I'm certain that everyone here went into their surgery absolutely committed to following all of the dietary rules to the letter. And I'm equally certain that most people ended up cheating at one point or another. I'm having bypass in February 2019, and I'd like to hear from people who are a year or more post-surgery about how tempted you are to cheat, how often you do it, and how you get back on track when you do cheat.

Edited January 12, 20197 yr by Recidivist

I don't know if most people are all or nothing...

I was more or less on the forever train to Sustainville. I was going to work every trick , hack and cheat code possible. Always.

But also live my life because I like being alive. I was doing this for life not to stop it but to propel it forward.

So I will he constantly revising the plan, reworking the steps, recommitting to new levels of the journey. If I stumble, it will not be the opportunity to join the "nothing",it will the time to remember why I started in the first place.

Safe Journey ?

7 minutes ago, GreenTealael said:

I don't know if most people are all or nothing...

I was more or less on the forever train to Sustainville. I was going to work every trick , hack and cheat code possible. Always.

But also live my life because I like being alive. I was doing this for life not to stop it but to propel it forward.

So I will he constantly revising the plan, reworking the steps, recommitting to new levels of the journey. If I stumble, it will not be the opportunity to join the "nothing",it will the time to remember why I started in the first place.

Safe Journey ?

Green Tea, I hear you--and the title of the post was probably not well chosen. Thanks for your observations!

2 minutes ago, Recidivist said:

Green Tea, I hear you--and the title of the post was probably not well chosen. Thanks for your observations!

I totally understand what you meant, I splurge then go back to business. I build these Into my lifestyle. Not for everyone. You have to be honest with yourself about eating issues. There's a whole dedicated thread to "cheating" not certain if you are ready for that...

Good Luck. I am far from a year out, but will answer this when the time comes. So far i am in month 3 and have no desires to cheat LOL

Hi. I am four and half years post op. I stuck to my program religiously until I lost the majority of my weight. However maintenance has been a different story. I do “cheat” at times; as a matter of fact I just ate some pancakes with real syrup for breakfast. However, I usually weigh once a week and if the scale creeps up near the five pound gain I get back on my plan until it’s gone. When I am on vacations or during Christmas holidays I also give my self permission to eat what I want. This far out post op maintenance can be a challenge!! That said, I will got the gym hard today and cut way back tomorrow to make up for my pancakes today! LOL. I do admire the people who can stick to their plan perfectly especially the further out they get.

Thanks, Glitter Eyes. First, congratulations on maintaining your weight for so long! It's also good to hear that people do slip from time to time but can get right back on track. Sometimes it's difficult to imagine never being able to eat certain foods again!

On 1/12/2019 at 2:57 PM, Recidivist said:

I'm certain that everyone here went into their surgery absolutely committed to following all of the dietary rules to the letter. And I'm equally certain that most people ended up cheating at one point or another. I'm having bypass in February 2019, and I'd like to hear from people who are a year or more post-surgery about how tempted you are to cheat, how often you do it, and how you get back on track when you do cheat.

I definitely ate off plan, many times significantly so. But I never went into this with illusion I would be perfect. I knew that for me to be successful long term I'd need balance. Feeling deprived is the death of my will power. So I have never "cheated" because nothing was ever not allowed, for me.

But I did practice discipline whenever possible, either easy situations (eating at home), or if I was feeling virtuous (ordering roast chicken at a restaurant). I never lost sight of my goal of being a healthy weight. So even when I went off plan, I knew that soon enough I'd get back on track. I never considered giving up, or any long term back sliding.

3 hours ago, sillykitty said:

I definitely ate off plan, many times significantly so. But I never went into this with illusion I would be perfect. I knew that for me to be successful long term I'd need balance. Feeling deprived is the death of my will power. So I have never "cheated" because nothing was ever not allowed, for me.

But I did practice discipline whenever possible, either easy situations (eating at home), or if I was feeling virtuous (ordering roast chicken at a restaurant). I never lost sight of my goal of being a healthy weight. So even when I went off plan, I knew that soon enough I'd get back on track. I never considered giving up, or any long term back sliding.

Thanks, Silly Kitty and everyone else. I guess my fear is that my relationship with food is like an alcoholic--one cupcake and I would end up losing control. Perhaps I should go into this with the mindset that I may very will slip up from time to time, and not beat myself up when I do. I can always get back on track by keeping the ultimate goal in mind. I really appreciate your reassurance!

I am 8 months post op and at my goal weight. I make sure I get my protien in first before anything else. If I'm craving something sweet, I eat cocoa almonds. They are low carbs but tricks me into thinking I'm cheating lol. If i make sweets for my husband and kids i allow myself a nibble. A nibble is all I need. If i eat more than that i get a stomach ache. I try and make good choices but I also am human and make mistakes. I just get right back on track.

Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I almost never cheated the first year. I occasionally go off-plan now (I've been in maintenance for two years), but I weigh myself every day and have a certain upper-limit weight. Whenever I go over that, it's all hands on deck - I stick to my plan 100% until I get back down below that number again.