Help! Please don't yell at me

Hi, I am almost 6 months out and food is tasting better and I am able to eat a little more and, oh dear, I ate some candy today at a party. I won some and my husband and I had agreed he would take it to work on Monday. But it was only Saturday! I have tied up the bag and put it near the door going out, but I still know it is here and am worried I'll get into it again. When I was walking toward the bag of candy I told myself I was moving toward poison but that didn't stop me. Then I felt my arms and reminded myself that I'm 75 pounds down since surgery and I really do not want to mess that up. I know I am not the only one who has goofed; I think the insurance companies might be too informed that this can happen, since the wls is only a tool, and it doesn't work as well later on. I do not want my honeymoon time to be over already; not in the holiday season! Yikes! Help! Please don't yell though. Happy holidays to everyone and good luck to those who have just gotten your dates or who are recently post-op. Hang in there! LM

Have you tried the sugar free candies? I find that if I eat too many, usually more than 3, I end up with aweful diareah and that pretty much cures me of wanting anything sweet.

Lauren, you are doing great! I'd hate to see you get too down on yourself over this. Remember our postop time is about retraining and learning how to live differently, but it is not about perfection. Expecting perfection is how we set ourselves up. Remember in support meeting when that speaker (I forgot her name, was it Patty?) talked about our "positive banks"... the positive in your candy eating situation is that you recognised it early on - KUDOS! How many times have you done something far worse than 1 candy and didn't see it until afterwards? Personally, I don't think that there is anything wrong with "a candy." That is not how we got fat. "A candy" is what skinny people eat. A box of candy is what we'd eat in the old days. Remember also that training means practice. Start coming up with ideas on what you can do next time. Tape a list of alternate good choices onto the bag of candy and commit that you will do at least one before you think about indulging again. Go do a chore, take a shower or bath, brush your teeth, do some stretches, drink a glass of water or take a brief walk before you decide to eat the candy for sure. This honeymoon time gives us the grace period to try and try again to learn how to adjust and live like a slim person! It's a lot of un-learning. Guilt and feeling bad is a bigger part of the bad cycle than the actualy candy is! Do not let your mind go into that trap! You are doing great! You are learning, you are concerned! If you can't handle the candy in the house and it's really getting the best of you, give it to a neighbor or friend. Many hugs, Nancy

Yes Lauren, Ditto to what Nancy said! Tee

TERRY, HELLO HOW R U DOING, FINE I HOPE AND PRAY. HAVE YOU SEEN KIMANNE . I WORRY ABOUT HER CAUSE I HAVEN'T CHATTED OR TALKED TO HER AT ALL. SEEMS LIKE SINCE HER SURGERY SHE DISAPPEARED AND I MISS HER. TAKE CARE AND GIVE HER MY LOVE. LOVE AND PRAYERS TO ALL MY WLS FAMILY. ANGEL

Lauren, I know we all understand and I appreciate that none of us wants to yell at you or be yelled at ourselves. We are human beings not robots and we are in the learning phase. Your surgery didn't change your brain, it merely gave you some better body responses and some time to retrain your brain ... and nobody wants to be perfect!! Being perfect, as I usually am when I diet for a couple or weeks or so, means not really accepting life as a challenge and not really dealing with the emotional side of ourselves!! You are dealing, you are learning, you are handling or else this wouldn't have bothered you so much. KUDOS on being able to recognize your discomfort level and taking the next steps to keep yourself - get yourself back on the right track. Your surgery, your new body, and your new skills are proud of you for recognizing your changes!!!! Keep it up. Karen Thompson Renton, WA 09-15-2004 down 55+ pounds and NOT PERFECT