Hi. My surgery is scheduled for Monday and I'm trying to maintain my weight loss, too. My doctor won't operate if I gain. The problem is, though my head understands, my impulse is to feed my anxiety. And I am freaking out! I thoght this would be the easy part, now that all these months have gone by and the tests are done, the date set. But I think I've realized that this is the real test of my will. I WANT the surgery. I want it because I can't do this without such a drastic intervention. The bottom line is, I will always have control of what I eat. I can choose to eat foods that I know I shouldn't (and literally can't) after surgery. So I have way more power than I thought in helping myself know that everything is a choice.
What's been working for me - drink water or other low cal. beverage at the first thought of eating! If you are still hungry, have something crunchy. Whether it's a crisp apple or a bowl of Special K, anything that makes you really feel the texture and hear that crunch. Write down everything - this has helped remind me of what I have already eaten and sometimes I realize that I haven't had enough protein for the day. And if you still are really feeling like you want those things that you think you can't eat later...the first bite is the only one you'll remember. Don't eat a whole serving of anything. Keep setting up roadblocks to eating the high fat/high sugar things and congratulate yourself for choosing other alternatives.
One other thing - I've found it's hard to eat while I'm typing...that's why I am!