Fighting bad habits

has anyone been almost or has been 4 months post op and find they're fighting those same bad habits that led you to wls? I am struggling hard, sweet tooth and all. Lost 65lbs so far and I know wl stalls are from me snacking. Any and all suggestions greatly appreciated.?

I had to learn the hard way - years after WLS that there's no easy solution. However, I discovered Overeaters anonymous which has been a miracle in my life - not just in losing the regain but all areas of my life. Maybe check it out?

I took a class called Mindful Eating.  I needed help to identify and reprogram some of my eating.  I was about 3-4 months out - surgery was far enough in the past to be feeling "normal" and my old normal habits were resurfacing. Try a bunch of things until you find what works for you.  Please try a different path than the one you are starting to go down.

Sooner or later, we all fight our bad habits. There's really not a universal solution. We have a lot of different demons, and have to fight them in different ways. 

What sort of specific issues are you struggling with?

I'm about four months out, and I'm struggling with this issue as well.  I find myself craving bad foods ALL THE TIME and it's a struggle to not snack throughout the day.  There are days when I cave and eat something that I shouldn't (e.g. popcorn, a piece of candy, etc.) which I kick myself for because I know I'm in the 6 month honeymoon period and I feel like I'm sabotaging myself.  

I am losing weight each week, so obviously I'm not sabotaging myself too drastically, but I too, am surprised to find myself with this issue four months out and would appreciate learning how others found a way to overcome this struggle.  Any advice or tips would be much appreciated!

At first you will lose weight because your surgery keeps your body from absorbing the food that you eat.  That malabsorption goes away and then you only continue to lose and maintain loss because of the good eating habits that you follow. 

I learned to substitute healthy versions of what I was craving.  A Quest Protein bar instead of a candy bar.  A muffin in a mug instead of a cupcake, Quest or Kay's Natural chips instead of potato chips or Doritos, protein shake ice cream instead of real ice cream, cauliflower instead of potatoes.

It took time and effort, but it got me to goal and has kept me there for over seven years.  Eggface has some wonderful recipes on her site and so does http://www.bariatricfoodie.com/.

I decided from day one that I was in this for life and needed to make changes that I could live with.  It was not a diet that I would follow for a while and then go back to my old foods.  I am at the place where I prefer my healthy substitutes. 

Tell me more about this "muffin in a mug"

The basic recipe is

1/3 cup ground flaxseed

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon Splenda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Spray a large mug or cereal bowl with non-stick spray, mix everything together in the mug with a fork and microwave for one minute on high. 

From that I made different muffins every day.  Some examples:

Blueberry: Some blueberries with a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Apple:  Add diced apple

Brownie:  Add one tablespoon cocoa, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and leave out the cinnamon

Garlic Cheese:  Add some grated cheddar and garlic powder and leave out Splenda and cinnamon

Lemon Poppyseed:  Replace vanilla with lemon extract and sprinkle with poppyseed

Pumpkin:  Add a tablespoon of canned pumpkin

These are not low calorie.  Usually 1/2 of one filled me up and counted as a meal.  I did not make them for the family, they were my treats.  They kept me from eating any form of breads or flour during my weight loss phase and the flaxseed kept me quite regular.  They are quick, and easy and can be modified to whatever you feel like eating that day.

They are an old Atkins recipe.

For the Brownie Version:

Calories - 371

Fat - 17

Carbs - 19

Protein - 16

Fiber - 15

Sugar - 1

 

 

I think about 4 months out I started wanting to venture back into old favorite foods.  At the same time I started logging every bite I take into myfitnesspal, this has tremendously helped to keep me accountable!  If I eat a piece of chocolate I log it, if I have 5 chips I log it!  I keep my calories low, sugar low, fat low, carbs low and protein high, so I do enjoy a bite of this or that but what keeps me from going hog wild is knowing I will have to account for every morsel that goes into my body. I heard WLSer say if you are going to lie to yourself on myfitnesspal there is no reason to log your food at all, so if I eat french fry I account for it.  I think the accounting of my food has been one of the most significant success tools I have used so far, it's like balancing your check book each day.

I have never been a person who ever bothered to balance my check book, I would just look at my account every other day and make sure it seemed right.  But now I am addicted to myfitnesspal it really makes it as simple as possible to track your food.  Just a thought, not sure if you are doing this already.  Even when i am hungry and feeling snacky, knowing where I am calorie wise influences what I eat next or if anything.