I was too optimistic

Good morning Buddies :)

First of all, my apologies for being MIA for a while. I guess I just needed some time alone, to take better stock of things. It's my 54th B-day today and hubby just brought me flowers. He wanted to bring me candy too, but I told him he'd better not if he wanted to live! LOL So instead, or in addition to, he is taking me out to dinner. :)
A couple of months ago, in the giddiness of losing large amounts of weight fast, I had set a goal of breaking the 100 kilo mark by my birthday. It was not to be, of course, since weight loss slowed down to "normal" rates after the second month post-op. My surgeon did tell me it would - he said not to expect more than 3 kilos weight loss per month from now on. I lost 4 kilos this month, so I'm still ahead! LOL
The only worrying thing at this point is that I find myself irresistibly attracted to "bad" carbs again - potato chips, chocolate, etc.  I even went as far as to buy a bag of chips and a chocolate bar a few days ago and yes, I ate them. I've been thinking that perhaps I should go back to "basics" again, as a "refresher course". I've seen the "5 day pouch test" discussed in the forums and thought it may be a good idea to do it at this point. What do you think? Should I go for it or am I overreacting?

Amalia

I get those urges for the junk food. I haven't given in yet, but I fear one day it will get the best of me. It is going to be a long hard fight.

I've been craving after carbs from Day #1. I was usually successful fighting it off until recently. Oh well! I had my splurge, perhaps now I've gotten it out of my system and can re-focus on my proper diet.

So sorry to hear you are getting back to the old habits.  It is very easy to do.  Just go back to the basics.   The surgery gives us a tool to use, but we have to work hard to fix our heads.  only we can do that.
  I suggest you get into a local support group and hold yourself accountable for all that goes in your mouth.  I don't mean to sound mean.  I have a lady that had surgery 7 years ago and started gaining her weight back, she came back to meeting and is doing a lot better.
 I know you can do this.  is here for you when you need it,  If you want to chat i have yahoo messanger.  My ID is [email protected].  Feel free to add . Take care and love yourself.

Hi annielou. I'm afraid I don't have a local support group. YOU are my support group! I keep a food log online so I track everything I eat honestly. I never go over my calorie allowance but there are days that I just can't fight off the carbs.
Actually, I just started being able to eat some veggies and some fruits, so until recently I was in an almost all-protein diet. In a way it was easier then. There was "my" food and "the family's food" and the two didn't mix. Now that I'm trying to eat more normally, I'm tempted by the family's food all the time.
I met a lady that had the bypass 10 years ago and she has gained a lot of the weight back too. I pointed her to OH and I hope she finds the support she needs here.
I'm sorry, I don't use yahoo anymore, since my account was hijacked. Thanks though.

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I think doing the 5 day pouch test is a really good idea.  You had the surgery and went through a lot and getting back to basics is the right thing to do.  The 5 DPT is meant to retrain your pouch, it's not really a diet but most people end up losing weight anyway.

This is just my personal opinion and I'm sure a lot of people would disagree, but I think it's better to give in to a craving every once in a while and savor the moment. I know if I really want something and just absolutely won't have it the craving keeps getting stronger and then I end up eating way more of if than if I had just given in the first time around.  I also think that every once in a while, eating something that is not on the "healthy" list will rev up your metabolism.  This was a topic discussed at my f2f once-monthly meeting and the nutritionist was the one that kind of pushed us on it.  It works for me, but as with all else, every one is different.

Good luck and let us know how you are doing.

Colleen

You are right, Colleen. Unfortunately, carbs are "trigger foods" for me. One bite is never enough. The best thing t do is keep them out of my house and my hot little grasp for good!

Happy Birthday Amalia, you have a wonderful husband.  Enjoy the flowers and dinner out.  My husband wanted to give me candy on Valentines day too.  They have a hard time with the usual candy sending times post surgery. 

I have junk cravings to, and have a bite or two of something less than healthful.  Yup, I am not perfect.  Take your bite of the offending food, let it linger on your tongue.  During this time ask your brain, does it taste as good as I imagined?  Slowly roll the bite around in your mouth and ask your brain, do I really want this or do I want to be healthier?  Take as long as humanly possible to chew and taste the food, ask your brain, was it worth it?  I find that I am eating for reasons other than being hungry.  What are those reasons?  They are many and diverse.  Time to find alternatives to eating to deal with the other hungers in our lives.  I wish I had all the answers for myself, I do not.  Find our what other hungers you are trying to feed and then find an alternative source of nourishment for those hungers.

Enjoy your birthday Amalia.  Lots of hugs from this side of the ocean.

Thank you for the wishes and the gooed advice, Kathy. I know we've talked about this before, since it's an issue I've been dealing with from Day #1 with varying degrees of success. This time, the culprit that threw me into this nightmare was an ad by Bodrini, my favorite real and TV chef advertising Lay's baked potato chips. I saw their paprica flavored chips (my personal favorite) sold at my online super-market and I must have been hungry or mad when I was ordering, because I thought "well. they are baked, they can't be that bad" and I ordered some! I forgot all about them until the groceries were delivered and I was putting things away the next day. I thought, OK maybe I'll have a couple. The bag became empty in no time flat!
Moral of the story? Stop watching Bodrini...er... I mean "stop shopping when hungry"!
So many rules! I wonder if it will ever become second nature to me?

Good morning Amelia and a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!
This "thing" with food many of us have, is alot like our (yours and mine) struggle with smoking. It a hard battle, thats backed by a lifetime of these behaviors and cravings. I have found it much easier to break the carb cravings than the cigarette ones. But I will still have times I crave, and it is the times I give in, that it gets even harder. Once we feed these to our bodies, our body will trigger us to crave more and more of them. Its a very hard battle, when we have both our mins and our bodies fighting against us.

The best thing you can do is to get back to the basics. If it takes the 3 day pouch test, so be it, but know it is not a nutritionally balanced plan. But many people have great success decarbing on it. Or you can just get back to the plan your surgeon set for you. Be aware, that once we start to indulge in these unhealthy carbs, it takes 3 full days to de-carb,and you may experience headaches, cravings, tiredness and more during this time. But you just have to ride it out to get detoxed from the carbs once again. Please do this if you can. Now is the time we have to fight hard to get these things in control, if we are to succeed over the long haul.

Know tho, that you are NOT the only one falling off plan. We all do it at one point or another, some of us (probably most of us)  many times. It is NOT an easy journey. Please try you best to fight the urges. Come lean on us for support and encouragement. Kathy gave some good ideas too. One choice at a time my friend. I hope you find a way to break through this carb craving cycle you are on.

Hugs and love to you.
Patrece