Question:
Oh my God, I ate cookies!
I'm 10 weeks post-op with a 47 lb. weight lose. Believe it or not, I've been depressed lately. Yesterday I ate 2 cookies and 1 mini candy bar. I didn't care what the results would be, I ate them anyway! I thought I would vomit or get the dumps but nothing happened. Now I'm afraid I'll begin to eat more sugar products. I feel like I had surgery to move cancer and it's back! This sounds so silly but I'm really afraid! I don't trust myself! I certainly didn't go through all of this for nothing! Has anyone else been through this? Any advise? — Deanna H. (posted on October 6, 2003)
October 6, 2003
I am 13 weeks out and found that I too can handle as much sugar as I want.
This has caused me to go towards the sweets again. I really don't crave
them like I used to before surgery though. I went to a wedding on Satuday
and it was nice to know that I could eat the cake and not have to worry
about dumping. I rather feel blessed. The fact is that we do not have the
absorbtion ability like the old days, so the small amounts of sugar will
not effect our weight loss over the long run.
— Sunshine
October 6, 2003
You're ok! Some people dump on a little bit of sugar, some people dump on a
lot, and I suppose some don't dump at all. The nutritionist at my bariatric
center said that what they are seeing is that the dumping helps people who
binge on sugar. A little sweet once in a while is ok. She tells us to make
good choices - like at a b'day party, have a little piece of cake with most
of the frosting scraped off. (if we really want one - she'd prefer that we
avoid sweets altogether!)
If you're worried that this is going to start a craving for sweets - get
some sugar free candies to eat if you really want a taste.
— JoSyrNY
October 6, 2003
As you'll hear over and over, they operate on your stomach, not your head.
The surgery gives us a tool, but doesn't necessarily change the sick
relationship with food that many of us have. I think it's natural to test
your limits, and now you know that your "limit"--at least for
sugar--is probably higher than you would have liked. It doesn't mean you
won't dump on a larger amount of sugar, but you now know that your body can
handle at least some sugar. This would be enough to make your weight loss
stop or reverse if you indulge too often or make a habit of grazing. Many
of us struggle with this kind of emotional eating, and it can be truly
tough to get a handle on it. Some people feel they can regain control by
eating mainly protein for a few days and swearing off high-carb foods, that
it helps with the cravings. Unfortunately, it's something we all have to
figure out for ourselves, there's really no magic answer. If you are truly
depressed you may want to seek counseling.
— Celia A.
October 6, 2003
OK. This is my take on it. I am a year out. Sometimes I dump sometimes I
don't. I think about it like this. Preop when I had a cocktail sometimes I
would get drunk sometimes I would get a buzz and sometimes NOTHING would
happen. it would all depend on what i had done that day with my
eating.Think about that when you have sugar. YOU never know what is going
to happen. so I save sugar and sweets for special occasions. also sometimes
you can end up feeling sick up to 2 hours after you eat the junk food. I
always think to myself if you eat this there is a good chance you will
dump.
Having said that I remember being 3 months out and being at a function for
work. I remember there were a lot of sweets there. and I saw these cupcakes
with frosting and I HADE to have them. I was only 3 hours into my 8 hour
shift. I worked with customers in an emergancy call center so I had to be
alert. I ate the cupcake knowing perfectly well that I might dump and not
be alert. I ate that cupcake and to my horror something MUCH worse
happened... NOTHING!!! I was OK. It scared the crap out of me and threw me
into a a depression and panic mode. I ate "clean" for 2 weeks
straight I was so scared I ahd ruined it . Then I slipped again I ate an
apple and dumped badly. I later examined what I had eaten before I had that
cupcake and realized I had been eating bread and fruit. when they break
down they break down into sugar. so i was slowly getting my body used to
sugar. so when I ate that cupcake it was not shocked. Then when I started
to eat cleanly NO CARBS (well very little, atkins like diet) My body was
not used to any form of sugar. so that one piece of fruit RESET my dump
meter. does this make any sense?
EXAMINE what you have been eating, if when it breaks down it breaks down
into sugar that will be the answer why you didnt dump!!! you may think you
are eating sugar free but if you are eating high carbs that may cause you
not to dump when you eat sugar.
— nicole79
October 6, 2003
I could not eat sugar until my 8th month or so and trust me, I tried and
always dumped. Now I eat rice crispy treats, cookies, cake and even candy
bars, but I can only eat a couple bites and I still can't eat ice cream or
I dump. I like being able to nibble on sugary stuff and chips. I still am
losing a little and I don't gain, so im not getting upset over it. Enjoy
and good luck :o)
— Sandy M.
October 6, 2003
I would be scared if I were you too. I always wonder why people feel the
need to push or test things out so early on. We have a relatively small
window of opportunity to lose and if you don't take advantage of it you
will not be successful. It really makes me wonder if people are having
surgery without being fully informed of how difficult it can be post op.
This is no magic bullet and we must be diligent about our post op diet if
we want to get the weight off. If I had found out that I could eat cookies
at 10 weeks post op I would have been screwed. My advice to you is to get
yourself to nutritionist or a therapist ASAP. If you do not address the
issues you are having you will continue to turn to food for comfort when
you are feeling down. My nutritionist has truly helped me to change my
relationship with food and has been an unbelievable support for me. I also
want you to know that depression post op is very common and usually not
very long lived. I am 8+ months post op and still heavily rely on my
support system. We can't do it alone. We are battling years and years of
bad habits and set patterns and it is no wonder that our first thought is a
cookie or a candy bar but this is the time to take that bull by the horns.
Get some support and you can do it! Good Luck!!! :)
— Carol S.
October 6, 2003
Welcome to the 30 percent of us RNYers who never dump. I don't think a
couple of cookies and a small candy bar are the end of the world; the
problem comes if compulsive sugar consumption becomes a daily, or
several-times-daily, routine. I, too, was sorry to discover I don't
"dump," but I didn't find that out until I was seven months out.
Since then (I'm 16 months post-op now), I find sugar to be a real demon for
me, whereas it wasn't particularly when I was a pre-op. That's not an
uncommon problem for post-ops.<P>I respectfully disagree with the
poster who said you don't need to worry too much about sugar because we
malabsorb sugar. That's not correct. It's fat that we malabsorb to some
extent, not sugar, which we (unfortunately) absorb just fine, along with
all those junky carbs. I read somewhere that sugar and carbs begin to be
absorbed while still in the mouth, while protein has to get at least into
the intestines before it's absorbed. Wherever it's absorbed, I worry far
more about sugar, and its addictive properties, than I do about fat. For
that reason, if I have a choice, I will usually chose the sugar-free
product over the fat-free product, because far too often,
"fat-free" products are just loaded with sugar. Fat is much more
filling than sugar and doesn't usually cause me to crave more of it, plus I
know I malabsorb at least some of it. <P>Meanwhile -- try to train
yourself to reach for protein snacks, not sugary snacks. Recognize that
eventually, you will probably be able to eat everything you could eat as a
pre-op, and so you'll need to commit to making lifestyle changes in the
'ole eating habits even though you've had WLS. Easier said that done, but
it is far more doable with the tool we now have than it was when we were
pre-ops. Good luck!
— Suzy C.
October 6, 2003
Your comment, "I certainly didn't go through all of this for
nothing" makes me wonder how much research you did before hand..did
you think that it was 100 percent certain that you would lose your desire
for sugar products, never get depressed, or that if you ate sugar you would
dump?? Have you heard that this surgery is just a tool? It will not make
your depression go away and it will not keep you from putting the wrong
things in your mouth. However, if you follow the pouch rules (protein
first, no drinking with or right after meals, small amounts, lo carb and lo
or no sugar), the tool will work. And since you have lost 47 pounds to
date, you know the "power" of the tool. If you know that
depression or any other emotion causes you to get reckless (and trust me,
you are definitely not alone on this one), then do what you need to do to
control the negative emotions that cause you to sabotage your journey. Not
trusting yourself is a good admission. So seek help for the depression,
and keep the junk food out of the house and out of reach.
— Cindy R.
October 6, 2003
I know how you feel. I too ate some donuts a few months out. I was so
upset that I ate them. I didn't dump. I actually couldn't remember how
they tasted. It was like old times, when I would eat just to eat. I was
so upset I saw a shrink. I wanted to make sure I stopped it NOW! Her
advice to me, "Since you aware of the problem, you can control
it". I know now that I will eat the wrong things if they are around.
I have rid my house of junk food. I have put in S/F products for those
"I have to have" times. Sure I don't lose as fast as some, but I
am living this as a way of life, not as a "diet". Knowing that I
can have something keeps me from wanting it so bad. If I am told not to
eat something, I want it so bad. By the way, I have lost 150 lbs in 9
months, so that's not so bad. Good Luck!! You are not alone.
— june22
October 6, 2003
This isn't like before. You fell off the wagon. So tomorrow you won't eat
cookies. See if you can raise your serotonin levels with grain bread vs
direct sugar. Same chemical effect, sorta, but without the guilt. In the
old days, we fell off the wagon, thought, "OMG, I'm such a failure, I
may as well just give up now and eat the rest of the box because I am so
worthless" or however your tape plays. But you know, today you can
say, "Oops, that was kinda dumb. But I have another chance tomorrow
to stay clean. And the next day. *I* cam in charge of food, not vice
versa. I will not let cookies beat my surgery." If you don't believe
you can talk yourself into good eating patterns, ask me about Peeps.
— vitalady
October 6, 2003
How could ANYONE who has been more then 100 pounds overweight give up ALL
sugar products and sweets completely??? Highly doubtful!! I don't know
people who WEREN'T overweight be able to do this!! Don't beat yourself up.
Your human. You WILL be able to eat these things - just not as many as in
the past. It doesn't make you a bad person and doesn't hurt your weight
loss as long as you do it in moderation.
— Patty H.
October 6, 2003
I agree with the posters who say just to get back up on that post-op-WLS
wagon. You had a minor slipup - I don't think that there's a postie out
there who hasn't if they are being truthful. I know that I have (my
weakness is carbs), but I keep it to a minimum. Don't beat yourself up
over it because you'll get depressed and want to eat some more of those
comfort foods to console yourself.
<p>
Get rid of the cookies and candy bars out of the house and get some good
snacks in there...JR
— John Rushton
October 8, 2003
My take may be a little different. I think it is unrealstic to think you
will NEVER ever eat a sugar product again. as far as sugar free
candies/cookies are concerned they have no more nutritional value and just
as many calories as the full sugar variety. and they give me gas and
diahrhea.
. the real key is to have a bite or two and walk away. I do not keep lots
of junk in the house. If I have to have something I buy a single serving of
it. I buy 1 cookie at the bakery or 1 scoop of icecream and this is not an
every day thing. I find I can control my intake better if I don't feel
totally deprived or forbidden. my little pouch significantly limits my
portiions. 1 cookie not my previous dozen. 1 scoop not a hot fudge sunday.
then I am satisfied and move on. Also really helpful is tracking my intake
on WWW.fitday.com. it helps me stay honest to my self as to what I am
eating, reaching my protein goal and not taking in too much fat. It is
about health and balance. good luck. don't beat yourself up, no one is
perfect no matter how loud they preach.
— **willow**
October 8, 2003
I'm 4 months out and a month ago I discovered that 2 oreos have less than
10 grams of sugar.I don't dump on foods with less than 10 grams.So that was
great news for me and I ate two oreos and GUILT-FREE too...guilt-free
because before surgery I would have had half a box of cookies at one time
instead of just the 2.I had this surgery to eat more normally and having a
couple of cookies or a treat occasionally is not a horrible thing... We had
surgery on our digestive system not on our heads or our emotions and it
might take them a little while to catch up. So don't worry because you are
doing great with your weightloss! =)
— jennifer A.
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