Question:
How do you cope with food cravings, especially sugar addiction, post operatively.
I have never gone more than 2 weeks without some kind of sugar. Substitutes don't cut it when I am craving. Has anyone elso experienced this? What do you do post op? — Carol A. (posted on November 17, 2002)
November 17, 2002
If I gave into sugar, I'd be back at my start wt in no time. Sigh. It only
takes a little slip and here come those lbs chasing me down. FORTUNATELY,
my doc instills a terror of sugar, even hidden sugars, so I purged them
enough to have NO interest until about 20 months. THAT was a big surprise.
Fast forward to now, 8 yrs, and the sugar cravings can be much stronger
now than they EVER were pre-op. But I use protein supplement to ward off
food & sugar cravings. When the cumulative protein isn't cutting it, I
make deals with myself. I can have the _______, but FIRST I have to finish
this protein drink. Usually that will get past that 3 minute craving fine.
Every now & then, I have to pull out the Big Guns. Putting on jeans
that look great. So I want to forfeit them? In any case, I will use
whatever tool I can to fight this. It isn't gonna be willpower alone. I
could do that for several years, but not for life. Also, hint: the more
sugar you get, the more you want. So, to take just ONE cookie can
potentially fan a flame that you coulda snuffed out with a glass of protein
supp. (made with no form of suagr, BTW, no milk, no juice)
— vitalady
November 17, 2002
hi there :) im about 9 months out now and have been missing the sugars. i
still stay away from them becuase if i find out they dont make me dump, ill
return to eating them again. i every now and then will eat sf russel
stovers pecan clusters or their truffles which honestly i cannot tell the
difference. they taste real to me so that curbs the cravings for me. ive
heard that if your craving the sugars real bad to eat something high in
protein and that will help take the edge off. best of luck to you, me and
everybody! :)
— carrie M.
November 17, 2002
I never "ate" my sugar preop- I was a major mountain dew junkie
for my sugar. Right now when I want something sweet I eat some really cold
canned pineapple/ mandarin orange. It really does it for me, but it may be
because of the whole citrus thing too. I have tried sugar free candy and
like the clusters, peanut butter and carmels. But honestly the fruits are
"sweeter" now.
— Carrie R.
November 17, 2002
i have the same problem..i use splenda when at all possible and i drink
sugar free drinks and lots of water..then i do eat the sweet and get it out
of my way and off my mind..i buy small suckers for the sugar and i eat lots
and lots of gum!! my jaws are sore!! if u find a way to avoid sugar let me
know i need an answer too!!
— denise S.
November 17, 2002
I have tried both SF Nesquik and SF Jello Puddings. I find both of them
very satisfying and they don't seem to trigger further sugar cravings in
me.......I don't know if they're technically "allowed" (though my
nutritionist is the one that suggested the SF Jello puddings (banana cream
and pistachio are my favorites!) by other doctors........ just my two
centavos.....
— Karen K.
November 17, 2002
you may not believe this, but I just don't crave sugar anymore. Ever! I
did. Badly and I bought some sugar-free chocolates (I still have 75% of a
box of sugar-free turtles and half a box of sugar-free whitman chocolates
in the fridge) and frankly they were TOO sweet. I eat them now more to get
me umm going lol. They are awesome laxatives and one or two pieces do it
for me without giving me the runs. Ok 'nough of that. I had a snickers
"fun-sized" bar at Halloween - snitched from my kids'
trick-or-treat bag and ate half of it. Tossed the rest. It was too sweet
too and made me a bit icky in the gut. I think about donuts and cake
sometimes, but at birthday parties I find one or two bites of cake cures
that thought for a month or two. I just don't crave it. And I was a major
sugaraholic pre-op, always had chocolate in the house and ate donuts for
breakfast every weekend "as a treat". I know how I am is not
the same for everyone and many still crave sugar. It's just going to
depend on you. BUT I promise that if you do crave it, and you do give into
it, you won't eat nearly the volume of it you can now! I get so scared of
not getting in enough protein, I find I push away a lot of my fav foods for
meat, eggs, cheese, etc. I went through too much to not stay alive for
lack of protein :>)
— [Deactivated Member]
November 17, 2002
A lot of the time sugar or carb cravings can be eliminated with protein.
As long as I keep my protein up to where my surgeon recommends, I don't
have sugar or carb cravings. But you still will have to learn the
difference between "head hunger" and actual hunger post-op. As
long as I listen to my body and no my head, I do pretty well.
— Cathy S.
November 17, 2002
Hi Carol Ann,
I am assuming that you are still pre-op. I know the thought of "NO
SUGAR" seems absolutely impossible now. I honestly felt the same way.
I was just like you and I honestly would almost gag when it came to
anything artificially sweetened. I don't know what it is but now I can't
tell the difference. I thought it was because I have been without sugar
for a while now and my body just doesn't remember. But looking back, even
my sugarfree jello 2 days post-op tasted wonderful. I think your tastes
change after surgery. I think you will be suprised at how different
everything tastes. I loved my sugar and I was a total Dr. Pepper fiend. I
am almost 4 months postop now and have not had anything with sugar added.
If I get a sweets craving I can satisfy it with a piece of hard SF candy,
or perhaps a SF fudgesicle. There are so many products now that are SF and
taste really good. Good luck!
— Laurel C.
November 18, 2002
Early on post-op, sugary things were too sweet, and things like fruit
satisfied any sugar craving. I also discovered SF chocolate and some of
them are not bad. However, I have let regular sugar back into my life, in
the form of protein bars, mini bite size cookies, fun size candy, and the
occasional few bites of birthday cake. If I keep the sugar grams low, I
find that I don't crave sugar, but if I slip and have too much, then I find
that I do end up craving sugar again. Michelle is right, the more you
have, the more you want. If you can stay away from sugar, your better off,
if not, then try to just keep the grams low.
— Cindy R.
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