Ok, so it seems I can rarely do anything in moderation. Since being sleeved, I'm somewhat lactose intolerant which actually helps me stay away from what used to be my BFF (ok, maybe not - but awfully close)... meaning chocolate felt like my BFF.

I have developed a taste for crunchy / salty things in the past several months. In the past month and a half or so, I have really started craving whole zesty dill pickles in a really bad way. I slice the whole dill pickle usually in 4 spears, then fold a piece of cheese in half and eat it like a little sandwich. I would add a cracker to that, but know that that's even MORE sodium.

It's gotten worse, I went through a whole jar of of pickles in 2 days and then this morning I saw the impact. I'm up 2#. Yes, probably just Water weight, but still... There wasn't anything else I ate that could have caused that.

I am gonna have to go cold turkey on the pickles for awhile. It's crazy!!!!

Oh, and no I'm not preggers......

I think the pickle craving has something to do with our diets. Whenever I have done high Protein diets I crave pickles. I think it really is the salt our bodies crave because the diets are a diuretic. About weeks 3-5 I craved pickles, pepperoni slices and lunch meat. Now I barely eat them.

That's SOOO interesting you would say this. I had a blood clot this past spring totally out of the blue, totally unrelated to the sleeve. Anyhow, it was a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) and I thought I had another one right before the 4th of July but after a scan it was found I was fine. My leg had swollen up again like a Water log, same kind of pains.

Where I'm going with this is that I guess for the next year I am susceptible to edema swelling in that leg because of this. Consequently, they put me on a diuretic to help get rid of the edema. If I think back to when this craving really kicked in, I would say it was probably a week after I started taking the diuretic. Huh..... why would this be do you think? I mean pickles say something else salty? Very interesting perspective and very possibly true. I also go through phases of eating pepperoni slices, but it comes and goes. I eat them for Snacks, their good in protein, zero carbs, etc.

I also go through phases of eating pepperoni slices, but it comes and goes. I eat them for Snacks, their good in Protein, zero carbs, etc.

No question, pepperoni slices are yummy. But for me at this point in my post-op (approx. 3 months), my calorie intake is about 600-650 per day. Just 6 slices of pepperoni have 140 calories and 13 g of fat, but only 5 g of protein!

When I eat them, I feel like I've "blown the budget' when it comes to fat and calories (I target about 20-22 g of fat per day and 60+ g of protein).

Those 6 pepperoni slices are:

- 60% of my fat "budget" for the day

- only provide about 8% of my day's protein requirements

- at 140 calories, it's about 22% of my day's calories

I would have to eat 12 x that amount (a whopping 72 slices!) to get my full 60 g of protein. And it would be 156 g of fat (more than a week's worth!) and 1680 calories (again, close to 3 days worth).

Doesn't seem fair, does it?

When I feel tempted to eat pepperoni, I eat one or two slices and them supplement with some cottage cheese (1%).

A 4 oz serving of 1% cottage cheese provides:

- 0 carbs

- 90 calories

- 1 g of fat (<5% of daily target)

- 14 g of protein (23% of daily target)

- 270 mg of sodium (12% of daily target)

I would only have to eat 17 oz of cottage cheese to get my full 60 g of protein, with only 4 g of fat, and only 386 calories!

That being said, not everyone likes cottage cheese (flavour, texture, etc.) and sometimes you just want to bite and chew (hard to do with cottage cheese!). I couldn't eat 17 oz of cottage cheese, believe me! Who would? I'm just using it as a comparative example.

And I am certainly not Ms. Perfect when it comes to my eating either!

But thinking about my day's food as if it fits into a "budget" seems to work for me. Once I've "spent" my allotment in each area, I'm done for the day (except protein, which I always try to increase, where possible). It's keeps me in check and so far my results have been good and I'm less tempted to cheat.

And of course, using tools to monitor your food intake, nutritional information, etc. are vital. We have to know what we're putting into our bodies, how much fat, carbs, protein, sodium, etc. I started out using Sparkpeople.com but I bought a Fitbit, and Iiked the fact that it interfaced with MyFitnessPal (MFP), so I use MFP to track everything. They have a good smartphone app, so I have no excuses for not logging and knowing where I stand at any particular point in time.

Oh man, this is bad news for me! I LOVE pickles haha. I will have to keep an eye on this so that I don't go pickle crazy too...it would be too easy!

Well, for me and everyone has to choose what works best for them. I have NEVER monitored calories since surgery. I only monitor carbs. I don't look at fat content either.....

So, for me as long as it is along the lines of dense Protein (except pickles I guess), I pay no reference to calories. For example, I stay away from sauces or most if not all processed food including sugar.

It's worked well for me. Everyone has to do what works for them.

No question, pepperoni slices are yummy. But for me at this point in my post-op (approx. 3 months), my calorie intake is about 600-650 per day. Just 6 slices of pepperoni have 140 calories and 13 g of fat, but only 5 g of protein!

When I eat them, I feel like I've "blown the budget' when it comes to fat and calories (I target about 20-22 g of fat per day and 60+ g of protein).

Those 6 pepperoni slices are:

- 60% of my fat "budget" for the day

- only provide about 8% of my day's protein requirements

- at 140 calories, it's about 22% of my day's calories

I would have to eat 12 x that amount (a whopping 72 slices!) to get my full 60 g of protein. And it would be 156 g of fat (more than a week's worth!) and 1680 calories (again, close to 3 days worth).

Doesn't seem fair, does it?

When I feel tempted to eat pepperoni, I eat one or two slices and them supplement with some cottage cheese (1%).

A 4 oz serving of 1% cottage cheese provides:

- 0 carbs

- 90 calories

- 1 g of fat (<5% of daily target)

- 14 g of protein (23% of daily target)

- 270 mg of sodium (12% of daily target)

I would only have to eat 17 oz of cottage cheese to get my full 60 g of protein, with only 4 g of fat, and only 386 calories!

That being said, not everyone likes cottage cheese (flavour, texture, etc.) and sometimes you just want to bite and chew (hard to do with cottage cheese!). I couldn't eat 17 oz of cottage cheese, believe me! Who would? I'm just using it as a comparative example.

And I am certainly not Ms. Perfect when it comes to my eating either!

But thinking about my day's food as if it fits into a "budget" seems to work for me. Once I've "spent" my allotment in each area, I'm done for the day (except protein, which I always try to increase, where possible). It's keeps me in check and so far my results have been good and I'm less tempted to cheat.

And of course, using tools to monitor your food intake, nutritional information, etc. are vital. We have to know what we're putting into our bodies, how much fat, carbs, protein, sodium, etc. I started out using Sparkpeople.com but I bought a Fitbit, and Iiked the fact that it interfaced with MyFitnessPal (MFP), so I use MFP to track everything. They have a good smartphone app, so I have no excuses for not logging and knowing where I stand at any particular point in time.

Well, for me and everyone has to choose what works best for them. I have NEVER monitored calories since surgery. I only monitor carbs. I don't look at fat content either.....

So, for me as long as it is along the lines of dense Protein (except pickles I guess), I pay no reference to calories. For example, I stay away from sauces or most if not all processed food including sugar.

It's worked well for me. Everyone has to do what works for them.

Yup, I agree completely! I only posted my response for anyone else who's read the thread and is calorie and fat-aware such as me so they are tuned into the numbers around pepperoni. They can then decide if it's right for them with a more complete nutritional picture!

Exactly as you say, everyone has their own approach, and I'm not suggesting my way is the only or best way! There are more ways "under the sun" than there are people.......

Keep up the great work!

Cheers.

What is it with women & pickles?

"What is it with women & pickles?' LMAO @ OTR.....heh heh...

I don't know about you all, but I sure didn't get fat eating pickles! I know they're VERY high in sodium, but I think they are probably one of the most be***n foods we could eat. And vinegar is very good for us! I wouldn't feel guilty if I went on a pickle binge. I have had a horrible salty/crunchy craving for months and unfortunately, give in sometimes to THE Sour Cream and Onion mating call. *SIGH* I WISH my body would rather have pickles! Then I'd be safe!

So that word above is supposed to be b.e.n.i.g.n. Why does VST block that out? Can't figure out which profane word it thinks it is??? Weird......