MSinger

Today marks 7 weeks post op! This month has not gone as smooth as last month did as far as eating on plan. I had a couple of days this month where I ate well over my calorie budget. Even though it was not nearly as much as I used to eat before surgery, it doesn't take much for me to stall.

I'm not sure of my weight loss (if any) because I'm still weighing once a month, but whatever number pops up when I weigh in next week, I am still doing better than I ever could have before having surgery. I still know that I for sure would have blown it by now as I have never been successful for more than 2 weeks. I am also taking every failure as an opportunity to learn. I realized I made bad choices in some of the foods I bought because the sugar/carb content stimulated my hunger. There are certain foods I have to stay way from if I want to be successful. Even with that, I made some adjustments and do not feel deprived at all. 

My plan is still to weigh in once a month. I feel it really makes me focus on nutrition and what I can do starting at my very next meal to be successful. When I'd weigh in weekly sometimes I'd have a week where I knew I was not eating as well as I could have, yet I still had a loss. It could have been a big poop, or pee, or dehydration, but I'd remain blissfully ignorant and loosen up on my diet the next week to celebrate. On the flip side, I had weeks where I was working hard, diet was on point, and I'd lose less than a pound, sometimes nothing, sometimes I'd gain... and it would break my spirit. Weighing in weekly is too emotional for me and I believe on some weeks it can be misleading regarding the overall trend. That's what I'm interested in now - the overall trend. If I weigh and measure everything I eat, stay on plan, then I feel comfortable weighing in once monthly for the time being.

This post is much longer than I was expecting, but lastly, I'm learning how important it is to stay positive and believe in yourself. It truly makes a difference. Preop, when I would wake up in the morning, I would always be in a terrible mood, but I'm stopping myself and changing the script now. There was a story on the radio of a famous science fiction writer. When she was initially writing her best-selling series, she would line her manuscripts with little positive mantras. She believed in herself and achieved her dream. I think all of us can do the same with the right mindset.