Eat something in the morning- anything. When yo go too long without eating your metabolism drops. After going 12 hours without eating your metabolism can drop by as much as 40%.
When you wake up make it a PRIORITY to eat something. A protein is best- hard boiled egg, yogurt, cheese, etc. A protein + carbohydrate is better. High fiber cereal mixed with yogurt, oatmeal + milk, etc. Cheese + apple , etc
Dont be afraid of protein or meal replacement bars. Just watch for calorie intake.

I am so immersed in Christmas stuff I never really did post about my last visit with Dr. Sean Wharton at the Canadian Bariatric Clinic in Burlington.
I spent 30 seconds- maybe less with Derek. You basically weighed me and punched something in computer. No discussion of any kind. He must have been late for his lunch . I am sorry to say this- but I don’t have a lot of confidence in his abilities.. he does seem a bit dazed and out of his element. He is not some I would confide

Dr. Wharton was his usual enthusiastic self. He is quite remarkable and passionate. I wonder what his motivation his in helping treat obesity- you just can’t fake that kind of passion.
We chatted for quite a while about the Meridia- I did ask if I could get some sleeping pills to help get some sleep- answer was resounding no. He said it could cause more problems then it would solve and give it a bit more time and the sleep issues might go away on their own, I had noticed I am not waking up so early any more. Can’t GET to sleep by can stay asleep Before I was getting to sleep at 3/4/5 am and wide awake at 7-8. No I can easily sleep until 10-ish.

Last couple of weeks have actually been better and sleep has been easier. So I am glad I didn’t go with any kind of a sleep aid. He did say that Melatonin was okay to try. I though I had some in medicine cabinet but I must have tossed.

Dr. Wharton was also quite encouraging about my weight loss. I have been quite down. I was on such a roll and really stagnated. 3 weeks ago i weighed in at 284 and later that night jean felt snug…. next morning I weighed 292. I do NOT know how that happened so quickly. The weight didn;t come off easily, either. I thought it might be a temporary fluctuation.. but nope.
So I am at 286 today. Lost 9 pounds in 6 weeks. I know I am on track and Dr. Wharton wants you to lose about a pound a week but the pounds were just MELTING away before :(

He also recommended I try the Detour bars and gave me sample of Boost liquid meal replacement for Diabetics to try.. ( yuk!)
He suggested increasing or make sure I get enough protein and that was key to cravings.
I admit I have been bad with the protein. The bars help A LOT.

Drink water.
Every one knows that your supposed to drink 6-8 8 oz. glasses of water a day. If you are significantly overweight or obese you need to drink more. Drinking lots of water (and don’t over do it! ) will help flush out all the toxins and crap your body is trying to get rid of while you are losing weight.

VitaSoy Peppermint Chocolate Soy Milk- this taste pretty good! You can have warm or cold.

Sugar-Free Gingerbread Syrup from Starbucks. Add this to warm or hot milk. DELICIOUS !

Baked Apple- put peeled (or not) . cored apple in small microwavable bowl, put in about tsp of water. Use sweetener if you must- tsp of brown sugar, syrup, splenda, etc, zap for 2 mins. I serve with 1/2 frozen vanilla yogurt. To increase fiber you can also sprink on some granola.

Angel Food Cake

I In know there are others- i will add them as i thnk of them.. If you have some to add- please do!

I saw Dr. Sean Wharton this week at the Canadian Bariatric Center – one of the things we discussed was food cravings/feeling full and getting enough protein. I am pretty much vegetarian except for the odd bit of chicken and find it hard to get enough protein.
I have been eating ALOT of protein and meal replacement bars- the one I like are from Wal-Mart, the Equate Chocolate Peanut caramel bar and Pria bar. They are about 250 calories in one bar. Dr. Wharton told me his patients like the Detour bar- and he liked it because it had less sugar and about half the carbs as other bars- and they were good price. He also gave me a sample of Boost “diabetic” meal replacement drink to try .. which I really didn’t like.

At a friends house this week we ha these- oh my god are they good! I am making them tonight in honour of Hanukkah and the Festival of Lights. Normally you would make food loaded with fat- donuts, latkes, etc.

How I have made them in the past is BAKED them in the oven. Yes- you heard right. Take your usual latke recipe ( and try using 2 egg whites instead of 1 egg for even less fat) and putting a bit of oil on a cookie sheet.. heat a little, than spoon on latke/potato pancake batter. Do NOT make them too big! ( Maximum 3″ in diameter). Cook for about 7 mins or so a side- keep an eye on these so they don’t burn.

Serve with low fat our cream or applesauce or both.

My last visit to the Canadian Bariatric clinic was mid October- and when I was there is it was just for stress test, so i haven’t really talked to anyone for about 6 weeks. i think this is WAY too long. Too much time to go without any support or encouragement.
I got into a real funk over the weekend and saw the scales go all over the place. Was at 284- a record low- Sunday morning and wearing those Lands End size 22 jeans and almost wore them out but thought they wouldn’t be that comfortable on a long drive. The yesterday I put them on and felt like a giant sausage about to BLOW and went on scales and it read a DEPRESSING 291. So was a 7 lb increase in 24 hours?? Not sure how that happened.
So no pictures for right now until I am at 285.

Going to the Canadian Bariactric clinic later this week. Not suyre what they can do for me- I pretty much KNOW what is going on:
- not keeping proper daily food journals ( okay- I have stepped this up last few days
- Not eating first thing in the morning. I was religious about this up until recentely.. I get up and get a tea and sit at PC for a bit and then next thing i know an hour has gone by. I did bring an apple with me last couple of times and being more conscientious of it.
- eating food that I know will set me in a tail spin, I made the kids some Advent Calendars- suing these Hershey kisses and other Candy and I have been grabbing a chocolate kiss here and there the last couple of days- maybe 5 or 6 in last 4 days .. not a big deal but it makes it harder to turn down other foods. I have FORCED myself not to buy those Almond Meringues at Costco that only have 30 calories. I LIE to myself that i will not eat half the box in one day.. So I just do not buy.
- Sloppy with food counts. Like eating 90 grams protein and 30 grams protein. I have REALLY gone off meat and can’t seem to make it up other ways. I normally only eat chicken and no red meat but even chicken hard. I am relying heavily on meal Replacement bars to get protein. I will have to make a point of making protein shakes with fruit in the mornings from now on.

Any words of encouragement from you guys would be great!