OK, I just need to rant a little because I am feeling frustrated. I am almost 2.5 years post op and have been pretty much maintaining for the last year. But I have to watch what I eat all the time. If I start to slip, I start to gain. I keep the junk out of the house, and my immediate family is either on board/ don't know any different (I have young children). Where I am struggling is my Mom. Now, don't get me wrong, she was one of my biggest supports when it came to getting the surgery. That being said, she always has food around. I have asked her nicely, begged, and have broken down crying, just trying to reason with her that not everything has to revolve around food. So with this Easter, we did not buy our children many treats, just a couple of chocolate eggs that I knew I wouldn't eat and got them present instead. My mom asked if she could get them some treats. I told her a little bit. Then they show up, and she has bags of candies and chocolates, along with the bag of chocolates and candies that my Grandma gives and refuses not too.

Now I am good at limiting how much my children eat. But me, I am a food addict. I admit it. If it is sitting there in front of me, I cannot resist it. That is why I do not keep anything that I like in my home. I am trying to convey to her how hard it is for me to have all that food around, and she is getting better. But I just can't seem to get it across. I saw one person that they did a coin hunt instead of an Easter Egg hunt, maybe I will have to try that instead. I am not anti-treat. I made a homemade pumpkin pie and enjoyed a piece. I am anti-15 lbs of chocolate for everyone!

Love to hear others experiences and how you have dealt with them.

Giving up bars was one of the keys to losing the last 25 to goal for me. I loved the darn things and ate too many....

Thank you so much for saying that. I have created a safe distance from me to the Protein bars today. Have to go into the garage now and that takes effort. Lol. I have gone back to eating a solid 3 oz of chicken for afternoon snack and notice my hunger did not peak at all after that until dinner. So glad. I am going to keep the energy squares though because the good carbs will help with the various training.

BTB - unfortunately' date=' I know exactly what you mean with the sleeve not helping with restriction on certain foods. My vice right now are Protein bars. I eat too many of them. Maybe I need to not eat any *at all* because they always seem to trigger a desire for another one. And I give in. All the time.

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What bars are you eating? So many of them contain so much sugar. For me they definitely create cravings for more. The only ones I eat now are the Quest bars. They do not have the same effect on me, I guess because they are so low carb...or maybe it's because they do not taste all that great. But nutritionally they are one of the best protein bars you can get. I probably eat 1/month. But back when I was eating Zone bars, it was 3-4 day. Those things get to tasting like snickers bars after a while.

What bars are you eating? So many of them contain so much sugar. For me they definitely create cravings for more. The only ones I eat now are the Quest bars. They do not have the same effect on me' date=' I guess because they are so low carb...or maybe it's because they do not taste all that great. But nutritionally they are one of the best Protein bars you can get. I probably eat 1/month. But back when I was eating Zone bars, it was 3-4 day. Those things get to tasting like snickers bars after a while.[/quote']

1 a month? I wish! Sometimes I am eating 2 or 3 a day of them. Mmm snicker bars...nope, do not want to go there.

I have been eating think thin bars (0 g sugar), nu go bars (2 g sugar. 19 carb from sugar alcohol, Fiber and sugar) and peleo bars (300 cal and 0 g sugar, 17 g carb from fiber and raw honey).

Of the 3, I think peleo bar is best because it has nothing processed in it with very few ingredients and think thin is worst because it has funky chemicals in it. Peleo bar is high cal 300 and think thin is 210 cal. Overall, I like the nu go because they are organic and lower cal (180), but I thing the 2 g sugar is causing an overeating issue for me. I will eat 2 of these because they are yummy. Again, I eat really clean except for the sugar in these protein bars.

Sometimes that carb monster is triggered on any one of these and I end up having 2 in the same sitting. Calories really add up. No weight gain yet and stabilizing weight around 182 because I exercise a lot every week, but it is not good to be eating these for me with the exception of peleo after cross fit.

I want to lean out just a bit more (5-10 lb of fat loss and muscle gain) and do not feel these bars are helping me with that goal. At least that is my impression. I could be wrong.

Sigh.

This easter I got lucky, no candy at all. My husband does not give me candy anyway...my mom and dad did not this year. The restaurant we went to had the calories by all of the dishes,and that was a HUGE turnoff from so much of the food on the menu. I saved calories from breakfast and lunch, ate not to bad, split a smaller desert with the hubby, and wrote it all down in myfitnesspal when I got home. The writing down everything every day is what saves my s$$. It keeps me conscious. I was over a little, but back on track the next day. Small bump in the road. There was some candy at work, I ate some, wrote it down and had to do without good food because of it. Not a great tradeoff. It didn't even taste that good. I hope I learn by it and just say no in the future.