Okay So I'm not banded yet have three weeks to go and all my head keeps saying is I need sugar. I know the band is a tool for my stomach... how do you all get over the mind asking for sugar?

I'm a sugar addict and will always fight the craving for sweets, but the band definitely helps. Additionally, I found some cookbooks in amazon with sugar free desert recipes. I like to bake, so having some options for continuing to do so helps.

I'm a sugar addict and will always fight the craving for sweets, but the band definitely helps. Additionally, I found some cookbooks in amazon with sugar free desert recipes. I like to bake, so having some options for continuing to do so helps.

what are some cookbooks that you recommend?

My favorite is The Healthy Indulgences Cookbook: A Guide to Baking All Natural, Sugar Free Deserts. I also like Diabetic Dream Deserts. Note: you need to purchase special sugar substitutes to bake some of these recipes, but they have never caused issues with my band.

i dont (crave) sugar although sometimes i crave a few coors lights......

but if i want something sweet, i grab SF popsicles or SF pudding or some fruit

It depends if you are a sugar addict. Sugar addiction is very real and if you are then you can't have just one post band. I avoid all sugars or anything sweet even if its sugar free because that just starts a downward spiral. I also do not eat starchy carbs they are also a trigger. I dont feel that I am being deprived I feel like I have control over my addiction which is sugar.

That's me, I can never stop at just a little. I really am asugar addicts- I'm not a binge eater (don't eat till I vomit, wouldn't eat out of the bin, don't hide and eat or eat truly stupendous amounts but an entire packet of Cookies is easy to eat in a sitting.

You know, I have it under enough control that I stay sugar free most days but every now and then, I have a pig out and just enjoy it. I lost all my weight, I keep it off and I exercise a lot so I just go with it on the odd occasion.

I have found some lo cal cookies like WhoNu takes like oreos I have one or two and I'm good. Drinking water helps too.

i eat sugar. i just don't eat a lot of it. And i make sure it's good quality. If i'm going to eat it, i'm going to make it worth it.

Example: I buy these: http://www.ghirardelli.com/store/shop-products/collections/bars/gourmet-milk-coconut-rendezvous-bar.html

or: Lindt White coconut

I eat one square and one nip at a time...

I don't deprive myself of things like this. After all i have given up, chocolate won't be one of them. I'm lucky, i can control it with one piece.

My head hunger is pretty much gone since the band. I am still in awe about how little I care about food. I was a major ice cream addict before the band and that is the absolute worse because that crap just slides right on down band or no band. Ice cream was a huge concern for me when considering all options because

1. Gastric bypass you have to deal with dumping syndrome and ice cream is a killer. I was not ready to say goodbye to ice cream forever.

2. Band lets it slide on down.....ice cream still a killer...and I thought there was no way to win with this.

I was wrong. My band has helped me immensely with head hunger to a point where it does not exist. Ice cream still happens on rare occasions and when it does it sugar free with exception to two weeks ago my Wife was in the mood for ice cream so we hit the local stand and I said "ya know what I deserve a treat". I had a regular vanilla frappe. Big, Big mistake. Hour later I was home and in the bathroom and had some stomach cramps. I guess my body is not used to it anymore. From here on out sugar free only when I am having a treat.

I am also one of those ones who eat what they want. I've been down the road of deprivation and it just does not work for me...period. If I want pizza or ice cream I have it. Now its all about moderation and stopping the eating when I am satisfied.

If you're really, really having the sugar craving try a teaspoon of Peanut Butter. At least that way you will also get some Protein while also getting in your sugar fix. This got me through that period of time when I did not have enough "restriction" and head hunger was still plaguing me. Remember it's all in moderation.

Edit: Sorry for the TMI. I was just trying to point out how much the band has changed me.

I get peanut butter! It's sweet and a little bit goes a long way! Or, you can always eat some plain oat meal with Splenda, protein shakes are sweet, sf pudding/jello, apple sauce ( natural ) sf gum. Things like that work with moderation! Good luck.

I recently had a few bites of my hubby's dessert and I found it to be "not as yummy" as I was hoping it would be. I too feel like my sugar cravings subsided after I was banded and eating "cleaner".

Protein, protein, protein! I always make protein my 1st course. I have found that the days I get high protein (60g or more) I am not hungry at all and don't snack and pick. My diet mostly consists of cottage cheese, greek key lime yogurt with graham crackers, unsweetened tea with stevia sweetener and usually a few bites of whatever I made for dinner for everyone else. When I'm eating out I either get a bean burrito or a snack wrap. When I'm craving something sweet I have an Adkins protein snack bar.