Lady Lap Band

I just need to say it...

My name is Breanne, and I am a food addict. *sigh*

I believe my addiction began at the age of 17. I had always been an over eater prior to age 17 but it was more emotional eating than addictive eating. I got my first car in May of 2004. I remember the freedom finally! It started out being able to go to whatever fast food place whenever I wanted. I remember always loving KFC, but my mother never let me go, so the first week I got my car I couldn't get the place out of my head! I stopped there everyday after work on my way home and got the BIGGEST popcorn chicken they had and ate it before I got home, and then hid the container. I think that when you hide food is when you become truly addicted.

I met my husband the following year. We fell in love and got married just six months ago. Let me rewind......from the time I met him to the day we got married, I gained 60lbs! A lot of people ask me why, and until now I didn't know the answer. Much like alcoholics, a food addict is unaware that they have a problem! I tried to blame it on my PCOS haha. In all honesty, I was the one to blame. We ate out constanelyy, but the biggest problem was, I was eating the same amounts as a 6'3 250lb man! What was I thinking, I can totally relate to that Dierks Bently song! :cursing: "I knew there'd be hell to pay, but that crossed my mind a little too late!"

I want to be open and honest about my addiction. If anyone has any questions or feels as though they may be a food addict as well, don't hesitate to contact me! I don't have all the answers, as I am just starting the journey to recovery, but I'd love to hear from some people who think they might have a similar problem! Stay Strong!:rolleyes2:

I went to for my 4th visit with my Nutritionist. I have been seeing her since December and I have not lost any weight since. I don't know what it was about today, but today I became frustrated. I feel better, my stamina has improved and I see no difference on the scale. I'm all ready to go, my insurance has approved me I have done EVERYTHING needed to be done prior to surgery, but the weight is just not coming off.

I'm honestly not sure what I am trying to say in this blog, I have no specific intention for it. I guess I just wanted to share my frustration with everyone to let you know that if you are frustrated as well, you are not alone!

I see my dietician every 4-6 weeks like many of you I am sure. I actually love going, she is always giving me great ideas. I always look forward to the next set of changes she has me implement into my daily life.

I am currently eating 3oz of lean protein at each meal as well as veggies and a starch. Now if you have not begun any changes yourself, you are probably thinking that 3oz does not sound liked enough. I am right there with you, that's exactly what I thought! I decided to try it anyway though and to my surprise if I actually stuck with it and did it 3 times a day like she told me to, I was not hungry! I am actually to the point that I don't even snack, not at all! I am just that satisfied. Although, I do understand that this would not be the case for everyone. If you need to snack, just make sure it is something good for you!

The other thing I started to do was exercise! She asked me how long I could commit to walking on my treadmill 5 days a week. I immediately said, "30-45 minutes." She looked at my sort of funny and said "how about 15-20 minutes?" Now I have to tell you, I didn't really like that suggestion at first because I was in denial honestly, about how out of shape I was. However, she went on to explain that the exercise was not about dramatic weight loss at this point, it was about making it routine, making it a part of my life. Weight loss will come as time goes by, as you get in better shape.

What I have been realizing through this whole process is that we all need to make changes that will last forever. We've all been on yo yo diets practically our whole lives, but this is not one of them! This is forever, there is a starting point, but there is no ending point. Start to think of this like the little energizer bunnie, it just keeps going, and going and going, and going.....................................................................

If someone asked you what mindful eating was, how would you describe it? Some might give it a simple definition and say "It is being aware of what you are eating", but I think that it is more than that.

Recently, I began my pre-surgical classes where the topic of the day just happened to be eating mindfully. Now let's be honest, you can be completely aware of the fact that you just sat down to watch TV and whoever was there before you left a big bowl of chips on the side table. You begin to eat them as you watch TV, now you are still aware that chips are being put into your mouth and you are indeed eating them, but you aren't really thinking about it. You aren't even really hungry, they are just there! The only thing that makes you stop is your hand hitting the bottom of the bowl because there are no chips left. You feel terrible now because you didn't really want/need them anyway you just ate them out of habit.

To prove a point, the doctor running our class gave everyone one raisin. We held it in our hands and described it by looking at it, touching it with our finger tips, smelling it, we described it by touching it to our lips and then we placed it in our mouths without chewing to describe it. Then of course we chewed it to describe it and he then said when we had purposely made a decision to swallow this itty bitty raisin we could do so. Now this was all a bit over the top I must admit, but it certainly hit home. This journey we call the lap band is not just about losing weight, it's about a lifestyle change, a forever change.

I want to challenge you all to eat at least one meal everyday mindfully, you don't have to go as drastic as we ate that raisin but take the time to eat your meal slowly and make a choice to chew and swallow. Make a choice to eat mindfully and the margin for failure will decrease significantly. :scared2:

BreAnne