Supersweetums

I get bored and do give in and it drives me crazy. I work at staying out of the kitchen at night and don't keep any foods that are unhealthy if possible. I love Quest Protein bars and have worked on decreasing portion size. Instead of eating the whole bar, I eat 1/2. I live the ideal of getting out of the house and also practicing mindful eating habits. I am working on eating slower today. It's hard. We can only do our best.

I can't eat Quest bars, they are like crack to me. It seems that they trigger cravings for me, and then it is just a downward spiral. I have tried to have them in the house a few times now, and the results are the same...it makes me sad because I love them oh so much....especially warmed in the microwave.

I don't have any other advice for boredom. It is something I still really struggle with. I am a stay at home mom and when the weather is crappy and we can't get outside, I find it very challenging.

Good news! I'm really pleased so far I will update my weight today. I wasn't thinking I'd drop anything this week because if the loss last week.

But yesterday I was down 1.5 pounds. We will see today. Yesterday was a regular day and my restriction was In high gear! But I was also battling a sweet tooth because I'm "PMSing"

So there was sugar yesterday.

This week is going to be interesting.... PMSing and going on vacation. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle my "resting" days. But I'll let you guys know how 5:2 and vacations go!

Hooray! Congratulations on the loss. It looks like this might just be the answer for those of us struggling with the last few pounds.

And I hear you about the PMSing! I can actually usually tell close to that time just because all I want to do is stuff my face with food! I also notice it around ovulation time. It is a b***h to deal with. My only defense is to not keep the food in my house or else I cave!

Well, I couldn't even finish the muffin last night, listen to my body for a change! So I came in under 500 calories but felt really good all day yesterday. Woke up this morning down again another 2.2 pounds! And I stayed down after the first normal day. I am trying not to get excited as I am expecting it to jump back up, plus I always bloat around this time of the month. But I am excited to see a downward movement in the scale.< /p>

I am terrible for boredom eating. I do things like Lynda, especially playing on the computer. Sometimes just chewing a piece of gum helps satisfy that need to chew something. If I do end up eating something, I try to keep it "healthy" junk....cause really, most of us don't want a celery stick! So I will have greek yogurt sweetened with vanilla stevia and a tbsp of chocolate chips, or stove-popped popcorn with just a TBSP of oil and salt.

The biggest challenge with the sleeve is our brains. They can't take it out, so we just have to deal with it!

So I decided to have my fast day today (so Wednesday and Friday)...I think I may go Monday or Tuesday next week and Thursday. I thought it would be really hard having only one day in between, but today was better than the first day. I was much more prepared and not just going on a whim. I decided not to eat Breakfast because I am really never than hungry in the morning. Had some Greek Yogurt with Kellogg's Bran Buds and raspberries for lunch. Then, for supper, I took my kids to McDonald's (my husband is away for a week, its been raining like crazy, we needed to get out). I ordered the Teriyaki chicken salad with grilled chicken. My phone wasn't working, but it said it was 300 calories. I didn't finish all the greens, didn't eat much of the edamame, no dressing, and didn't have the cashews. When I got home and plug in the numbers, everything I ate was actually only about 160 calories! I didn't touch my kids fries, and their meals came with free mini cones, and I didn't order it for myself either. Now I have an extra 175ish calories for the night, so I made myself a microwave Protein muffin because I feel hungry and then to bed.

I think this might be something I can actually sustain! The fact that I know I can eat normally tomorrow makes it a whole lot easier to stay on track today (although I am not going totally off the rails on normal days, just doing that, eating how I normally eat). I think it was Georgia who was the first one to bravely try something new, and I really think this can work. Thank you for letting me know about it!

Congrats! Love your profile pic too - your arms look like the could give Michelle Obama's a run!

Lynda

Thanks Lynda! It is funny, because I am most self conscious of my arms. If I actually held them up, you could see my wings flapping in the breeze! And I think it comes from lifting my kids all the time (6yrs and 3.5yrs) because I don't lift weights, ever!

I just find this all so interesting! I don't think I really, really believed the restriction would be there long term. Lol. But it is!! And hopefully, on the GOOD path to freedom in living a good life and making wise choices.

I agree Georgia! There are days that I am always surprised at how good my restriction still is. Of course, some days I feel like I can eat more, other days less, it just depends.

I read somewhere ... and I don't remember the quote exactly... but basically that "I have the disease of obesity and by losing weight I am merely managing the primary symptom. I will always have the disease of obesity and will need to be forever diligent that the weight doesn't return."

My maintenance is going fine, but I do so much feel this is a true statement - like the weight will just fly back on if I don't remain vigilint.

I don't want to make newbies too scared, this is different then "dieting" ever was - I still have my sleeve. What I am trying to say is that it is no freaking joke - you need to make permanent lifestyle changes and it is hard!!!

This is a great quote, and I think this is what I am trying to convey. Without permanent changes, long term success I think is lower. I am not saying that everyone will regain, and I am not saying that no one will remain at goal. But it is a lifetime of vigilance.

It is very easy to fall back into old habits, and those old habits can quickly add on pounds. I worry a lot about the people that look at this as a way to eat what they want, and say "well, I can only eat 2 bites".

It took me 18 months just to reach my goal weight. And honestly, I would say that it wasn't until that I was past 2 years that the capacity of my sleeve leveled out. Now I pretty much know how much I can eat, but it is more than when I was even 18 months post op.

Here is a great little article from the 5-Day Pouch Test Site:

http://5daypouchtest...les/art001.html

If you read it, it states that approximately 80% of WLS surgery patients (sleeve included) will have some regain (10-30lbs) and 20% will regain all if not more of weight loss. And I just read off of an actually Bariatric Center's website that "Some weight regain after the gastric sleeve, especially several years after surgery, is normal and can often be attributed to a slight stretching in the gastric pouch. For cases that do not warrant a surgical procedure, we suggest medically supervised weight loss, which can alter dietary and exercise regimens to get excess weight back under control. - See more at: http://www.peachtree...h.gKeGKCHq.dpuf". And regain usually occurs in patients in the 2-5 year post op range (according to http://www.idiotsgui...s-expected.html).

Just proof that surgery is not a magic bullet. Without permanent changes and a lifetime of vigilance, regain is a very real possibility.

When I first had my surgery 2.5 years ago, Water never sat right and always tasted funny. Before surgery, I drank water like it was going out of style. And even still, I find water tastes off to me and many times it doesn't taste good either. Some days it is ok, most days not. So I find myself drinking a lot of sugar free drinks. I have tried finding ones that are sweetened with natural sweeteners, but there are not very many, and the ones that I have found I have to order online and are expensive (I also live in Canada). And I have tried making my own like kool-aid sweetened with Stevia, real iced-tea. The koolaid was ok, but I do not like tea and could not get over the taste (although I LOVE Arizona Sugar Free Lemon Iced Tea but can't make something similar). I have tried cutting them out, but then I don't get in enough water in a day.

So what have the rest of the vets found? Any hints or tricks? Does anyone know of any other naturally sweetened drink mixes or a good recipe?? Or do I just accept drinking artificially sweetened drinks for life!

Thank you Cheri for your very raw and personal post on your feelings and struggles. It has really struck a chord with me as this is my same battle. When I was overweight, I thought, I would be happy if I could just lose the weight. Then I lost the weight, and thought I would just be happy if all this excess skin was gone. Now I gained a few pounds and it has had me miserable, and I all I want is to get back to where I was 7 pounds ago, because then I will be happy, but I wasn't happy there. When I decided to have this surgery, that thought always lingered in the back of my mind....will I ever be happy, will the weight lost ever be enough. Over the last couple of years since having surgery, I have come to realize that no amount of weight loss is going to fix my inner demons. I have to be able to accept every part of myself before I will feel comfortable in my own skin.

I thought this would be the answer, that I would never have to "diet" again. But the hard truth is most of us will most likely always have to "diet" to some extend, whether it be tracking everything, following a specified diet plan, or being conscious of everything we are eating. It might become a way of life and so habitual that it does not feel like "dieting", but, really, if you think about it, it still is in one form or another. No one will be able to eat whatever they want, as much as they want, and never gain. Even though I never tracked, for the last 2.5 years, I was always conscious of what I was eating. I made steps to cut out the white stuff and change the way I ate. And I always told myself I wasn't dieting, but I realized I was to some extent because there were days where I was sad that I wasn't eating what my kids were eating. Sad that I cut certain things from my diet. Days that I was mourning not being able to eat just a couple of more bites. I have to accept that this is a new way of life for me, forever.

Your posts always inspire me, especially lately with your candidness about your struggles. Too many people hide when the begin to struggle, but that is when they need to the most active, be it on here if they have no access to support, or in face-to-face support groups. They reality of surgery is there is no guarantee that you will lose 100% of your excess weight. It does not mean you are a failure if you do not. The only time you fail is if you give up. Thank you to all those vets willing to share their struggles. Too many people do not share their inner wars and it gives a skewed reality of what life after WLS is really like.

Yes staying home is the hardest! I'm a stay at home mom. My kids are a bit older (17 and 11)

So the last couple of fast days I spent a good part of the day shopping.

Downside of older kids? I don't keep junk in the house, so the 17 year old has been going and buying major crap and bringing the 11 year old along! I tried to talk to her about it last night.

Lets just say it wasn't pretty..

Sweetums,

I do tues. & thurs. too.

It is hard to resist the urge to graze. But I don't keep anything in the house and my kids are too little to know the difference. I buy them things I know I won't eat, so I don't think they feel like they are missing out (most of the time anyways!)

I am thinking I might spread my days out, like Monday and Thursday, but I will see since I started on Wednesday, I will have to figure out how to adjust my schedule.

I was like you Georgia. I started eating a chicken kabob and Beans yesterday, got about 3/4 done and didn't feel good, I thought I was going to throw up! So I stopped eating.

Really, the hardest part is the eating out of boredom and habit. I am a night snacker, so the evenings are tough. And my hubby is out of town for a week, so I am sitting by myself from 8:00 on....possible recipe for disaster. But I managed last night, so I am very proud of myself!

I'm pretty good at getting my Protein first. After being sleeved for 2.5 years, the habits that I picked up in the beginning are pretty steadfast now. It is so frustrating because I was maintaining easily without issues until I started the new medication. I've always eaten really healthy and watched what I ate, taking an 85/15 approach, eat good 85% of the time, but enjoy a treat every once in a while. It was been very depressing not being able to lose on the same regiment that I have had for at least a year. Oh well, that's life I guess!

I think I will try more of what Laura did. At lunch I had a cucumber salad and an homemade egg muffin. But the muffin doesn't have as much Protein as the greek yogurt I usually eat. Might switch it up next time.

Good news is I was down 1.5 lbs this morning. I think it is mostly Water weight, but I do feel less bloated than the last couple of days (TOM), so I think it definitely helped with that.

Oh, I am so hoping for that feeling of getting back into my clothes. I still wear the same size, but they are tight as opposed to comfy. I had switched medications back in February and gain 7 lbs in 3 weeks. I quit taking the medication but cannot shake the pounds I gained.

So I followed through today! It took everything in me at some points, but I did it. I like the fact that I can eat the next day, I think that is what kept me going! I managed 534 calories, and that was with eating some chewing gum and a Calcium Chew (which has 20 calories!). I am wondering how to keep my Protein up. I got in 54 grams, but that was with a Protein Shake for Breakfast. Any ideas welcome.

I am not the best at keeping up with things, so I am hoping that I can stick to this! I am a stay at home mommy, so it was tough being at home with the kids and food just steps away in the cupboard! But, for the first time in a while, I am actually really proud of myself for sticking to it. I am thinking that it might only get easier as I adjust, we will see. I might switch to Tuesdays/Thursdays next week...is that what seems to work the best, or should the fast days be a little farther apart.

I better go to bed now as I am having problems focusing! I have never been so excited to eat yogurt and berries with bran buds as I am right now thinking about tomorrow!

Okay update scale stayed the same today after my first fast day of the week but that still means I'm down 9 pounds in two weeks. that's awesome carry-on. And I'm driving so Siri type this for me Smile

So I am just wondering if you have noticed it on your body. Are your clothes looser or fitting better?? Because you are so low already, almost 10lbs would probably make a huge difference. I know it does for me, even 5 lbs makes a big difference at this point on how things fit. I am very inspired by what you have been doing and I am giving it a go today....although I just ate some gumballs to realize I ate 30 calories worth of gum (doesn't sound like much, but when you only have 500 calories it sure is!)

Thanks for the link to this forum. Going to follow for now, but seriously considering this!

This is BRILLIANT! Thank you so much for the tip!

I have talked to my doctor, who suggested the pill, which I do not want to take. And I live in Canada, far from a hot climate! It is coming up on summer, but it has been far from hot. I am 34 and still getting my period is pretty regular....just brutal to deal with!

That is amazing!!! What a great feeling that must have been! Congratulations on such a monumental success!

I am just wondering how bad everyone gets bloating around TOM and how do you deal with it. I never noticed it before I lost weight...I never weighed myself and a few pounds here and there probably wouldn't have made a difference. But not that I am at goal, the bloat and Water retention is brutal! In the last 2 days my weight has went up 6 lbs, and that is not a typo! It is not even humanly possible to gain that much weight in 2 days, and my belly is swollen, even my feet and ankles. It is really depressing, even though I know what it is and I try to remember that it will go away in a few days. Does anyone else have such bad bloating? Have you found a good way to deal with it more naturally?

Sugar alcohols will do it, and not in a good way. That being said, I have a confession to make. A few years back while I still was still working, I used to keep a jar of jelly Beans on my desk. This one man that worked in the office was not only a jerk but pretty much cleaned out my jar each week. I enjoyed people helping them selves but most people would take a few but this guy would take huge handfuls and put some in his shirt pocket for later.I let him know one time that he was welcome to bring in a bag every once in a while to fill the kitty. He looked at me and said "why would I do that when you will do it?" Wrong thing to say to me.

Next day, I went and bought 3 bags of the sugarfree jelly belly Beans. It says on the bag not to eat more than a few because of the of the high content of sugar alcohols in them. He was all over them by 9am. I made sure I got up and left my desk area when I saw him coming.

The warning on the bag is true. That's all I'm saying.

To add to my delight, I let him know after the fact that those were sugarfree. He never ate another one of my jellybeans.

That is an awesome story! I cannot eat them at all and found that out the hard way! But, if you are in a bind, literally, worth a try!

I've only tried Stevia a few times both with the same opinion. It tasted like someone was trying to poison me! One of the products was Stevia in the raw. It had a rough metallic taste to it.

I don't have an issue with aspartame or splenda in reasonable doses, but I would prefer something a little more natural. Agave is good, but it still packs carbs and calories.

Are there any brands of stevia that doesn't have an aftertaste? Is the stuff from GNC better?

I like NOW brand Better Stevia liquid. It says it is non-bitter and I really like it. You can get it in flavored as well. Another one that I have just tried recently is called Stevia Sweet & Natural liquid. I find it highly concentrated and I need way less of it than the NOW brand. I live in Canada, so not sure if it is down there, but worth looking for. I love stevia and use it in everything. I use the flavored ones to sweeten my yogurt and the plain to bake with. My family cannot even tell the difference when I cut out most of the sugar in recipes! Another natural sweetener is Luo Han Guo Sweetener. I have never used it so I can not tell you how good or bad it is. I have seen it on this site:

http://www.holdthecarbs.com/luo-han-guo-sweetener-concentrate?keyword=lu&category_id=0

This seems unconventionally and I discovered it totally by mistake, but anything with sugar alcohols. Not ideal, and I never eat products with it anymore because it upsets my stomach. But "sugar free" chocolates are usually the biggest culprits. I eat 3 of them and within an hour it hits. They do have calories though and can be addicting because they taste like the real things, so only in case of emergencies!

Cheri, you have done so well, but I know how hard it is to really accept that and not obsess about the few pounds left. I was also a slow loser, it took me 18 months to reach my goal weight and then I actually dropped a couple pounds below my goal weight. Then, for close to a year, I was maintaining easily. I always watched what I ate (but did not track) and weighed myself daily. Then I made a switch in medications and that little switched caused me to gain 7 lbs in 3 weeks. I quite taking the medication and stopped gaining, but have been struggling to get those pounds off now. I have been diligent watching my food choices and it is helping, but frustrating none the less. I was like you, happy where I was. I wasn't obsessing about my food. Don't get me wrong, I have always watched what I ate since getting the sleeve and made many changes to my lifestyle in order to lose and maintain. But I was ok with having a treat here and there, I was OK eating garlic bread at the restaurant and not feeling guilty. Now I am back to the guilt, feeling bad about eating anything.

And with my cycles I have huge weight fluctuations, so now I am hitting numbers that I haven't seen in a long time. Even though I know the numbers will go back down, just like they did 6 months ago, they stress me out just that little bit more.

So I am trying to relax a little. When I lost the first time, I was relaxed about. I think because I never thought I would really reach goal, I didn't stress about as much. When I stopped losing a few pounds above goal, I just thought I was done losing and I was ok with that. Then, after a few months, I started losing again. Now that I have been there, I want to be back there. Plus, I have the same fear that I will regain all the weight that I lost. I know that stress is terrible for weight loss, so I am trying my best to just take a deep breath. I am watching everything I eat. And now that the weather is warmer, I am more active than through the winter. I am trying to just roll with the punches.

You are not alone in your feelings, I am right there with you! It is hard to get back in the mode of "dieting" when you felt that you were done with that. The thing that differs now though is that you are aware of it. You have not gained 20, 40 or 100 lbs back. You are up 8 pounds. Back in the day, we would have scoffed at that! You will get there again!

From Kalyn's Kitchen Blog

http://www.kalynskit...ited-again.html

I only use about 10 eggs which makes a dozen muffins for me. I use a cup of shredded cheddar, green and red peppers, green onions, and Smokey River meat Company turkey Breakfast sausages. With the way I make them, stats are approximately

126Cal 3g Carbs 12g fat 9g Protein 1g Fiber 0g sugar

These are super delicious, like scrambled eggs to go!

Egg Muffins Revisited

(Makes 12 muffins, recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from The South Beach Diet book.

Ingredients:

15 eggs (for silicone muffin pans, use 12 eggs for metal muffin tins or individual silicone cups. You can use less egg yolks and more egg white if you prefer.)

1-2 tsp. Spike Seasoning (optional, if you have food allergies or don't have Spike, use any type of seasoning blend that's good with eggs.)

1-2 cups grated low fat cheese (I like sharp cheddar or a blend of cheddar/Jack cheese, use less cheese if using meat)

Optional, but highly recommended, 3 green onions diced small.

Optional: chopped veggies such as blanched broccoli, red pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, etc. (Using veggies will reduce the fat content)

Optional: diced Canadian bacon, lean ham, or crumbled cooked turkey sausage

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Use regular or silicone muffin pan, 12 muffin size. If using silicone pan, spray with nonstick spray. If using regular muffin pan, put two paper liners into each slot, then spray liner with nonstick spray.

In the bottom of the muffin cups layer diced meat, if using, vegetables, if using, cheese and green onions. You want the muffin cups to be about 2/3 full, with just enough room to pour a little egg around the other ingredients. Break eggs into large measuring bowl with pour spout, add Spike, and beat well. (I used to add a bit of half and half or milk, but lately I like the way they turn out without it.) Pour egg into each muffin cup until it is 3/4 full. I like to stir slightly with a fork. Bake 25-35 minutes until muffins have risen and are slightly browned and set.- See more at: http://www.kalynskit...h.NejoLn4U.dpuf

From smoothie Girl Eats Too Blog

http://www.smoothiegirleatstoo.com/2010/11/moist-low-calorie-microwave-protein-fudge-muffins/

This is seriously AMAZING! I use the applesauce instead of the pumpkin and use 1 TBSP of coconut flour and 1 TBSP of Protein powder. I also have added a TBSP of sugar free pudding. I have made the chocolate below, vanilla using vanilla Protein Powder and SF vanilla pudding (adds 25 calories), and cheesecake using vanilla Protein Powder and cheesecake SF pudding. With the coconut flour, they are so light and delicious! I also just use a whole egg instead of egg whites (70 cal vs 30 cal), but that is just me.

With my changes the stats are a little higher: Per Serving: 194Cal 23g Carbs 9g fat 15g Protein 5g Fiber 6g sugar

Note that I am 2.5 years post op. I can eat one of these, but it is VERY filling. Newer post ops might be able to do half if lucky!

Ingredients:

• 2 Egg whites (**If using liquid egg whites use 1/2 cup and add 20 calories)
  
• 1/4 cup pumpkin (3 T applesauce or other starchy carb works well too!)
  
• 2 T coconut flour* (1 T also works, and results in 40 fewer calories)
  
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
  
• stevia or other granular sweetener to taste
  
• 1 T. cocoa powder (Hershey’s Special dark cocoa is best!)
  

*(Edited to add: Hallie asked if whole wheat or peanut flours could sub for the coconut flour. I decided to do a test for those two and they both work. The whole wheat is not quite as moist; it’s a bit more chewy, but the peanut flour is very moist. All taste great. My fave is still coconut flour, but obviously you can use whatever you have on hand!). Also, some other subs for pumpkin or applesauce are bananas or yogurt which are quite good too. I love all the reader feedback!

Method:

Spray a Soup bowl with a very light layer of oil to prevent sticking (not even necessary but makes cleaning up a bit easier).

Mix ingredients well with fork, whisk or spatula

Microwave for 2:30-4+ min on High (depends on your microwave, altitude and the whim of the cupcake gods.)