RE: Digest Number 1723

[Guest guest]

It has been a year since surgery. I am still wondering how to stay with a

healthy eating plan on a regular basis and fight off tempting foods. Yes, I

try to keep them out of the house, I try to eat healthy but the temptations

of seeing a piece of hot apple pie at a friends house or restaurant will

eventually give in to my eating several pieces and then it takes a week for

me to get back on plan. I can't figure out how a person sticks to a eating

plan...how do you avoid the sweets on a regular basis and never give in to

temptations? Every day I start out with good intentions and before the week

is up, I will end up giving in to either a donut or a piece of cake and go

through the guilt and feeling sad then make a new resolve to start anew the

next day which is an endless cycle and why I can't lose a pound. This is how

I got fat. After surgery, this did not change. How did everybody else seem

to be able to stick to a diet, or healthy eating plan after surgery when they

could not before surgery? What do you all do when you are tempted with

blackberry cobbler at a restaurant or whatever that food is that will

jeopardize your weight loss efforts? How do you get this willpower? Thanks

for any help, PAt

[Guest guest]

For the first year, I abstained from white flour, sugar, soda, processed

foods, never a bite of pizza, pasta's or breads....after that, for reasons I

cannot explain, one by one, I have slipped back into my old bad eating

habits. Not full speed ahead, by still....

Being at maintenance, I just will not allow myself to go above a 3-5 pound

gain. I KNOW that would be my downfall. Most of the time, I continue to

abstain from the above list. BUT--if I want it? I have it. The problem is,

when I do have carbs or sugar, it starts a cycle of wanting more-more-more.

fOR ME, it is best to abstain.

I call it " cheats " when I slip, but get right back on the band wagon, before

time (and pounds!) becomes a problem again! Barb B.

> How did everybody else seem

> to be able to stick to a diet, or healthy eating plan after surgery when

> they

> could not before surgery? What do you all do when you are tempted with

> blackberry cobbler at a restaurant or whatever that food is that will

> jeopardize your weight loss efforts?

Barb B.

[Guest guest]

Barb: I have noticed naturally thin people who overdo, don't eat a lot for a

few days. They don't even think about it. They just had their fill and eat

less. Of course we have to think about it. If I am going to eat something

like chips, I do it at the restaurant or a friends. I do not bring it into

the house where I can continue. Just my 2 cents. Fay Bayuk 300/182 10/23/01

[Guest guest]

Pat,

I am certainly not perfect but I've done pretty well. Here's my rules

for temptations:

1. If I really want something bad for me (almost always something sweet,

but sometimes, it's bread, which gives me terrible gas LOL), I drink a

half liter of water in 15 minutes or less and then think about whether

or not I still want it. Sometimes, this is the end of the craving.

2. If I still want the item, I remove all distractions, turn off the TV,

drop out of the conversation, get away from the computer, etc. I put the

chosen food on a nice plate, use silverware, and sit at the table (no

consuming anything straight out of the package standing in front of the

fridge/pantry... I am NOT sneaking food, I am eating in the open like a

normal person).

3. I eat three bites, very slowly, making sure to taste and enjoy the

food.

Two bites is usually enough to completely satisfy me and three is the

limit. Then I give the rest to my co-workers, friends, daughter, or the

trash can (*I* am NOT a trash can and I DO NOT have to eat everything on

my plate! -- That's my " erase the old tapes " self-reprogramming phrase).

At a restaurant, if a tempting dessert comes to the table for someone

who isn't considerate enough to skip dessert on my behalf, I allow

myself three bites with full-focus as above.

I figure three bites of darn near ANYTHING isn't enough to get me off

track calorie- and nutrition-wise. Allowing myself those three bites,

and really paying attention to them and enjoying them seems to take the

" forbidden fruit " anxiety away for me and I am able to enjoy the treat

without guilt. It's when I completely deny myself things, whether

individual items (cheesecake slice) or classes of things (Halloween

candy) that I find myself eating all sorts of inappropriate crap... In

the past, that sort of deprivation led directly to my third plate of

spaghetti in 20 minutes, and even though that's no longer physically

possible, the mental stuff is alive and well. So try not to live in a

mental culture of deprivation, which is what diets have always meant to

me. I see myself as normal now and just make sure I don't go overboard

with things that have little nutritional value.

I respect people like and others who completely swear off milk

and sugar. I've found that swearing off anything (except stuff I don't

like) makes me partially insane and tends to boost my daily caloric

intake by 500 or more EVEN though I never touch the forbidden food. So I

go for considered moderation most of the time.

But I do once in a long while have horrible days. On Halloween, I had 3

40 gram protein shakes and 800 calories of Halloween candy. That's it

(oh, except for 3 liters of water and all my normal vitamins and

minerals). Tragically, the sugar did not make me dump. But that's one

day out of almost 400 so far, and I figure that's a survivable number

long-term.

Oh, the other things I'm doing... I attend the WLS support group I

started 18 months ago every other week without fail. I'm trying to

relearn everything I know about food and I listen carefully to what

works for others. So far, that's made me calmer but has not changed my

behaviors much. I am also going to start seeing an eating disorders

counselor which hopefully long-term will help diffuse some of the

underlying issues that surround my food consumption, probably calming

down some of the cravings. This is a life-long process and I don't think

there's any magic pill. For me, that went away with Phen-Fen. :-)

Ziobro (was Moseley)

Open RNY 09/17/01 Weber

Reconstructives/plastics 07/22/02 Egrari

Medial thighplasty 01/16/03 Egrari

310/133/125 (original goal 175)

BMI 54.9 to 22.8

Jeans size 32 to 4 (original goal size 10)

http://www.ziobro.us

Re: Digest Number 1723

It has been a year since surgery. I am still wondering how to stay with

a

healthy eating plan on a regular basis and fight off tempting foods.

Yes, I

try to keep them out of the house, I try to eat healthy but the

temptations

of seeing a piece of hot apple pie at a friends house or restaurant will

eventually give in to my eating several pieces and then it takes a week

for

me to get back on plan. I can't figure out how a person sticks to a

eating

plan...how do you avoid the sweets on a regular basis and never give in

to

temptations? Every day I start out with good intentions and before the

week

is up, I will end up giving in to either a donut or a piece of cake and

go

through the guilt and feeling sad then make a new resolve to start anew

the

next day which is an endless cycle and why I can't lose a pound. This

is how

I got fat. After surgery, this did not change. How did everybody else

seem

to be able to stick to a diet, or healthy eating plan after surgery when

they

could not before surgery? What do you all do when you are tempted with

blackberry cobbler at a restaurant or whatever that food is that will

jeopardize your weight loss efforts? How do you get this willpower?

Thanks

for any help, PAt

[Guest guest]

I exercise and watch how many calories I burn off on the digital read.

Donuts may be tempting, but when I think I burn 110-150 calories on

30 minutes of recumbent bike depending on the resistance, there is NO

WAY IN HELL that donut is worth 1 1/2- 2 hours on that bike!!!! It

loses its appeal.

And that's also because I do force myself to " make up " for extras at

the gym to the best of my ability. Today when I am grunting on the

elliptical crosstrainer with sweat dripping in my eyes and the front

of my thighs burning, I will definitely remember to ask myself " was

that free sample coconut macroon, the granola sample and the cotlet

(probably a good 300-350 calorie total) I semi-conciously (a.k.a.

denial/avoidance) slipped in my mouth at Costco yesterday (and I did)

worth this? UUUUGH!! Immediate consequences are a great deterrent.

Vicki A.

> It has been a year since surgery. I am still wondering how to stay

with a

> healthy eating plan on a regular basis and fight off tempting

foods. Yes, I

> try to keep them out of the house, I try to eat healthy but the

temptations

> of seeing a piece of hot apple pie at a friends house or restaurant

will

> eventually give in to my eating several pieces and then it takes a

week for

> me to get back on plan. I can't figure out how a person sticks to

a eating

> plan...how do you avoid the sweets on a regular basis and never

give in to

> temptations? Every day I start out with good intentions and before

the week

> is up, I will end up giving in to either a donut or a piece of cake

and go

> through the guilt and feeling sad then make a new resolve to start

anew the

> next day which is an endless cycle and why I can't lose a pound.

This is how

> I got fat. After surgery, this did not change. How did everybody

else seem

> to be able to stick to a diet, or healthy eating plan after surgery

when they

> could not before surgery? What do you all do when you are tempted

with

> blackberry cobbler at a restaurant or whatever that food is that

will

> jeopardize your weight loss efforts? How do you get this

willpower? Thanks

> for any help, PAt

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Great advice ,

I'm going to print this out and stick it where I can see it daily.

Thanks, Vicki A.

> Pat,

>

> I am certainly not perfect but I've done pretty well. Here's my

rules

> for temptations:

> 1. If I really want something bad for me (almost always something

sweet,

> but sometimes, it's bread, which gives me terrible gas LOL), I

drink a

> half liter of water in 15 minutes or less and then think about

whether

> or not I still want it. Sometimes, this is the end of the craving.

> 2. If I still want the item, I remove all distractions, turn off

the TV,

> drop out of the conversation, get away from the computer, etc. I

put the

> chosen food on a nice plate, use silverware, and sit at the table

(no

> consuming anything straight out of the package standing in front of

the

> fridge/pantry... I am NOT sneaking food, I am eating in the open

like a

> normal person).

> 3. I eat three bites, very slowly, making sure to taste and enjoy

the

> food.

> Two bites is usually enough to completely satisfy me and three is

the

> limit. Then I give the rest to my co-workers, friends, daughter, or

the

> trash can (*I* am NOT a trash can and I DO NOT have to eat

everything on

> my plate! -- That's my " erase the old tapes " self-reprogramming

phrase).

>

> At a restaurant, if a tempting dessert comes to the table for

someone

> who isn't considerate enough to skip dessert on my behalf, I allow

> myself three bites with full-focus as above.

>

> I figure three bites of darn near ANYTHING isn't enough to get me

off

> track calorie- and nutrition-wise. Allowing myself those three

bites,

> and really paying attention to them and enjoying them seems to take

the

> " forbidden fruit " anxiety away for me and I am able to enjoy the

treat

> without guilt. It's when I completely deny myself things, whether

> individual items (cheesecake slice) or classes of things (Halloween

> candy) that I find myself eating all sorts of inappropriate crap...

In

> the past, that sort of deprivation led directly to my third plate of

> spaghetti in 20 minutes, and even though that's no longer physically

> possible, the mental stuff is alive and well. So try not to live in

a

> mental culture of deprivation, which is what diets have always

meant to

> me. I see myself as normal now and just make sure I don't go

overboard

> with things that have little nutritional value.

>

> I respect people like and others who completely swear off

milk

> and sugar. I've found that swearing off anything (except stuff I

don't

> like) makes me partially insane and tends to boost my daily caloric

> intake by 500 or more EVEN though I never touch the forbidden food.

So I

> go for considered moderation most of the time.

>

> But I do once in a long while have horrible days. On Halloween, I

had 3

> 40 gram protein shakes and 800 calories of Halloween candy. That's

it

> (oh, except for 3 liters of water and all my normal vitamins and

> minerals). Tragically, the sugar did not make me dump. But that's

one

> day out of almost 400 so far, and I figure that's a survivable

number

> long-term.

>

> Oh, the other things I'm doing... I attend the WLS support group I

> started 18 months ago every other week without fail. I'm trying to

> relearn everything I know about food and I listen carefully to what

> works for others. So far, that's made me calmer but has not changed

my

> behaviors much. I am also going to start seeing an eating disorders

> counselor which hopefully long-term will help diffuse some of the

> underlying issues that surround my food consumption, probably

calming

> down some of the cravings. This is a life-long process and I don't

think

> there's any magic pill. For me, that went away with Phen-Fen. :-)

>

> Ziobro (was Moseley)

> Open RNY 09/17/01 Weber

> Reconstructives/plastics 07/22/02 Egrari

> Medial thighplasty 01/16/03 Egrari

> 310/133/125 (original goal 175)

> BMI 54.9 to 22.8

> Jeans size 32 to 4 (original goal size 10)

> http://www.ziobro.us

>

> Re: Digest Number 1723

>

>

> It has been a year since surgery. I am still wondering how to stay

with

> a

> healthy eating plan on a regular basis and fight off tempting foods.

> Yes, I

> try to keep them out of the house, I try to eat healthy but the

> temptations

> of seeing a piece of hot apple pie at a friends house or restaurant

will

>

> eventually give in to my eating several pieces and then it takes a

week

> for

> me to get back on plan. I can't figure out how a person sticks to a

> eating

> plan...how do you avoid the sweets on a regular basis and never

give in

> to

> temptations? Every day I start out with good intentions and before

the

> week

> is up, I will end up giving in to either a donut or a piece of cake

and

> go

> through the guilt and feeling sad then make a new resolve to start

anew

> the

> next day which is an endless cycle and why I can't lose a pound.

This

> is how

> I got fat. After surgery, this did not change. How did everybody

else

> seem

> to be able to stick to a diet, or healthy eating plan after surgery

when

> they

> could not before surgery? What do you all do when you are tempted

with

> blackberry cobbler at a restaurant or whatever that food is that

will

> jeopardize your weight loss efforts? How do you get this willpower?

> Thanks

> for any help, PAt

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/7/2002 10:07:15 AM Eastern Standard Time,

fbayuk@... writes:

> If I am going to eat something like chips, I do it at the restaurant or a

> friends. I do not bring it into the house where I can continue.

*************************

Yes! For me, this is key. If I have it in the house, I will eat it. But, I

love it when I'm out to dinner and a friend will order dessert, then I get to

have a taste, maybe 2 if they don't mind, but that's it. Worse case

scenario, if it's something I'm really dying for, I get someone to share it

with me. Thin people will have a few bites and that's it, so if you can sort

of mimic them, there's not too much damage done.

in NJ

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/7/02 7:34:21 PM West Asia Standard Time,

PATISINKY@... writes:

I try to eat healthy but the temptations of seeing a piece of hot apple pie

at a friends house or restaurant will eventually give in to my eating several

pieces and then it takes a week for me to get back on plan. I can't figure

out how a person sticks to a eating plan...how do you avoid the sweets on a

regular basis and never give in to

temptations?

---------------------------------------

You had surgery on your stomach, not your brain. Unfortunately, your brain

has a lot more control over what you eat than your stomach does. There are

reasons why certain foods are so tempting to you, not all of which are purely

biological. There HAVE to be some issues you have that you are either not

aware of or simply don't want to identify and deal with. Maybe keeping a

journal of how you feel each time you eat or are tempted to will help you pin

down those issues. Or you may need to be seeing a therapist. This whole

journey is much more about changing your relationship with food than just

cutting out or avoiding certain foods. Until you find out what your demons

are, your pouch can only do so much. It takes a lot of hard work mentally,

spiritually, and emotionally to get " normal. " Like Oprah (much as some may

not like her) says so frequently " it's not about the food; it's NEVER about

the food. "

Carol A

[Guest guest]

Carol: I believe the biological part is about quantity, the free choice part

is about quality. Fay Bayuk 300/182 10/23/01

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/17/2004 12:44:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

surfacehippy writes:

And the issue of maintaining healthy

bone stock is one of the reasons some OS advocate strong use of the

hip/legs as apparently this is more likely to maintain a healthy bone long

term..........

Edith LBHR Dr. L Walter Syd Aust 8/02

Hi Edith thanks for the reply I was also replying to the post and

somehow my post ended up being part of (mooshters) inquiry in any event you are

right on in your answer even here in the U.S. were the Docs are being

conservative because of the study if you ask about other parts of the body with

FDA

approved devices they due encourage strong usage for continue rebuilding of

bone stock. The old adage if you DON " T USE IT YOU LOOSE IT. Just do not ABUSE

IT.

Carmen.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/17/2004 12:44:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

surfacehippy writes:

And the issue of maintaining healthy

bone stock is one of the reasons some OS advocate strong use of the

hip/legs as apparently this is more likely to maintain a healthy bone long

term..........

Edith LBHR Dr. L Walter Syd Aust 8/02

Hi Edith thanks for the reply I was also replying to the post and

somehow my post ended up being part of (mooshters) inquiry in any event you are

right on in your answer even here in the U.S. were the Docs are being

conservative because of the study if you ask about other parts of the body with

FDA

approved devices they due encourage strong usage for continue rebuilding of

bone stock. The old adage if you DON " T USE IT YOU LOOSE IT. Just do not ABUSE

IT.

Carmen.