Changing old habits

Well I'm almost a month out from band surgery. The surgery was a breeze but the weight loss is SLOW, which I knew it would be compared to you folks who had other surgeries. I've got some good habits happening. I'm riding the recumbent bike daily; I'm drinking lots of no calorie fluids and drowning my hunger. I'm not snacking at work, which used to be a BIG problem. HOWEVER I'm slipping back into some of my old bad habits like grazing late at night. I don't have any fluid in my band until this Wed, so I'm kind of hungry. It usually starts around 10 when my husband and the dogs go to bed but I'm not nearly ready to go to bed. I eat a SF pudding cup, then maybe a little cereal, then maybe some nuts, then finally some crackers. UGH. So my VERY careful eating during the day is undone by 500 calories of food at night. At least I don't have M&M's in the house or they would be eaten too. I'm actually pretty good about only buying healthy stuff.

So....going to bed is not an option. I won't sleep that time of day, BUT I've decided to relocate myself out of the family room/kitchen area and move to the bedroom (my hubby sleeps in his own room due to my tossing and turning). If I'm in the bedroom, I can read, watch tv or do yoga and I will be much less likely to go to the kitchen for food. I don't associalte the bedroom with food. So I'm moving lamps and pillows and stuff around in the bedroom to make a Ronda sanctuary in there.

This worked last night. I'm learning that sometimes you don't tackle the problem head on; you just change what is associated with the bad habit and kind of slide sideways into a solution.

My OTHER issue, is drive throughs. I've done pretty well avoiding them, but the desire is still there. I can usually avoid this by planning my food so that I'm not STARVING when I get off work. It also helps if I have a CLEAR plan of what I will have for dinner at home.

Just writing all this out to make it clear in MY head what the plan is and maybe this thinking will help others. HAVE A GOOD WEEK!

I have had the same issue with undoing myself late in the day, as does my husband. I can't right now as I am religiously following my surgeon's pre-surgery diet as I don't want to be canceled, but evening is the hardest.

I have gone by a bunch of drive-thrus lately and thought things like "but it would be my last BK fries ever" and then I just keep going. I have gone through McDonald's to get ice cream for the kids and then I just get myself a lemonade. It is hard.

The lap band should be slow and steady . . . I know that is hard.

Good luck!
Bec

hi,

I have found the mental part of changing food habits are more challenging than anything.  Some things that have worked for me

1.  Sugar free popsicles - 15 calories a pop and sometimes eating a couple of them will do the trick.

2.  If you are going to eat - eat the protein first - have a few nuts they wiil give you a full feeling..  Tell yourself you may eat more but you have to wait at least a half hour after eating the nuts to have some - then go do sometihing else. - like get on OH and read some profiles and look at some of the before and afters for inspiration.  For me - at least 85% of the time I'm able to avoid eating further - if I stop and wait for my snack to signal my mind that I have eaten.

3. Ask yourself are you hungry for something else and trying to fill that hole with food.  For me, the period of time right after I got off work was my danger zone.  I realized I was using food as a comfort/reward  for withstanding the stresses of the day.   Also, at my worse, i wasn't enjoying the food, I was just scared of how awful I would feel - I was sure I couldn't stand it - if I didnt have whatever food I desired in the moment.   Suffice to say - i lived. 

Its not always easy but it does get easier and as you move further along in your weight loss and you can really see it - that in and of itself gets to be a motivator.

Remember to give yourself a pat on the back everytime you avoid a drive-thru.  Those signs are triggers for you  - but the more you don't give in to them, the easier it will get.

Best wishes,

Rhonda

Thanks for the advice and understanding. I do have some SF popsicles and I can START my snacking with protein and wait to see what happens. I think that's good advice.

Rhonda, late night seems to be a problem for a lot of us.. I am never wanting food during the day.. I am not hungry and even forget to eat.. then I remember that I have to log my foods and that I didn't eat since breakfast.. but oh boy let the sun go down ans it is a different story.. I fight every night to not snack.. It is like I have a switch that gets turned on .. I am doing the Popsicles.. sometimes I eat 8 or more before going to bed.. I have literally froze my nose so bad that I had to put a warm wash cloth on it.. lol..

I think your decision to move to the bedroom is a great idea.. anything that will get your mind off food.. I get on-line here and read the blogs and look at the before and after pictures for inspiration.. I get on facebook and leave messages for friends.. I also have started a journal of quotes and such and I read those to help take the time..and add new ones when I can.. I have started a scrapbook of my journey too..  If I sit and watch tv I get the munchies. so I have tried to stay away from tv.. I think that is the difference in the daytime. I never watch tv in the daytime.. well once in a while I will catch All My Children.. But I try to stay busy.. I have started tearing everything apart in my house.. the kitchen cabinets. the drawers in every room, the closets.. the basement was today and will be many days to come lol it is a big mess.. I am such a pack rat and so is my hubby..  I am hoping that doing all this will last till spring when I can get outside and work and get more exercise..

I try to read too but I want to munch when reading. guess that was a bad habit I need to loose.. I need to go through all my old cookbooks and recipes and keep only the ones I can make work for the RNY.. but I cant do that at night.. I would be thinking of food the whole time.. lol..

Good Luck to you.. I applaud you for trying to make changes to stop the eating at night.. It is a hard habit to break and I am struggling right along with you.. Keep up the good work and soon maybe the fills will help you not munch so much at night.. If I do snack at night I have a protein bar or some other protein..that stays with you longer and then I get out of the kitchen area and get my mind off of it.. like your bedroom idea.. I never eat in there either.. 

Huggs to you...

I think you are on the right track! I'm so proud of you! First of all, you've identified the trouble areas and you've really pinpointed it down and you are making changes to help yourself.

Keep up the great work! ((HUGS))

You guys are the best. It helps to know that others have overcome the late night eating. I see the dietitian on Wed and get my first fill, so I should have a better idea how to handle food with a band. Maybe I can save some calories for after dinner. I don't go to bed until midnight or 1 so my whole meal schedule might need to be adjusted.

I'm glad that you have identified the issue and taken steps to combat it! lol Usually the biggest problem is not knowing why we do what we do...Kudos to you!!!!


As far as saving your calories for that time of night, that might not be the best idea as you will be going to bed after that and therefore not burning any of those calories. (just a thought)

Keeping busy is definitely a great way to not undo all your work of the day. I also like the idea of eating the protein first to get that full feeling...and moving on to something else. There is that evil head hunger we are always talking about.

I'm sure it will get alot easier once you have your fill because the restriction will help curb some of that desire for extras.

Hang in there!!!!

I think this is a constant battle for some, i know it is for me. I had to decline a friends invite to his birthday party due to it being at a pizza place.  I have to constantly battle in my head and tell myself to remain on track, keep it together, it's hard but... i know the more we progress the easier it will become, but you are certainly not alone in going through this.

take care.