Feeling really low... but haven't reached for the ice cream (yet)

Sounds like you came up with a good solution Lora.   I'm sorry you are dealing with all this at once, it's a lot.  Sending good thoughts your way.
Lizzy

Sorry to hear about  your day, hope everything will look better tomorrow- everyone is right how you always try to help others,wish you the best-hugs to you!!

*hugs* 

I hope you feel better.

I am sorry you are having a bad time of it.

The urge to turn to food for comfort is ingrained within us. It will never, ever go away. And that is OK, probably even healthy in a way. The key is acknowledging it, accepting it as part of life, coming up with a plan on how to handle it, following through with it, and then moving on.

If you truly feel that the ice cream will make you feel better, have a spoonful. Or just a lick even. Analyze whether it even tastes good to you or makes you feel any better, and file that thought away. And then throw away the rest of the container. Actually, I would melt it and put it down the sink. (Because I have unfortunately had days where I would have literally dove back into the trash after it...) Yes, it is a waste, and yes when finances are tight that makes it extra hard...but it really will make you feel better and in control. And you could eat 5,000 popsicles and it will not do as much as that one lick will. You can still be in control and not let the food control you by handling it on your own terms. In some ways by not fighting your natural urge to have a little bit of it is still letting it control you (just not in exactly the same way as before).

If you don't want to go there, do as others suggested and leave the house. And don't go anywhere near a grocery store or an ice cream stand. Something else that has worked for me is "retail therapy," exercise that I hate (so you have something else to be angry at!), and having my absolute favorite "legal" food - even if it is expensive or I have to drive an hour for it.

Personally, if it was me, I would probably go outside and smack the darned siding a few times (hey, more dents cannot hurt!) Then walk the dog and vent on the phone to someone with a patient ear. Or else just call it a day and crawl into bed and wake up tomorrow knowing that it will indeed be another day and that I might have the energy to deal with it better then.

Cannot offer advice on most of the rest of problems, because I just haven't been in your shoes. However, I have had to handle the therapist change. First, make sure she is involved in picking your new therapist. No one else will have a better idea of who will work best with you. Second, sign the release and she will share every single bit of your history and notes with the new therapist - which will make sure you will not have to go over *everything* all over again. Third, if both parties will agree, what helped me a huge amount was to have the new and old therapists in the room together for the first appointment (actually the first two appointments.) It is part of her work with you to make your transition as smooth as possible - just as it will be for your next therapist. I did have to pay for half the session (which was twice the price of a normal session) out of pocket as the insurance would not pay for both of them at once.

And last I just want to add an extra affirmation that your posts have been informative, funny, and sanity savers at times.

Lora,
I am sorry to hear you are going through all this!... And I am very glad to see you gained your strength back and are fighting back with the movie and strawberries!  You are going to wake up in the morning without feeling guilty..that's one less thing to deal with!

Wish I could say or do something to make things better, Lora. You have done SO much for all of us on here.

Lora,

Sorry things have been tough lately. Cut yourself some slack and be proud of what you have done just by posting and making better choices when under stress. Not sure I would have done as well as you. Hope things get easier and that you enjoy the movie.

Sounds like you are having one heck of a crappy day (or a collection of them)!  I am so sorry you're dealing with all of this...

Soon this too shall pass... be strong, find good alternatives (sounds like you're doing a good job of that already!) and reach out to us when you're feeling low.  Lots of people here care for you and will chime in with as much support as possible.

Hope tomorrow's a better day!


tori

There are some good strawberries out there right now. I love eating sweet fruit these days.
I hope you rented a good flick.  A good friend and I used to have a contest to see who could find the most depressing films. The more soul sucking the better. I think I won with Playing for TIme about being in a band in a nazi camp. We had kinda of a strange relationship.
I hope tomorrow is better.
Deb T.

I am really sorry you are going through all of this. It must be tough. I do have a couple of questions - why are you feeling guilty over a few sf popsicles? Aren't they part of your program? I know most of us eat them and did since the day we came home from the hospital. They have like no calories and count toward our fluids. As far as the ice cream, when I had urges prior to my recent surgeries for my complications, if I got an urge for ice cream I would have a very small bowl of No Sugar Added Turky Hill Double Chocolate ice cream. It has only 70 calories for 4 ounces and is absolutely delicious plus it has protein (dont remember how much but it has some) At 4 years out and you are on maintainance, I don't think 70 calories or even a half of a portion - 35 calories will hurt you. I understand you don't want to crave things but as my nutritionist tells me that sometimes if you ignore your cravings completely for long periods of time, eventually you will explode and cheat too much, so you are better off to once in a while to have a small portion of something. I did this from about 6 months post op on and it really helped to keep me on track. Once I was at goal, I also at popcorn every night.

Now I am in a totally different situation which is very frustating for me and never thought I would ever be in this situation ever in my lifetime. Due to the 4 surgeries and all the complications and time I spent in the hospital, I lost an additional 45 pounds. I have since gained 8 pounds of it back and that was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I still need to gain another 15 or so pounds but I can't do it. It feels like I am eat all day long and high calorie foods and the scale won't move. I feel like I am going against everything I have been taught. I know they say at 18months we start absorbing our calories again and that was the case with me but when I had my surgeries - first one on my 2 year annivery and then so on, my malabsorbtion came back, I started dumping which I never did before and my lactose intolerance came back which went away about 5 years ago - several years prior to my gastric bypass.

If you want to eat something that tastes like ice cream but it isn't ice cream and is loaded with protein try this - it is called a chocolate monkey

8 ounces of skim milk (I use lactaid)
2 ounces of SF chocolate syrup (I use torani or DaVinci)
5 ice cubes
1 1/2 scoops of Chocolate protein powder (I use ProPerformance 100% Whey Protein from GNC - red package)
2 tablespoons of SF chocolate pudding powder
1 sliced banana

Put it all a blender and mix for approx. 45 seconds until it is smooth. This shake gives you approx. 45 grams of protein per shake. It is delicious - tastes like a chocolate milkshake.