The Mystery Of Dieting....

I am eating less......but more of the good....none of the bad.....exercising more.....weighing the same amount.

I don't think it is an unrealistic goal to try and have the last 9.5 lbs off before my next appointment later this month. I have been working hard at it. I seriously do not think that losing 10 lbs in a month is unrealistic....especially if I am drinking the whey shakes. I will just have to keep at it. Maybe it is my salt intake. I have been avoiding MANY foods with salts....I will just have to cut back on butter/dressings/sauce/ etc. I am not discouraged I am just frustrated..... ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! wow...that felt good! Maybe I can borrow someone's shovel so I can dig holes in my yard.....just to relieve my anger.....

Hi Tim!

I have been there, done that and heard this from so, so, so many other pre/postop WLS’ers that I KNOW it is all too common. What your experiencing may just be a (frustrating) plateau *shovel exercise idea for anger may not be a bad one! especially with 10 inches of snow on the way! LOL*. They happen, NO MATTER WHAT WE DO to try and influence our wt and loss our body is the ULTIMATE MASTER in control of what happens.  If you can grasp that along the way I believe it will allow you some comfort and less stress. With that said I KNOW it is easier said than done. Old negative tapes of diets past ring close, "OH I will fail this too", "I will be the only one who can not lose preop wt or who WLS doesn't work for" etc. I encourage people to reflect on WHY you had are going to haveWLS the reasons, sure wt loss is one or a bonus but are there other things you wanted? Health, happiness etc. Reframing this as NOT A RACE but a journey, a process, an adventure filled with twists and turns it may help ease the worry or fear or frustration we all want it yesteday (the surgery but it happens when it should not when we want it sometimes I kknow mine was rescheduled 3x! GRRR)....I propose it is MUCH, MUCH more important to focus on the LIFESTYLE you are forming (wow good for you doing all of this!) because that is what will allow you to MAINTAIN the loss you achieve for a long time.  Focus on the healthy choices, portion sizes, energy, exercise, etc that you’re working on! These tools are the successes, the wt loss is a BONUS (IMHO).....THAT IS THE TRUE GOAL I think! (Getting that darn HUNKAMETAL aka the scale out of the house may help or  weigh less often focus on other goals (*I know preop wt loss is a goal someone else sets but think perhaps of all the other bonuses on the way to that!)...I think we have been scale obsessed (many of us) for so many yrs why let it control us now? IF this journey is truly about health and developing healthy habits and a lifestyle..the hunkametal is ONE SMALL (and many times inaccurate) gauge of what is up w/ us..let success be how u feel, how you act, what your doing with your life!!!) so take photos monthly, take measurements monthly etc other gauges ok!

 

 

 

 

Wt loss is so individual.... (*I write about it so often on the yahoo groups I belong to that I saved this)....

WT LOSS DIFFERENCES

There are so many factors to consider, heights, starting weights, men vs. women, individual metabolisms, age, and most importantly if you have any other medical conditions or are on medications!!!

 

Do not give the scale all that power (can not get frustaated or angry if you do not allow scale to effect you!)! Listen to your body, how you feel, your energy level, how your breathe, how your clothes fit...Measure yourself, many times we lose inches and not pounds! Exercise also adds muscle and this weighs more than fat, so initially you may see no loss or a small gain, muscle in the long run will help you burn more energy and be healthier...So hang in and try not to obsess/worry! The loss will come; it is just different for everyone! :-)

  You are a winner right now yu are succeeding, set aside the goal of a certain amount of pounds because if it happens great if not all you can do is go from there! Jamie

 

Tim, I hear you... I am v ery luck to have lost weight as fast as I did to reach goal weight...However I have been at the same weight for at least three weeks now.  I think since I have found out my surgery date I have kind of taken a breath.  I felt like I needed to!  All i ahve thought about for three months was weight lss.  It aslmost become all you think about, what is in that, how much calories OMG it is very frustrating.  I know that I am eating things now just beacuse I know it will ve awhile before I do again...IF EVER LOL.  I want you to know you are working hard ia m sure you are at a Platue.   Keep up the good work and I will see you at next group.  Brdgit

Hi Bridgit, here is my 2 cents on last supper syndrome I will send a pDF file to you as well in email so look for that! Jamie

WT LOSS BEFORE SURGERY/MOTIVATION/AVOIDING THE LAST SUPPER SYNDROME In our program we are required to loose 10% of our body wt before surgery.... Loosing weight pre-op is required by many surgeons & for many reasons... and I am so happy I did!   1.. to show motivation,   2.. ability to adhere to a plan (as we will need to for life!), if you can't be mindful and able to follow restrictions pre-op how will you do it post-op?   3.. to increase your health even a modest 5-10% wt. loss is very helpful, the National Institute of health has even researched this...(hence why weigh****chers is so focused on the 10% wt loss)   4.. decreases surgical complications (by exercise and decrease wt your heart and lungs are in better shape for surgery, anesthesia and healing!)...   5.. Also psychologically it is tough going from a super-sized big Mac meal to clear liquids for 2 weeks post-op!   6.. ***MAIN ONE FOR PROTEIN SPARING or MEDIFAST DIETING***It helps shrink the liver and this eases their surgical procedure and decreases chance of nicking it....   7.. exercising before helps you continue after!

 

  8..The more you lose pre-op the less you will have to lose post-op and the closer to an ideal body-wt you will attain!

 

I lost the weight by doing the food pyramid. That’s it, I was eating so bad (fast food daily, large portions, consuming every high-fat/sugar thing imaginable and NOT exercising that just cutting down and walking 2 miles a day helped! For ME, it was "no one" was going to stop me from having this operation, it was my decision and all that was asked of me was to loose 30 lbs, I figured this is a small price for such a wonderful gift I would be given and the opportunity to have a healthier happier longer life....! I was so motivated/psyched; I dropped 30 pounds in 30 days and went on to drop 15 more before surgery! (Although this took me 2 months, as it got harder and I had a few last meals, we all do but you can't let this ruin your opportunity!) I believe it is what allowed me to get to a normal BMI as well! And it is not unheard of for surgeons to postpone or cancel surgeries if one gains weight!!! Exercise was another key; I faithfully walked 2 miles everyday..it helped that my mom went with me a lot! (a buddy is so helpful!) I followed the food pyramid given to me by clinical nutritionist Dr. Boham...I also wrote everything down (Many find www.fitday.com helpful for this) that went in my MOUTH!!! Or you can get food pyramid/bullseye version at: http://www.xenical.com/hcp/1400_Am_Beye.pdf I also had to remind myself how BAD I wanted this! Everyday it was/had to be more important to me to change my bad habits and lose weight to have this surgery than to continue to slowly kill myself with food/keep myself from the only hope I had!. I also told everyone about my plans and they helped support me, my friends/family and coworkers! I really can't give you any more guidance than this, it really had to come from within, it was a mindset with me, and I wanted this BAD real bad and I knew it was my last resort/chance! I felt invigorated and motivated by the end results...the long-term had to outweigh the short-term gratification of eating bad choices or overeating! It was a learning opportunity for me to change my habits and practice chewing well, not drinking with meals and eating smaller portions, giving up sugar/caffeine/carbonation/alcohol (if any of those are your issues, carbonation/caffeine/alcohol weren’t issues for me)!

 

 

 

So a few weeks/months of healthy habits to lose pre-op wt is not a lot if you frame it right! IT IS NOT FOREVER and it is about starting this journey!

 

I was thinking today at the weight I once was. Then I got to thinking about how hard it would be for me to get around with that weight NOW. HOW in the world did I do it last year? To quote the intelligent and historic scooby doo "rye ront row!" I am thankful for the weight I lost...and like Jamie said, I need to forget about the NUMBER and stay focused on the LIFESTYLE. My lifestyle has changed DRAMATICALLY in the past year and because of that, I am a SUCCESS! I played basketball last night and although I proved the old adage that "white men can't jump" I had so much fun doing it. Even after working out yesterday afternoon for 2 hours in the pool and elsewhere, I still had enough energy to play ball. Imagine me doing that with that extra weight? Naw....I would rather not. LOL the poor nurses at Albany Medical saw me recheck that scale at least 3 times.....I left.....couldn't believe it....went back....weighed myself again....couldn't believe it..... Finally I resigned to the fact that EVERY SCALE IN THE WORLD IS WRONG!!!!

Tim Great reframes looking at all you have done vs left to go! Congrats on the successes! Here are some of my fav articles on avoiding the hunkametal (aka scale)

Use Measurements Besides the ScaleWhat's So Motivating About Numbers Anyway? By Mike Kramer, Staff Writer http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/motivation_articles.asp?id=104

 

 

 Why The Scale Lies by Renee Cloe,

 

http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/scale.htm

 

 

 

Ending Scale Obsession

 

http://www.southbeachdiet.com/public/dailydish/dd_20060515.asp

 

Do you weigh yourself every day? Or worry about even the slightest change in your weight? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you may be obsessing over the scale too much. This practice can be very discouraging if you're trying to maintain healthy habits.

 

In fact, your weight may change from day to day for many reasons. Shifts in water weight, constipation, and even the food you just ate can cause daily ups and downs that may register on the scale. These shifts can be misleading and worrisome if you don't understand them. For a more accurate measurement of your weight, you should only weigh yourself once each week and on the same scale every time — different scales may provide different readings. Or, instead, let the tightness of your belt be your guide. If your clothes fit better and you feel better, then you're getting healthier — even if the bathroom scale doesn't reflect it.

 

Ultimately, it's up to you to stop scale obsession. Weight loss takes time and you need to be patient. Remember, if you're following a healthy lifestyle plan like The South Beach Diet™, the extra pounds will come off — whether you step on the scale a hundred times a day or never at all.

 

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Scale back on weighing in?

 

Dieters should think twice about how -- and how often -- they check their weight

 

Kimberly Hayes Taylor / The Detroit News

January 24, 2006

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/LIFESTYLE02/601240395/1040/rss34&template=printart

 

 

Weighing in on the Scale

http://www.calorieking.com/library/article.php?path=13%2C66&art_id=749&printable=yes&noviews=yes

Pat Fiducia and Anna Delany, September 22nd, 2004

JAMIE