Had surgery 5/6/09; Wondering about long term cravings, progress, gaining weight, etc
 

I had gastric bypass on 5/6/09 and so far so good. I don't have the cravings I used to, and still get full pretty easily. But I've heard that the cravings do come back, and often with them, weight gain. For those that have had surgery more than a year ago, can you please share your experiences? Are there things to do to help avoid these pitfalls? Thanks very much. (New to this blog)

nice to meet you, Val!!!! and congratulations!!! from my experience, cravings DID come back, but they're not NEARLY as strong as they used to be - in fact, it's quite common for me to be able to delay them long enough that i actually FORGET them. having said that, though, for the past couple of weeks, i've been CRAVING my grandmother's spaghetti sauce, so i finally gave in over the weekend and made it. and gave much of it away, and froze most of the rest. and i've SO enjoyed it - over small servings of pasta.

and - drum roll please - my grandmother's eggplant parm, which she made without breading or frying or extra fat.

the biggest challenge i face, though, is the mindless eating - the wanting something in my mouth. gotta re-focus on that. it's gotta stop.

if food is yoru crutch and you stress eat. . .deal with it now
I'm still dealing with mine daily. . .realized last night since I have a new sphincter of a boss i've been eating more

I'm coming up on my two year surgery anniversary and, yes, cravings come back. You can regain, but.....you just have to start good habits during the honeymoon period of your surgery, and follow through with them. I'm a food addict and I am daily fighting my "need" for food. But, it is manageable. I have maintained my weight, but do find that occasionally my old habits start creeping back into my life. I found there are some foods that I can't keep in the house: cheese crackers and Ritz crackers. I seem to graze on them. Just this morning, I took a big lick of carrot cake when I was packing my DH lunch. Now what was with that...old habit!!! You will do well, just remember that you can regain. Always keep that in your mind. Otherwise, enjoy your new life, health and activity. I'm ALIVE! More than I can say two years ago, and I don't ever want to go back there again and neither do you. There are more success stories on this site, and there are some that aren't so successful. Be vigilant, watch your labs, and listen to your surgeon and your NUT!