I had my Duodenal Switch weight loss surgery 3 years ago. Last year at my two-year follow up, they said, "You are at goal, you should stop losing weight now." Then in the week following, I lost another 5 pounds, so they put me on digestive enzymes. I lost ANOTHER 5 pounds while we adjusted how much of the (ridiculously expensive) enzymes I needed. I maintained for 2 weeks.
Then we went into the Christmas Season, full of treats and lots of eating. I felt I had free reign to eat "whatever I want", since I was in danger of continuing to lose too much weight. Well, by January 1st I had gained back that extra 10 below goal weight, and was back to "goal." I backed off the enzymes, taking none for a few weeks to see what happened. I maintained, so I stayed off them. But I was still in the "I can eat anything" mind-set. I had incorporated a lot more sugar and starches into my diet than I had been eating in the 2 years prior. Slowly that has had an effect. In addition to the added carbohydrates I was taking in, I was also being more social, going to more parties and therefore drinking more booze. All of these extra "empty" calories has lead to a gain of another 15 pounds over the last year. Meaning, I am 15 above goal and 25 above my lowest weight! I cannot let this continue!
I decided I would go off starches for the week, just this week Monday through Friday. I forgot what it was like to feel like an addict. I have been "having what I want" for so long, than I didn't notice it might be some addictive behavior. BUT, I notice that I am seriously craving the starches now that I have deemed them off limits. Even when I am NOT at all hungry, I am fantasizing about bread!
I have always HATED feeling like I am on a diet. Right now I am feeling like I am "dieting", though I have no quantity limits in mind for my eating. I can eat as much meat, eggs, cheese fish, and veggies as I want. I am also allowing myself 1 -2 pieces of fruit and some beans / edemame / soynuts and other nuts. These have higher carb content, but also have good fiber, and other than the fruit, have decent protein along with the carbs. Most important to me is staying away from bread, rice, pasta etc. But I sure love bread, rice, pasta, tortillas.
So, I am noticing a bit of obsessing, and acknowledging to myself, yes, these things *are* addictive to me. I think I can have them back in my food plan once I am back at goal. I just need to be a little more moderate than I have been, and pay closer attention to my protein, veggie intake, and keep bread etc to just 1-2 servings a day, rather than 1-2 servings per meal, as I was in the habit for a while.
Also, I need to get more exercise. I am getting a little bit of walking in, but no real cardio to speak of. And definitely no strength training. I have a few friends that are available to go to the gym, so I will probably take them up on it. While I would rather work out in the morning, but being obligated to someone else helps me not flake out, so that might be worth going in the evening. In the end, going is better than not going.
In the past, I would have really beaten myself up over gaining a bit of weight. But things are different for me now. It's really quite common for most weight loss surgery patients to gain back 10-20 percent of the weight lost. I also know I still have my tool, and I can use it to drop those pounds easier than the average woman on the street. Surgery is not an "easy fix", it still requires I take care of business for the rest of my life. Yes, there is a wonderful honeymoon period when everything is easy, requires little effort. Well, my honeymoon is over and now it's time to behave like the average person .... most adults have to watch what they eat. Hopefully most of them just have to pay attention, be moderate and not go crazy and they do just fine maintaining a healthy weight. They can have occasional indulgences with little ill effect because they are diligent most of the time with making healthy choices. I can do that too. Once I am back at goal, I am completely confident that I won't need to constantly "diet". I will need to be mindful and make healthy choices most of the time. And occasionally I can have a treat. I have always said what I wanted was to be normal.
Well, this is what normal looks like.
I've been reading intuitive eating and trying to completely never use the word diet again or be on one.
ReplyDeletei like taking walks or hiking -- my wife and i often walk in redwood city or at the stanford dish.. if you would like to connect and join me or us on walks, let me know. ed b.
Hi Kim: I had a lap roux-en-y back when it was still "experimental" in the mid-1990s.
ReplyDeleteBecause it was so new back then, I really had to sort of find my own way re: diet.
I did get obsessively into low carb back duting the Atkins years, and although it did get me to goal weight and lower, it also blew out my gall bladder, and eventually made me very sick.
After I had the gall bladder removed, I tried like crazy to stay skinny, and I made myself even sicker: I eventually landed in the ER with severe anemia: I then had to have iron shots which left permanent scars that look like bad bruises on my butt.
So: I decided to see what would happen if I just "let it be" for awhile. I took the batteries out of my bathroom scale, and I ate when I was physically hungry, and HERE'S THE TRICK: I stopped eating when I was "no longer hungry".
SO: In a nutshell - the trick is to:
1) Wait until you are PHYSICALLY HUNGRY - as in: You are distracted from whatever else you are doing by the fact that your body is saying "My stomach is empty, and it needs food" (sorry for the ALL CAPS; I wish that there were italics in here...).
2) Eat EXACTLY WHAT YOUR BODY IS CRAVING!
There is a reason that your body is craving something: It's because your body knows what it needs.
3) STOP WHEN YOU ARE JUST "NO LONGER HUNGRY" - AND NOT "FULL"!: I cannot emphasize this one enough: If you stop at the right time, you will feel satisfied and comfortable for quite awhile.
IF you eat until you are "full", you will feel uncomfortable for awhile, and then paradoxically, you will crave food again sooner than if you had stopped at the right time.
4)Learn to TRUST YOUR BODY!: I have some days when all I eat is bread. Serously!
And then I'll have whole days when all I want is cheese. Then sometimes, it'll be 5 bananas in a single day...
Ultimately though, it all balances itself out in the end. Nobody really needs to eat a "balanced diet" at every meal, or even every day (BTW: This whole concept is a construct of the FDA).
For more info, try reading and older version of what Dr. Spock advised parents to do about their children's "odd" food cravings back in the 1960s "The child's body knows what it needs. Just make sure that they get a multi-vitamin every day, and let them eat what they want. If the child wants nothing but chocolate milk and peanut butter sandwiches for a whole week, that's okay.".
On a personal note: I look at the old photos of myself when I was at my "goal" weight (122. I am 5'2"), and in fact I did look waaay too skinny. Even my trainer at the gym said that I was getting too thin - but I didn't believe it.
Also, because the old FDA height-weight charts were calculated using women who were wearing "2 inch heels", and somewhere along the way, that factoid got lost in the shuffle...
Finally, my trainer did a body fat measurement, and my level was below 17%, which is anorexia territory. My OB/Gyn warned me that I could throw myself into premature menopause if I didn't get my body fat back up over 20-22% by either eating carbs, or by exercising less.
Since I was only doing the gym 2x per week for an hour, and not even breaking a sweat, I chose carbs. Then I broke my leg skiing, and gave up the gym altogether.
SO: Now I am in the 130-40 range: During the holidays, and on vacations I get into the upper range. When I'm at home and there's nothing to tempt me, I slide back down...
After this kind of surgery, you would have to
work really hard to become truly obese ever again. My doctor back then told me that the only patient he ever had who accomplished this feat was a bartender who drank beer for a steady 10 hrs+ per day.
And remember: Catherine Deneuve said "After a certain age, a woman must choose between her ass and her face. I choose my face."
Hope this helps...
Love,
-Suzy