I just had three miniature candy bars. I swear they were so good!!! I feel a little guilty though (just a little). LOL!! I remember a time when I would have eaten two full size candy bars at the same time. SMH!

Ha! I can't advocate eating candy bars, but it's definitely nice to be satisfied by just the mini ones and not eating a king sized one anymore!

I'm putting my defense shield up and getting ready to get lectured by the community ????

Do I dare admit that I have had 1-2 full size Butterfinger candy bars post surgery every week since the time I've been allowed to have solids? Yep. Ive enjoyed my favorite candy bar every week for at least 7 months now. Before you lecture me, let me tell you a little bit about my thinking process. I've always hated the word "diet" because it implies that one day you will go off of your current way of eating and back to another way of eating. When people "diet", they deprive themselves of the things that they really want and at some point cave and give in. I eat a pretty clean diet 99% of the time. I was able to reach and surpass my surgeon's goal by 10 pounds before a years time. I weigh myself daily, continue to follow my surgeon's guidelines and exercise. I also know myself well enough to know my limitations. There is no way I can have an endless supply of chips, cookies, candy and other "binge foods" in my house. They are way to easy to grab without thinking. However, I do enjoy an occasional indulgence. I record every single thing I eat in my loseit app on my phone. I account for those calories. Now can everyone handle this kind of discipline? Probably not. This is where you have to be honest with your own situation. I've never considered myself an emotional eater. I don't turn to food for comfort. I've never feared my need for butterfingers would increase as the weeks went on. I'm also willing to reevaluate and check myself if this starts to happen. I guess I have issues with any black and white thinking. It worries me when former food addicts become food nazis. I get that many of us need that kind of discipline to be successful. If I deprive myself of things I love, I start to rebel. Butterfingers make me happy. There. I said it. I don't have to have a case of them. I never did. I have created a new lifestyle for myself that includes healthy eating, exercise AND and an occasional treat. I'm glad I can still indulge once in awhile.

???? Confession time over.

Edited April 22, 201511 yr by Bluesea71

I agree alot with what you said @Bluesea71. I do like to indulge every once and a while. I want to be able to still enjoy some of the things I like like an occassional candy bar, adult beverage or a potato chip. LOL!! It is all about moderation. I figure I put in work at the gym 5 days a week, sometimes going twice a day, plus drinking and eating my Protein. I deserve to treat myself.

My NUT made one very important point that really stuck with me: "this is not a diet, that is what you had surgery for". Not saying that we go hog-wild, but to remember we did a lot to change our lives, NOT to destroy our happiness. Everything in moderation. THAT'S the key!

@@Essence46 Anything in moderation. Just learn your triggers. If candy bars leads to other poor choices then candy bars should probably not be on your eating list. Other than that, enjoy it while you're eating it.

Bluesea71 wrote:

I'm putting my defense shield up and getting ready to get lectured by the community
Do I dare admit that I have had 1-2 full size Butterfinger candy bars post surgery every week since the time I've been allowed to have solids? Yep. Ive enjoyed my favorite candy bar every week for at least 7 months now......

A full-sized candy bar, once a week!

Ohh my God, I am beginning to feel weak, I think I am going to pass....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

What happened, where I am I? The last thing I remember was reading about someone with gastric surgery eating a candy bar and, oh no I am feeling weak and (THUD) ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Naaaah, I am just kidding you. This is not a diet, this is a lifestyle change. As long as you can control what you are eating, then enjoy. All the more power to you that you can show willpower.

Edited April 22, 201511 yr by 4MRB4PHOTO

I had a bowl of ice cream tonight! No one is perfect and if I thought I had to be perfect every day for the rest of my life, I'd completely lose it altogether! Do I want to be eating ice cream every day? Obviously not! But I if I have a bowl once in a while to stay sane, I don't see the harm in that. Feeling completely deprived all the time would just make me rebel and lash out at some point and go way off the deep end with my eating.

These are great points that I try to remember every time I start to beat myself up about something I've eaten that I probably shouldn't have. My weakness is chips and I usually eat the entire bag through the day. Smh but in comparison to everything else I eat it's not bad.....as long as it's not every day.

This gives me hope that one day I'll be able to have small pleasures here and there. Last night I was craving ice cream really badly. But I'm only 1 month out, and the surgical team has me convinced that if I eat anything with over 5g of sugar that I will dump or throw up!

At this point in my journey, I can eat anything I want and not get sick. It's all about choices. I chose the eat better and healthier 95% of the time. I do enjoy that 5% though.

The great thing is that if you indulge on something you wouldn't normally eat, you can't eat very much of it, so the "damage" is pretty minimal. Pre-sleeve I would "indulge" with an entire pint of ice cream, a whole package of cookies, or an entire pizza. Now a "slip up" for me is maybe 1/2 a cup of ice cream? An ounce or two of chips? And when you factor in that only happens every once in a while, not every day, the overall impact on our weight loss/maintenance is so minimal. The key is to not let a once-a-week indulgence turn into once-a-day, etc.

I think most of us that are at the year mark indulge some. I just want to express concern on people 1 - 6 months out of surgery already indulging on candy and chips. The sleeve is a tool and the weight loss will come off quicker at the beginning and the "honeymoon" phase should be used to its full advantage.

I think most of us that are at the year mark indulge some. I just want to express concern on people 1 - 6 months out of surgery already indulging on candy and chips. The sleeve is a tool and the weight loss will come off quicker at the beginning and the "honeymoon" phase should be used to its full advantage.

6 months is a long time to ask someone not to eat a single chip or cookie. Living a life of complete deprivation is going to just make some people miserable. An extra couple hundred calories in 6 months isn't going to significantly impact weight loss. But it is very important not to let it become a frequent habit. And that's just where you have to know yourself and whether or not you have the strength to not let one cookie turn into hundreds.

I think most of us that are at the year mark indulge some. I just want to express concern on people 1 - 6 months out of surgery already indulging on candy and chips. The sleeve is a tool and the weight loss will come off quicker at the beginning and the "honeymoon" phase should be used to its full advantage.

6 months is a long time to ask someone not to eat a single chip or cookie. Living a life of complete deprivation is going to just make some people miserable. An extra couple hundred calories in 6 months isn't going to significantly impact weight loss. But it is very important not to let it become a frequent habit. And that's just where you have to know yourself and whether or not you have the strength to not let one cookie turn into hundreds.

I'm not trying to be the food nazi. I'm just saying that for most people carbs are a slippery slope and trying to limit them in the first 6 months helps take full advantage of your sleeve.