Old Habits Creeping Back In...Help Please

I have noticed within the past month or so, some of my old habits are starting to creep back into my life and I don't know how to stop them (so to speak).  I have been eating M&Ms here and there, I bought a bag of Skittles today.  My diet soda intake has increased and so has my alcohol.  I have not gone back to my Diet Mt. Dew...I refuse to do that but it has been hard.  And I haven't gone back to coffee either.  But I think I need some help or some direction.  Have any of you gone thru this?  If so, what did you do to kick these things again?  I'm about 11 months post-op and am hoping this is just a phase.  

I bet almost all of us that are 11 months or more out have gone through that.

I think you have to be carefully about telling yourself it's just a phase.  How long was your candy and diet soda phase prior to surgery?  And what put an end to that phase?  Did you just wake up one day and not want those things anymore?  No, you decided to give them up, at least for a while, and have surgery.  So what do you think the chances are that you'll wake up tomorrow or in a few days and just not want those things anymore?

I'll tell you what I do when I need to get back on track.  I've never been off track for very long, usually just a few days but sometimes a little longer, but I've found myself getting off track several times since my surgery. 

First, I get whatever it is out of my house and make the decision that I am not going to buy it anymore, at least not for a while.  Sometimes it's hard not to buy whatever it is, but if I can't manage to eat some sort of treat in moderation, then I don't bring it home.  I recently discovered Starbucks makes lite frappacinos that you can buy in the grocery store, and I used to love those things before surgery but never knew they made lite ones.  I bought some a few weeks ago, thinking I would not drink them very often and it would be OK as a treat.  Well, the four pack I bought did not live long at all.  Today at the grocery store I stood in the coffee aisle and argued with myself for quite a while, but I ended up leaving without them.

The other thing I do is take some time to remember why I wanted surgery and to think of all I've been through in order to lose this weight.  Am I willing to give that up for a stupid frappacino?  Not hardly.

Thank you Kelly!  You're right, I need to step back from the triggers and really think about why I had the surgery, think about all of the hard work I've done to get here and just make better choices in general.

I was doing so good for so long and I thought, like you, that I could just "treat" myself and it would be just that, a treat.  But when, infact, it was a huge trigger.  I thought I was "over" that and stronger than that...and I'm not.  

Thank you for your wonderful words of insight...I really needed them.

You know what?  I think we need to find other ways to treat ourselves.  I mean, how is eating something that's not healthy for us and that can trigger us back into bad eating habits supposed to be a treat?  A  treat is supposed to be something good, right?  I think we're looking at it all wrong.

I totally agree Kelly!!!!!  What do you have in mind?  Anything?  I know I was setting little goals for myself along the way and when I would meet them I would get a new t-shirt or a new book for my Kindle.  Maybe I need to go back to that?

I don't have anything particular in mind, but I think I need to think about it and come up with something.  I think rewarding yourself with new shirts or books is a great idea.  Pretty soon it will be fall and will start getting cooler out (hard to picture that right now, hot as it is, but fall comes every year, right?) and I have a few pairs of jeans and a few long sleeved shirts but not that many.  I could certainly reward myself with new fall clothes.

Thank you for this post I needed to see this, I too have been going back too bad habits, with a cookie here and some chips there, luckily i haven't done the soda thing since my surgery but believe me a soda sounds good sometimes lol. I have come a loooong way and I'm starting now to get back on track!!!

No sodas still but they were never a strong desire anyway.  However, last week when it was so blooming hot I did get a Wendy's small frosty and ate the whole thing.  I thought about it the next day but haven't gotten another.  I wish I didn't know that it wouldn't make me sick.  I have had real coffee on occasion but the decaf with protein still is great and suits me.  I have a bag of dark chocolate kisses in the cabnient and allow myself 2-3 a day.  Still haven't had wine or beer.  I think it is easier to just not do it at all that to deal with the when and how much.  At least for me. And not having them in the house is a huge part of it.

Wow! All of these posts really hit home for me! I am one year out and feel exactly the same! I've been recovering from my brachioplasty at my parents' house. They have so much food here! This week I've tried a little apple pie, a brownie, and an Oreo among other things.  Some of it went down and stayed and some of it came back up. It's just so easy to pick on these things when they are around. If I was home, there would be nothing. My surgeon allows me to have coffee. I've been drinking regular coffee since about my second month out. I love coffee! When I'm home, it's my only "treat" oh except for the alcohol :-) Alcohol is not a problem -I've heard a lot about transfer addiction - but I do like it so much more than before my surgery.

When I get home, my plan is to keep the temptations out of my house, focus on my protein and get back to logging all of my food in my calorie counter. I can't exercise yet b/c of the PS, so that will be on my to-do-later list.

Good luck getting back on track! Thanks for posting. IT makes it easier just knowing others are struggling too.

You know what you should be doing, so just do it. Get rid of the junk, if you can't handle being around it. You have to realize that being healthy is more important than the moment of pleasure eating the junk brings to you. You have to believe that you are worth the effort. 

Laura