 year cruise or something, but that went by the wayside. I'm thinking something less adventurous and more relaxed so conversation is the main event...not sightseeing. Of course, shopping....now that kills two birds with one stone in my book. 
As for you moving to Oregon...why so long? Those are some long term plans, that's for sure....almost 2 years out! Yikes! If/when you get to that point, make sure to check out Southern Oregon...it's a happenin' place. And heck, if you just can't stand that interior design thing, I know a place that always has a vacancy for dispatch...heheh. Why is it we are always in such short supply?
The beach? Oh yeah, sistah....I'm so there. Used to live on the coast and just adore it. If they paid half a damn, I'd be living there now! So definitely look me up if you get out this way. We'll "do lunch!" 
...and dinner...and, uh, coffee - on the beach!!!
Dina
Fact of the matter is that this group is one I've grown very close to, even though we're not (read: *I'm* not) as active as in days past. I definitely would be up for a meet, and in fact a few of us have kicked around that idea many times in the past. The longer we get out from surgery it seems the more I think about a get together. I'm lousy at making plans though...that is my biggest problem. We had quite a large group of folks who wanted to plan a 1 year cruise or something, but that went by the wayside. I'm thinking something less adventurous and more relaxed so conversation is the main event...not sightseeing. Of course, shopping....now that kills two birds with one stone in my book.
As for you moving to Oregon...why so long? Those are some long term plans, that's for sure....almost 2 years out! Yikes! If/when you get to that point, make sure to check out Southern Oregon...it's a happenin' place. And heck, if you just can't stand that interior design thing, I know a place that always has a vacancy for dispatch...heheh. Why is it we are always in such short supply?
The beach? Oh yeah, sistah....I'm so there. Used to live on the coast and just adore it. If they paid half a damn, I'd be living there now! So definitely look me up if you get out this way. We'll "do lunch!" ...and dinner...and, uh, coffee - on the beach!!!
Dina I'm trying to finish school first. I should be graduated by then and then we're off to Oregon, without delay. We're already saving up for the move along with other special plans I used to live in Seattle, so I know the NW and I love it. I want Aaron to visit before we move though so he can see what areas he likes best. I have a good friend who lives in Medford now.
It's just so nice to have friends who actually understand!!! I can't tell you how many GOOD friends I've had for years who still don't get that I can't just order a drink at starbucks without questioning the sugar content! "Hello, we've been to starbucks together 80 times in the last year. You still don't get the no sugar thing?"
As for the deficit in dispatch. It's a lot of things, you know...lol Surprisingly enough, the agency I left has been fully staffed for almost six months! Now that's an accomplishment!!! All the cops are leaving though. And I do mean ALL. Seems like that place is falling apart. If I found a better superviser, I'd probably do it again in a heartbeat. (Mine was a raving lunatic) How long have you been a dispatcher now?
And I know what you mean about thinking....I've been obsessed for the last few weeks. It's a good thing though, I'm finally back on track and it feels good.
I used to live in Seattle, so I know the NW and I love it. I want Aaron to visit before we move though so he can see what areas he likes best. I have a good friend who lives in Medford now.
It's just so nice to have friends who actually understand!!! I can't tell you how many GOOD friends I've had for years who still don't get that I can't just order a drink at starbucks without questioning the sugar content! "Hello, we've been to starbucks together 80 times in the last year. You still don't get the no sugar thing?"
As for the deficit in dispatch. It's a lot of things, you know...lol Surprisingly enough, the agency I left has been fully staffed for almost six months! Now that's an accomplishment!!! All the cops are leaving though. And I do mean ALL. Seems like that place is falling apart. If I found a better superviser, I'd probably do it again in a heartbeat. (Mine was a raving lunatic) How long have you been a dispatcher now?
And I know what you mean about thinking....I've been obsessed for the last few weeks. It's a good thing though, I'm finally back on track and it feels good. I know what you mean about the bosses from hell. I've had my share. One lieutenant seriously reminded me of Sadaam Hussein in so many ways. If he lived in a place where he could be a dictator, he would have been. He was a torturous a-hole but thankfully he got his in the end. Demoted from Lt. to trooper in one fell swoop! Just too bad he wasn't flat out fired. He did retire shortly thereafter though.
As for me, I've been at my current job about 14.5 years and was at a small PD prior for a couple of years. I guess this is my career at this point, huh? I have lots of other interests, and I have had my moments where I wanted to pack it all in, but I know I would miss it terribly and be right back at it. The seniority keeps me locked in during those times. Why quit only to start over somewhere else at the bottom of the totem pole? But right now I am in a "love" phase with my job so I'm pretty content there. There will always be issues that annoy, but that is in any job anyway.
The only thing I need now is to learn how to sleep. I've become quite an insomniac in the last few years, and all the overtime doesn't help. Oh well....I can always catch up on sleep when I'm dead!
Dina
Just too bad he wasn't flat out fired. He did retire shortly thereafter though.
As for me, I've been at my current job about 14.5 years and was at a small PD prior for a couple of years. I guess this is my career at this point, huh? I have lots of other interests, and I have had my moments where I wanted to pack it all in, but I know I would miss it terribly and be right back at it. The seniority keeps me locked in during those times. Why quit only to start over somewhere else at the bottom of the totem pole? But right now I am in a "love" phase with my job so I'm pretty content there. There will always be issues that annoy, but that is in any job anyway.
The only thing I need now is to learn how to sleep. I've become quite an insomniac in the last few years, and all the overtime doesn't help. Oh well....I can always catch up on sleep when I'm dead!
Dina Yep, I'd definitely say you have a career! Sometimes I miss it so much! Our department had/has a lot of problems to overcome so they're losing a lot of good people. I just couldn't stick around any longer. It was becoming unbearable to see good people, great dispatchers and great cops getting trampled on while many unworthy employees were advancing rank because of....well.....there's a lot of speculation lol.
Are you working graves? I needed so much less sleep on graves.....
Oh yes - the politics of police work. Office politics suck, and law enforcement politics can suck worse! The thing that I found is that things go in cycles and I can't believe I stuck it out on the worst cycle, but now I am glad that I did.
And yes, I DEFINITELY work graveyard....by choice. I am #2 in seniority out of 20+ dispatchers and I think I amaze everyone by my choice to work nights. But I sleep much better during the daytime, and I love the kind of work that comes with nights. REAL police work, and not the admin stuff that comes along on dayshift. When I worked dayshift it was rare to process a drunk or have a pursuit. I hated the feeling of getting out of sync with it. I like to hone my skills so I am one of the fastest drunk processors, impound enterers, warrant confirmers around. I totally get into the "zone" and that is my favorite place. But I also like the quiet time as well. Feast or famine....that is what I love. Time to yak about stupid stuff on some nights, while you get your butt laid flat with work the next night.
Come to think of it, if I were to describe night shift dispatching at my job, it would be very much akin to a bipolar!
Dina
The thing that I found is that things go in cycles and I can't believe I stuck it out on the worst cycle, but now I am glad that I did.
And yes, I DEFINITELY work graveyard....by choice. I am #2 in seniority out of 20+ dispatchers and I think I amaze everyone by my choice to work nights. But I sleep much better during the daytime, and I love the kind of work that comes with nights. REAL police work, and not the admin stuff that comes along on dayshift. When I worked dayshift it was rare to process a drunk or have a pursuit. I hated the feeling of getting out of sync with it. I like to hone my skills so I am one of the fastest drunk processors, impound enterers, warrant confirmers around. I totally get into the "zone" and that is my favorite place. But I also like the quiet time as well. Feast or famine....that is what I love. Time to yak about stupid stuff on some nights, while you get your butt laid flat with work the next night.
Come to think of it, if I were to describe night shift dispatching at my job, it would be very much akin to a bipolar!
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