Question:
Anyone eat what they want ?

Is there any people out there after reaching goal, eat what they want and when they want(smaller amounts of course)and not gain any weight but just maintain.I guess I mean grazing? with RNY. I snack alot lots of healthly things but also some bad and Im not gaining just maintaining at this point. I will be 1 year out 4/2/03. Today has been a really bad day eat everything in sight day, but Im hopeing it has to do with my period. I started yesterday. Bad foods today lots of chocolate.    — Carrie W. (posted on March 26, 2004)


March 25, 2004
I too graze a lot and I find I do it more often when I am on my period. I had my surgery 12/23/2002 and have lost 160 pounds, 17 pounds until goal! I can pretty much eat anything and not gain weight. But I worry that I will revert to my old ways and gain all that I've lost back. Good luck and keep up the good work!! 345/185
   — tat1997

March 25, 2004
Hi Carrie, I am pretty much the same way. I eat pretty much whatever I want, of course in smaller portions than before surgery. I have days where I eat more chocolate than I should but I try to balance that out by having a day of good eating. I watch the scale daily just to see where I am and to make sure I am not gaining weight. Over the past 5-6 months I have lost 10-15 lbs but not because I am trying, it just happened. I figure as long as I do not gain weight and make sure I still get in the basics that I need to be healthy then what is the problem? Some people may say that we are developing bad habbits again. I am not worried because I do keep an eye on the scale and if I see it going up I work hard to bring it back down again. I have said this before on here, but I got this surgery because I wanted to be a healthy weight and to be able to eat normal. I feel that I eat the same as anyone else does. Even the naturally "skinny" people have to cut back once in a while. Good Luck in your journey. Angela 8/02 324/150.
   — Angela A.

March 25, 2004
Just a heads up...I, too, was able to eat pretty much anything & not gain...until I hit 4 years out, then 10 pounds virtually overnight! Where did it come from? It happens to some at 2 years, some later, but it WILL catch up with you at some point. It's called "The Wall." My theory is that our bodies start to regenerate somewhat and, even though we may still malabsorb certains vitamins & minerals, our intestines "re-learn" how to absorb fats & calories...some more than others. Don't forget, we're the real "survivors," and our bodies are more adept than most at hoarding fat. To quote our own Michelle Curran (Vitalady), we have a disease, and we're just in remission.
   — Leslie F.

March 25, 2004
I am not at goal, I am at 183, was 305, I am 19 mos out. I EAT WHAT I WANT WHEN I WANT, JUST LESS! I eat dessert (in moderation), I drink wine, I just eat wheat bread insteadof white. I also eat salad with full fat dressing! I also walk a lot so, this lets me maintain. If I watched what I ate, I probably could lose more weight. But, I want to be normal and not on a diet. This surgery to me is more about making oneself active. Plus, I am having PS next month, and if I would rather have a flat tummy via PS and be 183 lbs than be 130-150 and be flabby as all hell! Heather 8-15-02 305/183/175
   — heathercross

March 25, 2004
I agree with Leslie, I ran smack into that wall about a month ago. I am a little over two years out and I started gaining after getting an ulcer taken care of....the ulcer kept me from getting a lot in. I do eat mostly what I want or agrees with me but in small portions and I do watch my proteins, fats and calories. I an not very anal about it but I stay constantly aware of what I eat even if sometimes it is bad for me or too much. I have bad days but more better days. I weigh at least once a week. I do notice a slide of about 2-3lbs at different times of the month but if it goes up 5lbs or does not go back down after a few days....I am back in high protein and more exercise.
   — Oldsoul

March 25, 2004
To get rid of sugar cravings take Kyolic which is garlic. Choc is telling you that you are missing someing in your body. Go to the health store and ask lots of questions. Choc give us a happy boost. Seem you may be lacking something in the b vitamin. Remember Choc is not fatting but the sugars and other ingredients are. good luck and keep reading other message cut and paste and make a book for your self for reference to refer back to. Have a great day.
   — Tammy P.

March 26, 2004
This type of issues comes up frequently. I am in the camp of those who appreciate that I was addicted to food and that thinking that I could eat anything I want would only unwind the progress I've made. Moderation failed me for years-- how else could I have been more than 280 pounds overweight? Consequently, knowing that I have trigger foods, I avoid certain things (like sweets and icecream) and minimize starches (maybe having them no more than once per week). As for eating anything to help me feel normal, the one thing I've learned is that so-called "normal" people don't assess their lives by their ability to eat particular foods; consequently, I try to make food as utilitarian as possible. Ultimately, my goal has been to live a "normal" life that is free free from the guilt of overeating, the shame of being super morbidly obese and the embarassment of not being the type of active father and husband that my family deserves.
   — SteveColarossi

March 26, 2004
Isn't it interesting how we are all different and have such a variety of reasons why we were/are obese? For ME, I was a perfectionist and a controller. This mentality led to my wanting to appear to others to be perfect and even the perfect dieter. This led to closet eating.I appeared to have so much control when in the presence of others that I would deprive myself of what foods they were eating (such as birthday cake) because I would not want them to see me eat it. Then when I would go home (or better yet, think of a reason why I had to go out alone)I would feel that deprivation and eat/binge out of control. This would lead to guilt and then deprivation and the whole cycle would begin again. I "cycled" myself up to 263. So, for ME moderation is the KEY!!! I must allow myself to eat. If I begin to look at certain foods as "bad", the guilt cycle begins again. So, yes, I eat what I "want". My wants are just different. Because I have the negative reinforcement of feeling yucky, I really don't want to eat a lot of high sugar foods. However, I will eat a small piece of cake at a party or something. When I am eating it, I can actually feel the normalcy of what I am doing. I know no one is watching me eat it and I know without a doubt, that I am not going to go home and binge because I feel deprived. I am finally normal!! For others, they may need to have restriction. So, I think you have to find out what YOUR issues are. I don't have trigger foods, that is not what led to MY obesity. It was deprivation. So, since surgery, I don't diet. I have maintained. I am 3 1/2 years post op and have gained about 3 pounds in the last month. I am aware of it and will watch it. In the past, it has gone away without my intervention. So, we will see. As another poster mentioned, I am expecting that wall and I know that I will make some modest changes if that happens. However, I will never diet again. Maybe I'll start exercising????? Good luck to you! Shelley
   — Shelley.

March 26, 2004
Yes, I eat what I want after 2 years post-op. I saw myself in a few of the posters answers. I, too, do not deprive myself of anything I want to eat, in moderation and in small amounts. I, too, was that closet eater, always feeling guilty for eating chocolate or french fries, thinking everyone was watching the fat girl eat. What a freeing experience to no longer feel that guilt and because I eat whatever I want, I am happier and guilt free and no longer deprived. Now saying all that, there is still some control. Like this morning they had donuts at work, I had 1/2 of one. I also choose good foods for the vast majority of my meals, for example yesterday I had scrambled eggs with cheese for breakfast, a salad with sliced steak over it for lunch, and 1/2 a chicken breast with broccoli for dinner. That allows me to have my sweet treats too. If I had burgers and fries or pizza and then had the sweet treats in the same day, well, I'm sure I would see it on the scale too. I also exercise several times a week and like the others weigh daily to keep me honest. You are only 1 year out, so it is easier for you to eat bad foods or graze all day and not see the results on the scale. One day of this or the occasional grazing day will not hurt you, but please be careful, because one day if you don't control it, you will see it. Find what works for you
   — Cindy R.

March 26, 2004
my story is almost identical to yours, I was just one year out at the end of last month and I have lost 102 pounds (all of which was in the first 7 months) (not an ounce since) Now, I've had some crazy things going on in my life in the last few months. The biggest and most important has been my mom. I'm an only child and my mom has been very sick, she's spent most of the winter in the hospital and while she was in the ICU they called us in to say goodbye, she had been fine weeks before that. Anyway, she pulled through, and is on the road to recovery, but the cancer, MS, diabetes, heart condition etc is not gone (P>S> she was scheduled for RNY three days after all of this blew up-she will probably never be able to have it now :-( with everything going on with my mom and assorted other things I started back to my emotional eating and nervously putting things in my mouth that I didn't even want. anyway, back to my point I am overly sensitive to sugar there's a fine line between 5 and 6 grams and I'm SICK so I started finding sugar free russel stovers chocolate (YUMMY but not GOOD ) sugar free cake, cookies etc. I was not a sugar junkie before, But I guess the sweet tooth comes out when you're deprived. I also had a time with things going down, I think my "food chute" is a little smaller than normal, 'cuz I still have trouble with meats and such, so I started eating things that were crunchy and went down easy pretzels, chips, orange peanut butter crackers. All of this is BAD, BAD, BAD, and I know it, but I can't help it and I'm not gaining, but I'm also not loosing. I didn't have a goal weight, but I'm in a size 12 and I know if I ate more protien, ate less junk, didn't graze and exercised more I would lose more, but we'll have to wait and see - sorry for the rambling
   — SHILOH S.

March 26, 2004
Yes I eat what I want when I want and have been fine with my loss. I thought I was done losing at one point but have lost a few more and am actually below my goal. Sometimes I do feel bad being able to do this though, before when I used to eat what I wanted when I wanted that is how I got to 304 lbs in the first place. I do find that now with this surgery that if you do eat badly and the scale shows it, you can turn it around rather quickly by going back to following the rules. I just make sure to watch the scale like a hawk so it doesn't get out of hand. Best of luck to you!
   — Dee ,.




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