Week 1 - I have to start my lifestyle change somewhere. In the past, when I've attempted a diet, I go full throttle right from the beginning. I cut carbs, count calories, guzzle water and exercise for an hour a day...and then I quit. Sometimes I quit in a month, but usually I quit after the first week. Knowing that implementing a bunch of drastic changes and restrictions will just lead me to failure, I have decided this time to take things slow. I am not planning on having surgery for at least another eight months, so I have lots of time to figure this out. That doesn't mean I'm going to adopt the "I'll start next Monday" mindset. Rather, I have made a list of all of the goals I can think of (and that have been provided to me by the bariatric support team) and I have tried to get an idea of how to space the lifestyle changes out. Looking over the list, I noticed that many changes involved limiting or taking things out of my diet, but many changes involved adding things in. For example, I am supposed to eat more protein and I am supposed to eat less carbs. Rather than trying to do both at the same time, I am going to try eating more protein for awhile and then, when I start realizing that I am more full for longer with the increased protein intake, I will finally work on cutting my carb intake. In theory, this will keep me from feeling deprived. We'll see how it goes.
This week though, I have decided not to focus on what I am eating at all. I am tackling two "easier" lifestyle/habit problem areas. First...I am not going to weigh myself at all this week. In fact, my goal is to not step on the scale until my appointment with the nutritionist in mid-May. I am one of those people who is a slave to the scale. I hop on multiple times per day, hoping that the number is going down and beating myself up (and usually seeking comfort in a nice sugary snack) when the scale shows a .1 lb increase. I've even weighed myself, been unhappy with the number, peed and then weighed myself again...trying to get my number down. It is truly ridiculous behavior and I know that. But...it's a perfect example of what happens when a habit gets out of control. I don't want to give up if I am making positive changes but the scale doesn't reflect it. So...my very first goal is to go at least one week without weighing myself. I'm removing the scale from the bathroom so I don't see it multiple times per day. Hopefully I have the willpower to stick to this one.
The second habit I am tackling is the horrible way I space out my meals. I was always bad about not eating all day and then pigging out at night. Now that I am breastfeeding and staying home with my son, I am too hungry to go all day without eating but too busy to eat a meal (cue run to the cookies for a quick fix a couple of times per day). Even though I might end up eating more initially by eating three meals a day (remember...no restrictions yet), this is something I will have to stick with if I get WLS. Because you can't eat very much at each meal after WLS, you HAVE to eat each meal...relatively evenly spaced. And besides that...it's just better for your blood sugar to eat that way. So, this week I am committed to eating three meals a day. Even if they are grab-and-go meals (such as deli turkey and a banana for breakfast), I'm just going to find a way to shove something in my mouth (other than cookies). My son might not like this change, as he isn't a huge fan of me taking time for myself, but it is important that I make these changes for his future, too. I will be around longer if I can improve my lifestyle and he will learn healthy habits if I'm modeling them for him. 15 minutes of him fussing now will probably not seem too bad when he is reaping the benefits in the future.
So that's it. Those are my two goals and while they seem simple enough, I know from experience bad habits are always tough to break. If I can stick with these to changes for just one week...I'll at least know that I have SOME willpower still. And that's a good place to start.
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