One meal at a time...

[Threeboys3 0]

This morning at work I ate my normal, a hard boiled egg. By mid morning I was starving and craving pizza SO bad. I must have convinced myself and unconvinced myself ten times about getting it or not.

I always rationalize in my head.. "well if I just get the 9" with cheese thin crust it it won't be too bad" or "I'll just have low fat Soup for dinner". Well I ate a sugar free Jello and that helped curb the hunger and 'pizza thoughts' some.

I'm happy to announce that I just at my low fat high Protein chicken that I brought in for lunch. For me it's not one day at a time, I have to fight this one meal at a time. I had never realized how 'out of hand' I had gotten with my eating habits.

Please tell me the cravings get easier to 'beat'? I haven't had a fill yet, I'm praying that will help.

[kiz 1]

Do you feel like you're getting enough food with one boiled egg? I just looked it up, and it takes four jumbo eggs to make a cup. You might want to consider adding fruit or high Fiber toast if you can tolerate a bit more food, and if it's okay'ed by your doctor at this point after your surgery. (I have to be very mindful about getting enough Fiber in, so I eat 1/2 cup of dry Go Lean Cereal every morning. It has both fiber and Protein, and it keeps me satisfied until lunch time).

You have to work out the diet that's right for you and your doctor's recommendations, but you may be eating too little, which will lead to those cravings.

Congratulations on beating that urge to snack mid morning though!!

Edited September 3, 2009 by kiz

[LollyMoe 1]

Yippee! You managed to beat that mean old craving. Good for you. I know it isn't easy.

[kiz 1]

Also, I wanted to add that it does get much easier to beat those cravings after you reach a good fill level. It may not happen the first, second, or even seventh fill (I probably hold some kind of record, but I stopped counting..lol), but each fill helped, and the sweet spot is heaven. It's amazing how easy it is to forget about eating when your stomach isn't sending you those feed me NOW signals.

[lml32937 65]

I too had a similar problem but I was so afraid to eat anything with bread right after my band I avoided ANYTHING with any type of bread or starch. This forced me to eat more fruit, veggies, Protein and healthier things... Now even though I can eat it if I want to- I no longer "crave" it and have learned in the process to make better food choices- When I crave chocolate- I eat a Protein Bar or a SF pudding, When I crave potatoe chips- I will eat a rice cake or a popcorn cake or some nuts to cure the salt I want.

There is always substitutes available if you are open to new ideas....

[2Flyguys 13]

one of the biggest mistakes people make with the band is treating it like their on a diet and not eating things that taste good....just bcuz it tastes good doesnt mean its unhealthy...i personally would not eat a piece of pizza either...but u can put spaghetti sauce and melt a piece of cheese over ur chicken...i'm not saying to eat all out junk food...but dont make urself misreable either...there is a healthy way of eating ALMOST anything u ate b4 u were banded...when people c my loss...they think i didnt eat at all or i've been living of nothing but celery...not true at all...i cut calories when i can...but not flavor...if i'm craving something i may have to alter it to an extent...but i find something 2 satify it.

[bambam 0]

Dawn -

Great job on talking yourself out of the pizza at this stage. With little or no restriction it would be hard to stay within the portion size you are supposed to have.

The cravings will get better. I have good restriction and I still wish I could eat this or that sometimes. We pulled up in front of an Arby's when getting gas the other day and they have the 5/5.95 or whatever it is. I thought to myself, ohhhh to be able to eat even 1 whole item!!! BUT I hit 80 pounds lost today and nothing tastes as good as that feels. I really don't miss specific foods, but once in a while I do miss the ability to completely pig out - go figure.

To be honest, there's no way my band is gonna let me do whatever I want anymore so while my head may crave something at times, my stomach does not. Once you get restriction it will be easier. If I want a piece of pizza - we get a small one with a thin crust and I'm lucky if I can eat one small piece, so it is easier to reign in those cravings.

Hang in there - you are doing great!!! I agree - maybe eating a little more would help?

[momwifelove 0]

Hey there, I am with you all the way. I have cravings all the time that I want of stuff I love. I am not going to just tell myself I can't have it b/c that makes me want it even more. I love pizza very very much. I have eatin it one time since I have been banded but what I did was eat a salad until I was nearly full and then I barely ate one piece of thin crust pizza. That is how I limited myself. I know a lot of people are like don't eat this or don't eat that but I don't think it is a problem as long as I am watching how much I eat and how much I take in for the day. Good luck to you as we are both new to this. I know we can do it!

[Delma 0]

Dawn: You were banded 3 days before me and you already get to eat hardboiled eggs. Consider yourself lucky. I thought I was going to have to be on Clear Liquids for another 3 days, but I saw my surgeon today and he advanced me to full liquids...woohoo! :smile2:

Anyhow, I can't really address any of your concerns as to whether or not it's going to get easier over time to overcome and/or even stop having cravings (although it seems that other people further down the road have encouraging stories about that). We're going to have to find out for ourselves and we're probably going to be finding out these things at about the same time!

I agree with some of the other people who posted though. You might want to add some additional food to your Breakfast to keep you feeling satisfied longer. Let us know how things go.

[sandiegokate 0]

One meal at a time... I think that just about says it all!! I guess we have to do whatever we have to do early in the game to get used to the program.

I had an idea about pizza after reading this thread.. what about pounding chicken breast really thin, topping it with pizza toppings? Could even put some ricotta on it? Sounds good to me anyway!

[DanBar 0]

I agree with 2flyguys... this isn't a diet anymore. And if your gonna take advise from someone it would be her. She has done a phenominal job at using the band as a tool... Just look at what she has accomplished...she's now one of those skinny biatches we all hate! God I can't wait to be one also:thumbup: (that was meant as a compliment!)

It seems so many people are not allowing themselves to move on with life after they get banded. We are all so used to dieting and all the forbidden DIET foods we forget that this is our life now. You can eat what you want with the band or I should say eat what you can tolerate, but just small portions. That is what makes this tool a wonderful thing. It seems the only real no no is carbonations.

Make healthy choices 99% of the time but allow yourself to live. If you want a slice of pizza have one(and I mean when your ok'd to eat foods again) its not the one slice that got us this way, its the 5 slices and all the soda/beer that went with it and the stop at cold stone on the way home from the pizza parlor that got us this way... I guarantee that when your band is working properly and you get to that sweet spot... you will be amazed how one slice is ALOT and you will be satisfied!

I have three people in my house that had the surgery within a week of each other. It amazes me how this has affected each of us all so differently... I can eat anything with no problem, and a piece of bread basically takes my husband out, he can't eat it. My son is like me and doesn't have any problems.

Anyway... now that I have ranted... Enjoy your new life with your new tool and everything will be great! :smile2:

Edited September 4, 2009 by DanBar