Back to old habits??????????

Hi all. i haven't been here in a long, long time. I'm afraid I'm going back to my old habits already. I've lost 75 pounds, but I snack all day and I have been eating alot of junk. I need to stop RIGHT NOW!!!!!! I'm not even sure if 75 pounds is enough or if I should have lost more by now. I rarley eat a meal. I normally just pick at things all day. I know that isn't good for me. Does anyone have any suggestions or words of wisdom???? I hate to think that I went through all this just to go back to my bad habits. Thanks for listening, Depsy

Depsy, You realize what you are doing and you are the only one that can stop it. They did surgery on your tummy not your head. It is easy to fall into old habits, It takes 2 weeks to make a break a habit. I would suggest starting tomorrow you take day 1 of breaking the snacking habit. Don't shoot yourself for slipping, just get back up and try again. Good luck to you. Let us know how you are doing. Smiles. Kat

75 lbs is awesome! (I've lost 57 lbs from surgery and am quite happy with that!) I do 3 meals a day and 3 protein supplements. That keeps me full most of the day and eliminates the urge to snack. The fact that you are acknowledging that you are grazing/snacking is great. Are you grazing/snacking because you are hungry or because you are bored. Before you snack, access whether you are truly hungry or not. Wait 15 minutes before you allow yourself anything. If you are still hungry, eat. Often if you give it time, the urge subsides. Or better yet, drink a glass or two of water and then check to see if you are hungry. Often our thirst masks itself as hunger. Best wishes, Kathy

Depsy - my problem was the opposite of yours (I would not eat all day) but perhaps the solution can work for both of us. I set a timer or an alarm on a watch for every three hours. When it went off I ate! Something like this: 7am - breakfast (carnation instant breakfast w/ protein powder) 10am - snack ( piece of cheese) 1pm - Lunch (soup or chili; and small salad) 4pm - snack (protein bar, or drink) 7pm - Dinner (regular dinner w/ family.) 10pm - snack (fruit,or cup of milk) That's how I went for weeks until I could get in the habit of eatting when I didn't "feel" hungry. 75 pounds is wonderful!!!! Now, just get back going again and you'll start dropping even more. laurie

Depsy, 75# is fantastic! Don't you forget that. If you read Tom's post about his bad week, you will see that you are not alone. I think that we are all comfortable with eating now and the "fear factor" of causing damage to the pouch has passed. In many ways that is good on the road to a "normal" life. But it has its pitfalls too. When we get too comfortable it is easy to slip back into old habits. As so many said, we had surgery on our bodies, not our minds. Try to eat consciously. Go back to those basic pouch rules - no drinking with meals or 30 minutes after, small bites (use toddler utensils if you must) and chew, chew, chew. I have found that if I drink a meal (i.e. protein shake) I am hungrier sooner. Give that pouch something substantial to gnaw on for a while. I also re-read my profile yesterday. It was very helpful to go back and recall my feelings pre-op. A wonderful reminder of how far I have come and why I did this. Hang in there. J

75 is very good. My suggestion to snacking is sugar free pops or surgar free jello, in between meals. Thats my saving graze (pun intended), if not for them i would be in trouble when im bored.