Some things I've learned about food ...

Over the past 9 months my relationship with food has changed in many different ways. I thought I'd share some of my rambling thoughts here... First, let me preface with talking about food addiction. So many people who have WLS are battling food addictions or compulsive eating or an inability to control cravings or urges with certain types of food. I do not believe I am one of those people. Remember that for 2 years before I had RNY surgery I was on a pretty strict 1,200 calorie/day diet of healthy foods with very little junk food. Yes, I'd blow the diet once in a while and order a pizza or indulge in ice cream or cake/cookies... but I never felt that I was out of control with food. So no addiction here.

Since my surgery I am even MORE conscious about what goes in my mouth and how it will effect my body overall. I've learned a bit more about trigger foods (foods that trigger overeating or over-indulgence) and also what foods work with my pouch and what doesn't. So here's my list of what I've learned:

• I love vegetables and fruits. I'm still picky on some things (like melon and green peppers), but as I experiment with recipes and techniques, I find that more and more I realize how much I love these types of foods.
• My pouch likes steak! I went 8.5 months without steak but finally tried it for the first time when I was on vacation in Ludington a couple weeks ago. Yum! Since then I've had it another half dozen times.
• Salsa is now banned from my house! Salsa by itself is fine, it's healthy and very low in calories. But what goes with salsa? Chips! Chips are evil and too easy to overeat. So no more salsa for this girl. If I have a recipe that calls for it, I substitute a can of diced tomatoes, onions and spices to mimic the taste without actually having the evil stuff in the house.
• Kettle corn is also evil. Thankfully it's not that easy to come by and you can only find it at fairs and festivals. I just need to learn how to resist buying a bag whenever I walk by those booths.
• My pouch does NOT like solid food before noon. Like I learned at the Crim race this past weekend, a slice of turkey and a few grapes can too easily get stuck in a pouch that hasn't been awake for long enough. So I'll continue to so protein supplement and soft foods to start my day.
• Protein Ice Cream is a guilty pleasure with none of the guilt. Who would have ever thought that I could eat ice cream every morning for breakfast!?!
• Eggs are still not my friend. For some reason my pouch does not like eggs - fried, over easy, poached, hard boiled - they just don't work. The only way I can sometimes tolerate eggs is as egg salad. Go figure.
• Chicken is my friend now. It took about 7 months for chicken and I to come to terms and figure out how to get along .. but now we are the best of friends.
• I'm a Salad Snob. Iceberg lettuce is just not good enough for me. And if I go for romaine lettuce, I need it to be mixed with baby spinach for variety. My main preference is baby mixed greens. Organic please. Mix in some hearty matchstick carrots, a few baby portabella muchrooms, some fruit (blueberries, mandarin oranges or pineapple), sunflower seeds and a splash of Kraft Light Zesty Italian dressing and I am a happy camper.
• I never eat food I don't enjoy. I can eat such small portions of food now that when I encounter some food that doesn't taste top-notch, I don't bother eating it. It must be delicious and nutritious before it will pass my lips. It's all about quality now.
• Tracking my food intake on http://www.fitday.com/ helps keep me accountable and on my eating plan. If I'm off for a few days I find that I'm a bit more lax with getting in enough protein and water.
• Water is hard. I can go several days in a row (like right now) where I just can't drink all my water in a day. It's not that I'm physically unable (be right back, going to go get a glass of crystal light)......it's that I get busy and forget to have a glass of water at my desk at all times. Or I drink one glass down and don't get up to refill it. Bad, bad, bad.

I knew this post would turn into a long rambling-fest. It's interesting to make a list like this and realize how much I have grown to understand myself and what things are important to me now. I could probably add another dozen things to this list and I might update it from time to time. It's good to see it all here in writing though.

~ Pam