Hello Gang Time & Adherence! After totally losing my sh*t last week, I've had a really solid week. I defied perio instructions and have been back to my normal eating since last weekend. Due to my orthodontics, I typically eat pretty soft foods anyway (and mostly cooked vegetables - but not blended!) so it doesn't seem like there were any ill effects.
1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes for lunches and dinners.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
Yes3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes6. Eliminate any added oil.
Yes7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.
Yes8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Yes9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes, I think. I still struggle sometimes to figure out exactly what I am feeling, and sometimes think I am overeating. And yet I need to eat to satiation – that is so key to me staying out of the Pleasure Trap. So this is an area I am still trying to figure out and balance.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
I am SO happy with my activity this week! I went to 4 exercise classes at the gym. The weather has been unseasonably warm, so beautiful for outdoor walking. And the sissy (stability
) bar for my new rebounder finally arrived yesterday, so I will be spending time this weekend getting started with beginner rebounding, which I am very excited about. (and I am rarely excited about exercise LOL!)
Victories, comments, concerns, questions: It feels SO GOOD to be eating my regular food again, and to be solidly back on track.
I deeply appreciate the suggestions and support from the team last week – you all really helped me get things back on track after the perio surgery debacle. Most importantly, I have started a file for all of the suggestions and ideas so that when a dental recovery diet is necessary in the future, I have the tools I need to create a much better plan. This situation drove home to me the importance of preparation, planning, and having on-plan foods at my fingertips. That has always been an important part of my success, and I need to accept that adaptations will be necessary from time to time, and that I CAN plan for them and navigate them successfully.
Jeff – I had my perio follow-up on Thursday, and she confirmed her expectation that I eat according to the written instructions she gave me for this type of procedure. Seems extreme, but that is her expectation. Not sure if she will be the perio of my future, but that is a whole ‘nother conversation.
The good news is that the damage on the scale for the off-plan adventures has been minimal. Most importantly, I am fully back on track, and my weight today is only 2 pounds over my goal weight range. So I feel confident that if I just keep doing what I am doing right now, I will be back inside my goal weight range in the not too distant future. And better armed for future disruptions to my normal eating patterns and food/meal/recipe preparations.
I hope everyone is having a strong and healthy week!