Advice

  Anyone struggled with "the rules" and bad habits creeping back in?  If so, how did you deal with it?  Lost my drive to exercise and have been making poor food choices over the last year.  Need to get refocused!     

Yes and I am just starting to deal with it.  I have made a food plan which outlines the foods I can eat and more importantly, the foods I can't.  Luckily, I still run 70-80 miles a month and that has helped keep the weight fairly steady. Try to remember what you did in the beginning that worked and get back to it. For me its - no drink with or after the meal and protein first.  Those will help me immensely. Good luck my man.

I think the best way to deal with bad habits that want to creep back in is to force yourself back into the gym. There is something about exercise that makes you feel better mentaly as well as physically. Exercise and (in my case) force yourself to chart your intake and your weight. Sites like "My daily plate.com make this relatively easy to do. When you compare calories burned through exercise to calories gained by eating the wrong foods, you are forced to make a choice. Hopefully you will choose to be thin.  WLS allowed you to escape from Fatville. Try to remember all the things that made you morbidly obese and how unhappy you were there. Do you really want to go back? Keep your eyes on prized my friend. Good luck.

Great advice, Doug. Exercise does make you feel better mentally. Something about the sense of accomplishment in doing the body good. Also, awareness and accountability is the key on the eating side of the equation. Just gotta do it if we are to escape from and stay out of "Fatville."  Boner

Yes, I think everyone does once in a while. I find that if I think about the "old me" where I was 345, and everything about being uncomrtable at that weight, in incentive enough to exercise and try to eat right. I also weigh myself daily too. I find that attending support groups are very beneficial, even though most in attendance are women.

Capt Andy! Well, you’re well on your way. Just realizing that you need to get back to it Is half the battle. A member of my support group said she found herself in exactly that same predicament.  Lost her weight super easy, stopped focusing on her “changed-lifestyle,” and the weight started creeping back up. The Dr.’s Recommendation?  “Start Over!”  He had her go back to a week of Liquids, followed by Pureed, the Mechanical Soft, etc…  The plan was to Learn to use the Pouch.  Focusing on basics like eating Protein First, Low-Glycemic Carbs, Chew her food well, stop drinking with meals, etc… She had skipped the “Learning” part her first time out.  She now is at goal and said that- “Putting the Hard part of re-Learning how to eat at the beginning, would have made the later part much easier.” I'd say strip the house of stuff that could be called- "Not a good Food Choice." If it's not there, you won't eat it. Stock up on the "good stuff." Also, Keep dropping in for support And even look for a local support group. Statistically, those who continue with support do better long term than those who do not. Keep the odds in your favor. Best Wishes- Dx

 

Eat something health, but that you like every three hours. For me, after my morning protein drink and coffee, I'll start with raw walnuts. Then a later morning meal of chicken salad and a mid afternoon meal of the same. The evening meal is maybe a cheese omelet or some salmon or tuna sashimi some greens (chicken salad also contains a lot of veg's) and maybe follow with some more nuts.

So eating every three hours, little of anything liquidy.

I do have two days I week where I eat anything that I really want, regardless of content or consistency.

One big secret to exercise is getting up early in the morning and having a means to work out at home. That can be a jog in the hood or a stationary bike. Once you get in the habit of working out at home, it will be much easier to continue.

You can even get creative. I made my own Indo balance board and if I get bored with the other stuff I do this. You can even drink coffee or watch TV while burning calories:

http://www.indoboard.com/

Hope this helps,

Dave