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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..

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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.

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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.

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    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
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    • Doughgurl

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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