I had my surgery on Sept. 6,2012. On Christmas began snacking on sweets, falling into old bad habits. I have lost almost 50lbs, and am afraid of regaining weight already! Has this happened to anyone so early on?

Hi KJones I had my surgery on Sept 10th and the same thing happened to me. I am the baker in our family and for Christmas I baked 2 pound cakes. Everybody was telling me how good they were. Today I cut a small piece and ate it... I was surprised it stayed down and I am disappointed in myself!!! I have lost 60 pounds do far and so afraid of picking up the same habits that got me in the position I was in before... Keep your head up and just don't let this be one your sleeve habits... We will do this the right way together

Hi KJones I had my surgery on Sept 10th and the same thing happened to me. I am the baker in our family and for Christmas I baked 2 pound cakes. Everybody was telling me how good they were. Today I cut a small piece and ate it... I was surprised it stayed down and I am disappointed in myself!!! I have lost 60 pounds do far and so afraid of picking up the same habits that got me in the position I was in before... Keep your head up and just don't let this be one your sleeve habits... We will do this the right way together

I think as long as you don't make eating pound cake an every day thing, you will be okay. Maybe Weight Watcher's hasn't helped me lose a ton of weight, but I do agree with the philosophy that no food is evil in moderation.

I really like drinking the Swiss Miss Diet hot chocolate for a sweet treat. 25 calories.

I still keep sugar free popsicles in the freezer, too.

I think it's good to eat in moderation and not deny ourselves, because treating our new lifestyle like a temporary diet full of "good" and "bad" foods isn't feasible forever.

That said, I also think it's important that we control our food choices instead of letting food control us.

I think sweets like you're talking about only help us do one thing: crave more sweets. Empty calories are to be avoided for the most part. Because the truth for most of us is that the surgery wasn't necessary solely because of our food choices - it's also due to the food habits we've built over the years. Mindless snacking, indulging cravings, eating because it's the thing to do during the holidays, eating because we're bored, eating while we're emotional - these things are all habits we need to address and break for long term success if we want to live life at goal without living like we're on a restrictive diet. Couple poor food choices with poor food habits and you have a recipe for disaster.

You've acknowledged that you're indulging the urge to snack on lesser-quality foods. Now shift that snack to a higher quality food until you can control the urge to snack completely. There's nothing wrong with a small bite between meals - but making good food choices 90% of the time is what allows us to indulge for the other 10% and you risk throwing all of that off when you indulge regularly.

Figuring out why we eat when we eat is an important part of overcoming obesity. Our stomachs were not the only part of the problem, so work on this and start changing these habits now so that you can reach goal as a happier and healthier person all around. You'll be at far less risk for regain in the future if you invest time in yourself now.

Good luck,

~Cheri

I call the carb cravings "riding the sugar dragon". Once you start your body gets hooked. That being said, an occasional treat isn't a bad thing. Just know what to expect and how to cope with the cravings afterwards.