Why am I doiong this?????

Hi guys, I have to confess about how bad I have been doing....I can't stop eating bad foods...like WHITE BREAD and that new C2 coke (half the sugar)....Oh my God!!!!....I can eat more then before and I am so scared that I am going to screw things up for myself again...meaning gain all of my weight again....my ideal weight should be 134 I am 5'4 and right now I am stuck on 150lbs - 152lbs or sometimes I will go down to 149 but the scale won't move beyond that and I know it's me screwing things up....I am so scared...I feel like crying right now....I do have a lot of stress in my life right now and I am also ovulating...I am getting all these urges to have more and more sweet stuff....Please I need some encouragement from you guys....please tell me I can do this....please tell me I can make it to my ideal goal weight....give me some tips on how to get there....what's funny is that I know what I have to do but yet manage to do the opposite....somebody yell at me and set me straight.... Edna 255/150/???

ooo Edna, I know exactly how you feel. I just was going through that. I dont know if you saw my previous posts. I had gained 5 pounds and the week before was just eating cookies and bad bad foods. I was really really scared and the urges were horrifying!!! Its the sugar in our systems. Stop that Coke!!! the sugar is what is doing it to you and being close to that time of the month....Man for me that made my cravings 100 times worse!!! I have been really really struggling. I am really craving right now for something but I am not going to cave in! its sooo hard and will always be a struggle. I started drinking more water. I drink 32 oz with a mint tea bag and splenda (cant drink plain water ick) and then I have my isopure in a bottle drink and my vitamins that always helps to be on track with the water and vitaimns and such. If I skip my vitamins I start to crave things but just never know what. I will eat something and that wouldnt satisfy me. But thats also the sugar in our systems. Its evil I tell you! hang in there you are no failure! look at how far you have come! We all get these craving demons they are awful. Try to cut out all the sugar out of your diet. I know its super hard but try your best! Try your best to go back to the basics. I started to eat a little mashed potatoes and chili (foods from when I was first out of surgery) and it seemed to really help Its hard but you can do it!!!! We are here for you!!! (((hugs))) Elizabeth M

I know how you feel , I am a school lunchroom manager and everybody that comes by the kitchen brings us sweet stuff !! I've been eating it too !!!! I'm totally out of control !!! I need your support and prayers. School is out Thurs. and I'm praying I can get back on track !! I'm not going anywhere to eat except out to a restaurant while we're out for Christmas and besides when I'm with my family I'll do right. We can do this together. Judy

Elizabeth is so right about Sugar! WHY are you drinking C2?? Step away from the can! Sugar makes you crash, which makes you feel worse, weakens your resolve, and permits you to say, "aw, forget it, I already blew it so I may as well just eat whatever.." Which then leads to feeling worse, etc. You are going to have to break the cycle. The best way to do that is to go back to basics. You would NEVER have drank C-2 the second week out from surgery! Go back to a protein shake a day, eating protein first and then veggies at meals, drink the full amount of water we're supposed to be getting, and for goodness sake, throw away the white bread and the C-2. Also, look at other ways to deal with your stress besides eating. Stress is always present with us, to greater or lesser degree, and I think the key to successful maintenance is going to come down to finding healthier ways to cope with our problems instead of eating. (And eating bad stuff, too. Nobody I know ever went on a carrot-stick binge because they were upset or worried about something...) Hurting ourselves with poor nutrition and the emotional rollercoaster of sugar is not going to help anybody or any situation that you are stressed about. Excercise really is a great option. Your body actually releases harmful chemicals into your system when you are feeling stressed, and excercise helps to clear those chemicals. It also will physically occupy you so that you're not in front of the kitchen cabinet or sitting in front of the couch. And, excercise decreases appetite. This is ALL excercise, by the way, even just walking. Plus, bonus, it helps to burn calories, and most of us still have more weight we'd like to lose. I hope this helps, Edna. Above all, don't give up and let yourself go. What's done is done, just drop the C-2 and white bread, no guilt, it's over --- and then do what you did when you were six weeks out, and you'll be fine. Jen

Edna - Look at your successes so far and remember that the choices you are making now are what led most of us to the surgery in the first place. With this surgery you have begun to teach yourself new coping mechanisms for dealing with the cravings. Look how far you have come - over 100lbs gone!!!!! That is so great! So take a step back - remember and impliment what you did to get this far and know that you can make it to your goal. Like the other posters have mentions - try to stop yourself before you commit to a bad choice - before grabbing that can - try to 'slap' yourself a bit and go for a bottle of water - see if that will lessen the cravings. Take a walk down the hall and back in your office/workplace before grabbing a snack. See if it is a change of scenery that will help with the mental games that have begun again. I'm one of those that I think will struggle with the mental stuff for quite awhile longer - but I just try to be aware of what I'm doing because I love how I look now and how much more active my life is and pain free I am. Doesn't mean that I don't screw up - I totally do - but I just try to put it behind me and learn so I don't make the same mistake. You are doing so well -and by reaching out to us here you've recognized what you need to do! You can do this! You go girl! Leah 302/180/140ish