Emotional Stomach Stapling – The process

This is where the rubber meets the road. Once you understand why and how you have used food as anesthesia against pain and have made the commitment to sever the connection this is where emotional stomach stapling becomes real.

Emotional stomach stapling has 2 parts to the process. The first one is critical and cannot be forced. It can only be chosen when you truly make the determination that you are ready to stop using food as your drug of choice. You recognize that this is your time and that you are worth it, that this is the only life you have and it’s never too late. It’s time for it to be all about you. This is the emotional component. Please believe me when I tell you it is absolutely the hardest part. If you try to short circuit this step the only person you will cheat is you. You will have set yourself up for failure.

The second part of the process is physical – it is called portion control. When you look at the super size portions frequently served in white tablecloth restaurants, fast food joints, and everything in between the is no correlation between portion size and serving size. I have been served portions that could have fed a family of 4 on the farm – where hard physical work was done daily – and you wonder why we as a nation are becoming obese and are absolutely clueless about portion control. A portion is about the size of a deck of cards – a portion of protein – a portion of pasta – a portion of vegetables – a sandwich. How many portions do you customarily eat- is it based on the quantity of food you are served. Or on what you can stuff down your gullet? Or is it based on what you need for optimum health?

Used in conjunction with mini meals portion control is the secret to life changing success. Go for it. You deserve it!

This is the third part in a four part series on Emotional Stomach Stapling.

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The Magic of Mini Meals

Think about Thanksgiving or any time you consume a large amount of food at a single sitting. You blast through 1000 calories or more. Do you walk away from the table with 1000 calories of energy or do you feel as I do? I want to join the nearest infant and go lay down for a nap. Am I filled with energy? No. I’m anything but that.

As I learned more about diabetes I began to learn more about the physiology of what’s involved. All that food – especially the simple carbs woulds cause my blood sugar to spike and then I would come crashing back down a couple of hours later. I learned that anything I could do to avoid these extreme swings resulted in me feeling better and functioning better physically, mentally and emotionally. Over the years I had read many articles and books that stressed the health benefits of eating smaller meals more frequently. I knew that as a chronic workaholic I was vulnerable. I would work flat out till I was ravenous and then consume everything in sight, only to realize 20 minutes later that I had eaten so much that I then felt sick and in need of a nap.

I made a choice.. I sat down and developed a healthy eating program that would work for me and would force me to eat small amounts of food every 2 1/2-3 hours. Several amazing things happened. I was never ravenous, so I never felt compelled to consume everything in sight. My blood sugar was more stable – so my energy and my alertness were more stable. I made better food choices because they had been pre-thought out (although done in a way where I still had lots of choices) rather than allow my food choices to be ruled by impulse. Structure gave me freedom. What a concept. Try it. It will work for you too.

Would you like to reprint this article? Contact Ada of www.roadmaptoweightloss.com by e-mailing her at ada@roadmaptoweightloss.com.

 

Sleep Away Excess Weight

As I continued to study weight loss – and it was a passive study not a participatory study – I began to read that it was important to get adequate rest each night. I couldn’t see the correlation. There may be a scientific explanation that eludes me to this day.

Over the past few years I have heard more and more about the dangers of sleep deprivation. I remember one study that compared driving while sleep deprived to driving under the influence. As a non drinker I have been pretty judgmental towards those who choose to place innocent lives at risk by driving under the influence. All of a sudden I had to take a hard look in the mirror and I didn’t like what I saw. I was the poster child for living while sleep deprived. I was placing innocent lives at risk.

I vowed to do what ever was necessary to change my life and insure myself of adequate rest. In the process a really interesting thing happened. For years I had been yawning by 10AM. I always joked with people that it wasn’t the company that caused me to yawn and I would reach for nibble food to boost my energy and alertness. Nibble food did not include carrots – unless there was something gooey to go with them – my choices were always high in fat and or in sugar – not great choices when you are already diabetic.

The most amazing thing happened, as I began to regularly get adequate sleep I was no longer yawning during the day, I no longer needed nibble food to boost my energy and alertness. Guess what? I lost weight and you will too!

Would you like to reprint this article? Contact Ada of roadmaptoweightloss.com by e-mailing her at ada@roadmaptoweightloss.com.

 

Emotional Stomach Stapling – The Idea

I knew that if I actually underwent gastric bypass I would have to stop feeding my emotions with food. Then I had one of those “light bulb” moments. What if I chose to act (eat) as if I had had gastric bypass? Wouldn’t the upside be the same without the surgical downside?

At this time I was in therapy for depression. At my next session my therapist asked how I was doing and I told him that I had had emotional stomach stapling and he looked at me as if I had lost my marbles. As I explained he began to chuckle and then said he thought the idea was terrific. The idea intrigued me and energized me for about a month and then I fell off the wagon again. The time was not right, I was not ready.

Ultimately it became a key part of my success story. None of us need to invent new ideas- we just need to recognize them when we trip over them and then figure out how to apply them to our particular situations.

Watch for great ideas and figure out how to apply them to your situation. You may not be ready to implement them today, but secure them safely in your quiver of ideas. When the time is right these ideas will be readily accessible for implementation.

This is the second part of a four part series on Emotional Stomach Stapling.

Would you like to reprint this article? Contact Ada of roadmaptoweightloss.com by e-mailing her at ada@roadmaptoweightloss.com.

 

Emotional Stomach Stapling – The Prelude

About a year after I was diagnosed with diabetes and had lost a few pounds, but nothing significant, my physician suggested gastric bypass surgery. I was morbidly obese @338 pounds and 5″3″. I told him I would consider it, but inside I was screaming no…no…no… I told myself I could do this without surgery. I didn’t have a clue as to how, because I had a 40 year track record of short term success and long term failure.

Wanting to be honest with myself and with my physician I decided to check it out.I learned several things. The surgical complication rate was so high that it would not be considered acceptable for any other surgery. It was only medically acceptable because the complication rate of morbid obesity without surgery was even higher.

The choice of foods as well as their quantity was severely limited. I realized that as an emotional eater I would have a huge problem. If I violated the protocols and continued to feed my emotions I would ultimately be worse off after the surgery than before. If I adhered to the protocols I would have to find another way to deal with emotions and that idea panicked me.

Whether it was fear or wisdom that caused me to decline surgery I’m not sure. I think it was probably some of both. What I do know is that for me it was the right choice.

WATCH FOR MORE articles on Stomach Stapling, including a four part series coming soon.

Would you like to reprint this article?  Contact Ada of www.roadmaptoweightloss.com by e-mailing her at ada@roadmaptoweightloss.com.