Friday, April 21, 2017

Am I Hungry? Probably Not...


This post is about Head Hunger and how it sabotages your weight loss.

I find posting about some of the problems I have and have had very satisfying and cleansing.  I know that I have an addiction to food and just because I had my stomach removed doesnt make everything all well and good now.  As a matter of fact, having bariatric surgery actually complicates the bad habits that I have put upon myself over the years.

Eating when you are not actually hungry is a problem.  If you eat when you are bored, happy, sad, mad, excited, or nervous, YOU have a problem.  I always used food, usually decadent food, as a crutch, which I'm sure that many of you who read this blog also have done.  Some people do drugs, some people drink alcohol, others go to God, I have always gone to food.  And because of that I have a hard time figuring out if I am actually hungry or not.

Head hunger is when you take your emotions, whatever they are, and your brain reads them as if you are hungry when in fact, you are not.  Even though I have lost a ton of weight, I still struggle with not knowing if what I am feeling is actual hunger or if its just a symptom of an emotion that I am having.  

I don't actually know that it feels like to be hungry.  As with most overweight people I do a lot of grazing during the day so therefore, I couldn't possibly actually BE hungry, right?  And like I said before, what exactly does "hunger" feel like anyway?

According to Wikipedia - Physical Hunger is:

The physical sensation of hunger is related to contractions of the stomach muscles. These contractions—sometimes called hunger pangs once they become severe—are believed to be triggered by high concentrations of the ghrelin hormone. The hormones Peptide YY and Leptin can have an opposite effect on the appetite, causing the sensation of being full. Ghrelin can be released if blood sugar levels get low—a condition that can result from long periods without eating. Stomach contractions from hunger can be especially severe and painful in children and young adults.
Hunger pangs can be made worse by irregular meals. People who can't afford to eat more than once a day sometimes refuse one-off additional meals, because if they don't eat at around the same time on the next days, they may suffer extra severe hunger pangs.[3] Older people may feel less violent stomach contractions when they get hungry, but still suffer the secondary effects resulting from low food intake: these include weakness, irritability and decreased concentration. Prolonged lack of adequate nutrition also causes increased susceptibility to disease and reduced ability for the body to self heal.[4][5]

The truth is, if you eat every 2 or 3 hours, chances are, you are not hungry.  If you have a number of snacks a day, you are not hungry.  If you just put things in your mouth without thinking about it, you are not hungry.  I know, I have never, or at least as far back as I can remember, ever have physical contractions in my stomach telling me I'm hungry.  I would love for just once, to know what that feeling is.

On the flip side of not knowing what the feeling of hunger is, I also did not know what the feeling of "full" felt like.  Of course, I do not have that problem anymore, but there have been occasions that I have eaten too much and that just makes me throw up now.  Before I had bariatric surgery though, I had no idea what it felt like to actually be sated.  

I believe these are a two for one problem with people that are overweight.  Not knowing if you are hungry and not knowing that you are full is just a recipe for disaster or at the very least, a lot of weight gain.

In ending, if you do not keep these two monsters, Hunger and being Sated in check, you will never ever keep your weight in check.  The constant grazing or binge eating will always catch up to you, even if you have had your stomach removed.

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Happy 420



Happy 420 to all those that Participate
May the Powers that be 
Finally realize
that Pot is not a gateway drug
Doctors pushing Oxycodone are!



Sunday, April 16, 2017

Happy Easter

To all my friends that celebrate..

May you find peace and compassion on this day.

Thursday, April 13, 2017

5 Things No One Told Me about BEFORE I had Bariatric Surgery!!!

This is my list of 5 things that no one told to me before I got Bariatric Surgery.

Anyone that has had Bariatric Surgery can tell you.  Most insurance companies will put you through the ringer and make you jump through hoops to even HAVE the surgery.  Even though, for many people, including myself, it will save your life.  They fight tooth and nail to let you have it.

With that said, I had to get cleared by no less than 6 specialist, such as Cardiologist, Pulmonologist, Psychologist, Endocrinologist, Gastroenterologist and Nutritionist.  But during NONE of these 6 or more months of appointments and testing, did any of them mention the 5 things in the list below.  So if you are thinking of having this operation or already have had it, keep these things in mind:

1. Constipation is a fact.  I do not think that I have met anyone that had NOT had a problem with Constipation.  I didn't have the problem at first, I suppose because just about everything you eat in the first 6 months to a year is either liquid or soft.  But after that year when I found that I could eat other foods in moderation, I became constipated.  I don't know why, it just happens...fiber helps a little, but I would say, just get used to it and try to get ahead of it.

2. You really will NEVER eat the same way again, EVER...and when I say that I mean NEVER.  Oh I can still eat most things, although not very much of anything really, but there will be foods that you just can not stomach anymore, no matter what you do or how you eat it, it will make you nauseous or just sit in your stomach like a rock.  And don't get pissed but some of the foods maybe things that you LOVED previously.  To this day, I still can not eat tough or dense cuts of beef or pork, cole slaw, more than a tbsp or 2 of Ice cream at a time, over greasy foods, anything that is too rich or dense will seriously put me in a B.A.D. mood.

3. If you have been overweight to obese for most of your life, like I was, Do NOT expect to all of a sudden become 125lb diva.  The truth is, the older you are, the harder it still will be to get to what they call your "goal" weight.  Unless you have a private chef and can work out 3 or 4 times a week for 4 or more hours a day, don't expect to reach your "goal".  Let's be realistic, You were fat, you got that way because you didn't eat right and didn't exercise.  Just because you had this operation and will probably lose a good amount of weight, don't expect miracles.  

4. Chances are, if you do not change the way you eat, you will gain weight back.  I know it's hard to stop doing what you have always done.  And sometimes your body just battles against you.  But it's the truth as much as I do not want to admit it, it happens to more people than anyone actually ever talks about.

5. Oh you never heard of Dumping Syndrome?  It happens to the best of us and without warning.  Its when food is passed through your sleeve of a stomach too quickly, usually this happens with things very high in sugar or carbohydrates or very fatty.  It usually happens a short while after you eat.  You will get nauseous, dizzy, anxious and probably get diarrhea.  Believe me you will remember it.   The few times I have gotten it, I was sick to my stomach for hours after.  Just remember to connect the dots, don't eat whatever it was that made you feel like that.

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

FAQ


On occasion, ok maybe more than just occasionally, I get email from people.  Some I know, many I don't.  They ask me questions about my world views and bariatric stuff.  I have also gotten some hate e-mail too from time to time, but I figure those are just people with nothing better to do and way too much time on their hands.

Yea SO WHAT that I am opinionated?  If we were having these conversations over a bottle of wine or cocktail, most likely they would be laughing at the world with me instead of taking me so seriously.  I swear people have lost their ability to laugh at stuff anymore.  But I digress...

Anyway, I have compiled a shortlist of some of the most common questions I have been asked.  Which I will answer, to the best of my ability.

Q.      Why don't you allow comments on your blog posts?
A.       Well, truth be told, I don't really want to moderate what other people                   have to say.  This is my blog, my world, my rules.  If you really want to
           make comments, I have a facebook page associated with this blog,
          you can comment there, or not, I really don't care.

Q.      You can be really nasty and opinionated, what's up with that?
A.       Have you ever heard of the Jersey Attitude?  I am not nasty, I am a
           Satirical Commentator.  Laugh once in awhile so your face don't crack!

Q.      How can you be an Atheist and an Ordained Minister?
A.      Do I really need to believe there is an Omnipotent Being living in the sky
          to be able to marry people and say eulogies?  Do I need to believe there is 
          a heaven and hell so I do right by my fellow human beings and other living           things?  Just because I do not have the threat of heaven and hell over my              head, doesnt me that I can not or will not administer kindness and                          compassion.

Q.        When you had your stomach removed, did it hurt?
A.        Its really different for everyone.  I felt like I was hit by a train for about 2                days.   I never really had any actual pain though.  The incisions were a
            little itchy but I don't think I took anything stronger than motrin when I
            got home.

So those are the questions that I am asked most and the standard answers that I give when I get them.  If you have any questions for me.  Please do not hesitate to email me via the contact form on the sidebar of this page or directly at: JadedMage@gmail.com