I think I am of two minds. One being that this is the ultimate diet and two being that this is not a diet!
Insightful, eh?! (insert stupid chuckle)
But really what I am getting at is this: Reading the gazillion blogs that I do I can see there are two basic types in lap band blog land. All of you are successful..even when you think you aren't losing as fast or exercising as much...either way you are successful in your own ways..so that isn't the difference. You all care and know you should care about how much you're exercising. It is a common theme in blog world...what work outs we try, what running program we are using, why we aren't doing the exercises like we should. So that isn't it..
So it really is about food.
Some are of the mind that we still do the low fat, low carb, light light light version! Nothing wrong with that at all. It has been ingrained in our heads that these habits are good ones to have. Sometimes it is just the way we've always done it. Some times it is totally the way our doctors have suggested that we do it either for health purposes or whatnot. Calorie count, log your foods...etc. No drinking our calories which for me means no cocktails and wine. Some people really follow this rule to a T! It keeps us mindful...Tried and true and it works. For some.
The other side is eat what you want...moderation is key. We don't want to feel like we are on a diet so we don't log food. We have that blue cheese burger (if we can swallow it)! We drink that coffee with half and half. That is the whole reason we had this surgery..to keep things in check and moderate. Success is still achieved for this mindset too.
So which side are you?! I don't really want to know of course. That is for you to decide. I think it is about finding your own journey and accepting your own limitations. Of course you all agree. But I know you all including ME compare, compare, advise, compare. I am never suggesting that we stop advising because in the end it is trial and error in what works for the individual. In the end reading what Glory (a fictional blogger) does and what works for her gives me (or you) ideas for how we will work this tool and weight loss. Comparing gives us hope that this TOO might work for us!
So I have decided which side I am on. In full Amanda fashion I have decided to stay totally neutral. WHAT a coward I am!
Nah, really my mind has been ingrained with the whole food logging. I log everyday. But my own personal opinion is that it isn't a chore. I have time to do it and I enjoy it. It keeps me sane a bit. Helps me to plan what we are having for dinner rather then throw something together that might be more calorie laden. Do I go over in my calories? Of course. Not currently because I keep choking on turkey. (normal people would stop eating turkey...but I am not normal apparently) So I continue to measure and weigh most of my food out. More so at dinner then lunch and breakfast. Mainly because lunch and breakfast is more packaged...ie yogurt and cheese and tuna. BUT I also choose to still eat things like cheese (I could NEVER live without cheese), cream, butter, mayo. I think that I will also be of the mind set to have treats. If I want to go out for wings with my husband I will. Not every day...but I will work it in to my food logger and eat those yummy little things. I might even have blue cheese with it. Will I go over 1000-1200 calories for that day? Yep. More then likely. But because I have this tool I won't be able to eat as many as I could 6 months ago. At least I am pretty sure I won't..I haven't tried this yet.
Who knows. I guess in the end without typing anything it's about personal choice. Keep posting your recipes and successes. Keep suggesting to me what I am doing wrong and right. I'll keep taking bits of information and applying it to my journey. I hope I can do it right!?
11 comments:
Fantastic post. I tend to diet rather than eat "normal" foods in moderation, I hope that this will change but just now once I start "not dieting" I go mad and eat crap. I think that I've dieted for so long that the feast or famine mindset is stuck, for a while at least. I guess just now I'm eating more diet type foods in moderation with a little normal food on the side.
I too am enjoying logging food, this is only day 3 for me though but its really helpful. Especially with the iphone app, so easy to do.
I'm a bit odd with jaffa cakes, I'm not keen unless they have gone slightly stale so the cakey bit goes crunchy! They are quite low fat/cals I think, shame I have to eat a whole box of stale ones at once!
I think that mini eggs taste slightly salty this year, not great but obviously I soldered on and ate them!
not that you care but i'm in the I DON'T WANT TO LOG group. with that said, when i was taking topamax and found it easy to eat only 1200 calories a day, i did not find logging a chore. i even kind of liked it b/c there wasn't much to log! i didn't eat much. i wasn't hungry. i got full quickly. maybe if i ever get a band i won't mind logging. but whatever people do (or not) i'm not judgmental either way... and i definitely won't be giving up half and half in my coffee. i might stop drinking more than one a day, but i won't stop having what i want. :)
I like to eat "real" food...its healthier without the diet additives, sweeteners. The one thing I do buy a lot of are lean cuisine entrees for those days where I'm indecisive, I want to have a good option/choice around.
Logging is imperative for me though. It has helped me so much. When I just track it in my head, its not nearly as accurate.
I think the "real" food solution will be a lot more sustainable in the long run. I loved your post.
This is a great post and actually something I've been thinking about a lot. I am 7 months into my journey and the band is not helping me as much as I expected. I am still glad I got it and think it will be great when I am in the maintenance phase, but I am starting to realize that I need to do more to reach my weight loss goals. I had hoped the band would give me the restriction so I could have a little bit of anything, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Anyway, this is a round about way of saying that I've decided that I need to start tracking so looks like we are on the same side at the moment.
I think I'm in the neutral boat as well. I logged my food in december because I had a couple stagnant weeks and it helped put me back on track. I haven't logged in the new year because I hate logging. So there ya go.
This was a really good post. When I was researching the band and reading all these blogs you could see these 2 sides often. But you are right - it didn't much seem to affect the end results - everyone has been pretty successful. I am not sure where I will fall - on one hand I didn't get the band hoping to still eat crap, but it's also nice to know you can "taste" that crap once in awhile! I also will be logging - I think it will help keep me on the right track.
Terrific post!! I'm in the neutral camp. I need to learn to eat in moderation - I absolutely HATE the thought of dieting.. But, logging helps me to maintain that moderation part of it!
I'm a OCD logger, I log from my phone when I don't have access to a computer. But when I can't log, I eat the same. I think that means I'm not on a diet.
I actually like logging, too, but I never seem to hit my calories suggested for the day. The most I've eaten lately is about 900-1000. And that's WITH real-ish meals. SIGH. I hate logging. lol
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