Would like some feedback. . .

[feedyoureye 3,087]

This is all very interesting. I know there are times... LOTS of times that if I listen to what my body wants, I eat too much, and of the wrong things. Now maybe this is not my body talking, its my head, but really they are connected at the neck, and have something to do with each other. I have spent quite a bit of time analyzing the cause and effect of what I eat - to how I feel... and I find that when I eat some kinds of food I may generally love how they taste, and like putting them in my mouth, and like the immediate feeling it produces... through my shoulders and chest of all places, but what is missing is satisfaction. I'm not talking about feeling full. There is something I am looking for that I don't usually get from food...satisfaction. Like, Im finished now. I feel fine, I got the energy from the food now... or something like that. Perhaps this is partly what people call emotional eating. I think emotions may be part of the picture sometimes for me, but not always. The satisfaction I crave feels more physical.

When I really look close at the/my overeating experience, this is missing almost all the time. I realize I don't really like the taste of the food that much... the taste is not enough for me to be satisfied. Its like I'm not getting the basic nutrition I crave or something. Now I think this is where the addiction label comes into the picture. That craving for satisfaction. I just look for it in the food over and over again. Some types of food really heighten this experience...you all know what they are.... refined carbs... sugar, the "whites" High Fructose.... Its not the fats, its not the Protein, its not even the whole grains and carbby vegs in moderation. The only time I get satisfied, is when I cut them out. And I need to cut them out for at least 3 weeks before I feel the satisfaction creep in. When I do this, then the size of the meal goes down, and the pounds start to slide off, and I can start to trust what my body/head asks for. However I make myself eat Protein Snacks even then, because if I let myself get too hungry, the chance of the old habits to reach for the easy donut are a little easier, and I just don't want to go there and start the cycle again.

Just sharing some of my self exploration.... So anyway, thats why I am happy about my nut recommending three meals and two snacks... it is easier for me to keep the satisfaction in place this way....IF i eat the right foods. Protein first!

I am going to put this in my blog too... sorry for the repeat guys...love ya! Thanks for all the opportunities for self reflection and insight to to your experiences....

[janinemaire 7]

Wow, Cinderalla, I don't even know what to say. Your nut is a b word. You should write a letter to that office and tell them why you are not going back there and how they made you feel. I'm sorry that happened to you.

In my opinion, that menu plan has to many carbs and not enough Protein. One banana has 27 carbs and peas have 11 carbs per half of cup, not to mention the crackers and to much mayo. I'm sure people on this board will help you with meal planning and maybe you can find another doctor that could help you. Good luck.

[Tiffykins 672]

You've done amazingly well ! ! ! I eat 4-5 times a day, but I'm also in maintenance so it's different for me. I have to eat that many times per day to get in enough food. When I was losing, I adhered to the 4 meals a day rule, no snacking. It's just what worked for me.

As for the PPI, I'm still taking it at 19 months out, and have zero plans to go off of it. With my recent pains, my PCM switched me over to Nexium 40mg once daily from Prilosec 20mg once daily. I can tell the Nexium has already kicked in, and I'm elated with being on it. I know I've said I would wean off of it, but I'm not willing to deal with acid, or chance getting Barrett's esophagus by not having it and treating the symptoms of acid reflux when I can prevent it completely.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Cinderella, I would not get too hung up on the names of meals... Theses meals do not look too out of line. Perhaps a little carby, but mostly everything on there low glycemic index foods. My nut does not stress low carb ether OR counting calories, just Protein first and avoid the refined carbs and sugar. If she is yelling at you about not exercising the right way, why didn't you just tell her what you had been told? She is just a person, perhaps she thought you were further out from your surgery. Of course you don't want to get stuck with a bit*h for PA but you are an adult... if she was uninformed and unprofessional, tell her boss. She might just need a heads up from the top. You know you were doing the right thing as far as exercising goes...at least it sounds like it to me. Take a deep breath and don't throw out the baby with the bath Water... Rants are good to let off steam, but I think there was some good advice given to you at your meetings, even if the delivery wasn't so pleasant. Just my 2 cents.

Funny you should mention this... I had my "one month" checkup (although it is really six weeks, due to the holidays) this week and came away very disappointed with BOTH my NUT and my PA.

First of all, the NUT also stressed THREE MEALS A DAY, ONE snack and nothing else.

She gave me a printout of a "3 meal a day" paper with sample diets.... here are two samples from that list. See what you think... in my opinion, these are Snacks, not meals:

LUNCH: 2 oz. tuna w/ 1 TBSp mayo& 4 whole grain crackers, + half a small bannana.

DINNER: 1/2-OZ Poached Fish + 1/2-Cup canned peas.

SNACK: 4 whole grain crackers & 1/4 Cup Egg salad.

What's the difference? To me, it looks like the same amount of food for a snack, as for a lunch or dinner. So although she is stressing THREE MEALS A DAY only, she is really telling me to eat four teeny meals a day. AT this point, I couldn't eat all of the lunch... I would save the 1/2 banna and maybe a cracker for a fifth teeny meal.

I really think that what the NUTS are afraid of is that we are going to start grazing... eating bites of anything we want constantly.. and they just want to reinforce that we need to sit down to regular "eating times" and not eat on the run.

My NUT also put a note on my meal plan that says... "If you are unable to eat a meal, try to at least have a 4-8 OZ skim milk (or Lactaid) with 1/2 scoop Protein power." What's that if it's not a snack?

Is anybody counting calories? She told me that I used to count calories, but now I'll count protein. I can eat so little that I could never consume a lot of calories, even if I ate nothing but potato chips and dip... although I HAVE noticed that processed, prepackaged foods go down a lot faster and easier than "real" foods, such as veggies and meats.

Anyway, back to my rant... worse than the NUT meeting was how RUDE and MEAN the P.A. was to me. She rally confused me.. she says "what kind of exercise have you been doing?" and then proceeded to yell at me for not "walking at racewalk pace an hour a day until you sweat..." but after surgery, I was told NO exercise for six weeks except take a walk every day & try to get your heart rate up. Which is it???

She also told me that I should take no pain killer but Tylenol for a WHOLE YEAR, nothing else, or I might irritate my staple line and cause an ulcer. First time I had heard that... AND she took away my PPI... she said "if you have developed GERD we have to fiind out why, and not just treat the symptoms."

She was SO MEAN TO ME that I am not going back there. I heard nothing of value from the NUT, and I didn't go through all this and pay all this money to be yelled at by a mean doctor.

I'm on my own.... nutrition section of the library, here I come!

Cinderella