Ten weeks out tomorrow. Doing well (62 down, but slow). But. A big BUTT - I'm noticing that I'm grazing and the calories are creeping up. I'm not exercising like I should. I need to be held accountable. I get extremely full but get hungry again. Tell me how bad this slippery slope is. I think this is in part because I need to crunch something and I'm bored with foods. I'm tracking everything. And making good choices. I just need to stop snacking so much. TELL ME TO STOP. Tell me your horror stories. Tell me to snap out of it! How I wish my brain was fixed along with my stomach.

STOP!

Make set times during the day to eat. Only eat at those times. Can you handle broccoli dipped in seasoned Greek yogurt? It is filling, crunchy, and at least some Protein.

1 pound becomes 2 becomes 10 becomes 50. You got this, girl!

STOP GRAZING! Add a little more fat to your regular meals and you'll probably find the urge subsides. Also, look at the food you are grazing on and think about what you're really hoping to get out of the food. Stress relief? Comfort? Control? Whatever it is, the food won't give it to you. If you are craving comfort, do something else that brings you comfort; call a friend, take a hot bath, etc.

CJ,

You are so right to call this a slippery slope! It's so much easier for us to slip back into old habits than to develop new healthy ones, eh? Try planning your menu for the day the night before and just STICK with it. I just started journaling personally because I was struggling, and I've increased my meals to four per day - they are still around 200 calories, more like 120 for Breakfast, and very few carbs, except in the evening when I come in under calories and allow myself a few Fiber Selects crackers to make up the difference. Are your meals packed with dense Proteins? How about Beans for an alternative? Do you wait for an hour after your meal and then start drinking your fluids or Protein shake? Are you getting in at least 64 oz Fluid per day - maybe you need more? If you're doing everything already and still feel the need to snack, spray your tongue with minty breath spray/chew some gum/brush your teeth/apply minty lip gloss. Any or all of these tricks make me want to drink nothing but Water, because any other flavor doesn't go well with mint! Best wishes!

Ten weeks out tomorrow. Doing well (62 down, but slow). But. A big BUTT - I'm noticing that I'm grazing and the calories are creeping up. I'm not exercising like I should. I need to be held accountable. I get extremely full but get hungry again. Tell me how bad this slippery slope is. I think this is in part because I need to crunch something and I'm bored with foods. I'm tracking everything. And making good choices. I just need to stop snacking so much. TELL ME TO STOP. Tell me your horror stories. Tell me to snap out of it! How I wish my brain was fixed along with my stomach.

Thank you for being honest Janey.

Now the reality check: You have a limited window of time to work with here, approximately 6 months or a year if you're lucky where the weight will come off relatively easy if you follow your program. If you keep grazing, cheating, the window will close and you will experience difficulty in getting your weight where it needs to be. This is a second chance, don't blow it.

I know someone personally who did and continues to do what you're talking about and he's still sitting near 300lbs - his window closed about 9 months ago and he's paying the price for it right now.

I feel your pain, CrazyJaney! I have a printout of a document I found on this site called "10 Mistakes WLS Patients Make", and have the one for grazing highlighted. That, and not getting enough Water, have been my biggest struggles.

Like the others said, plan your times to eat, and stick with it! And I know it's difficult, but keep as busy/distracted as possible between meals. I've found that 9 times out of 10, I'm not really hungry, and I'm justing eating out of habit. An old habit.

I'll be three months post op on Monday, and I'm going through a stall right now. Much of it is because of grazing. And it doesn't matter that it's healthy stuff, my calories creep up to the 1200 range. Respectible, but not taking maximum advantage of the honeymoon period of the sleeve.

Stay focused. Log on here. Keep your hands busy. You got this, your head's in the right place. And I applaud you for holding yourself accountable. That's a critical part of this process!

Be well…

Also, what types of food are you grazing on? I would guess it's not what you should be eating. Keep grazeables out of your house. This was one of the hardest ones for my family to adjust to: not having pretzels, chips, etc., in the house because it provided too much temptation for me.

Set your times to eat, and if you absolutely MUST have something else, try Water. Gum. Mints. If you need crunch, try veggies with a little dip (there are tons out there and loads more recipes of high-Protein dips that are easy to make) Carrots or broccoli have a lot of crunch, and with some dip, they're pretty tasty.

Ok people! Thank you for your quick responses! Keep me honest. Today is a new day. Swam this morning. Lunch is packed. Celery and califlauer packed with some dip for when I need crunch. Carbs will be maintained today. I've kept calories to 950 or under but I know the grazing adds unintentional calories and it's a slippery slope. Thank you!!! I can't do this without you people holding me up!

Do you track your foods "religiously"? That helps me. I use myfitnesspal and track every SINGLE thing I eat. I also have shared my logs with my friends so they can view them, and knowing that they see them too keeps me more accountable. Also sometimes I just have to avoid 100% those "trigger" foods (for me chips, pretzels, etc). I won't even keep them in my house. If my husband wants chips, he buys kinds he knows I don't like ....lol.

Yes, I obsessively track. That's how I know the calories are adding up. Did well today. When I needed to chew today, I ate a bite of celery. Thank you all! I have more faith in myself today. Funny how negative about myself i can get. I saw my pulmologist today and he was worried about my negativity and reminded me this was a marathon not a sprint. I lost 1.4 over night too which helps. I'm watching myself to make sure I don't go backwards but I'm still in the race !though.

STOP!!!!

Now on to my personal experience. ..

Grazing seems harmless in the beginning because we can eat so little. A bite here and there won't hurt, right? Well it became a habit for me. Seriously, I ate every 2 hours then my brain got used to this new ritual and stopping grazing seemed near impossible. Then at about 8 months post op, I could eat more in one sitting and then at a year, it seemed I could eat more than that! Now grazing could easily put me at 2000+ calories for the day. Over a six month period, I gained 5-7 pounds! Never reached goal.

Now, I'm trying to lose the last 30 pounds and I've made it way hard on myself by developing this horrible habit! Don't do it!!!!

Edited May 23, 201412 yr by Nicolanz

That's exactly what I'm worried about! It's like I feel a need to eat every 2 hours. I can see the writing on the wall if I don't stop. I do well in morning spacing my breakfast and lunch but afternoons, the grazing starts. I'm actually pretty good with staying away from carbs. It's not chips or stuff like that, it's cheese, or jerky, or nuts. The jerky and nuts just to chew! Ironically, I can't chew gum because I have TMJ. Today was much better. I was right at 850 cal, 65 protein, 50 carbs. Part of it is, when I drink fluids on an "empty" stomach, I get waves of nausea. It doesn't last, but it's easier to get fluids in about 30 min after eating and darn hard 2 hours after eating. I've tried all kinds of drops. I actually prefer the plain water now (or unsweet tea but that's more caffeine I don't need). But I'm just gonna have to get over it. It's so frustrating. But today was better. I'll go with it!

Edited May 23, 201412 yr by CrazyJaney