Can't get motivated

I'm having a great deal of difficulty getting motivated to track my food. I've come to realize I eat out of boredom I also eat because of emotions and because it's habit. I start to write down what i am eating and then I realize man I'm eating really poorly and stop. That is I stop writing, I do not stop eating. I Realize I am about to make a huge life change and I will not be able to continue like this. I was so motivated when I first began this journey but now for some reason the motivation is gone. I have my appointment with the behaviorist and the nutritionist on 24 July. I don't know how I should be eating now if I should just track what I normally eat or if I should go on to "diet". When I eat now will be very different from what I wI'll be able to eat after the surgery. Anyways, tomorrow is July 1 and the nurse told me at my last meeting to track for three weeks so I've got to get on this or it won't be none! Hopefully I can find this motivation again.

Well, one big motivator to track your food at this point is the direct instruction from the nurse to do so - choose not to do it and you won't be moving along to the next step toward surgery. ;)

It's great that you realize that you are eating out of boredom, emotions and habit - a lot of people don't come to this realization until after surgery and sometimes really struggle with emotional eating issues. If you haven't already, you may want to look into doing some learning/correction of your thinking and behaving when it comes to food and eating. Sometimes people see a counselor or therapist or even take a workshop session of "mindful eating" or "craving change" or the like.

I understand so well how demotivating it is to try to "diet yet again" - it sucks and I couldn't lose weight prior to my surgery either (except on the pre-op diet right before surgery). It's a struggle and it's frustrating. BUT.... exploring your thoughts/behaviours now can really help you as a post-op.

You really made me laugh, and you are right. The nurse said journal so I need to journal!

Hi Molly,

I know it's hard to keep tracking everything, but it is an extremely useful too, in so many ways.  You have found at least some of the triggers for eating by this, and have had to face that they are there.  It may show more, as you go.  But, it's better to know what you are fighting against, than to let them hide.

Start fresh tomorrow, start a new diary of what you are eating.  If you are writing it in a book, start the morning by doing measurements.  Current Weight, and inches (could use measuring for clothes as a guide).  Then write every bite you eat, and all activity that you do.  Then Thursday, journal your eats and activity.  Then make a point, do your measurements every Wednesday morning.  Look to see what the changes were during the week (don't forget to take in account times of the month).

Journal your food as is for a couple days, then when you come to the point where you are saying that you are eating really poorly, pick one little thing that you think is a poor eating habit, and change that one little thing.  An example would be not drinking enough water, or switching to whole grain breads.  Well, work on drinking your 8 glasses of water a day.  Once you've done that, look at your journal again, is there something else you want to work on.  Work on it.

Set yourself small goals.  The nutritionist will want to see healthier decisions as you go, not that you are eating a post op diet.  She'll help guide you to better decisions.  And definitely talk to the behaviorist, she'll be able to help you find ways to deal with things other than eating.  One thing to help with the boredom, is to pick up a craft or do puzzles.  Keep your hands busy.

I wish you well on your journey.

Cathy

Thanks Cathy. How many times did you need to see the nutritionist before you moved onto to the next step. I heard some people go three times or more. I want to show my dedication and ability to change so I am not stalled at this stage too long. I have already given up pop, caffeine, and alcohol. Still working on 8 glasses of water. I can do it but not by sipping!

I had two dietician appointments.  Just keep working at it, if you need to flavor the water with things like MIO, Crystal Light, fruit, veggies (i.e. cucumber) etc.  Just keep working at it, you'll get there.

Cathy

I agree with Cathy.

In the past, I have found it very helpful to eat as I normally did (all "good" and "bad" foods) and just write them down without trying to change anything. Along with the food I ate, I also just wrote down what emotion I was feeling at the time. That was an interesting experiment for me. 

Hey Molly!  I'm at about the same stage as you and have been struggling with the same thing. I didn't expect the journaling to be that hard. Like you, I've realized I'm an emotional and boredom eater. Before the first dietician meeting when the journal was supposed to be baseline, I found it logistically difficult and emotionally. When we're recording everything we consume, our awareness is increased...which makes denial harder. Maybe you are subconsciously having a hard time with that? I committed to be completely honest with it, which was hard! Not only do I have to memorialize that I ate xyz, but I have to share it with a stranger. This struggle alone made me eat less many times, or skip a comfort food private party. If this is the case, it may be less about journaling itself and rooted more in fear of having to give up this ugly food addiction that we share. 

I first looked into wls 5 yrs ago - was not quite ready. Now, I have crossed the 40 BMI so I qualify there, and mentally I am just so sick of this battle with weight that I am really motivated. I could be wrong here but I think you need a boost in motivation. I have this self-hypnosis mp3 that really made me see the reality and helped motivate me a ton. In essence, he has you visualize yourself in 10 years, first overweight, and thinking about all the things you've lost, the health repercussions, the daily life struggles, the impact on living your life etc. Then, again at a healthy weight. And visualizing all the changes that came with the weight loss. Mental, emotional, physical, ability to enjoy life, appearance, etc. I try to think of this if I start to struggle. Thinking about this week or today is difficult because you can't change that quick. It's easy to feel helpless and succumb. If I think about where I'll be in a year or more, I realize that I AM in control, and it is my decision whether to choose overeating over being healthy.  Not to take away from the power of the food addiction - we wouldn't be where we are now if it was easy. It is a powerful dark friend we have, but it is within our control to either fight to hang onto him, or to choose to remove him from our lives. 

Not sure if this really made sense, a slow day at work so just blabbing...all I'm trying to say is I think it could be the idea of no longer having the food addiction that's behind your difficulties, so I wonder if picturing your life in 5 years without it might help motivate you.  Instead of picturing tomorrow without it. Because tomorrow you can kick it to the curb and you'll still be overweight. But there is so much more out there for all of us without this dark friend, once he is truly gone. I've only been eating better for 2 weeks and I already have more energy and feel better. I was a fit size 7 for many years, so I know what healthy and cute feels like, and I have to constantly remind myself that no cookie or Popeyes or dr pepper feels as good. 

You got this!  Keep your journal with you and remember each time you struggle, that this is where you choose to either fight to keep the addiction or fight to be free of it. There is so much more out there for you if you choose door number two!  It's not overnight but focus on the rest of your life,not tomorrow. 

Good luck!