LaBelle509

*** You must release yourself in your mind to be slim**** that is so true!!!!

I love this article. I am almost two years out and do feel like I was pushing my sleeve a little too much. I am going to watch closely how much food I placed on my plates.

Thank you so much for right this!!!

You’re tired of your old body – the fat one that’s caused you so many problems – but are you ready to move into a new one?


The idea for this article came to me in a dream.
It was what I call an anxiety dream, in which I’m trying to accomplish something important but encounter obstacles everywhere I turn. That’s kind of a parable of life itself, isn’t it? When I wake from a dream like that, I feel frustrated because I didn’t get to finish my dream task, but at the same time I’m relieved to be released from the endless struggle.
So in this particular dream, I was moving into a new, multi-story house, kind of like the old tenement buildings you see in dying New England mill towns. It was essential that I quickly locate and organize all my belongings so that I could use them to start an urgent and important project. Every time I carried something into another room to put it away, I would find other people there, already moving my stuff, wreaking havoc on my carefully ordered household. When I went back outside for another load of stuff, more people would be poking through it as if it was so much garbage left out to be collected and buried at the dump. These interfering people ignored my pleas to leave my things alone. For every armful I took into the house, they carried out ten.
Then my husband started a load of wash in the laundry room a few feet away from the bedroom, and the sound of the washer’s spin cycle woke me up. Thank God.
I trudged off to the bathroom, pondering the meaning of the dream. I haven’t moved into a house for 14 years, so why was I having a dream about moving house? As I made the bed and thought more about the dream (which didn’t want to leave my head just then), I suddenly knew what it was about.
My big moving project for the past 6 years hasn’t involved moving into a new house. It’s involved moving into a new body. Like any move into the unknown, it’s been both exciting and scary. I no longer have a jumbo, custom-built pantry to hold 50+ years’ worth of bad habits and warped beliefs about myself. I keep forgetting where I’ve put things, and have sabotaged my own efforts numerous times. At times, circumstances beyond my control have put my new “home” into disarray, but I’ve kept working at it, carrying things in, bringing things out, rearranging things…a seemingly endless task.
I think I’m pretty much settled now. I watch elderly people who have to work so hard to accomplish the simplest tasks – sit down, get up, button a shirt, open a jar – and remember my mom talking about the way her body had betrayed her as she aged. I suppose that could happen to me sooner or later. But for right now, I’m in a good place: my new body - the home I carry with me everywhere.
As you continue on your weight loss journey, please take good care of your body. You may not like it much now, but it’s your home. Your very own home. As it changes, you will have to learn its new floor plan. When you go to a closet to fetch a size 16 dress and find only size 18’s, you may feel so disoriented that you forget the size 20, 22 & 24’s you took to the Goodwill Store last week. As you pass through the front hallway of this new home and see yourself in the mirror, the person you see might look like a complete stranger. What’s she doing there? She’s fat, I’m not, so why is her reflection all I can see? Where did this mirror come from, anyway, the funhouse at a circus?
Don’t give up. One day you’ll have all the curtains hung, the walls painted, the furniture arranged, a fire burning in the fireplace, and you’ll think, “I’m so glad to be home.”

Regain glasses suck.
The moment regain becomes a problem we put on those regain glasses and NOTHING looks good.


A few years ago I distinctly remember reading a post from a woman that went something like this.
I hate my hair. I don't like my face and don't know how to use makeup. I hate what I'm eating every day and I'm sick of it. Oh and I gained 5 pounds.
One of my most often repeated quotes...."we are rarely upset for the reason we think". Of course I assume you can guess what she was really upset about. I wrote her and told her to get a cute haircut, go to a department store and get someone to show her how to do makeup (free) or check out thousands of makeup videos on You Tube. I also told her she could change what she eats every day. Of course none of that made her feel better because she didn't FEEL like doing any of that because she was wearing her regain glasses loud and proud.
It seems that for most people everything looks pretty awful through those regain glasses. I want to help you take them off. You say "Yeah right…like I haven’t tried… and mostly..... I don't FEEL like it. I don't feel like doing anything." I have often pointed out that when you were at this weight on the way down you were ecstatic! Do you see how your perspective totally messes with your head? Why do we obsess about the lowest weight we ever reached instead of constantly realizing what our highest weight was and being grateful we aren't there? And if you choose to obsess about your lowest weight, doesn't it make sense to move towards doing something about it instead of continuing to walk down regain road?
Unfortunately we have this big adjustment to make after weight loss surgery because the first year we are wearing the "honeymoon glasses" and EVERYTHING looks GREAT! Remember how wonderful everything was when you lost your first 30-40 pounds? Yet you were heavier than you are now. You could hardly mess up at all the first year. It was all good!
One day you wake up and you can't find your honeymoon glasses. You start to take for granted the little things like being able to tie your shoes, paint your toe nails, fit in an airplane seat..... and the next thing you know it isn't enough anymore. Some of us hang in there for a while or even a long while and eventually something shifts and you start to think about how much you miss those honeymoon glasses.... you start looking for that feeling in other things like our old friend Mr. Food. He’s tappin' you on the shoulder every day..."Pssst....remember me? Remember how much fun we had? Oh come on... a little sum-um sum-um won't hurt you". All the while your old friend has some regain glasses stuck in his back pocket just waiting to slide them on your face.
One of the most extreme cases of the perspective meter being out of whack was a woman I met who had lost 485 pounds. Not a typo! She lost 485 pounds but she had gained 40 back. She was all out of sorts and literally more miserable than when she weighed her heaviest.
I asked her to imagine that 485 pounds sitting on the floor. Right next to it 40 lbs. I guess we could say it looks something like this. (For those with perfectly analytical brains please forgive me…I guesstimated it)

I told her not to give that 40 pounds the time of day and dust it off. We give that regain so much power and of course we can pile plenty of shame on top of that for good measure. Shame is toxic, shame keeps us down. Shame keeps those damn regain glasses cemented to our face.
Here's the thing....if you don't take off the glasses and begin to turn things around....chances are that you'll look up in another year with more regain. Get off the insanity train today. Of course you remember... “Insanity=doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome”
Everyone is different but here are a few suggestions. You can’t build Rome in a day but you can always do the next best thing. (Thank you Post-Op and a Doc for “the next best thing”)
Look at your before picture in the morning and FEEL what you felt like. Sit it that for a while. I do that every morning without fail. Remember the things you wanted so badly. BE GRATEFUL you aren't there. If I could put you back in that body for a week you would be SO grateful to be you right now.
Quit thinking about the perceived mountain you have to move and pick up the shovel and start with one scoop at a time. Instead of Nike's "just do it", change it to "just start". (Thank you Chuck for that one) It’s too overwhelming to plan into the next century. I can hear the questions now….how long will this take? It DOES NOT matter. Just move toward your goal instead of away from it..... just for today. Today is all that counts.
Get the crap food out of your house. I know many people who find creative ways to do this with a family that feels they have to have the crap food. Put it in a place it can locked up but you'd do your family a favor by getting it out of their reach as well. Sugar and junk food is as addictive as any drug and they will guarantee that you will still be wearing those regain glasses. See my “M&M” story in this post.
Find a way to move your body that you can enjoy. I LOVE to dance. I hate to run….I wanted to love it but I don’t. I wanted that runner's high and I just could not get it. I love yoga and if you think you can’t do it, watch this! I describe yoga as slow dancing with yourself. Abby Lentz from Heartfelt Yoga is a dear friend. Look her up, she has DVD’s.

http://video.pbs.org/viralplayer/2365170173


You won’t do anything for very long if you perceive it as suffering. When you eat healthier food envision how you are nourishing your body. Remember it will make you feel better and look better instead of putting on more weight which equates to depression, physical pain, more misery and a shorter life span. Again the most important part of this is to stop the bleeding that has begun with regain. Nothing in life is easy so here comes your choices…...choose your hard.

Those who have had weight loss surgery often ask how much they should be eating. Whilst is seems a simple question, there is no simple answer.


Those who have had weight loss surgery often ask how much they should be eating. Whilst is seems a simple question, there is no simple answer.
How much you should be eating is a hot topic on many online forums or support pages. If you have read the discussions it becomes clear that weight loss surgery clinics and support teams widely differ in how much they are recommending their patients eat. This is also clear when I chat with other health professionals at our obesity surgery conferences. If the professionals working in the area can’t get their story straight, how are people to know what to do?
Some surgeons recommend you limit meals to half a cup, some may say one cup, and others will say a bread and butter plate of food. Interestingly, one cup of food nicely fits on a bread and butter plate and this is the guide we use in our clinic.
Accredited Practising Dietitians (in Australia, Registered Dietitians in the USA) are university‐qualified experts on food and nutrition. Whilst even their recommendations on what you should eat following surgery will vary, what they will generally agree on is that it is difficult to meet your nutritional requirements eating half a cup of food, three times a day.
To date, there are no scientific studies on the exact amount of food people should include after gastric band and gastric bypass surgeries. Hopefully in time this will evolve. Research from Mercy Bariatrics in Perth, Western Australia, provides some excellent data to help guide serving sizes for those who have had a sleeve gastrectomy. Whilst initially very small amounts are tolerated, at six months after surgery most people will manage about half a cup of food at a time. By 12 to 18 months most people will manage about one cup of solid food. This is a guide only and will vary between people as there are different size sleeves.
A point relevant to all surgeries is that the people studied found they could indeed ‘fit’ more food in than what they felt satisfied with. After all forms of weight loss surgery, eating to the maximum amount you can tolerate is not recommended. I have a favourite quote from Dr. Teresa Girolamo, one of the GPs in our clinic: “It’s not a matter of seeing how much you can eat and get away with, but how little you can eat and be satisfied.” Testing the limits of how much you can eat increases your intake, particularly if it occurs repeatedly, and can compromise your results. Tune in to your feeling of satisfaction after eating and let that guide the amount of food you need to eat. Always stop eating before you feel any discomfort.
Create an environment that makes it easy for you to eat small portions. Ensure family and friends know you use a smaller plate/bowl/cutlery. Take these items with you if you travel. When eating out, order entrée size meals or if there are none available, separate your meal into an appropriate portion before you start eating. Tapas style menus, Asian or Indian eateries are often tailored to meals being shared, allowing you to dish up a small serve to suit your needs. It is fine to leave food on your plate when you have had enough, even if it is a smaller serve. Avoid the temptation to ‘clean the plate’. If ‘wasting’ food concerns you, carry a container with you when you eat out and take a serve home to have for another meal.
After gastric band surgery some people may find it takes some time before they feel satisfied on small amounts of food. Many people need their gastric band adjusted several times to help them feel satisfied on small serves. If small meals of solid food do not satisfy you, keep in regular contact with your support team until they do. Some people will find this will occur early in their journey, for others it may take longer. Be patient.
Whilst it is not necessary for you to measure or weigh everything you eat, it may be helpful to measure the amount you are usually serving. When you eat a meal, take note how much food it takes for you to feel satisfied and how much it takes to feel full. The aim is to feel satisfied after eating, so if you know roughly how much food this is you can avoid dishing up too much in future.
The recipes in my book and on my blog have been designed to provide approximately four, one cup serves. This does not mean a one cup serve is right for everyone, but does allows you to easily adapt the recipes to your requirements.

Clients often tell me one of their biggest challenges after weight loss surgery is eating slowly.


Clients often tell me one of their biggest challenges after weight loss surgery is eating slowly. Eating too quickly means that you are unlikely to chew foods properly. This can cause discomfort, pain and in some cases, regurgitation.
To be able to eat a variety of foods comfortably after weight loss surgery, you really need to concentrate while you are eating. The following tips may help you do this:
Set aside time for meals and avoid doing other things whilst you are eating.
Sit up straight and avoid slouching. Sit at the table rather than the couch. Avoid eating whilst preparing food.
Move away from the television or computer. You cannot focus on what you are eating if you are immersed in something else.
Avoid playing with your mobile phone or other electronic devices.
Avoid getting really hungry. The hungrier you are when you start a meal, the more likely you are to eat quickly, take big bites and not chew properly.
Avoid eating with your hands as you will tend to take bigger bites. Use cutlery to cut food into small pieces. The more pieces you need to cut the longer it will take to eat.
Avoid eating on the run, or in the car.
Put your cutlery down between mouthfuls. Wait until you have swallowed your food before cutting the next piece. Avoid having that next mouthful loaded on your fork ready to go.
If you really struggle to slow down, use your cutlery in the opposite hand until the pace of eating feels more natural.
Choose a relaxing environment to eat. If the staff room at work is too distracting, head outside to a nearby park. Opt for a quiet café rather than a noisy food court, where you may be tempted to rush.
Be especially careful when eating socially, as during conversation it is very easy to become distracted. Eat during a break in conversation.
Avoid the tendency to want to keep pace when eating with others.

Take notice when you do slow down your eating. Do you feel more satisfied? Do you enjoy your food more? Many people report they enjoy food more after surgery as they eat more slowly, allowing them to really taste the food and savour the flavours.
Get in the habit of eating slowly. It could take up to 20 minutes to eat a small meal – between 10 and 20 minutes is a good goal. If there is food left on your plate after this time, discard it. There is a risk of eating too slowly which can turn a meal into grazing, which defeats the purpose of weight loss surgery.
Time how long it takes you to eat your next meal. It may just surprise you!

Recently I have found myself spending a lot of time talking with my weight loss surgery clients about getting the most from what they are eating, in particular, feeling satisfied after eating. Whilst the purpose of weight loss surgery is to help you feel satisfied on a smaller amount of food, the type of foods you choose is important to help maximise this.


Recently I have found myself spending a lot of time talking with my weight loss surgery clients about getting the most from what they are eating, in particular, feeling satisfied after eating. Whilst the purpose of weight loss surgery is to help you feel satisfied on a smaller amount of food, the type of foods you choose is important to help maximise this.

There are two key ingredients in helping you to feel satisfied after eating:
1. High fibre, low glycemic index carbohydrate-containing foods

2. Protein-containing foods.


This post will demystify the glycemic index, or GI. Protein will be the focus of a later post.


The GI is a measure of the effect that different carbohydrate-containing foods have on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. It describes the way our body digests and absorbs these foods. Carbohydrate-containing foods include:
breads, cereals, rice, pasta and noodles
starchy vegetables including potato, sweet potato and corn
legumes including baked beans, kidney beans, chickpeas and lentils
fruits and fruit juices
milks, yoghurts, custards and ice cream
any food containing flour or sugar.

Some carbohydrate-containing foods are broken down and absorbed quickly, so they raise our blood glucose level faster and higher. These are high GI foods. Other carbohydrate-containing foods are digested and absorbed more gradually, causing a slower, longer lasting rise in blood glucose levels. These are low GI foods. Low GI foods keep us feeling satisfied for longer after eating.



Often people experience a 'honeymoon' period following weight loss surgery, where weight loss seems automatic. Unfortunately this may not last forever and weight regain can occur with all surgeries. Maximising the satisfaction you get from the food you eat is crucial to keep losing weight and maintain that lost weight. A lower GI eating pattern also helps us feel satisfied for longer after eating, which can help with losing weight. For example, if you eat high GI foods at your meals, you are likely to become hungry sooner after the meal than if you eat low GI foods. This can make you more likely to snack and if you have not planned for this, you may be forced to grab something from the biscuit barrel or vending machine. 
 


Appetite control is not the only benefit of a lower GI diet. Research has shown that people eating a lower GI diet can reduce their average blood glucose levels, which is particularly important for people with diabetes. Lower GI foods are often also higher in fibre. A high fibre diet helps prevent constipation, decreases the risk of heart disease as soluble fibres can help remove cholesterol from the body and helps protect against bowel cancer, haemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulitis.



Foods are classified as low, moderate or high GI.



To follow a low GI diet, try to choose one low GI food at each meal. Eat high GI foods in small amounts, or less often. 

Head to my website to see a simple table of low, moderate and high GI foods.
Go to www.glycemicindex.com for further information.

Sleeve gastrectomy surgery reduces the size of the stomach by stapling along its length to form a long tube that looks similar to a banana. The majority of the stomach is then removed and discarded. The new banana shaped stomach is long and thin hence is often referred to as a ‘sleeve’.


Sleeve gastrectomy surgery reduces the size of the stomach by stapling along its length to form a long tube that looks similar to a banana. The majority of the stomach is then removed and discarded. The new banana shaped stomach is long and thin hence is often referred to as a ‘sleeve’.
About 80-90% of the stomach is removed making it much smaller, hence it holds much less food than it did previously. This smaller stomach helps you feel satisfied after eating a small amount of food. In addition, the part of the stomach that is removed is the part that secretes much of the hormone called ghrelin, which is involved in stimulating appetite. It is thought that producing less ghrelin further helps to reduce hunger after surgery. Although ghrelin levels start to rise again after surgery, they don’t seem to return to their previous levels and so hunger is more easily satisfied.
Unlike the adjustable gastric band the sleeve gastrectomy is not reversible. The stomach may stretch, or adapt to fit a little more food, but it cannot grow back. A sleeve gastrectomy therefore is a commitment for life.
As you will be eating less after sleeve gastrectomy, making the most of your food choices is important to help you obtain all the nutrients required for good health.
Following a sleeve gastrectomy most people will lose most of their excess weight in the first year. After this time weight loss often stabilises, so make the most of this period by making good food choices and regular physical activity a habit for life. After the first year, your ongoing success will depend on your efforts to change your lifestyle and maintain these habits in the long term.
Whilst the size of the stomach changes after surgery, the type of foods that can be eaten does not. Choosing high-energy (calorie or kilojoule) foods regularly will hinder your progress. As with other types of weight loss surgery, snacking or grazing, lack of physical activity and poor food choices can lead to weight regain. Positive, lifelong changes to eating and physical activity will ensure your long-term success.
Poor food choices can also cause dumping syndrome. Dumping syndrome had been thought to occur only following gastric bypass surgery, however it has been seen following sleeve gastrectomy surgery. Avoiding fatty or sugary foods will help prevent dumping syndrome. We will discuss dumping syndrome in a coming edition of the newsletter, but for now you can see a simple explanation here. Avoiding fatty or sugary foods will help prevent dumping syndrome.
A 2011 study found that those who had regular follow up after sleeve gastrectomy achieved better weight loss, health improvement, quality of life and food tolerance, than those who did not. Your support team is there to guide you to acheive the best results following surgery, so make the most of the team and keep in touch! They have all sorts of hints and tips to help you achieve success on your weight loss journey.

Last year I asked my Facebook followers the foods that were always on their shopping list since having weight loss surgery. Read more about their responses.


Last year I asked my Facebook followers the foods that were always on their shopping list since having weight loss surgery. Following were the most common responses:
yoghurt
mince
avocado
eggs
porridge
cottage cheese
low fat ice cream.

What do you notice about this list? What do all these foods have in common? They are all ‘easy to eat’ foods.
This theme resurfaced in a similar conversation I observed recently about crackers. Following weight loss surgery, some people prefer to choose crackers over bread. It seems that easy to eat crackers, the ‘puffed’ varieties that dissolve in the mouth like Cruskits™, are a popular choice. You can eat them more easily, allowing you to also eat more of them, than a more challenging and nutritious cracker, like a grainy Vita-weat® or Ryvita®. So why are you choosing easy to eat foods?
The purpose of weight loss surgery is to feel satisfied on a smaller amount of food, preferably nutritious food. So I ask, what would make you feel more satisfied? Taking time to chew, chew, chew through the higher fibre, more nutritious, grainy Ryvita® or Vita-weat® crackers? Or taking half the time and effort for the Cruskits™ to dissolve in your mouth after a quick, half-hearted chew? It is an experiment worth doing. Perhaps also note how many of each of the crackers you need to eat to feel satisfied, as well as how long you remain satisfied after eating them.
In the hundreds of weight loss surgery clients I have seen I have noticed that after recovering from weight loss surgery some people never really progress past the ‘soft food’ stage of mornays, stews, casseroles and mince dishes. Or, they progress onto more solids foods but gradually slip back in to these softer, easier to eat foods, particularly those with a gastric band, as their band is adjusted and becomes tighter. I recall conversations with clients telling me they prefer the soft foods as they are “easy” and they “can eat more”. However, when we discuss this further, their true hunger is satisfied just as much on a smaller serve of a food, which is more challenging to eat. Eating larger amounts of soft, sloppy food or easy to eat, ‘dissolvable’ food is eating to satisfy our eyes, rather than our true hunger.
I am fully aware that some people with a gastric band have difficulty eating particular foods. I also believe however that there are thousands of people with poorly managed gastric bands that are not able to eat healthy, solid food. Unfortunately there is a misconception with gastric bands that tighter equals better, and that regurgitation is normal. Whilst I have no scientific studies to back this up, in my work the people I see who successfully lose and maintain their lost weight with a gastric band are those who can eat a good variety of solid, healthy foods, not those who must survive on protein shakes, soups and juices as their band is too tight to eat anything else. If you can’t eat a range of healthy foods please speak to your team, or get a second opinion. It may be that you need to work on your eating technique, or you may need some medical intervention.
Unfortunately the perception that easy to eat foods are necessary has become quite widespread and is not only confined to the gastric band community and with many online weight loss surgery communities these beliefs spread.
Are you choosing easy to eat foods out of habit? Could you eat more challenging foods that will satisfy you more? Consider this ‘food for thought’ as you move forward on your journey.

In talking with clients I am constantly reminded of the dietary myths that circulate to leave people confused about weight management. Here I bust some of my favourite weight management myths.


Myth 1: Don’t eat after 7pm (or 7:30pm or 8pm, etc)
Our body doesn’t switch off at night. Our metabolism continues ticking over as our heart pumps blood, our lungs breathe, our muscle tissue repairs, etc. This happens all day and all night. In fact, we burn calories when we are sleeping, just as we do when we are awake. Our metabolism does not shut down at 7pm, so there is no reason to stop eating at any one particular time.
It is important however not to leave all of our eating until the evening. We should fuel our body regularly throughout the day so that it can perform at its best. This is even more important following weight loss surgery, as you can no longer eat the size of meals you once did. Therefore, you can’t skip your meals during the day and expect to meet your nutritional needs at night. Regular meals throughout the day are also important to control your hunger. Being ravenous at the end of the day is another trigger for overeating late at night.
Some people find rules that they should not eat after a particular time at night appealing, as this is when they tend to overeat. Overeating at night can act as a ‘reward’ for getting through the day, or as a way to relax and wind down. It may be habit as we watch TV or a movie. This is when night eating is problematic, as it is not eating for hunger. Do you eat for reasons other than hunger at night? What else could you do to relax? Could you sort through those photo albums that are overflowing, have a bubble bath or phone a friend you haven’t spoken to for sometime. What about a jigsaw puzzle, a crossword, scrapbooking, sketching or even an evening walk? The options are endless.
Myth 2: There are good foods and bad foods
Food is neither good or bad, it is what we do with it that counts. Of course, some foods are high in energy (calories/kilojoules) and have little nutrition, so these should be eaten in small amounts. However, food itself is morally neutral. We assign it the ‘good’ or ‘bad’ label, or define it as ‘allowed’ or ‘not allowed’. By labeling food in this way, we are then ‘good’ or ‘bad’ if we eat it.
A better view of food is one where all food is morally neutral. You have permission to eat any foods you choose, you can choose eat those that are more nourishing, most of the time. I often say to clients that there are 21 meals in a week, if one or two are not perfect nutritionally, it is not a problem. If the balance is reversed however and only one or two are nutritious, then this is not going to help you achieve good health.
Some foods that provide little nutrition may provide much enjoyment, so may play a very valuable role in your diet in other ways. You can and should include foods that give you pleasure, it is managing the amounts of these foods that are important in achieving good health.
Myth 3: Carbs are fattening
Nothing is fattening in isolation. Anything can be fattening if you eat too much of it. Food is made up of combinations of carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, fibre and water. Carbohydrate, protein and fat provide energy, the other nutrients do not.
If we look at the nutrients that provide us with energy in their most simple form:
• Carbohydrate contains 4 calories per gram
• Protein contains 4 calories per gram
• Fat contains 9 calories per gram.
Whilst not a food, alcohol contains 7 calories per gram
As you can see, carbohydrate itself is quite low in calories. So why does carbohydrate have such a bad reputation?
The problem with carbohydrate containing foods is the way we have come to serve and eat them. We heap rice, pasta and noodles on our plates, leaving very little room for protein foods but more importantly, vegetables and salads.
Low glycemic index, carbohydrate-containing foods can be quite nutritious and when eaten regularly, in appropriate amounts, help us manage our hunger through the day. We just need to look at how we serve them. For example, rather than serving spaghetti bolognaise as a plate or bowl of pasta topped with a little meat sauce, serve equal amounts of meat sauce and pasta on half the plate with a side salad on the other.
Myth 4: You can do some extra exercise to compensate for eating ‘bad food’
The problem with this myth is that is feeds into the ‘good food’ and ‘bad food’ myth. If exercise is something we do when we eat ‘bad food’, exercise is seen as a punishment. Exercise can help you feel good, help you sleep better, give you more energy and help you become healthier. It should be enjoyed for these benefits.
Myth 5: You need to eat every 3 hours to keep your metabolism up
Every body is programmed differently and will have a slightly different metabolic rate. Some bodies will need to be fed more frequently than others. If we set a basic meal pattern, our body will let us know how much we need to eat.
If we provide our body with appropriate fuel three times a day, it will then let us know if we need to eat more often, we just need to tune into the signals. If we start the day with breakfast, our body is given the signal we are starting the day and can help regulate how much we need to eat through the day.
You may have heard a ‘rule’ after weight loss surgery to eat only three (or less) meals per day. I strongly believe that there is no one rule that fits every person. The only way you can tell if you need to eat between meals is to tune in to your hunger and satiety signals. If you are genuinely, physically hungry between meals it may be fine to have a small snack. If you are eating as you feel bored/tired/frustrated/lonely or simply watching the clock, then you need to work on another solution.
Myth busting your way to success
Whilst the internet has brought a whole world of information to our fingertips and can help share dietary fact, it has also perpetuated lots of dietary fiction. Think about some of the food facts you have come to believe over time. Write them all down and take them along to the dietitian in your weight loss surgery team. They will help you sort the fact from fallacy.

*** You must release yourself in your mind to be slim**** that is so true!!!!

Muffin tops, hail-damaged thighs, badonkadonk butts, and chicken wings: we have 'em; we hate 'em. So how do we get rid of them? We diet! We make plans to lose weight. We pick a surgeon, join a gym, and visualize the day we can zip back into those size 6 jeans.
Or so we think.
Weight loss isn’t about diet and exercise. It's not a plan. It's a battle. A battle in the mind. And without the right ammunition you're doomed to lose the Battle of the Bulge.
It is mental just as much as it is physical. Why? Because until you are honest with yourself that you can't just diet, lose weight, and live happily ever after, then you won't be successful at losing weight. Dieting is so much more than eating less and exercising. It's about recognizing your motives for over-eating. It's about accepting the fact that in order to get to and stay at your ideal weight, you need to eat in moderation and consume the right types of foods. And to do that you have to make a lifestyle change - permanently.
If you tell yourself that for a certain period of time you'll eat a high-protein diet, or drink only diet shakes and one meal per day, or eat ready-made foods from a weight loss center, or count points, or eat like a cave man - or any number of other fads which are out there - and then go back to eating how you prefer once you've shed the pounds, then you efforts will be in vain. You simply cannot go back to eating like you have been eating. We've all seen celebrities whose weight yo-yos with every passing year (hello, Ophrah?). Why? Because they stop exercising and eating right – or stop following a fad - and go back to business as usual. I'm betting they didn't internalize the lifestyle change which they appeared to embrace.
"Lifestyle change?" you echo. Yes, lifestyle change. That means your life must change. For life. Period. As in, there's no going back. Now I know most of you just cringed at the thought of chomping on carrots for breakfast and forsaking your daily soda in favor of asparagus smoothies, doomed to a life of butterless, bland meals with no cheesecake in sight, but hear me out. Before you can successful change the things which go into your mouth, you must successfully change the thoughts which go into your head.
There are three "weapons" you must think to win the weight loss war. They are:
1. I am worthy.
It's not about what you should do for yourself to slim down and be healthier; it's what you can do for yourself. And you can lose this because you are worth it. Even if you are the only person on the planet and have no one to impress, you are still worth it to lose weight. You've got to love yourself to the extent that you want to feed yourself properly and do good things for your body. It's a process, but you'll reach that point of loving yourself. I promise.
2. I am not a fat person.
Okay, so you're tipping the scales and wear a size XXXL, but you are still not a fat person. You are you living inside a prison of your own making and you will be released. You must release yourself in your mind to be slim. Visualization is a powerful tool. Consult any positive thinking self-help book, Zen monk, or successful business person, and they will tell you the same thing: you've got to visualize the success in order to get there. Picture yourself not stopping at the fast food joint. Picture yourself working out – and then go do it. Picture yourself eating salads and drinking plenty of water and enjoying it. See yourself reacting in horror to preservative-laden, highly processed junk food. See yourself taking the stairs instead of the elevator. See yourself in that slinky little black dress. The more you change your thoughts and think rightly, the more your actions will follow. "I am not a fat person" – think it, believe it, and become it.
3. I am not a failure.
Newsflash: the world isn't going to end if you slip up and eat something that you shouldn't eat. You made a mistake – so what? Forgive yourself and move on. You have the next minute, hour, day, year, decade, life to keeping moving forward, to be a winner. Learn this valuable lesson from your mistake: I don't have to make the same mistake again because I am worth it!
Now you have the ammunition; you know the location of the battlefield. It's time for war. Victory is yours!
About Becky Siame
Becky Siame is the author of The Lighter Side of Large, her debut novel, currently released as a kindle digital download on Amazon and Smashwords. She lives in Nelson with her two children.

Emotional eating is a major part of most women’s lives. We’re taught to use food for so many things in addition to fuel and this can many times lead to overeating. Get some tips on how to make peace with food!


Which causes you to consume more calories—physical hunger and physical hunger pangs or stress, restlessness, boredom, anxiety, excitement, a need to celebrate, a desire for comfort and other emotional triggers?
When WAS the last time you ate because you were physically famished? When was the last time you ate that you weren't?
Emotional eating is a major part of most women’s lives. We’re taught to use food for so many things in addition to fuel. Diets mess with our relationship with food and add so many “shoulds” to the equation that many chronic dieters hardly know if they are hungry or not. They are conditioned to judge their “fullness” by calorie counts, the clock, fat grams, carbs, and other external cues that are not hunger.

To make peace with food and break free from emotional eating, it’s essential to identify the root cause of your hunger—the feelings or needs that trigger overeating. Find a program that will show you how to identify what you are really hungry for and how to start using tools and strategies that address your needs and emotions in ways that food never will. That’s critical, but there is also another piece.

Taking control of overeating and making peace with food also means making peace with your physical hunger.

Hunger isn’t a negative thing. It’s not something to deny (like diets may tell you to do). It’s a signal that helps you take care of yourself. Honoring your hungers and cravings with respect is an important aspect of self-care.

That doesn’t mean you always eat everything your impulsive brain tells you that you want. You also don’t impulsively gratify all your emotional hungers or desires. But it’s important to acknowledge them.

That means learning to really listen to yourself.

It means learning how to understand your hunger and what it is telling you about what you need.

It means taking this information and making choices that are in your best interest (and that include compassion and respect).
A woman who is at peace with food feeds herself in high quality ways (and I'm talking about feeding her spirit and her soul as well as her stomach).
She also allows herself to savor the food and the experiences that she takes in. Eating doesn't trigger guilt or self-loathing and responding to her hunger isn't something she does in secret.
Let’s evaluate your relationship with hunger.
How do you decide when you are hungry?
Where do you feel hunger in your body?
On a hunger scale of 1 (ravenous) to 10 (stuffed to the gills), how hungry do you allow yourself to become before you feed yourself? How full do you fill yourself when you do eat?
When you determine that you are hungry, how do you decide what to eat?
How do you tell the difference between physical and emotional hunger?

If your Inner Champion was running the show and helping you live your BEST version of your life, how would you be responding to your physical and emotional cravings? Would it be different?
If you don’t know all the answers to these questions, don't panic. Many emotional eaters don’t. Knowing what you don’t know is an important step to making a change.

Asking questions like I’ve just asked you will help you take control of your relationship with food in new ways and start creating strategies that work for you.

Tis the season ready or not! The holiday season can be one of the most joyful times of the year with its dazzling colors, familiar music, social gatherings, and yes, food, food and more food! For those who have recently lost a significant amount of weight following WLS or have remained serious throughout the year about managing the healthy weight they have sustained since having WLS, the food-infested holiday season can present physical and emotional challenges.


Tis the season ready or not! The holiday season can be one of the most joyful times of the year with its dazzling colors, familiar music, social gatherings, and yes, food, food and more food! For those who have recently lost a significant amount of weight following WLS or have remained serious throughout the year about managing the healthy weight they have sustained since having WLS, the food-infested holiday season can present physical and emotional challenges. For at least five solid weeks, food is even more ubiquitous than usual in our eating-obsessed society. It's almost impossible to avoid fanciful confections almost anywhere you go from Thanksgiving until the end of the year. Cookies, candy, fudge and a host of other home-made delights in the break room at the office. Gift baskets abounding with fruits, nuts and bottles of apple cider arrive at the doorstep. Samples of gooey baked goods with sparkling decorations are handed out from kiosks in the grocery store. And bubbly libations accompany the gourmet delicacies served at every office and neighborhood social gathering.

For people who have had WLS and are serious about maintaining a healthy weight, the fact that the average American gains 7 & 12 pounds throughout the holiday season, can evoke strong feelings of anxiety.

Another anxiety-producing holiday stressor can be the family gathering. Most of us spend time with relatives during the holiday season. Like food, there are lots of varieties of families; some food and some families are healthy and others are not! Regardless of the emotional health of one's family, nearly all family holiday gatherings revolve around a meal, featuring time-honored secret family recipes and dishes that aunts, uncles and cousins eagerly await all year long.

At no other time of year are there so many triggers that have the potential to steer off course those who have used food as a way to deal with emotions. In her brilliant, practical book, The Beck Diet Solution , Dr. Judith Beck notes several categories of triggers that can ultimately lead to eating. Three of these categories are emotional, biological, and environmental.

Identify the Triggers in this scenario:

Your family has decided to have Thanksgiving dinner at your Grandma Smith's house this year. You haven't been to that house in nearly a dozen years, since moving out of state. When you were a child you adored spending time at your grandma's house. She is the person who taught you about gardening, how to sew, and how to bake. It's hard to think about Grandma Smith without recalling the smell of fresh bread wafting throughout the house. As soon as you walk in the door, the smell of her homemade biscuits mingled with the traditional aroma of the turkey and dressing takes over your entire being. Before you can turn and walk toward the kitchen, you see cousin Sally. Sally was the mean cousin when you were kids. She called you fatty Patty and always tattled to the adults when you did anything wrong. You are assaulted by her booming voice, Hey, there, fatty Patty!' What have you done to yourself? You're not fat anymore! You wish you could just punch her, but refrain from doing so as Aunt Cindy wraps you in a bear hug. That smell! Her perfume. It takes you back to the time you ate three pieces of her birthday cake before dinner. Her husband, uncle Bill had screamed at you for what seemed like an hour, but Aunt Cindy had wrapped you up in a hug then like she was doing now and she was wearing that same scent! You finally make it into the living room and see the old blue rocker that you and Grandma sat in countless evenings while she read to you. Your eyes mist with tears. However, your thoughts are interrupted by the angry sounds of two male voices coming from the next room. They were at it again. Your twin uncles. They never got along well and used to get into fist fights, scaring you when you were a child. You would take a bowl of Grandma's homemade cookies and hide in the closet upstairs until they would leave. Just the sound of their harsh tones made you turn and look for a sweet treat to take your mind off the fear you felt, even now as an adult.

There are lots of triggers in this story with potential for thoughts and feelings that could lead to eating as a coping response. Emotional triggers include reminiscing on the happy memories of spending time with Grandma in the garden, while sewing and when baking in the kitchen. Cousin Sally's name-calling would certainly trigger an emotional response, as would the memory of Uncle Bill screaming at a young Patty who ate Aunt Sally's birthday cake.

Biological triggers in this scenario would be the sight and smell of the food when Patty walked into Grandma's. Salivating at the thought or actual smell of the food is also a biological trigger. The sound of angry voices producing anxiety is another example of a biological trigger, as is the smell of Aunt Cindy's perfume.

The blue rocking chair in the living room would be an example of an environmental trigger. The closet upstairs where Patty hid when she was a child is also an environmental trigger.

Triggers and Emotional Eating

Songs often evoke strong emotions. When you hear a song that played at your high school prom where you slow danced with your first love, you experience the joyful emotions you did when you were in that high school gymnasium-turned-ballroom. Holidays, and especially family holiday gatherings similarly evoke strong emotions. For an emotional eater, this can lead to high calorie disasters. In the scenario above, Patty experienced a range of emotions based on in-the-moment triggers and intensified by memories from the past.

Emotional eaters often turn to food when they are experiencing emotions, sometimes as a way to avoid unpleasant feelings. It may be tempting for Patty to grab an entire pie off the counter and run to the upstairs closet to gobble the pie down in an attempt to get away from the hurt of Cousin Sally's rude remark, to forget about the smell of Aunt Cindy's perfume and the memory of being severely scolded by Uncle Tim years ago, and to quiet the sound of her twin uncles' arguing.

Triggers are powerful. In order to make it safely through this minefield of eating triggers during the holiday season, a person needs to have a plan in place ahead of time and then they need to utilize the plan throughout the season!

A Post Op & A Doc have created an entire program for WLS patients to help them get through the holidays while maintaining their commitment to their health. You can download the plan called APOD's GPS Great Plan for Success and take it with you as you head into the holiday season! Go to www.conniestapletonphd.com/apod/ and look on the right hand side of the page to print off your copy!

The following Ten Tips can also help you prepare ahead of time for dealing in a healthy way if you are overwhelmed by the urge to eat after being triggered at the family holiday gathering. (You can use these to safely navigate the holiday trays in office break rooms, at neighborhood social gatherings, and any other place you are deluged by tempting holiday goodies!)
Anticipate triggers. Think about situations you are likely to encounter throughout the holiday season that pose threats to your healthy eating habits. Make a list of probable triggers you will encounter at your family holiday gatherings and use the following steps to deal with them in healthy ways.
Visualize healthy responses to triggers. Instead of responding to triggers in an unhealthy way (yelling, arguing, eating) start preparing now to respond to them in a healthy way by visualizing yourself calmly walking away from arguments. Imagine yourself walking outside and taking a few minutes for yourself to regroup before returning to the situation. Picture yourself finding a place to call a supportive friend and talking about how you're feeling. All of these healthy responses will keep you away from the high calorie options you may have turned to in the past.
Learn quick relaxation techniques. When we encounter triggers, we often become tense, anxious, scared or angry. In a highly emotional state, you are more likely to react rather than respond. Reacting may mean mindless eating of empty calories. If you are able to utilize a simple, quick relaxation tool, you will be better able to respond to triggers in a healthy, rational manner. One example of a simple relaxation techniques is to very slowly breathe in and out 12 times. You can do this in a room full of people and no one will even know! Another simple technique is to slowly count to 10, 20, or 100 however long it takes you to feel calm enough to respond in a healthy way. Get away from the crowd and mentally note ten things you are grateful for. This will definitely improve your frame of mind and you can resume your activities with a better outlook, a sure defense against harmful overeating.
Remind yourself why. In preparing for the holiday gatherings, write answers to these questions and have it on your smartphone or an index card to read if you feel yourself getting overwhelmed emotionally and/or feel tempted to eat things you will regret later:
What are the negative consequences of eating unhealthy foods and of overeating?
What are the reasons I decided to lose weight and improve my health habits?
What are the benefits thus far of losing weight and improving my health habits?
[*]Say to yourself, I made up my mind! When you're aware that your desire to eat/overeat has been triggered, say to yourself, I made up my mind: a. to stick to my healthy eating plan. b. to focus on relationships rather than food. c. to honor my recent weight loss by maintaining healthy behaviors during the holiday season. d. whatever else you have made up your mind about!
[*]Focus on your own behavior. It's easy to get worked up about things other people are saying (perhaps they make negative comments to, or about you or others). It's just as easy to get upset over other people's behavior (family members who may be arguing, or drinking too much, or vying for everyone's attention). Focus on your own behavior. After all, you have no responsibility for anyone else's! And you have full responsibility for you own behavior which, by the way, includes what, when, and how much you eat!
[*]Keep a progress piece in your pocket . A progress piece can be anything that reminds you of the progress you have made losing weight and/or improving your health. For example, if you are now able to bend over and tie your shoes after losing weight, carry a shoestring with you. If you recently flew on an airplane and no longer needed a seatbelt extender, carry your boarding pass or a picture of a plane with you. When you're tempted to engage in unhealthy eating, look at your progress piece and give yourself credit for the hard work you've done and remind yourself of the commitment you made to continue your healthy behaviors.
[*]STOP. Imagine a large STOP sign in your mind that you can pull out whenever you need to before indulging in food (or behavior) that you will later regret.
[*]Set boundaries. If people give you a difficult time for eating healthy (Why can't you just have one bite? or You must have a piece of Aunt Sally's pie or you'll hurt her feelings.), set boundaries by saying, I've made up my mind to eat healthy, even on Thanksgiving. I don't expect you to understand, but I hope you will respect my decision.
[*]Plan your work and work your plan. Take an index card (or make a note on your smart phone) with any of the above suggestions or other things that work for you to help you get through difficult food and/or family situations so that you maintain your healthy lifestyle behaviors. Read your reminders any time you feel the need to and UTILIZE them!


Happy holidays to you and your families! Enjoy the relationships they last so much longer than the food!

Maybe think about all the reasons you like these gatherings besides the food.
Make a list. Focus on them.
If you want to take some home, no problem.
Focus on the people, relationships at the party first?
Planning ahead is key.... You are on the right track.

My two cents, I'd be happy to leave that 4 oz of filet behind. Before the sleeve I would have found a way to stuff it in.
And really, it never tastes quite as good once it's been reheated.

I don't have an answer to your question, but not wasting food was one of the big things that got me here. I had to clean my plate. I filled up at free meals and buffets like I would never have access to food again. I had to change that way of thinking about food. Now I try to make it about the people and the gathering.

You gave me hope!!! thank you for posting

Mango is my absolute favorite right now! my sleeve does not make a peep when i eat that And it does not take much to satisfy me.

I always measure my food! I invested in a good scale that also tells me the caloric value. At three months out, I don't eat more than 4oz. There are times, depending of how dense the protein is, I don't finish. I am desperately trying to teach myself not to eat until it hurts. I need to be content with the amount my body needs to be healthy. Not a bite more. That's how I got in trouble in the first place.

sounds like you are doing nothing wrong. This is all part of the journey. Keep up with your protein, water and exercise. The scale will move again. I hate stalling more than anything

Food has no meaning to me anymore i just eat it to stay alive now lol

Biggest Loser ( got it at Walmart) it is fantastic. I am sure I can eat more. But I don't want to continue the vicious cycle of eating until " passing out" so I cap myself at the 6weeks food limit on my NUT list. I eat my Protein first and then my veggies( usually spinach or green beans).
and yes I eat soooo slooow it drives my friends insane

Intellect and emotion are two very separate things. Intellectually, he might know that you can't eat much. But emotionally, people who are foodies and/or love to cook can have a negative knee-jerk reaction to those who can't eat, or can't eat MUCH, of what they put in front of you.
My Italian grandmother was an amazing cook and she needed validation for this by seeing everyone clean their plates. And when I spent time in the Middle East, the way you showed your host that you enjoyed their cooking was to finish everything that was served.
I've been on both sides of this issue, and it involved two "new" friends. I met friend #1 at a party (way before I had the surgery) and we hit it off (just as friends) so we decided to hang out one afternoon. We were hanging out in my neighborhood, which is known for lots of great restaurants. Unfamiliar with the area, my friend told me to choose a place to eat. So I picked a pizza place that is known for having NYC's "best" pizza. I was excited to have him try it because I believed it was the best pizza I'd ever had. He ate three bites and left it on his plate.
I knew he had had weight loss surgery (in his case, the Lap Band), and I knew intellectually that he couldn't eat much, but my emotional reaction was that I felt insulted. "You didn't like it?!? You only ate three bites!" It was like being told it WASN'T the best pizza and I was wrong. Then I remembered he had the surgery and I felt a little better. But the emotions kicked in before the intellect.
I met Friend #2 after I had had the surgery. He knew I couldn't eat much, but he was one of those people who prided himself on his cooking. I went to his place to hang out one day and he had just cooked a big meal for himself and his brother. Despite the fact that I had gone into detail about the stages of the post-op diet with him (he was really curious about it, so I told him), a lot of the food he cooked I simply couldn't eat. But he shoved a plate in front of me and wanted me to try it. He stood over me with an expectant grin as I took the first bite of his mashed potatoes, which were really the only thing I could eat.
I took three bites and told him that they were indeed excellent and put my fork down. "That's all?!? You don't want anymore? You didn't like it?" I kept telling him that was all I could eat, but he still seemed rather hurt. He got over it and we went on to do other things, but seeing the pained expression on his face when I put my fork down made me feel bad.
My point is (and sorry for the novel I just wrote), people who make food a priority in their lives might be a bit of a challenge for those of us who have had weight loss surgery. That doesn't mean you can't have them in your life, and I'm still friends with the guys in my story. But it took time and understanding to get used to the idea of a stomach that could only hold a few ounces of food.