Gone Forever?

I'm only 3 weeks post op and still on pureed foods but have a question about foods gone forever. Refined white sugar definitely because I am horribly afraid of dumping but does that mean I'm never ever going to have a cookie, piece of birthday cake or crème brulee again? Right now anything with the tiniest hint of sugar is way too sweet for me so I'm not even tempted but my mother-in-law has invited my on a 7 day cruise in September, I'll be 5 months post-op, and I want to enjoy the cruise and optimize my honeymoon period too. I'm not a big dessert eater and would be fine substituting fruit but do like a sliver of cake or crème brulee every once in awhile. For the first 6-12 months breads, pasta, rice, crackers and other high carb gluey get stuck in my pouch foods are out. Do you slowly get to add them back into your diet? I am prepared to keep them out until I reach goal but how realistic is it never to have a sandwich again or spaghetti? Protein first, vegetables, fruit and then carbs? Are carbs an occasional indulgence?

I have sandwiches often, but the bread is really just a meat and cheese delivery vehicle. I never have bread otherwise. I haven't had pasta of any kind since before surgery. CRACKers are highly addictive, and you can eat a bazillion of them, so I stay away. I've had a total of four slices of pizza in 3 years.

Those are my choices. Others eat those things. Some eat them and do fine, others eat them and regain. You'll need to choose from three options. Don't eat, eat and maintain, or eat and regain.

I have chosen not to incorporate certain foods back in... simple white carbs were my thing pre-op, overate them big time. Physically I am certain I could eat them. I choose not to. I think not having them makes it easier IMHO my body doesn't crave them... if I did have them occasionally I think I'd make occasionally, frequently and soon enough they would be all the time. So not opening the door is my way. YMMV... everyone needs to find the way that is right for them. http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2011/03/rambl ings.html

Hope the healing is going well and you have a wonderful time on your cruise! 

The only way the weight stays gone forever is if the incorrect foods stay gone. I've been here for close to 10 years. I've seen people come and go and come back again because they just had one slice of cake once in awhile because they didn't want to have to diet the rest of their life. Well you know what, your are going to have to watch very carefully what goes in your mouth for the rest of your life and carbs especially white ones gotta stay gone or every pound you lose can come back even faster and easier.

That's just life so if you mean you are only going to have cake on your birthday fine, but if you mean you are going to have cake every week as a treat or because you know lots of birthday people then no it's not gonna work. Speaking of cruise, that is the best place to eat, you have more protein and veggie choices than you can believe. You can eat until your eyes fall out, just no desserts, fruits (very high carb and basically sugar) and carbs last if still hungry. That means healthy carbs like sweet potato or quinoa and if you have filled up on  the protein and veggies like you should you won't have room for carbs.

So if you want to keep the weight off you have to keep the carbs at a very minimum and get used to life with little to no sweets. Food has far more to do with keeping weight off than exercise does. You can work out all day long but if you don't also eat properly it won't do much for you, you have to carefully monitor what you eat first and foremost.

At three weeks out, I was missing lots of different foods, and wondering the same thing. At three months out, I don't miss them and don't want them. My tastes changed. I track everything I eat, and I keep my carbs extremely low. At three weeks, I didn't know I would feel this way now, and I would have never believed it back then. It is possible to be perfectly content not having junk when others are. Priorities change and nothing tastes as good as being healthy and achieving your goals feels.  

I just got back from a 7 day cruise with my son. The fancy dinners were hard because there were not as many options as the buffet. The server and the other cruisers were concerned that I ate very little and wanted to know what was wrong. I just told them I was full. Eating at the buffet was super easy, and I never felt deprived or tempted, there were tons of protein options. I wasn't able to track anything because internet cost way more than I was willing to pay. I did get sick a couple of times, but I just excused myself, found a close restroom and came back. I think they used too much oil on my omelette once, and I had one too many bites of food another time. The hardest part was water. I didn't know how much I was drinking and didn't have a lot of access to it without paying ridiculous amounts for bottled water in the mini-bar, or walking all over the boat to get to the food outlets when I wasn't eating. I found out later, you can bring unopened bottled water with you. Some people brought cases which would help with making sure you got your fluids in. Bring a water bottle that you know how much it has, and fill that when you can to help you track. 

Go, have fun, and enjoy shopping for the new swimsuit you will have to bring with you.

How many carbs (and what kind of carbs) you add back into your diet is a very individual decision. Almost universally, however, people who add too many back in find that the scale creeps up.

You will also have to discover for yourself whether you are someone who has to have a list of banished foods or if you have the ability to eat certain foods in moderation.  Some people can "do" moderation and some cannot.  Many, like me, can do it with some foods but not with others.

I'm almost 8 years out, and I am able to control most kinds of carbs.  I very rarely eat any kind of rice or pasta. If I do, it's literally two or three small bites. When I have pizza, I eat one or two bites with the crust and then eat just the toppings. I do, however, eat half a sandwich (made with one piece of bread) at least once a week, and I periodically have a small amount of some type of potato, real (full sugar, full fat**** cream, crackers, or pretzels.  I can be satisfied with eating just a couple of small bites of a dessert, 6-8 M&Ms instead of a whole pack, or a couple of bites of cake at a wedding.  

I get a fair number of carbs on a regular basis because I get a significant amount of my protein from dairy products and beans.  I also eat a fair amount of fresh fruit in the summer (but almost none except apple halves in the winter), but try to limit other kinds of carbs to account for that. To me, the carbs in dairy, legumes, vegetables, and -- to a lesser extent -- fruit are a different "category" of carbs, since they are also protein.

I cannot, however, control my consumption of certain foods like cookies, Goldfish crackers, and potato chips, so I do not bring them into the house. Literally.  I buy 2 or 3 boxes of Girl Scout Thin Mints every year, but I leave them in my mother's freezer and eat them only when I am there (or I bring just 2 or 3 cookies home at a time).

It is VERY easy, though, to allow too many carbs to creep into your diet, and that WILL be reflected on the scale! Just remember that what works for someone else may not work for you.  

Lora

Thank you everyone. It was helpful knowing how you handled carbs. There are certain trigger foods for me similar to Lora's, Goldfish, potato chips, Wheat Thins, Triscuits, you get the picture. I just don't buy them or keep them in the house. I would buy the big gallon box of Gold Fish from Costco and in 2 days it's gone so I just stopped buying them. The lack of carbs and sugar for the last 3 weeks is definitely dulling the luster off pasta, rice and sweets. I'm not willing to take up space in my pouch for something that is not going to help my weight loss but it is nice to know a grilled cheese sandwich occasionally is still in my future.

Take a poll at any WLS support group.  Ask people:  Raise your hand if you ever picked up sugar again.  let's say 10 hands go up.  Now ask, how many of you regret it?  Guarantee you that at least 9 of those hands will pop right back up.  I do eat carbs in moderation, but I know that sugar is one of those things that once I start, I find it difficult to stop.  and I mean like I started eating a sliver of bday cake once a month at office parties, and maybe 6 months later was hiding cookies under my bed.  And I DUMP!  The addiction is stronger than my tool.  I don't recommend picking up sugar.  Again, though, I can safely eat 1/2 a sandwich on wheat, or flatbread, and I do eat spaghetti, although I measure out my portion.  Of course I am also 8 years out, and eating in year 1 looked a lot different than it does now.

Thank you for your reply Jill. My aversion to sweets now and my fear of dumping I think are working to break my sugar addiction. A Snickers Bar was my go to stress reliever and now the thought of one makes me queasy. I don't think I will have any issue with carbs since bread was not a big thing for me. But I do like a sandwich for lunch every once in awhile. I'm already looking for ways to make some of my favorite meals without pasta or tortillas. Lettuce cups or lettuce wraps for sandwiches and substituting spaghetti squash for spaghetti.

I make my sandwich with two slices of harvarti or cheddar and in between them I put my meat and veg.