You got a lot closer to goal than I did when I lost my focus and gained. My only advice to you is, go back to following the plan. Weigh and measure, get your protein and water in, pre-plan all your food for the day and stick to the plan. You've come way too far to go backwards now.

Sugar/bad carbs are addicting. They whisper in our heads. The more we eat them, the louder the voices get. Make no mistake, it is almost always the head voices we are trying to satisfy, not a physical hunger. Go back to the way you were eating right after surgery. A little bit of protein, a little bit of veggies, maybe some fruit. Try to go as many days as you can without having the sugar/carbs, because the longer you go without the less tempting those voices will be. We all have days where we don't make the best choices, but those have to be rare occasions, not daily.

You are speaking my language here. I have (had) 9 pounds to go and I have let busyness, stress and any other excuse I can come up with derail my progress. I have only gained 2 pounds but I know I am going in the wrong direction. One of my big problems is that my company has, for free, all the snacks, treats and sweets you can eat available for us all the time. I am coming up on 10 months myself and I cannot seem to get back to my focus I had before. I am glad you posted this too Mae. We can do this together!!

hockey7fan wrote: »

You can't eat what you don't buy. So I stopped buying the crap.

This exactly! If it's in my house I will eat it.

Ok... so I am almost 18 months out and here is what I can tell you... there will be times you eat carbs and junk and gain some weight back. That's just how it is. How much you gain back is up to you. Does it stop at 9? 19? 29? I am going to make a bunch of assumptions here in just a minute... hoping I am close to the mark....

I am familiar with that ice-ball of panic you feel in the pit of your stomach because you don't know if you can answer that question-- right? (here come the assumptions..) I am sure you don't WANT to gain anymore--but you wonder if it is going to stop or just keep going. That fear is feeding your anxiety...and then your anxiety makes you "hungry" for the junk--- am I close?

How do I know this? Because I have experienced it-- and sometimes I still do. My solution? Well, I have several-- here is what works for me:

1) Remember I did this for health and wellness. This means I eat well to live well. I feel like crap when I eat crap--and I want to feel good---so when the option comes for me to eat carbage I think about how I am going to feel-- and not just the emotional "Damn I did it again" remorse, but the actual physical feeling. Sometimes that is enough to keep me on track.

2) When I want to "jump ship" and eat carbage, I get something low carb that is really filling and "decadent"- I LOVE butter and cheese and MEAT. So If I am feeling "snacky" and I am afraid I am going to eat junk, I get some cheese and maybe some Wasa "bread" (it is more like a cracker) and some cold cuts or left over steak or make up some bacon. I put a thick layer of butter on the Wasa, cover it with cheese, and eat my bacon. YUM. If I go over on calories, I am not worried about it. I fed my body and kept myself off the craving-give-in-blood -sugar-crash-that makes-me-crave-more cycle. PLUS I feel like had a real treat!

3) I do what I can--- so if I eat the junk, at least I am still exercising, getting adequate rest, drinking a good amount of water, meditating, etc. Meaning I am still doing SOME of the things I need to in order to stay on track. Us diet-type folks tend to think "all or nothing"-- it doesn't have to be that way. Praise yourself for what you are doing well-- be kind to yourself about where you are not quite hitting the mark, and have HOPE-- because when you are ready, you will be able to get right where you want to.

4) I LOVE ME RIGHT NOW. I know it sounds SUPER corn-ball-- but this is a MUST MUST MUST. We HAVE to learn to love and accept ourselves right this second. It starts in your head-- no shaming, tell your inner critic she needs a time-out, and do something that makes you feel good (preferably not food related). Take a nap. Read a good book. Watch something funny on Netflix. Call a girlfriend and talk about stuff. Sit down and write a list of every thing you have to be grateful for in your life. Just do whatever it takes to feel better.

I hope some of this is helpful. Success after surgery is a PROCESS. You are going to have setbacks. It is part of the game. But you can handle them.

Please keep us posted on how things go for you the next few days!

Thaeda - as always great advice and I especially love #4 - we all need to remember that one through this process!

I go workout, I know that the folks in my classes are also looking up to me. I have had a few fluctuations in my weight but no more that 2 pounds and usually because of water retention. Thaeda is right, I love me now! I used to get stressed, eat 'carbage' feel worse and eat more 'carbage' Carbs didn't make me feel better, just fueled the depression. What I would hate when I had house guests, they would be the crap food, and then look with sad eyes as I ate fresh strawberries or a smoothie... My grandkids know that Nana only has healthy snacks and they eat fresh fruit for snacks. yes it is more expensive and your stress level is high, take care of yourself ok.

High sugar carbs will sink your weight loss. Switch to protein bars, like quest. Even fiber one, and nature valley have protein bars with a far amount of protein in them. they have carbs, but they are a good interim to get off the donuts. Meanwhile, just muscle through it. Do shakes, steak, shrimp, protein coffee, whatever. The more protein you get the more those cravings will disappear. And remember how hard it was to break next time you're tempted. that's what I do.