how did you train your brain?
I'm super good but it's on weekends I have a hard time with because I'm not in my routine.I'm started with BABY steps because I was having a hard time wrapping my mind about it. I cut soda first, and I did that for two weeks. Everytime my mind said "pepsi" I remmebered I couldn't have it. Then I went to something else, and by now I am at no chocolate, no sugar, no pepsi, only wholegrain whatever, fruit and vegetables for snacks, and this week it's no restaurant. I couldn't do it all at once, because it's as if my own brain wasn't listenning to me and needed to be trained.
I am actually catching myself now, it's weird. I stop at Tim Horton's every morning for my coffee (which I only drink black- always have) and usually, before I was watching myself, I would grab a muffin, donut, whatever. for two weeks I was like "NO more" so on the third week, I pull up in the drive thru and I saw the Muffin sign. I began thinking about buying one when suddenly my brain kicked in and said: NO. this is an urge. This is why you are fat, there is some part of you that you always give into. Stop that.
It has been hard, but so far 5 pounds are gone.GO ME
Hey patsy,
how's the don't drink and eat at the same time going?
That is the one I am dreading the most, my friend tells me to start practicing now. Did it ever happen that you ate something too spicy? does that bother you? I have admit I am a huge gulper in between bites. I need to begin that.
So tell me everyone, how have you been changing your habits?
I am actually catching myself now, it's weird. I stop at Tim Horton's every morning for my coffee (which I only drink black- always have) and usually, before I was watching myself, I would grab a muffin, donut, whatever. for two weeks I was like "NO more" so on the third week, I pull up in the drive thru and I saw the Muffin sign. I began thinking about buying one when suddenly my brain kicked in and said: NO. this is an urge. This is why you are fat, there is some part of you that you always give into. Stop that.
It has been hard, but so far 5 pounds are gone.GO ME
Hey patsy,
how's the don't drink and eat at the same time going?
That is the one I am dreading the most, my friend tells me to start practicing now. Did it ever happen that you ate something too spicy? does that bother you? I have admit I am a huge gulper in between bites. I need to begin that.
So tell me everyone, how have you been changing your habits?
that's exactly it. you need to train your brain. everyone tells you to start now prior to surgery and its for a good reason. there's too much to do all at once, once you have your surgery. So you are doing a good thing, by learning one thing one at a time. As for the water, i had to train myself not to eat with my meals. I never was a drinker with my meals, or at least i thought i wasn't. I was told by someone on the lapband forum that if you need to you can have a sip but no drinking. But only if necessary. I don't even bother to put a drink down on the table, because you will inevitably pick it up and drink it without thinking, out of force of habit. I felt totally prepared for surgery day. I really did all the prep work and trained my brain before the surgery. the only thing you can't prepare enough for is chewing chewing chewing. I still get stuck. the band is very tempermental. You never know when it's going to be tight, so before you swallow, you need to puree the food in your mouth. Literally. There is no worse feeling than a stuck or sliming episode. You do what you can to avoid it. trust me.
I'm not perfect don't get me wrong. I ate a chocolate today, but Iworked it into my WW program. I had a small piece of cake tonight at my brother in laws house, but again i worked it into the program.
I started WW 8 months before my operation so had lots of time to practice and I truly think it is what helped me adjust after surgery.
you are definitely on the right path, for sure. Keep up the great work.
Patsy
I'm not perfect don't get me wrong. I ate a chocolate today, but Iworked it into my WW program. I had a small piece of cake tonight at my brother in laws house, but again i worked it into the program.
I started WW 8 months before my operation so had lots of time to practice and I truly think it is what helped me adjust after surgery.
you are definitely on the right path, for sure. Keep up the great work.
Patsy
HW/SW/CW/GW
362/305/250.6/160 (54.4 since surgery)
1st Fill Dec22 4cc's * 2nd fill May 14 1cc = 5 ccs * 3rd (un)fill June 5 .5cc = 4.5 ccs *4th fill July 8 2cc=6.5cc, unfill of 1cc sept 09 = 5.5cc; Nov 8 fill of 1.5 =7ccs
I have not been focusing that much on the post-op rules because I have been there done that; a couple of times before. I mean I have had to change my diet drastically for medical reasons.
I don't usually drink with meals, unless the food is salty, spiced or greasy (all no-no's anyway). So that won't be a problem.
No pop- I like pop, but I can easily live without.
Drinking sufficien****er- I am working on this- I really don't like water. It's a habit I have forged before and will do again. It is a matter of taking the time to look after myself. I have been trying to do this.
Small bites- that is a challenge. I started by slowing down my eating. I now eat a lot slower. I need to work in the smaller bites. If I run out of time, I am sure fear will help me with that post-op.
Masticate to death- I work on this on and off. The real problem for me is mindful eating. I tend to eat in front of the TV or reading a book. If I have someone to talk to I will sit at the table. But half the time I eat alone and when DH is home, he does not talk when he is eating.
No restaurants- not in my plans. I travel for work so I have to learn to live with restaurants. Besides I will never get my DH to give up eating out.
No sugar- I am a diabetic. Also I know from the Atkins diet that sugar cravings disappear after a few days of low carbs.
No chocolate- sorry, not until a certain place freezes over. How much and how often is a different matter. As for cheesecake- I am hoping I have a sudden aversion to it. LOL
I don't usually drink with meals, unless the food is salty, spiced or greasy (all no-no's anyway). So that won't be a problem.
No pop- I like pop, but I can easily live without.
Drinking sufficien****er- I am working on this- I really don't like water. It's a habit I have forged before and will do again. It is a matter of taking the time to look after myself. I have been trying to do this.
Small bites- that is a challenge. I started by slowing down my eating. I now eat a lot slower. I need to work in the smaller bites. If I run out of time, I am sure fear will help me with that post-op.
Masticate to death- I work on this on and off. The real problem for me is mindful eating. I tend to eat in front of the TV or reading a book. If I have someone to talk to I will sit at the table. But half the time I eat alone and when DH is home, he does not talk when he is eating.
No restaurants- not in my plans. I travel for work so I have to learn to live with restaurants. Besides I will never get my DH to give up eating out.
No sugar- I am a diabetic. Also I know from the Atkins diet that sugar cravings disappear after a few days of low carbs.
No chocolate- sorry, not until a certain place freezes over. How much and how often is a different matter. As for cheesecake- I am hoping I have a sudden aversion to it. LOL
. 
For me, it's been preparing mentally like you. Talking to myself and constantly evaluating why I'm craving... am I bored, am I alone, am I really hungry??? Also, I started Slimfast for 2 meals per day. On weekends, I really find it hard. I'm focusing on WW like Patsy did and trying to stay on plan. This weekend I had a beer, chinese food and chocolate... all on plan however that's probably why I'm sick today!!!! It was fantastic but the feeling after was awful... oh yeah, and I drank my first soda in a month!!!! For me, that's huge. I love love love pop.
So I cut pop, chips and junk dramatically from my daily routine. I just like you, I need my tim's and love my morning coffee and sometimes I have a blueberry multigrain muffin. To me, it's better than the chocolate chip that I used to have and even if it's not the best option, I work it within my points.
I don't want to go crazy either with all of this... I still want to respect a bit my taste buds, suffer the after effects and have things in moderation. I follow the 90-10 rule. 90% of the time, I'm really good and 10%, I'm... you know!!!!
Did your friend talk to the nurse that is going to work with Dr. S? I'm wondering if she got some news?
So I cut pop, chips and junk dramatically from my daily routine. I just like you, I need my tim's and love my morning coffee and sometimes I have a blueberry multigrain muffin. To me, it's better than the chocolate chip that I used to have and even if it's not the best option, I work it within my points.
I don't want to go crazy either with all of this... I still want to respect a bit my taste buds, suffer the after effects and have things in moderation. I follow the 90-10 rule. 90% of the time, I'm really good and 10%, I'm... you know!!!!
Did your friend talk to the nurse that is going to work with Dr. S? I'm wondering if she got some news?
Rach
BMI
Start- 47.2
Current- 41.9
Goal- 25
BMI
Start- 47.2
Current- 41.9
Goal- 25
I did it one thing at a time too. Slow and steady wins the race. I started by getting rid of carbonated drinks. I had a serious Perrier habit and that was the hard thing to give up. I miss it still but I know drinking it would cause me pain and stretch my pouch and ruin all my hard work.
Then I started using small spoons and small plates and eating smaller portions and chewing chewing chewing. That was hard too because I was a fast eater, I wolfed everything down, so eating slowly and chewing enough was hard.
Then I gave up drinking with meals and waiting for an hour after meals. I don't take a drink with me to the table and in restaurants I either pu**** to the other side of the table or ask the waitress to take it away. If it is not there I don't drink it. I also started not eating after about 8 in the evening. That way I was not tempted to snack on things I should not be eating.
I gave up bread next. I love bread but I knew that a lot of people can't eat bread with the band so I decided to get it out of my routine early on.
Then I started practicing putting my fork or spoon down between each bite. That way you focus on chewing not on putting the utensil in your mouth again before you are done chewing and swallowing.
Each thing I did I focused on that one thing then I added another thing to focus on while still focusing on the last one. Gradually, slowly, thoughtfully. Things I learned were don't eat in front of the TV, don't talk with your mouth full and pay attention to each bite. And pace yourself, you are eating a much smaller portion than your husband, dinner companions etc and yet you try to pace yourself so that you finish when they do or even after they do. That means that you can chat more between swallows while others are eating you can talk a bit more. Try thinking one bite for me, 2 or 3 bites for them , then another bite for me. Sounds silly but works for me. I try to make sure it takes me 20 to 30 minutes to eat. Sometimes. depending on the meal. I have to get up and heat it a bit in the microwave but no probs and who cares. And in a restaurant there is nothing wrong with telling your waitress that your meal cooled down while you were chatting and would she mind heating it for a bit.
I have never had a problem with water, so getting my water in is getting better now that I am further away from surgery. At first right after surgery I struggled but I am doing great now.
It all boils down to being thoughtful about what you are doing and trying to be consistant. It is not going to become a habit overnight it might even take months of thoughtful practice for some things to get it all down pat but you can do it. You are doing really well. Keep up the good work.
Ann
Then I started using small spoons and small plates and eating smaller portions and chewing chewing chewing. That was hard too because I was a fast eater, I wolfed everything down, so eating slowly and chewing enough was hard.
Then I gave up drinking with meals and waiting for an hour after meals. I don't take a drink with me to the table and in restaurants I either pu**** to the other side of the table or ask the waitress to take it away. If it is not there I don't drink it. I also started not eating after about 8 in the evening. That way I was not tempted to snack on things I should not be eating.
I gave up bread next. I love bread but I knew that a lot of people can't eat bread with the band so I decided to get it out of my routine early on.
Then I started practicing putting my fork or spoon down between each bite. That way you focus on chewing not on putting the utensil in your mouth again before you are done chewing and swallowing.
Each thing I did I focused on that one thing then I added another thing to focus on while still focusing on the last one. Gradually, slowly, thoughtfully. Things I learned were don't eat in front of the TV, don't talk with your mouth full and pay attention to each bite. And pace yourself, you are eating a much smaller portion than your husband, dinner companions etc and yet you try to pace yourself so that you finish when they do or even after they do. That means that you can chat more between swallows while others are eating you can talk a bit more. Try thinking one bite for me, 2 or 3 bites for them , then another bite for me. Sounds silly but works for me. I try to make sure it takes me 20 to 30 minutes to eat. Sometimes. depending on the meal. I have to get up and heat it a bit in the microwave but no probs and who cares. And in a restaurant there is nothing wrong with telling your waitress that your meal cooled down while you were chatting and would she mind heating it for a bit.
I have never had a problem with water, so getting my water in is getting better now that I am further away from surgery. At first right after surgery I struggled but I am doing great now.
It all boils down to being thoughtful about what you are doing and trying to be consistant. It is not going to become a habit overnight it might even take months of thoughtful practice for some things to get it all down pat but you can do it. You are doing really well. Keep up the good work.
Ann
Most Active
Recent Topics
