I have been trying to stay away from sweets since starting this journey, and for the most part, I have done pretty good. But sometimes those hormonal cravings kick in and watch out, I NEED chocolate or I'm cranky and feeling deprived. I found a very satisfying way to have a treat for not a lot of calories or sugar. I got the nestle sugar free hot cocoa mix (50 calories), which by itself doesn't taste all that great, but adding 2 tsps of unsweet cocoa to it makes it rich and chocolatey and only adds 13 more calories! Hope if someone is struggling with cravings this might help.

BTW, I'm pre-op and currently on a 1600 calorie diet, but I bet some unsweet cocoa can also be added to a chocolate Protein shake with the same or similar result. I'm going to try that as a meal replacement next time I'm feeling like I need a fix, lol.

Do these cravings ever go away? I've heard some people don't crave the same things after surgery as they used to before surgery..

I'm writing this while munching on a Dove dark chocolate heart to satisfy my sweet tooth. I'm 18 months post-op. It's that time of the month when chocolate feels like a biological need, haha. For me the cravings for sweets never went away, but I did find satisfying substitutions that I believe actually aided my progress rather than derailed it. In the past whenever I'd feel deprived on a diet I'd eventually cave in and binge on the danishes or ice cream I yearned for, but by having very small, reasonable desserts and snacks that have stayed within the goals I set, I've kept myself contented. During the liquid phase post-op my favorite protein powder was the chocolate one from Unjury. I added in unsweetened cocoa from Trader Joe's for extra chocolatey goodness sometimes. I also like having it with PB2 and iced coffee, or Torani sugar free syrups. I invested in a Nutribullet before surgery, and have really made use of it. I really liked the protein shake recipes on The World According to Eggface's blog, too, and recommend checking them out if you haven't yet. She's got a really winsome attitude and a lot of fun recipes for all stages.

When I could start eating solids again I looked for sweets that were lower in carbs and sugar. One of my favorite desserts are the chocolate covered banana bites (Doles makes them, but the brand I like best is at Sprouts grocery stores) because they only have around 15 carbs for a four piece serving, and are just enough to be satisfied but won't derail progress. Trader Joe's also has slim Belgian chocolate bars that are only 100 calories and low in carbs. Other favorites from Trader Joe's are their macrons (three for 15 carbs), lemon bars (I think they're 10 carbs each), and Belgian waffles (big, fluffy, yummy and only 13 carbs!). Chia pudding, Siggi's yogurt, and smoothies made with high protein yogurt and frozen berries are also sweet enough to be enjoyable while still healthy. The cocoa sounds yummy. My main suggestion is to use something like MyFitnessPal to track everything you eat during the weight loss phase so you are really aware of how everything adds up. That way you can make adjustments to be able to add in sweets while still staying on track.

Thank you for all the tips, that's so helpful!

I use myfitnesspal to track my food and I love it. I like that it also has a way to view daily intake of protein, carbs, etc. I also use mapmywalk and it syncs my walks onto the mfp app as exercise.