remembering i'm an addict

 next week is my 3 month surgiversary and i've been doing pretty good.  eating protein all day with 1 protein shake added to meet my requirements, good with vitamins, working on more fluids and more exercise.  i am tolerating all food well and can eat around 2-2.5 oz. per meal. 

with the season of food upon us i am thankful for my sleeve.  i am noticing however that i am "playing" around with my food a little too much.  i'll have "tastes" of things that i should not have.  just to taste it, but also makes me worried that it is so easy to switch back into old habits so quickly.  i'm going to have to go back to writing out my food plan for the day to avoid the compulsive eating.  i still avoid bread, rice, pasta, etc... all the basic no-no's, but finding that the sweets that are around are just sometimes so easily accessible and taste so good!  even that one bite makes me satisfied.  so off i go for a re-vamp of my eating and i will be heading back to the protein only filled days... thanks goodness for my sleeve to give me the realization and clarity to be able to see my ways before it becomes a bad habit again.  

I agree. Although I am more likely to go for bread than dessert.

For me, I'm looking forward to eating at home and stop going out. Despite the eating out, I've lost quite a bit of weight in the last 3 weeks. But, I just feel like I need to get back to basics.  It is good to take a step back and re-evaluate before a slow down in weightloss happens.

Next week is my four-month surgiversary and I am feeling so normal that I am having a lot of those old, familiar food thoughts.  I have had a lot of work stress and felt so strongly lately the urge to EAT.  I was so wound up yesterday, that I just said "f*** it, I want to eat!"  Thank goodness with my sleeve it was a pouch of tuna-fish salad (90 cal) and a cheese stick (50), and not a big bag of barbeque potato chips or something like that (500 cal).

It's kind of scary to see how strongly those addictive urges really are.

I am only 8 days out from my surgery and have the mental urges for the things I love that got me where I am.  However, I am still on the liquid stage so I cannot act on my emotions (Thank Goodness!).  A lot of people don't realize that food is an addiction and unlke smokers or drinkers or drug addicts we have to surround ourselves with food because like in my case I am a mother of two young children and I have to cook for them as well as my husband.  There is no getting away from food because everyone must have it, but no one needs drugs, tobacco, or alchol.  A good psycholtherapist is usually necessary because just as other addicts need therapy so do food addicts.

Good Luck during the holidays

This is a powerful realization! 

I think that people that fail to make this realization find themselves stopping to lose weight at the 50-75% point.  "You deserve to indulge yourself!" they say, which is true and can be done without eating bad food.

I look at the sleeve as a great support tool - it's there to support me when I happen to fail.  I do most of the diet work, and it's the backup.  Not the other way around!

OMG, people are bringing goodies to work every damn day! Evil luscious carby stuff like three different kinds of chex mix and brownies and cookies and thank goodness I sit where I can't see that stuff! So I broke down and ate a McDonald's cookie yesterday. That damn thing was 160 calories! One ******g cookie! That's 25 minutes on the treadmill! No more!

I'm 4 1/2 months out and have allowed myself a few indulgences during the holidays. I have had a few bites of cookies and sweets here & there, enjoyed a few adult beverages at social events, and have not been tracking my meals as well as I had been. My weight loss has slowed down a bit but as I sit down and calculate my food intake, I'm still well in the range of where I should be and should continue to lose (even if it's a little slower). That's one of the things I really love about my sleeve - it allows me to control my portions, but doesn't prohibit me from the occasional taste of something I enjoy or crave. At the end of the day, I feel like I'm eating like a "normal" person (because most normal people can take a bite of cookie dough when they are baking with their kids, or enjoy the second glass of wine at a holiday party without going off the deep end).

Excellent post!! There are so many temptations out there these days at work...it's making me crazy. I have to "think" at every corner. Food, booze, etc. You are not alone!!

We are all around the same time of our surgeries and really feeling great/normal...it's crazy how your mind forgets that you have this sleeve and it's just so easy to pick up some of those old patterns during this time.

We all just have to stay strong...make great choices.. and thank the Sleeve because it only lets us put so much into our stomachs. It's a "tool" that works!

Looking forward to a Super Healthy New Year! Stay strong!

Great post!  I have been fighting the same thing recently with the holidays and all the potlucks and goodies people bring in.  To top it off, I came to work on Monday and found out they opened a Dunkin Donuts right in the parking lot!  Good grief!!  I am doing good but sometimes it is really not easy!

Holiday food season is a pain.. and I too am thankful for my new smaller capacity. I'm also thankful I don't have to deal with constant temptations (no treats around me on a daily basis, absolutely none in the house)..

With the holidays coming up I made a plan that for Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, and NYE parties & 1other Holiday party.. I will have a nibble of this and that and or a drink if it's worthy and if I really want it.. other than one holiday party so far, I've passed on the treats as nothing was tempting. Christmas is one where there will be treats a plenty, but the main course (at a friends) is smoked suckling pig, so I do believe I will be saving up just for that.. and NYE, well, we shall see what that brings besides too much champagne.

Just setting a boundary that the Holidays don't mean a free pass for me everyday from Nov-Jan1 like in years past, but only for one mealtime on specific days seems to make those thoughts a bit more manageable for me. That and keeping the treats out of the house, even if it means explaining to my mom that no, I don't need or want to bring home any cheesecake! Hoping everyone finds their own balance to enjoy the festivities and more importantly- the good company!