Month: July 2023

Tracking for Success and a Personal Emotional Story

Okay, it’s time to get real for a bit and share with you some true pieces of me.

I have been on a diet since I was 12 years old, maybe younger, but that is the first age I remember starting to come up with ideas for how to chart my food intake. In the last 37 years, I have spent almost every day on some type of diet, food plan, or at least trying to lose weight.

Reflecting on this the last few days, I realized that my whole life has been consumed at least in part by dieting, tracking, and inventing new ways to lose weight.

I had this magical thinking that the reason I couldn’t lose weight was because I had not found the right tracking tool that would help me stay on track. If I found a really cool way to keep track of my food, I would not stray off my path.

This will truly show my age, but around age 12, I used my typewriter to type out pages of food exchanges for me to put in a notebook and keep track of. Truthfully it was very creative. Sometimes I think of that girl that I was at 12 and feel deep sadness for her. I want to hug her and tell her it’s okay, she will be alright, and it will get better.

She was really not that overweight, however society and classmates let her know she was not the right size. She spent hours trying to find ways to lose weight and tried everything. Exchange diets, severely restricted calorie diets, and then later moved on to weight watchers, and of course gastric bypass at age 45. While the bypass is still incredibly successful and this girl has no regrets, my mind goes back to my 12-year-old self some days.

Sure, I’ve matured and I’m stronger, more confident, and I don’t give much credit to those that would want to shame me or judge me for my appearance. I have had a successful career and a wonderful family. I have problems just like everyone else and it’s not picture perfect, but I’m very grateful for the life I have. I’m also grateful that we move forward in working together to create acceptance for all people.

The gastric bypass I had in 2019 is really a tool and is not a cure. I woke up out of surgery from my gastric bypass, laying in my hospital bed, in pain, nauseated, and so thirsty, but yet I was thinking of Rice Krispie treats. Our minds are a powerful thing and that is where the true change must begin.

Cognitive and behavioral therapy has been key to some of my success and for many people is absolutely necessary. Many are successful on weight loss journeys, however for a lot of people, it takes that therapy to recognize the behaviors that need to change to truly be successful.

Please know that in no way am I cured from overeating or not having my mind do what’s it has always done. The difference between my 12-year-old self and now 49-year-old self is knowing myself much better. I no longer mentally abuse myself when I venture down a path that leads to a darker forest. I now have tools to get myself back on the path that I want to be on and that feels right to me.

One of the ways that helps me be successful is tracking all of my food. Once in a Weight Watcher’s class, the leader said track all BLT’s. (Bites, licks, and tastes). It all counts and it all matters. Some days this is harder for me than others to track every little thing. Believe me when I say that it’s tempting to count something less than what it is and believe me when I say I’ve done this.

My sister and I still laugh about this. I had permission to remain on Weight Watcher’s during my pregnancy in 2006. We went to Disneyland and that’s when they had the super, amazing, McDonald’s fry stand. Some of you know what I’m talking about and are possibly smiling at the memory yourself. Those literally were the best fries in the entire world, even better than the ones you got at McDonald’s. It was like some type of magic that made them so crisp, hot, and fresh. I ate so many of those on our trip. I actually ate quite well on that trip and never counted a single point that was accurate. I often wrote down 5 points for those fries. Those of you on WW know this was a big lie in my tracker.

So, step one in tracking is honesty because that’s the only way to see patterns and see where to give yourself lots of credit for positive changes and make adjustments where you need it.

I know it’s successful because last year I stopped tracking after over 400 days of tracking straight through and losing almost 100 pounds. I stopped tracking and then about 12 pounds found it’s way back on my body. I was shocked when I started tracking again how much I was eating. For those that have had weight loss surgery, we do have times where we cannot eat for various reasons, physically, so tracking also helps the opposite in knowing the days I might need to get more protein in to feel better.

That said, tracking is meant to help me stay on track, but also causes me extreme anxiety at times. I still fall in the pitfall once in a while of worrying and stressing over every little calorie. As I shared with you today, I have spent countless hours focused on tracking tools and that leads to some of my emotional trauma. Yet, I recognize the importance of it to staying successful. My current tracking is calories, with a focus on protein after my weight loss surgery.

I still fall asleep every night to counting my calories in my head again and reviewing my eating day. It sometimes consumes me and I have to go back to the tools I learned in my therapy sessions about how to move past this. For me, I need to track to know what I’m eating and keep the weight steady or losing slowly and at the same time, need to control my thoughts so it does not consume me.

Stress, worrying, guilt, mentally abusing yourself will not help. I encourage you all who have struggled with some of these things to talk to your healthcare professional. Once in a while I have to take a break from tracking for a day or two just to give myself a deep breath.

I am a food addict and it’s something I live with even after weight loss surgery. I agree recovery is a beautiful thing and I’m so grateful I chose that path. However, it does not mean it’s easy for me.

My keys to success right now are tracking, weighing a few times a week, and when my mind wants to take over and try to get me down, I fight it hard.

I choose to take a walk, work on a project, write, or spend time with family, anything to pull myself out of that place that causes me so much discomfort and pain. I also have some wonderful supports in my life and of those supports, some wonderful, strong women in my family. We have great times, laughing and joking, but also can share our true hurts, fears, stress, and truly support one another. They are amazing women!

I encourage you to find really good support systems and people. I also belong to a few Facebook support groups. My support groups are amazing and full of positive people. If you are finding the support groups you belong to, less than positive, work towards finding more positive groups.

Here is a link to an article from Harvard Health about why tracking leads to success and has some great tips and tricks for tracking. One of these I recognize after I read this is tracking in the moment. Sometimes I wait until the end of the day and by that time my brain is long gone and I’m not being accurate.

Why keep a food diary? – Harvard Health

Thanks for taking time to read this article. I wish you all the best on your own personal journeys.

Until next time,

Mandy

Top 14 Things to Set You Up for a Successful Journey

Several months ago, someone in my personal life went through weight loss surgery. I agreed to be an emotional support person throughout the process because this is key to success. About a month before surgery, I texted a list of the top things I think it takes to be successful in this process. I have kept this, modified it, and shared it with many others.

It’s really a gift when you have been through your own weight loss journey to be an emotional support to someone else going through their own journey.

If you do not plan to have weight loss surgery, stay with me and I assure you many items on this list will apply to you as well.

This list is also something I refer to when I need to re-set. It’s long, but I think you will find it helpful.

  1. Clean room/house before surgery or starting a weight loss program: I love a clean house. With that said, I work full time, live with a spouse, and teenager, and my house is never as clean as I would like. I settle for most things organized and back in a tidy, somewhat organized space. Cleaning out cupboards, purchasing foods you need, and getting rid of foods you don’t need or won’t use is helpful. This process is like setting a new tone for success at the beginning of a journey, re-setting, or getting ready for weight loss surgery. Before surgery I also recommend cleaning your personal space and planning ahead for what you might need close by. For weight loss surgery, most are up and walking around, so not as much of a need to organize your room. I have had other surgeries (foot surgery) and injuries that having everything close by was more helpful because I was not able to be up walking around for a few days to a few weeks.

On a side note, my teenager has me figured out! His room is a constant source of frustration for this mom. I tend to just close his door so I don’t have to look at it. I usually make him clean it at least once a month. That said, when I’m really upset with him, I go in and clean his room. I think he uses this to his advantage now.

2. Keep water, protein shakes, and broth close by: After surgery sipping water, broth, and protein shakes are very important. It’s important to say hydrated and nourished. Each weight loss clinic might differ on the amount of liquids and the stages, so be sure to check in. If you are starting a weight loss journey, keep on hand those items that might be lower calories, points, or considered free items. This will help when you really want something, but don’t have the budget for it in your day. I wish I liked tea because most of my friends tell me this is great to sip on. I often used broth to ease my way. This is something I could do better on now as well.

3. Walk several times per day: After surgery, walking is absolute key to physical recovery and emotional well-being. It helps reduce gas, pain, and prevents blood clots. Starting a weight loss journey, walking or some type of other physical activity is proven to help you stay committed, feel better emotionally/physically, and studies show this is a key to long term weight loss success.

4. Keep all post op appointments: Assuring you are staying on the right track is extremely important as well as getting support to be successful. This also helps with accountability and long-term success of your programs. Don’t stop going because you feel you’ve got it down. For any weight loss journey, a trusted healthcare and/or behavioral health specialist can answer questions and provide guidance/support. Most people I know are overweight struggle with food addiction for various reasons and some of this is trauma related. A willingness to address this with a healthcare professional is important to understanding how you got where you are and how to get where you hope to go.

5. Food journal/weight log: Journaling is key to success for pre-surgical, post-surgical, and any weight loss program. I’ve had to learn to be honest and am committed to this because it only hurts me in the long run if I’m not. Follow your healthcare guidance about how often to weigh and how to journal.

6. Fully commit for six months: My surgeon told me to fully commit to following every guideline for six months after surgery and this had data showing more success with weight loss surgery. Really good advice for any weight loss as studies show long term success as more time passes with your new habits.

7. Not a quick fix: Remember surgery and any weight loss journey is not a quick fix. Surgery is a tool to aid in weight loss. It takes commitment and work. Some people make assumptions that surgery is the easy way, however I can assure you it’s not easy. No weight loss program is. Perseverance is important.

8. Take vitamins/get labs: I had the RNY procedure which leads to vitamin deficiencies. Your healthcare professional will recommend vitamins and labs to assure you are not deficient.

9. Reach out to your support team often: Medical/healthcare/behavioral health questions should be asked when you have them. Having a trusted team is key to all of this. For your emotional support teams in your personal life, it’s important to trust they are there to listen and re-assure you through the process of any weight loss journey.

10. Weight loss support groups: This was a requirement for me to have surgery. I belong to two of them plus a third accountability group. These are on Facebook for me and are monitored closely so that all comments are helpful and positive. If your group is not helpful and positive, consider finding a new one.

11. Celebrate Non-Scale Victories (NSV’s): These are as important if not more important than your scale. I love seeing these on my support groups. Common celebrations are airplane seatbelts that buckle easier, clothes that fit better, a run/hike/physical activity you are more successful at. Lots of them and I would encourage you to focus on this daily.

12. Find hobbies: It’s important to have nonfood focused activities/leisure in your life. I have games I play on my tablet, puzzles, subscription to audio books, etc.

13. Mindful of statements from others: Your weight loss program/clinic might recommend some books to you. I read one that is a little outdated now, however was a guide for how to handle all things surgery, but also comments from others. Most of the people I told were extremely positive, however some were not. I had people ask why not do it on my own, they asked if I was sick, asked if I knew the long-term impacts. Another person told me their loved one had surgery and it was a terrible outcome. Learn to handle those comments for any weight loss journey so you are prepared for how you will respond to them and also to yourself.

14. Physical Activity/Exercise: Be committed to physical activity lifelong. Find something you enjoy. I am limited in mobility due to my Charcot food disability. I’ve had times where I’m more limited than others. Right now, one of my NSV’s is that both of my feet are in a great place to allow me to walk up to 2 miles a few times per week. Other days I walk shorter distances with my pup. I also love swimming and right now I’m allowed as much as I want.

Please consider leaving me a comment and if you see something not on my list that you find helpful, post it to me on Facebook or here.

Until next time,

Mandy