Are you ready to commit to a life change to lose your weight and keep it off?

Three days ago, I was given a tomato. It was very little colored, more pink than tomato colored.
I placed it in the plant room with the struggling pepper plants. Tomato was rotated every 12 hours, until today.
I have just finished slicing into a very red and delicious tomato. Well worth waiting for and it brought with it reminders of the healthy, good tasting foods not too far off.
Three years ago, this tomato would have rotted in the drawer in my fridge. I would never have enjoyed it since I wouldn't have looked for something fresh to eat.
The closest I came to a tomato was half a pizza. Yes pizza is yummy and healthy. No pizza is not one of the food groups and you cannot eat it daily.
I gave up bagels. I did not give up pizza. I have relocated pizza. It is a no more than once a month treat. When I eat it, I enjoy it.
Any food I eat, I enjoy now. If I feel guilty eating something, then I evaluate why. I stop eating and return to the labels. I read the nutritional values. I determine the food's location: in the good column or the NO! column?
I have developed my anything goes rule. One free bite. Of anything (but a bagel). One bite. After that one free bite, I have to pay. Not with money! Calories are costly. They go in the Bank of Hips and it is very hard to undo that damage.
Are you having trouble joining me?
Is it hard for you to get started?
Don't know where to start?
Add don't subtract.
Don't suffer.
You need to eat not starve.
How to add?
I keep saying add protein. How?
Take 7 empty, disposable 16 oz. water bottles. (You drank all the water yesterday and set them out to dry)
Line them up with a funnel in the first one.
Add a scoop of whey protein powder to each bottle. (I prefer vanilla flavored).
Cap 6 of the bottles.
The 7th bottle is for now.
Add 2 inches of warm, not hot, water. Cap it and shake vigorously to completely dissolve powder.
Now add flavor.
My bottles get Crystal Light. I like the strawberry/banana. Each botttle gets half of a packet before storing. That means I have dissolved this already and just need to add cold water.
Do you like Creamsicles? Add orange juice or other low cal orange drink. I know somebody that uses cranberry juice since she needs to drink it.
Experiment- you have a week's worth of protein drink to try. Every day, early in your day, drink your protein. Make sure you remember to eat 4 hours later.
If you have your protein early for breakfast, try a Greek yogurt for lunch. Fruit goes great with yogurt.
Have a great and healthy day!

CHOICE
The thing or person chosen; that which is approved and selected in preference to others; selection.
The best part; that which is preferable.

Every day You make choices.
Today choose to eat right and to choose your foods.
Choice eliminates the need for willpower.

Do you want me to tell you what to eat every day, every hour?
It didn't work for me. I saw those menus and measurements and I could not follow them.
I needed to learn to make healthy choices.
This is all about my life changes and you can make them your life changes, too.

You have heard the saying, "Eat to live, not to eat".
We are here to reduce the importance of food in our lives. When we suffer through someone else's menus for a week, they might cause us to lose weight but when we stop following those menus, it all comes back.
My weight has been coming off slowly and steadily for almost a year now. I am healthier and stronger than ever before.

You can choose to be also!!

My Winter Shopping Cart:

Chobani (or any) Strawberry Greek Yogurt- any size
Bananas
Damascus Flax Roll-Ups
Skippy Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter (better than the healthy brand)
Poland Spring or Nestle 160z water bottles (cases) for no reason other than how they fit in my hands
Tuna-any cheap, water packed type. I prefer Bumble Bee Light packed in a pouch
Kraft Fat free Catalina Dressing
Hellmann's Low Fat Mayonnaise Dressing 15 cals/Tbsp
Popping corn (air popped in microwave in a paper lunch bag)
spray oil/butter buds
Slimfast bottles
Designer Whey Protein Powder
Edy's Fruit Bars 25 cals each in my freezer
Ready cooked rotisserie chicken (I debone it and repack it when I get home)
Zone Protein Bars
Eggs to hard boil
Green tea and others
Salmon
Shrimp
Presliced fresh vegetables
Small amounts of cheese such as string cheese or any other low fat cheeses

(Winter shopping cart because I am a little stricter when the fresh fruit is better)

Please think about your shopping cart. What shouldn't be in there and what do you need to add?
I found out that when I eliminated Big Macs, Whoppers and other items like those, I was able to afford to make large pieces of salmon or handfuls of shrimp at home!

I have been trying to add things to your eating habits. It is so hard to give up the things we like or enjoy-even if they are killing us. We need to learn positive control and instigation.

Mmm, chocolate bars with hot, morning coffee....see how easy that was to put into your head?
Now think of a great big Chef's salad with all the good, healthy things added in that you like. If you can replace the first picture with the second one, you will have no problem losing all the weight you choose. However, if you are like me, then it didn't work.
To begin with, I now have a protein bar with my coffee. I still prefer the ones without the chocolate coating. It is just easier for me to not have any. I don't do well with moderation!
It is best to not allow that first picture to take up space in your mind at all. I have found that I shop with a buffet plan on my mind. I chose many foods that I can enjoy. They are all ready to use or even to eat when I bring them home. Zucchini is a very easy food to cook and I enjoy it. If I buy them whole, lazy me might just leave them till they are watery and rotten in my fridge. I pay a lot more for presliced vegetables-but I cook and eat them all. I save money because there is less rotten food. I don't like giving my food more time and attention then it already gets from me. You need to find what works for you.
Getting back to the evil pictures in my mind, I plan a meal based on those easy foods I have in the fridge. On my way home, I might be thinking about a slice of salmon filet from my freezer with just a splash of soy sauce on it (5 minutes in microwave if frozen) along with some vegetable that also gets quickly cooked in the microwave. No thinking about pizza being easier and faster.
I don't let myself feel hungry and that way, I don't let hunger win.

I have mentioned Protein shakes several times now. They are an essential part of our non-diet. Protein keeps us from feeling hungry.
There are many different whey protein shake recipes that you can try.
Basically, take a scoop of any brand whey protein powder along with other ingredients and mix in your blender. You can add fruit, milk, ice, anything.
My favorite protein shake is simple. I use an empty water bottle for the scoop of vanilla whey protein powder. I add about 2 inches of warm (never hot) water, close and shake. This dissolves everything. I then add strawberry Crystal Light and ice water and shake. Quick, easy, disposable!
If you page back to through the history of this blog, there is a post or more of shakes.

One Day at a Time.
Remember that.
This is your life and you need to take control of it.
I haven't said it before but I don't care how you do this- in other words if you like Weight Watchers or Jenny or Herbalife, that is ok. Get started any way you choose.
I want you to keep going. That is what we are doing here.
Life changes.
It is important to journal your foods (index cards) so that you are aware of when and what you eat.
We have eating problems. Food goes in and it isn't doing the right job. We need to fix that.
It is important to drink water. This is the truth and not just something weightloss centers think up so they can fill your poor, empty, tummy with something other that pizza.
Keep track of your liquids and waters on those index card food journals.
One meal a day is starvation. You have tried that diet, haven't you? It didn't work or you wouldn't be reading this now. Fasts are fine for a day. Actually, mini fasts are fine for a day. They can be used to kick start your weightloss when you have hit a plateau. A fast means focusing on no food for a day and finishing with a particular meal. Maybe a cabbage soup. This will cause you to lose water weight but not real weight.
Food needs to be stretched out over the day. You can try 6 mini meals a day and adjust it to what works for you.
You never want to be hungry. Hungry sabotages your plans. Protein will keep away the hungries. Eating before you feel hungry also keeps you winning.
I have told you before that I do not want you to give up anything. Yet, I want you to abandon the wrong choices.
Let's start your day with a protein drink such as Slimfast (my lazy choice). I use this one because it has protein and vitamins along with a taste I can tolerate. The price is also reasonable. Have a banana or other fruit, also.
An hour or two later, I have my coffee and a protein bar such as the ones made by Atkins or Zone. I choose a high protein low calorie one.
Lunch is next. How about tuna? Or hard boiled eggs? Or the two combined and blended with Hellman's Low Fat Mayo (the one with the green cap)? Add chopped onions and other veggie stuff as you prefer. This is not a time for a sandwich. Use your fork. I have invented many ways of eating this such as rolling spoonfuls in a lettuce leaf for mini wraps or using cucumber slices like crackers.
Another meal in a few hours. Greek yogurt. Any flavor, any amount. Have some fruit like strawberries or blueberries.
Dinner. You know the things we have been taught to eat but just make sure it is high on the protein and low on the fats, calories, carbs. My favorite is a piece of salmon (on a plate in the microwave covered for 3+/- minutes, season as you prefer), along with a ton of veggies. I cook my veggies in the microwave till the are just not hard anymore. Mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, green beans....I am lazy. I buy precut vegetables! I keep trying new ones. I google what I buy or see and figure out how to use my microwave or crockpot to invent a low cal lazy food.
Late nights can be hard. I pop popcorn in my microwave and sprinkle butter buds (seasonings aisle in supermarket) or garlic salt or spicey stuff on plain popcorn.
My freezer is filled with 25-50 calorie ice pops. I am really bad at the just one plan so I like the low cal ones so I can have 3!
Read the labels. I found individually wrapped string cheese was a controlled quantity of protein.
I like my cheeses. I have low fat swiss cheese that I only buy a small amount (quarter pound) and I have cheese and tomatoes.
I found flatbread by reading labels. I spread peanut butter on it. I read the labels and found the Healthy Choice brand was not as healthy as my favorite brand!
Have you been keeping track of my calories? My proteins?
Anytime I am hungry I always have my protein powder drink available. Simple mixture using vanilla flavored whey protein powder (Designer Whey) and any sugar free drink such as Crystal Light.
Plan out your food for tomorrow. Keep track of your numbers and make sure you won't be hungry.
You CAN do this. Let's.

Yesterday's lunch:
Any bag of 13 bean soup will do. Try Bob's or the cheap stuff!

13 Bean Soup Mix contains navy, black, red, pinto, baby limas, large limas, garbanzo, red lentils, great northern, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, yellow splits, green splits, and lentils.

2 cups '13 bean soup mix' beans (follow package instructions on soaking & rinsing)

Chicken or Vegetable broth

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp chili powder

pinch red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Add your seasonings and chopped veggies that you enjoy-these are a suggestion.

Throw it all into the slow cooker for 3-4 hours on high, depending on your slow cooker . My slow cooker is tiny, for one person, so it takes about 8 hours!!

Delicious, healthy bean soup, high in soluble fibre!
You can enjoy this many ways. Try shredding a small amount of mozzarella cheese and/or chicken on top. Add your little left overs of your 'safe' foods!

My posts include pictures from other places found on the internet. I save all pictures to my computer and then upload them once again. I avoid using other people's bandwidth this way.
If I post a photo of yours and you would like credit added or the photo removed, please just let me know. I will be happy to do so along with my apologies.

I have many online friends in groups for weight loss surgery. I read about the difficulties they have. Some people need the control that is forced by the results of the surgery. When it is life or death that the weight needs to come off, it is a great tool. My point is that the surgery is a tool and not a magic wand.
I was looking for a magic wand.
I was too lazy to follow the outlines of any diet program. I wanted it easy. I still do.
Mmmmm, I would love a bagel. Or two.
That is my problem! I do not eat till I am sick or till I can't move. I do not eat ice cream from morning to night. I do enjoy my food and I love eating in restaurants.
I don't want to get sick every time I eat. Two ounces of food three times a day? Why have surgery? (This is not for discussion since I do realize that there are very good reasons for the weight loss surgery.)
It just isn't for me.
I have learned to do the things I need to CHANGE MY LIFE.
I have different eating habits now. For one, I eat constantly, now, while I ate in bursts before.
My body was ready for starvation. Yes, everything I ate was saved. My body never knew if I would refuel it in 2 hours or 10. It saved and it hoarded every morsel I shared. My jeans just continued to grow.
Three meals a day? Before, I waited all day for a large evening dinner. Now I eat 5 or more meals every day.
I plan my food. Some days I place a bunch of foods on the dining room table and just work away at them all day. I plan my food every day. Some times that plan is in my head but it always exists.
I plan my food when I go to the supermarket. I go often. I buy MY foods.
I do not eat salads in general but I do eat vegetables. I enjoy my vegetables microwaved a short time and then I nibble at them with low fat/low cal dressing. My rare salads are covered in tuna with all its protein goodness. I use low fat Catalina dressing.
When I am in the supermarket, I shop fast and get just what I need. Usually. Other times, I window shop. I wander the aisles and read labels. I think of new things to eat that are safe.
I take my vitamins.
I never thought much of vitamins before but I now have a wide variety that help me. I learned from my WLS friends that there were many supplements they needed to take. Biotin, B-12, D, C, potassium, magnesium.... I will explain what and why I the future.
The most important is protein.
I do not want to comb my hair one morning and find it falling out in clumps. Can you imagine how I felt for my friend when I read that?! The doctor told her that she wasn't getting enough protein. Simple solution. Consume more protein.
How do you consume enough protein with a stomach that holds 2 ounce meals and rejects a lot of them? Not easily. The general idea is to drink protein shakes.
I read a lot about protein shakes. Everyone has a recipe and a favorite brand protein powder. Basically, nobody likes them. I will share mine with you.
My diet is easy, lazy, healthy and works. As of this date, I have lost over 65 pounds in 6 months easily. I have not been hungry.
My posts will focus on different areas of the things I have found work for me. I hope they help you too.
Let's review the things we started in the past posts.
Use Index cards or a small notebook- write down everything you eat.
Track your liquids. Focus on increasing water amounts.
Weigh yourself. Measure yourself. Hide scale, tape measure.
Have you taken some photos for your records?
Increase your protein intake.
Don't worry about the carbs for now. Just don't have them early.
Start your day with protein.
One day at a time. Don't worry about the big picture. We will get there.
We have begun.

Today, you have to do something you don't like.
I don't, anyway.
It is time to weigh in-if you haven't already. Get undressed if you must, but record your weight. Then put the scale away. It goes in the back of the closet until next month. Yes, I said month. The only thing accomplished by weighing more often is that you become depressed and eat chocolate kisses or whatever.
I use my doctor's scale. It is not easy to use that way.
We also need to use one of those evil tape measures. Measure waist, hips, breast, shoulders, arm and thigh circumference... You know the places.
You have the measurements? You have changed them to look better/ worse? All done?
Put the tape measure away. With the scale!!!
Honestly, the day to day measurements are not needed. My jeans tell me more than the scale. I want to look good and feel good. The scale does not understand any of that.

Today is traumatic enough. We will move on tomorrow.

Today is a new day.
No matter what you did or ate yesterday, today is still a new day.
Are you having a hard day? Can't get back on track?
Sit down in front of the clock and watch the numbers change. Begin a new day on the stroke of the new hour. Not all days have to begin at midnight or at 6am.
At the beginning of a new day, you have not eaten or not eaten the right or wrong thing. Not too much or too little of what you believe you should eat. You have a clean slate, actually, a clean plate!
12 Step programs teach One Day at a Time and will tell you that if that is too hard, try one hour at a time. Anything, one minute, just try.
Yes I said TRY.
That is all we have to do for now.
Try.

Did you think I had abandoned you? Not true at all. I gave you a lot to think about last time. I hope you reread all that information!!
The very first days of my dieting changes were very simple. I worked at drinking the water. I set out 6 of those 16 oz water bottles each morning. I had to work hard at all that liquid.
I gave myself credit for my coffee, but gave up the diet cokes.
I slowly started to lose weight. I also began to feel a little better.
There was a required appointment for a nutritionist already scheduled. I saw her. She weighed me and asked what I eat. She did not believe how little I actually ate. I invented some snacks and gorging episodes for her charts to make her happy. It was a better interview that way. She thought she was helping me as she told me how to stop eating things that I really didn't eat.
I was honest about my daily breakfast. I was very good and ate just a bagel with cream cheese.
WHAT? No more bagels? Why? Too many carbs?
I told her she was crazy and left. The next morning I ate a donut with my bagel. An hour later I had something else for a second breakfast.
Maybe she was right? Maybe those early morning carbs were really making me hungry. I substituted a protein bar for the bagel and was satisfied till lunchtime.
I still have a protein bar every morning with my coffee.

Think about what you eat during the first 3 hours of your day. Try to move your foods around so that you start with proteins. If you won't give up your bagel (or its cousin), try having it for lunch with something else like a grilled chicken breast.

I had chosen the LapBand for my weight loss surgery. You can Google it easily if you are not already familiar with it.
I joined an online support group for pre-op and post-op patients. I discussed all sorts of things with my new friends and began to some common threads in their post surgery lives.
I heard about vomiting, gas, indigestion, gastro esophageal reflux, problems with medicines, vitamins, liquids. I heard about friends returning to the hospital with gall bladder issues, pancreatic problems, malnutrition. I read about struggles to drink enough water and to eat enough protein. I quickly saw that the protein shake could solve many problems quickly but many new friends complained about the taste!
Maybe this was not for me?
I had six months to wait.
Hmmm. Is there a weight loss diet regimen that I could use to practice?
This is a suggested diet for post ops:
Week 1-2:
During this time, only thin liquids can be tolerated. It’s important to keep hydrated with lots of water. Other liquids recommended during this phase include: Clear broth or soup (with no vegetables or meat and not creamy) Skim milk Fruit juice No-sugar added popsicles
Week 3-4:
During this phase, you may start having slightly textured foods. Aim for the consistency of baby foods. Eat protein-rich foods first and then move on to fruits and vegetables. Foods may include: Pureed skinless fish or chicken, Mashed potatoes, Low-fat yogurt or pudding
Week 5:
You may now begin soft foods such as fish and ground turkey. Make it a habit to chew foods well. If you don’t, you may experience vomiting, stomach irritation and swelling. You could also have a stoma obstruction.
If solid foods cause nausea and vomiting, go back to the liquid diet. Then, slowly add soft foods and eventually transition to solid foods.
Solid Foods:
When you are able to eat solid foods without problems, you will need to pay close attention to your diet after lap band surgery. The gastric band system was designed to restrict solids, not liquids.
Liquids will pass through the upper stomach pouch quickly and will not make you feel full. Drinking liquids during or immediately after meals tends to flush food through the pouch and you will not get the prolonged feeling of satiety needed to help you eat less.
A lot of patients have difficulty with solid foods in the morning. If this is the case for you, open the gastric band by starting with a couple glasses of liquid before your first meal.
Too much food or big chunks of food can block the stomach pouch outlet. Avoid this by chewing your food thoroughly and eating small bits at a time. Remember, your new stoma opening is the size of a dime.
Eat only three meals a day and make sure these meals contain adequate nutrients. Your stomach can only hold about ¼ cup of food, or 2 ounces, at a time. Stop eating when hunger is gone or when you feel comfortable.

WAIT A SEC!!!!! 2 ounces of food 3 times a day?
I don't need surgery to lose weight on that!
I decided to try an "Act as if" Diet.
More on that next time.

Today we add liquids to our index cards.
Start tracking how much and what you drink each day.
Do you drink at least 64 ounces of water daily? I don't so I work very hard to drink as much as I can.


**I am not saying that weight loss surgery does not work- it is a great tool and needs to be treated as a tool.
(some data has been quoted from http://bmi.ucsd.edu/about-obesity/Pages/default.aspx but I didn't choose one site over another for any reason other than ease of viewing.)

How did you feel today?
Was it easier to eat right?
For now, I am not getting into the right foods and the wrong foods because I always knew what I should be doing, even if I didn't do it. I know that milkshakes and cake are not my best breakfast choices so I am sure you do, too.
This morning I drank a Chocolate Slimfast at 7am.
I had a protein bar (Zone Cinnamon Roll) at 10am with my coffee.
Two hard boiled eggs were next at noon.
I ate 20 grape tomatoes and 8 mini mozzarella cheese balls at 2pm.
If you are a calorie counter, you are seeing that I had over 1000 calories already. The more important part is that I had over 100 grams of protein.

Today I want you to research the protein counts for the foods you ate today (or yesterday).

I know you are anxious to tell me all that you wrote on your index cards and how you managed to not eat everything in sight. You are all ready to tell me how this is the key to losing weight that you have been waiting for......no? You are right. It is just a step, a tool. We need lots of them and we need to remember to use them.
I like to write my daily eating in an online journal. There are so many of them but the one that I am comfortable with is at Fit Click (the link is on this blog, a few posts back.)
I enjoy the convenience of calculating my nutrition at just a click and its library seems to cover everything-even 7-11 snacks!!

We were discussing my weight loss surgery, yesterday?
I went to the orientation program and left with a packet of paperwork. I had questionnaires to complete and doctors to visit....psychologist, nutritionist, cardiologist, pulmonologist, and many more.
I made appointments and started visiting doctors and had blood work done. It was a major process. Everything went well with all of the doctors signing off to get me scheduled. I was finally a success at being fat! Then, the pulmonary doctor said no. I never expected him to be the one. He said come back in 6 months and we will discuss it.
I was heart broken.
I cried to my online friends in the weight loss surgery groups I had joined. I read their posts and felt bad for everyone but awful for myself.
As I made friends, I began to really read about their struggles. I began to realize that there were many things I would need to learn to do after my surgery.
I did not want to fail even after surgery. I read about malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, hair loss,...I started to see that this was not going to be as easy as I had thought.

Today we are going to begin to add to our diets.
You do not have to give up anything yet.
Keep tracking your foods.
And add one thing.
When you wake up in the morning, you have your own routine. That is ok. However, it is time to add just one item. Protein. I do not care if you never eat breakfast. It is time to change. I could answer that you could never lose weight!
We are all about a life change and it is time to begin.

My mornings start with a very cold Slimfast (any protein drink is fine, I just drink this one) -in my hand on the way out the door. A protein bar with a cup of coffee is fine. Protein shakes are more involved but wonderful. A handful of fruit, a scoop of protein powder (brand not important), handful of ice, skim milk or water -all in the blender till ready to drink.
Make it easy so you can do it every day within the first hour you are awake.
Have a wonderful day.

You want to lose weight?
Have you spent your life on diets like I have? Have you tried Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Over Eaters anonymous, The Grapefruit Diet, The Banana Diet, The Cabbage Soup diet, The South Beach Diet, The Atkins Diet,...?
Me too.
I have tried so many different diets and failed at them all. I learned something from all of them and weight did come off. My problem was the weight always came back.
I decided that I am a failure and I will always be fat, unhealthy without nice clothes.
I was ready for the weight loss surgery. My magic had been offered finally. I was nearing 350 pounds and all I had to do was let these wonderful doctors open me up and rearrange my insides. The plan was to recreate me so that I would no longer be able to eat nonstop and gain more weight. I would finally be thin!!!!
Tomorrow I will continue to tell you more of my history.
Now we will start your journey also.
I want you to get index cards or a small notebook. Anything to make this easiest for you to do.
On the first index card, write down everything you have eaten so far today. On another card write everything you ate yesterday. Go back as many days as you can completely remember.
Nobody will be grading you on these and nobody will read them. You never need to look at them again if you choose not to.
From now on everything you eat gets written down. It does not matter what you eat yet. Just be honest with yourself.
You matter.

2012 has arrived.
It is a good time for a clean start.
Join me on a journey for improved health and weight loss.