Stealing French fries and other small misdemeanors...

Sugar, but really only certain things -  it needs to be homemade or good bakery bought.  I don't do frosting made with shortening, pie made with canned fruit, etc.  I'm a baked goods snob.  We actually keep quite a bit of sweets in the house - packaged cookies, ice cream, candy, etc.  It's hubby food.  Even when I'm having a craving, it doesn't tempt me.  Mostly bc it's the actual eating of the sugar that makes me a crazed lunatic.  If I can just drink some water, assess if I'm actually hungry enough to have a meal then eat a regular, planned meal, it hasn't been a huge issue yet.  The 3-4 times I've had a sugar-tastrophe since surgery have caused dumping, so that tends to keep me in check as well.  When I eat something sweet, I want it to be special.  I want it to be absolutely worth the calories, the possible intestinal discomfort and potential cravings for days afterwards.  Right now, nothing seems worth that.  That will not always be the case, but I'm hoping that I'm developing good habits that will help in the future.  I already know I don't sugar in moderation.  I'm capable of a lot of things, but I'm not capable of that.

When I'm confronted with something like my absolute favorite, fudgy, amazing brownines like I was this weekend - I go try on my smallest jeans and revel in the fact that I had to actually buy smaller jeans to replace my smallest jeans that were too big.  Then I go look in the mirror and revel at my cheekbones.  It sounds stupid when I type it out, but wearing a size 6 jeans and actually have a bone structure are worth more than that stupid, albeit absolutely delicious brownie. 

That's a great stategy.  I carry pictures of myself before and after for the same purpose.  Just a little reminder....

Oh I can relate. A couple of months ago I was at a health food store and when I was checking out they had these lovely loaves of homemade artisan bread. I knew I shouldn't have bought it but the apple walnut one looked to die for. So, I bought it and proceeded to eat the entire loaf over about 5 or 6 days all my myself!  I won't be doing that anytime soon but that is probably the worst thing I have done in 4 1/2 years. I mean, that's a lot of bread, lol. Luckily it didn't affect the scale. But it definitely opened my eyes about what I can and can't have in my house. Candy, crackers, cookies...no big deal, doesn't even tempt me but that bread got to me. Gotta know your triggers!

Laura

Now Elina...I am not so much interested in the french fries....but do tell me more about the handcuffs and all!!!? 

Oh Julia, we would have a great time if you ever get a chance to visit here.  :)  I can fill you in on all the particulars.  :)

I am lucky that eating to much sugar makes me sick. I get shaky and just feel horrible. The same is true for fried foods. This helps me out when I need to face trigger foods. That said, there are places I just avoid because I'm afraid of what I would do. In-and-out French fries would probably be a huge trigger for me, they are so much better than frozen ones. So, it is best that I just not go there.

I have also learned how to make some sweet things that fit my plan through several blogs. I've made ice cream out of protein shakes, strawberry shortcake using almond flour, and will be trying a microwave low carb brownie cake soon. But usually Greek yogurt with berries will fix a sweet craving.

I'm with you Elina, I don't bring my trigger foods into the house. I also avoid them while eating out. 

At goal, I do have the occasional treat. I keep things in the house that I like but not so much that I can't control them. For example, i keep pretzels around. I do not feel the urge to eat all of them, eat a lot of them, or keep eating them slowly till they are gone. But donuts do not cross my door. 

Instead of telling myself I can never have these trigger foods, I tell myself I can have them occasionally, in a reasonable amount. So far, at 14 months into maintaining a BMI of 21.8, that is working for me. As part of that, I weight myself every morning. I have a bounce range of 2 lbs. I originally set my bounce range for 5 lbs., but that is too much for me. 

Sometimes, when I have a really strong craving, I picture the amount of that food there is in the world.  Shelves of donuts, in thousands of stores. See, I don't really need to have it now. It will be there later. I couldn't possibly eat all of that food, so why do I need to eat it now?

Lynda

I can eat 1 fry and walk away from the rest.

I can't eat 1 M&M, or 1 bite of ice cream, or 1 piece of popcorn, or 1 piece of any chocolate, or 1 bite of pie, or 1 bite of cheesecake.

For me, eating just one of anything would never have forced me to choose a WLS. I wouldn't have needed it. 1 of anything didn't get me to this point. It was the bite after that and the bite after that.

But, see, that's what makes me happy about where I am. I know my limits, even when I test them.  

Thanks Elina.