The Shangri-La of weight loss

The intuitive eating works for me, as long as I am not eating carbs. I do find that some days I eat a ton of calories, like snacking on almonds all day, and other days I am barely hungry at all. It seems to work for me, and I don't need to journal what I eat. I think I have a pretty wide calorie range, anywhere from 1200-2400 per day.

However, if I am eating carbs, the intuitive eating does not work at all for me. I think the carbs override my natural weight regulation system. If I want to include the occasional treat or fruit in my diet, then I will need to journal very strictly.

Since I have battled weight my entire life, or at least since I was 6 years old, I can't imagine not tracking now.  I have always regained when I did not track.  Now on the eating less after an out of control day, yes, I seem to naturally eat less after a bad day.  I wonder if when we have a "bad" day, it's really our bodies needing some nutrient that we're not supplying.  Maybe our bodies are searching for some fat or salt or some exotic element that it needs to run properly.  Maybe once that has been satisfied, the body is happy until next time.  Just a theory.  However, I think we need to stay on top of it, because our food addict brains could easily tell us that it's OK to eat that Twinkie, or pizza or Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.  For me, and I'm only 6 1/2 months out, I must remain vigilant.  Great question! 

I'm a daily tracker.  If my calories go over 800-850 I gain weight regardless of activity level. Tracking helps me be mindful to keep protein first with a little veggies after that.  I gain and loose in ounces, rarely a pound.  At the holidays I was on vacation and ate mindfully for 2 weeks. I ate some things that aren't generally in my food plan and went up 2 pounds.  As soon as I cut the carbs in January I started letting go of the next 10 pounds.  Hopefully as I gain more muscle mass I'll be able to eat a few more calories.  It's interesting to see that we're all just so dang different!!  :)

Well I am with all of you guys.  I wish and hope for someday being able to just trust my body to eat well and regulate my caloric intake, but my history tells me that it spins out of control into regain.  Dr. C mentioned once to me that he didn't think I needed to keep as close an eye on this as I have, since it's been a year and I have basically maintained.  He did say it wouldn't be a bad idea to track and journal one week a month or so and to spot any trends early.  Oh yeah, I meant to also tell you that that day, when I was super hungry and could not stop eating, well I now know what was going on.  My period came way early this month, so that was my normal PMS day, only I didn't know it as it was off schedule.  That explains it totally to me.  I will probably always keep an eagle's eye on weight and calories and just like so many of you mentioned, mostly on my carb consumption as it is never the chicken that I am overeating on or craving.  Great discussion everybody.  I love hearing all of your points of view. 

This is a very interesting discussion.  I guess I have floated over to the intuitive eater mode without recognizing it.  I would never have believed that I would be one of those people, but I guess I am. 

You know how Dr. C. is!  The rules are ingrained and hardwired into my actions after all this time, so I really don't think about it much.  Protein first.  Then veggies, then fruit.   I'll indulge in something carb loaded from time to time, but not that often.  Carbs are a slippery slope for me and I just can't start down that path.  If my jeans get tight, I have to restrict a bit.

I go to Weigh****chers almost every Saturday morning for a boost and because I really like the long-term maintenance folks in the class.  I'll track my food intake for a week every now and then to see how I'm doing.  I'm usually below their allocated points, but I'm a "mature" lady and I think I'll always have to eat on the lower end of the spectrum to maintain. 

Aren't we lucky to live in California where there are so many fruits and veggies we can grow or grab at the farmer's market -- not to mention the baskets and bags of things that show up on the doorstep??  (Zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, peaches, nectarines, apricots, peppers, lemons, basil - can you tell I am ready for summer??  My neighbors always over-plant, and I'm the lucky beneficiary of that bounty!) 

Ev

Don't know if I will ever become one of these intuitive eaters but for now I am not. That doesn't mean i plan everything to the nth degree but I do journal it. The main thing i track for is to make sure I get my protein of 70 g in which my surgeon says is for life. I am aftraid if i didn't journal that i would slack off and not get enough and less protein might mean more of other things that are not good for me.

So to maintain I am setting myself goals of 6 months, then a year and so forth of staying at or below 125 pounds. By doing this in segments I think its more meaning full than making my goal to weigh 125 on the day I die. Plus there seems to be some success rate for those who maintain loss for a year so thats a first step. And I feel like the journaling and counting has served me well and got me through the weight loss stage at a steady rate though not the world's fastest. So i believe it will get me through maintenance milestones. I wish i could eat a few more calories and maintain but just looks like its not to be. But I don't go around feeling hungry all the time like i used to when dieting at 1000 calories and so its doable.

And while intuitive eating would be nice because it seems like it would be less effort, is it really all that much more wonderful than staying slim by doing the journaling and measuring? I mean, journaling is not that bad and has become an easy habit like brushing teeth and I don't find it the least bit onerous. 

I have noticed that older people - like 60's and 70's gradually tend to eat less and lose some weight. This has happened to my Mom who used to be pretty fat. I am kind of thinking as I get older I will become more able to eat intuitively because if this aging thing. But that still doesn't count my protein unless i just drink a protein drink daily. My mom drinks Boost or some crap like that which i used to think was horrible but probably no worse than protein drinks.

So thats my take. I am still a journaler and will be for at least another 6 months and probably longer.   diane

I do kind of a combination.  I eat pretty much what I want, but I still journal every bite.  And I think I would eat more if I didn't journal because if I know I've had a day's worth of calories, I'm more like to stop, I think.

But yes, I definitely have hungry days and not-so-hungry days.  My calorie intake ranges from about 1,000 to as much as 1,800 or up to 2,000 if I'm eating out and having a drink or two.  I'm still losing at a rate of 1-2 pounds a month.

I really think I've hit the intuitive eater stage. My body definitely tells me what it wants and needs. For example, yesterday I ate: 1 scrambled egg with about 2oz of turkey sausage and cheese, 1 smoked chicken thigh with barbque sauce, and 3 french fries,1 cup of homemade mac-n-cheese with rigatoni noodles, and 1/2 cup of Ranch style beans, 2 mini chocolate donuts, and for dinner all I ate was 1 cup of creamed spinach, 2 saltine crackers and 2ounces of baked chicken w/ a chicken gravy of sorts out of the casserole I prepared for my family. I was severely lacking on protein obviously, but I felt amazing. Today, I've had a small sandwich with a handful of salt/vinegar chips, for lunch I'm really wanting some chicken salad (which I have to prepare at home) and will probably have leftover mac-n-cheese with more beans, and for dinner we're having beef tenderloin and broccoli with cheese.

I quit formally tracking my intake months ago. I've been able to maintain with a 5lb bounce around on the scale, and feel I do best being mindful of what/how much/how often I eat, but feel super normal.

I am a bit obsessive, and tracked every morsel that crossed my lips during my losing stage, and continued to track through maintenance since I was still losing and trying to get it figured out. But, I really was letting it ruin my mental health. I was beating myself up over a tiny indulgence then I'd deprive myself and end up binging on Funyuns. It was a vicious cycle and had to do what was best for me, not only physically, but mentally. Because for me, and me alone, the physical aspect is nothing compared to my mental state for weight loss and maintenance.

I am struggling right now with pregnancy weight gain, getting in enough nutrients, food in general, and watching my body change, bloating out of my lovely super skinny size 2. Wanna talk about a mind twist? This is the biggest struggle I have yet to face since being post-VSG. My mind if playing tricks on me, my heart kind of hurts because I know that gaining weight in pregnancy is normal and expected, it's normal for my belly to swell, for my skin to break out, for my hair to frizz out, and all the lovely other symptoms of pregnancy, BUT that does NOT remove the instant fear that consumed me the day that I couldn't zip my pants.

I can not even begin to tell you how much I feel for you.  I am happy for your new baby, but the body changes this entails would drive me crazy right now.  I guess it doesn't really matter how you feel about it now, the only thing that determines what you should eat is your baby's needs, but how difficult that must be, can never be overstated.  I know you are going to do great and if necessary, you will just have to go back on the sleeve program you were on before to lose the baby weight and then go back to intuitive eating.  You can do it, I just know it.

It's a super weird place to be mentally and emotionally. I've only gained 3lbs, they wanted 10lb gain the first trimester. I think they are concerned I won't make it to term, and they want some reserves.

I know that all of the physical stuff is normal, but mentally, it's still difficult to grasp the idea of being "fat" again. Even though, it's not "fat", I see fat, I feel fat. It took so much for us to get pregnant, I'm beyond grateful that the pregnancy is going well, and uneventful at this point.
Thanks for understanding and letting me vent.