Hi! My name is Sandy and I am 51. I am 5'6" and weigh around 250#. I went to my informational/intake meeting in Feb. and have started all the preliminaries for surgery but I am using a military facility and don't know how quickly this will move.

I have been having some really stressful issues in my life lately and have been using food and sleep to cope with them. That is my usual mode of coping. I am so scared about how I will deal with life with the band... will I just eat around it?

I would like a buddy to help me to be accountable and to encourage me. I would appreciate someone who is doing it and was a real emotional eater before the band.

What do you do to keep track?

What kind of exercise do you do?

How do you handle the munchies?

Have you learned how to deal with stress without food?

Any takers?

Thanks!

Sandy

257/?/249/153

Start/surgery/current/goal

What do you do to keep track?

What kind of exercise do you do?

How do you handle the munchies?

Have you learned how to deal with stress without food?

I write everything I eat down and all of my exercise in a daily log. It helps me keep track of my calories and keeps my exercise on track.

As for exercising I do lots of walking. Slow/brisk whatever it may be. I also stretch and do a bit of pilates with 2 lb weights, and I do beginners yoga. I have the best results with walking though. It does wonders.

When I get hungry, and I've already had enough food or I am craving something bad for me I grab a Water, or a banana, eat a small bowl of salad or find something to do like walk or get on the computer. I have found when I have other stuff to do it's easier not to over-eat.

Dealing with stress without food actually is easier than I thought it was going to be. I am not banded yet but with this diet I am on for my insurance I am on a specific calorie intake (1200-1600) and I must exercise and have at least 60oz of water a day. When I feel stressed I go walk or go sit outside and listen to the birds, get on the computer and come on here, write, read a book. Anything that will get my mind off the food. It's actually really helpful and I have seen good results.

Hope I was some help. :thumbup:

I would like a buddy to help me to be accountable and to encourage me. I would appreciate someone who is doing it and was a real emotional eater before the band.

What do you do to keep track?

What kind of exercise do you do?

How do you handle the munchies?

Have you learned how to deal with stress without food?

Any takers?

Thanks! :thumbup:

Sandy

257/?/249/153

Start/surgery/current/goal

I was an emotional eater, a closet eater, a garbage eater (yep...I would throw it away and then dig it out of the garbage and eat it), a compulsive eater, and a "you name the situation, I'll find a reason to eat" eater.

To keep track: Food - I wrote EVERYTHING down that I would eat. Start now...this does not require dieting or the band to do this. I would go so far to write down "licked sauce off of fingers while cooking". Then I would go back and read it for the day to see if there was anything I could have eliminated. I also made a menu for the week so I knew EXACTLY what I was eating for the day. This is going to cover the "munchies" section as well. I had to treat my inner fat self as a defiant 5 year old. I don't have children of my own, but I raised my brother and basically raised the daughter of a friend so I know that you can't give into a 5 year old all the time or your life would be a living hell. So I learned to tell myself NO. I couldn't tell ANYONE No before this surgery...now I can. So I made the menu and I followed it. It drove me crazy at first that I couldn't just walk to the kitchen and get something to eat, but it gets easier. I still have days when I want to eat more, but if it is NOT on my menu...my fat person gets told NO.

Exercise - I was broke when I first started this journey. I had just plunked down a crap ton of money to move and then I was a self pay for the band. Therefore I did what I could with what I had. I bought the biggest loser workout video and I did that for a while. I would walk or lift weights that I had around. In January I joined a gym and that is when the exercise really kicked up a notch...or 10. I started by walking on the treadmill. I would vary the incline, the speed or both so I wouldn't get bored. Then I started jogging. It was 0.1 mile at first...then I gradually built up. By the end of April I had run my first 5K...last week I ran 10 straight miles. I am currently training for my first 1/2 marathon that will be run on June 29...4 days before my TT! Running has gotten into my blood! I have done eliptical, weightlifting and the bicycle as well. It is about finding something that you can (at best) love doing or (at worst) tolerate. Don't start out too fast...injuries can happen and sideline you...too high of standards can cause you to be at the gym for hours, make you made, and make you want to give up (been there done that!)

MUNCHIES: See first section for some tricks. I get out. I try NOT to be in the house as much as possible. I stay out of the kitchen! From our living room I cannot see the fridge or the cupboards so I try not to think about what is in them. I have my Water set out in the front room so that there is no reason for me to go into the kitchen. I don't have kids so I don't know if that is possible for you. I always follow the rules about drinking/eating so if I am drinking...I can't be eating! Again I would write down everthing that I was eating and I soon realized that you could eat 600 calories in 10 minutes but that it takes OVER an hour to burn them off in the gym. Even running 5 miles yesterday...I only burned off a little over 500 calories. For me (since I was a self pay) I put a copy of my financing bill (which is at 24% interest) on the fridge and the cupboard. It kind of diminished my appetite when I would see that! Finally...it takes some self-discipline. I know we all hate to hear it, but the band requires YOU to do the work, say NO, and take control of your life. The band has helped me become a more empowered person. Don't get me wrong...I still have issues, but they are different now.

Stress without food This one is tough. I am a teacher and LAST school year was the worst year of my life...It was worse than teaching in the ghetto of Las Vegas...and I didn't think anything could be worse than that. So I ate last year...I ate and ate and ate and ate. This year...new school, new stress...no food. I found that I did feel the stress more. I cried more, I got angrier more. There were days when my students probably wished that I would just stuff my face with a snickers bar so that I would back off of them. I am not sure I have conquered this. If you can afford it...I would suggest therapy. They have WAY more coping mechanisms than I have. I started exercising, talking about my surgery, and coming to LBT. Try to find a hobby...something where you accomplish something...an online game (I play world of warcraft and I can "get lost" there), art, dancing, volunteering, puzzle books. Something that can make you feel like you have succeeded at something. Something that takes your mind away from the situation. I journaled early on and stopped recently....I have to go back and do it. You may find that as you lose weight...you have more stress. It sounds hard to believe, but for me it is most certainly the truth.

This is really long and probably very overwhelming, but please feel free to ask anymore questions.