Who are you going to bring with you as you move from holiday event to holiday event? Are you going to bring the little child inside who hates being deprived? Or, are you bringing with you the satisfied and goal-oriented adult who will take care of your true needs? When your inner child is in charge, you are more at risk for making unhealthy choices. The inner child may be rebellious, choosing to eat the things that are "forbidden." Your inner adult is better at delaying gratification and thinking through the consequences of a choice. When you are going into a challenging situation, your adult self will be your best friend. That part of you will say, "no," and will guide you onto an exciting new path of success. Pay attention to the voices inside your head that help you make choices as you go through your day. Identify your inner child's influence, acknowledge it, and then gently allow your inner adult to have the final say.

Good (very early) morning :)

Just stopping in to get this started and then I will try to go back to sleep for a while. We saw the nurse practitioner yesterday -- our pediatrician was out for a family emergency. We have to start waking the little nugget up through the night again for feedings to increase her weight gain. We are also starting to add some cereal for the calories. It seriously messes with my head that I can't get her to gain weight when I spend my life trying to lose weight.

Then we went to go for lunch at one of our favourite restaurants only to find it is closed forever. Sad day lol. I ordered a new phone and I'm going to pick it up today. Then we have a few house projects to work on. DH took yesterday and today off work so it has been fun hanging out together. He fixed our dryer yesterday and put my kitchen cabinet back together while we were napping, so everything will be ready for Christmas. I've said it before but being an adult is weird.

QOTD: what is your next big project? Do you have a personal project, house project, etc. that you want to work on? I bought some kids socks yesterday that I want to turn into leg warmers for little nugget to use for crawling on our hard floors. They look like monsters where the heel is the mouth -- and they have teeth. I'm going to use either hot glue or fabric paint to add some traction spots so she can get some grip. Eventually we also want to demolish our kitchen and I can't wait for that day!! :)

Post-op three years and nine months.

Breakfast 1 - protein bar (4am wake up)

Breakfast 2 - Greek yogurt with berries

Snack - Melba with PB

Lunch - tbd. Might go to the food court when I go to get my phone.

Snack - pepperoni and cheese stick

Dinner - tbd. I think we still have leftovers but I'm getting tired of them.

Snack - pudding

All water and vits.

Congratulations!!!

You have already taken the hardest step by saying enough is enough and now I want to get back on track. I maintained 118-125 for over 10 years after losing 200 pounds. Due to a personal tragedy I gained and hit the 190 mark a year ago. After several starts it finally clicked and I am back to goal losing 70 pounds of regain. Here are some steps that helped me and I hope they will help you too! You may have several starts and stops but don't give up, don't beat yourself up. IT WILL CLICK!!! Our tool works if we work the tool and get back to the basics.

Planning/Preparing

Remember when we were preparing for surgery? How many meetings, classes and such did we attend? We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success. And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods. Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every bad carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies, grains and fruits.

Journaling

Get back to journaling. This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life. Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating. It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband. It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food. Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL

Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker. Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.

Goals/Rewards

Make a list of goals for yourself. Make them realistic and small. Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein. If you didn't make a Weight Loss Surgery bucket list when you first had surgery do it now. GREAT reminder of all the things you can enjoy in life after losing weight.

Food

In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat?, calories, and sugar. Important, vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan).

Water

Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea? I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass. I found once I started carrying one of the metal bottles of water to keep it cold I drank water all day.

MOVE!

I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what, I kept moving. If I could not go to the gym I would walk. Grab a cart and walk all the isles at your local box store. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lifting weights. When I stopped, the weight started coming back. So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV. Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.

Support

If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group. Come here on OH daily for support and participate in one of the food threads. It helps you be accountable and also great ideas for food prep.

Keep me posted on how you are doing.

You don't have to adopt a Scrooge-like attitude toward the coming holiday season. Despite all of the commercialism and the intense, unhealthy focus on food and drink, the holidays can be a time of joy and contentment. But even the most optimistic, upbeat person needs a break from the excitement to recharge. The intense holiday season lasts more than a month nowadays, and you'll start seeing evidence of it soon (if you haven't already). When you find yourself caught up in the excitement, remember to step back once in awhile to take a breather. It will re-energize you, help you avoid the burnout that could lead to stress eating, and provide you with the boost you need to stay on track. Today, before the upcoming holiday begin to consume you, write down a plan for how you will handle the coming season. With a plan, you are much more likely to stay on track.