Confessions of a Carboholic....

When I'm alone in my room, sometimes I stare at the wall.

I need carbs.

Why do you try to deprive yourself of the foods you love. Just limit them. Tell yourself you can have X amount of <evil food> if you do X amount of <insert exercise here> if that helps. Eat all the stuff you know you should eat first and fill in the gaps with the stuff you love.

Deprivation is often the key to failure, as you seem to have found out from your past attempts at weight loss. Moderation is often the better way. Count your calories. Eat carbs within those calorie limits. Exercise to "earn" more carb calories if you need or want to.

If you want to lose and keep it off long term, you need to find a diet you can be happy with long term. And one that will keep you healthy. I'm not suggesting you eat chips and cake only. My point is that you can have chips and cake and control your weight. Just be sensible about it.

To be honest, maybe you should get checked if you think you have a wheat intolerance. I have tries low carb, low sugar, low fat, and to be honest I have found it is way easier to eat whatever I want, just in moderation because that wasn't a lifestyle for me. I just find it hard to believe that someone can't eat in moderation and lose/maintain. I have a lot of allergies and I have cut out wheat bread, oatmeal, ect but just because it affects my allergies. I still eat it in products that have "wheat flour" but I just don't eat wheat bread and oatmeal. I have found that regardless of white or wheat poducts, it hasn't affected my weight. Good luck and I hope you can find what works for you....remember making excuses for our weight gain is only hurting ourselves...moderation is the key :flowerforyou:

By the way, do you log your diary? I would love to take a look!

You should look into Paleo. They eliminate all grains, not just wheat (popcorn is corn, not wheat, so that wouldn't help you much!). You should get rid of your popcorn maker and stop buying popcorn if it's causing a problem. Some people can do moderation, other people have to be total abstainers. You might be an abstainer kind of gal. You have to find something that will let you stick with it. If having it around, or having little bits doesn't work for you then you might try not having any.

Check out Robb Wolf or Mark Sisson (he has a similar but different program called Primal). I really think based on what you've said here that it's what you need. It will be HARD and you will hate it at first, but you do get used to it and when you see the difference it makes, you'll realize it's all worth it.

Hi
hey I finally just read you blog and the responses
I am the kind of person who must abstain from the sweets. once i put them in my mouth i crave more and more and more.... its like i cant stop, its crazy...... i know all too well the signs of addiction and i have an addiction to sweets, i can do without the bread or pastas but omg let me put a piece of candy or a bite of cake in my mouth & it is a fight all day to not keep eating more.
my advice.... "if you cant control it....keep it out of you house, purse, car, desk where ever you have it . and if you need to take an alternate route somewhere to avoid those places that sell what you crave,, then go the extra mile and take another street. for example yesterday I had to go to the store for something,, kroger was right there BUT i knew they had the maple donuts that i love so i went to walmart 2 miles away..... I know this may seem crazy for some of you, but you gotta do what ya gotta do to get to where you wanna be !!!!! tonight we went to dinner with a bunch of people and it was a buffet...... i loaded up on my salad then had a half a plate of green beans and a peice of ham and some chicken breast i did good, UNTIL i took a couple bites of my husbands desserts.... just a bite of this and a bite of that but now i want more.. an addiction is an addiction, it doesnt matter if its cigaretts, meth or food....
as far as "diet" I have done every diet in the world,, lost and then gained all plus more of the weight back
we cant live our life on a diet for ever.... we must chage our lifestyle simple as that..... simple concept but not an easy thing to do... I started my journey in june to get to a healthy weight and I have lost over 50 pounds, but its not been easy I have exercised 6 days a week, counted calories, protein and water till i wanna throw up, but it is working and it is a life style change , i will have to do this for the rest of my life im affraid. ... when i ate like i used to and didnt exercise much between thanksgiving and christmas..i gained 5 pounds and it was so hard to get back on track
anyway im rambling and im goin to bed so have a great night and a wonderful tomorrow

erica

Hello fellow VSG'er! I was sleeved in March 2012, down 92 lbs so far and still trying to be concious about my carb intake. I'm sure you already know that ALOT (not all) of the weight loss surgery community preaches under 40 carbs a day during the weight loss phase, but to each his/her own. At the end of the day, the light at your end of the tunnel is that you still have your handy dandy tool (the sleeve) to assist you at any point in your journey when you are ready.

Although you are years out from surgery, you still won't ever be able to consume the same amounts of food you did pre-op. So I'm sure your intake/volume is not an issue that would affect you getting the lbs melting off again. However, you have to decide when you are ready to go "back to the basics." Us bariatric patients have been trained for life to rely on carb detoxing, going back to a protein shake or two a day, if not already doing so, measuring no more than 3-4 oz at each meal and undereating your sleeve (not eating to get the full feeling, but the comfortable I'm not hungry anymore feeling), which will also give us back some restriction that we may have loss over time due to stretching, if any.

For most, alot of carbs (the ones that you said you like) are a slider food. It doesn't close your pyloric valve and sit in your stomach for a significant amount of time like dense protein does to keep you feeling full and satisfied. Therefore, we can eat endless amounts of it throughout the day, grazing and snacking and packing on the calories before we even realize the damage. For a VSG'er, that's our problem. We rely on our restriction, but we won't feel it as quick with carbs. I have also always been a carb lover. However, after surgery and over the past 10 months, I have been so focused on making goal and not wanting to sabotage future success, that I make myself love protein first over anything else. I make a concious decision and effort to not indulge in useless carb snacking that will not aid in my weight loss/maintenance. If I do, I will be out of control. I WILL eat a whole box of cheetos, cheez its, doritos, and eat bagels every morning for breakfast. I just can't do it. It's not worth it. I have found other things that I like to eat, and if I do crave any of those other things, I find an alternative or make an effort to satisfy that taste with a small amount and keep it moving, even if I have to throw the rest away.

For the average health concious/fit minded person, they may not completely understand these thoughts, and that's cool. But because of the tool that we have, we have to do things a little differently sometimes. Although I'm not a size 18/20 anymore, as a size 6, I still don't feel skinny or normal. I don't think I ever will. We will always have to rely on the basics that jump started our weight loss after surgery. I wish you much success, grace and peace!