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I think the best way to resist temptation is to avoid it as much as possible. Don't buy junk food. If it's not around, you can't eat it. I take it a step further and use online grocery shopping (pickup or delivery) so I don't even have to go into the store. I shop mostly from my favorites lists that only contain healthy foods. On the rare occasion I go into the store, all of the temptations are in my face and I find myself tempted to buy something I shouldn't, "just this once." The more you have to face temptation, the more mental effort it takes to resist and the more likely you are to give in. Another thing that helps is having healthy, delicious foods readily available. If you like to cook, go on Pinterest to find healthy recipes that you look forward to trying. I live alone, so I always have a lot of leftovers that I freeze in individual portions, so I have a variety of healthy meals that I can easily grab from the freezer and heat in the microwave with some cauliflower rice. I meal prep a bunch of salads every week and have a variety of Skinny Girl salad dressings on hand. I eat a lot of sugar-free Jello with sugar-free meringue (made with pasteurized egg whites so it's safe to eat raw), and sugar-free meringue cookies. I also eat protein bars (Built Bars are my favorite) as a healthy-ish treat. This is so important, and it's really easy to take for granted once you lose the weight -- to forget how hard it is to live with morbid obesity. I recently saw a guy at work who was so big that he looked like he was struggling to walk out to the parking lot, and my heart broke for him because I remember being that big. I don't really think about it much anymore, but there was a time that I dreaded walking to and from the parking lot or up a couple of flights of stairs because it was so hard when I was carrying an extra 200 pounds. And that's not to mention all the social stigma on being fat, which I never want to experience again.

So I'm at a comicon type convention and I'm sitting in the stadium people watching and I couldn't help but notice the heavier citizens needing to lean forward to manage a hazardous step. I don't do that anymore! I can manage steps in a full upright position. 😀 Also, I'm not suction cupped into the seat there's room on both sides.

Sorry to hear you are experiencing issues. So as to enable responses tailored to your question you may want to give some more information, such as why you can't really eat anything...are you experiencing vomiting, acid relux or dumping most or all the time you eat? Not able to actually eat more than a few small spoonfuls at a time? Just can't tolerate eating...texture, taste or smell is turning you off? What foods have you been eating? What guidance have you had from your surgeon or dietician with the issue?

I’ve found setting a routine of when I eat very helpful. Started doing it because I had no appetite or interest in eating but knew I had to eat something. I still eat to a routine almost 4 years later. I’ve never set a timer not even to remind me to sip fluids. I just eat to the time on the clock. I can eat earlier or later than those set times or miss a meal/snack (conflicting appointments, commitments, travelling, not hungry, etc.) but I don’t eat additional snacks/meals between those times. Honestly, I really only ate two ‘meals’ a day those first two weeks. Sipped those shakes & soups for ages as I diluted them for extra fluid & so they’d taste a little better (they didn’t). Started my breakfast shake at around 8am & my dinner soup around 5pm if I remember correctly. On purées I began three meals a day & I added a mid afternoon snack I think from solid foods to ensure I was better meeting goals. My surgeon & dietician were okay with this as I was slowly increasing my intake every week.

I ate and pretty much still do eat every 3 hours! That’s a schedule that works for me and that’s about how often I really do feel hungry

Thank you so much for the response. I really appreciate your answer.

I took 2 weeks off after VSG. I have a somewhat physical job (OT) but it was the perfect amount of time. I had crazy energy come back after a week and a half

I took two weeks off after my sleeve. I will say I was much more tired than anticipated. I actually played in a tennis tournament before returning to work because I had signed up for it months prior (and I was cleared for activity). That definitely pushed me over the edge a bit as I was still struggling with hydration and obviously sweating all day didn’t help. But I was ready week three to go to work. Like you said it varies for everyone. The anesthesia hit me hard and I was nauseous and exhausted for days after, some people feel ready to go to work the next day. I applied for short term disability before going out of work for the surgery, if you haven’t looked into that with your employer I’d start there.

I took three weeks off, but could have gone back after two. I felt fine at that point, just tired in the afternoons.

I had RnY gastric bypass. I took 3 weeks off. However, I wish I could have taken more time off. I'm one of the rare patients that had a prolonged period of pain, afterward. The pain wasn't horrible - liquid Tylenol took care of it - but it did make it quite uncomfortable for me to sit upright for long periods of time.