brain surgery

I wish they also did brain surgery on me - LOL - now that I am 8 weeks post op, I can pretty much eat anything except beef, pork, caffine and alcohol - sugar and fat are not allowed BUT, I have tried sugar and I DO NOT DUMP ... while that may seem like a good thing, now I find myself having the mental battle occasionally of "you don't need that" "choose something better"

99.8% of the time, I am choosing wisely - there are a few brief times where I "pop" a chip or piece of chocolate in my mouth ... it doesn't fill me and it doesn't make me sick ... so, this is the hard part now ... continuing to make healthy choices consistently - I am doing it and I am winning the battle, but as I have read on another posts "the struggle is real".

I am happy with my results and doing well, but I have a very healthy fear of the old habits -- they are waiting on the sidelines for me to fail ......

I love how real this post is! I am only 1.5weeks out but I totally get where you are coming from.

I keep thinking to myself...I surely didn't do all this for nothing...I WILL NOT self-sabotage.

I never ever want to be this big ever again.

It is my mantra...I think about it every day and will hopefully keep me on track for years to come.

You scared me Leeann as I took the subject line seriously. I'm still on liquids and will be switching over to Stage Three tomorrow. I have even bought cottage cheese in anticipation - how sad is that. What is good about being on liquids for 6 weeks (including Opti) is that I have put the training wheels on and am back to Square One - learning how to eat for nutrition (not because it was just there). I will plan tonight exactly what I will eat tomorrow, measure it, and bring it along. I'm not saying that I won't be tempted as I move along in the process, but, right now, I am bound and determined to stick to plan. My son told me today that I was "melting away". That's like calling a quarter horse a pony - but it was nice anyways. I have been holding at 29 lbs. for more than a week now, but know I am still losing inches and I'm fitting into my clothes that were either way too tight, or a size down that remained in my closet. I haven't been sick yet, and don't plan on it. My fear now is to remind myself not to drink afterwards since everything I'm taking in currently is fluids, I drink my water with my protein drink, soup or applesauce. I will need to use my phone's alarm signalling when 30 minutes is over to remind me. I know I'll get used to it, but know it will also take some time.

Look at your picture - you're doing great. No one here is waiting for you to fail.

It is the hard part. we all have to manage through, I'm not even a sugar fiend and I found this weekend especially trying. I am lured by the bowl of Easter chocolate in my son's room every time i walk by. Thank god for MFP because it is what helps stop me from having "just one" which can easily lead to "just one more" and then end up a total of ten or more . FYI I don't know anyone who dumps on one chip or even one piece of chocolate.

I have had a bite of my husband's dessert and been fine. I have dumped from drinking my protein shake too fast. so I will not test my pouch with more than one bite of the known dumping foods. my surgeon told me a little bit of fat or sugar was not likely to make me dump. excessive amounts (like a pint of ice cream) most certainly would. Having experienced dumping from my shake, I'm not willing to test those boundaries and on the rare occasion we eat out I limit the sugar to just a taste, and limit the just a taste to the rare occasion as it can easily lead to the craving monster.

it amazes me how different we all are. i am almost 4 months out and have yet to try anything that we shouldnt. im too scared to dump... im too scared to fall back into old habits.. and this is a completely lifestyle change... i still eat about 750 cals a day getting 75+ grams of protein a day... i have popcorn (1/2 cup) one time a month.. and i add 6 dark chocolate chips to my vanilla yogurts sometimes when my monthly friend comes to visit and i have a craving BUT to me its NOT worth it... im still too new in the game to experiment... old habits die hard... i LOVE the progress im seeing, as of today, im down 99 lbs total, 70 since surgery - which is just shy of 4 months ago and i couldnt be happier... i have goals to make and want to continue to improve myself, this is one of those things -- fight the demons!!! my suggestion (not worth a lot as i am still a rookie) is stay away from anything that may tempt you or potentially undo all the good work youve done... just my advice!

Good thing you haven't tested it. Must say I was surprised that I dump on a protein shake as I thought it was just sugar. Having dumped...you never want to try it! Drink your shakes slowly....

I hear you! I've been good at resisting until just recently (last night) where I had a couple little pieces of Easter chocolate. Probably 30 minutes after I had to lay down. My heart was racing, I was lightheaded and I just didn't feel well. Note to self: no chocolate.

I still have some issues with food, protein is hard for me to get in since chicken isn't a friend some days (today). It's been a tough go. People say it's the easy way out but it's super tough.

Fight the urge!!! :)

You're not going to fail; you've got this.

If you're craving chips, I tried Quest Protein Chips, the new Improved ones, apparently (never tried the old). They sell them at GNC, and they are not potato chips; they're made from protein powder. I had the BBQ flavor and really liked it. I was out all day and missed lunch and supper and didn't see anything in the food court that looked safe to eat. I drank loads of water so didn't want a shake, and the protein chips caught my eye. The girl at the register said they were sort of like a cracker or pita pieces. I was thrilled that I could get 22 grams of protein, only 4 total carbs, and have something that had a BBQ chip taste. I really enjoyed them and they didn't induce cravings in me. I plan to buy them again to take to the movies as a healthy snack. Last time I went to the movies the smell of popcorn drove me mad, lol.

As for chocolate, if you can't stay away, maybe you can try sugar free chocolate, or get some sugar free chocolate pudding and add some protein powder to it to help satisfy that craving?

I haven't tried this since surgery, but a few years ago I was on the South Beach diet and they had a very simple recipe for ricotta cheese mixed with unsweetened cocoa powder and a sugar free sweetener, like splenda, that was high protein, low cal, no sugar, chocolatey, and yummy.

Your fight is one we almost all will have, so you're not alone :-).

honestly it will get harder long term, not easier. Be sure to find supports when you need them.