Terrific Tuesday

Ladies, 

I am starting the thread but am going to run for coffee.  Please feel free to chat away.  When I get back from the coffee pot, I'm going to talk about some issues that I think we are all struggling with.  Until I get back, rap away. 

Okay, here's the way I started my self analysis. It's not perfect but it's a way to start your own assessment. 

Back when I had gained some weight (20 pounds), I began looking at the cause. Mostly what I found was that when we have WLS, we have that "honeymoon" phase where we lose weight with little effort. Most of us can lose weight while we sleep because we are have the rerouted intestine that doesn't absorb as much, the newly constructed pouch that is still sensitive to amounts of foods that we eat, and our larger than life sizes makes weight loss easy. Because we have these factors that are pretty much a guarantee for success, we don't do much toward behavior modification nor do we work on those things that cause us to snack on the wrong foods.

Most doctors agree that after the first year, our rerouted small intestine evolves a bit so that it can absorb a little more efficiently but that alone will not cause a significant weight gain. They also agree that over the first year, most of us push the limits so that our pouches begin to lose their sensitivity to certain kinds of foods like greasy or sugary foods; unfortunately, most of us are never cured of our messed up minds about food so we do try to work the pouch to get some of our cravings met. For instance, I go nuts for chips and crackers. I can eat a ton of those kinds of foods because they slide or glide right through my pouch. Some folks keep testing the pouch for sugar, and over time and exposure, they are able to eat a little sugar. Once we have lost that sensitivity to certain foods or amounts of foods, and once our intestine begins to absorb a little more efficiently, it's only natural that our deflated fat cells will do what they do best and that is store the fat.

 So, how in the hell can we keep the weight loss pace up until we lose the amount we want to lose? More importantly, how can we maintain our weight loss? I've thought about this and researched the topic over and over. I've learned about stress and how to rid my life of stress and for the stress I cannot kick to the curb, I've learned techniques for eliminating the reactions to stress. But, what I wanted to do was look at me and analyze when I most often went for the chips and figure out was it hunger, boredom, emotional, or all of the above.

 I've done my eating behavior analysis and if you guys want to work on what sets you off on an eating frenzy, you can spend a week journaling and analyze your behaviors. I know....I hate doing that too but I think when we examine what and when and where we eat, we can make some educated assumptions about the reasons we are eating and maybe work out a plan that will help us handle the situations that cause us to eat and more importantly what makes us go after the bad foods.

When I did mine, I broke my journaling into my plan for the day that I write a day or two in advance. I leave space for comment sections after each eating event. I thought evaluating the meal's success, how much I ate, what was good or bad about it...that kind of thing. I realized that I need to measure food...and I need to eat it. At the end, I had a summary section that would provide some added information. I've copied a section below out of my journal so you can use as your own model but by all means, if you have some ideas for a better format, please share.

July 15, 2016

Dietary Plan:

Breakfast: Loaded oatmeal (nuts and berries)

Comment--I am going to start measuring my oatmeal. I cannot eat a lot of oatmeal because it is dense but I do put butter on it and nuts and berries. If I eat 3/4^th cup of oatmeal, 1 tsp of butter, 1/8^th cup of nuts, and ½ cup of berries, it is good but if I throw more butter on it and add extra nuts and berries, I can load the oatmeal with more than healthy nutrients.  I use Splenda so that part is covered.

Snack: Celery and Bell Peppers

Comment--the good thing about eating raw vegetables is that they give me the crunch factor. I really need to chew. 

Lunch: Avocado and tomato sandwich

Comment--I rarely eat my entire sandwich and as a result, an hour after I eat, I start looking for something to eat and usually find crackers. Today, I ate six large crackers. That is not good.

Snack: Cucumbers--and I ate the cucumbers too. Damn it

Dinner: Shrimp stir fry (four large shrimp with broccoli, carrots, and peas) No rice, no pasta.

Comment--the shrimp is good and I know I need the protein so I ate the shrimp first then I ate the vegetables. Here's the deal...I start getting really hungry about an hour before bedtime. I mean I really want to eat some chips. Tonight, I ate some cheese, tomato, and a slice of bread. WTF

Snack: Watermelon and I ate the watermelon

Summary:

Here's the deal, I am eating the crackers for no reason...I am not hungry when I run for the crackers. I swear it's not hunger. I looked at my activities and there wasn't anything stressing me out and it's not emotional because all day today, I've been happy. I am excited about my upcoming retirement and we are excited about the upcoming vacation. My daughter and I are getting along and Kenny and I are also doing good. I am not sad or depressed....so it must be boredom. Now here's the deal....I am working and am always busy when I am working so how am I bored. I talked to a friend of mine about this and she suggested that I watch the time...you know, is it happening at 2 or 2:30....and she said to beat the urge by drinking water.  A lot of water so I'm going to try it.  The eating before bed is boredom, I know. I rarely have that time when I am not working or thinking so right before bed, I find myself lost....I feel like I am supposed to be doing something. 

My plan to alleviate the hunger right before bedtime: I will keep a sewing project close like needle point or crocheting or I will keep a book handy and when I feel the urge to gobble up some crackers, I will reach for the hooks or the books....and I will also drink the water...could my cravings have something to do with my lack of water consumption?

Tomorrow, I will time my water drinking and see if I still get those urges.

I get really hungry at night...and if/when I ignore it, I often wake up at 2 or 3 am starving with my BS crashing... I am at goal - so there is not much "extra" for my body to get from - so the system freaks out.

Plus - I have adrenal insufficiency - and i take daily cortisone supplements - but I only take it during the day... We need cortisone to regulate blood sugar. (BS)  my body allows my BS to drop really low - resulting in crisis before my body gets into "a panic mode" and ..overreacts with  cortisone and adrenaline to correct dangerously low BS(in 30's) 

so... I eat before bed... - mostly nuts or nut butters (they don't give me to bad of sour stomach) 

but since i eat late at night and food just sits there  - when I wake up in the morning - I am often not  hungry - so I start my day with lunch... making sure i drink a lot of non caloric liquids in the morning. 

i try to have a 14 hour window of not eating  - that works best for my gut and my IBS... 

i think eating late is OK - as long as we take into account the calories and still give out guts a break time...

I snack on nuts and seeds (sprouted almonds, brazil nuts, macadamia, sunflower seeds) ..and peanuts... 

lately my gut tolerates raw carrots (it only took me 8 years) - so I incorporate that as my snack. Raw carrots a re great with PB or Almond butter...