I need everyones help please

Hi everyone-well i am down 110 pounds as of yesterday when I posted but as of 2 weeks ago I cant seem to stay on track re my eating-what I mean is I have gone from eating all protein and very little healthy carbs to incorporating more healthy carbs and now I find myself having my old cravings for sweet stuff-When I crave something sweet I have only bought sugar free which tastes just as good to me however I want something everyday-I dont understand this and since I still have 30 more pounds to lose I dont want to hinder losing more weight due to these cravings-if anyone has any good advice or ideas on how to get back on track I would really appreciate hearing from you because I am kind of scared that my weight loss will stop if I dont get a hold of whats going on. The good news is- I am still exercising 45 min per day with cardio and doing weights 3x per week but I feel my eating needs to improve-any examples of your daily regimen would help-thanks for listening Lori

Lori, Just my thoughts on this subject....I didn't have the surgery to be on a "diet" the rest of my life. I want some good stuff too. However, I feel for you. It sounds to me like you are making good choices because you said you are eating the sugar free stuff! If it is sugar free you are making a better choice. I have tried some things (wrong choices for me, but it has only been a few times in 6 months) and in moderation , we shouldn't feel bad for doing it. We are not perfect and it is normal to want things. Now we are just being more sensable and making better choices. Try not to worry, your body will continue to lose as long as you exercise and make mostly good decisions. I too am scared because I have had a rough time with getting in my exercise.....My kids finished school in June 15??? I think and then we had a graduation/party to prepare for and that is now over and it was extremely hot here so I have not been exercising at all. (I was walking faithfully prior to that) I went out the other day and bought 5 pound weights and a pilates ball with arm things to stretch with and I have an ablounger that I plan on using as soon as I finish typing this to you because it has kicked me in the pants(your fears brought out mine) Good luck and try to stay positive! ~~hugs and well wishes~~ Chris

I have a sweet craving every once in awhile, especially around that time of the month or just before. I have sf pudding, that takes care of it, at only 60 calories. Or I have a carb control yogart. We are going to have cravings, the worse thing you can do is not try to satisfy it. If you try eating something else, you will find you eat more. I noticed in another post that there was worry about calories? How many are you eating? Are you at 2000 a day? If not, and I don't know any of us who can eat that much if we make the right choices, then having a sf desert each day wont hurt anything. Carbs can cause cravings, although I haven't found that (sometimes the only thing I can find in catering to eat is a piece of whole wheat bread). We eat less and absorb less. As long as we don't pu**** and stretch our pouch, eat till we are sick, eat alot of sugar and fat, then we will reach our goal. This is true even if we don't exercise. The only thing that will be different is it might take a small amount of time longer. So don't worry about the cravings. You are now satisfying them with sf choices, which is great. It is not a wrong choice, it is a good choice. If we had eaten that way before, we would never have needed the surgery. I found the sf pudding or yogart is less sugar than fruit. I don't eat alot of fruit, sugar will slow our loss, even if it is natural sugar. SF stuff wont do that. So for me, the sf stuff, like popcycles, hard candies, yogart, pudding, are a better choice than fruit. I am down over 70 lbs in 7 months. I have about 44 lbs or less to go, I am a light weight and also a proximal, so my loss is a little slower than others. Oh one more thing, are you still loosing 5% of your weight each month eating for these cravings? If so, then you are doing everything right. Remember as you get to goal, at 5% loss a month, it can trickle down to only a couple of poinds a month. It will slow down and seem to stop, but it isn't. You might only loose a half pound the last few months to get to goal. As long as you arent' perm. gaining weight, we all fluxuate each month, then you are fine.

I find walking helps. I live in Sarasota and I know how hot it is in Florida right now. Eating at night seems to be a problem for me. I buy SF popcicles and eat them. I also drink Protein shakes and they are very sweet. I also have a eating cut off time. I don't eat after 8pm no matter what. Walking seems to take my cravings away. I also try to drink a lot of water. I walk after the sun goes down for a about an hour. I excerise earlier in the day. I walk to enjoy the feeling of being able to walk and enjoy the outdoors. If it is too hot to walk I write in my journal or take a nice bath. Sometimes I give into the cravings though and eat the SF stuff. I limit the amount I eat though. It still is high in calories. I have lost 106lbs and have about 70 more to go. I don't want short term cravings to interfer with my long term goals so I try to remember that the cravings will go away. I have also started going to OA meetings again to remind myself that I am an emotional eater. It helps to have all the support I can get. Good Luck!! Talking about it helps.... Thanks Janet

One more thing I do is I get out the house and go to the book store and get a cup of decaf coffee. I like to get 1/2 no fat milk and 1/2 coffee that way it is like a real treat to me. If I have eating all my protein that day and am really not hungry this satisfies my cravings...