How do you do it?

How do you stay away from the bad for you foods? I am haveing more and more trouble staying away from the junk food. I seem to get sick all of the time with healthy food. I eat a little chicken or dense food and I loose it. But I can eat a whole bag of chips, no problem. I try to stay focused, but to be honest I am tired. I hope ya'll are doing great. Sorry for the pitty party. Deb 392/318/180

Debra I know exactly what you mean. Healthy food makes me sick. Junk food is fine, I feel so guilty eating unhealthy things. It's not like I can eat a lot but still, it's hard. Those old habits are creeping back. We have to learn discipline and change our habits. It's so easy to say but really hard to do. Lets' try our best.

Try not to bring the bad stuff into the house...and replace with good stuff...soy chips instead of potato chips....etc...try and it will get easier..., we can do this ...we must do this... Dennis

I do not have that stuff in the house. It is at work and out that I have the problems. I have a couple of friends that love to TREAT me to somthing differant. One of them brought over 3 pieces of pie for Christmas, Can you believe that? I ate most of one piece of pumkin over the course of 3 days but the other 2 pieces went in the trash.And at work there is food everywhere. almost everyday someone brings in something. And everyone has bowls of chips or candy on thier desk. It's driving me nuts. Deb

It's going to take some willpower. You are going to have to decline those treats from your friends. Tell them to make you something healthy. You have to wonder what their motivation is for bringing you something that can sabatoge all of your efforts. At work, if people are bringing things into the lunch room, maybe you could eat elsewhere for a while, until you don't have that desire. I eat things that I shouldn't, but not everyday. And, believe me, I want them everyday. Somehow, the weight loss helps me to say no. Marcia

Deb, Hang in there! First and foremost! Just keep that in mind and when you're at the end of your rope - hang on!! I have a couple of strategies that work for me: 1. Clean House. I don't have what I call "redlight foods" in the house. Ever.These are the things that I know I can't resist. For me that would be chips of any kind. I am not a sweet eater so I can have candy in the cupboard and never touch it. Just me. 2. Stall and Delay. I step back for a minute and think about whether I'm really hungry and whether that food will be worth it in the end. I also do things to delay eating it. Sometimes we're not really hungry but bored, tired or thirsty. So, I'll drink water. I'm pretty firm about not eating for at least 1/2 an hour after I drink so this is a pretty good stall tactic. More often than not that will do the trick. I also have friends who I can call to avoid eating. If I'm out for dinner, I'll move the basket (of bread, chips, whatever) far out of my reach - my friends and family understand. 3. Grounding. Okay, I know this will sound weird, but before surgery I got a tattoo (very, very small and behind my ear where no one can see it). It was a very personal gesture for me to remember my mother and to honor my choice to have WLS. When I got it done I made it symbolize for me making in the right choices. When things get really bad, I consciously touch the tattoo and remember why I've done what I've done. Now, I'm not saying that you should get a tattoo, but you could do something similar with a piece of jewelry or some other object. I too am starting to have some headbattles, but since before I had surgery I've been telling myself that my entire lifestyle would change after surgery. I've really been using that when the times get tough. I tell myself that I didn't have major (dangerous) surgery to reroute my perfectly healthy digestive system only to screw it up later by making the same bad choices that got me there in the first place. It may sound corny, but there's a definition of insanity that I've heard from a Tony Robbins commercial (I'm not a Tony Robbins person normally, but this makes sense): "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different response". I really hope that some of this helps you. Please, please keep reaching out and hanging in there! Illini

Hi Deb, I think I was "lucky" in that I had FIVE years of "training" prior to surgery because I was a member of TOPS for five years straight (it was the longest I had ever stayed with anything, I'd been to WW and all the other "diet" centers in the past too). Anyway during my "five year tour" of TOPS , I became a Leader and had all the healthy eating stuff drummed into my head so much that I stopped battling the junk food demons, not that I didn't occasionally have it, because believe me I did, but I learned to forgive and forget and move on. The fact is, we will always have moments when we want that stuff and we'll have it, and it's OK, so long as you don't let it take over! Have a little and move on or have a healthy meal and finish with a few chips as a little treat. Even now I'll occasionally have a protein shake and follow that with 5 tortilla chips, I just try to remember to eat my protein first. We have to completley change our attitude toward food. No food is "bad" and if you let yourself feel like you are "bad" for having it, it will really screw with your head and eventually IT will control you. Don't let it happen girl! Tell yourself that anything is allowed in moderation and work with it! Vi

I have good days with that and bad the best solution is to try not to keep those foods in the house. there are 5 people in my house so this isnt always easy but they know why we cant have them here and respect it.