I have a simple question but will probably take a complex answer but since you guys are...

Thanks for the examples of high protein substitutes (here and below), and your efforts to keep trying until you worked out a substitute that satisfied you and filled you.

I believe cravings are a head hunger issue.   Head hunger gets me into trouble all the time, and ignoring the underlying causes is just a bandaid on bigger issues.  White knuckling it thru is important and effective for right now, but I think we also need to take a very serious look at the underlying causes... most likely you're coping with the stress of your job/life by eating (heck, who isn't?!!) and there's probably more causes too.  Learning some non-food ways to cope with the feelings we've stuffed down over and over again for so many years is just as important as everything else we're doing to get our health back.  My hope is the more ways I learn to cope, the less white knuckling I'll have to do!

Great point here!

So much this! 

If we could all simply rely on will power, none of us would be here. It took me months to start to see my triggers and patterns. I always thought I was just hungry all the time. 

Things that have helped me the most:

-tracking my food. (I started this even before I tried reducing my in take.) you will see patterns. For example, When I felt guilty about over eating, I'd look at the rest of my day and realize I had only consumed 200-300 calories all day. No wonder I over ate at supper!! Once I started eating more balanced through out the day, it was so much easier to eat smaller healthier portions.

-Find your trigger areas (mine  big ones are driving and my parents house, celebrations, etc). They aren't all related to negative emotions or stress either. I'm very much a happy eater.

-get a hobbie

-get moving. Any way. 

Also, Google behaviour change. You'll see lots of other options. 

But mostly I've learned this: don't quit. We all make bad choices. What I've seen as a pattern common in successful people, is they don't give up. Just keep going. Make the next choice a better one.

right now, you will have to white knuckle it for a few days to shake the cracker habit. But work on replacing it with something. You made it through liquid pre op, and surgery, you can get through this too.

Lots of things to love about your post.  Thanks for sharing your insights!  They are helpful to me.

You are right it isn't just about will power.  I have plenty of will power for other things.

Moving is hard for me because I have severe osteoarthritis.  I can swim and swam in our lake this summer.  Now that the weather is cooler, I am thinking I will join a facility with a pool.

True, don't quit trying.  It is so easy to get discouraged and blow it all, but you can always start again, the next hour or the next day.

Do try something else crunchy like roasted nuts and even chewing gum will help the need to chew.

I forgot to mention earlier that we all need to visit our doctor regularly because sometimes cravings are caused by nutritional deficiencies. 

I read your original post here. You have some significant medical issues. I had an RnY for medical issues too. It's really important to find the diet that will work for your surgery.

I love crackers too. They dissolve in your mouth and start to enter your bloodstream immediately. They are foods that bypass your bypass. You get that sudden boost from these simple carbs. Not good for Rny patients. Not good for diabetic patients.

They won't work. It's time to go back to your post diet instructions and follow what your doctor ordered. Get your diabetes and your liver and your heart and your kidneys a chance.

You don't have to eat this way anymore.

A lot of people here have given you really good advice, even if its not in the way you wish to hear it, look past that & look at the message within & basically you'll have to white knuckle the carb detox. It looks like you're spiraling downwards with all the carbs & they just make you feel like crap & you end up eating even more of them. 

If you can't give up everything at once, then give up at least 1 thing & not overcompensate by eating more of another. If you're putting everything in mfp, keep with that & pick 1 thing to eliminate completely & substitute with  dense protein, followed by more water. Try it for a week. Give up the crackers. Then the following week, add in something else, like the creamer, but don't add back the crackers. Try it for a week, keep doing that & substitute with something else, meditation, yoga, journaling, deep breathing, etc, anything to get you past the moment. 

In time things do get easier. You just gotta make up your mind & commit to a plan. If you're too tired to walk after work, take 5 minute breaks thru out your day to just walk, breathe, get your mind right & munch on some jerky. 5 minutes thru out the day, then work your way up. Baby steps. Good Luck

Update ~ I have taken all of your posts into consideration and have not had oyster crackers or coffee mate creamer in over a wk now and I feel so much better. blood sugars are good too. I have not replaced the crackers w anything but I have replaced the creamer w low fat 1/2 n 1/2 w no sugar or corn syrup. Small steps. Now I just need to get some exercise in my day. Thanks a lot everyone for your honesty. Lori