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JessicaM72

JessicaM72

Member
Hello everyone! My name is Jessica and I originally had surgery April 2012 and started at 287 and until a month ago was headed in the right direction at 169lbs. Today I weighed in at 180!! I know its because of what and how Im choosing to eat but what I don't understand is that was having to force myself to eat the require protein and calories and then all of a sudden I felt "hungry" all day long and craving sweets which I didn't even like before I had surgery. Im so mad at myself and I know its not a lot to have gained but honestly Im freaking out and worried that my surgery and hard work was all for nothing because I can eat what I want again (esp the sugar) I need suggestions on how to get back on the wagon and turn myself around. Does anyone know if the stomach can stretch back to its old self? Also, I know before I felt hungry all the time I didn't eat any bread or sugar and that seemed to be the key to my success. Im sorry to sound whiney but this has been a hard recovery for me learning the new way of life and then this past summer I had my gallbladder removed hmm I wonder if that has anything to do with my feeling hungry all the time or is it really mind over matter? I thank any of you that choose to respond ahead of time. I swore that I wouldn't be one of those people we see on tv that lost a lot of weight and then gained it all back. How embarrassing right? Thanks again!:)
 
This evidently a common problem because on this site is a 5 Day Pouch Test diet for this very reason. You can find it on the Home Page scroll 1/2 way down and you'll find it in the Articles section on the left, I believe. This diet goes through the different stages of diets post surgery to kinda jump start the process again. I hope this helps. You probably will feel hungry at first but know that will pass and you'll feel better again and resume your weight loss. Good Luck. Happy Success!!!
 
You need to figure out your triggers and avoid them. If it's sweets, don't eat a little--don't eat any. I play a little head game with myself. If I'm in a convenience store and walk past the candy aisle, I look at each candy and think "that's disgusting, I don't want to eat that".
Just because your doctor told you that you can eat anything, doesn't mean you should. There are lots of things you need to avoid to be successful.
One of the dieticians told a funny story. A man was doing a post-op with his surgeon and he proudly announced "I can eat bacon, and I eat it every day". What he meant was that he could digest bacon and not have any ill effects from it, but that didn't mean that he SHOULD eat bacon.
 
JessicaM72 said:
Hello everyone! My name is Jessica and I originally had surgery April 2012 and started at 287 and until a month ago was headed in the right direction at 169lbs. Today I weighed in at 180!! I know its because of what and how Im choosing to eat but what I don't understand is that was having to force myself to eat the require protein and calories and then all of a sudden I felt "hungry" all day long and craving sweets which I didn't even like before I had surgery. Im so mad at myself and I know its not a lot to have gained but honestly Im freaking out and worried that my surgery and hard work was all for nothing because I can eat what I want again (esp the sugar) I need suggestions on how to get back on the wagon and turn myself around. Does anyone know if the stomach can stretch back to its old self? Also, I know before I felt hungry all the time I didn't eat any bread or sugar and that seemed to be the key to my success. Im sorry to sound whiney but this has been a hard recovery for me learning the new way of life and:) then this past summer I had my gallbladder removed hmm I wonder if that has anything to do with my feeling hungry all the time or is it really mind over matter? I thank any of you that choose to respond ahead of time. I swore that I wouldn't be one of those people we see on tv that lost a lot of weight and then gained it all back. How embarrassing right? Thanks again!:)
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Hi Jessica!!! I read that when humans crave sweets it is really the body telling you it needs the vitamins and nutrients found in fruit. Processed sugar is relatively a new thing in the history of the world and our bodies were genetically programmed that sweets mean fruit. Maybe you are lacking in some vitamins ( vitamin C ?) and you could try eating some fresh fruit instead of sweets and see if that helps. Are you keeping up with your vitamins? I was told that vitamins are very important in maintaining weight loss, especially in bypass patients because if your body isn't gettings the vitamins and nutrients it needs then it becomes very hungry and you can gain weight back. Good luck. :)
 
I know what helped with the sweet craving in all my past diets was to have a HUGE bowl of already washed, peeled, cut up mixed fruit so I could just go in and scoop some out. sometimes I would sprinkle a little sea salt on them to get rid of the salty craving too. Diverting tastebuds worked for me too. If I was really craving something sweet sometimes I would eat a sour pickle.
 
Unfortunately after surgery you cannot eat peeled fruits on a whim to handle a sweet craving..

I have found that the milk shakes are far to sweet for my liking since surgery.
I have found that yogurt and milk are also rather sweet now.
I did have some diced peaches today that were wonderful. Not to sweet and not to sour.
 
StinkerBelle said:
Unfortunately after surgery you cannot eat peeled fruits on a whim to handle a sweet craving..

I have found that the milk shakes are far to sweet for my liking since surgery.
I have found that yogurt and milk are also rather sweet now.
I did have some diced peaches today that were wonderful. Not to sweet and not to sour.
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No you are right.. after surgery we must rely on vitamins and supplements to get our proper nutrition. After surgery we can't have fruit or any other solid food. However Jessica had her surgery about 20 months ago and is almost at goal weight. She was who I was responding to about eating fruit instead of sweets to save calories and get more nutrition. Hopefully newbies didn't get the wrong idea from what I said.
 
anything sugary, even naturally sugared snacks like fruit, can cause issues. In my experience, I've noticed that whenever I thought I was "hungry" I was actually "thirsty". Your body dehydrates quickly, especially after surgery. By the time you notice "symptoms" of dehydration, its usually quite advanced. Are you getting all your water/liquids in? I know when I don't...I feel "hungry" all the time. I also know if the weather here in FL is above 85 degrees, I need to add another 8-10 oz. of water/day.
I hope this helps! Good Luck!
 
JessicaM72 said:
Hello everyone! My name is Jessica and I originally had surgery April 2012 and started at 287 and until a month ago was headed in the right direction at 169lbs. Today I weighed in at 180!! I know its because of what and how Im choosing to eat but what I don't understand is that was having to force myself to eat the require protein and calories and then all of a sudden I felt "hungry" all day long and craving sweets which I didn't even like before I had surgery. Im so mad at myself and I know its not a lot to have gained but honestly Im freaking out and worried that my surgery and hard work was all for nothing because I can eat what I want again (esp the sugar) I need suggestions on how to get back on the wagon and turn myself around. Does anyone know if the stomach can stretch back to its old self? Also, I know before I felt hungry all the time I didn't eat any bread or sugar and that seemed to be the key to my success. Im sorry to sound whiney but this has been a hard recovery for me learning the new way of life and then this past summer I had my gallbladder removed hmm I wonder if that has anything to do with my feeling hungry all the time or is it really mind over matter? I thank any of you that choose to respond ahead of time. I swore that I wouldn't be one of those people we see on tv that lost a lot of weight and then gained it all back. How embarrassing right? Thanks again!:)
Click to expand...

Take a good look at your stat. You are down 107 pounds since April 2013. FANTASTIC!

Ok, you had a setback. You also know what to do.

Stop with this sweet stuff. Go back to basics. I know a few folks have said that.

YES WE CAN DESTROY OURSELVES AGAIN. THIS IS ONLY A TOOL. IT CAN BE DEFEATED!!

Is that what you want.

Get to support groups. Go often. Get people of like mind to support you.

I am only 5 weeks post op. My mental attitude is all about losing. Once you get there you must stay there. You must make good choices. See your psych and nutritionist. Find some buddies in the support group. Don't go it alone.

By the way you are not hungry. Convince yourself of that.

I hear my belly growling now and then. I think it is the old belly no longer in use.

My new belly (stomach pouch) is being taken care of. I don't try to eat more than a 1/2 cup as directed. In fact, I limit myself to a 1/3 cup of food.

Mentally you have to convince yourself that food is now a fuel.

That doesn't mean you cannot enjoy an occasional goodie. But if occasional gets you in trouble forget about it.

Furthermore, JOURNAL EVERYTHING. BE CONSCIOUS OF WHAT YOU ARE CONSUMING EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF THE DAY.

Best wishes to you,

Ralph
 
dancinbr said:
Take a good look at your stat. You are down 107 pounds since April 2013. FANTASTIC!

Ok, you had a setback. You also know what to do.

Stop with this sweet stuff. Go back to basics. I know a few folks have said that.

YES WE CAN DESTROY OURSELVES AGAIN. THIS IS ONLY A TOOL. IT CAN BE DEFEATED!!

Is that what you want.

Get to support groups. Go often. Get people of like mind to support you.

I am only 5 weeks post op. My mental attitude is all about losing. Once you get there you must stay there. You must make good choices. See your psych and nutritionist. Find some buddies in the support group. Don't go it alone.

By the way you are not hungry. Convince yourself of that.

I hear my belly growling now and then. I think it is the old belly no longer in use.

My new belly (stomach pouch) is being taken care of. I don't try to eat more than a 1/2 cup as directed. In fact, I limit myself to a 1/3 cup of food.

Mentally you have to convince yourself that food is now a fuel.

That doesn't mean you cannot enjoy an occasional goodie. But if occasional gets you in trouble forget about it.

Furthermore, JOURNAL EVERYTHING. BE CONSCIOUS OF WHAT YOU ARE CONSUMING EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF THE DAY.

Best wishes to you,

Ralph
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I used up all of my likes/thank yous so here is my Alternative: :D
 
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