A BARIATRIC SURGEON SPEAKS OUT - NOT THE EASY WAY OUT

I just read this great article written by a Bariatric Surgeon.  He is tired of people commenting about his profession - that he is an "enabler" for lazy, unmotivated fat people taking the "easy way" out of obesity.

He lists not only the difficulties of losing weight and maintaining that loss, the hoops people have to jump through to even get surgery and the fact that the AMA this year has declared obesity a disease and not just the cause of other diseases.

As a life long exerciser, a healthy eater and someone with knowledge of nutrition and of my own psychological issues - I can attest that it is not just a matter of eating less and exercising more.  Yes, for many people there is an issue with eating poorly and not exercising.  For many more of us it is far beyond that simple formula.  No one can really explain all the factors involved but the medical researchers are gaining awareness of the multiplicity of factors which affect different people.

Just as some people can smoke cigarettes all their lives and not get lung cancer, some people live long lives on a high fat diet and others drop dead in their 30's following a spartan diet and running marathons.  None of it is simple.

I had wanted to try weight loss surgery for over 10 years before I was given the opportunity.  As soon as I was aware of the Duodenal Switch I knew it was the solution for me.  I have never been a volume eater.  I have generally been a healthy eater - yes I have binged like pretty much anyone, for the most part I have been eating a high protein, low carb diet for 15 years so I knew I could maintain the dietary requirements.  When people "fail" following weight loss surgery and gain weight, it is probably because they didn't learn enough or know themselves well enough to commit to what it takes to be successful.

The surgery is a tool, not the final solution to the problem.  After all, we still have to eat!

THE BEST THING ON PINTEREST

This is what has me pondering these days.  I have been driven by nothing but eating for a couple of weeks.  My clothes are too tight, I feel like crap, I am spending money I don't have, I am procrastinating and letting people down..  So being fat and getting fatter is hard.  Time to choose my hard.

THE PAST

"The past is obdurate"  is a recurring line in the book I am reading.  It is the new Stephen King novel 11/22/63 about a man who has found a way to go back in time to try to stop the assassination of John Kennedy.  In his efforts to make changes in the past, obstacles are placed in his way.  He has found that the past doesn't want to be changed, the past  is stubbornly set in place.

 I woke up during the night last night thinking that it is true in my life, not just in a time travelling novel.  The past travels forward with us every day, it is attached to our decisions and to our habits.  No matter how you think you have changed, it is still there.

I know that I need to make lifelong changes yet I 'm dragging along all kinds of beliefs and ideas and comforts from the past.  Even though they don't work for me anymore, even though they don't help me, they fight me to maintain their existence.

To leave the past behind, to make real changes going forward I need to outsmart the past.  So I will read Stephen King and see how things work out in the story as I start to craft my own way around the past.

I EAT TOO MUCH - PART 102

I seem to have lost my blogging mojo when it comes to my dieting life.  I feel like all I do is come up with a new plan and then fall off and then avoid posting so I am not just going on and on about my stress and other issues which I seem to be powerless over.  I am told that I internalize everything that is going on in my life and then it turns around and comes out in rashes and overeating and insomnia and even, lately, in spending money I don't have.

So - blah-blah, me-me-me, stressity-stress, eat-eat.

I will say that I have made some improvements on my overeating, at least.  I am overeating fairly healthy foods.  I have been making chocolate covered almonds with dark chocolate* , very lightly covered with dark chocolate.  I only had one round with some nicely dense whole grain bread and then refrained from buying that again!  I am eating a LOT of fruit, especially watermelon, blueberries and apricots.  Oh, and Golden brand Zucchini Pancakes.  Very tasty and low cal and better than the ones I tried to make myself.  I have only had beef once and chicken twice since I last posted.  I found a lot of recipes using beans in things and have come up with some salad combinations of whole wheat pasta, beans and greens which is a good protein combination. 

I finally got the nerve to weigh myself and I am up 10 pounds from the last time I had the nerve to weigh myself in April.  That makes me about 23 pounds up from my lowest weight last summer.  Few of the clothes I kept from last summer fit me well but I have resisted buying more than a couple of tops. 

So that is the update.  The food is healthier, the amounts must come down.  A work in progress.




* Melt Dark Chocolate Chips in the microwave (about 1 minute on high) and mix in toasted almonds.  (I buy raw almonds and toast them in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes.)  Stir until covered and then turn out on a waxed paper covered cookie sheet.  Put in frig until completely cooled, then break into pieces and store in frig or cool spot.  Figure your calories based on the amounts of chocolate and almonds you use.  From there you need to estimate your serving size.

SPECIAL EVENTS

I read a quote by someone about the fact that we worry about what we are going to eat during the holidays when what we should really worry about is what we are eating the other 50 weeks of the year.  So true.  We do get very concerned about the opportunities to overindulge during special occasions.  Many people speak about being unwilling to give up the pleasures of rich restaurant meals, family favorites, desserts and cocktails - while  being bombarded by advice on the many ways we can avoid adding calories and pounds and still enjoy ourselves.  Yeah, right.
In truth, if we have been paying attention the rest of the year - is it really such a big deal to indulge during these special occasions?  Beyond the question of forbidden foods and falling off the wagon and all the other ways we label our behavior around food, I think the fear is that we just plain will not stop eating once we start!

In a way this is true of me.  There are so many foods I can ignore all around me much of the time.  I can eat out in a restaurant and not reach for the bread basket or the chips and salsa.  I can say no to dessert without a qualm, I can cheerfully choose the scrambled eggs over the french toast and navigate a buffet spread selecting the healthy items.  However...if I have made monkey bread for my family by request, I will pick at it all day until the tiny portion I served myself at breakfast has ballooned into hundreds of calories. 

While I don't have an "I blew it so I might as well eat (enter ridiculously high calorie food here)" attitude, I do notice that when I have allowed myself to take a vacation from calorie counting for a special occasion - it may take me days or even  weeks to get completely back on track.   

I think this will continue to happen unless I manage to get over my attachment to certain foods.  When I can pass on the foods which currently hold me in their thrall (like good bread) then I will be able to enjoy special events without them turning into breaks from my normal, more healthy, and yes, more restricted eating. 

But I've got to tell you - the Lemon Drop Martinis I had were so worth it, not to mention the tempura fried asparagus appetizer and the pear, caramelized onion and bleu cheese pizza and the bite of sticky toffee pudding and...well, you get the picture!

On the other hand, the photos of the last week do not show me looking the way I would like to look and my knees are giving me trouble.  I do understand that I need to be on the healthy eating and gym attendance routine in order to look and feel better when the next special occasion comes up.