I'm 7 months out from my gastric sleeve and have exceeded my weight loss goal. I'm down to around 169-170 lbs from 278, a "normal" BMI and thrilled with my results. I get praised all the time about "how great I look", and how I just keep getting smaller (I'm still a size 10--but tiny compared to the size 20 I started at). Confession time: over the last 2 months my diet Dr Pepper habit has come back with a vengeance, and along with it has come "little bits" here and there of sugar and junk food. Instead of 80 oz of water per day, I've been drinking about 36 oz of soda...and 20 oz of water at the gym. Now those little tastes of junk food are becoming a daily occurrence. For a while I've been living in denial, thinking I could get away with this behavior because I haven't gained weight. The truth is, I'm lying to myself and setting myself up for failure. My story feels similar to a lot of others I've read on here, only at least I have the benefit that hopefully I've caught and can curb this behavior before the weight starts to slide back on. I'm terrified I will gain all the weight back. So this is me and my confession, on day 1 of sugar and diet soda detox again. I realize now more than ever that the sleeve is wonderful, but if I can't permanently change my habits, the sleeve isn't going to help me in the long term.

@@rnsamantha

Give yourself credit for acknowledging behaviors creeping back in, Maintenance can be tricky. Treating yourself once in a while is ok. It can trigger hunger and old behaviors. You can turn it around before it gets out of hand. You know yourself. You know what is healthy for you.

Stories like this keep me real. Thank you for sharing. I KNOW I am doing good, but little things are creeping in early. I used to have a pickle for the 'crunch". Now guess what? Three pickles. Not much right? Well, also my omelet at night has gone from one egg to two. I'm having a Jello that's only 10 calories, but I'm not bothering to log it.(or the pickles.) Its little things but I'm only 3 months out. What about later. I know I can't be so strict that I say "to hell with it all" but I must keep vigilant. I didn't pay 10,000 dollars out of my own pocket just to set myself up for failure ONE MORE TIME. It's all good, just keeping it honest.

Good for you!

You'll have to find what works for you, but you might consider this perspective that has helped me maintain at 17+ months post-op:

Maintenance for me hasn't just been about what I can't eat, but what I have to eat to be healthy. For me, eating healthy means I have to eat a certain amount of Protein, healthy veggies, some fruit, some whole grains, some dairy, 64 ounces of liquids (at least) -- and then if / when there's capacity and calories left I also get to eat other foods that (for me) are treats, basically wine and simpler carbs.

I guess what I'm saying is that I have to hit my healthy food minimums every day before eating the extra stuff.

Not sure that helps, but just offering up that kind of calculation for your consideration.

It's so good that you're acknowledging it to yourself and making changes to improve.

When I was deciding whether or not to get surgery, I looked into the five year outcomes of popular diets vs bariatric surgery. Five years after diet and exercise alone and almost everyone has gained the weight back. Five years after surgery, and almost everyone is still successful. That showed me that it's possible for people like us, who have struggled with our weight for long and have deeply ingrained bad food habits, to be successful. So you may not be perfect, but as long as you keep trying, everything will work out.

Good for you!

You'll have to find what works for you, but you might consider this perspective that has helped me maintain at 17+ months post-op:

Maintenance for me hasn't just been about what I can't eat, but what I have to eat to be healthy. For me, eating healthy means I have to eat a certain amount of Protein, healthy veggies, some fruit, some whole grains, some dairy, 64 ounces of liquids (at least) -- and then if / when there's capacity and calories left I also get to eat other foods that (for me) are treats, basically wine and simpler carbs.

I guess what I'm saying is that I have to hit my healthy food minimums every day before eating the extra stuff.

Not sure that helps, but just offering up that kind of calculation for your consideration.

Love this, and I totally agree.

@@rnsamantha

Amen Samantha. Thanks for the post, you said it all perfectly.

catching the slips are fine, but you HAVE to change them. When the honeymoon ends, your ability to bounce back becomes an ever increasing struggle.

Please lose the soda..

Get off the path to failure, , you got here, now stay here.

You can do it!

Hope you kick that soda habit and fast! Not good at all! I think letting yourself have some occasional sugary treats is okay. But soda every single day is not acceptable.

I haven't had surgery yet so I don't have any advice to offer you but I do have a question. HOW are you even able to drink diet soda? I thought it was quite painful due to the carbonation????? Am I wrong? This was the experience my friend had so I was just asking....

Glad you caught your slip now before it became a bigger problem later with a gain! Good for you.

I haven't had surgery yet so I don't have any advice to offer you but I do have a question. HOW are you even able to drink diet soda? I thought it was quite painful due to the carbonation????? Am I wrong? This was the experience my friend had so I was just asking....

I assure you, it is possible, and not painful, but probably would be while healing after surgery. I don't recommend you try it though! I didn't have any for 4-5 months post-op and wish I'd never started. It's like tasting the forbidden fruit. Today is day 1 of me kicking the habit again!

I haven't had surgery yet so I don't have any advice to offer you but I do have a question. HOW are you even able to drink diet soda? I thought it was quite painful due to the carbonation????? Am I wrong? This was the experience my friend had so I was just asking....

I assure you, it is possible, and not painful, but probably would be while healing after surgery. I don't recommend you try it though! I didn't have any for 4-5 months post-op and wish I'd never started. It's like tasting the forbidden fruit. Today is day 1 of me kicking the habit again!

I'm curious how you even ended up trying it again. I am almost 17 months post-op and I have had exactly one sip of soda since my surgery. I was out to dinner with my husband, didn't have a drink of my own, and got something stuck in my throat. I grabbed his root beer and took a sip so I didn't choke to death. Luckily, I hate root beer, so it was completely disgusting and didn't tempt me at all! I'd love to hear how you ended up in a situation where you even tried soda again post-op and allowed yourself to get back in the habit. I don't think I have to worry about it with soda (since I really have no temptation there), but I'd like to avoid that situation with some of my other potential triggers.

I was forced to drink soda one night. It was the only sugary thing in my moms house and she was afraid my blood sugar was low after I fainted. Luckily it was a flare Coke and old therefore disgusting because i can definitely see myself getting back on it.

Jamie, I once got stuck on a day-long (and night-long) road trip with evil companions, who stopped only at fast-food joints for all meals.

I succumbed to temptation and drank diet coke all day (after letting all the carb bubbles dissipate).

Turns out carbonation isn't the big soda toxin for me -- it's the freakin' ACID! My stomach was a big fat mess for a week afterward. I had to go back to a PPI for the whole week to get it straight again.

I don't EVER want to go through that agony again. I'm cured.

Jamie, I once got stuck on a day-long (and night-long) road trip with evil companions, who stopped only at fast-food joints for all meals.

I succumbed to temptation and drank diet coke all day (after letting all the carb bubbles dissipate).

Turns out carbonation isn't the big soda toxin for me -- it's the freakin' ACID! My stomach was a big fat mess for a week afterward. I had to go back to a PPI for the whole week to get it straight again.

I don't EVER want to go through that agony again. I'm cured.

Fast food restaurants have Water...

Fast food restaurants have Water...

But my evil companions made me drink it.