Much needed update

I need to post more often.  Not that there's that much to say, but because it keeps me honest.

I'm finding that I'm slipping into the old habits.  I'm drinking fluids when I'm eating.  That's a big no-no.  Need to fill that pouch with good food and let it sit in there and have the nutrients absorb.  Will stay fuller longer.  If I drink when I eat, then the pouch fills with food and water and leaves the pouch faster.  That means I get hungry more often and not enough nutrients are absorbed.

I'm also eating more carbs than I want to.  No, I'm not eating sweets or refined carbs so much, but I'm eating breads and crackers.  Granted, I'm only eating one piece of bread at a sitting or maybe 8 crackers, but still.  I told myself I wasn't going to eat that so soon after surgery.  My body doesn't seem to have a problem with it.  That's good and bad.  Sometimes I crave a piece of toast, so I eat it.  I feel I'm being smart about eating breads, but I'm down on myself for eating them like I have been – more than one serving in a day.

I have no idea how many calories I eat in a day because I don't count calories.  One day I wrote down everything I ate and it was well under 1000 calories for the entire day.  Yay me.  I'm eating my protein and not snacking.  I do need to get back into eating more veggies since I'm not juicing or making smoothies like I was before. 

I've really just started eating normal everyday food.  I don't spaz out because the hotdog came on a bun or that I ate 2 bites of the bun.  Not worried so much about the salad dressing having too much sugar in it because I never, ever eat the whole salad anyways.  I just can't eat that much yet.  I've been trying very hard to keep the sugar content less than 5 grams per serving.  That keeps me on track because sugar IS my crack.  I know it's my drug and I need to stay away from it as much as possible.

On the up side, I've lost 5 lbs in the past 10 days.  That's very cool.  I would weigh myself on non-trash days and found I was between 238 and 240 most of the time.  Right before we left for vacation on the 4th, I weighed myself and it said 240.  The scale this morning said 235.7.  Wow, 5 more pounds and I'll be out of the 230's already. 

Two things that bother me right now are:

1. I'm disconnecting when I eat.  I'm not paying attention to the food and how much I'm eating when I eat.  I'm busy talking or doing the forbidden "multitasking".  I need to stay connected to the food so I don't overeat and get that sudden "OMG I've eaten way too much and now the food bomb in my pouch is going to explode!" feeling.
2. Diarrhea.   Maybe not so much it's diarrhea, but loose stools.  I know this is probably TMI, but I've got to report it to me and the doctor.  I've had it since surgery and that's over 2 months now.  Will I always have loose stools?  Is it healthy?  Is it ok, even? 

I've set a goal and I hope it's not too grandiose.  I'd like to be under 200 by Christmas.  That's 35 lbs in 102 days.  I'm going to start exercising regularly now.  Up until now, it's been just walking whenever I could, but now I'll get back to the gym and take those water aerobics classes.  That's a start.  I'll also get on the recumbent bike at home and use that for a little more calorie burning.  I heard this morning at work that the gals want to walk at lunch time.  I'll add that in a few days a week if I feel like it.  I won't add too many changes at one time because then I'll feel overwhelmed and I'll just chuck the whole shebang. 

Baby steps, right?