Escape_Pod

Cheri, I just wanted to say I ALWAYS get value out of your posts, and I'm quite sure I'm not the only one who hopes you don't find other ways to work things out for yourself, or if you do, that it doesn't divert you from posting. I think there are so many complicated issues that all of us deal with, and there's no one right answer. The reasoning behind your answer is probably as valuable, if not more so, than the answer itself! You rock hon, don't apologize for it!

I so admire those of you doing the 5:2 - sounds like you're having some awesome success over there! I hope to join up with you at some point, but at the moment just getting through a day with 1200 calories and avoiding sugar and carbs is a pretty big task for me, even if I'm NOT hungry, and I definitely would be at 500 calories. I don't want to make the sugar detox any harder than it has to be - baby steps until I've got the hang of it. Once I get over the worst of it, I may give intermittent fasting a try. Thanks!!

Coops, you're adorable! Love the photos!

Oooh, I've done that - in Winter Park. LOVE that, it's such a BLAST. Unfortunately, the last time I did it they were sending folks down too close together. I had to brake hard when I caught up with the guy in front of me, lost control a bit, and ended up with cement slide burn on both my forearms (ouch!!). Still have very faint scars, but I'd totally do it again. It's as close as I come to being an adrenaline junkie! Enjoy your vacation!

I've spent a lot of time contemplating the moderation / abstinence choice. Fortunately, I'm finding a lot of good models for the abstinence route that convince me it's not as impossible as a lot of us may think. What I haven't figured out yet, is whether substitutions for the "never" foods are a good idea (help fend off a feeling of deprivation), or a bad idea (keep the taste for the food alive). I had a very brief but torrid affair with a tiny bag of sugar free Chocolates that was my first smack up the side of the head about danger foods, even ones that don't spike my blood sugar. I don't do chips, but I do eat Protein chips and geni-soy crisps. So far so good, but risky. I don't eat potatoes, rice, or Pasta of any sort, and I almost never have bread, even low carb varieties. I suspect any of those I could enjoy the real thing in moderation (meaning I eat a bite or two, very occasionally), and I don't have any problem with my husband's supply in the house, or making them for him for dinner. Anything sweet is a whole 'nother ball of wax. Bean, like you, I love my protein shake, though mine is a protein hot cocoa, but it's not in regular rotation for me any more because it doesn't keep me satisfied as long as an egg or other more solid protein source. It sometimes makes a guest appearance in the afternoon as soft-serve "ice cream" (just the Protein powder, almond milk, and some thickeners) that has saved my butt any number of times when trigger foods were calling. Anything like the muffin bites, or mug cakes, or other low-carb, sugar-free options on blogs like Eggface are dangerous territory for me. Having the real thing in moderation (meaning, a few bites of dessert shared with my husband when we're on vacation) is a ticking time bomb - I might get away with it once, but most likely it will set off a whole new cycle of problems. That's where I'm coming to terms with abstinence. For me, where it starts to get really complicated is that the flip side of abstinence can be that sense of deprivation that can be courting a binge. What works for me? I don't know, I haven't found it yet. But I keep trying, failing, brushing myself off, and getting back on track to try again. Gettin' a bit bruised from all the failures....

Butterthebean, like you, I'm finding with some things abstinence is preferable to moderation for me. I've done a TON of thinking about this, because a lot of folks feel like "denying" yourself is just setting yourself up for a binge when you're a binge eater. On the other hand, keeping to high Protein low carb gets SO much easier for me a few days into it that it's become clear to me that the "eating carbs makes you crave more" phenomenon is a large part (but not all) of my struggle. They key for me is frank self-evaluation to recognize when I'm feeling "deprived", a bit of rationalization to realize that going without X (Cookies ... cake ... whatever) forever is NOT impossible, and creativity to find alternatives that satisfy my cravings and taste buds without waking the sugar monster. It's definitely a process, and I've got a long way to go I think before I'll have it figured out and feel more stable. Georgia, I love your phrase, the "lean on me" method,and I guess I'd like to do a bit of leaning. Since this is such an experienced, smart group of folks, I'd like to ask you all a question. We all talk about how the surgery isn't a magic wand, and you've still got to do the mental / emotional work to deal with your reasons for overeating. What I'd like to know is, what did that mean for you? What did "doing the work" look like? I feel like I'm stuck in a few bad habit ruts, and I know they're bad habits, I'm just at a loss as to how to make progress overcoming them. For example, I know I'm a stress eater, and I have my batch of strategies - deep breathing, getting up for a brief walk, thinking it through, asking myself whether I'm really hungry, drinking something, chewing gum. .. but I still find myself failing over and over and caving in to the bad habit. Is it just a matter of "persistance in resistance"? Any other tips? I feel like I've gotten to the bottom of why I overeat, but I'm d**ned if that helps me in the least to stop doing it!

I've been lurking on this thread, but I guess I'm going to be brave and step into the fray. I'll start by admitting I have serious eating issues. About a year before I had surgery, I felt so out of control with binge eating, and helpless to do anything about it, that I sought professional help. It was an interesting process, but one that helped me with insight (why), rather than with strategies (so, now what?). When I decided to pursue WLS, I did so with the clear understanding that it was not going to be a fix for my eating issues, just a tool to help me manage the physical hunger. The first 6 months or so post-op felt fairly easy, and I surpassed my surgeon's goal, I became an avid runner, and completely changed both what and how I eat, with every intention of making those changes permanent. But carbs and sugar began to creep back into my diet, and it took me another 6 months to lose 14.5 of the last 15 pounds to get to my personal goal. I suspect I could have been one of those people who struggles a bit to quit losing, if I'd stuck to eating what I'd planned, but I'm struggling again with binge eating, and as of this morning I'm about 23 pounds from my personal goal (I hate to admit it,but I've been quite a bit higher than this). I've tried CBT, and I read everything I can get my hands on dealing with emotional eating, sugar addiction, etc. I haven't made it to an OA meeting yet, but I know where and when the nearest meeting is, and I'm seriously considering it. Does this mean I don't "have any 'smarts' at all", since I regained quite a bit? ...Ouch.... I frequently see discussions about regain that comment "sure, if you're sucking down milkshakes and ice cream all day you can regain", and "you can eat around the sleeve if you're determined to", the implication being that those of us who don't maintain well are stupid, or stubbornly choose this path. I understand the fear of regain, and the desire to feel "safe", to think "I'm too smart to do that, so I'll be ok". But I'm a confident, well-educated woman, with a graduate degree and a good career in an intellectual field. And I'm very self-aware of my eating issues. I get on the scale every single morning, even knowing I wasn't going to be happy about the number I'd see there. Yes, I was scared about regaining. Yes, I knew I needed to address those few pounds before they became more. But I haven't got this figured out yet, and some days my old habits win. I'd venture to say that a good percentage of us have work to do on the mental/emotional side of this journey, and I feel a bit lost on that path. Still, I have no regrets about having chose surgery. I'm out hiking every weekend I can be, up at 5am to head out in the mountains with the birds and the squirrels (I'm a grouchy hiker with hermit tendencies, so I gotta hit that trail before the chatty groups show up!) I'm much happier, and more confident in my body, even with the regain. I can't fit into all the skinny clothes in my closet, but I still believe it's possible to get there, and I'm not giving up. And, I'm pretty proud of the 80+ pounds I haven't regained, and I know without a doubt that without surgery, I'd probably weigh even more than I did pre-op.

I had trouble with plain water after surgery - the taste didn't bother me, but it sat heavy in my sleeve. I found it was far easier to stay hydrated if I added flavor, and Mio became my go-to solution because the squeeze bottles are so convenient at work or in my purse. Now that I'm almost two years out I'm trying to transition back to plain water - I think it's bad training for my taste buds to be sipping on sweet drinks all day long. Most days at least 1/3 of my water consumption is probably plain.

Great topic! I started in with sf gum, but I'm now totally regretting it. It sort of reinforced my desire to be chewing on something when I'm bored or stressed, and now i'm finding myself going through a ridiculous amount of gum and wanting something ALL the TIME. Great, now I have another bad habit to break. At work, I try to get up for a quick walk around the office, or stretch, or take some deep breaths. I can tell some of my problem is just habit, because if I get away from my desk I have fewer snack urges (some of my work can be done at a secretarial station outside my office). I'm in the habit of eating my meals at my desk, and I''m sure that's reinforced some bad habits. I read a tip recently from a weight loss blogger that I liked the idea of - she said every time she went to the kitchen to grab a snack she got in the habit of dropping and doing 10 or 20 pushups. Not sure how you'd incorporate that at work, though I've been known to do squats, lunges, or counter "pushups" in a restroom stall. Go ahead and laugh... but don't judge!...

I'm all about the cauliflower crust too - I steam frozen cauliflower in the microwave, then mix it with the egg, herbs, and cheese in a mini food processor. A tablespoon or so of ground flax seed helps is a nice addition - a bit of protein, a bit of flavor, and helps the texture out a bit too. I don't usually flip mine, which means it's really fork food instead of hand food but that's not a bad thing....

I reset the nutritional goals on MFP manually - I do really well with hunger / cravings if I keep carbs around 40 grams net carbs a day, so that's what I set as my goal. But it takes a couple of weeks of eating like that before the cravings subside and I'm not obsessing about food. I certainly FEEL like I'm hungry quite a bit of the time, but I notice that if I'm out having a good time doing something, like on vacation, I don't have any urge to snack or overeat, so it's pretty clear I'm still confusing head hunger with real physical hunger. I consider the low-carb approach to be a permanent part of my future. When I slip off it, I can end up back in full-blown binge mode, and gain frighteningly rapidly. So yes, I suppose you could say I'm still dieting. But I think of it more along the lines of finding what makes my life easiest. It's hard to give up some of the foods I have trouble with, but it's much harder to spend the day obsessing about food and fighting cravings and feeling out of control. So I work on finding a balance of food that's tasty, satisfying, provides variety, and gets me through the day without feeling hungry all the time. And each time I get sucked back in by those old bad habits, I just keep fighting my way back. I don't expect the battle will ever end, but like Lynda, I really hope it will get easier over the years.

Veggie soups are a great idea - I have a recipe from one of the other forums that's a bunch of green veggies cooked and pureed in a chicken-broth base, with some shredded chicken added - really yummy way to get some veggies in. I also like to add some raw spinach blended in to my protein shake. Or make a savory protein pancake from cottage cheese, parmesan, and grated onion or zucchini - yum!

Oh yeah, hiking season is FINALLY here again! My favorite trails in the mountains won't be clear until July, but the lower trails are in great shape. Took today off to go hiking in the morning, hoping for a little solitude - ha ha - apparently I wasn't the only one! But it was sunny and beautiful.

Search online using any search engine for "low carb microwave cake" or "low carb microwave muffin". If you add in search terms like "protein powder" you can find recipes that include those too. The recipes I've used for "muffins" in the past called for an egg, a little oil, some protein powder, some low-carb "flour" like pancake mix, almond meal, etc., a little baking powder, and then your liquids to give it variety - mashed banana, canned sf pumpkin, applesauce, and flavorings like the sf syrup. I've done this when I had a particular craving for something like a lemon poppyseed muffin - makes enough for 2-3 servings, so I don't end up with a house full of baked goods, low carb, sugar free with a protein component so it doesn't spike my blood sugar and make me crave more baked goods. (TheWorldAccordingToEggface blog has a bunch of muffin / cake recipes, though I'm not sure hers include protein powder, though you could sub out maybe a tablespoon of protein powder for her bulking component - usually whole grain pancake mix if I recall correctly).

I think it's WAY too early to decide you're going to have to drop milk from your plan to be successful. Stalls are unfortunately common, and sometimes they last WAY too long. I dropped milk early on to avoid the carbs, but I do still consume yogurt and cottage cheese. For mixing protein shakes, or to add to my coffee, I substitute almond milk for cow's milk - lower in calories as well as carbs, but also lower in protein. But I'm not drinking it straight, so the flavor difference didn't bother me much, and it adds a satisfying creaminess to protein shakes. Really, sometimes a stall is just a stall.

I track, unless I've been tackled by the sugar monkey, and then I'm too embarassed to track. Sigh... There's enough consistency in my meals that it doesn't feel like a huge amount of effort to track, and once or twice when I've eaten something unplanned, tracking it helped me see that I hadn't gone completely off the rails, so I successfully avoided the whole "I ate that so I might as well eat everything bad I've been wanting for the rest of the day" stupidity. I generally aim for 1200 calories or less, and I don't generally eat back my exercise calories unless I've done something pretty major (like a multi-hour hike, or something burning over 500 calories). I'm still finding the balance point - sometimes if my net calories are too low I'm starving the next day and find it hard to stay on plan.

Ham, cheese, and mustard in lettuce roll-ups, with gazpacho jello salad on the side and marinated mushrooms. (Sorry, I ate it before seeing this thread!) Fiddleman, are those the chicken skewers from Costco? I've had them for dinner a couple of times, but they need ... something. I tried a homemade "honey" mustard sauce, which wasn't bad, but conflicted a bit with the mediterranean spices. Might have to try your tzatziki - do you make your own?

Yeah, that was my first guess, but it was more fun to razz you about it!

Fiddleman - what are you doing in the Ladies Gone Wild forum?? (caught ya! -lol) I think we all understand the desire to feel like you're losing at a "normal" rate - I know I got caught up in it myself, (and if you're super competitive, you want to feel like you're losing faster than everyone else!) Just remember, there are SO many factors that go into your rate of loss - age, sex, pre-op loss, starting weight and height, any additional medical factors ... astrological sign, first letter of your last name, position of the moon in relation to Jupiter (ok, I'm just kidding, but you get the point). If you really must compare, try to find people who are similar to you - other women of the same age and starting BMI. But try not to let it make you crazy. You reach a point where your body's going to do what it wants, and all you can do is your best as far as following your plan, getting some exercise, and making good choices.

Bariatric advantage multivitamin (2x daily), iron chew bites, and calcium chews, B12, and a B complex (developed a thiamine deficiency post-op!), and D.

Webchickadee, if you're wanting to add protein, I'm wondering if a protein drink is really your best option. I hit upon a favorite combination for a morning protein hot cocoa that I stuck with for about 18 months, but it just doesn't stick with me very long. I still have one occasionally if I have a hard workout in the morning, or if I wake up super-hungry after a lighter eating day, but I don't get that satiety bang for my buck like I would with a couple of hard boiled eggs. I've read several places that whey protein isolate is the most easily absorbed, which makes it ideal for early post-ops, but that slower-digesting options like casein can be better for mature sleeves, so I've been trying that lately as well.

Happy Camper, IWhen you're on MFP, click on the Community tab at the top, then click on the "Find Members" link in the blue bar below it. Enter the person's username in the last text box (Username or Email) and click on Search, then click on "Add as a Friend".

I have a salad for lunch many days, but the salad bar downstairs has a lot of other temptations, and I tend to end up overeating if I'm not careful. Need to go back to bringing my own ingredients for salads until I can nip that in the bud! Now that the weather's warming up, I also make a "gazpacho salad" - this will sound strange, but the base is sf lemon jello and v-8 juice and a little vinegar, with a lot of finely chopped veggies mixed in - cucumber, bell peppers, tomatoes, celery... Makes a tasty combo with some lunch meat rollups! Puja, I agree. Pre-op I was the queen of the sweet / salty combo. It's amazing how much sweet stuff I could down without my taste buds losing interest if I alternated with salty food. I hadn't thought about it much post-op, but I suspect avoiding too much variety at a meal might help keep me from overdoing it. Something to think on...

I'm coming up on 2 years post-op. I log pretty regularly. You can find me on MFP as EscapePod (without the underscore).

I'm so sorry for your loss, our moms leave such a huge gap in our lives when they're gone, especially if you were blessed enough to have been really close to her. Be as patient and kind to yourself as you can. Maybe you can think of some little things you'll find comforting - music you enjoy, a hot bath, a cup of tea, a walk if the weather's nice. Food has been a coping mechanism for me as well, and at two years post-op I'm struggling with bad habits again, so I do understand. I think it's easier to replace rather than resist an unproductive coping mechanism if you can. Hugs, Beth