Lose Weight Find Life

One of the benefits to weight loss surgery is that it gives you big differences in losing more rapidly than through other dieting programs.  I lost 26 pounds my first month post-op.  Woo Hoo!  That was so much fun.  Of course, it slows up as we get further post-operatively and closer to our ideal weight.  The choices we made were limited imposed by the newness of our surgery but the differences were huge.

Now, if you are further post-op, small choices still make big differences.  Enough 1+1+1’s equal big numbers thus big differences.  If you haven’t quite reached your goal.  Let’s say you are 50 pounds away from your desired goal and are a couple of years or longer post-operatively.  Those pounds will probably come off slower and require more of a consistent chain of healthy choices.  If you make consistent healthy choices, however small you think they may be, will result in your weight loss of 50 pounds.

Examples of small choices could be rather than have a larger portion of a complex carbohydrate in a meal, make it smaller and eat more protein; eat two bites of protein for every one bite of vegetable, complex carb or fruit; instead of eating a large dinner and small mini-meals throughout the day, spread them out equally through your day for sustained sugar levels, energy levels and minimize hunger.

For exercise, adopt a no-give philosophy of exercising a minimum of 20 minutes per day.  For that minimum of 20 minutes, aim for 30-45 minutes of cardio including strength training.  If unable to make that time commitment, your 20 minutes no-give could be something as simple as walking in place or anything that constitutes activity.

As you go through your day today, you are creating many of the circumstances which you will live tomorrow.  If you eat a plate of cookies, you’ll wear them tomorrow!  If you pass up eating the cookies, you will carry the same or less weight on your body tomorrow.  It is all in the small choices you make.  Small, positive choices and actions today bring greater value and rewards as you move forward not only in tomorrow but in your future weight loss success.

You cannot instantly wake up and lost 50 pounds to your weight loss goal or lose those regained pounds.  However, you can have a significant and dramatic impact on where you will be tomorrow and the day after and the day after.  By making a healthy choice by not eating the plate of cookies or even one cookie, that is a success.  That success will create a momentum for successes today and into tomorrow and on.  Making an unhealthy choice can set you up to cycle through unhealthy choices that compound on themselves.
You cannot change where you already are.  Yet you can have a significant and dramatic effect on where you will soon be.

After easily maintaining my weight for years after my surgery, I had a major life transition and regained some weight.  Yes, I got it off but it was so much harder than the first time around.  I couldn’t tell you of the temporary fix of all the food I ate to regain that weight.  I sure can tell you about the challenge of losing those regained pounds.  Was it worth it?  Of course, no.

Make choices today that set you up to build and create momentum.  You cannot instantly change your circumstances. You can, however, instantly change the direction in which you’re headed.  The small choices you make today you will enjoy not only today but tomorrow.

You’ve heard the saying that nothing tastes as good as thin feels.  Unfortunately this has become a bit of a cliche but it is true.  Food is fleeting.  How long does it take you to eat that cookie, bag of chips, or other food choice?  That “enjoyment” (if you want to call it that) is very temporary.  But the feeling of overcoming the head hunger, the emotional eating trigger to eat something lasts a long time and the results are long-lasting as in smaller body size, lower weight, healthier body, and a feeling of well-being and sense of control.

Set yourself up by the choices you make to plant yourself firmly and resolutely in the direction of your weight loss goals and life dreams. For where you choose right now to go, is where you will soon be.

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach

Many of my clients struggle with body image and getting a real sense of what they look like after losing weight.  Hey, you’ve lost weight – enjoy it by having an appreciation of how great and healthy you look.

When we’ve lost weight, it takes awhile for our brains to catch up with our new, smaller body size.  We still see ourselves as being overweight.  Sometimes to the point of being very critical which can derail our weight loss efforts.

I’m asked often by clients about why they don’t see their bodies smaller.  After we’ve been overweight or morbidly obese for a period of time, that becomes engrained in our mindset.  It feels as though it is part of our identity.  We’ve focused on our weight and large body size that that continues to be how we see ourselves.  Your brain will catch up with your body but it takes awhile.  It will happen.  Here are some of the strategies that I share with my clients to help that process occur sooner:

* Take photos of yourself.  Compare them to photos taken before you lost weight.  Look at them often, or better yet, put them in a prominent place (such as the refrigerator!) so you see them regularly.

* Compare some of your pre-weight loss clothes to the ones you wear now.  Notice the difference in sizes by holding them up and see the difference.  Putting on your pre-weight loss clothes now and enjoy the bagginess that you now feel versus how you used to feel wearing them.

Find a photo of yourself taken in the past.  Place it alongside a recent shot. Write down two or three adjectives to describe the “you” pictured in each photo. How have you changed?  Take photos monthly so you have a visual record of how your body has changed.  I did that as I lost weight and they are amazing.  Take the photos in the same clothes and in the same location.  A good idea is to take the photos as you stand in a door frame.  You’ll be able to watch the difference in space between your body and the frame.

Keep focused and moving forward with your weight loss and healthy habits.  Before you know it, you’ll see your body accurately and you’ll be able to enjoy and appreciate your weight loss even more.

Keep doing this as you progress to your goal weight.  Celebrate how far you’ve come every pound of the way!

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach

This is a question that I received from someone that is checking into weight loss surgery.  I commend this person for researching thoroughly the option of weight loss surgery and if it is right for this person.

Subject: Is weight loss surgery right for me?

Question: Hi Cathy. I am trying to decide if I should have weight loss surgery and am wondering how you know when it’s time to have surgery? I have been overweight all of my life, but in the past 5 years, I have gained about 100 pounds from work changes and other medical changes. I want to lose weight, but have failed at every diet I’ve tried. Surgery seems so drastic, but being overweight for the rest of my life doesn’t sound like a good choice either. How do I know if I should just take the leap and have surgery? Thanks.

My Answer: The decision to have weight loss surgery is a very personal decision and one that deserves a great deal of consideration.

An important first step is even asking if weight loss surgery is right for you so you’ve done that.  It is a process that begins with even considering if weight loss surgery is the answer for you.

Do some research on the various procedures that are available.  There are many procedures, some less drastic than others such as the lap band.  Research the pros/cons of each of the surgeries.  Check into the lifestyle changes that you’ll need to make.  Know your behavior patterns.  For example, with gastric bypass, consumption of sugar (and sometimes fat) can cause dumping syndrome for some post-ops.  For me, sugary items are a big trigger food.  I liked the aspect of dumping as a way to avoid eating certain trigger foods.  As you research each of the procedures, note which aspects of the surgeries you like and don’t, and which one might work best for you.  Another example for the lap band, you would need to commit to getting your fills when you know you need them.  There are many resources available on the Internet.

Based on what you find out from your research, if you are still interested in pursuing weight loss surgery for yourself, you might talk with your primary care physician about the possibility and your desire for weight loss surgery.  You can also check out bariatric (weight loss surgery) surgeons in your area.  Find out if there are weight loss surgery support groups in your area and attend.  Attending a support group would allow you to talk with other weight loss surgery patients.

Based on your research and talking with medical care professionals, you have knowledge of the options available to you.  You might be ready to make the decision to move forward with surgery or, alternatively, you might decide that it is not for you.  It might also interest you but you need more time to decide.  All of these are part of the process in deciding what is best for you.

I will share with you my decision process.  I was tired of being overweight and the limits it put on my life.  A situation came up that was disappointing that my weight limited my participation and I was upset about it.  I knew I needed to do something about my weight.  My options were to join one of the diet programs that I’d joined countless times before that didn’t result in long-term weight loss success or to have surgery.  I’d thought about surgery for probably a year.  The thought of joining yet another diet program I couldn’t bring myself to do again.  I seriously pursued weight loss surgery at that point.  A year before, I wasn’t ready.  It was a process of thinking about it before I made the decision.

It isn’t a decision to take lightly or enter into impulsively.  I can tell by your question that you are already giving thoughtful consideration to this option.  I would encourage you to research it to see if it is for you.  Talk to your doctor and a bariatric surgeon.  The more information you can obtain for yourself, the better you’ll be able to make the right decision for you.

The drastic nature of weight loss surgery concerned me as well.  The possible co-morbid conditions of diabetes, sleep apnea and other medical issues that can arise of being obese were drastic as well.

Again, you will make the right decision that is best for you, whatever that is.  I wish you the best of luck.  If there’s anything else I can help with, let me know.

To your health,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach

Don’t allow troubles to deter you from your goal of reaching a certain weight, achieving a fitness goal or going after a dream. While many situations may appear upsetting, you might be surprised to find they contain valuable lessons to help you cope with difficult events in the future. And if you adhere to a program of exercise and nutritious meals instead of drowning your emotions in junk food, you’ll always have enough energy to cope with whatever befalls you.

The temporary fix of food as a calming, soothing way to manage your emotions is fleeting.  When you’re thinking of indulging in the downward spiral of emotional eating, fast forward to how you’ll feel after.  The guilt, shame, worry over being derailed from your weight loss efforts and compromising your weight loss goals aren’t worth it.  The negative self-depreciating feelings you have last far longer than the few minutes of relief from a cookie.  Don’t numb out…tune in to yourself.  You have the answer.  You have to allow yourself the time and create the habit of dealing with emotions without eating.  It is uncomfortable at first.  However, the payoff long term is worth it.

Think of how you’ll feel as you step on the scale and see a weight loss.  Visualize how it will feel as you wear smaller sized clothes.  Now those are the things that are worth it.  They are a long-term investment in yourself.  All the emotional eating does is plant the cookie, chips, or junk food firmly on your body in the way of excess weight.

Emotional eating is a habit.  It is a way we coped with situations and emotions.  Break out of that habit.  Habits can be changed.  Break out of the jail of emotional eating and excess weight.  Feel the joy of being free without the bonds of emotional eating and excess weight.  It is truly worth it….you are worth it.

You are stronger inside than anything that can happen to you!  Don’t numb out, tune in to you!

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach

When I reflect back on my life pre-op and sometimes post-op, I have wasted so much time, money, and most importantly, energy on emotional eating.  Worrying about my weight, what I look like, what I can hide behind jackets or sweaters, what I was going to wear that would hopefully fit.  What a waste of time and energy.  Food, eating, weight and my body size consumed my thoughts and energies.  Planning what I was going to eat, avoiding eating certain food items, worrying about my weight and body size, etc.  No way to live life.  Food controlled me rather than I controlled my life and what I ate.

I would stop on my way home from work and pick up snacks (also known as junk) to eat on the way home.  It is illegal to drive while drunk.  I was so mesmerized by eating my stash of junk that I was probably as dangerous as a drunk driver.  It takes a lot of time, skill and practice to maneuver the freeways at 5:00 rush hour while opening a ketchup packet and dipping my fries while driving with my knee.  Yikes!  That extra diversion to the convenience store or fast food drive-thru took up time that I could have been home preparing a meal to enjoy with my family.

Food has no power.  It is food.  We are the ones that give it power.  My weight and food wasn’t the problem, it was my emotional eating to control my emotions and cope with troublesome situations in my life. We use food to manage our emotions.  We use food to self-soothe. People who have struggled with it, and the professionals who treat it, call it by many different names; compulsive overeating, emotional eating, and food addiction. No matter what it’s called, people USE food because food works!  Problem is with other substances we abuse, it only works for a short period of time.  Then the behavior we used it for that temporarily helped becomes the problem itself.

In my opinion, it isn’t about the food.  It is about us.  Weight loss surgery success isn’t found in the perfect protein drink.  It is about learning to manage our emotions and cope with situations and our life without turning to food.  Live life on your own terms with your own strategies and life coping skills without leaning on food.  We turn our personal power over to food.

Rather than spending time searching for the perfect protein power, protein bar, recipe, search for a good mental health professional therapist or coach that can help you live your life free of the bonds of emotional eating.  It is not only possible for you but what you deserve for yourself.

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach

You don’t need to purchase expensive in-home exercise equipment or an expensive gym membership to lose weight and maintain your health.  Forget the Spandex and expensive fitness toys and remember these lifestyle exercise tips:

* Ride a bike or walk to the convenience store in your neighborhood to pick up that forgotten item from your grocery shopping.

* Walk up and down the stairs of your office building or department store.

* Start golfing and skip the cart to gain real exercise while having fun.

* Take a nature hike instead of watching television or a movie eating popcorn.

* Do you regularly meet a friend for coffee?  Get in your chat while walking together rather than sitting spending money on coffee.

* During your breaks at work, don’t sit in the break room – get out and move.  Take a short walk, use the stairs for a quick workout.

* Get a pedometer and count your steps.  Make it a game to build on your steps each day.  For optimum health, 10,000 steps per day is the goal.  See how close you can get to 10,000 or, better yet, how many steps you can get in over and above the 10,000 recommendation.

As little as 20 minutes of exercise per day can reduce some psychological distress.  Any form of activity from gardening to sports is helpful but sports are best at enhancing mood.  The more activity you get, the greater your mental well-being.  Our bodies are designed to move.  That’s why it feels so good to exercise and be active.

The hardest part is the pre-activity time.  When we are exercising and after, we feel great!  As you contemplate whether to exercise or not, reflect back on the times that you’ve exercised and how great it feels.  JUST DO IT and you’ll be glad you did for the rest of the day.

There are so many benefits to exercising yet for many people, it is not a part of their life or mindset.  If exercise were a drug, you’d never be able to get it as it would be on a constant back-order.

Exercise is more than going to the gym.  Exercise and fitness is a lifestyle of activity and enjoying moving.  Fitness is fun!  You can’t have a bad day when you’ve exercised!!!

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach

My family grilled this weekend and we had a fabulous dinner.  I’d like to share it with you…..

1 pound halibut steaks (or other white fish), 1 inch thick
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 large purple onion
12 cherry tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon ginger root, grated
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Cut fish, zucchini and squash into 3/4 inch pieces. Quarter onion into similar size pieces. Alternate fish, zucchini, squash, onion and cherry tomatoes on 4 skewers. If using wooden skewers soak in water for 30 minutes to prevent burning. Set oven to broil or barbecue to medium heat.

Combine remaining ingredients and brush generously on all sides of kabobs. Generously spray broiler pan or barbecue grill with nonstick cooking spray. Place kabobs on broiler pan or grill rack about 4 inches from heat. Broil or grill for 2 minutes per side. Turn and baste with remaining marinade during cooking. Total cooking time should be about 6-8 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Discard any remaining marinade.

Makes 4 Servings
Serving Size: 1 skewer (approx. 4 ounces fish)

If you build a home, you need  blueprints; if you want to open a business, you need a business plan.  For any successful project or goal, you need a plan.  How are you setting yourself up for success? What adjustments need to be made? Remember, don’t try to tackle it all at once.

You already possess the power to transform your dream into a reality and reach your weight loss goal?  Have a plan of your own to follow.  Sports teams have a game plan, businesses have business plans, for anything successful, you have a plan.  All you need is to follow the process that allows ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.  Reach for the sky – the sky’s the limit when it comes to achieving your goals.

When you look at yourself do you see the person you want to be, doing the things in life you want to do?

STEP NUMBER ONE:  DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO DO.
Ask yourself:  What do you want?  That is a very powerful question.  To gain a success in reaching a goal, you need to name it.

STEP NUMBER TWO:  WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS.
By writing it down, you commit to your goal.  You can put it in a prominent place that you will see it such as a sticky post on your bathroom mirror or on your refrigerator.  Don’t keep it floating around in your brain.  Solidify your goals by writing them down.

STEP NUMBER THREE: CHECK IN DAILY! LET ME AS YOUR COACH SUPPORT YOU!
How are you doing with your goals?  What did you do yesterday to move forward to your goal(s)?  What are you going to do today to move toward your goal(s)?  With a daily check in, you stay on track and focused on your goals.  Keep your eye on the prize of achieving those goals.

STEP NUMBER FOUR: BREAK YOUR GOAL INTO STEPS…..ONE STEP AT A TIME!
Your goal may be to lose weight.  That’s great but how are you going to get there.  Break in down into more manageable, small steps that you can experience successes along the way.  For losing 10 pounds, load 10 songs on your iPod, get a massage, or other celebration and acknowledgement of reaching that goal.  You reach big goals by one step at a time.

Lastly, do you believe you’ll reach your goals?  It is a wish or a belief?  Do you see yourself as losing weight and reaching your ideal weight?  Visualize yourself fitting into a smaller size, stepping on the scale and seeing your ideal weight number, and moving throughout your day in a smaller body and how that feels.  If YOU believe it you WILL achieve it!

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach

Do your moods determine your foods for the day?  If you are in a bad mood are you more apt to make bad food choices as well?

By eating sugar, carb-laden foods, they can increase our seretonin level and TEMPORARILY make us feel better.  Then, the temporary high and those feel goods from the artificial seretonin level dump us out and leave us feeling worse than before.  Turning to food as a mood enhancer has the opposite effect that we set out for in elevating our mood.

Are you happy while you eat that cookie or chips?  Maybe at the time.  Maybe for the first couple of bites.  If you fast forward just a few minutes, you will feel so much worse.  That mood you were trying to lighten and improve will be weighed down with worry about your weight, guilt, shame, and feeling that you’ve failed.  Moods through foods definitely do not work.

Pick up your mood. Don’t leave it lying around in a mess on the floor. There are so many great ways to pick up one’s mood that don’t include food.  We are accustomed to using food in the enhancement of our mood but it is one of the habits that we need to ditch and leave behind us….way, way far behind us.

Put on some music and dance! You are never too old to dance. Even if you aren’t a choice for “Dancing With the Stars” show, dance anyway!  Or just sing with the music. Good, upbeat songs make our hearts’ lighter.   I’ve found some VERY uplifting songs that I found by accident while cruising the Internet.  The website is http://www.SuccessSongs.com and they are great.  If I’m not in a great mood, I listen to one of these songs and my mood turns around and I’m energized.  Plus, listen to the lyrics as they are very empowering.

Go for a walk.  Even if it is raining or slightly inclement weather – walk.  An alternative is climb the stairs in your house, walk in place, run in place, anything active – to quote Nike “JUST DO IT” and you’ll feel your mood change.  As you get fit, your mood you lift!!

Get absorbed in a hobby.  What do you like to do?  What do you enjoy?  What is fun for you?  Do you like to read?  Do you like to craft?  Do you enjoy gardening?  Do you enjoy journaling or writing?  Again, what do you like to do?  If you don’t know, great!  You get to go on an adventure to discover what you like to do.  When we’ve been bogged down with excess weight, we lose track of what we like to do.  No more!  Find something you love to do and do it.  Become like a child and play for the sake of playing.  Make it like a job and you’ll have a lighter happier mood.  Ever seen a child down as they play?  You won’t either – Play!

Get yourself some color.  Go into your most colorful room, get out a colorful picture book or even color a picture like you did as a child or try on your most colorful clothes.  Enjoy the colors of the rainbow to elevate your mood.  You may feel black or gray but if you wear yellow, you’ll feel sunnier.

Say “thank you” out loud for everything you have. Count your blessings, your riches both monetary and especially the non-monetary ones. Nothing lifts one’s mood like realizing how wonderful it is to have all the wonderful things we have.  You may not think you have many things to be grateful for.  I assure you that you do.  We all do.  Start with your family, your friends, your surgery, where you live, special attributes that make you who you are.

Make a list of things you like about yourself.  To start off, it can be hard.  Do it daily and reflect back when you need a good mood ‘tude.  Here’s some of mine:  I am strong, I am kind, I am thoughtful, I am passionate, I care about people in my life, I am loyal, I stand up for what I believe in, I love to coach wls patients, I am a good and fun mom, I love my family and our times together, I am a deep insightful person, I am a fitness walker, I love to swing on my porch swing and watch birds.  Okay, now it is your turn to start your life.  Keep it and update daily and refer back to it when you need a mood lift.

Come on, what’s this mess? Pick that mood up off the floor.

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach

For my regular readers and subscribers, you know that I’ve written about my past pre-op love affair with Krispy Kremes.  They now have created a new chiller.  Ah…that sounds so refreshing.  In summer, what sounds better than a chiller.  Plus, it is Krispy Kreme’s Oranges & Kreme Chiller.  Oranges are healthy and chillers are refreshing.  Perfect healthy combination, right?  Sounds like a very healthy refreshing alternative.  Great alternative to orange juice to start your day, right.  Right up there on the nutrition track with their fried dough rings with sugary frosting dripping all over.

For a small (no, not even a medium but a small sized chiller), you’ll pack on 630 calories, 28 grams of fat, get this one – 92 grams of carbs.  That’s more grams of carbohydrates than I eat in a day!  Even if you ate two of their original glazed doughnuts, you’d consume far fewer calories.

From a post earlier this month with a cheeseburger on a Krispy Kreme as the bun and now this carb-laden sugar buzz for the day, Krispy Kreme must be trying to make their original glazed donut creations look like a healthy dream.

Think you can go down the street and get a healthy Jumba Juice.  Think again.  As a comparison to KK’s Oranges & Kreme Chiller (again, SMALL size), Jamba Juice’s Orange Dream Machine lacks the fat of KK but the original size will set you back 490 calories and a whopping 107 grams of carbs.  That’s 101 grams of sugar!

Just because something sounds healthy and uses deceptive marketing to suggest a healthy choice, do the research and check for yourself.  You are responsible for your choices and what you put into your body.  Consuming 101 grams of sugar before lunch even rolls around??  Be informed so you know what you are feeding your body.

There is an argument in this economy that to eat healthfully is too expensive.  There is a few cents extra for a healther choice possibly.  However, the expense is merely a few cents extra compared to the expense to your body and to your health, not to mention your emotional well-being.  If I consumed all those carbs and sugar grams, I’d gladly spend a few extra cents to avoid the effects of the sugar and extra weight I’d be wearing.  There’s monetary expense which is nothing compared to the health expense these marketing ploys play with your health.

It is with great pride and joy that I can now drive by a Krispy Kreme and no longer feel the pull to drive my car into their drive thru.  When KK keeps coming up with crazy ways to make us less healthy, they won’t see another penny from me.  Thanks to my healthy habits, I not only don’t crave a KK but they are now gross to me.

Believe In Yourself,
Cathy, CLC
Certified Life Coach, Weight Loss Surgery Coach