Way Back When...

I don't remember when or why I started to gain weight. I know that there were some things that came up from my past when I was a small girl, but it's easy to blame an incident on weight gain. It doesn't seem right to continue to blame that time on years of learned bad habits. Here I am, a 29 year old well adjusted and successful married mom of two. I know what good eating habits are. I know the basics. Calories in - calories burned = +/- calories. The more negative the number, the more the body uses thus resulting in weight loss. The more positive the number, the more the body stores which equals weight gain.
Here is where I have found my pitfalls to be, and guess what?? There are more than one!

• Portion control, portion control, portion control. Yes, I like tacos. If one is good, 3 are better! I had an epiphany a few weeks ago when I ordered a foot long sandwich from Subway. Upon looking at the length, width, and height of the sandwich, I thought about how large our stomachs are. Not as huge as some of wish - about the size of a football. At the time I was about the indulge, my stomach wasn't empty. I had eaten within that past 2-3 hours and I'd had something to drink. It finally dawned on me - how was this 12"x 4"X 5" sandwich going to fit into my stomach?? Portion size is incredibly important when it comes to discussing weight loss and even more so when it comes to surgical weight loss. When your stomach becomes as small as a medicine cup , good luck fitting a $5 footlong in there!

• Food choice. Okay, I know I'm preaching to the choir here. Why choose low fat Ranch dressing when the real thing tastes SO much better? Actually, I don't have much of an argument for this one. I absolutely hate low cal Ranch. Just pass the balsamic vinaigrette please. I know some people make the switch to everything low fat when it comes to weight loss, but in my opinion the sacrifice of taste is simply not worth it. What I've done is adapt the recipes I enjoy to be more calorie friendly. I've cut out sweets (though I have to confess my sweet husband did buy ice cream last night and I had some - but it was a small amount equaling the suggested serving size on the package) and instead eat fruit. I've tried a dozen different drinks at the local coffee shops in the sugar free variety and I like a couple of them and I try to think of them as a completely different drink rather than a new version of my favorite. In preparation of surgery, you will be required to give up caffeine for a number of different reasons, so the best thing you can do for yourself is to cut it out completely. At my pre-op class the nurse promised that a big key is cutting out all sugar as it is problematic for Roux-En-Y patients. She stated that if you can wean yourself of sugar, your journey is easier. We'll see!
  

• Lonely/boredom eating. I will admit that when no one is around I think of yummy things I can make out of what I have in the cupboards and fridge. I haven't found a solution to this problem yet. It's easier with the kids being around, it keeps me honest. I'm hoping that with the creation of a new, smaller stomach it will keep me from binging because I will have the inability to do so.

I'm hoping that I will be able to identify more behaviors when the surgery is done. I'm curious. Until then...!