Saturday, July 3, 2010

Another doctor visit & a visit with the nutritionist

Well, it has been 3 weeks since my last fill. I went in on Thursday for a check up and fill. My 10cc band now has 4.5cc in it. She said I will probably need about two more tweaks. My BP was great. 112/72. I am still on my BP meds but hope to change that soon when I visit my regular doctor.

Now the important news, as of Thursday I am down 37.5lbs officially! I was retaining fluid this week so as expected when I weighed today I had lost a lot more. My scale weighs more than the doctor's which is good in my opinion. My swelling was gone so I weighed this morning and I was down a total of 41.5 lbs. I will take it either way. It's exciting so far that I have not gained anything back. It is a miracle in my book. I am still keeping in mind that while I would love to continue to lose weight each week, there is most probably going to be times that I either don't lose or possibly gain. It can happen. That's okay too. That is life and I must deal with those hurdles as they come. But in the mean time, I am very excited for what I have done so far. I have to say it is not a struggle at all. Which is not to say it wasn't before. I have learned a lot of lessons along the way to get where I am. I hardly know the band is there unless food gets stuck. I listen to my stomach and when I get the slightest feeling of being full I stop. Oh, don't get me wrong, I have tried to push it a little farther and believe me, my band suddenly makes itself known and I am miserable. I have also learned to not eat more than what I put on my plate( sometimes not even that much) and I always use a small salad size plate. I never go back for seconds. I know in my head that if a little later I am hungry again, I can get more if I want it. Turns out I usually don't want anymore.
Learn to listen to your stomach and your hunger even if you haven't had the band surgery. If you have the stuffed bloated feeling then you have eaten way too much. You should never feel full, you should feel satisfied and learning just what that feeling is, is the hardest part. Once you learn that though, it is easy from there. My Band can't teach me that. It has nothing to do with that. The Band gives me consequences if I overeat but it can't teach me when my hunger is satisfied.
Eating should be an event, not something you do quickly to get it over with. I have to sit down and actually take time to eat and eat slowly. I have a lot "listening" to do and I can't do that if I am eating on the run.

Well, my meeting with the nutritionist was interesting. I am making good choices, however, in my quest to reduce carbs I have reduced them too much. She said I need to up my calcium and breads. I don't eat bread because it gets stuck but she suggested the deli thin sandwich bread or thin bread and slightly toast it for a sandwich. She said I also need more calcium like milk. I find it impossible to just drink a glass of milk. I can't drink while eating so that to me is gross to drink milk by itself. A few things to work on, I guess. The most interesting thing she told me was about eggs and egg beaters. The American Heart Association now says we can have up to 4 whole eggs a week. The problem with cholesterol is not in natural cholesterol because our bodies know what to do with natural cholesterol, it is in saturated fats that we have problems and should avoid those. Good news because I love eggs. I told her I was eating egg beaters. She quoted a lot of medical journals and research on this as well as the whole eggs. She said in other countries the yellow coloring in egg beaters is considered a carcinogen. EWWW!! Plus in addition, as if that wasn't bad enough, we are paying high dollar for the container and packaging which is harmful to the environment. Make sense.
We discussed cheese because, well, I LOVE CHEESE. She is a fan of laughing cow light cheese. She also suggested Kaukauna lite cheese. I am putting that on my list. She also suggested the book "Eat this not that". Now she doesn't recommend the diet itself because in reality most of what is in there even in the "eat this" category is not the best but the book gets you thinking about the differences and the choices out there to make.

We discussed what and how I eat and she said I was an inspiration and prime example of how to do this right. It made me feel good. So, my carrying my lunch cooler with me is a great idea and keeps me going strong. What once would have been temptations because I didn't bring food with me is now a choice because I have food with me and it really feels good to say "No thank you, I brought my lunch."

Motivation Tip#7
Celebrate the small accomplishments. Those small accomplishments add up to large hurdles crossed. Celebrate all of it because you deserve it. Whether it is a new outfit or accessory or just getting a scoop of real ice cream. It is your day to shine so enjoy it!!

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