Current weight: 230.5
Change this week: -4.5
Total change: -9.5
After a tough week, things seem to have stabilized a little. I’ve been experimenting some with the suggestions of the kind readers who have left me comments (thank you, AHappyWife, Squilla and *S*!). Here are a few of the things that have helped me with the cravings:
Brushing teeth! Sounds nutty, yes? Well, to me it sort of feels like cleaning up the kitchen and then deciding that you’re not going to dirty things up again by cooking a big feast.
Eating a relatively small amount of something with really big flavor and texture. I got this idea from S’s comment about eating mandarin oranges with coconut. While that specific treat would not be my thing, particularly, it’s got loads of flavor and a nice texture thing going on, what with the plump, juicy fruit and the crunchy coconut. I’m a big fan of strongly flavored things like marinated olives, and I’m finding that a few of something like that gives my mouth something to think about for a while. My current fave is a jar of big green olives, each stuffed with a clove of garlic. It’s a flavor/texture circus, let me tell you— the yielding, smooth, slightly rubbery flesh of the olive, the crunch of the clove inside, the saltiness, the garlicky bite. Mmmmm.
Also, sometimes I’ve found that it works to just stop and experience the craving as fully as possible, to kind of sink into the experience of it and just sit with it rather than having to jump up and respond with action. I’m trying to incorporate more mindfulness into my life in many ways, and this has been an interesting experience. Somehow, fully experiencing that craving seems to lessen my need to actually do anything about it.
Anyway, I’ve gotten through this week, the sun is shining today here in the cold upper
8 comments:
You are such an inspiration, Luna. Congratulations on your fantastic progress!
As expected - I completely fell off the wagon on my work trip tp London this week. I effectively undid any good work I had done before it (I had done a little bit). I am so glad that there is someone like you here to inspire me along again rather than feeling that all is lost and that I may as well drown myself in loaves of white bread. :D
Congrats again! WOO!
Have you ever had Lund's olive tapenade? Majorly delicious! I was more of a salt/savory girl pre DS but now get an occasional hankering for sweet. But it's generally nothing I can't overcome easily and I never have the awful cravings that I sometimes had pre-op.
*S*
Hi Squilla--
Welcome back from your trip! I'd have fallen off the wagon too--trips like that are impossible. I've got one coming up at the end of next week, and I'm already wondering how much damage I can do to myself and my progress in 48 hrs. But let's just refuse to let ourselves get derailed, shall we? No drowning in white bread for us! (But mmmmmm....bread!). Good luck getting back on track, and thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you're visiting and commenting!
Hi *S*!
I'm a BIG fan of tapenade, though I've never had Lund's. That's exactly my kind of thing. Interesting that your cravings now are different than they were pre-op. I wonder why? For whatever reason, that's handy. Thanks for dropping by!
Yay Luna!!!! 9.5 pounds in two weeks! That's absolutely wonderful. Whatever you are doing certainly works :)
Spring cleaning must be in the air, or maybe wanting to clean & organize your living space just goes hand in hand with wanting to get your life in order as well. I've noticed several people, myself included, have written in their life improvement journals that they've been cleaning & organizing their homes this week as well. For me, the clutter around my desk and in my closet was a symptom of the helpless, hopeless feelings I'd been dealing with before starting my journey here. Now that I'm feeling better and more in control with my life, I want my surroundings to reflect that. And hopefully having a more organized home will feed all the positive feelings I'm beginning to develop which will then inspire me to KEEP UP with organizing. It will be a circle of positivity, lol :).
What you said about fully stoping to experience a craving reminds me of some things I read in a book called Eating, Drinking, & Overthinking by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema. She calls the technique Urge Surfing. When you get an urge or craving take a deep breath and focus your attention on your body. Notice where you experience the craving. Explore what it feels like. Let it flow through you and then let it subside. Her book in general is really good for anyone who uses food as a way to deal with feelings & worries or as a way to desensitize yourself. Hmm, maybe I should reread it now that I'm actually starting to work on these issues. If I remember correctly she had some other techniques and activities that were quite good.
Well, I'm off to start my day. Birds are singing & the sky is blue. I feel like bursting into a few verses of OH What a Beautiful Morning :)
Have a great day!!
Meegan, A Happy Wife.
Boy, could I make serious money if I knew why people's cravings changed post-op! It's fairly common, though. Do try the tapenade - it's just ground olives of different sorts. It's not greasy like Trader Joe's jarred tapenade.
Good luck with your week! Back to re-working my methodology section.
*S*
Oh, I’m having major cravings at the moment myself! I’m trying to indulge myself in moderation, but I’m finding myself going nuts! Not only am I stressed and upset but I can’t allow myself to go on neutral like I’ve done in the past! Being mindful sucks! Sitting with the craving sounds interesting. That’s one thing I’ve never tried. What I did yesterday was I read blogs and it helped me feel better and decrease my cravings.
I agree with Lily - sitting and exploring the craving sounds interesting. I've done that with pain and it works sometimes, more with chronic than acute pain (i.e. if you run over your foot with the lawnmower, don't sit with your pain, get to the hospital).
Things with vinegar would often cover my cravings, pre-op. I don't have the foggiest why.
*S*
When I was a child I was asthmatic, and I remember times when I would concentrate on the sensation so fully that I could sort of make it lose meaning. It was still fairly unpleasant, but by stopping and fully experiencing it it somehow had less ability to freak me out. I've thought that it would probably work with pain too, and it does seem to work with cravings as well, in my limited experience.
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