Christian bandsters

[clempier 0]

Hi to all,

I got banded June 3rd and since the 2 weeks prior my surgery I lost 30 pounds. I was doing great but for a week or two I haven't move much other than a couple of onces. I don't want to get discourage so I thought if I put a thread maybe someone will help me. Mind you I started to walk more. I try to walk for an hour when it's not raining. I'm on vacation right now at my Mom's.

I'm suppose to have my first fill July 20th and I can see I'm eating way more than a couple of days ago. Six oz. was enough but now after 2 hours after eating I'm hungry and I don't like that. I read it's normal.

I was also wondering if any of you got plastic surgery on your arms? If so, how was the surgery and are you satisfied with the results?

I think I just need a boost.

clempier:redface:

[ifyourstomachoffendsyou 1]

Hi to all,

I got banded June 3rd and since the 2 weeks prior my surgery I lost 30 pounds. I was doing great but for a week or two I haven't move much other than a couple of onces. I don't want to get discourage so I thought if I put a thread maybe someone will help me. Mind you I started to walk more. I try to walk for an hour when it's not raining. I'm on vacation right now at my Mom's.

I'm suppose to have my first fill July 20th and I can see I'm eating way more than a couple of days ago. Six oz. was enough but now after 2 hours after eating I'm hungry and I don't like that. I read it's normal.

I was also wondering if any of you got plastic surgery on your arms? If so, how was the surgery and are you satisfied with the results?

I think I just need a boost.

clempier:redface:

Wow! 30 #s. Great job! All I can say is keep your Protein high and your carbs low until you can get that fill. Follow the no liquids before and after your meals. Pretend you've already had the fill, or maybe the Dr. put in a fill when he put in the band and didn't tell you. That's kindof what I'm doing. I think as long as you're not gaining you're OK. Use the time to deal with the thinking patterns and emotional issues that accompany your eating. I'm keeping a blog. It's helping tremendously. I've been talking a lot about guilt and how God grants grace, not guilt. Yesterday I talked about eating disorders and some of the roots of my own compulsive overeating. You can check it out at IF YOUR STOMACH OFFENDS YOU, TIE IT OFF

[clempier 0]

Hi Cheri,

Thank you for responding to my post. It kind of funny, I'm also a teacher (a ressource teacher) and I also went ot OA meetings and I'm pretty sure I have ADD.

I went to your blog and read it. I never put overeating and ADD or ADHD together. I'm going to try to get more information about that on the web. If you ever have any sites that would help, I would appreciate if you'd let me know.

Right now I'm on vacation at my Mom's and I weight my meals most of the time even if sometime I go a bit overboard. I'm back using a small plate and smaller bites. I'm also trying to go for my 1 hour walk every day.

What also helped me is buying a pair of 1x stretch pants. I wasn't planning on buying a pair of jeans but I realized it was helping me so.

I told you I'm a teacher but I'm a french teacher so if you see any mistakes you'll know the reason. I also started to read my bible more and I read Joyce Meyer book "New Day, New you" every morning.

God bless you dear sister in Christ,

clempier

[ifyourstomachoffendsyou 1]

Hi Cheri,

Thank you for responding to my post. It kind of funny, I'm also a teacher (a ressource teacher) and I also went ot OA meetings and I'm pretty sure I have ADD.

I went to your blog and read it. I never put overeating and ADD or ADHD together. I'm going to try to get more information about that on the web. If you ever have any sites that would help, I would appreciate if you'd let me know.

Right now I'm on vacation at my Mom's and I weight my meals most of the time even if sometime I go a bit overboard. I'm back using a small plate and smaller bites. I'm also trying to go for my 1 hour walk every day.

What also helped me is buying a pair of 1x stretch pants. I wasn't planning on buying a pair of jeans but I realized it was helping me so.

I told you I'm a teacher but I'm a french teacher so if you see any mistakes you'll know the reason. I also started to read my bible more and I read Joyce Meyer book "New Day, New you" every morning.

God bless you dear sister in Christ,

clempier

The connection between ADHD and compulsive eating is something I've been noticing in myself for some time. I've never actually read an article directly connecting them, but ADHD in women is known to cause depression and low self-esteem since it often affects our ability to keep up with things that are automatically expected of women--like neat clean houses, organized schedules, following recipes, etc. We spend a lot of time trying to be good at things we're not good at, and trying to fit the mold which nobody really does but we're not even close. Eating has always helped me concentrate and focus and sit still.

[ifyourstomachoffendsyou 1]

If you are a Christian woman who suspects you might have some ADHD you might be interested in checking out my blog at IF YOUR STOMACH OFFENDS YOU, TIE IT OFF

This post in particular gets into how it affected me.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Did Adam and Eve have Bellybuttons?

One of the craziest arguments I ever got into was about whether Adam and Eve had bellybuttons. Some argued that since they were never born they wouldn't have had an umbilical cord. Others argued that they had to have had them or could not have genetically passed them on to their children. This was back when I was a freshman in college and as you can tell, this was a fairly conservative group of Christian young people.

It's a which came first, the chicken or the egg kind of dilemma.

The same thing is true of trying to get at the root causes of compulsive overeating. Their seems to be more and more evidence of brain chemistry at work in food addictions as well as genetic pre-dispositions to having these problems. At the same time, emotional factors seem to play a big role in all eating disorders and for some people seem to have been the trigger for their addictions. Social and spiritual issues are also involved. chicken or egg?

Likewise, in dealing with compulsive overeating, a variety of tools is needed to find recovery. Some people find it helpful to to keep track of their food and plan it ahead of time. I have no problem with this as long as they don't expect me to do it, too. Just thinking about doing it makes me want to eat.

I don't have a problem with it as long as it doesn't become just another form of the disease, another food obsession, with the restrictions reaching the point of ridiculousness. I knew one man who was genuinely allergic to gluten so he eliminated all gluten from his diet and felt much better. He was no longer heavy but he decided he was addicted to carbs, especially simple carbs and eliminated all carbs other than fruits and vegetables. Then he switched from caffeine to Decaf but decided decaf was now an addiction and had to be eliminated. Of course, sugar substitutes were an addiction, and oversized portions were an addiction so he weighed and measured everything. I don't think he ate red meat. His food plan became his bible. He and another woman who didn't have the gluten issue but had been massively overweight and followed the same food plan combined forces and began promoting their food plan in OA meetings.

Many people asked them to be sponsors because they appeared to be successful in conquering their food addiction. Those of us who didn't adopt their plan began to feel like misfits. Eventually they formed their own recovery business, divorced their respective spouses and married each other. When I went back to OA recently I saw a lot of that same mentality.

The fact is that I am totally incapable of that kind of rigidity. I really am officially diagnosed as ADHD and my friends and co-workers know it and joke about it with me. I designed my job so that my assistants would take care of all paperwork and details and organization that drive me crazy. At home my husband does the same. This has freed me up to stop trying to be someone I'm not, and allowed me to do what I'm really good at--teaching and tutoring at-risk students with all my creative juices flowing, with flexibility and the ability to change lesson plans in a heartbeat and fly by the seat of my pants in a new direction when the situation needs it.

Many of the emotional issues that contribute to my eating disorder arise from being an ADHD girl in a school, church, and social setting where that was not acceptable (it hadn't even been given a name, yet). Its taken me a long time to learn to love my ADHD and the gifts its given me. I can't be around people who trigger that old shame from my childhood, people who think that everyone should be able to recover using the same rigid techniques.

This past year I really saw and measured the progress my students made over time, I saw ideas I had bloom and take on a life of their own in ways that really helped and will help the school. My classroom and my work have been enormously blessed. My ability to see the big picture and implement a long-term vision for my classroom paid off. My classroom is where I am most myself, where my ADHD is my biggest asset.

I think that's partly what gave me the courage to go ahead with the lapband. I picked a tool that works for me and coordinates well with my ADHD. Instead of ADHD being the trigger for compulsive overeating, I'm letting it be part of the cure. This blog is evidence of that.

I am becoming the person God has always meant for me to be. I am doing the good work he set aside for me to do. I will not be made over into the image of those who would shame me for not being like them. I want to be made over more and more into his image. I want to hear, "Well done my good and faithful servant. Enter into my rest."

[JoannMarie 0]

Cheri, thank you for your insight. You are bringing ideas to the table that need to be thoughtfully considered. I've started to print these off to study more thoroughly later. Now I want to do a little more research on adult ADHD. I don't think I fit into that diagnosis, but willing to consider and research it. It seems there are a lot of ways I don't "fit in" and never have. I've always wondered why... Your insight is encouraging me to wonder just a little bit deeper...

I believe creativity itself is considered to be a character flaw in the minds of many people. Here again, your methods in the classroom are your own - and not the politically correct norm. You are fortunate to be working with people who are able to appreciate and willing to foster your creativity. AND - despite their at-risk status -your students are so very fortunate to be appreciated and encouraged by someone who VALUES THEM and helps them develop to their highest potential.

God bless you and the work you do.

[ifyourstomachoffendsyou 1]

Thanks JoannMarie and Clempier. Maybe there is a study out there that shows a relationship. I found one article that mentioned it but I mislaid it. LOL. One of the strongest markers of ADHD in women is disorganization and an inability to stay on task. (Although some people actually overcompensate and become rigidly organized because otherwise the world is too overwhelming.) ADHD people tend to be more right-brained and creative. I've come up with very creative compensating techniques that have helped me survive. food, especially chocolate, is one of them. Chocolate, of course, is full of caffeine. People with ADHD frequently self-medicate with caffeine. They are also more prone to self-medicate with alcohol, tobacco, and certain drugs. Chocolate is also known to produce seratonin in the brain and therefore is a natural antidepressant. Like we need one more excuse to eat it. But food and chocolate helped me survive. I think I should be grateful for them even though I now have to move past them.

[clempier 0]

Hi to all,

I woke up early this morning because I have to prepare my stuff for Sunday School. While drinking my coffee, I realized that when I have a hard time or whatever, I come to this site and I know someone is going to answer compare to other site. Thank you Lord, we're a big family in Christ and family help each other.

I got my band June 3rd and I'm having a hard time in the evening not to overeat. During the day I have no problem. I thought my problem of eating to much during the evening was got but I was wrong. I got my first fill last Monday. He didn't want to put to much saline at a time so he decided to put 1cc and I have to go back August 17th for another fill. Being on vacation doesn't help I guess (I'm a teacher) but it's not a reason. I need your wisdom and your prayers.

I was wondering if someone would give me ideas for Breakfast and I would like some example of menus and quantity you eat each meal.

I really need a boost here:frown:

clempier

[bookworm 0]

Hi, Clempier

I have not been banded yet i will be Aug 12th but maybe my technique for not eating at night may help you. not eating at night has been a real big boost to my weight loss. What I do is i close my kitchen at 8pm. Not literally but mentaly. I decided that part of my food "sobriety" if you will is I do not eat after 8,i have told every member of my family and if i'm out i proudly announce i don't eat after 8, Every body has gotten used to this and makes plans if they include food before eight. This means no snacking at night or well watching tv its made a huge diffrence, not healthy treats none. Avoiding commercials has helped to.Its really hard at first because your body gets used to getting food at familiar hours, its almost like withdrawls. i drank a lot of Water and diet tea whenever i got a craving and pray. Soon it becomes a habit. i've lost 40 pounds with this as part of my regiment. For me just saying blanketly no eating of any kind after eight takes away the temptation to eat something i shouldn't.Also is ther an emotional reason you may want to eat at night? Lonleyness? For me i realized i always ate at night as a defence mechinism. My dad always drank at night and so i had years of learned behavior using food as a stress alieviater to combat his alchoholism... amazingly those things can follow you a long time. What are you feeling at night ?it may be emotional and knowing that may help. Our heavenly Father would have us turn to him for comfort instead of food. I say this as one who struggles with the same thing or else i wouldn't have a weight problem.you are in my prayers sister, God bless

[clempier 0]

Hi bookworm

Thank you so much, you answered my prayers. I'll try your "kitchen closes at 8". This morning at church we sang a song about the eagle who flies with his wings wide open and the wind carries him. The eagle is free. Jesus died on the cross so we can be free and I prayed God that He would set me free from food addiction. I also realised that He is always willing to help but we have to do our part, like having a plan like yours. I also realise that I have to continue my exercice every day.

Thank you so much for your prayers, I really need them.

Bless you dear sister in Christ.

clempier

[Numbrgirl 0]

Hello All,

Been a while since I have visited here. Just wanted to shout from the mountain tops that I have reached ONEDERLAND!! and it feels good. For the first time in a long time my driver's license weight is not truthful in the opposite direction!!!!! 8-)

Just as encouragement to everyone - stick with it. I am seeing the results of continued good decisions and dedicated exercise. The Lord is good!!!:thumbup::thumbup::skep:

[anothermom 0]

Hi all, Thank you for your advice Bookworm, that is exactly what I needed tonight. My family celebrated my birthday today and I had more to eat today than I have had sence June 16th. I would have been ok if I had stoped at 8:00pm, but when the kids go to bed ... I just want hang out with some food. Anything that even slightly resembels hunger send a flashing what do I want what do I need message to my brain. I get so impolsive and just start thinking about food. So I can see how saying kitchen closed @ 8 out loud, to people can help with accountabilty. Fourteen years ago when I was preg. with my first my DH and I would sit on the couch and veg to the hilt only there were no veggies involved (4 food groups sweet, choc.,salty,and just plain fattening) Now he works on a river boat and is gone 20 days at a time so to sleeping kids and a snoring dog aren't great support. But I know you guys are here and I am so thankfull for this site it has been so helpful. I can go here and just fill a sense of encouragement and it helps distract from the kitchen. Thanks again.

[ifyourstomachoffendsyou 1]

glad to see people back on this site. Clempier, I think a lot of us struggle with eating at night. That's a good time to finish getting in your liquids. I just had some Diet V8 Splash. I also will have a SF FF pudding at night or yoghurt if my stomach is actually growling. I also am on LBT and writing my blog at night as well as going on Facebook. That helps me keep my fingers and my mind busy.

[AZChick289 1]

I was just reading all the posts and couldn't help but think what an AWESOME GOD we have.. Not only did he give us this band to help with our struggles but also gave us each other to talk to..

How great is that ..We can do this and we will do this.. WE will all start praying for our evening temptations and lights out in the kitchen at 8...

Bless you all

[ifyourstomachoffendsyou 1]

So, who else out there has trouble with Constipation? I'm collecting info. I'm getting so exasperated I actually wrote about it last night in my blog: http://ifyourstomachoffendsyoutieitoff.blogspot.com/

I called it Getting the Crap Out. Enjoy.

Edited July 28, 2009 by ifyourstomachoffendsyou
fixed link