My first covered dish dinner.. today

It was my son's party for his soccer championship (jacket and trophy!). Everyone brought something and it all looked and smelled sooo good. I didn't do too well.. I had a protein shake with me, but I go****ermellon, mashed potatoes (with sour cream in them), and cranberry sauce.. I know I know.. ewww.. but I had two tiny baby bites of each thing. Nothing hurt afterwards, but I think emotionally, I was more hurt. Normally I would have had two full plates and some of every dessert.... How do you all handle stuff like this ??

Tina, sweetie, it is hard - but it does get easier. WHen you start seeing the weight come off... well then you'll think "I really want a deep dish pan pizza...the whole thing...lol" But then you'll think ... wait,,, I don't NEED that - and I don't WANT what it does to me. What you really want is to be happy and healthy. Slimmer and more energetic. Those two full plates and every desert are a thing of the past - but yoru future is bright. And in a few months, you will be able to sample more. I had dinner at my parents today, I had ham, greenbeans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, biscut with buttter and brownie. Did I have much - no. Was I satisfied - you bet. I ate mostly ham. Maybe 2 greenbeans. A bite of mashed potatoes. A small bite of stuffing. Small bite of 1/2 the biscut. Then as I was feeing my 2 yr old his desert I had a tiny bit of brownie (No, it was not sugar free but I had a tiny taste that was well under 6 grams of sugar) So see- you can still taste the foods you love, you just won't need so much of them to feel satisfied. And when you see a slimmer picture of yourself. It will make a big difference. The first month was hard, I think, in terms of food.. I spent a lot of time morning habits that I didn't even realize I had. I think every other post in my journel was abotu head hunger.. but it passes.

Sorry Karen - That was me - again. I forgot to log out after fixing the tables on your profile. I'll try to find all the posts I just did and post this mesage unter them - sorry if I miss any. .. You can call me a dippy dunce all day Monday if ya want! Sorry

But I like what I said!! (((hugs))) -Karen

Hi Tina, As you know I'm pre-op still but damn girl it sounds like you did great! You said it yourself, imagine what you would have done as a pre-op. You went, you socialized, you had a tiny bit of food, some tastes and enjoyed your night. Spells success to me, I'm proud of you, and I hope I handle a future situation like that as well as you did Linda

Tina, . Gosh think how glad your son was to have you there. How proud you must have been. A throphy and a coat. That is BIG for him. You get a trophy for the best roomie. I couldn't have done it without ya. I wanted to get out so bad last week I went to hubby's lodge dinner. I brought my Isopure. I was so busy answering questions I didn't miss not eating. Til I wanted to taste a meatball. Charlie crushed a small piece, put it on a spoon and I took 2 licks. It was okay. But 1 lick was enough. I complimented the lady that cooked. I asked if she put sugar in her sauce, she said yes I do. I could have died. OMG the dreaded S word. Do you think 2 licks would hurt me? OMG why are we such martyr's over 1 or 2 licks of something. The moral is if you can tolerate 2 licks, you might not stop. You don't get sick great. Next time i's the whole pot. Stop. Think. Let the taste satisfy you. Don't totally deprive yourself. Keep up the good work soccer guy. Elissa

Tina, I know how hard it is. I went to Halloween Party my sister was having when I was 4 weeks post op. I had my water with me. Everything looked and smelled so good but I could not eat it. (i seperated myself into abother room and actually had some tears BUT then I calmed myself and thought of all the reasons I had this surgery). I ended up eating 2 saltines and a piece of cheese while everyone else was munching on goodies. It gets easier as the days go by. I Promise! Parties don't bother me anymore but then again I can eat a bigger variety then when I was only 4 weeks out. People can be very understanding. Hope

Tina, Don't beat yourself up. We are all human. I think you did remarkably well considering all the food that was available. You didn't overeat and you made good choices. Consider that day is done, and you're on to the next day. Best wishes. Deb

Dear Tina, Quite honestly at first I beat myself up just like you are doing. But in the past couple of weeks I have come to the conclusion that this is a lifetime way of life (duh)! And I needed to come to happy medium to make it work long term. At any rate, I make sure that I get my protein in for the day, usually in the form of the protein drinks, keep my calories down, but if I really want something, I have a small bite of it. That usually does it for me. If I continue to deprive myself of it, IT becomes bigger than life to me and I find myself obsessing over it. Rather, I face it head on and take a bite. It is easy for me to stop there because I love the way my new body is feeling. And quite honestly just like everyone says ... nothing tastes as good as losing weight feels. So believe what Kathy is saying when ... you start to really see your loss in pounds and clothing sizes, food simply stops calling your name as loudly. Being in the position that I am in, I have to go to a lot of buffets, and at first I did exactly as you did. Brought my protein drink then taste tested a couple of the goodies then felt GUILTY!!!! Then I tried to just bring my protein drink and not eat ... didn't work for me. Now, I don't bring my protein drink, I want to blend in not stand out. But what I do find is, myself scouring over the buffet trying to pick out my best choices. Then I just pick over them to be social. No one has really even noticed that I am not really eating a lot. They are too concerned with getting in all their goodies! *grin* But I always have a protein bar tucked away for those situations where there is simply not a good choice and I am hungry. Tina, everyone is right ... don't beat yourself up. Guilt is a thing of the past. A thing that gets hold of you and causes you to feel bad. This surgery is all about feeling better about yourself. Let the guilt fall to the ground where it deserves to be and instead celebrate the fact that you did not eat two plates of desert and that you are losing weight and feeling better! Hugs, Tammy

Our girl is baaaack! (((hugs))) -Karen