Taste Buds Waking Up!

My taste buds are waking up a bit....where is the snooze button!? Or I guess I should say I have done a couple of crunchy salty things this week that appealed very much. Are they bad trends I ask you? My daughter has a big bag of sunflower seeds (in the shell). I indulged in an evening snack of a glass of crystal light with as many sunflower seeds as I wanted. Now I know crystal light is as harmless as water, and the sum of my snack was probably 150 calories and some protein to boot. Still, it is the first eating I have done (I am a month post-op) that wasn't involved with meeting my water/protein requirements. In other words it seemed like I was eating like old times - cause it tasted good. I also have eaten a pretzle rod (again, not a high ticket item in the bad food category) a couple of times this week to help me get down the rest of my sweet protein shake. I seems I have awaken a crunchy salty thing that I don't want to start getting out of hand. I guess now that I am eating real foods I am trying not to feel panicked at how much I can actually eat. I am trying to remember my new point of reference was eating practically nothing. Any advice?

hey patty, my only advice (which means exactly NOTHING) would to be to 1. becareful not to swallow the shells, and 2. becareful not to get into the whole snacking routine.. I totaly understand the need to have something crunchy/salty after being on mush/liquids for a period of time.. your not going to burn in hell for haveing some sunflower seeds or a pretzle. but where I got into trouble (about 9 months post-op) is that dam snacking routine. it starts out innocent and before you know it, it's out of hand. I convinced myself that my snacks were good for me becuase they were high protien.. but then the snacking turned into grazing. and the grazing led to not having real meals and the wieght loss stopped.. for 4 months I have been fighting this. I have been at 151 to 156 for 3 months.. I have been "maintaining" becuase of my grazing (high protien types of snacks/grazing) and not continuing on to my goal.. so watch what mind games your head will play with you.. be aware and becareful.. theresa

I have to agree with Theresa. I have, well am really into peanuts and once I have one, I cannot stop. So, for the month of May I have given that up and if I ever want a peanut, I will get a carrot, celery or some corn because I don't get enough vegitables lately. Good Luck!

Patty - Well, I run a little different on the opinion about sunflower seeds. I do think that they can be overdone though - even in the shell. But I do chew on them at work and have been nursing a medium bag all week at work (low sodium is the best!). I do believe there are 2.5 servings per bag and around 175 calories per serving. So you can see having seeds spread out over a week isn't doing a lot of damage. And the good thing about them is they are a good source of protein if you do happen to eat a serving of them, and they are a good source of potassium, which I've been low in lately. I kind of feel they are pretty innocent as far as nuts and seeds go because they are so small that the amount you can eat by shelling them is minimal. Oh - and I also found that they help stave off that keto-breath! With that said, I will say I think you are smart for recognizing the snacking thing before it becomes habit. That is pretty much the kiss of death for some people who gain their weight back. I honestly don't think sunflower seeds are of the same calibre though. (unless you are trying to break some sort of shelling record.) I would, however, classify the pretzels in the snacking category. Overall it sounds like you are doing good and being logical about this. Keep thinking about everything that goes into your mouth - I'm sure you'll do great! Dina