Snacking on pistachios, cashews and peanuts.

OK I will first say I am doing pretty good with life after surgery. I have been sticking to the softer foods since I am still just over 2 months from surgery on Oct 31. But recently with Christmas my family was not able to get me the normal smaller gifts and stocking stuffers so this year my mom bought me some roasted lightly salted cashews, pistachios, and peanuts. And some sugerfree chocolates and candies. I know people can have horrible times in the bathroom with too much sugar alcohols but honestly I might eat 1 or 2 candies every other day or so, so its not an issue. But I have found the nuts to be highly addictive. I know they are not super high protein sources like fish or meat but they are so easy to just pull out an ounce and snack on a few nuts while working at the comp. I am doing this 2-3 times a day and I mostly count them as a meal cause I will have a piece of cheese and maybe a couple chips with salsa. BTW the chips are not fried, and made from green and yellow peas plus a little corn. The brand is Rebellion by popcorners I think if anyone is interested. Anyway to get to the point of this I was wondering what peoples views on nuts were. I think I'm doing fine and while it seems slow at times the weight is coming off. I am down about 63 lbs give or take since surgery day.

Well thanks for any advice and opinions and I hope everyone is having a wonderful day.

Given what you've said, I think it's no wonder your loss seems "slow at times."

Nuts aren't the worst snack in the world, but they're low on protein. If you're doing this for 2 or 3 meals a day, there's NO way you're getting in the protein you need.

The chips are a bad choice, even if you're eating only a few of them.

The standard recommendation is 600 - 800 calories, 60 - 80g protein, under 25g carbs. To get there, you need to be eating lean, dense protein (meat, cheese, etc.) almost exclusively. There should be no room in your pouch for a few chips or one piece of chocolate, it should be ONLY protein.

As Julie stated - and to add - you are in the Honeymoon period of your journey. If it were me I would get rid of the snacks, chips, sugar free candies and I would focus on changing my eating behaviors. I will tell you at 3 years post op, it is not as easy as it was during my honeymoon. You can do this but you need to change.

Protein first - plan, measure and weigh your portions. 600-800 calories.

I can relate - I have issues with grazing - nuts!!!!!

Have you been to this website www.theworldaccordingtoeggface.com

I highly recommend it if you have not, go and get some meal or snack ideas. I still use this site as a tool for my benefit.

One of my favorite recipes - http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot
.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html

Good luck, you are here because you know you need to change the habits, only you can do it. I have confidence in you.

Nuts are calorie machines. Dense delicious calories. I can eat a million nuts and not be full. Eat proteins that fill you up.

My people don't buy me food gifts anymore. I get spa time, massages,trips. Much easier.

I didn't start eating nuts until I hit maintenance. Now I eat a few to help me raise my body fat and calorie intake, but they certainly are addictive. I asked my Mom to get me some this Christmas instead of SF candy since the SA's do a number on me. I really would suggest that you not eat nuts or the SF candy until you hit maintenance. They are both too addictive and can cause cravings for other things. Also the chips, fried or baked, need to go and get replaced by dense protein. It will fill you up and be much better for you. Do all that you can to have success!

Ditto. I find almonds to be very addictive and can wrack up a lot of calories quickly on them without the fullness of dense protein. I do eat them periodically in maintenance but mostly because they work like a laxative for me (weird I know). I have to ban them periodically when my ingestion gets out of control.

I use walnuts for stirring in Greek yogurt or to keep as a snack in the car/purse instead of protein bars.

When I was visiting china I was surprised at how many dishes incorporated walnuts. I had many veggie dishes with walnuts. I wish I could cook like that!

I can eat one billion calories worth of nuts in a day. While nuts are a healthy snack, as others pointed out, they are calorie bombs.

None of us are here because we can eat just a small, measured amount of anything. We are here because we cannot stop. While you feel like you are in control now, in time you will not be.

Right now, you should maximize your weight loss. Every calorie that goes in your mouth should be a nutrient that your body needs to function, and really, that means protein. The nuts, the candy, the chips, are all wasted calories, and will slow your loss down more and more as you go along.

The biggest favor you can do for yourself is to just go cold turkey. And by the way, a little cold turkey is an ideal snack for us. Just about perfect.

I had my surgery a month after you and I haven't had any nuts yet. Not even sure when they'll let me add them. Mostly eating chicken, some pork, cheese, and cooked zucchini or tomatoes here and there. My stocking had a coloring book/pencils, sugar free applesauce and peach cups lol.