Next week I will be 6months post op. I have so far lost 76pounds- yayyyyy me!!! BUT lately I find myself picking up my old habits (junk food, cookies and etc). I'm terrified of gaining the weight back but I can't stop wanting these damn sweets. What do I do? Also, what's my calorie intake suppose to be 800 or 1000 calories a day?

I could really use some encouragement and ideas of what to eat. Please feel free to add me on fitness pal: aslimme85

I'm having almost exactly the same problem. The holidays were filled with bad food and not filled with exercise, so I even gained a bit. I was going to try the No sugar January and lasted a day before my period came and I wanted to eat everything and bought more bad foods. When my period is over, any remaining bad food will go in the garbage and right out to the dumpster! I do better when my home is a safe zone with no bad foods. Bad foods at work can also be a problem, so ill be avoiding the staff room any time they're around.

I'm having almost exactly the same problem. The holidays were filled with bad food and not filled with exercise' date=' so I even gained a bit. I was going to try the No sugar January and lasted a day before my period came and I wanted to eat everything and bought more bad foods. When my period is over, any remaining bad food will go in the garbage and right out to the dumpster! I do better when my home is a safe zone with no bad foods. Bad foods at work can also be a problem, so ill be avoiding the staff room any time they're around.[/quote']

Yea I feel my house is my safe zone since I try to keep it as healthy as possible. Work really kills me since they keep all these goodies in the kitchen. I try to avoid walking by the kitchen, but sometimes can't resist the temptation.

Hope after your period it gets easier. :-)

Man you guys aren't alone! I was so disappointed in myself because I gained 3 pounds over the holidays but was able to take it off by getting my butt back to the gym. With that being said- I try to eat around 800-1000 the days I don't work out and the days I do?- I allow 1200. But MAN- the whole sweet food **** it sooooo hard! Once I start eating sweets it seems to start a downward spiral. I am just trying to stay strong and get off the sugar again because once I've been without it for just a few days I seem to crave it less. Hang in there!

I'm with you! I am planning to do a week similar to my week pre-surgery (4 Protein shakes a day and liquids only) to see if I can shock my system, get the body out of its carb and sweet craving and kick some butt!!!

We can do this. We stumbled, now we have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and kick some a$$ and take names later!!! Let's do this!!!

First of all, you CAN stop eating those sweets. It's hard and sometimes you'll go crazy knowing they're around but you really are in control of this behavior, even when you feel like you're not.

The desire to eat you can't control yet, but the acting on it? You can stop that.

First I'd check out the recent thread on binge eating. There's a lot of info there on emotional/binge/overeating and it's always good to know that you are not alone with this struggle.

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/63618-if-you-were-a-binge-eater-before/

I posted there about how I overcame my own habits and the process I used to do it. It worked for me and might be worth considering.

I "stumbled" twice on my journey. Essentially, I hit two nine week stalls. And both times, about four weeks into that stall I got a "what the hell" attitude and ate what I wanted. I never did experience a gain (luckily) but I am sure my stall went on because it took me a while to focus on kicking the habit.

None of us had great eating habits prior to the sleeve or we probably wouldn't have opted for this surgery. It takes time and real effort to recognize the why behind those behaviors and then to break the ingrained habits.

Your caloric intake is going to be the amount of calories you can eat in a day without slowing or stopping your loss. For me that was much lower than most - I think I did best on 700-900 calories a day until maintenance. Some gals can eat double that and lose fine. The best thing to do is track your intake (every single bite, even half a cookie!) and follow your body's patterns. If you incorporate more good quality carbs into your diet you might gain a sense of control over the desire to graze on sweets, though.

Good luck. We're all here to help. I, personally, overcame this obstacle and feel confident that you can, too, if you work on it.

~Cheri

I will be six months out on the 24th. I can eat anything without experiencing any problems, unfortunately during the holidays I let bad habits slip into my day. I got in the bad habit of snacking/grazing and ate carbs to my hearts content. My weight loss stalled. I decided jan 1st I would get back on track. I allow myself 4 meals a day with no snacking. After limiting my carbs for three painful days the cravings passed. I now have renewed energy and fervor for reaching my goal. I keep in my mind a vision of where I want to be. I know for the first time in my life I will experience the joy of success. I know you can too! You have an amazing tool, and have already come so far from where you were! You are worth it! I have been eating around 1100 calories, limiting my carbs to 80 grams (which I know is high for some but seems to work for me) I also started working out consistently. I have lost 4 pounds this week

First of all' date=' you CAN stop eating those sweets. It's hard and sometimes you'll go crazy knowing they're around but you really are in control of this behavior, even when you feel like you're not.

The desire to eat you can't control yet, but the acting on it? You can stop that.

First I'd check out the recent thread on binge eating. There's a lot of info there on emotional/binge/overeating and it's always good to know that you are not alone with this struggle.

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/63618-if-you-were-a-binge-eater-before/

I posted there about how I overcame my own habits and the process I used to do it. It worked for me and might be worth considering.

I "stumbled" twice on my journey. Essentially, I hit two nine week stalls. And both times, about four weeks into that stall I got a "what the hell" attitude and ate what I wanted. I never did experience a gain (luckily) but I am sure my stall went on because it took me a while to focus on kicking the habit.

None of us had great eating habits prior to the sleeve or we probably wouldn't have opted for this surgery. It takes time and real effort to recognize the why behind those behaviors and then to break the ingrained habits.

Your caloric intake is going to be the amount of calories you can eat in a day without slowing or stopping your loss. For me that was much lower than most - I think I did best on 700-900 calories a day until maintenance. Some gals can eat double that and lose fine. The best thing to do is track your intake (every single bite, even half a cookie!) and follow your body's patterns. If you incorporate more good quality carbs into your diet you might gain a sense of control over the desire to graze on sweets, though.

Good luck. We're all here to help. I, personally, overcame this obstacle and feel confident that you can, too, if you work on it.

~Cheri

Thank you so much for your inspiring words. I just finishing reading the thread on binge eating and definitely helped. I have to keep reminding myself that the sleeve is a tool and my actions are what will make it work.

I will be six months out on the 24th. I can eat anything without experiencing any problems' date=' unfortunately during the holidays I let bad habits slip into my day. I got in the bad habit of snacking/grazing and ate carbs to my hearts content. My weight loss stalled. I decided jan 1st I would get back on track. I allow myself 4 meals a day with no snacking. After limiting my carbs for three painful days the cravings passed. I now have renewed energy and fervor for reaching my goal. I keep in my mind a vision of where I want to be. I know for the first time in my life I will experience the joy of success. I know you can too! You have an amazing tool, and have already come so far from where you were! You are worth it! I have been eating around 1100 calories, limiting my carbs to 80 grams (which I know is high for some but seems to work for me) I also started working out consistently. I have lost 4 pounds this week [/quote']

Congrats on the weight loss!

I will start hitting the gym again tomorrow and put an end to this stall

To help with the kitchen issue at work, keep a supply of sleeve-friendly treats around. I keep cocoa roasted almonds in 100 calorie packs in my desk and when I just want something to munch on, I eat 5-10 of them. It gets me away from the temptation and gives me something to eat that's relatively healthy.

To help with the kitchen issue at work' date=' keep a supply of sleeve-friendly treats around. I keep cocoa roasted almonds in 100 calorie packs in my desk and when I just want something to munch on, I eat 5-10 of them. It gets me away from the temptation and gives me something to eat that's relatively healthy.[/quote']

That's what I was doing until all of a sudden two months ago became allergic to them :-(