How I Get Back On Course After A Wrong Turn Here I am over 13 years post-op, a bariatric coach and educator for others and once again, life happened and even with my meal plan in place sugary and salty carbs won.  My excuse is that I had a couple of bad nights…  REALLY bad nights.  THIS IS AN EXCUSE, not a reason.  While my body chemistry may have been asking for the carbs because of the sleep deprivation, I made the choices and put the food in my mouth.  One night I slept a total of 2 hours, and the other a total of 2 ½ hours.  And then it was Friday, my date night for the movies.  So we ordered a large popcorn, no butter and hubby had a coupon for some free chocolate candy.  He didn’t say no, and I didn’t say no either.

I ate my share of the popcorn, my share of the chocolates and felt like a stuffed pig.  As if that wasn’t enough we then went out to dinner.  Thank heavens it was to a sushi restaurant so the worst damage I did there was to have my spicy tuna on toasted rice cakes.  It was heavenly.  This was still not enough so we picked up a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and some ridiculous flavor of Oreos, and yes, with a cup of tea I indulged in both.  How many thousands of calories do you suppose I ate?  I stopped counting before I walked into the movie theater.

Spent the night tossing and turning - again- this time from the discomfort of too much food, too late and woke up hungry in the morning, not typical for me.  Gee I wonder why?  Could it have been from my sugary indulgences the day before?  YOU BET!

How I Get Back On Course After A Wrong Turn

How I Get Back On Course After A Wrong Turn That was Sunday morning and I vowed to eat protein all day as I prepared my breakfasts and lunches for the next few days, AND planned my dinners then did my Farmer’s Market shopping.  I succeeded until we went to the movies again Sunday evening and the popcorn called my name - LOUDLY…  This time we came home and made a Caprese Cauliflower crust pizza and had a glass of wine with it…  Much better than ice cream and cookies, but, oh wait, there were cookies and ice cream left - 2 cookies and a few tablespoons of ice cream.  Couldn’t have that now could we?  I finished those up and proceeded to pass out (probably in a carb coma) watching TV.  I slept reasonably well Sunday night and woke up a little hungry again.

Monday was here and with it came a long workout - 45 minutes elliptical and 60 minutes weight training.  I vowed to eat only protein and produce and succeeded.  I hate the bloated feeling I get from carbs and I wanted it to be gone.  I also knew that if I waited too long to eat I would be searching for and finding something (which typically means going to the store and suddenly having it jump into my shopping cart) with carbs to satisfy my hunger.  Fortunately, on my heavy gym days I have some of my shake before my workout and the rest when I am done for recovery protein.  That is what I did and I continued to eat any time I thought I might be a little bit hungry all day long…  Protein and produce ONLY.  My house is always filled with healthy foods and that is what I reached for.  I vowed I would not log my calories or my protein, my goal was to simply get through the day satisfied and flush my body with lots of water, get rid of the bloat, and get myself back into my typical eating pattern.

How I Get Back On Course After A Wrong Turn It felt like I was eating and drinking all day long… I was, but it worked.  I had no hunger, no emotional craving for crap and went to bed Monday night and slept well, waking up Tuesday morning feeling refreshed and lighter, with the bloat gone and was able to eat my planned foods and enjoy them.

So that you understand that I REALLY was eating all day long here’s how it went (I tracked it after the fact, not during):

How I Get Back On Course After A Wrong Turn That adds up to 1144 calories/122.55 grams of protein.  Along with this I drank 105 oz of water.

I’m a bit behind on water today but I will not quit until I reach 80 oz minimum before dinner, and it’s 5PM now so I better start sipping… I have fed my hunger today as well with 2 meals and 1 snack and have a great dinner planned for about 7PM.

I am neither headachy or grumpy.  I feel great.

After 13 years I know how to turn the switch from OFF to back ON and act like a WLS patient so I continue to go through life with ease, Living My Best Life.