I guess today is going to be my vent out day. I had one of the worst food days since surgery. Bfast started out with 1/2 a slice of mozarella on 8 grain toast, i had no snack and the. Lunch was about 8 forkfulls of spaghetti carbonara, i had people over for tea and had a jaffa cake and then dinner i had a piece of chicken and some salad and just now before bed i had a frozen tetra pack of ribena..... Feeling very angry with myself.

Doesn't sound too bad!!! Don't beat yourself up.

And how much did you really eat?

My oft stated opinion on these boards is that the sleeve is not a diet. Yes, learn to eat healthier and to choose better options. Track your caloric intake and stay within the limits you set for yourself.

But your day wasn't really that bad. And having the mentality that you're "cheating" by eating normal foods is going to lead to days where you throw it all in the crapper and eat like crazy because you'll feel like you've already blown the day by eating one thing off plan.

The most important part of the sleeve journey is learning to eat like a normal person. What I mean is that people with no food issues and who haven't battled their weight do not freak out over eating spaghetti or a small piece of cake. They eat what they want, in moderation. They don't feel guilty about it and they don't hide it. They eat right 90% of the time and allow themselves 10% flex to eat what sounds good at the time.

We can't live on poached chicken and carrot sticks forever! The sleeve IS forever, it is NOT a diet. So start by forgiving yourself for your diet the other day. Pick up the pieces, fix your guidelines and work within them.

And don't shave your carbs down to nil, either! It's far easier to fall off the wagon when we feel deprived.

You're doing fine! You'll be a success with this. It's a learning process for every one of us.

~Cheri

I totally agree with CLK! This is about learning to eat like a normal weight person. NWP's eat regular food and sometimes they add junk to their diet. Okay, so you are in lose mode right now, but the only way to learn to maintain a normal weight is to learn to deal with food like a NWP. I don't consider food good or bad; for me it's either Protein or not protein. But, one of the biggest lessons I'm learning on this journey is that "not all carbs are bad carbs". As a matter of fact, now that I've stepped up my workout routine, I'm having to learn to ADD carbs to my diet in order to have the energy to handle my routine.

As you go forward, you'll realize that you have days where you eat more than usual, and you'll have days where you won't eat anywhere near what you think you "should" eat. I'm not sure what causes the variation, but it will happen. Don't beat yourself up either way, just try to stay on plan as much as possible.

A bit of pasta, ONE wee Jaffa cake, and a Ribena do not a terrible day make! Just stay on track and treat each day as a new start. :-)

I agree, cut yourself some slack. The beauty of the sleeve is that it won't let you eat too much!

Thanks to those who replied and set my senses straight. It is a lifestyle and we can't be unrealistic and make smart choices. I recovered from my so called bad eating day and am back on track and happy to say that allowing yourself a treat once in awhile doesn't mean it's the end of the world. We have to have a diet that is sustainable and not one where we have one small pice of cake and its the end of the world. Thanks for all the encouragement peeps.