“The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then,
your body and your fat are really good friends”
- anonymous
your body and your fat are really good friends”
- anonymous
Carnie Wilson before gastric bypass surgery and after her initial 150+ weight loss.
Carnie today after gaining back some, but not all, of her original weight.
"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently" - Henry Ford
Look! One of my favorite places on campus!
Folks who are considering the gastric bypass surgery need to talk to, look at, consider, folks like me and Carnie Wilson.
I'm not entirely sure of Carnie's story (click here for an article where she discusses why she gained weight).
I DO know that the honeymoon is over for me AND for her.
The honeymoon period is the time - a few months or years - after the gastric bypass when the weight comes off easily. Our smaller stomachs keep us from eating large amounts of food. Our intestines are absorbing less calories. We hit our goal weight easily.
Then the honeymoon is over.
Our smaller stomachs (some folks call them 'pouches') expand to the size of a softball. Our intestines relearn how to absorb calories. With increased eating and calorie absorption the pounds can return.
Some folks say that Carnie has failed.
Some folks have hinted to me that I'm not really losing weight fast enough or that I eat too much.
Yet, I'm not gaining back any weight.
I plateau,
then lose,
then plateau,
and lose some more.
I'm shrinking slowly but surely.
And yes, I do eat like a semi-normal person.
Does this mean that Carnie is doing something wrong and I'm doing something right??
I don't like clear cut black and white, right or wrong, thinking.
Let's just say I'm doing something different.
(For the record, Carnie weights 208 and is 9 years post-op and I weigh 239 after almost 2 years post op. Her net loss is 92 pounds. My net loss so far is 138 pounds.)
If we totalled up the amount of food I eat in a day and the amount of food Carnie eats in a day (I mean volume NOT calories) I bet we eat the same amount.
She says she's a snacker.
I'm a snacker too.
Naps and snacks.
Love 'em.
She runs around after her toddler.
I run around on campus.
I have a feeling we get a similar amount of exercise.
She works out.
I work out.
She eats.
I eat.
What's the difference?
Here's my theory: the difference is the type and quality of food we're eating.
You can talk about calories if you want but I won't.
I don't count calories.
It would be irresponsible of me to talk about calorie consumption without knowing (or caring) how many calories we each consume in a day.
I'm not interested in calories.
I'm convinced that foods have more than one function in the body.
Calories, providing fuel, is just one of the many functions of food.
The other factors have LOTS to do with how our bodies look and feel.
Certain foods give pep.
Other foods drag us down based on the way we digest them.
Certain carbs wreak havoc on the blood sugar making one foggy or energetic or sleepy or hungry.
Sugar too.
Certain foods have better nutritional value than others thereby making them ideal for energy and metabolic efficiency.
Fat?
Don't get me started on fat.
Fat makes me nauseated and sluggish.
Even before my gastric bypass surgery fatty foods dragged my energy down.
What's the difference between my food and Carni's food?
Fat content.
Sugar content.
Fiber content.
Quality (fresh vs. processed).
What do I snack on?
Wasa.
Tamari Almonds.
Celery.
Apples.
Pears.
Grapes.
Oranges.
Yogurt.
Sugar free jello.
Sugar free/fat free jello pudding.
Sugar free ice pops.
Whole grain cereal.
What does Carnie snack on?
She said “I have a weakness when it comes to snacking. For me, it’s a tortilla with cheese, popcorn and graham crackers, all in one night.”
Cheese?
All fat.
Dairy with fat is heavy and makes us heavy.
Popcorn?
Is it air popped? Or does if have that fakey horrible butter on it (even the low fat versions have that crap on it).
Tortilla?
Carby starchy fatty corn tortillas or whole grain low fat tortillas?
Graham crackers? What kind?
Are they full of corn syrup?
Maybe our hands carry food to our mouths the same number of times each day.
But when the honeymoon is over, we need to have changed WHAT WE EAT or the weight will come back.
Now for the Big and Fat part.
I look at Carnie and I think she's gorgeous.
Fat, thin, zaftig, don't care.
She's a beautiful girl.
I can look at big, fat, beautiful Carnie and call her GORGEOUS.
I can easily love her roundness,
her bulk,
her bigness,
her shape.
I look forward to a time when I will look at myself with the same loving eye.
*Movement for Motivation*
You don't have to give up dessert.
You don't have to give up flavor and sweetness and the joy of baking.
Just change the type of baking you do.
Throw some oats into the mix.
Use molasses instead of sugar (you'll get iron from molasses).
Use applesauce instead of butter or margarine.
Eat!!
Eat smart.
click here or click below
Folks who are considering the gastric bypass surgery need to talk to, look at, consider, folks like me and Carnie Wilson.I'm not entirely sure of Carnie's story (click here for an article where she discusses why she gained weight).
I DO know that the honeymoon is over for me AND for her.
The honeymoon period is the time - a few months or years - after the gastric bypass when the weight comes off easily. Our smaller stomachs keep us from eating large amounts of food. Our intestines are absorbing less calories. We hit our goal weight easily.
Then the honeymoon is over.
Our smaller stomachs (some folks call them 'pouches') expand to the size of a softball. Our intestines relearn how to absorb calories. With increased eating and calorie absorption the pounds can return.
Some folks say that Carnie has failed.
Some folks have hinted to me that I'm not really losing weight fast enough or that I eat too much.
Yet, I'm not gaining back any weight.
I plateau,
then lose,
then plateau,
and lose some more.
I'm shrinking slowly but surely.
And yes, I do eat like a semi-normal person.
Does this mean that Carnie is doing something wrong and I'm doing something right??
I don't like clear cut black and white, right or wrong, thinking.
Let's just say I'm doing something different.
(For the record, Carnie weights 208 and is 9 years post-op and I weigh 239 after almost 2 years post op. Her net loss is 92 pounds. My net loss so far is 138 pounds.)
If we totalled up the amount of food I eat in a day and the amount of food Carnie eats in a day (I mean volume NOT calories) I bet we eat the same amount.
She says she's a snacker.
I'm a snacker too.
Naps and snacks.
Love 'em.
She runs around after her toddler.
I run around on campus.
I have a feeling we get a similar amount of exercise.
She works out.
I work out.
She eats.
I eat.
What's the difference?
Here's my theory: the difference is the type and quality of food we're eating.
You can talk about calories if you want but I won't.
I don't count calories.
It would be irresponsible of me to talk about calorie consumption without knowing (or caring) how many calories we each consume in a day.
I'm not interested in calories.
I'm convinced that foods have more than one function in the body.
Calories, providing fuel, is just one of the many functions of food.
The other factors have LOTS to do with how our bodies look and feel.
Certain foods give pep.
Other foods drag us down based on the way we digest them.
Certain carbs wreak havoc on the blood sugar making one foggy or energetic or sleepy or hungry.
Sugar too.
Certain foods have better nutritional value than others thereby making them ideal for energy and metabolic efficiency.
Fat?
Don't get me started on fat.
Fat makes me nauseated and sluggish.
Even before my gastric bypass surgery fatty foods dragged my energy down.
What's the difference between my food and Carni's food?
Fat content.
Sugar content.
Fiber content.
Quality (fresh vs. processed).
What do I snack on?
Wasa.
Tamari Almonds.
Celery.
Apples.
Pears.
Grapes.
Oranges.
Yogurt.
Sugar free jello.
Sugar free/fat free jello pudding.
Sugar free ice pops.
Whole grain cereal.
What does Carnie snack on?
She said “I have a weakness when it comes to snacking. For me, it’s a tortilla with cheese, popcorn and graham crackers, all in one night.”
Cheese?
All fat.
Dairy with fat is heavy and makes us heavy.
Popcorn?
Is it air popped? Or does if have that fakey horrible butter on it (even the low fat versions have that crap on it).
Tortilla?
Carby starchy fatty corn tortillas or whole grain low fat tortillas?
Graham crackers? What kind?
Are they full of corn syrup?
Maybe our hands carry food to our mouths the same number of times each day.
But when the honeymoon is over, we need to have changed WHAT WE EAT or the weight will come back.
Now for the Big and Fat part.
I look at Carnie and I think she's gorgeous.
Fat, thin, zaftig, don't care.
She's a beautiful girl.
I can look at big, fat, beautiful Carnie and call her GORGEOUS.
I can easily love her roundness,
her bulk,
her bigness,
her shape.
I look forward to a time when I will look at myself with the same loving eye.
*Movement for Motivation*
You don't have to give up dessert.
You don't have to give up flavor and sweetness and the joy of baking.
Just change the type of baking you do.
Throw some oats into the mix.
Use molasses instead of sugar (you'll get iron from molasses).
Use applesauce instead of butter or margarine.
Eat!!
Eat smart.
click here or click below
Posts
4 comments:
It seems to me that Carnie starved her body down to an unnaturally low weight for her. Now she has had a child, conquered her alcoholism and eating actual amounts of food her body is changing.
I don't know what or how much she eats but her genetics combined with addictive personality is going to make her quest to become 'thin' difficult.
I feel for her but also have issues with the way her sense of worth seems to be tied up with whether she is 'acceptable' enough to pose for playboy or how much exposure she can get.
Her weight gain is a complex issue that cannot just be put down to her being BAD because she is possibly eating the 'wrong' foods.
You can't possibly read my blog as often as you do and read what I said about her as saying she's "bad" for eating the "wrong" foods, can you?
If anything I think I've treated this issue as a complex one all along.
But if I came across that way, it's good that you let me know.
Oh Lisa, I did not mean you said that. I am sorry if you felt defensive by what I said and that was certainly not my intent.
I have obviously been reading too much about it elsewhere as well. Of course I realise you know this a complex issue.
There is certainly an undercurrent out there though of her being bad for putting weight back on. I don't think that can be denied.
I'm really not controversial at all though and would never pick at a blogger than I admire and read :)
I will try to make my general comments seem less directed at you in the future. Cheers.
I could not agree more. Losing weight isn't the ultimate challenge. It's keeping the weight off AFTER you lose it. That's always been the true issue with me. Regardless of the "emotions" involved in my weight gain, the fact remains I made bad choices. If i lose the weight and go back to making bad choices then I'll forever be in that endless yo yo loop. You MUST learn to snack healthy and keep up some form of exercise. I say snack healthy because I think that's a KEY to keeping weight off. Eating about six times a day... small amounts of healthy foods. It keeps you satisfied, NOT hungry and healthy. I hope I can forever keep to this healthy way of living.
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