counting calories for home work??
Hi everyone,
I'm attending the Hershey 6 month supervised weight loss program...
I'm finding it kind of difficult to keep my food journal.
We have to journal what we r going to eat, amount, calories and such.. and then total it.
I know it's not REALLY difficult, but ... I've procrastinated on writing it out for several days this month, and it's the first month we were told to do this!
Now, today, I'm having to catch up! Making myself overwhelmed...
I'm being honest here, so please don't scorn me!!
I thought i was strong, but i don't feel that way anymore.
I'm having a hard time changing my eating habits... portions...eating fast..eating late in the day..
Actually cheating! ( I'll start tomorrow)...I don't have to go back for a couple of weeks...
I keep thinking..."I won't get to eat this.. or "this amount" after the surgery...!!
I know we have to practice our new eating habits, and totally change the way we see food, But i keep putting it off...
Now, sitting here today...! and my second supervised nut appt is tomorrow...
I sit here and give out advice and support to other people??? What's wrong with me.??!!
I feel like a school girl who didn't study for her finals, and has to cram all day to pass.
Wow, I'm sorry to be a downer...
I would love any advice or opinions>>> Susie
Get the "cheating" mentality right out of your head. It sets you up for "well, I blew this meal, I might as well not care the rest of the day/week/month" type attitude.
Write things down, no excuses. If you are over on your calories/carb/fat whatever it is you are tracking for the day - then so be it. At least be honest with yourself. That's one of the hardest things. We can write down whatever we want to show others...but that's just a way to cover up what we are really doing.
Go ahead and plan your meals for the day like they want you to. And then write down what you actually eat. Even post op I plan my meals - and during the day I change them if needed, and make the changes in my protein count etc (I admit I am not good at counting calories, have not been asked to be my nut, and therefore do not because I have done decently over the past two years without doing that)
You are expected to have problems changing your eating habits - it's taken YEARS to develop them. And after surgery it will be hard too. The difference is - when you eat to fast or do other things that you are not supposed to you generally pay for it dearly afterwards and that gives you incentive (for at least a little while) to remember to take your time or pick the proper foods etc.
Hard days are gonna happen...but don't let them rule you
Pam,
You are making so much sense to me... Thank you.
It is hard to change eating habits...
My way of thinking was wrong.
When I looked at what I wrote in my post it seemed trivial and silly, compared to others I have read.
But it is the problem I am dealing with now, and everyones advice is making me see my issue more clearly now.
Thank you.
It's great that you're being so honest and open pre-surg. Certainly no "scorn" from this corner!
I would suggest thinking along a couple of lines. First, WHY are you procrastinating writing out your food journal? (just answer to yourself, because that's the only person you really have to answer to when everything is done...) Is it because you're afraid of what it will tell you about your eating patterns? Is it because you're ashamed of what you're eating? Is it because you don't know where to get started and the concept of journaling overwhelms you? Or why? Keep asking WHY until you delve into it enough to understand yourself.
Second, experiment with different types of journaling. In the very early post-surg days, a paper journal was easiest for me, but it does involve carrying the thing aroudn with you, manually looking up and totaling things (yuck - math!), etc. Fairly shortly, I started journaling online - first with a program on my Palm Treo called Diet and Exercise Assistant (ggreat program) and now with Sparkpeople.com (online, wherever I can get to a net connex, including my phone). I no longer have to do the math, can look up nutritional value directly in the program for most things, and can see trends over time. Makes it easy and painless, so there's no excuse for me not to do it. Because if there is an excuse out there i WILL find it!
Third, you are working on changing a LIFETIME of "bad" habits around eating. Being "strong" is being honest and addressing the habits, which you're doing. It doesn't mean that you have to be "perfect" (let's be honest - none of us are perfect!). Start off with something that is achievable for you - pick ONE thing to work on (portions, eating fast, time of day) and just work on that for a bit. When that starts getting comfy, pick the next ONE thing and work on that. Break it down into steps that aren't intimidating and for which you can easily achieve success, so you can positively reinforce your progress.
Last - get out of the mentality of thinking that after surgery you're not going to "GET" to eat something... Instead, if you really need to do it (I did), have a reasonable amount of the food and bid it a fond farewell. Most things aren't really gone forever - they can be modified and adapted to your post-surg lifestyle after a while. And the "OMG - I will be deprived" mentality will make it so much harder to adapt. In reality, I am enjoying my food MORE after surgery than before it - I am cooking more, using fresh ingredients, eating slowly and chewing thoroughly which allows me to taste and savor things, etc. Food is now enjoyable, as opposed to something laden with guilt and bad emotions (are people staring at me for eating this? etc.).
But, to paraphrase Shauna's INCREDIBLE post on deprivation, I am NO LONGER DEPRIVED!!! Surgery allowed me to get on with my life and to stop depriving myself of so many experiences and enjoyments that the fat was preventing.
I hope this helps you refocus a bit. And I would also suggest working with a therapist who's knowledgeable in bariatric issues if you can pre-surg. It can certainly help and I really wish I had!
Good luck and good job!
Karen
Maybe I am afraid to be accountable for what I am eating...
I have to consciously address my eating habits in the moment.
I have to make changes in what I eat and the amount.
Hearing it from you...believe it or not has made it clearer to me.
Thank you for your advice...
I am a smart person,but I can't believe how overwhelmed I was feeling!
I am going to look back at your response if I ever feel that way again.
Thank you.
I'm glad that what I wrote makes sense... I always worry that it only makes sense to me. Haha.
I do want to say one more thing, though... the process of asking "WHY" is not an easy one (or at least it hasn't been for me). When you really dig through that baggage, you can unearth some pretty crappy things that have informed your choices in the past. For me, that helped me be clearer as to why i was hiding behind my fat - but the process was, and continues to be, painful at times. And it's ongoing - i feel like i've only taken baby steps along the way so far. But it's important to do.
I try to see the pain as part of the continual birthing process for my new self.
karen
