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
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