I'm 2 years post-op and 13 pounds above my lowest weight, but slowly climbing.

I'm pretty sure my problem is daily snacking on sugary Cereal (Duh). Upon getting home from work I snack on 2 cups of cereal, and while I log this and keep my daily calories in check, I think the sugar and carbs are a problem.

Any recommendations on a healthy after work snack? Crunchy is good and maybe a little sweet too.

Thanks ...

Just the words crunchy and sweet worry me. I like djs suggestion of the Apple. I highly recommend going for something higher protein if you have been gaining.

Already having an apple daily as part of my breakfast . I consume lots of fruit (melon mostly) and vegetables

Edited January 9, 201610 yr by Andrew0929

I have a vape and that has helped me when I want to snack. I have one called Looper. Its Fruit Loops and milk flavor. amazing. I also have monkey snack. Peanut Butter and banana. it works for me.

Edited January 9, 201610 yr by IrishGermanRN

Andrew0929, Good for you for nipping the regain in the bud! I doubt if the cereal per se is actually causing the weight gain if you’re truly staying within your calorie goals, but I agree with some of the others that maybe it is an unhealthy habit if you’re depending on it and it’s driving you to make other unhealthy decisions.

I love some of these ideas!

As you think of some more, I’d also try to think about why the cereal is so attractive. Part of it may be the sweetness and crunch, but part of it may just be its convenience. It’s there, and it’s ready to eat. Maybe if you make sure that it’s not there, and that other, healthier, Snacks are ready to eat, you’ll go for the healthier snacks without another thought. Maybe the trick is to have ready to eat foods on hand, so some ideas are carrot sticks and other cut veggies, peeled oranges, washed grapes and other fruit, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, and other prepared foods. I also like seaweed snacks for a low-calorie crunch.

I realize that we all have different experiences and beliefs, me Too, does not mean I am right....but...

I believe you that calories remain steady yet weight goes up.

I am suspicious of 3 root causes :

1) carbs (ie sugary cereal etc habit )

2) overall activity level...I am not talking about gym time but just how much you "go go"

3) intensity of exercise / activity and your body's adaptation to it. I used to believe in long duration, low to med intensity workouts for weight. My experience is that shorter duration high intensity is way more effective. I don't know why.

Calorie math, while interesting, is suspect.

No carbs

I realize that we all have different experiences and beliefs, me Too, does not mean I am right....but...

I believe you that calories remain steady yet weight goes up.

I am suspicious of 3 root causes :

1) carbs (ie sugary cereal etc habit )

2) overall activity level...I am not talking about gym time but just how much you "go go"

3) intensity of exercise / activity and your body's adaptation to it. I used to believe in long duration, low to med intensity workouts for weight. My experience is that shorter duration high intensity is way more effective. I don't know why.

Calorie math, while interesting, is suspect.

Calorie math is correct and I diligently log everything. However, my carbs and sugar intake increased when I introduced the cereal snacking.

My weekly workout regimen:

2 days spin class

3 days weight lifting 40 minutes

1 day running and elliptical 45 minutes total

Seasonally - cross country skiing or mountain biking.

I really believe it's all about the sugar and carbs from the cereal. Sometimes 2 cups of cereal/day turned into 3 cups. Funny thing how carbs/sugar have that affect ...

Edited January 10, 201610 yr by Andrew0929

I didn't mention that I had an appointment with my surgeon 3 weeks ago, 2 years post op.

He wasn't concerned about my overall small gain from lowest weight, saying that people rarely remain at their lowest weight.

But, it's making me crazy that I see a small difference in my love handles and I'm determined to at least lose those completely again.

Thanks to all for the great variety of recommendations for healthy snacking options.

Today is Day 1 in cutting out the Cereal.

Bariatric Eating FaceBook group seems to have great ideas regarding the weight gain 2 years post surgery.

I do low fat string cheese, bariatric crunchy snacks from bariatric pal and Quest protein chips.

I'm down 3 pounds since Monday when I stopped snacking on sugary cereal. While my calories are somewhat unchanged, carbs down 50 - 75 daily.

While I concur on cereal and applaud all the healthy suggestions (carrots, apples, etc), I think we're talking about crafting a new lifestyle as opposed to "dieting". Like most of us, I crave an occasional salty/crunchy snack. As I have told my NUT, I think most of my weight gain came from eating nuts which are full of calories.

The first thing you have to do is make it a treat -- not a daily habit. My sense is a treat should be eaten no more than 1-2 times a week. Second, understand that sugar is POISON. Not only does it cause weight gain, but it also kills you! If I eat sugary food, I limit it to once a month.

For the last 6 months, I have been enjoying something that I never would have eaten in my pre-VSG low carb days - JOLLY TIME POPCORN. They make a single serve 100 calorie bag that they say makes 5 cups of popcorn (it looks like less than that). Even in my pre-sleeve days, I couldn't eat more than one bag.

I know popcorn is frowned upon, but in my case, it works!

Edited January 14, 201610 yr by Cape Crooner

For me, it's all about logging food and exercise. I evaluate my net calories each day and add deficient nutrients as needed.

My cereal thing went on for 6 months and I made adjustments in caloric intake to allow for this, but the added carbs were causing gains.

I'm still down 153 pounds from all time high, but 10 pounds above my all time low. Hoping to lose 7 pounds and then maintain.

So cool of you, Andrew, to be sitting in top of all that data about your eating and being able to see what changes you'd made and correlate those to weight changes (up and down).

After 17 months post-op, I have come to respect that everybody's body needs / wants what it needs / wants. What works for me doesn't necessarily work for you or others. And vice versa.

Having said that, I do know that in my case different foods with identical calories have different effects on my body -- re weight gain, weight loss, physical and mental energy, satiety, and muscle-building capability. All I can do is understand as best I can how different foods affect me. And then I have to have the discipline to (most of the time) eat those foods that help me meet my goals. I follow these rules 80-90% of the time. And then sometimes I decide to do something different. But those are exceptions.

Once on another forum I said I thought it should be required for all WLS patients, after they reach goal and maintain for a while, to then regain 10 pounds on purpose -- so they could learn how to recover from regain and not fear it.

So congratulations. This is your opportunity to learn all that.

I found these parmesan crisps at Costco - Whisps. 100 calories for 15 crackers. 9g Protein. 0g sugar. 7g fat. Satisfies the need to crunch and after a couple I don't want anymore. Have yet to eat 15 as a portion.