For those of us who are not only overweight but also emotional eaters, we need to find a way of rewarding ourselves and getting a “feel good” feeling from something other than food.  I would guess that most people like me went through a rough patch in their early lives when food rewards made us feel better and we’ve never been able to get past that.

So what can we do?  What reward system would give us a pat on the back in the same way that food has historically done for us?  The only difference would be no guilt or remorse for overeating at the end.

1. Give  yourself a compliment.  Go ahead, go to the mirror and look at yourself and give yourself a compliment.  Maybe you’ve been kind to someone today.  Maybe you really like the arch of your eyebrows.  Maybe you like the way you smile.  There’s always something about us to be complimented on.
2. Get some sticky notes and write a message that’s meaningful to you and stick it to the fridge or the bathroom mirror.   For instance; “I have gone 2 days without binge eating!”
3. Pamper yourself.  I know we’re all really busy with our lives and there’s never enough time to take care of ourselves properly but today, just do it.  Put yourself first.  Don’t mow the lawn.  Don’t go shopping.  Don’t do anything that you don’t feel like doing.  It’s a great buzz to do this every once in a while.  You will feel special through and through.
4. Set small goals for your weight loss.  When you reach one — reward yourself.  I use a piggy bank and when I’ve lost a kilo (2.2 lbs) I put in $5.   What will I do with it?  I have no idea but just knowing it’s there and I got it by losing weight makes me feel good.
5. Start a new hobby.  Sure, none of us have time for that but what’s the real reason you wouldn’t do it?  You feel that you “should” spend your time doing for others.  That’s crap!  I’m guilty of that too but I’m trying to wean myself from it.  You don’t have to live for your new hobby but take some time every day to do something you enjoy.  Golf, tennis, knitting, cards, gardening – you name it.  Permit yourself some time during every day to your hobby.  It might be as little as making a date for tennis.

That’s my thoughts for the day.  Do you have ways to reward yourself that you’d like to share with others.  I know I’m not the only emotional eater out there.

I got up this morning and as we all do from time to time, I thought I’d try on some clothes that I couldn’t wear to see how many months I think it will be before I get wear them again.  So first I tried on a pair of brand new size 16 pants and they were big!!!  I’ve been wearing my old big clothes so it’s hard to tell that you’re getting smaller.  I was quite stoked that the lapband is still working because I thought after my recent fill that I was still eating too much.  The numbers are going down slowly on the scales.

Then I thought, I’ve got 2 pair of size 12/14 jeans on the shelf in the closet, I’ll see how long it will take to get into those.  I know, I know..  brave of me but guess what??

I’m wearing them now !

I flew out of the bedroom and danced around for my husband who said, “Just what ARE you doing?”

“Look, what do you think??” I said eagerly.

“You still have scars on your tummy?” he said.

“Uhhh… no, the jeans, what do you think of the jeans?”

“They’re ok, but jeans are jeans,” he said while still looking at me funny.

Finally I blurted out, “They’re size 12/14!!!”

Ahhh.. the lightbulb went off and he told me how proud he was of me and that before I knew it I’d be wearing smaller clothes.  There’s a reason I picked him. He’s the best moral support I could ever find.  He loves me no matter what size I am and if I’m happy, he’s thrilled.

I checked in with my son and he hasn’t had the fill he needed so he’s putting weight back on.  He’s pretty much avoiding me because he knows he should make time to have it done.  I suspect he spent the money I sent for his yearly fills on household bills but I haven’t confirmed that yet.  Fingers crossed that he’ll get the fill and start losing again.

Slowwwwwwwly…

I decided to do a juice fast for a few days to get my gastric band pouch back into shape.  I don’t know that it was stretched but I decided that having only fresh squeezed vegetable and fruit juice for a few days would not only fix it if it was stretched but it would also dampen my appetite a bit.  I think I mentioned that I’ve never had a fill in my gastric band so I don’t have my restriction.  I can pretty much eat anything I want.  That will be fixed when I get my first fill in November.

The fast lasted 3 days and the first day was a bit difficult but after that I wasn’t hungry at all.  The funniest thing was the loss of fluid weight on day 2.  I got on the scales and I lost 2 kilograms.. more than 4 pounds!  No wonder my rings were getting tight.   I’ve now settled in for the long haul of taking off the last 30 pounds.

I need to start exercising.  I have been so out of shape after being sick and having the surgery and then having the superbug infection that I haven’t felt like doing a lot other than working and keeping us cleanish.  (I say cleanish because there are still days you could plant tomatoes in the mud that the puppy brings in – give me summer, please)  I’m going to start on the treadmill this afternoon and after a couple of days of that I’ll try walking the hills around here.  Before I got sick I was walking nearly an hour up and down hills and losing weight.  I’m ready to feel that good again.