18 months out

Jul 25, 2013

I was 18 months out from surgery on July 18.  I reached goal a long time ago it seems and now my challenge is weight maintenance.  But I'd be lying if I said the real challenge is the number on the scale...the challenges are actually managing my eating behaviours, my emotions and my binge eating.  Life has been stressful lately and it really draws my attention to how much my eating can get unregulated when times are hard.

This post is a reminder to myself about what works, how to stay on track and how to get back on track.  Here goes....

Every morning make a plan for my meals.  Plan 3 meals and 2 to 3 snacks for the day.

Don't leave the house without food or an exact plan of what and where I will eat

Track everything I eat on myfitnesspal on a daily basis.

Eat a minimum of 80 grams of protein a day. 

Foods that are the foundation of my meals and snacks...

Protein Sources: tuna, chicken breast, fish filets, eggs, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, beans (kidney, black, chickpeas, edamame,lentils), tofu, yves veggie meat substitutes, ground meats (turkey, chicken, beef), deli sliced cold cut meats, tofu, protein muffins a la eggface, quest protein bars

Vegetables: baby spinach, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, red and green pepper, onion, eggplant, zucchini, corn, green beans, peas, butternut squash, sweet potato, kale, asparagus

Fruits: apples, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, plums, bananas, pears, grapes, raisins

Grains: kashi go lean cereal, ryvita crackers, low carb wraps,  pita read, oatmeal, wholegrain bagels/bread (very rarely eaten), rice cakes, popcorn

Fats: almond butter, peanut butter, olive oil, salad dressings, nuts and seeds, flax seed

Occasional treats: sugar free jello puddings, sugar free jam with almond butter on a low carb wrap, low carb and sugar free cheesecake in a mug, oh yeah protein bars, nugo protein bars, isofemme protein bars, sugar free and low carb dessert recipes from internet sites like sugarfreemom.com, yourlighterside.com, theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com, bariatricfoodie.blogspot.com and others... 

 

In terms of keeping my head on straight, I have found cognitive behavioural therapy tools and ACT (acceptance and committment therapy) techniques very helpful.  I'm clearly a work in progress...so I need to recommit each morning to recovery from disordered eating (I identify with the whole range...compulsive overeating, bulimia, binge eating and restricting since I've exhibited all those behaviours at different points in my life).  Mindfulness as a spiritual pathway has really helped me, as have working on letting go of resentments,  acceptance and letting go of things that I can not control and pieces of 12 step philosophies (although I don't believe that 12 step groups are a pathway to recovery for me, I do find value in a significant amount of 12 step recovery culture).\

Going to the gym, walking regularly and doing some kind of exercise every day is also a core component of my weight maintenance and recovery.  I continue to work on the binge eating and this will be a life long challenge that I believe I can gain success and mastery over with lots of practice and determination.

 

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