Never stop using the calorie counter app!

It was clear that after the surgery you were using some app to count how many calories or protein you were consuming. You loved checking how much weight you lost every week, the number kept crawling down and it felt great. Some plateaus here and there, but you reached your goal and maybe got even a little lower than you thought it was possible. So as the numbers started to be steady, it was not so important anymore to keep tracking everything. Actually, it got a little boring.

Maybe you kept using the app the whole first year, if you are a little obsessive person, the second year as well. But, as I said, keep seeing the same numbers all the time, it is boring. So before you know it, you log your weight or your food intake once a week, just to keep things going at the bare minimum, and then you forget about it altogether. You think you don’t need it anymore. You learned how to eat, what is good for you, and what you should not be eating and that is. 

You can’t be more wrong. It is exactly two years from the surgery when you start tolerating the food much better, you can eat a little more, and before you realize it, you are 5 kilos heavier. It is the famous regain after the surgery. Very few people are spared and it never happens to them. If you stopped using the calorie counter you are almost doomed. Sorry to tell you. (yes, I am the guilty one as well)

I was so sure that I had things under control, that I was eating right and in the right amounts, that it was all fine, and that I didn’t have to be worried. (Note to myself: silly goose, never trust yourself around food!) It was after winter, when I took out my summer clothes, tank tops, and dresses, when I realized that they were not small, I couldn’t say that, but a little smaller than they were last summer. WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED HERE???

I have to admit, I panicked a little. I tried on everything and it was all the same. Not small, not too tight, but it used to be better. I remembered the moment I was standing in front of the scales. It was a mix of scared to death, disgusted, anxious. I knew what I was going to find… I didn’t want to step on. I did. And the result was merciless. 4,8 kilos more/10,5 pounds. Oh no! How did this happen???

Easy. It was winter, I was wearing sweaters, hoodies, sweat pants and loose pajamas… you don’t even notice that something is not as it is supposed to be. You eat more comforting warm foods, a little bread here, pasta there, and movie night with a slice of pizza (or two). It adds together and boom! The ticking bomb is waiting for you in summer when you want to put on the cute tight dress.

Now what??? Ok, 10 pounds is not the end of the world, but beep beep, I had them lost, I thought forever, and they came back. I was caught red-handed. I never thought this was going to happen to me. Haha! It did. Ok… so back to basics. It is the only thing that can save me. After 2,5 years, this won’t be the same easy as before. I am sure about it. But is there any other way around? I seriously doubt it. 

If you are not doing what you are supposed to be doing, the weight will start crawling back. Look at me! I was silly and super sure about myself, and this is what happened to me. Luckily I caught it at the very beginning and I still can do something about it and revert it.

I wish I was more prepared, that somebody had told me to be careful, not too confident. We are animals of habits. And yes, old habits die hard. If you have been doing something for decades, you won’t stop doing it just like that. When the acute phase of losing after the surgery is over, the old habits will start crawling back again. Slowly but they will. And before you know it, you are eating again the same way you used to and the deadly spiral is swallowing you again. 

I opened my calorie counter, and ops, my last log was almost a year ago (hmm, this is not good). I remembered what I had eaten the day before and logged it. Holly Molly! Noooo… this can’t be true. … It is. I am not eating as right as I thought, I am not eating enough protein, again, and I am eating way more carbs than I should. No wonder the weight is piling up. Hmmm… numbers don’t lie. Aha moment…

The thing is that if you don’t go and you don’t plan your meals, you slowly start adjusting to your partner, kids, and friends, you are not as careful as before and you slip out of the required balance very easily. That was my problem. I was not eating sugar or added sugar, I simply started to be a little lazy, and instead of monitoring everything like in the beginning, I started to eat a little here and there, binge things I shouldn’t be eating, a snack here, bite there… it looked so innocent. But it matters! Normal size plate is your archenemy. Where is your smaller one, by the way? Aha!

Everything that goes in counts. There are no exceptions. No calories that don’t count. Everything matters. I have to go back to cooking for myself, have my boxes in the fridge, use the kitchen scales, and measure everything. I realized that if I think it was 20 grams it looks somehow, it was more like 30 grams in reality. Which means much more than it was supposed to be and consequently many more calories than expected.

See, the brain has its wonderful plasticity, we can learn many new things, but the old ways are there like highways. You can hardly rely on your busy brain that will prefer some bumpy country road that was built only recently, when it has a 5-lane highway that it has used to use for decades. 

Ok, lesson learned! Not the hardest way possible, but it was a good slap in the face. I won’t lie. I have to admit that had I known that it is so easy to get sidetracked, I would have been much more careful. I didn’t know it. Luckily, I caught this slip relatively early and I can still do something with it and get back on track. After two weeks of eating right, like really right, all numbers fit, I drink my water, I reach my protein goal, I keep carbs under 60 grams, and the pesky weight started to move down again. Uff… I am not f.cked up for life.

But if I can help you only by reminding you that any calorie counter app is your best friend for life, I would be a happy puppy. No need to make the same mistake and suffer the consequences. It is one thing to gain two pounds because of our monthly cycle and retaining some weight, and gaining 10 pounds of fat. Let’s make these things very clear.

I know firsthand that it is annoying to keep measuring and weighing everything all the time. It is killing you to have your extra funny small plates, the kitchen scales are messing up while cleaning your kitchen and your fridge has a special shelf with a small airtight container with your meal prep.

The thing is, that the surgery is only a tool. It doesn’t mean that once you had the surgery you are cured of your obesity. It is definitely not like that. 

Our problems with food are there forever, and if we are not careful, they will get us. They are waiting, they are patient. And more than willing to attack when we are the weakest, when life happens, when, instead of support, all the bad habits mess us up again and lead us where we used to be.

The unfortunate thing is that an alcoholic can decide not to drink any more alcohol ever in his life, the same is with a drug addict. For us, it is the most difficult. We can never decide not to eat anything again. We have to learn to live with our “enemy”.

Be strong, have your app, your scales, your containers, and your small plate. They are here not to punish you but to help you and keep you on track. Don’t lie to them, they are your friends. Anything you eat, log in. Some days may be worse, but some will be great. We are humans and we slip sometimes. Just don’t let a bad day become a bad week, and a bad week a bad month. Because it is exactly where the problem spirals out of control. And if you need help, talk to a specialist. They are here for us. They know what we are going through. Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness. XOXO