jrob281

Yes! I used to hate ice cream, until I got pregnant with my now 14 year old. Then I'd go years without eating ice cream. For the past year, I've loved ice cream. I crave ice cream. Ice cream! I've even sabbotaged my weight loss with eating ice cream.
So, in an effort to curb my craving for it, I found having a sugar free popsicle helps TREMENDOUSLY in that area. If one didn't do the trick, I wait about 10 minutes and have another. It works for me.

Don't pick a junk food item. Pick something that will not cause cravings...nuts, higher calorie cheese, butter to a meal. I didn't do a cheat day, but these are the things that I had to add to my life once I hit maintenance. You are totally right that if you add a handful of M&M's you will start binging. Most people will even if they won't admit it here. But substitute higher calorie ingredients into your meals to raise the calories one day.
IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU TRACK YOUR CALORIES! And yes that is meant to be yelled. According to my doctor, the band will only help you lose 25-30 pounds (assuming you start with a BMI over 40) if you change nothing but the portion sizes that the band will force you to eat. However, if you want to lose more...YOU HAVE TO EAT THE RIGHT FOODS. There are a bunch of different ways to eat most of the same foods that you love by substituting healthier alternatives. This is how I lost 95 pounds in 9 months. I no longer eat ground beef...instead I make my own ground chicken using a meat grinder. In fact I just bought 15 pounds of chicken tonight so that I could grind it and use it for the next couple of months. Substitute Beans for Pasta and rice. Eliminate oil...believe me you won't taste the difference. Even at maintenance I still use low fat cheese or FF cheese, because I can't taste the difference. THe next time you eat a meal, I want you to close your eyes and think about what you can taste. If you really can't taste it...eliminate it. I learned this from subway. I realized that the only thing I could taste on the sandwich was the veggies and the bread. So that is all I ever got (pre-band of course). If you need some help on reinventing your recipes, send me the recipe via PM and I will do my best to help you out.
As for getting in Protein...I feel it is essential to get off the Protein drinks as soon as you are able to eat solid foods. Those things are filled with sugar, trigger cravings, and do not keep you full. If you need to supplement, try a Protein Bar. It helps with the sweet cravings plus I have found stays with you for longer. Making sure to get in LEAN Proteins (eggs, Beans, chicken, tuna) I have RARELY been under 100 grams of Protein.
I hope some of this info helped. Good luck and don't give up...just keep trying new things.

Yes, Penny I know your opinion on this, but you see there are other opinions as well.
There are all kinds of support, some of it is tough to hear, like when a Mother tells her kids not to do something they want to because she fears it will hurt them.
I have said this journey is hard and I have said many times that until we get restriction it's very hard. But for people that are five weeks or less post op, I would think that even if they can't control their hunger and might eat a little more than they should, couldn;t they at least make good/healthier choices.
Since the band will not prevent certain foods from going down easily, wouldn't it help our long term efforts to practice some of those eating habits, even without good restriction. I'm not talking about losing weight during this time, I'm just talking about those people that might not be making healthy choices, so soon after being cut open.
I do not try to ridicule people, just suggest that they get back on a track so they will be successful in the short term and the long term.
Tough love works for some and hand holding works for others.

Maybe I'm too new and idealistic, but I am finding it thoroughly depressing to read about everyone overeating and eating the wrong foods. If you've been told certain foods aren't that good for your weight loss program, why are you eating them? If you know that the band is only a tool, why do you keep pushing it by forcing as much food as possible? It sounds like there might be a problem with other issues besides just "being hungry". I can understand an occasional cheat of a bite of something, but not gorging on it. I made the decision for banding to lose weight, so I make every effort possible to follow as I've been instructed. I don't think you should rely completely on the band to help with weight loss; you need to consciously make an effort every single day to watch what you are putting in your stomach. Over eating put us where we are at today, and I for one desire to change my life as it has become.