On your current weight loss journey, what was the easiest change for you or was much easier than you thought ?

so far for me it has been not consuming a lot of sugary stuff. I used to crave it all the time and thought I always would, but since I reduced it down and mostly cut it out I do not have constant cravings anymore. Occasionally I get a little twinge but something small and sweet but not sugary will often satisfy.

what about you?

On your current weight loss journey, what was the easiest change for you or was much easier than you thought ?
so far for me it has been not consuming a lot of sugary stuff. I used to crave it all the time and thought I always would, but since I reduced it down and mostly cut it out I do not have constant cravings anymore. Occasionally I get a little twinge but something small and sweet but not sugary will often satisfy.

what about you?

Same thing with the lack of sugar cravings. If I start getting a craving for chocolate I just have part of a Fairlife chocolate shake.

The other part that's been easy for me is the lightened mental load of this weight-loss process. I used to agonize over calories and carbs eaten. I would track everything and make a point to workout several times per week. I would beat myself up over slip-ups and cheats. I was always thinking about my next meal.

Now I'm less stressed and making better choices in general. The weight is steadily coming off and for the first time I don't have to fight my metabolism tooth and nail.

It might be giving up caffeine and carbonated drinks? I went from drinking lots of caffeinated sodas and energy drinks every day to being carbonation and caffeine-free basically overnight. I now have zero desire to have carbonated or caffeinated drinks at all and I feel a lot better for having given them up.

1 hour ago, SpartanMaker said:

It might be giving up caffeine and carbonated drinks? I went from drinking lots of caffeinated sodas and energy drinks every day to being carbonation and caffeine-free basically overnight. I now have zero desire to have carbonated or caffeinated drinks at all and I feel a lot better for having given them up.

Ooh that’s a good one. I used to drink a 12 pack of Coke Zero a day!! I gave it up two months before surgery and have not looked back. Now I do have a protein shake with caffeine in the morning but that’s it, nothing else unless I splurge with an iced coffee (coffee, milk and Splenda) which I don’t have too often.

Giving up soda and other fizzy drinks. I used to live off of them, but, to be fair, there was a two year period 2016-2018 where I gave them up because I was diagnosed with EOE and I was told not to drink soda because it would make acid and thus the stricture in my esophagus worse. So I had only been drinking soda again for a year when I had to give it up again. I knew that this would be the easiest change, so it really wasn't a surprise.

I guess the easiest for me was the new eating plan. My favorite part of every meal is the protein, so "protein first" was easy. The food volume change was also quite easy as I filled up ridiculously quick, still do. Even dumping, which is devastating to some post-ops taught me rather quickly that sugar and fats were not safe as "every so often" foods.

Good luck,

Tek

Ditching sugar. That's what made me obese. Surgery fixed that by limiting the volume I could eat and making me make healthy choices. I did used to eat a square of 90% or 100% cocoa chocolate for a few months after surgery when I had cravings but I haven't done that for many months now. I do occasionally eat sugar when I can't avoid it, but it doesn't control my life any more.

Giving up carbonated water, which was my favorite thing to drink. I am allowed to have it occasionally now if I want, but I don't like the way my stomach feels if I drink it and it also just doesn't taste as good to me, so I just don't drink it anymore and don't miss it like I thought I would.