Texas Lap Band Surgeons Talk With You

Let me start by clearing up a common mis-conception held by many of my patients right away: I am not a naturally thin person.  I come from a long line of short, birthing hipped women with relatively slow-normal metabolisms.  I am not one of these supermodels who can eat cheeseburgers and fries and still keep a body fat percentage lower than the current interest rate.  Like most of you, I’ve got to work for it.

But what does that really mean?  The first thing it means is constant vigilance.  I’m a lousy dieter and not a big fan of major deprivation.  It’s much easier for me to try and make fairly healthy and nutritious choices all the time, allowing for occasional small splurges as needed.  That means every day, every meal I try to make nutritionally sound choices. 

[Notice I don't say "good".  I think the word "good" when it comes to food is somewhat emotionally burdened - we say we were "bad" yesterday when we ate a half-gallon of Rocky Road or we think of the extra-large bucket of popcorn as "bad".  But food is not a moral choice - kicking the dog and cheating on your taxes are moral choices.  Food is fuel, some of it tastes better than others and some of it is better for you than others, but it is not evil or a ticket on the express train to Hades.  It's just food.  So don't beat yourself up emotionally about the things you eat, 'cause you can start right back on track with your very next meal. Thus endeth the sermon.]

Ok, back to post: Every day, every meal.  Not: eat a bunch of crap for a few weeks, step on the scale and freak out, then eat nothing but celery and apple peels for two weeks. Dieting should refer to a lifestyle change, an allover attitude adjustment, not a temporary fix.  Bubble gum in the hole will not keep the whole dam from coming down, it just stops the leak temporarily.  Building a new dam addresses the problem permanently. 

So I stay thin because 24/7 I pay attention.  There are a lot of things I simply won’t touch with a ten foot pole.  These include anything that contains the word “fried”, most desserts, and often, a lot of meat.  I’m no vegetarian, but animal protein makes up a fairly small part of my diet and I still manage to eat 50-100g of protein each and every day.  I don’t see those things on the menu and think, “gee I really, really want that but I can’t, I shouldn’t, darn!”.  I just don’t even look at them. I refuse to even think about them.  That way, I don’t feel deprived.  They are simply not for me.  Eventually, you actually start to think of greasy, heavy, sugary foods as kind of gross and unappealing.

Does all of this mean that I never have a french fry? A donut? A margarita? Of course not.  But I take it for what it is: a small indulgence that will make me temporarily happy, but that I’ll be bummed I ate the next day.  If I’m willing to pay that price, I’ll do it.  If I’m not willing (because I’ve got a vacation planned during which I plan to be seen in a bathing suit for instance) than I won’t.  I don’t have a particularly strong will-power or an especially numb sweet-tooth.  I’ve just got a big priority and that’s me and the person I want to see when I look in the mirror.  That person helps keep me in line, day in and day out.