What do you do? What are your tricks?

As suggested by Kairk after my recent fall off the wagon during my pre-op diet, I am working to create an arsenal that will help me in the future.

What strategies do you use to keep you on track?

What temptations and emotional situations throw you off track and how do you navigate through those situations?

What do you do to not feel deprived?

Thanks for sharing.

When in the weight loss stage, I used the following strategies...

1. I can eat a (fill in the blank) - just not today.
2. Keep your eye on the prize - your goal weight...
3. To not feel deprived, I would have no sugar added fudgesicles if I craved sweets, or a low cal popcorn if I craved salty. You have to recognize trigger foods and stay away from them.
4. Good luck!

You might want to try starting a blog, either here or elsewhere on the 'net. Having someplace to write your feelings-- and analyze them later-- can be very helpful.

1. Kept a list of things to do instead of eat- then used it when I wanted to eat. Essentially- distract yourself.
2. For persistent cravings, I would tell myself that if I still wanted it tomorrow then Ok. Most times, the craving was gone the next day. Sometimes I would have it though if it persisted for more than 2 days.
3. Plan for emotional situations to lessen or eliminate emotional eating. For example, I have had a multitude of cancer biopsies/surgury/medical leave since vsg. These always trigger emotional eating. Sometimes the goal was simply to not gain.
4. Medicines causes issues for me. For example, when I have to take steroids my hunger goes absolutely nuts. So, if on steroids I eat only the lowest calorie options thus providing more of a window for eating overall.
5. Target your weak times of day and make a plan. I graze at night- a lot. I put my exercise regiment during my peak grazing hours.
6. Go to support group. It helps.
7. Weigh and log everything. No excuses. Make it a habit, it doesn't take long!
8. Rid the house of crap food. Keep it out of your work space.
9. Change your environment. I used to pick up fast food/ice cream on the way home from a favorite local- I changed the route that I drive.
10. Hunger. I don't know why, but some days I would just be super hungry. I could let it go, but if it persisted into day 2 I would eat until I was satisfied. This usually meant adding several hundred calories for that day, but not enough to gain. It worked great. Once "full" or satisfied, that persistent hunger would stop and I could totally return to plan.
11. Acid mimics hunger. Use a ppi if needed.

1. Don't keep junk carbs in your house or at work. That includes breads, crackers, and anything sweet or white and starchy. If they're not there, you can't eat them.

2. If you're don't mind telling people about your surgery, tell everyone you know. In social situations, where there are a lot of tasty but high-fat, high-calorie foods, you'll feel like everyone is watching what you eat. They won't say anything, but they'll be watching. And for me, that's enough by itself to keep me away from the buffet table. Thanks, buddies!

3. Learn to cook healthy dishes from other cuisines than our fat-laden American standards. Many cultures have long-standing healthy food traditions. New tastes help lessen the cravings for the familiar.

4. Drink a hot beverage that you enjoy -- coffee, teas of all kinds, lemon zest in boiling water. Collect a variety of your favorites so you won't get bored. A slow-sipped hot drink often gets me past the craving, especially when I eat my delicious vitamin gummies with it.

5. My biggest challenge was visiting my junk-food-addicted grandson. His Goldfish and ice cream sandwiches often found their way into my mouth after everyone else had gone to bed. Now I make sure to bring my own special goodies with me when I visit -- mangoes, hummus w/vegetables, smoked salmon, or other healthy goodies. I try to bring foods that I don't indulge in often (mangoes and smoked salmon are expensive!), so they hold special appeal for me.

6. Expect to live with some degree of deprivation. You wouldn't be human if you didn't feel at least a little bit deprived of your favorite junk carbs. Learn to live with the idea that not every meal can be like Thanksgiving dinner. Feeling a little hunger is a good and natural feeling.

7. Your cravings and feelings of deprivation will probably not be as bad as you imagine. Most of the time, the sleeve will keep you nicely filled with healthy food. Compared with my pre-op goo cravings, it was like going from 100% cravings to 5%. You won't be as hungry, and the I-want-goo-NOW! times will drop off considerably.

psychoticparrot

Keep in mind I'm on a posting spree since I haven't been here in a long while, and I'm 4.5 yrs PO.

Ways to keep on track:

1. Wait. Sometimes cravings pass if you give it a few. Early out- I took advantage of sugar free liquids a lot to occupy myself..
2. *disclaimer, not everyone will agree*- Eat a high fat/high protein meal- many times trying to go low carb AND low fat at the same time creates hunger. Granted, you need a deficit to lose, but fat=satiety, so some sardines and a hard boiled egg would fill me up.. heck, for the first year a deviled egg with a little mayo did the trick! Just take advantage as much as you can with lower cal to a point.
3. Keep a protein snack on you at all times- I STILL do this- I keep an Ostrim meat snack in the bottom of my purse- eat it and replace it every couple months. High protein, salty and satisfies.
4. Dark chocolate. REALLY dark, nothing less than 70%, preferably 80-85%. One square, low carb.. satisfies.. same for a decent handful of almonds or macnuts.
5. To keep from feeling deprived: don't eat low fat anything if you can help it.. granted this is harder for new post-ops, but it's (IMO) better to eat 3-4 oz of full fat Greek yog (hard to find!) than eat 8oz of non-fat.. yes, you may need to add some unflavored protein to boost it to the level you need- but fat is essential.. carbs are not.
6. Plan for your own personal habits.. do you typically not feel hungry till after noon? Fine, don't eat till after noon.. plan your meals around what you know YOUR habits are. I logged everything for the year it took me to reach my goal, then for a further six months after.. At this point (4.5 yrs)- I don't log/plan anymore, but my capacity and protein/fat forward intake keeps me fairly in line. I still typically don't really eat till after noon.
7. Eat as "clean" as you can manage- meaning, eat as little processed stuff- even minimally processed.. eat as much whole real food/meat/fat/veggies as possible.. the less processed stuff you eat- the lower cravings tend to be- this includes so called "bariatric friendly" protein bars and such.. those should be seen as slightly better candy bars and treated as such.

Thank you all for sharing. I am saving all of these ideas!

Strategies to stay on track (general)

1. DO NOT TRACK FAT GRAMS! Track your protein, carbs, and calories. Do not worry about fats. Fats are essential parts of a human's dietary needs. YOU NEED FAT ESPECIALLY IF GOING LOW CARB. Going low carb and low fat can end up being a recipe for disaster.
2. Eat foods you ENJOY! Don't force yourself to eat foods you really don't like because you think you should. I don't really like fish, but ate it early out because I could easily eat the mild white fish without issue. I didn't like it much and gave it up by month three. Now I eat a lot of chicken and beef and Greek Yogurt and nuts and cheese and eggs. I love those foods and really don't tire of them.
3. I planned out my breakfast, snacks and lunch the night before, but I always let my "appetite" dictate my dinner.
4. I use spices liberally. Food needs to taste good to be satisfying - at least it does for me.
5. EAT HIGH QUALITY FOODS - grass fed beef and butter, organic meats and cheeses and vegetables (and later on fruits). Quality becomes super important when you can only eat a very little bit.

Situations

1. Free Food - ugh... that's still the worst for me. Free food is the food that is available in the staff room at school or the party foods at social gatherings. I had/have a hard time with those situations. They were easy early out, but as my sleeve matured and I was thin I took to nibbling at those events again. I had to really stop myself and now I eat before going to a party - boy does that help.
2. Going to the movies - I am not the popcorn kid, but my partner is! He literally cannot go to the movies without getting a large buttered popcorn. That is really hard for me. I bring beef jerky and nuts to eat instead.
3. Restaurants - check the menu out online and decide ahead of time, if you can. Takes away the in the moment temptation to order "off plan"
4. Emotional upset - doesn't matter what kind, when I get stressed, anxious, angry, worried, etc.... my instinct is to eat crap to self soothe and medicate. Now instead I remind myself that food will not solve the problem, but only make me feel worse and add to my upset.

Deprivation

1. Eat high quality, flavorful foods.
2. Try something new, but on plan at least once a week.
3. "I am allowed to eat whatever I want" is my mantra, but I always follow it with, ", but I am choosing not to eat such and such today. If I want to eat it tomorrow, no problem."

I also find that journaling helps a great deal. I am able to sort through things and get them out of my head. That helps me stay focused and on track in the food department.