gastric sleeve ,

Question
hello i had gastric sleeve surgery . in mexico may 2010
ive lost 109 pounds .but now im getting the surger cravings
again .and eating all the xmas cookies ect. what kind of
sweets can i make -eat .that wont send me back to the 319 pound
person i was.is 109 pounds pretty good amount to loss in 7 months ?

Answer
Hi Colleen:

Losing 109 pounds in 7 months is a fantastic weight loss.  Congratulations.  You don't say how tall you are, but I'm betting that you've lost around 2/3rds of your excess weight.  Congratulations.  

Chances are good that you should be able to keep off that weight going forward, but you're right, you don't want to let things get too out of hand.  It's also hard to say "no" completely to all of the holiday foods.  I'm sure your surgeon told you to eat protein first--that is important during the holidays as well.  If I were you, I would try and limit my holiday treats to after meals--and try and make sure that my meals contain good lean protein and lots of fruits and veggies.  They will fill up your sleeve, provide good satiety (fullness)--and thus, not leave too much room for too many cookies.  The "ghrelin" effect should still be holding, although you might be able to eat a bit more just naturally as you are 7 months post-op.  

If things do seem to be getting out of control, a lot of post-bariatric patients find that finding some accountability works really well to either help them lose a bit more, or just maintain the losses that they've already had.  Many choose to join Weight Watchers or even a gym where one can be weighed regularly and kept on track.  Another tactic is to simply limit the times where you'll eat the cookies.  So rather than looking at the holidays being Thanksgiving-New Year's Eve.  Agree to relax, but say only on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's... or whatever.  Simply limiting it to a few days will definitely limit the damage. :)

As for health(ier) cookies, check out Cooking Light's recipes at http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/

Prevention Magazine also has good recipes as do AllRecipes. I believe both Truvia and Splenda post recipes on AllRecipes.

It can be scary to see yourself going back to old habits. I'm betting, though, that although you're probably eating more cookies than you have in the past few months, it's no where near the same as pre-surgery.  Your stomach just won't let you eat as many.  Try to remember that.  You can also make yourself a deal with exercise, so think along these lines:
* I won't eat any cookies/treats until I've walked at least xyz steps (10,000 or whichever number works for you) or whatever your daily workout is like
* For every cook I eat, I will do an additional 10 minutes of Wii Fit (or an exercise video)

You can also agree that in between each cookie, you plan to drink one full glass of water and maybe eat some lean protein like turkey or a protein/fiber combo like bean soup.

All of those strategies should help.  If it helps, most Sleevesters I know will find that their weight fluctuates by about 3-5 pounds at the holidays, but then returns back to normal in January when they go back to their regular routine.  You can also set an action-weight...so as long as your weight stays under XXX pounds, you're O.K. but if it hits XXX+5, then it's time to say that the holidays are over--and no more cookies.

Oh, and if you haven't, be sure to check with your primary care physician about having some blood work done if you didn't at 6 months.  It's a good idea to see if you're facing any vitamin D, B12 or iron issues now, rather than waiting another 5 months.  

I hope this helps.  Once again, congratulations on your fabulous success.

Karla

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