Cravings - do they ever go away?

[kurby 0]

Last week I booked my appointment for my surgery on Aug 12.

it seems like my brain has said -

"oh crap you better get in all the carbs you can now"

the last few days i've been craving carbs like never before. i've always been a carb freak. bread, Cereal, bread... did i say bread??? i could live of it - well not exactly but you know what i mean.

after recovery do the cravings go away or will this always be a huge battle for me??

i hope not because i eat them now without even thinking. i find myself at 10pm making toast and before i know it i'm saying - wow i didn't even realize i'm doing it or did it.

[illuminationlady 7]

Yes, they go away with time. Soon you'll be craving Protein. That's what I crave now and I never felt better. Your body must go through the withdrawals first then you get used to protein and want that instead. Every now and then I feel like I could eat a piece of bread but nothing like before my surgery. Better days are in store for you...Best wishes!!!

[vlp1968 83]

It gets easier for sure. I still have cravings (I'm 6 months post op) but they come and go fairly quickly. For me I crave high fat foods more than carbs.

Just wanted to mention, your weight loss goal is very lofty. The expected weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week. Just don't want you to be frustrated or dissapointed. Good luck with the surgery! You are on your way to a whole new life.

[vlp1968 83]

Just wanted to mention' date=' your weight loss goal is very lofty. The expected weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week. Just don't want you to be frustrated or dissapointed. Good luck with the surgery! You are on your way to a whole new life.[/quote']

Just realized you mean a year from Dec.! lol That seems much more reasonable.

[Jachut 487]

Hmmm, well to be completely honest, I have found I had a real "window' of opportunity with the band.

My band, at 4 and a half years out, still keeps my portions small and i have had no trouble keeping my weight off, and I dont doubt that if I didnt have it, I would be hungrier than I am.

But the diminishment of appetite and cravings (to the point of forgetting to eat sometimes) didnt really last much past 18 months or so for me. Over time, I did get hungrier. Like I said, I havent gained, but I now work as hard to avoid bad foods as I ever did pre band, only when I do cave and eat them, I dont eat so much. I'm back to always being interested in eating whether physically hungry or not, but I have way better self control these days than I did.

This doesnt sound positive, and I dont mean it to sound discouraging because I couldnt be happier with my band and I actually suspect that it could be as simple as a fill. I just dont desire being tighter becuase I dont want to have to go back to being as careful as you do when well restricted.

[KimDB 0]

I am only 2 weeks out of surgery and can honestly say I had no idea it would be as easy as it has been to get past my old cravings. I'm not saying it's been 100%, but the times I have thought I wanted something that's not quite on my diet yet, and ventured a bite or two, my body convinced me quite quickly that it was not a good idea and I was right back to soft foods.

Bagels were a big one for me ... loved (!) bagels ... but we have a bunch of them downstairs right now and I haven't really looked twice at them. (OK, maybe I have looked twice. But just looked.)

In fact I feel bad for a friend of mine who is in a program right now trying to lose 120 lbs the old fashioned way. She is working her heart out at the gym and trying to make "good food choices" but even when she's super proud of her food, and tells me what she eats, it's not only easily now 4 times what I can eat in a meal, but it's obvious it's not even really what she wants to eat. If only I had known more about the band earlier - I could have saved myself some of the same years of trying and trying, but never quite getting there.

Just remember you are normal for someone in this population. We ALL had complicated relationships with food and I know I definitely was like "better eat it now in case I can't later!" several times pre-op. Now that I'm banded and find it's probably true in at least a few cases of foods I used to like, I sometimes wish I had been a little more lenient with myself pre-band about the cravings.

Then again, I am also happy I stuck to the pre-op diet as much as I did and lost the weight I needed to lose, so I guess I also don't regret passing the cravings up when I did.

[bandaide 1]

I dont crave stuff nearly as much as I did before. I still get it in my head but I usually don't go for it. I had a soda weakness prior to surgery and I haven't wanted one in close to 5 months now. I've always been a fan of chicken and unfortunately, chicken nuggets are the only thing I've yet to get past. I've always been told to have what I want in moderation.......it's ok to crave, but just be smart about it.

[Timah85 0]

I was the exact same way when I had my surgery date set! We tried a different resturaunt every night. I ate anything and everything I craved.

Like everyone's saying...the craving subside, and soon enough you'll be craving Proteins. Im bad and eat whatever I crave..but bread is NOT as easy as it was when I first got the band. But, I can say, I don't crave that as much and I was like you, didn't even notice when I would eat it.

Good Luck!!

[Phranp 46]

Yes, I still crave cake ... but I "usually" don't answer the call. I positively NEVER buy/bake and entire cake. If I can't get the craving to subside, I buy a slice of cake and let that suffice. It happens maybe once every two months.

Now the one thing I thought I could not live without is cheese. I loved cheese sooooo much! And while cheese is a Protein, it is virtually all fat. Well, a funny thing happened on my way to getting healthy ... I don't much like cheese anymore. Strangest thing in the world ... I don't really like cheese anymore. I can't tell you how much I loved it before being banded. So, I guess my answer is yes and no. Because I still love cake, but I can hardly stomach cheese. Who knew?

Good luck on your journey.

[Jachut 487]

Funnily enough, me too! Cake and cheese that is.

I cannot stand the smell of cheese melting. It makes me really nauseous - and my boys both like to cook cheese on toast every morning for Breakfast, and there's one lady at work that makes a toasted ham and cheese sandwich every day for lunch in the staffroom. Its like a pregnancy aversion, so strong is my reaction to it. pizza too, I would vomit before pizza would pass my lips these days - and yet I've never had an averse reaction whilst banded to either pizza or cheese.

[TN_girl21 1]

I am 5 months out. My cravings for carbs have started to go away, but my sweet tooth has not. I do give in some, but I do try my hardest not to! It will get easier with time. Don't let these cravings get to you and get you down!

[shadst8 8]

Your cravings do subside or change. I was carb/bread addict myself, but not a huge fan of fish--now I crave fish and crabcakes often or other Protein. I never was a cake/sweet eater, so really not a problem now. Same thing with peanut butter--yuck before the band, now I am eating the reduced fat creamy all the time--putting it in shakes, spreading on bananas or whole-wheat crackers.

[btrieger 21]

I modified my lifestyle 9 months ago and am 3 months out of surgery.

The only carbs I ate regualary are rice and potatoes; I was never really a big sweets person. So I didn't have to abandon any of the foods that I actually craved. I just eat them in moderation now.

Don't just quit cold turkey. that is what causes cravings. Take it slow and cut down your portions. If you eat/ate bread with every meal; cut that down to just lunch or even lunch and dinner for now.

[Jachut 487]

I have to remind myself of this often too, but the undereating you do with the band can actually cause cravings.

When the cookie monster takes over, for me, its always been a day where I've not eaten a lot. I get to about 4pm, I dont feel physically hungry, but suddenly the urge hits.

I have a few tactics. Eat Breakfast, a snack AND lunch(and a high Protein lunch at that). That's hard to do without feelign like you're eating just for the sake of it. And I always leave work with a coffee for the car trip and some gum, otherwise, I stop at the supermarket and buy crap to eat while I'm sitting in the traffic.

Sigh, I reckon eating crap in the car is one of the MOST disgusting fat habits, it revolts me, I would be really critical of anyone who said they do it and yet I'm really prone to it myself. Its just slovenly and disgusting and I really try to tell myself I can eat properly at home and eat whatever I want, just not mindlessly chow down a packet of chocolate biscuits dropping bits all over my car.

Keeping my car pristine really helps too.

[JoiaRox 430]

Funny, I was just talking to my boyfriend about this last night. I've found it funny that now, 5 months post-op, the cravings really do go away. I had a fill last Saturday and it's finally put me at a decent restriction (9cc in a 14cc band...yikes!). I've passed up fast food, doughnuts and more this week because the pain in trying to take a bite or two is NOT worth it. It's at the point where I just...don't want those unhealthy foods. I've been amazed at the fruits, chicken breast, hummus, pita bread (small pieces!) I've been eating this week - SO different from the Joia I knew even a month ago with less restriction in her band. I've already noticed more energy, better sleep, better weight loss, etc.

Of course, I *do* still enjoy my Starbucks Frapuccino on occasion...when you consume as few calories as I do now, they don't hurt every once in a while :thumbup:.