CALORIE FREAKOUT

I just posted this on my blog, but thought I'd share it with the A-Team, in case any of you can relate. For the first few months post-surgery I was logging my food intake obsessively, but quit a couple of months ago, feeling resentful because it felt like I was on a diet. My weight loss has slowed way down, though, and I thought I'd go back to The Daily Plate and see if I'm getting all the protein I need. Well, I just found out that my typical breakfast is at least 600 calories!!! I'd been eating peanut butter and a banana on 2 pieces of toasted whole grain bread, with a 1% latte. I don't eat it all at once-I have 1/2 of it first thing and 1/2 later in the morning. I now realize that I'm eating way too many calories a day for a WLS patient, and it's terrifying. When I weighed 293 lbs, I could still lose weight eating this much, but now that I'm 99 lbs lighter, I can't eat like that. I have been pushing the sugar limits way too much lately, snacking quite a bit on cookies and even candy. I've been eating a lot of full fat cheese like brie, without getting nearly the right amount of veggies and fruits. This has been a serious wakeup call. I don't ever want to get back to that desperate state I was in, but I also want to be able to make peace with food so that it doesn't rule my life. I've come too far to slip up now and go back to my old crappy habits. So now I am going to diligently track every bite I eat again. I am relieved that there is a way to gain control again, and having had WLS certainly makes it easier, but I am scared that I'll slip back into my old ways if I don't get a handle on this now. I guess the first thing to do is cut the bad carbs way back and just say no to sugar. Then, I am going to try to stick to 3 meals a day and stop snacking, unless I really need to get more protein in. Any other tips would be most welcome!

Keep tracking. I know it feels diet-y but at least for the first year we need to be extra diligent to make sure we make the most of the surgery AND make sure we are getting in the nutrients we need. For me, seeing it in writing keeps me in check. Good luck to you and all of us. This isn't going to get easier as we can tolerate more and more. Also, do you still meet with a NUT? I kept mine around even though I am self-pay because she just has a better way of arranging my food. I can't explain it. She is just smarter than I am about eating (like that even needed to be said.... )

I used to track every day oh fitday.com. But haven't for months either. I always keep track of my proteins, don't count calories, and watch my carbs carefully. I have a hard time getting enough protein so I have upped it,,,,,,,,,,,,,to only 75-80. I also don't want to feel like I am on a restricted diet, But tracking the protein and watching the carbs is very comfortable to me. My calories are not high because I rarely eat anything with sugars or high carbs. I do snack, only because I did more protein. I also eat small amounts at meals. I have never eaten 4 ounces of anything, usually stick to 2-3 ounces. But we have to do whatever is comfortable for us. Good luck. You and I need to reach that 100 mark this week ! Shar

I can just imagine how you felt. The difference for me after WLS surgery is I can now say "NO" to certain foods and actually stay away. Before, the cravings would do me in. I have not been tracking anything. I probably should and then would be surprised. One thing, being a sugar addict, I know that this is one thing I MUST stay away from. I feel it would just take one bite and BAM! back to my wicked ways. I had one small 2 week stall but weight loss has been steady-not as spectacular as some but solid and I am thrilled. Glad you posted-this is a wakeup call to all of us that this battle is not over!!

Ty for putting in writing what I been feeling all along. I have a food addiction and I battle this. surgery did not cut out my craving or addiction. When my band was unfilled I can eat anything I want now and I have to get this portion control under control. I was 219 over a week ago and TODAY I am 223 I knew this would happen .. but this was a great blog and good wake up call for me .. I need to go back to 900 calories a day diet and watch what i eat before I out eat my surgery. and gain the weight back. My gf hubby had the RNY surgery the before my hubby had it and she said he has gained the 100 lbs he lost plus more . he never addressed the food addiction issue. He put on over 100 lbs in 4 mos Another male friend had the RNY dropped 130 lbs in first 6 mos and never lost another pound even tho he works out at the gym and eating 900 calories a day and still 230 lbs. he said your body adjust to eating so little eating . he said he is happy with the weight he is but to me 230 would not be a weight I would want to be for my self. Why i choose the band over the RNY to help my severe food addiction I thought . but then again the RNY has other options to aid in weight loss.. They can tighten the stoma fairly easy procedure option I was not told about when I got the lap band. hence I am kinda regretting not having the RNY now. but hey can't cry over spilt milk .. I need to deal with my food addiction head on and learn to just stop eating.. All about portion control ... My band is a tool not a cure for obesity..

Hi Lisa, I definitely struggle with the same issues that you do. It's amazing how hard it is to change a lifetime of habits! I'm going through therapy and getting lots of support, and it's still such a fight! Right now my strategy is remembering the place I was in when I could barely walk or breathe and was on a CPAP. I don't ever want to go back there and I'll do whatever it takes to be successful at this. Thanks for telling us about your friends who gained all their weight back after their WLS-that is terrifying to me and I can't imagine going through this whole ordeal just to blow it like that. It only shows that if we don't get to the root of the food issues it'll be so much harder to succeed. I am surprised though, by how quickly a bite here and there adds up at the end of the day. I hate having to be strict with myself and track every bite, but I now admit that my old ways got me to be morbidly obese, and I must change my habits in order to succeed. I never learned how to properly eat, and it's surprising to me how little I know. I'm a smart, successful person in other areas in my life, but so ignorant when it comes to nutrition! Part of my problem is short-term thinking; I have a hard time seeing the big picture, and didn't think of every bite counting towards eventual weight gain. I'm doing my best to be a long-term thinker now, and I hope it will come naturally to me the longer I practice it!

Thanks so much Shar, Jessica and Sharra! I'm feeling much calmer today now that I have a plan. As annoying as it is, I really do have to keep tracking what I eat-you're right, Jessica. It's amazing how quickly I can slip into bad habits if I don't. Those little bites and tastes really add up! Last night the sugar demon was haunting me. I had bought a bag of chocolate malt balls "for my boyfriend" and I was dying to have one. I forced myself to just wait a little while, promising myself that if I really wanted one in half an hour, I could have it, and what do you know? The intense craving eventually went away. I asked Tom to please take the bag to work so I don't have to face it, and I promised to stop buying that junk. After all, he certainly doesn't need the sugar, either! So Sharra, I'm with you-I need to just avoid sugar completely or it will start controlling me again. So much of the issue for me seems to be just stopping and being mindful, instead of mindlessly chowing down while distracting myself with other things. Thanks for all of your kind support-I know we can do this together!

Thank you for your honest post, after reading it, I emptied my desk of a couple items I knew I shouldn't have had in there, and then emptied my trash so I wouldn't be tempted to "retrieve" them later. Together, with support, we can overcome this evil food addiction. God bless you!

Good for you! I just asked my boyfriend to not keep cookies in the house-if he needs them, to please take them to work. I felt so relieved knowing that they won't be there to tempt me any more! I would love to be at a place where I can easily say no to that stuff, but I'm just not there yet. If it's in front of me, I have a hard time resisting. I also followed the suggestions here and planned out my whole day of food on The Daily Plate today. It made it so much easier to resist the array of treats that were facing me in our breakroom today! I'm feeling confident that I can learn how to do this.

I know I no longer track what I eat either but I definatly watch my calorie intake I keep breakfast around 400 calories, lunch around 400, and dinner around 500 but I usually eat smaller amounts at each sitting and have like 2 of each meal if that makes sence. I can only eat about half of my meal at a time then about 2 hours later I can finish but the calories are for the whole meal. I am unable to handle any food with more than 7g of sugar if it has more I get sick and I have to be careful of fat grams too.