Things To Do Instead Of Eating!

Have you ever been so bored all you could do was think about food? Ever wish those thoughts would just go away!

Well here is a list of 60 things you can do to take your mind off of food!

1. Call a friend, your sponsor, a support person, anyone who you can talk to who will either get your mind off of food, or someone to talk to about whatever it is that you might be feeling.

2. Go for a brisk walk

3. Meditate or listen to a hypnosis or guided visualization download.

4. Give yourself a manicure/pedicure– can’t binge with wet nails.

5. Volunteer at the ASPCA to walk dogs or pet cats.

6. Watch a funny movie at home.

7. Take a shower, give yourself a hot oil treatment, shave your legs, tweeze your brows– self care time.

8.) Get organized sort out your bills, create a budget– organize your home. Often getting organized can help you feel more in control and enable you to thwart a binge, which can often feel very out of control.

9. Draw, paint or color.

10. Knit, crochet or do needlepoint

11. Take a nap

12. Get out of your house and into your car, go to the beach, the lake, the park… somewhere pretty and relaxing.

13. Clean out your closet, donate your old clothes or sell them on eBay.

14. Read a good book.

15. Put on music and dance it out. Go out dancing. Call your friends over and have a dance party.

16. Go to the gym. Stretch, go to a yoga class, do a yoga DVD or an exercise or yoga class on On Demand cable. Move! Do jumping jacks, run in place, anything to move a little energy and release some tension.

17. Take a relaxing bath with nice bath salts or essential oils.

18. Write in your journal

19. Scream into a pillow.

20. Go to an OA or EDA meeting, either online, in person, or on the phone.

21. Go to an online support forum with other people dealing with eating issues. www.obesityhelp.com www.facebook.com (The LIOS group, many other supportive groups for WLS on fb)

22. Read a magazine

23. Write a blog! Read a blog!

24. Chat with friends on facebook or update your facebook profile. Twitter!

25. Sing!

26. Get your hair done or do your own hair. Experiment with different styles, curling iron, flat iron, curlers, etc.

27. Make cards for people, catch up on Thank You notes, send out notes to relatives you haven’t spoken to or seen in a long time. Not the ones that stress you out and make you want to reach for your old friends Ben and Jerry.

28. Go out and take photos.

29. Play video games or facebook games

30. Write and direct a short play with stuffed animals or Barbie dolls or action figures or your pets or sock puppets and videotape it to put on youtube.

31. Smell lavender

32. Pick flowers

33. Garden

34. Create a collage

35. Go bowling, play pool, play golf or miniature golf, play basketball, hit tennis balls, go to a batting cage, go for a swim.

36. Scrapbook

37. Write an angry letter to whomever you are holding anger at. You don’t have to send it, just let it out. Afterwards, put it somewhere safe. You might let go of some emotions that you’d been stuffing and you might find that you no longer have the urge to binge.

38. Go through old pictures

39. Cuddle with your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, daughter, son, cat, dog, teddy bear, etc.

40. Do karaoke, you can either go out to do it, or do it at home with friends.

41. Play music! If you play an instrument, whip it out and start playing. If not, teach yourself to play one. Beat on some bongos, ping a triangle, strum a guitar, whatever is convenient to you. If nothing, make an instrument out of household objects and play it.

42. Catch up on your emails

43. Learn a new language!

44. Write a letter to your future self, about what you’re going through right now.

45. Write some notes with positive messages and post them around your home or get out of the house and put them up in dressing rooms, public restroom mirrors, restaurants, etc

46. Make a list of why you rock. Think about what’s great about you. Can’t think of those things? Call someone who loves you and ask them to tell you.

47. Light candles and incense and relax

48. Explore your neighborhood or town. Go to local museums or art galleries.

49. Call a friend or relative who has been unhappy lately and needing some support. Sometimes giving support can be incredibly heartening and also supports the supporter.

50. Use crayons to color hard! This can release tension.

51. Search through your couch and house for change! Put everything you can in a jar and put it aside to start a fund for yourself as a motivator in your journey. Every time you reach a milestone, you can buy yourself something fun, like a new pair of shoes, or some jewelry or new CD, or whatever you like within reason.

52. Roll on your back. This is a spinal massage that helps you to feel relaxed and rejuvenated.

53. Read positive affirmations.

54. Write out your intentions or personal goals for yourself for the week. Write out both long term and short term goals- things that you are striving for and ways to help you get there.

55. Throw a temper tantrum! Go into your bedroom, lay on your stomach in your bed and scream into your pillow while you kick your legs and punch your hands into the bed. Ever see kids do this? They expend all that energy and it moves right through them. As adults, we can’t really do this and lots of anger and pain winds up feeling stuck in the body. We often try to stuff that down with food and for some, get rid of it by purging.

56. Make jewelry out of household items or beads or coins.

57. You can also take that old clothing, especially those that are significant to your pre-op days, and cut it up into squares and make a “recovery quilt.”

58. Do a home makeover! Rearrange your furniture; get rid of things that you no longer want– sell them on eBay! Put up some curtains; just make things pretty for yourself.

59. Do volunteer work.

60. Write a novel, short story, or poetry.


If you can think of any others to add please post below!
xoxo
Sleeve Pixie

Is Food Really the WORST Addiction?

Before I start writing, I have to say that I have been thinking this over for a few days now, pondering whether or not I should even make this post. Someone of you will not like hearing this, but you know what? That's ok!

There has been a lot of talk in the recent weeks about this concept of "food addiction". The peak of the discussion was when Dr. Robin Blackstone, the upcoming President Elect of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), pronounced, out loud to a room of 20+ bariatric bloggers that there is no such thing as FOOD ADDICTION!

Yep you heard it right... NO SUCH THING AS FOOD ADDICTION.

Now of course me with my big mouth was the first to get up and refute her statement. I am a food addict so how can you tell me there is no such thing! There is medical EVIDENCE and even RESEARCH out there Dr. Blackstone! If you have any interest in that research, you can find it on a previous blog post here.

The truth of the matter is this... She was right! Yep, I said it. Dr. Blackstone was right! I will explain why in just a moment.

Then there is another point, the actual reason I sat down to write this post. If I had a penny for every time I heard a weight loss surgery patient say to a social worker, doctor etc etc, "You don't understand! We have the worst addiction of all! An alcoholic CAN CHOOSE to never drink again, a crackhead CAN CHOOSE to put down the pipe but we HAVE TO EAT every single day! MORE THAN ONCE A DAY!"

Here lies my issue. This is the reason I am writing this post without caring what you think of me afterwards. We NEED to change this mentality. We NEED to get off of denial highway. We need to stop using this thought process as a way to rationalize our compulsive eating behaviors/habits.

The reason I say I agree with Dr. Blackstone is this... When was the last time you met a person who had to have a piece of broccoli every single time they got upset? I don't know a single one and I know A LOT of  self proclaimed "food addicts"! If you read any of the research on food addiction or even my last blog post on food addiction which breaks down the bodies addiction to CERTAIN types of food then you see where I am going with this.

SUGAR, SIMPLE CARBOHYDRATES and CHOCOLATE are the only three food types that cause any type of physical addiction. Think of the foods that you tend to run to when you need a fix? Donuts, bread, candy, chocolate... right?

Therefore... the appropriate term would not be FOOD addict, but Sugar Addict or Carb Addict or Chocolate Addict. Maybe you are one of the above or perhaps you have a poly substance dependency issue.

Now that you have realized you are not addicted to FOOD but only certain types of food, the same rules, as all other addictions apply.

You CAN CHOOSE to abstain, for the rest of your life, from chocolate, sugar and simple carbs. It's not easy by any means whatsoever but if you ask an alcoholic if it's easy to abstain from booze, I am willing to bet money that you will find you both have similar feelings about your situations.

Our worlds revolve around food, all the bad foods in the world. All the ones we are physically addicted to, but guess what... the alcoholics world, before he hit his rock bottom and decided to stop drinking, also revolved around his addiction. They say, people places and things... Gotta change em. An alcoholic can't hang out at the bar anymore and you, the sugar/carb/chocolate addict can't hang out in the cupcakery!

So when you are ready to beat this thing, there are groups out there that can help you. We may not be able to step into a local rehab for detox but there are ranches if you can afford it. There are therapists, 12 step meetings and bariatric support groups that can help you. Below are some resources.

Food Addicts Anonymous
Overeater's Anonymous
Bariatric Support Groups
Rachel's Comfy Couch
Mind Body Health Services
Stein Wellness

Please know, you may not succeed at first and relapse is part of recovery. In order for a baby to learn to walk, it must fall a few times to build up the necessary leg muscles to walk. Recovery is possible!
xoxo
Sleeve Pixie

I am NOT a Garbage Can!

Ah The Garbage can weight lifting... The ultimate oxymoron! I heard this from a friend of mine yesterday at a support group and I had to share it.

We were discussing the angst about turning in our "Clean Your Plate" club membership cards and one women spoke up and shared.

I hate to waste food. It is such a shame to throw food into the garbage. But I have come to realize, for so many years I have treated myself as the garbage. 

What a powerful sentiment. did we not all do this at one point in our lives. We gave more respect to the garbage can! We can't throw food away so out of respect we throw the food away in ourselves. We become the garbage can!

Now that we have had our WLS or are about to, or even if you have no intention of ever having WLS, treat yourself better than garbage. You deserve it! No more eating food because you don't want to throw it away. If you are that concerned put it back in the fridge and eat it later. It is ok to say, no more food! My body has had enough. Treat yourself and your body with more respect that your garbage can!

xoxo,
Sleeve Pixie

Dining Out post WLS

While I know it is probably best not to dine out much after WLS, there are occasions that call for meals in a restaurant. Yesterday I went to Atlantic City to meet up with a few post-op friends. When the time came to sit down for lunch we chose a place and began scouting the menu.

We decided on sharing an appetizer so we wouldn't have left overs to carry around. For 3 of us the bill was relatively small. I didn't think much about it then but the thought hit me later on... We probably did not leave a big enough tip!

Now that we eat so much less, I know I tend to order so much less. While that is great for my wallet, the person who gets the short end of the stick is usually your server.

Pre-WLS, think about how much you used to spend dining out with one person. Take a place like TGIFridays... a place I used to frequent before my WLS days. When I went with my husband, we used to share an appetizer, get two meals and either 1 or 2 desserts. Plus the two sodas I drank with my meal. The server has been to my table about 6 times brought us many many soda refills without being asked usually and the bill wound up coming to somewhere between $50-$60. Right? Story sound familiar?

Post-WLS, hypothetically, My hubby and I go to TGIFridays (which we do every other month or so) and he orders the 3 course meal for 17 dollars. Generally he will get the green bean fries, some type of fish and dessert. What do I order.... Nothing! We share. Why... Because I cannot eat more than 4 ounces of food in one sitting. I no longer order a soda or anything else to drink because if it's there I will drink with my meal and I don't want to do that so I just skip it all together, I will have two green bean fries, about 3oz of his fish and one bite of whatever dessert he orders, if there is still room, which usually there isn't. So this now cuts our bill in half to about $25. The server has still been to the table at least times, still brings hubby his soda refills and does a little less work.

Now we get the bill. Generally we leave a 20% tip which would amount to about $5. Is that enough? I don't think so... What do you think? the odds are, unless you have been a server at one point in your life you probably don't think much about this. I didn't either until yesterday and I have been a post-op for 3 years! I think perhaps we should start tipping as if we were eating two meals. What do you think?

xoxo
Sleeve Pixie

To Chew or Not to Chew... That is the Question!

I received an e-mail newsletter from a nutritionist, Rachel Lerner. Granted she is not a post-op and does not work much with post-ops but still the information she sends I find to be relevant most of the time. So yesterday she send info on chewing your food.

Chewing When it comes to increased health, it's not just what we eat but how we eat. Digestion actually begins in the mouth, where contact with our teeth and digestive enzymes in our saliva break down food. But these days most of us rush through the whole eating experience, barely acknowledging what we're putting in our mouths. We eat while distracted-working, reading, talking and watching television-and swallow our food practically whole. On average we chew each bite only eight times. It's no wonder that many people have digestive problems.    There are many great reasons to slow down and chew your food: Saliva breaks down food into simple sugars, creating a sweet taste. The more we chew, the sweeter our food becomes, so we don't crave those after-meal sweets. Chewing reduces digestive distress and improves assimilation, allowing our bodies to absorb maximum nutrition from each bite of food. More chewing produces more endorphins, the brain chemicals responsible for creating good feelings. It's also helpful for weight loss, because when we are chewing well, we are more apt to notice when we are full.  In fact, chewing can promote increased circulation, enhanced immunity, increased energy and endurance, as well as improve skin health and stabilize weight. Taking time with a meal, beginning with chewing, allows for enjoyment of the whole experience of eating: the smells, flavors and textures. It helps us to give thanks, to show appreciation for the abundance in our lives and to develop patience and self-control. Try eating without the TV, computer, Blackberry, newspaper or noisy company. Instead just pay attention to the food and to how you are breathing and chewing. This kind of quiet can be disconcerting at first, since we are used to a steady stream of advertising, news, media, email and demands from others. But as you create a new habit, you will begin to appreciate eating without rushing. You have to eat every day-why not learn to savor and enjoy it? Like I said before, I usually find her info to be relevant to my life, but I am finding there is a a lot of conflicting information about chewing. When I had my lap band, I was told CHEW CHEW CHEW! Now three years later, many surgeons will tell you that you SHOULD NOT chew your food down to mush. Why? Because if you liquefy your food in your mouth it becomes like a slider food and we will not stay full as long. Makes sense to me. Now I am not condoning or suggesting you inhale your food. but I think 10-15 chews should be adequate.  Which school of thought do you follow? xoxo Sleeve Pixie