Now I understand my NUT's warning about "grazing".

When I met the first few times with my nutritionist before my weight loss surgery,  she repeatedly cautioned me about "grazing".  That's when you just nibble at food almost constantly.  I didn't pay much attention to what she said.  I thought that once I had my surgery I would automatically be unable to graze. In fact, I thought I would find that concept unappealing.

For the first four months after surgery, that was true.  I found that food didn't have the same "value" or "attraction" that it did before surgery.

But for some reason, today is different.  And it's not about feeling hungry.  As I have said before, I don't remember ever feeling hungry in my life.  Perhaps I feel the urge to eat because I would like to avoid filling out my tax forms. I believe that I may owe the government some money this year. But I'm not sure. So I look for ways to avoid a possibly unpleasant task.  It reminds me of the "bad old days", when I would rather sit and eat than do some chore I was trying to put off.  Eating was so much easier. 

That's where grazing comes in.  To avoid grazing, I only eat at certain times of the day. I have meals and snacks three hours apart.  7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, and 7pm. But to avoid doing my taxes, I could just make constant trips to the kitchen all day, feeding my face. Granted, I can't eat the huge amounts at one sitting that I used to. And I may not be able to eat sugary foods. (I have never tested my pouch for dumping). But I am concerned that I could find a way to circumvent this RNY tool if I really wanted to.  And I was always a clever, sneaky eater. I even found myself posting here several times today about "fast foods" that I could eat post-op. I usually on do fast foods like Wendy's chili if I'm on the road and in a jam with no other healthy food that I have prepared ahead of time.  But anymore, I don't just hop in the car and go out  to the drive-thru any old time.

So what did I do to avoid grazing today? 
Well, I kept busy.  I gathered the forms and paperwork needed to do the taxes.  I cleaned up some junk around the house. I went shopping. I took my wife to see the new Mel Gibson movie. (It was OK) And now, I'm writing about this challenging food problem.  I find it easier to organize my thoughts if I put them into writing.  Occasionally, logic does help motivate me.

How did I do on my eating today?
I have to admit, I did eat "different" foods.  My eating was pretty much like it usually is in the morning and afternoon.  For dinner I had a salad with Swiss cheese, turkey breast, almonds and regular (not diet or low fat) Greek Dressing. And I put two servings (60g) of the dressing on the salad. (It was an accident - the stuff came pouring out of the bottle)  But even before I ate the salad. I logged the various components into my nutrition journal.  it was about 100 calories more than I usually eat.. It had about twice the fat that I usually eat. But I had enough protein and the carbs were actually below average for the day.. So I ate the salad.

Then I printed my daily food journal and inserted it into my food diary, which i have kept since last Easter. I apologize to those of you who think that keeping a "paper" record isn't very environmentally friendly. But when I print my daily food log, it is a sign to me that my day of eating is over. 

In the last ten months I haven't eaten after I printed the daily food journal. And I won't today either.

I'm impressed.   I too have been warned about grazing and then hear folks on here talk about eating every 3 hours and I thought that was grazing.  But after reading your post, I see the difference between planned meals and snacks and the grazing part.     Thanks Herc - as always.

and I've had no desire to see the new Mel movie at all.  I used to love him but ... no more.  

Wow, the daily food record for so long, it's obviously worked.  Love that part about printing, then you're done eating.  I think we can circumvent these tools as evidenced by the folks who write they have.  Keep up the inspirational writings.
Anne

(This isn't for you but for preops)

This post is the reason I highly recommend the Duodenal Switch for those that have been MO or SMO for most of their lives.

Scott

I so admire you, Herc!   You have some very good things built into your routine.  

Good for you for not giving in and grazing and for recognizing what might have been contributing to what you were feeling.

Good post.  I'm back on the daily plate again and doing a 800 calorie burn 4 days a week at the gym.

Hey Herc,

I was also really warned on my 6-7 month check-up about the "grazing."  I had a really long talk with my surgeon's PA and he addressed alot of questions that I had.  I would like to share because I  really needed to hear these things.  The focus being on "regaining." 

He assured me that nothing in the "change" of our anatomy make us more prone to "gain" weight after the honeymoon phase is over. It actually is our tool to utilize forever in eating smaller potions, and using behavorial modification with our eating disorder. He said that from their experiences, that the majority of people *****gain (usually after 3 years) are the ones who go back to their old eating habits, who start GRAZING, start eating sugar and fat and testing their pouches and eventually getting their pouch to once again "accept" those type of foods, and "stop" or don't exercise as much as they did in the first 3 years. His views from most of their surgeries, are that the pouch "rarely" stretches and that they use the most durable part of the stomach to make the pouch. When they have done endoscopies on people who are regaining, they normally find that the pouch is the same size as it was at surgery. Normally is the key word. I'm sure there are those "rare" incidents. Now this may not be true with "all" WLS or RMY surgeries performed by others, just the views and experiences with my particular doctor's office. I have had great results along my journey and really "toot" his horn every chance I get. He knows his stuff.

With that said, I came away with a "renewed" spirit about my tool and regardless of what I hear from others, I now realize that the SUCCESS of my surgery is ultimately up to me. I am trying very hard to change my eating habits, don't graze all day ... eat nutritious foods vs. crap food, and poirtion control .... portion control. Exercise is also important because ultimately what this is ALL ABOUT is calories in ..... calories out ..... total calories per day!!  

Five "planned" meals a day .... good food choices (limiting fats and sugar, good carb choices), and exercise should really help me in my journey for a successful weight loss and maintenance for a lifetime.  I know that there will be struggles along the way ..... but my goals needs to always be the above, and should I find myself "straying," I need to go back to point A. 

Gay