How I lost 100 pounds by understanding hunger vs cravings and abating vs satiating

Hello friends of this blog on how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass or weight loss drugs. In the last blog post, I discussed portion control. Today, we'll explore misunderstanding hunger, which is probably the main driving force behind weight gain and obesity. Gastric bypass patients on "My  600-lb Life" are shown constantly eating and thinking about food. They are convinced that they won't get full on the 1200 calorie diet that "My 600-lb Life" Dr. Now puts them on. Part of how I lost 100 pounds was understand hunger vs cravings and abating vs satiating hunger.  

Part of how I got overweight was by taking Paxil which threw off my limit switches. I ate too much without realizing it. I've seen other people with obesity, do this too. I once watch a morbidly overweight friend with opioid addiction, eat an entire package of cookies in her sleep. Antidepressants have a bad habit of causing weight gain because of this. So do opioids. Many people on "My 600-lb Life" are also on antidepressants and often opioids. 

Part of how I lost 100 pounds was with a 1200 calorie diet. To succeed with calorie restricting, you have to accept that you will not always feel completely full. Your hunger is abated vs satiated. And further hunger may be cravings (obsessing on certain foods). Hunger and satiation are quantitative. You have to determine whether you are actually feeling hungry or just thinking about food and if so, how hungry you really are. 

I think the 1200 calorie diet worked for me because I've gotten used to feeling a little hungry all the time. I don't need to be completely full to feel satisfied. Having short-term antidepressant induced obesity, and not a lifetime habit of overeating, it wasn't so difficult to practice portion control. It was easier to identify cravings as thoughts about rather than need for food. 

In the next post, I'll discuss some "Jedi mind tricks" to practice willpower and talk yourself out of eating. 

 

How I lost 100 pounds with portion control, the missing link in weight loss

Hello my friends of this blog on how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass or weight loss drugs. I celebrate my 10th anniversary of shedding morbid obesity and while I'm still, according to the BMI a little overweight, I've managed to maintain weight loss. Today while enjoying some homemade mac and cheese, I realized that a large part of how I lost 100 pounds was with  portion control and that this is the missing link in weight loss. 

I often look to the gastric bypass reality show "My 600-lb Life" for links to obesity and inspiration for blog posts on how to lose weight. And one major reason "My 600-lb Life" participants end up needing gastric bypass bariatric surgery is portion control fail. They not only eat very calorie dense foods but also way too much. 

I call portion control the missing link in diet discussion because, while we talk about what to eat, we don't talk enough about how much. Probably the biggest hurdle for folks on "My 600-lb Life" is amend 12,000 calories a day to a 1200 calorie diet. I got to thinking about this because as I was about to write a post on diet recipes for favorite comfort foods, I realized that I don't always want diet versions. I want the real thing: gooey mac and cheese, meat lovers lasagna with real pasta, not lentil noodles and Lindt Lindor truffles, not sugar-free Splenda chocolate that taste more like playground monkey bars than chocolate. 

That's one reason obesity is such a problem: we like our comfort foods and diet versions mostly don't satisfy.  Part of how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass was to eat as though I had had bariatric surgery, as if I  had a smaller stomach that could only hold smaller portions. At first, when my stomach was larger, I was really hungry. So I filled up on vegetables. Later as my stomach shrunk, I was able to feel more satisfied with portion control. 

I did make diet recipes of favorite foods because let's face it, 100-200 calories of mac and cheese is like 3 bites. And I'm not going to get full on that. But I wove it into my daily 1200 calorie diet. I also learned to rethink satisfied hunger and accept the fact that it was okay to feel some. I'll blog more on that in the next post as this is a biggee in weight loss. 

How I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass with vegetable soup cleanse

 Hello dear followers of this blog on how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass or weight loss drugs! On this lovely winter day, let's look at ways to keep that "New Year, Old You" weight loss challenge going. Part of  how I lost 100 pounds was with cleanse foods. And just perfect for cold weather, here are vegetable soup cleanse recipes to purge away the excess pounds picked up in holiday feasting.

Many weight loss regimen promise that you can lose weight without changing diet. I'm sorry to say that to shift any significant amount of weight, some change in eating habits is required, either with intermittent fasting, a cleanse, 1200 calorie diet, keto diet, etc. As gastric bypass shows like "My 600-lb Life" have demonstrated, no matter how you slice it, obesity is about eating too much, of the wrong foods, or both. 

Yes, I know that obesity, as defined by the BMI (body mass index) can be a little misleading. Bodybuilders, for example, have a large amount of muscle mass, compared to fat. Their weight may put them in overweight or obese. In that case, BMI may be inaccurate as it's not measuring body composition. And weight loss is about burning fat (the white adipose tissue kind) and converting it to muscle.  

But we're not talking about that type of "obesity" here. We're talking about "My 600-lb Life" white adipose tissue obesity gained from overeating eating junk food and not moving. I always have to make that disclaimer because part of how many of us got overweight was by denying obesity and making excuses for it. 

So back to the point of this post: how I lost 100 pounds burning fat with a vegetable soup cleanse. A soup cleanse activates the fat burning power of vegetables, herbs and spices. It's also, for you frugalistas, a great way to use up leftover veggies! My vegetable soup cleanse doesn't follow a specific recipe. I've always followed a rainbow diet as part of my 1200 calorie eating plan. So I aim to get as much color in my vegetable soup as possible. And of course, using up leftovers is the goal too. 

So yesterday, for my "new year, old you" weight loss challenge my vegetable soup cleanse recipe went like this:

Chicken bone broth (for protein), oregano and sage, turmeric, rainbow pepper and ginger (anti-inflammatory herbs) and Bragg's liquid amino (healthy salt substitute). Cauliflower, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, celery, red onion, scallions, red and yellow peppers and fresh parsley, cilantro and dill. To make it creamy and for

extra keto fat burning, I added mashed avocado. I topped it with rainbow slaw (shredded carrots and green and purple cabbage purple tossed with lemon juice, agave syrup and smidge of olive oil.)

Make a big batch and eat only this when intermittent fasting, It's perfect for the 1200 calorie diet as bone broth gives a bang of protein for very little calorie investment. You can pretty much eat as much as you want and so stave off hunger which is the bane of a cleanse or diet. 

How I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass by being prepared for "those days"

Hey my dear friends of this blog on how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass surgery or weight loss drugs. How ya doing? Me, I'm having one of those days. A day which feels like a year. Where it's one step forward and 26 steps back. All I want to do is put on my jammie pants, crawl into bed with a book and eat lasagna and Lindt truffles (dark chocolate) all day. 

It occurred to me that being ready for these kinds of days is how I lost 100 pounds and overcame the "obesity mindset." And being ready includes understanding why I'm having one of "those days" in the first place. Clearly, I'm needing something: rest, recuperation, down time, a day to not just do something but sit there (thank you Alanon). 

As for the pasta and sweets, I may actually be needing that too. Our bodies are so intelligently designed that they tell us when we are low on something. Our brains operate on glucose (sugar) so if I'm tired, I may need a jolt of sugar to feed my brain. That doesn't mean refined sugar, necessarily. An apple or banana will do just as well. 

Having said that, one day of eating too many truffles won't hurt. It's the pattern unhealthy eating. If I maintain my 1200 calorie diet 80-90% of the time, the cheat days will not derail weight loss. But they can lead to breakdown in the 1200 calorie diet momentum. If you've seen the gastric bypass reality show "My 600-lb Life" you know that obesity happens when "those days" become everyday experience. 

"My 600-lb Life" shows what happens when we're not prepared for "those days." Feeling depressed, anxious, stressed and exhausted can feel like forever. It seems when you're in the tunnel that the light at the end will never shine. "My 600-lb Life" shows overweight people drowning their sorrows in food. Overeating and under-exercising become the norm rather than the exception. And the more we overeat and sit around the more overweight we become and the more depressed, anxious, tired and stressed we become. 

I challenge us in the "New Year, Old You" weight loss plan, to welcome "those days" as a chance to unwind, but to stay the course on the 1200 calorie diet so that we can feel better ASAP. Stay tuned for more on  how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass, with feel good tips, recipes and helps. 

How I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass or weight loss drugs: New year, old you

Happy New Year, my dear friends of this blog on how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass or weight loss drugs! Last year I began a monthly series of weight loss challenges, or should I say health maintenance challenges. I began in January with the New Year challenge and kept it going. Now in 2024, my thrown gauntlet is to ring in a new year, old you! 

What the heck, you may be wondering...old me? I thought I was supposed to try and create a new me?? That's what all the diets and weight loss shows advertise, a new you. Some celebrity is always "debuting stunning weight loss transformation." Entire weight loss shows like "Mama June" and "My 600-lb Life" are based around makeover. 

 Well, I think that's an unhealthy goal to strive for. We inhabit the bodies we were given. We're told in the Bible that we are made in the image and likeness of God. So why should I try or even want to remake myself? What I want to do is be the best ole' me I can be. I want to live my healthiest in my God-given skin. And keeping the focus on that is  part of how I lost 100 pounds. 

See, I used to have the makeover mindset. I didn't like body, or mind or person I'd been assigned. A series of unfortunate events and relationships throughout my life, have chipped away at my self-image. So I began my weight loss adventure, seeking a do-over. And I will say that after I lost 100 pounds I looked and felt a lot different. When they say that someone is unrecognizable after massive weight loss, it is in part true. The confidence boost you get from an achievement is partly responsible for that. 

But even after I lost 100 pounds, I had to accept that I was still me and I have found that this is a good thing. So my challenge is New Habits for a New Year in a good old you! 

How I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass or weight loss drugs with super easy calorie cuts

Hello again, friends of this blog on how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass surgery or weight loss drugs! I shared recently that I have gained some weight back and how I plan to lose weight again. I promised some super easy food swaps to cut calories for weight loss and here they are. 

On the show "My 600-lb Life" we see gastric bypass patients with morbid obesity losing weight with a 1200 calorie diet. This 1200 diet is how I lost 100 pounds too. I didn't follow a specific diet plan but used elements of several different schools of thought: food swaps, keto, low carbohydrate, no white food (potatoes, rice, pasta and white bread) and some intermittent fasting. 

"My 600-lb Life" explores extreme obesity but the 1200 calorie diet is not extreme. I maintain that with this diet, anyone can lose weight, like I did, without gastric bypass. It may not always be easy, what with temptation and cravings, but the 1200 calorie diet is simple. And even the cravings are factored into this eating plan. Following a 1200 calorie diet involves the simple step of identifying and stopping up calorie leaks. Here are 15 super easy food swaps to cut calories.

light bread or keto bread

Carb control tortillas (I just skip tortillas altogether and eat taco salad with no carbs)

light mayonnaise and less of it

dijon mustard (instead of mayo)

breadless sandwiches, tacos

peanut butter instead of PBJ sandwiches

lettuce wraps 

salads instead of sandwiches or bread based handhelds like tacos (this is one of the easiest food swaps to cut calories: just put fillings or sandwich toppings on lettuce, spinach or spring mix)

light butter or spray butter 

homemade sugar-free condiments with keto fat options (recipes to follow in upcoming post)

low salt lunchmeats (don't just count calories, count and reduce sodium too)

more seafood (ahi tuna, swordfish, shrimp, tuna, salmon

grilled and broiled instead of fried or deep fried 

cauliflower instead of potatoes

fruit with pulp and skin instead of juice

chicken instead of any other meat

nuts instead of salty snacks like chips and pretzels

These food swaps cut calories to maintain a 1200 calorie diet and still feel full. They are the basic eating plan for how I lost 100 pounds. 

How I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass and can do it again

 

Hello friends of this blog on how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass. Today I had the unpleasant experience of seeing myself in a candid photo. I realized that I have gained weight again and from the side, look pretty overweight. So before I lost weight, this would have sent me into a tailspin of depression. But now I know that I can lose weight again. 

Part of how I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass was to identify negative and hurtful self-image messages and to discover my own ability to lose weight and overcome obesity. Now, instead of defaulting to self-hatred and shame, I look at myself objectively. 

First, I acknowledge that the picture I saw was a side profile. I wearing a fitted hoodie and was bending over. This is going to show every bulge and also, bent over, makes me look more overweight than I would standing straight. Am I making excuses and in  denial over weight gain? Am I acting like the gastric bypass patients on "My 600-lb Life" who blind themselves to obesity and justify weight gain with falsehoods?

No, I'm just clarifying to myself part of why I look so much bigger so that I can avoid the negative self-image and stay focused and goal oriented. If you've ever struggled with low self esteem, you'll know how it can sabotage healthy choices. Low self-esteem causes depression which can lead to comfort eating of comfort food. Low self-esteem is actually be counter-productive to weight loss. 

That said, I've gained weight. Not 100 pounds, thank God. I'm may be overweight, according to some BMI scales. but that's debatable and I'm not obese. Are there reasons I've gained weight? Sure. My husband has been off on disability with a very painful shoulder injury. We've been eating more junk food and not been as active. BUT, these are reasons, not excuses. Here's what I have learned about reasons. To lose weight, I have to take the focus off from them and put it on the solution. Which is direct action.

So the next step, the easy part, is to do what I did when I lost 100 pounds (without gastric bypass or weight loss drugs): go back to the calorie cuts I made when I first lost weight. I might not even need to restart the 1200 calorie diet though I think it would be a good idea starting after Christmas. 

In the next post on how I lost 100 pounds and can do it again, I'll look at super simple calorie cuts to lose weight!

I'm praying you all have just the kind of holiday you need it to be <3 mar