Please help

[Ella]

Hello, my name is Ella. I had the sleeve surgery in December 15, 2014. I am having a hard time trying to stay focus on my eating habits. Just when I am sitting around other people. I eat lot of protein at every meal. Sometimes I want something sweet to eat. What is the process of eating correctly. Can your sleeve strength out of shape so soon. It seen like I am eating a lot of foods. I try to drink a least 8 glasses of water daily. Please help me. I do not want to lose this race. Thank you

[Ann2]

If you're eating sweets, you will crave them.

You should stop eating sweets altogether. They sound like they're a terrible trigger food for you.

If you're not tracking your foods (recording it in an online journal like www.myfitnesspal.com ), you should consider doing that. It will help you hit your daily protein target (60-80 grams daily).

At three months out, I was eating no more than 800 calories a day. Some people with control issues freak out and say we shouldn't count calories. Sorry, I counted calories, too. It only helped me.

Eat your protein first (3-4 ounces at meals). Then eat several bites of green and other colored vegetables. Then, if you have any room left, have a few bites of whole grains (although you probably won't have any room left) like brown rice, quinoa, etc.

Again, DON'T eat sweets of any kind right now. And don't drink sweet drinks like juices, sweet tea, etc. I've met several people who completely failed to lose all their weight and gained all their weight back because they could not break up with sweet tea. What a STUPID THING TO DO! (Sorry for that rant. But really.)

And don't drink any liquids with your meals -- or 15 minutes prior to meals or 30 minutes after meals. This just washes the food out of your stomach more quickly and makes you feel less satisfied.

And don't eat between meals.

Eat small bites. Chew your food very well (20-30 chews at least). Wait 30 seconds to a minute between bites. Really slow it down.

Finally, I have to ask ... why don't you know what to eat? Did your doctor not tell you what you should eat and how you should drink? If your doctor did give you some pages / a brochure / a document that tells you what to eat and the new eating behaviors you should be following, find that and read it again. Read it several times, in fact.

[BillyJ]

You are right Ann about the sweets. I made the mistake of having a brownie last week and became so lethargic I almost had a car accident. Now I am craving sweets bad. I ended up ordering sweet tea the other day to cut the crave. MAJOR mistake. I need to just start all over. We live and learn.

[KarenJean]

Ann, I wonder the same thing. There are SO many posts from people who don't know what to eat at what stages... do some of the surgeons not provide that info? I got a huge notebook To read.

Maybe the OP's question was really about how do you curb cravings and mindless eeating, and I think Ann, you covered that too. The answer is always going to be work. It takes work. The sleeve is not magic.

[Stacy'sSleevedLife]

Many do get a post-op diet, but there are several doctors that don't and that is sad. Your given this awesome tool and no instructions on how to use it.

Find a local support group would be the first step to help with the bad eating habits. If you have insurance and it will cover it, find a bariatric nutritionist they can help you get on track and give you the proper diet. Both a support group and nutritionist can help you understand your tool and how to use it. The biggest and hardest thing of all is to learn how to break bad habits, this is where a support group can help they have been there and going through it.

Good luck

[cowgirljane]

Ann is exactly right (although i am not sure I have control issues haha... i don't track food but I am a rare one on that front)

The way you eat very much determines how much hunger you have. No two ways about it. Eliminate junky sugary foods. If you are tracking, note your hunger too as you might find that things like protein bars, bread, fruit etc create a hunger rebound too. The way to mitigate it is to never have say fruit alone - have it with protien. I mitigated it by not eating those things during the weight loss phase (for the most part).

[Shandy]

There are so many protein sweets ,chocolates out there that have heaps of protein. I wish i liked sweets, because I'd be getting all my protein from them. If I were you I would try some Atkins chocs. very nice low carb high protein. Good luck : }