GOAL

I have mentioned that I have been close to my original weight loss goal for or some time.  My weight has been fluctuating and hovering just above that goal number but this weekend I got on the scale and found I had reached it.  Goooaaaalll!

When I was on vacation my sister was having me try clothes on from her closet - a new experience for me.  She gave me some capri pants and I wore her swimsuit for a couple of days.  Mine is still a big old plus size one.  swim suits are just so expensive and I didn't want to invest in one until I am at a stable size... We also tried on clothes at a consignment shop and I bought a few things in smaller sizes than I ever thought I would wear.  Pretty cool.

 I am now actively working to keep my weight at the current level.  Not just because my husband is calling me bony butt (we both miss my former JLo-ness) but because I think I have lost enough.  I have a lot of extra skin and a pretty major poochy lower stomach which can all be covered effectively with clothing.  I don't want to go further and get beyond my current "issues."  My sister is very into me getting plastic surgery to remove the excess skin (and weight) but it isn't something I am interested in spending money on in the foreseeable future.

I also can't keep buying new clothes!  I mean, I like shopping and buying clothes, I always have.  But now I want to buy clothes which will last in my wardrobe.  I  have too many things I have bought and worn a few times and now find are too big.  I am looking for a local consignment store (with a better attitude than than the ones in my town which are very snobby) and hope to make some trades with my too big clothes.

This week will be 10 months since weight loss surgery.  I continue to increase my capacity to eat but still have to be careful not to eat too fast or too much. I still count my protein every single day and aim for 100 grams.  I am vigilant about taking my vitamins.  I am exercising.

I had my first real cookie last week and had no problem with the carbs backfiring on me.  That will not be an everyday occurrence but it is nice to know I can indulge now and then with no major ill effects.  I am also enjoying a cocktail or two most weekends and used some Advil this weekend with no stomach upset.  So the things I was promised would heal and become more "normal" have happened.

Now I am adding more fruits, vegetables and whole grains back into my diet.  When I was in Idaho I bought some Huckleberry Jam at the Farmer's Market and have been using it on my peanut butter sandwiches - heaven! So sad it is almost gone...

STOP FRETTING OVER FAT - SUGAR IS THE KILLER

Dr. Nancy Appleton, author of Suicide by Sugar, actually lists 146 reasons why sugar is ruining your health. Here are just a few of them:

(1) Sugar is a cancer cell's favorite food. Even without having cancer, we all have a few cancer cells floating around.

(2) Sugar creates glucose spikes that force the pancreas to produce insulin more often and beyond it's normal capacity. This wears the pancreas down, limiting insulin production that leads to diabetes. Type II diabetes is insulin resistance, which is preceded by metabolic syndrome at least partly attributable to high sugar intake.

(3) A depleted pancreas can't provide sufficient proteolytic enzymes to bust open cancer cell walls and render them defenseless from the immune system's killer cells.

(4) Processed sugar and fructose are stripped of all mineral content and wind up leeching minerals from our bodies, including our teeth. They also inhibit mineral absorption, including magnesium. Magnesium is a commonly deficient and vitally important for over 300 metabolic processes.

(5) Sugar is addictive. It stimulates central nervous system neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, giving you a pleasant buzz to crave more and promote overeating of processed foods.

(6) Many nutritional experts attribute the rise of obesity and cardiac problems to higher refined carbohydrate and sugar consumption. And the condensed fructose in HFCS is absorbed first by the liver, which cannot metabolize it all and has to store accumulated fructose as fat creating fatty liver.

Obesity, diabetes, and heart disease became epidemic after low and no fat diets were introduced while sugar and HFCS were increased in processed foods and beverages.

Chobani Blueberry Greek Yogurt

When manufacturers took out the fat from many of our foods, they added sugar to make up for the flavor and texture that was lost.  For example, (and this is a great illustration) read the labels on the non-fat yogurts we all think are so healthy.  They are full of sugar!  Just try to find a flavored yogurt on the market that has little or no sugar...

And honey?  That's sugar, don't let the name of the sugar fool you.  There are now dozens of names for sugars.  Read the Carb portion of the label to get the totals,  the ingredient list can be misleading.

THE SLOW DOWN



One of my favorite snacks. Even better than on bread or crackers!!

 My weight loss has really slowed down in the past month.  I went from losing 5 pounds a week, to 3 pounds and now I am at 2 pounds which is pretty much what I managed pre-op on a good diet with lots of exercise.  This brings me to the point where I need to be much more mindful of all of my food choices.

For those who think that weight loss surgery is a magic bullet and you can eat whatever you want afterwards - forget that!!  It is a tool.  A really big, helpful tool, but only that.  The human element still factors in every single day.  (Something my co-worker can't understand because he is always trying to get me to eat stuff like donuts he brings in.  Friday he brought me a croissant thinking that was a better choice than a donut.  Sigh.)

Now I need to stop adding that little spoonful of brown rice to my dinner, and skip the potato in the pot roast, add Splenda to the coleslaw dressing instead of sugar.  The carbs need to be monitored much more closely.  The big plus for me to giving up bread and sugar is that I don't have to be concerned with fat* - so I picked up some brie to add to my lunch and used full fat mayo when I made deviled eggs yesterday!

In fact, a tip I learned onone of the DS forums was to add whipped cream to greek yogurt to cut the aftertaste and up the fat. I find it impossible to find full fat yogurt anywhere and I feel lucky when I find 2% instead of non-fat. 

The thing people don't realize in all their fat fearing frenzy is that the food companies fill in the flavor lost by taking the fat out by adding sugar.  So the non-fat Fage I just bought has 38g of carbs!!  This is simple vanilla yogurt - no fruit added to up the carbs. Sugar is a MUCH bigger problem in our diets than fat and it is added in everywhere, especially where the fat has been reduced out. 


*Actually, I really need the fat to help with my dry skin and hair.

OVER IT?

Is it possible that I have eaten so many cookies, candies and cakes in the past months that I reached some sort of satiety?  Because I went off sugar 5 days ago and I haven't felt a blip of a craving.   Nothing. 

I cleaned out the pantry yesterday and tossed some really old stuff hidden behind my husband's sports supplements, some unmarked bulk purchases (I need to label the stuff from the health food department), some lingering crackers, 5 half consumed bags of tortilla chips, 2 half consumed boxes of cereal and a bag of beef jerky with an expiration date in 2009!

 I put the dangerous stuff up high and out of sight.  Maybe if I have to pull out the step stool to get to it, I will have time to reconsider whether I should eat it.

So it has been a good week so far.  I started my food log on SparkPeople and will get focused on calorie reduction this next week.  Monday is weigh in day.

STEP 1 AGAIN

I mentioned in my main blog that I don't need to make a resolution to lose weight and get into shape - it holds honorary,  perennial status.

But I do need to have an approach.  January my goal is to get off and stay off sugar.  I started today.  My experience is that the physical "withdrawal" hits on day 2 or 3.  So I have planned to have some celery, carrots, nuts and popcorn on hand to nibble when the cravings hit.  I am also going to avoid the other bugaboos - like things made with white flour which can also set off those cravings.

My many years of experience tell me that after 5 days or so the sweets craving will subside and I can move to a new phase in my attack.  I am giving myself all of January to get my carby little  ducks in a row.  I have been pulling out veggie recipes and making meal plans.

I have a big clean out the pantry day planned, too.  My husband loves his sugar, but I can buy him things I won't be tempted by.  However, when the will power is low, I am known to go through the pantry and get creative.  So all the little leftover cookie makings will go out - the coconut, the toffee bits come to mind.

I am trying to get up the nerve to put one of those weight loss "tickers" on the sidebar.  I am not in the habit of revealing my actual weight.  Who am I kidding? I NEVER reveal my actual weight.  So we'll see about that leap.