First Bite warning
This article says it all. Im a sugar and fat addict. It explains it as well as Ive ever seen.
Now that Im taking a vacation from these foods, thanks to my Gall Bladder surgery, I can step back and evaluate.
I now know that just like a heroin or alcohol addict it only takes one bite of something to make me take the brakes off.
I have noticed that if I have something sweet in the house, cookies, ice cream, chocolate, I cant stop thinking about it. I would allow myself one serving a day. But the rest of the day I was thinking about it and wanting it. It was torture. I never thought of it that way. But it's true. A couple of weeks ago, when my oncologist gave me the ok to get on track with my weight loss program, I weaned myself off of sugar over several days. I cut way back on fat as well. I found that once the sugar was out of my system the cravings were gone.
I don't bring sugary treats into the house. And I have plenty of low fat foods available at all times. I have been given the gift of gall bladder removal to help me along the way. Bottom line, if I eat even a little bit of fat I will suffer because of my bodies' inability to digest it. I simply can't eat fat. How cool is that?
Further down the line my body will adjust and I will be able to eat some fat again. By then my eating habits will be ingrained. And it should be easier to make good choices.
How do I know I can do this? Because I know my brain. My brain believes what I tell it. And this is what I tell it.
I learned this from my brother Steve of Intelligent Heart
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| Me at 165lbs with Katie |
Yesterday I promised to talk about my plan to shed some pounds. This will not become the focus of my life. But I want to put it out there for anyone who is interested. There are three elements to my plan that are really working.
One is the website Daily Burn. I used this program a couple of years ago when I was weaning off of Jenny Craig and making my own decisions about what I would eat. It is quite fun actually. I enter the food Ive eaten. They have a huge data base that will come up with calories and breaks down nutrients to proteins, carbs, fats, etc. I can also make any food a favorite. As I go through my day I see exactly where I am in terms of calories and breakdown of the foods Im eating. There is also an app for that! Who isnt surprised that I use an iPhone app???? I can actually scan bar codes to enter food. The App is synched to my online website. Very cool! There is a 'locker room' where I track my weight, my calories and my exercise. The cool thing is the program automatically adds more calories to my allotment when I exercise. So Im highly motivated to exercise to 'buy' myself more calories. If you decide to check it out, they actually have three 'Daily Burn' websites. It's complicated. Just use the link I have above to get to the tracking part of the program. Thats all I use.
That's the first element.
The second is simply GET THE SUGER OUT! I have learned over the years that if I eat sugar, even if it is a calorie controlled weight watchers food, I just want more. If I have brought anything sugary into the house, Im going to eat it til it's gone. I do manage to eat only one serving a day of whatever it is when Im loosing weight. But it preys on my mind. I am aware of it. And I cant wait until I can have it again. Does that sound like an addiction? Yes it does! Now that Ive been off sugar for a week, I dont have a problem with it. I have decided to have zero tolerance for sugar. And Im ok with that.
The next element is Fat. I do subscribe to the theory that we all need fat even when we are on a weight loss plan. Well, in my case, fat is my enemy. Why? Because if I eat it, even in limited amounts I risk a gall bladder attack. It is probably the result of a lifetime of over indulging. (see previous blog entry)
My doctor gave me a handout explaining how to keep fat consumption to a minimum. It is even more limiting than what I was already doing. I will have to keep this going until at least 6 weeks after the gall bladder surgery while my body adjusts. Im very happy about this. It really motivates me to keep the fat out. The cool thing is, my body will let me know in no uncertain terms if I have consumed too much fat!
What is the result of these radical changes? I have lost 2.5 pounds in a week!! I may not keep loosing at this rate. But at least I know Im on the right track! Just to keep me honest, Im going to put my weight in the blog. I was 165 when I started last week. Im now 162.5!
