Love from a dear friend!

When life starts to wear me down and stomp on my spirit, I am reminded of how lucky I am to have a dear friend take time to send me such a heartfelt prayer!  Just what I needed...

Prayers for my friend, Traci.  That she can find calm amidst the chaos in her world - whether home, work, school, family or co-workers.  To find a warm blanket of peace and comfort in a snugly feeling that is only found when you know you are being taken care of.  An all comforting spirit of calm that is obvious and long-lasting and true feeling of being taken care of.~TA

I'm thinking this is a good place to start!!

Keystone Habits - Ever heard of these??

Keystone habits... What are they and how do they affect my everyday life was a question from our guest speaker at group a few weeks ago.

I'm thinking we are going to talk about my "bad habits" and give it a fancy name! I realize that certain behaviors I have tend to lead to those "bad habits" and there are times it feels like a viscous cycle.  Then there are times they feel completely comfortable because it has become an everyday behavior/routine. 

My current comfortable behaviors/routines (stopping every morning to get my Starbucks) or some of my old (munching on something salty and crunchy during the evening shows) can take me down that path of shame and weight regain.  GRRRRRRRRRRRRR.........

Comfortable behaviors are just that "comfortable" and why wouldn't I want comfort? Not gonna lie, sometimes it's just too much for me to figure out where exactly to begin to change those habits!

So here is a thought, this is what I learned about "Keystone habits."
Charles Duhigg explains, so-called "Keystone habits" create a chain reaction that can significantly influence the success of other habits. It's like making five good decisions for the price of one.

Simple breakdown: Trigger-Behavior = Reward
Look at any triggers that cause a behavior/habit which then produces a positive outcome/reward. 

Ex: Getting ready for bed in the evenings, setting out your work out clothes = work out.  Planning/preparing healthy meals on Sunday for the week, dividing/packing into breakfast/lunch/dinner portions  = planned/healthy meals!

Both above examples produce healthy behaviors!

 

So my new plan of attack: Each night before bed I go back to setting out things I need to make my healthy breakfast which will kick start my morning with protein and I will change my route to work!! 
My other one will be to get back to basics with making sure my lunch is packed and ready for the next day.  My salad is made, my jug of decaf tea is made and my lunch bag is packed full of protein.  These were all habits I practiced in the first few years of my post op life and they worked for me.

Oh yes forgot my last one, getting my clothes ready at night to take bandit for a walk in the morning and setting my alarm earlier to give me enough time to walk, get ready, make breakfast and not feel like I'm rushing...

Remembering back all of these habits made me feel good and I love the idea that I now have a name to associate with these habits.
Watch out "Keystone Habits" I'm about to kick some butt and take names!!

Realizing My Child was a Victim of Bullying

Do you remember the stories in 2011 of parents being accused of "Parental Neglect" and having their children removed based on obesity?  The overall suggestion was to remove children from their parents and place them in state care which would somehow reduce obesity.

I was completely infuriated hearing about such decisions being made with no regard to the true causes of obesity.  While it may seem easy for the government and the public to judge whether or not a child has been neglected due to their weight, the parental struggles of everyday life, especially in regards to weight and weight bias, are often overlooked or not addressed at all.

Facing the disease of obesity as an adult has been extremely challenging and raising a child affected by it takes things to another emotional level.  This is a very sensitive subject close to my heart and it was not easy putting it all down in black and white but I wanted to share my personal insight in hopes of reaching other parents. 

Below is a link to the article I wrote for the Obesity Action Coalition sharing my perspective of raising a child affected by obesity. 

Obesity from the view of a concerned parent.

Food addiction recovery and the McDonald’s drive thru…..

This is a topic that I could discuss on many different levels so forgive me if I jump back and forth today!  First off I must say that stress STINKS!!!!  You know those days/weeks that seem to drive you nuts between all of the stress from work/home/family/personal etc….. Sometimes trying to manage it all just doesn’t seem doable and these past few weeks have been very trying on my head and heart.  I didn’t have a care in the world of what it was that I was going to eat but I knew I was going to eat a lot of whatever it was.

Through all of this I’ve found myself searching for food throughout my cabinets at all times of the day.  It didn’t matter if it was 8am or 2am I was searching for something salty and crunchy.  I just kept hoping that whatever I found would make me numb enough to not feel the stress or the heartache.

As a recovering food addict there are times when I face relapse and honestly have no clue it’s going on.  Recognizing those signs can be difficult for me to see and admit because I feel guilty and shameful.    I think what floors me the most is being almost 5years out from surgery I honestly thought battling this addition would get easier and I would recognize the signs faster maybe?????  Anxiety/stress was higher than normal, I stopped eating because my stomach was so upset then I’d find myself drained with no energy and stark craving crazy searching for comfort food.  Sleep?  Are you kidding me?  What is that?

I didn’t reach out because I didn’t want to bother anyone and I kept telling myself everyone has stress/anxiety why am I making a big deal about mine?

One day I found myself going through the McDonalds drive thru for the normal un sweet tea.   I pay at the window, get to the second window and out comes a McDonald’s bag with my tea.  I drive off like normal, get on the interstate and about 10minutes later start smelling an awful aroma in my car.  The light bulb finally comes on and reminds me that I have a bag of fast food.  I seriously remember thinking what in the he*& is in this bag?  Holy Schnikies, it was my old friend the famous sausage Mcmuffin with extra cheese that just happens to be my past favorite breakfast sandwich from McDonalds, with the receipt to show me that I ordered it !!!!

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME??? 

Then the stinking thinking comes into play.  I hear that little voice saying “I should not be struggling with food this far out.  What would happen if I ate just one bite?  What if one bite isn’t enough?  What if I do this again tomorrow?  What if I don’t stop eating and gain all of my weight back? 

The aroma turns from awful to YUMMY, my senses kick in and I couldn’t get that sandwich up to my mouth fast enough!   I start to rationalize by telling myself how ridiculous I sound and that one breakfast sandwich isn’t going to make me gain all of my weight back.   I take that first bite and start to remember all of those pay-days when I would stop by McDonald’s for my breakfast treat and how much I missed the taste.

Ever heard of RELAPSE????  Here’s your sign!!!!

Life is hard and food is easy…. These are the times I have a Love/Hate relationship with food and today I’m leaning towards the hate. 

I love how food tastes BUT hate how it makes me feel at times like this!!!

Words of Encouragement from a fellow WLS friend!

As a life coach in the field of bariatrics, I am blessed with the opportunity to meet so many of my fellow WLS friends in our community.  Today I am giving you words of encouragement from one of my clients who started recognizing struggles early on in her journey and reached out to me around her two year post-op mark. 

She has made huge strides and I'm so excited to see how much she has accomplished over these past few months.
With her permission I am sharing her latest epiphany! 

These few words truly made my heart smile!!

Enjoy!


I'm finally accepting my post-op "differences" about my anatomy and lifestyle ... more importantly, I'm accepting them as a blessing and a choice, NOT deprivation.

I've come a long way baby! Best advice for your clients ... don't give up. Keep pursuing, keep fighting for this. ~Jan  Ohio

**Remember You deserve to live a Happy Healthy Life!**