Lisa thank you so much for thinking so highly of my submission.  On my Support Group board I give credit to it's rightful owner Dean Anderson, Behavioral Psychology Expert  I hope you joined My Support Board All In The Mind.  This and other great stuff came be found there.

I thought I post some to the things that are posted on All in the Mind...Check it out and join us

Do you often feel like your weight loss efforts are a constant battle, with as many defeats as victories? Are you plagued by frequent cravings when you stick to your diet, and by guilt or shame when you don’t? Do you even remember what real hunger feels like? How much time do you spend thinking about food, counting calories, and worrying about your weight—enough to think that something is seriously “wrong” with you?

If these examples sound like you, then you're probably still living in a “diet" mentality. With this mentality (and its narrow focus on numerical results), you are fighting against the very thing that can help you lose weight without all the suffering and distress—your own hunger. Furthermore, the tools and strategies that can actually help you succeed (nutritional knowledge, calorie counting, self-discipline) become transformed into weapons of self-defeat.

This article is the third in a series that describes "normal" and abnormal eating habits. (Part one looked at some of the basic characteristics of normal eating. Part two contained a checklist of behaviors often associated with disordered eating.) This article will explore mindful eating, an alternative approach that can help you turn around the problems described above. It involves learning to recognize, respect, and respond to your hunger, and making conscious, purposeful decisions about eating in the moment, not just before or after the fact.

The Roots of Mindful Eating: Paying Attention to Your Hunger
Hunger describes the escalating, physiological sensations you experience when your body actually needs food: rumbling, unpleasant stomach contractions (hunger pangs), mild lightheadedness, difficulty concentrating, irritability, faintness, and headaches. For most people *****gularly eat a balanced diet with adequate calories, hunger will set in about four hours after the last meal, and will escalate after about five hours.

Feelings of fullness or satiety will occur when your stomach reaches a certain level of fullness (about 75% of its maximum capacity). These sensations also escalate from mild fullness, to "stuffed" to bloated and uncomfortable. Even if your stomach is nearly full, you may want to continue eating for a couple of reasons. One—it can take up to 20 minutes for your brain to receive the signal that your stomach is full and for the brain to send the “stop eating” signals to you. And two, eating feels good!

Dieting doesn’t work for many people because it doesn’t offer anything you can actually use in the moment, when deciding what, when, and how much to eat. In that moment, success or failure at achieving permanent weight loss is determined. Making good choices in the moment requires three skills:

1. the ability to recognize your innate hunger and satiety signals;
2. the ability to distinguish between hunger, appetite (preferences, habits, tastes), and impulse;
3. the ability to stay grounded in your self and your goals so that it is you making the decisions—not hunger, appetite, impulses, or your diet rules.

Getting In Touch With Your Hunger & Satiety Signals
If you’ve been overeating and/or dieting for any length of time, you are probably out of touch with your hunger and satiety signals. Here’s a 7-day experiment that will help you find out where you stand and how to get back in touch with the "natural resources" of hunger and satiety.

Step 1: Organize Your Eating
Using the low end of your calorie range, divide those calories into a good breakfast, a moderate lunch, a mid-afternoon snack, a good dinner, and a small evening snack (optional). Plan your meals and snacks for each day in advance, so your calories and nutrients balance out for each meal and for the day as a whole. Schedule your eating so that you wait no less than four hours and no more than 6 hours between your meals. (Your snack can be scheduled anytime want it.) Stop eating at least two hours before bedtime. You will NOT weigh-in during the entire experiment.

Step 2: Stick to This Plan—No Matter What
No extra eating, no skipped meals, no excuses. If you go “off-plan,” don’t scrap the whole experiment. Just describe what happened in your journal (see below) and keep going. You need to give yourself a chance to experience true hunger so that you’ll know what that feels like; and you need to stick to the schedule so you can determine whether you eat out of hunger or other reasons. Don’t plan to do this experiment during a week when you know things are going to be crazy or unusual.

Step 3: Keep an Accurate, Detailed Food Journal
Note how you feel before and after each meal, including physical sensations (especially the hunger and satiety signals described above) and emotional reactions. If you feel like eating more or eating between meals, decide not to. Make a deal with yourself to wait 30 minutes, and then find out whether you still feel like eating. True hunger will stick around until it is satisfied whereas other “reasons” for eating will come and go. Describe how you feel when you stick to the plan and when you don’t. Either way, you will learn a lot about the differences between hunger, appetite, and emotional eating by simply observing yourself, your reactions, and the effects.

Step 4: Draw Your Conclusions
If you spent a lot of time feeling the physical sensations of hunger, it’s safe to assume you weren’t getting enough food. You may want to repeat the experiment for a few days at a higher caloric intake, until you find the level where you only experience hunger four to five hours after your last meal. If your desire to eat outside of your plan was due to anxiety, emotional discomfort, resentment or boredom, you can use your journal to identify the situations, thoughts, and feelings that triggered the urge to eat and find ways to manage them without turning to food.

Understand that by making it through this week-long experiment, you’re already on your way to learning to eat mindfully. You used your food management skills to get in touch with your hunger—not to replace it—and you used the temptations and difficulties you faced as opportunities to observe yourself in action, and use that learning to move towards your goals.

Even if you weren't perfect, each simple act of observing yourself in the present is itself a moment of being mindful. This observation of yourself from a distance gives you the ability to be the choice-maker, instead of the passive victim of your own feelings, impulses, and appetite. Every time you succeed at maintaining that perspective you make it easier to do it the next time.

If you had major difficulty sticking to the experiment, you may want to make it a long-term project, using the techniques above to gradually sort out whatever is causing you problems and refine your problem-solving skills. Long-term problems with emotional eating and/or a disconnection from your own internal signals can’t be overcome in a single week. But moving towards mindful eating at your own pace may still be your best bet.

Please post it here.  I would love to try it.  I am always looking for new recipes!!!

Remember this feeling.  If you can video yourself today and how happy you are.  It would be a great tool when the road gets bumpy. God Bless and Good luck to you.  I am saving you a seat on the losers bench....Come and sit next to me....

Debbie 

Figured out  now way.  I am so far from figuring it out.  I just know what I need to do to get were I want to go.  I need to keep the goal in the front of my mind and not sit on my success.  That is what I have done.  Oh I look good so I  can just be....No I need to move and do what needs to be done because old habits never never never die they are always larking waiting  for you to lose sight of what you want.  Waiting for you to let down your guard and then the pounce.  16lbs of pouncing.  I don't want it to be more so I must get back in focus.   The first step to accountable and success is to write it down and tell the world.  Once you put it out there you don't want to look like a fool and not do what you said.  I just handling one ball at a time too many at once I get side tracked.   Yesterday was a good day.  I wasn't 100% but I was at least 60% that is better then I have been in the past.  Keeping my head up and looking for the crowd.  I hear the cheers and I can see the clearing in  this wooded forest.  I am almost out of the woods.  

 

Yes that is Mae Mae and she is a Bishon and  a rescue too.  Aren't they the most loving Dogs.

Thank you so much for the support.  The first step to accountable and success is to write it down and tell the world.  Once you put it out there you don't want to look like a fool and not do what you said.  I just handling one ball at a time too many at once I get side tracked.   Yesterday was a good day.  I wasn't 100% but I was at least 60% that is better then I have been in the past.  Keeping my head up and looking for the crowd.  I hear the cheers and I can see the clearing in  this wooded forest.  I am almost out of the woods.  

Dear Friends

Here I am as of January 3 2011.  I have gained 16lbs.   Why you may as me or I may ask myself....Well the answer is simple.

1-I stopped visiting OH.  Stopped the support of you my OH friends.

2-I stopped support meeting

3-I stopped journaling food or thoughts.

4-I stopped caring for myself and just eat what ever I wanted

5-Thought I was above gaining weight

6-Hide from the scale

7-Hide from myself

Well this is going to stop..This behavior is no longer acceptable!!!

 

I promise myself in writting

1-More OH and less Face Book

2-Journal my thought

3-Journal my food

4-Try to move more then I do now

5-Enjoy life without extra food and drinks

 

I promise myself that  I will come to the boards and visit with you all.  Help who I can while helping myself.  I need to do this for me.  I know that I have come so far but there is more road up head and onederland is just around the bend.  I can hear the cheering I just need to keep moving to get to see the crowd waiting to celebrate with me.   I can do this 28 lbs is not that big of a deal.  It is easier then the 110 that I started with....28 more to go.  I can do it!!!!  I welcome myself back to the fold!!!  Thank you for reading and any help you wish to give me.

 

xoxo

Butterfly618

Home Again

Healthy Habits for Success

Healthy habits don’t just happen. They take know-how, time, and commitment. If you’re ready to commit, JFK for Life's Wellness Advisors and Registereed Dietitians can provide you with the knowledge and tools to develop healthy habits, eat in restaurants and social situations while following your dietary guidelines, and cope with cravings and emotional eating.

Steps to Developing Healthy Habits:

Many bariatric programs describe bariatric surgery as a tool patients can use to take control of their health. In addition to surgery, goal-setting skills are important tools that can help you achieve healthy habits. The following steps can help you set yourself up for success.

Step One: Do Your Homework

Lifelong habits start with information and knowing yourself. Spend some time researching online and speaking to someone whose diet and fitness habits you admire. Find out why they enjoy their habits and what keeps them going.

     Tips and Action Starters

• Think about your current diet and physical activity habits, your time management skills, your strengths, your weaknesses, and your biggest fears and concerns.
• Research fitness and cooking information, and browse through some magazines for inspiration.

Step Two: See Yourself Succeed

Once you’ve done your homework and grounded yourself with information, write down your objectives, a short description of them, and what you anticipate life will be like once you accomplish your objectives.

      Examples of Objectives

• “After bariatric surgery, I want to lose 100 pounds, eat healthfully, and be physically active. I will take that vacation I have always wanted to go on.”
• “I am going to have bariatric surgery. Before I have surgery, I am going to begin walking and eating more vegetables and whole grains. After surgery I will follow my bariatric program’s dietary and fitness guidelines. My goal is to lose 100 pounds and hopefully my type 2 diabetes, GERD, and asthma will resolve or improve.”

      Tips and Action Starters

• Is your objective realistic? For example, if you currently weigh 350 pounds, a goal weight of 145 pounds may not be realistic. Our bariatric program will ensure that your weight loss objective is realistic.
• Think about what you need to attain your objective: time, effort, knowledge, and resources.
• Recognize your small successes, too. Sleeping better, going down one belt notch, being able to park further from an entrance—these are all successes!

Step Three: Come Up with an Action Plan

Once you’ve defined some objectives, it’s time to create an action plan. A plan plots your short- and long-term goals on a timeline. A plan should be specific so that you have realistic, but flexible, goals you can attain.

      Example of a Diet Plan

• “For the first two weeks, I am going to record what I eat. I will use that to examine opportunities for eating more healthfully.”
•  “After the first two weeks, I will begin eating healthfully by incorporating 25 grams of fiber per day in my diet. I will start by eating a bowl of oatmeal or a serving of yogurt sprinkled with high-fiber cereal for breakfast.”
• “The third week, I will substitute five lean meats and low-fat versions of the foods I usually eat. Each week, I will introduce a new healthy choice.”
• “I will measure portion sizes for the next six months.”

      Example of a Fitness Plan

• “I am going to begin by walking for five minutes, five times each week.”
• “After I am able to accomplish this goal for two weeks, I am going to add two minutes to each walk for the next two weeks.”
•  “After four weeks, I am going to walk for 15 minutes, five times each week.”
• “After two months, I am going to walk for 20 minutes, five times each week.”
• “After three months, I am going to walk for 30 minutes, five times each week.”

      Tips and Action Starters

• Be flexible about your plan. If it isn’t working, you will have to fine-tune it.
• Plan upfront: Schedule your exercise time in advance, and plan your meals at the start of the week.
• Be sure to include rewards throughout to recognize your accomplishments—big and small.

Step Four: Keep It Up

Developing a habit takes practice. For the first few months, you will be stress-testing your plan. Whenever you start a new habit, you are likely to encounter some challenges. When you do encounter a challenge, you will need to figure out a way to work through it.

       Example of Coping with a Diet Obstacle 
You and your friends meet up at restaurants for get-togethers, and you’re not sure what to order.

• Check the restaurant’s website to get a jump start on ordering.
• Restaurant appetizers are often closer to an appropriate portion size than the entrées.
• If you order an entrée, ask your server for a to-go box when it comes out and put half of your entrée in it immediately.

        Example of Coping with a Fitness Obstacle
You schedule a 30-minute fitness activity for Tuesday afternoons, but find that you consistently miss it or do         not have enough time for the full 30 minutes.

• Exercise an additional 15 minutes two other days of the week or 10 minutes three other days.
• Split your Tuesday physical activity into two sessions: Exercise for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening.

       Tips and Action Starters

• Use a planner or calendar as a food and fitness journal to help you visualize your progress.
• Help yourself with reminders: Keep your sneakers out, and chop up fruits and vegetables to snack on

Thank you so much.  Accountable is the key.  I will be better at that.  {{hugs}}

Thank you for the  suggestion.  Were is the like button when you need one.

 

I was just thinking the same thing I wish there was a site on here with some idea of what to eat for Breakfast Lunch and Dinner with all the calories and fat included with the idea's.  Sometime I say ok what can I eat for breakfast.  You would think after 2 years at this band thing I would alreay know.  I get lost too. You are not alone in the TOTLE RESET OF THE MIND!!!!  Does that make you feel better...lol.  So tell me what did you have for breakfast?  Whats for lunch?  Dinner?  I had greek yogurt for breakfast and lunch I had chicken salad (homemade) with lettuce, onion and rosted red pepper.  Dinner I am making Grilled chicken tenders in a Fat Free lemon sauce with string beans and 1/4 cup of quinoa.  For desert I am having a no fat no sugar(and no taste lol) lemon cake with coolwhip free.  So what is on your plate for today?

Thank you for posting somthing I was feeling unloved.  I need so OH lovin...lol

Well OH Family I have been in hiding.  Before Thanksgiving I made up my mind that I would not gain weight for the holidays.  I did everything by the book and when January came around I not only did not gain but I went to the Dr on Jan 8th (my 2 year anniversary) and posted a big loss.  She was very proud.  I was happy....

It seems like in my mind I crossed the finish line and dropped the ball.  I slowly forgot all the rules and started to gain.  I stopped checking in on OH I stopped posting I stopped exercising.  I stopped caring about me and why I was doing this.  I was allowing myself to eat what ever I wanted because I was so good for the holidays.  I have to report that because of this behavior I gained 8lbs.  What was I thinking.  Well I will tell you.....If I eat this I won't gain back ALL the weight I lost.  If I eat that I won't gain back ALL the weight I lost.  Week after week I allowed myself to hide from you my scale and my band.  I saw that my pants were getting tight and my face was getting fuller.  But I ignored the signs.  January turned to February and February turned to March...But before March turns to April, I am back trying to gain control of myself.  I have to tell you even with the band you can easily gain if you allow yourself to lose yourself.  I refuse to be in the next size up.  I commit the following

1- Track every day

2-Be mindful of what my stomach is telling me

3-Remove trigger foods from my house

4-No more slider foods

5-Eat Breakfast

6-Visit OH and go to support meeting.

Thanks for reading.  And if you feel like encouraging me please do.  All words of wisdom are helpful. xoxo