sillykitty

Lol .. I know the feeling. I haven't tried them yet because there is only one place local to me that sells them. They are never on sale when I go in. The $6.29 price point has saved me

@Orchids&Dragons Have you seen these? https://www.breyers.com/us/en/delights.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw6pLZBRCxARIsALaaY9Z6bFOY7Smzir7UPU1IIFDhWxiWbk3zxZt8DzcV_DOxkG2-O3YxpHEaAq-UEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds They are supposed to taste way better then the other high protein brands. The Cookies and Cream get especially good reviews.

Good news! Hunger and craving monsters are both back under control! Scale is moving in the right direction again. I'm relieved and proud of myself that I can go off the deep end with my diet, and then be able to reign myself back in.

Yep, I just cut a little piece off and stuck it right over my scar. The tape stays well. I usually changed my tape once per week.

Cravings and hunger will be there with or without WLS. Some have reduced physical and head hunger (me, most days), but others don't. But just because WLS isn't a magic wand, doesn't mean we shouldn't go through with it. It is a powerful tool. For me, I have never lost weight so fast and so easily. It's not easy, but it's easier than any other diet I've been on. What's the alternative? Remain overweight? Yo-yo dieting?

Look at those curves! I have curve envy!

This is so me The upside is leftovers for days and days and days!

BBQ Chicken Breast & Brisket - 1 oz each (before) After - 1 oz left (total) This was a bit of an experiment. I have been away from a food scale for two weeks, and discovered a lot of slider foods while I was on vacation. I was curious how much restriction I have with solid protein. Clearly, A LOT, lol. This was one bite past my restriction, so I had a few minutes of nausea, uncomfortable-ness until it all settled.

Oh, I wish this were true for me. I still crave crap food!

Hmm ... I wonder if an acid stomach would mute the full sensation?

It's both. But it's more real hunger than head hunger right now. I sometimes have trouble telling them apart. But one way I can differentiate is what will satisfy me. For instance yesterday after eating the various "salads" plate I posted, getting full, then feeling hungry again, I was happy to eat the chili. Even though there were lots of other less nutritious, more crave-able options available. So I knew it was real hunger. A few hours later I was hungry again. I was satisfied with eating some cheese, when again there were a lot more delicious options available. But making good choices still takes a lot of thought and effort. I suspect that will always be a struggle for me.

Interesting @Orchids&Dragons! I wonder if that is related to your faulty esophagus?

I really can't complain, like @Orchids&Dragons I've been fortunate that overall I haven't had a lot of hunger. There have been days when I've had none at all, and just have two protein shakes. I struggled with head hunger in the first few months, but that subsided as well. Now I'm just dealing with the consequence of going on vacation and eating whatever I damn well pleased, and eating a lot more frequently than I otherwise would. It seems to have woke up my hunger monster. I have a few days at home to hopefully get back into the routine of eating healthfully, less frequently. Hopefully that will reset my hunger.

I'm not going to deny that I love my restriction. But I need to get my hunger under control for it to be effective. An hour after I ate this, I was hungry again and ate some chili ... ugh! I want my lack of hunger back!

I have a Brit ex and came to love UK candies and cookies. Pre WLS me would have loaded my suitcase with sweets to bring home. Now I just inadvertently have a half pack of Hobnobs and a Crunchie bar here with me. Meant to leave those with my traveling companion . Must be strong!

Back two days, and still struggling with hunger, both physical and mental. I can only think it is a consequence of eating without any limits while on vacation. I had been relatively hunger free the weeks leading up to vacation.

Airport lounge food .... chicken salad, cheese cubes, edamame salad, black bean salad This I ate until I felt my restriction

You guys made me literally lol On the antipasti plate, you guys all missed the artichoke hearts on the right! I actually only ate the antipasti plate until I was sated, not until I felt my restriction. It just wasn't very good . The gyro plate was HUGE, and I couldn't have made much of a dent in it even pre WLS. The fruit and cheese platter is a good example of my average capacity. The scallops and bread are an example of my capacity with slider foods.

Losing 3 lbs at an all inclusive is a great outcome! Congrats!

Gyro plate

More airplane food .... Antipasti plate

Scallops with Chorizo and homemade bread This was one of the meals I began to realize soft bread is a slider food for me. This is way more food than I can normally eat.

I'm terrible about remembering to take before pics ... but here are a few over the last couple of weeks. Airplane food .... Fruit and Cheese Plate

Thanks, I'm good with it Unfortunately on this trip my travel partner had a bum ankle, so the amount of walking was minimized. Old fat me would have been fine with that. But new me really wanted to get out and hike and walk more. Which surprised me, I don't feel any more fit in my day to day life, but I had so much more energy on this trip. My next two trips my travel partners are super fit, so barring any injuries, I'm sure they will walk my feet off!

Back from vacation! Weighed myself first morning after my return, in 12 days, total gain of 4.5 lbs. I'm okay with this. It is manageable for me to get that back off. It was worth it to be able to fully experience the food culture. (I was in Scotland, btw) I think the biggest contributing factor to the gain was the liquid calories in beer. I have a lot of restriction, so even eating recklessly my food calories aren't terribly high. But add a couple of pints of beer a day .... yeah .... The hardest thing is getting myself mentally back on track. I have to make good decisions about what I'm eating, not just because I want it. For instance I ate a pack of airplane peanuts without really thinking. I wasn't hungry, I don't even love peanuts, but I ate them. I regretted it when I logged the 170 calories though. I also found a new slider food. Soft untoasted bread, like sandwich bread, I can eat a lot of without feeling much restriction. I also learned that eating fast is a benefit for me. Slow leisurely meals allow me to basically graze, and I end up eating a lot more. I knew this from tapas style meals at home, but with slow European service at restaurants, this happened meal after meal on this trip. In two months I have another vacation. It will be pasta, gelato & wine, and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it