The content of this blog is strictly my opinion and comes from personal experience and individual research. I am not a medical professional so please contact your physician before drastically changing your diet and caloric intake.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Starting Over.. Week 1 Results

Here it is… the moment of truth. When I started this a week ago, I had some questions.   Exactly how healthy are my current eating habits? Where can I make changes? Was water retention an issue and could I tie it to food? Did I answer any of these questions this week? Well, yes and no. This is what I have learned this week:

YoYo Dieting is more than just a weight loss phenomenon; it seems to be a way of life. Too few calories one day lead to too many calories the next. Even worse, too few calories lead to too many calories in the form of the wrong foods. Consistency is a key. 

I have to be on a schedule. If left to my own devices, I will eat what I want, when I want.  I was concerned that weekends would derail what I did during the week and of course it has. I had reached my calorie limit by 4:00 yesterday afternoon. I started to get hungry and my brain just said “screw it; you might as well enjoy it.” Chinese style pork ribs and sushi rice for dinner was amazing. This was actually the first time I've cooked white rice in over a year. Of course that was followed a few hours later by a peanut butter and banana sandwich on low carb whole grain bread. I am paying for it today though. I woke up swollen, sore, and 6.5 lbs heavier. 12 hours later and I’m still swollen. Of course I haven’t been very good today either. I’m almost afraid to plug it in to see just how bad it is.

Carbs are not my friends. Not that this is breaking news. I have always been aware of subsequent pain caused by a diet of too many carbs, it's the bloating and associated weight gain that is surprising. The more I read about low carb diets, the more excited I am about making some serious changes.

Keeping a food diary really works. To be honest, I had no intention of dieting this week. I wanted to look at what I was eating and determine where I could do better. Keeping a diary and actually being honest about it made me self conscious about what I ate. I became obsessed with writing down everything, figuring out how many calories I had left to eat, and what I could eat with the few calories that were left. So do I know how healthy I was eating last week or last month? No, not really. I can only guess I would find too many calories and too many carbohydrates.

I still don’t know if my pain level is associated with diet, weight loss, malnutrition, the weather, or just because. That question may never be answered but I will continue to search. Here are my final stats for the week:

Open RNY Gastric Bypass: 10/22/2002
Highest Weight: 356
Weight at Surgery: 306
Lowest Weight: 156
Highest Recorded Weight Gain: 238
Weight on 05/29/2011: 224
Weight on 05/30/2011: 221.8
Weight on 05/31/2011: 221.4
Weight on 06/01/2011:  219.8
Weight on 06/02/2011:  219.8
Weight on 06/03/2011:  213.8
Weight on 06/04/2011: 212.8                              Total Weight Loss = 4.7 lbs
Weight on 06/05/2011: 219.3                             

Personal                  Actual 06/04                  Weekly Average
Calories:                    1301                        1858                                  1503
Protein:                     >80 grams                 107.8 grams                       98.2 grams
Total Carbs:              <100 grams               156.5 grams                     115.3 grams
Net Carbs:                 <70 grams                 122.5 grams                      96.4 grams
Sugars:                      20 grams                   35.9 grams                        26.7 grams

I loved being able to say that I had lost 11.2 lbs yesterday  but am happy with the final tally of 4.7 lbs.  This week has been an eye opener and I’ve learned more about myself and my habits than I thought I would.  I am fighting with my brain today. My brain knew I was starting this as a one week project and now that we are wrapping up Week 1, my brain thinks were done. Little does it know it has a fight on its hand. :-)  I will slip up. I will eat too many carbohydrates or not enough protein. I will not give up and take it one meal/snack at a time.

This week has proven to me that with a little tweaking and dedication, I can get back to a weight that I am comfortable with, that will keep me healthy, and hopefully reduce my daily pain level.  I am going to continue to log what I eat and keep up with daily results. I will also continue to weigh myself daily, at least for awhile anyway.  The next step is to take pictures and measurements. It’s interesting to see the inches drop as well as the weight, even sometimes in spite of the weight.  I will move the stats to the sidebar and update them weekly.

The fight with obesity is a lifelong battle, even with the help of weight loss surgery. Whether you have had surgery, are thinking about surgery, or are just trying to shed a few pounds, NEVER GIVE UP! Obesity is a medical condition that can be managed; the trick is finding what works for you. Keep searching. We all deserve to be healthy.

Thank you for spending the last week with me. Check back for further updates…

Angie

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Starting Over... Days 5 and 6

Yes, I’m a slacker. Well if feels that way sometimes. Thursday and Friday were good days. I was able to keep somewhat of a schedule and learned that late at night is my worst time for grazing or even binging. I average 3-5 hours of sleep most nights which means I’m up and fighting the urge to eat something for 20 hours a day. Breaking up the day into 3 meals and 3 snacks is the easy part; it’s getting the right nutrients within the set parameters that I’ve set that is proving to be a challenge.

Open RNY Gastric Bypass: 10/22/2002
Highest Weight: 356
Weight at Surgery: 306
Lowest Weight: 156
Highest Recorded Weight Gain: 238
Weight on 05/29/2011: 224
Weight on 05/30/2011: 221.8
Weight on 05/31/2011: 221.4
Weight on 06/01/2011:  219.8
Weight on 06/02/2011:  219.8
Weight on 06/03/2011:  213.8
Weight on 06/04/2011: 212.8

Personal              Actual 06/02                       Actual 06/03
Calories:              1301                       1389                                    1231
Protein:               >80 grams            109.1 grams                       76.4 grams
Total Carbs:        <100 grams         100.3 grams                        102.9 grams
Net Carbs:           <70 grams           85 grams                             81.8 grams
Sugars:                 20 grams             30.2 grams                           30.9 grams

Let’s talk about nutrition for a second. If you’ve been following along, you should notice a slight change; my goals have been evolving through this short process. I’m trying to listen to my body and make decisions based on how I feel.

 In 2004 I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Since then, as many of us post-ops have experienced, my blood work started showing deficiencies, mostly in Iron and Vitamin D.  Many of the symptoms of Iron and Vitamin D deficiencies actually mimic the widespread pain and fatigue, the basic flu-like symptoms of Fibromyalgia. Too many carbohydrates also cause extreme pain, especially in my hips and legs. Even though I have lost 11.2 lbs since Sunday instead of feeling better, I am actually feeling worse. I realize that 11 lbs is a lot and I expect that to level off soon, maybe even plateau for a few days. I’m hoping my body is just reacting to the weight loss and the pain will subside soon as well. My fear is that I am eating too much or too little of something that is causing the pain. Having a nutritionist familiar with Weight Loss Surgery would be fabulous right about now. Unfortunately that is not available to me yet so I have to rely on The Interweb for research and information. No two theories are the same and it’s hard to know which theory to take to heart. I have a Multivitamin, Calcium, Iron, B-12 sublingual, and Vitamin D that I should be taking daily but I rarely do.

Of course, this could just be a normal Fibromyalgia Flare-up and not related to the food changes and weight loss. How do I know? All I know to do is to find an eating plan that allows me to continue to lose weight and reduce my pain level. That is the ultimate goal in this; healthy and pain free. There are many situations in my life that I cannot control, what I eat is not one of them.

Stay tuned to tomorrow for a Week 1 Roundup. Oh and by the way… I’VE LOST 11.2 LBS SO FAR!!!  :-)

Happy Saturday
Angie

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Starting Over... Day 4

Today’s entry is late. That seems to be the story of my life, I’m late for everything. I’ve been thinking all day about what I would write about and here’s what I came up with…

When I woke up this morning, I was disgusted with myself. My night last night did not end well. My dinner plans were derailed when I couldn’t get the vinegar I wanted to make sushi rice. You see, I found a fabulous recipe for black sesame crusted salmon and wanted to serve rice and a raw asparagus salad on the side. When those plans were scrapped, I spent the night grazing on Memorial Day leftovers then topped it off with a salad and a few lemon poppy seed muffins. 1666 calories total for the day and I felt like I had failed before I really got started. I jumped on the scale first thing this morning knowing that my mini binge had caused me to gain. I was surprised to find that I actually stayed the same. So here is where I am now…

Open RNY Gastric Bypass: 10/22/2002
Highest Weight: 356
Weight at Surgery: 306
Lowest Weight: 156
Highest Recorded Weight Gain: 238
Weight on 05/29/2011: 224
Weight on 05/30/2011: 221.8
Weight on 05/31/2011: 221.4
Weight on 06/01/2011:  219.8
Weight on 06/02/2011:  219.8

Since I’ve been thinking about this all idea, I had an idea. This is actually my normal eating pattern, not very hungry one day, starving the next. So the answer is to eat consistently. Don’t hate me because I have always cringed when I’d hear other people say it but… some days I forget to eat. I don’t get hungry and at 11:00 I’ll realize my egg scramble is still sitting there. Lunch is at 12:00 or so. The trick is going to be to put myself on an eating schedule and forcing myself to eat. I’ve done it before and it really does work. It takes a few days but I can only guess it normalizes my metabolism. After about a week, I’ll start getting hungry again, and at fairly regular intervals. And that’s where the problem starts. If I’m hungry, I eat, and more often than not I eat too much. How do I control that? Or better yet, how do I keep what little control I have now and build on it? If anyone has the answer, please shout it from the rooftops. One of the first changes I’m going to make is in my daily goals. My calorie goal of 1200, while quite achievable, is too low for me for the moment. I’m going to adjust it to 1301 as recommended by WebMD and lower my Protein goal to 80 grams per day. I’m not going to change the Total Carbs or Sugars just yet.  

WebMD                      Personal                    Actual
Calories:          1301                           1301                        1666 (Not happy)
Protein:            46 grams                    100 grams                 109 grams (Now that’s what I’m talking about)
Total Carbs:    130 grams                  50 grams                    133 grams (Holy crap!)
Sugars:              25 grams              20 grams                      29.3 grams (Ok, wasn’t expecting that.                                                                                                          Stupid banana)

While I’m still a bit disappointed in myself, I have a better understanding of my eating habits and am aware that a change needs to be made. Awareness is the first step towards change… or something like that.

Stay tuned for the next weigh-in, just a few hours away.

Angie

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Starting Over... Day 3

Wow... what a difference a day makes. We were outside, digging up grass, for several hours on Monday. This probably explains the phenomenon I experienced on Tuesday. Monday I consumed 1608 calories and 94 grams of protein. Tuesday was a normal work day, back to a schedule, most of the day sitting at a desk, and I only ate 1138 calories (Ok make that 1254 – it’s midnight at the time of this writing and a mini sugar free lemon poppy seed muffin was calling me) and 81 grams of protein. Water is a major factor. I use Kroger In an Instant Light Sugar Free Peach Tea drink mix in my water. I realize that it’s not as good as plain water but by using these I can drink (8-10) 16.9 oz bottles of water per day. As I type that, I am aware how crazy it sounds. Starting today, I will substitute every other bottle with plain water.

So here are Tuesday’s stats:

Open RNY Gastric Bypass: 10/22/2002
Highest Weight: 356
Weight at Surgery: 306
Lowest Weight: 156
Highest Recorded Weight Gain: 238
Weight on 05/29/2011: 224
Weight on 05/30/2011: 221.8
Weight on 05/31/2011: 221.4
Weight on 06/01/2011:  219.8

WebMD                 Personal                 Actual
Calories:          1301                    1200                        1254 (Now that’s a happy medium. Go me!)
Protein:            46 grams             100 grams                81 grams (This needs to be a little better)
Total Carbs:    130 grams           50 grams                    87.7 grams (A little lower would be great)
Sugars:             25 grams             20 grams                 13.6 grams (Love that number)

A much better day that included a 1.6 lb drop for the day. I have a tendency to be a bit ADD so I like schedules.  I have learned how to fit breakfast, lunch, two snacks, and 4-5 bottles of water into an 8 hour day. I take my lunch every day so I have a lot more control over what I eat. Being at home I am more apt to graze and eat at odd times. I feed my cravings for both creating something new or different and consuming the final art piece (or flop. The odds are 50/50). I’ve tried off and on for years to schedule myself on the weekends but it has never worked.  My fear is that my days off in chaos are derailing everything I accomplish during the week.  I guess we’ll find out on Saturday.

Tuesday afternoon I started looking at what I had logged so far and what I had planned for dinner.  I’m getting a bit obsessive about it but not so much that I’m concerned. Not yet anyway. What I noticed was that I wasn’t eating any “Free” foods. If you’ve ever been to Weight Watchers in the last 30 years, you know that “Free” foods are food with little or no calories. This includes a few fresh vegetables, salad vegetables, herbs, spices… so with my leftover pork chop, I had a beautiful salad with baby greens, red onion, alfalfa sprouts, sugar snap peas, tomato slices, and shredded parmesan. It was just enough to keep me full without adding too many additional calories.

I did something to pamper myself after work Tuesday. I NEVER pamper myself and while this sounds like an every day event I got my hair cut. I received a style that I really didn't like last July. I have been letting it grow out and just never stopped to get it trimmed. Now that it’s falling out, it was starting to look unhealthy and I was no longer proud of what I consider my best asset. It looks and feels so much better and I’m amazed at how much better I feel about myself. A new do for a new me.

I’m really excited to see the 1.6 lb loss this morning. During my initial weight loss period in 2002 – 2003, I averaged losing a pound a day for the first 70 lbs and then it backed off to a pound every other day or so. I’m interested to see if I can stick to this and if I’ll consistently average a pound per day again. I'm not expecting those kinds of results the second time around though it would be nice. It’s really hot again today but I intend to add some activity to my day; taking stairs instead of elevator, walking around the block a few times, and maybe even a walk after work with my husband. 

I’m having fun with this and can’t wait to see what today brings.

Thanks for coming along.

Angie