Very Depressed

Hello Ladies, I do not want to be the bigesst whiner I want to be the biggest loser so I need to start busting my butt. I did not do the weigh in this past week because i had my one year appt. My year appt. was a bit late because we went to Ohio to be with family to celebrate Christmas this year it is was rescedule from Dec to Jan.. Anyway I went the Dr and he was quite upset with me and reasonably so. I have been about same weight for over 3 months, up 2 down 2 . I know it is my fault I know I am not doing right. but each day I say I am going to do better I don't I am in a rut. I know I am eating too many carbs but it seems once I started I can not give them up. I promised my Dr and especailly myself that I will be at my goal weight in July ny next appt. so I need to jump start myself. I am writing this not to say oh woe is me please feel sorry for me, No I am mostly writing it to get these feelings out and maybe get a more positive attutide and do right for myself. Also you all have the best ideas and I always come here for support. You all have done so well. I am going to look for some great recipes and meal idea that will be high protien. I am going to start busting my butt at the gym . Please share with me what exercise you all are doing and how nuch each day Thanks for listening Kelly here are my numbers that I did not want to post this week Weight Surgery 315, Weight at year appt. 237 so hopefully i will go down this week

Hi Kelly! Glad to see you posting! Good for you! As for your doctor being upset.. well he wants to see you be successful and I know YOU want to keep losing as you have posted here several times that you are having some struggles with postop stuff. Here are a few pointers.. 1- remember why you had this surgery.. to get healthy. You have come very far so far.. you can keep going but now that you are a year out.. it truly is up to you. The surgery is only a tool and you gotta work it now. I know you an do this Kelly! 2- get back to basics. Start detoxing from the carbs, they cause a vicious cycle. Get rid of all white carbs in your diet! They spike your blood sugar and keep you wanting to go back for more and more. Think brown carbs and high fiber. Trust me after a while the white stuff doesn't even sound appealing.. flavorless. 3- Start getting real with yourself. Take responsibility and be accountable. Log your intake on a site like fitday.com or sparkpeople.com. Every little morsel must be documented. See it on paper. 4- If you are grazing, get ahold of it. If 3 meals isn't working go to 5 or 6 meals and plan your day ahead of time. Yes it takes time, work and preparation and can be rather frustrating but let me tell you.. RNY has become a part time job for me. I know I have to make it that way in order to be successful. We did not jump on an operating table and have our innards rearranged permanently for nothing. 5- Exercise, you mentioned that.. good girl! You need to move. Remember in order to lose weight you must burn off more than you take in. Get an idea of what your BMR is (basal metabolic rate) try going to thinnerself.com. Plug in your stats (height, weight, activity level) and get a "basic" number to go by. It takes 3500 calories to lose or gain a pound above or below our daily caloric needs. Try incorporating some cardio and strength training. For every pound of muscle you gain your burn 50 more calories a day. Cardio is great for immediate fat burn and calories lost but it doesn't continue once the exercise session is completed where as with strength training we continue to to burn more cals at rest even. You asked what we all do.. well I run 4 times a week on average a couple miles 2-3 at a time and some ellipitical (not much) and strength training now 2-3 times a week as I can get to the gym using circuit machines. You can do strength training at home though.. get those food cans out or water bottles and go at it or purchase some 7 lbs dumbells. Also u can use your own body weight and do resistance exercises.. like leg raises on the floor, push ups, sit ups, etc. 6- Find hobbies to keep busy.. chew sugarless gum, drink warm tea.. anything between meals to stop munching. 7- get passionate, get upset with yourself (i know this sounds bad but it works).. put preop pics of yourself on your fridge, write down goals and post them somewhere, journal daily to self reflect to see how you "feel".. find out the WHY behind your behaviors and honestly.. if you need help seek that of a therapist. Many of us do that here on this board and it helps us. I am one of them. 8 -We are always going to be food addicts Kelly but we can only take each day a day at a time and hope for the best and try to be involved with those who are like us. Come to OH daily for your dose of inspiration, go to support groups and stay connected. That is what it is all about! I hope you don't think I was being too tough on you.. I want to see you succeed and you can and WILL do this! You already are a success just keep working towards your goals and I know you will get there.. PM me daily if you have too.. I am good motivator Hang in there sweetie. (((Hugs)))

Hello Melissa and thanks for always responding to my moans. Yes I will get back on track. I do have a therapist but really have not been totally honest with her. We have discussed my eating habits but I am so bad about admitting failure with her , i know that sounds totally stupid because she is there to help. I have an appointment with her this Tuesday as a matter of fact!!!!!!! I will come clean. You spoke of white carbs which I know are flour sugar but brown carbs where would I find a list of these good and bad carbs. Do you have a site? I STARTED RUNNING AT GYM VERY LITTLE MOSTLY WALKING. I can only run short distance then I walk and then I run again, I am really going to work harder at this. Think I was so excited about the fast losing that I thought it would always be that easy and it is not! I will go to both those sites you recommended thanks it is so good to know you are a suppot too a really good one. I did start a small support group here in my citym we are good together but i am not a good exanple of how to be so I really need to work harder I am a good support for them but have not paid attention to me, what a goof huh thanks so much Kelly

Hi Sweetie, Time to start being honest with that therapist so she can help you! It's ok, none of us are perfect.. we are HUMAN! Glad you are gonna come clean with her. Molly gave you a great explination of brown (complex) vs white (simple) carbs. Think "white aint right". Make sure it is a carb of color.. read your labels and pick out highest fiber counts you can. Typically if it doesn't have at least 3 grams of fiber.. I don't go there. Great job running at the gym, just take it little at a time and work yourself up, that is what I did. Start paying attention to yourself. I won't lie, I got "selfish" postop and made the year 2007 about *ME* because I needed to in order to be a successful postop. Make 2008 yours! Hugs! Keep in touch, you can do this!

Hey Melissa, I am taking all the good advise and starting my new plan. I started a support group here and really have been there for our members being the strong one but not realizing I needed help too. I turned to my group here the OH site for that and found it with you and Molly, thank you for being there. I am going to follow the 5 day pouch test Molly sent . I have been eating a lot of the slider foods and never realized that they do that. The article on carbs she sent was wonderful One of the members of my support group has joined a new gym here that has personal trainers that will set you up in a program to adhere to your body needs, she told me her trainer invited me to come try it out for 2 weeks free before I decide so I am going this Monday. Think I will get off my pity cart and join the band wagon, I am truley getting excited I love this site. It is really hard for me to get here during the week because I teach but I am a weekend warrior!!!!!! thanks so much kelly

I am so happy for you Kelly! You are really taking ownership of this and running with it! So PROUD of you!!!!! ((HUGS)) You will be in awe how GOOD you will feel when you have control of your health... its EMPOWERING! You will feel better both physically and mentally! Without a doubt! I agree the 5 day pouch test would help you or simply just start doing dense protein with nonstarchy veggies for meals and shakes in between and cut the rest out for a few days.. either way would work. I am so happy you are excited and energized about it all.. take that 2 weeks free for the trainer, thats a fabulous thing! Free stuff is awesome and u wanna make sure its something u will stick to so good idea!! Keep up the good work and hopefully next weekend we will hear how your brand new YOU week went! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kelly, I don't know if you are a Sparkpeople.com user or not but I copied and pasted one of their great articles on carbs for you. Also, have you thought about trying out the 5-day Pouch Test diet plan? (http://www.5daypouchtest.com/index.html) That might be a great way for you to kick start your efforts this year and help decarb yourself really well. I haven't done it myself but did do a full day of liquids a few weeks ago and can't believe how well even just one day helped my pouch and my head. Hope that you will find the motivation to get your program back on track again. Hugs! The Truth About Carbohydrates Not all Carbs are Created Equal -- By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian It's true. A carbohydrate-rich diet can inflate appetite and girth. Low-carb diets do promote short-term weight loss, but are accompanied by some severe dangers. So what should you do? The truth is, you can have your carbs and eat them too--you just have to know how to choose them. The Truth about Carbohydrates Carbohydrates are the body's ideal fuel for most functions. They supply the body with the energy needed for the muscles, brain and central nervous system. In fact, the human brain depends exclusively on carbohydrates for its energy. Carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables, beans, dairy products, foods made from grain products, and sweeteners such as sugar, honey, molasses, and corn syrup. The body converts digestible (non-fiber) carbohydrates into glucose, which our cells use as fuel. Some carbs (simple) break down quickly into glucose while others (complex) are slowly broken down and enter the bloodstream more gradually. During digestion, all carbohydrates are broken down into glucose before they can enter the bloodstream where insulin helps the glucose enter the body's cells. Some glucose is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles for future use, like fueling a workout. If there is extra glucose, the body will store it as fat. All carbohydrates are not created equal. There are basically three types of carbohydrates: Simple carbohydrates are composed of 1 or 2 sugar units that are broken down and digested quickly. Recent research has shown that certain simple carbohydrate foods can cause extreme surges in blood sugar levels, which also increases insulin release. This can elevate appetite and the risk of excess fat storage. Complex carbohydrates (also referred to as starch) are made up of many sugar units and are found in both natural (brown rice) and refined (white bread) form. They are structurally more complex and take longer to be broken down and digested. Complex carbohydrate foods have been shown to enter the blood stream gradually and trigger only a moderate rise in insulin levels, which stabilizes appetite and results in fewer carbohydrates that are stored as fat. Unrefined or 'whole grain' carbohydrates found in products like brown rice, whole wheat pasta and bran cereals are digested slowly. They contain vitamins, minerals and fiber which promote health. Fiber and nutrient-rich vegetables, fruits and beans which are carbohydrates also have many important functions for the body and are important for good health. Indigestible carbohydrates are also called fiber. The body is unable to breakdown fiber into small enough units for absorption. It is therefore not an energy source for the body but does promote health in many other ways. Simple carbs, complex carbs, and fiber are found in many foods. Some provide important nutrients that promote health while others simply provide calories that promote girth. Sugar, syrup, candy, honey, jams, jelly, molasses, and soft drinks contain simple carbohydrates and little if any nutrients. Fruits contain primarily simple carbohydrate but also valuable vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water. Vegetables contain varying amounts of simple and complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water. Legumes such as beans, peas, lentils and soybeans contain complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein. Milk products contain simple carbohydrates along with protein, calcium and other nutrients. Grain products contain complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein. The amounts vary depending on the type of grain used and the amount of processing. Selecting whole grain options whenever possible is recommended. What You Should Know About Low-Carbohydrate Diets Following an extremely low-carbohydrate diet is disastrous, dangerous, and above all--boring! Carbohydrates are NOT the enemy. Including the appropriate amounts and types of carbohydrate-rich foods in your diet is essential for long-term health and weight loss/maintenance. The Body's Immediate Reaction to Very Low Carbohydrate Diets When there is a severe deficit of carbohydrates, the body has several immediate reactions: With no glucose available for energy, the body starts using protein from food for energy. Therefore this protein is no longer available for more important functions, such as making new cells, tissues, enzymes, hormones, and antibodies and the regulation of fluid balance. When carbohydrates are lacking, the body cannot burn fat in the correct way. Normally carbs combine with fat fragments to be used as energy. When carbs are not available, there is an incomplete breakdown of fat that produces a by-product called ketones. These ketones accumulate in the blood and in the urine causing ketosis, which is an abnormal state. Ketosis does cause a decrease in appetite because it's one of the body's protection mechanisms. It's an advantage to someone in a famine (which the body thinks it's experiencing) to lack an appetite because the search for food would be a waste of time and additional energy. Due to the lack of energy and the accumulation of ketones, low-carb diets are often accompanied by nausea, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, bad breath, and dehydration. Because of dehydration and a lack of fiber, constipation can result. Exercise and fitness performance is reduced on a low-carb diet. Do not be surprised if your energy level is so low that you cannot make it through your normal workout routine. The Long-Term Effects of Low Carbohydrate Diets When you severely restrict carbohydrates, your consumption of protein and fat increases, which has several long-term effects: The risk of many cancers increases when fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, and beans are eliminated from the diet. Protein foods are also high in purines, which are broken down into uric acid. Elevated levels of uric acid in the blood may lead to needle-like uric acid crystals in joints, causing gout. Kidney stones are more likely to form on high protein, ketosis-producing diets. Over time, high protein diets can cause a loss of calcium and lead to osteoporosis. The risk of heart disease is greatly increased on a low-carb diet that is high in protein, cholesterol, fat, and saturated fat. A temporary reduction in cholesterol levels may be experienced, but this is common with any weight loss. The Million Dollar Question How do you include carbohydrates in you diet in a safe, effective, and controlled way? The "Please KISS Me" (Please Keep It So Simple for Me) plan for carbohydrate control is a wonderful tool that only contains 3 simple rules: RULE 1: Include the following in your diet: Fruits: 2-4 servings daily Vegetables: 3-5 servings daily Whole grain breads, muffins, bagels, rolls, pasta, noodles, crackers, cereal, and brown rice: 6-11 servings daily Legumes, beans and peas: 1-2 servings daily Low-fat and non-fat dairy products: 3 servings daily RULE 2: Limit the following to less than 2 servings daily: Fruit Juice Refined and processed white flour products (bread, muffins, bagels, rolls, pasta, noodles, crackers, cereal) White rice French fries Fried vegetables RULE 3: Eliminate the following from your diet or eat only on occasion: Sugary desserts, cookies, cakes, pies, candies Doughnuts and pastries Chips, cola and carbonated beverages Sugar, honey, syrup, jam, jelly, molasses That's it! A simple, effective carbohydrate-controlling plan that, when combined with your SparkDiet, allows you to reap the countless benefits of complex carbohydrates and fiber while enhancing your health and maintaining a healthy weight. The long term result will be a healthy you! Article created on: 5/31/2006

Molly, thanks so very much for the carb article I read it and I an saving it and printing it out to put on the Frig. It was a great article and really explained a lot. Also the five day pouch test sounds like a way to go. I need to detox from the bad carbs or slider foods that do go down very easily. i thank you and Melissa so very much for all the help I have never felt alone in this with you both there for guidance You are awesome. I will begin my new plan of action thanks so much Kelly