Dr. Loggins nutrition ?

Okay---so I went to the nutrition class yesterday.  Let me just say...OVERWHELMING!  I was a little bit freaking inside---it just seems so difficult to even know what to get to eat after etc.  I am sure it is just info overload. So I am at the point where I am trying to lose my 10% and keeping a food journal.  Can I lose the weight however I want (by eating fruits/veggies/meats etc)---or do I have to start following the guidelines?  For instance---I have a freezer full of south beach meals etc.  Of course they are not going to meet the sodim guidelines of less than 300 mg for the most part.  And some sugars are higher than 5.  So I am wondering if I can still use them now to lose my weight---or if those are just guidelines for after surgery so as to avoid dumping. I know if I jus****ch my calories now (and make sure I include protein) I can lose weight.  But this includes some healthy choice cookies sometimes :) I just started my log this morning and did the servings exactly how they are on the label (what Corrine explained yesterday) and I am seriously starving.  2 slices of turkey a 1/2 a cup of peas and 1/4 cup of cottage cheese is just not doing it for me tright now. I am hoping I can just do what it takes to lose the weight before surgery (without abiding by those strict guidelines for fat, sugar and sodium---and using those guidelines after.  I just don't want to get discouraged already since I am already giving up caffeine, carbonated drinks etc and my stomach is still big now so I don't want to be hungry all the time.  I hope this makes sense.

You're right.. I remember going to that, and it was an information overload! Corrine has some really good advise and guidelines, however so many of us were eating way beyond our portion that there is no way that you can cut yourself down to those sizes at once. It will be a huge shock for your body.. I guess I can only speak from my experience, and I just started to pay closer attention to what I was putting into my mouth. If you just make improvements everyday and Corrine can see that you are doing the right thing- she'll be happy. I mean, if right now you need to eat an entire cup of cottage cheese, and then over the next few weeks you start to cut it down to 3/4ths and then to a 1/2 that's great work! And another tidbit of advise.. If you are REALLY hungry.. Eat 1 serving of something even if it is way smaller than what you are used to, wait a good 10-15 mins and eat another if you need to.. And keep doing that.. I found that Corrine was happy to see that initially I ate just a serving of something and then went back even just 10 minutes later and had another serving to prove that I WAS really still hungry, and not eating that much out of habbit...  I hope that this helps!!! Tarka

I went and got a set of measuring cups just for me, a glass that measures ounces and Im waiting on a food scale I bought off line.

Thanks guys!  I am glad I do not have to do the strict guidlines right now---without a smaller stomach I would feel starving all the time. I will need to get something to measure my fluid.  Just doing it in the plain cup isn't working so well.  Thanks for the tips.  I want to be as successful as possible. Did you guys lose all your pre-surgery weight??  How long did it take?   Did you do anything special besides just eat healthier?

I lost about 50% of the excess weight that I needed to lose.. I have a scale here at my house, that I never used.. So don't go out and buy one, you could have mine if you wanted.. I mean we live in the same city, I am sure we can make it a point to run into eachother.. And I never really bought anything special to measure my fluids in either. I just always used a poland spring bottle.. Hmm But whatever works for me doesn't mean it's going to work for anyone else.. So.. Let me know if you want the scale. Tarka

Thanks for the offer----I have a bunch of scales though.  That's the problem with the yoyo dieting.  I always swear this time the weight won't come back on.  The last scale I got was all fancy and complicated.  It measured your body fat and everything.  Thanks though--- So how is the new patient orientation?  I am hoping to meet others that are just starting the journey as well.  The nutrition class was so busy no one really interacted.

When I went to the new patient orientation there really wasnt much interaction.It was the same at the nut. class.The pre op support group had the most interaction i thought.

Go2grl, Sorry about the miscommunication, I meant a food scale.

No problem!  I have a few of those too----thanks though!

Don't be discouraged! I know that it's rough - and Corinne knows that too! She'll be the first to tell you that it's difficult to eat in the correct healthy portions after a lifetime of eating more than that! Tarka gave you awesome advice about eating one portion of something and then eating another portion in a little bit if you're still hungry. That worked for me too. The other thing that I would do is trick my stomach by eating one portion of protein AND one portion of a side dish AND one portion of a veggie etc. It's more food, but with the correct portion size. I don't know why, but my tummy thought that that was better somehow. I tricked my brain by using a smaller plate/bowl. My brain was dumb enough to think that I had a heaping portion of something when it wasn't! As far as the frozen entrees go, I definetely ate them pre-op. They DO have WAY too much salt in them, but I'd limit myself to one a day and call it good. The only restrictions that I really worried about was to make sure that things had 5 or less grams of fat and sugar. If you have some in your freezer that has more, and you can eat them while staying in your calorie range for the day (that Corinne will give you in your first one on one appt with her) then go for it! I know that it's hard to give up so much at once .... it totally sucks. No denying that. I'm just really glad that I didn't wait until now to try to worry about the fat and sugar. There are NEW things to worry about post-op. BUT, that's not to say that you can't worry about it later if that's what works for you! I DO think that cutting out all that fat and sugar was KEY to my losing 19 pounds pre-op. It probably won't make you feel any better ... but just wait until you do the 48 hour liquid diet before surgery! Now THAT is brutal .... and don't even get me started on the bowel prep! I know it's not pretty and it's not easy .... but I can tell you that already at only 6 weeks post-op I would do this 100 times over again. I still crave my diet pepsi, caffine and yummy fried foods - but then I remember that I've gone from a 24-26 to a comfortable 22 in 6 weeks and I know it's worth it!