"I feel skinnyyyyyy, oh so skinnyyyyy....."

So this happened. I'm back to my lowest post op weight today. Yay. This is big. I've been bouncing into and out of Onederland for SIX months. A month and a half ago I made some big changes to my food and behaviors. It resulted in the loss of ten pounds I gained back from my low weight last year up to that point.

So today I'm back down to 193, back on track, and feeling great. Less than fifty pounds to goal.

I started thinking I'd make a list of what's going right. When I can't figure out why things are slowing down or going in reverse, I'll pull out this list and see what I'm doing or not doing. Here goes. Feel free to add your own tips to this thread.

Tracking food in MyFitnessPal.

Weighing daily.

Going to OA and CODA meetings.

Therapy every two weeks.

Planning food the day before and committing it to my OA sponsor.

Staying under 1200 calories a day.

No fried food.

No carby Thai noodles.

No movie crapcorn.

Two fruit or p rotein shake s nacks a day.

Measuring out nuts instead of guessing the portion.

No alcohol.

Healthy, boring, simple foods like eggs and cheese and yogurt and meatballs.

Way fewer processed foods.

Bye bye bread.

Just because I drop it in the salad bowl doesn't make it salad. Log it. (See nuts, measured, above.)

Journaling.

Listening to weight loss and addiction recovery podcasts.

Obeying my band. It says "enough"? I stop.

I have found that this same fill level that I have been at since August suddenly is just right. Before these changes, I was contemplating another fill because I was able to eat too much. But even then I would get stuck on certain foods if not chewed thoroughly. I wisely took my NP's advice and cleaned up the food and drink before getting a ninth fill. I don't need it now. I'm at the sweet spot, the green zone, the holy grail of band land.

It took about four weeks for me to stop daydreaming about the perfect meal and missing my fried foods. Today I crave veggies and simple meals. It's a miracle. But I can't stress enough how important the "head and heart" work is. I am working very, very hard on the emotional and spiritual recovery from my food addiction. Like every day. No kidding.

So anyway, just wanted to share this joyful stuff and ask others to pile on. What's going right for you?

I think it is very wise to be keeping track of the behaviors that are leading you to be successful now so you can readjust down the road if other behaviors start creeping back in.

The two biggest helpers for me when I feel like I'm struggling are support groups and progress pictures. Especially progress pictures. I always feel super determined after looking at them.

Can you share what pod casts you find helpful.

I love this: Just because you can drop it in a salad bowl doesn't make it a salad.

I would add, just because it's a salad doesn't mean it's healthy. (See last night's My 600 Pound Life for an example.)

Yes, I'd love to check out those podcasts too!

iTunes:

Recovery Radio

Half Size Me

Tips of the scale

Yay! I know how you feel and it's great aint it?

tmf

Yay! I know how you feel and it's great aint it?

tmf

Oh yeah

It is a great feeling when you discover that there are behaviors you can change that make you successful. WLS is so much more about getting your head straight than it is about a smaller tummy.

If only we could help others understand that.

Congratulations!

@@JustWatchMe firstly I'm so proud of you! What a huge accomplishment! The fact that YOU took control of YOU and then the band stepped in and did it's part is a combo that's unstoppable! I couldn't be happier for you! I too had to revaluate what and why I was struggling with the same 7lbs. I've learned that being active whether that means traditional exercise OR anything that gets you up and burning calories such as housework, renovations, yard work etc. is crucial in keeping the weight off. Not sure why this is such a "new" revelation for me, it's not like it's breaking news or rocket science but it finally just sank in (I'm slow:0) Over the last 2 weeks I've been busting it to make sure I get some sort of daily calorie burning movement in, eating properly (cutting out the "less damaging" versions of treats; just because it says Skinny Cow doesn't mean I should eat one every day. Like you I'm measuring my trail mix instead of guessing and taking a handful here and there and making myself believe there's not enough calories there to hurt me. Listening to my band when it tells me to stop and when the head hunger kicks in, I get up and do something, anything, even if it's vacuuming for 5 mins. anything to get my mind off of food . The results, 3.5 of those 7lbs I've struggled with for 6 months are gone.

Congrats to you skinnnnny minnnny!