Hey all...

Well...ive lost 76 pounds since September 2013 following weight loss surgery. I had the VSG. Christmas was a big junk food eating time for me. I spent three weeks outside of my own home, living with family-in-laws while taking a lifeguarding course which was very stress inducing. Needless to say.. I had no access to a stove (my mil doesnt believe in having a stove!!) so i could not eat my chicken or other proteins i would usually cook. I had no microwave!!!!! because she thinks it causes cancer. So i lived on crackers, cheese, grapes, spanikopita(done in a toaster oven) and i got into the chocolate at christmas. I also learned just how tolerant Cybil the sleeve is...Point is: Ive gone from exercising every single day at the pool and tracking everything and eating healthy... to the other side....eating crap food..not exercising...and not logging my food intake. GRRRRRR!!!

I need some encouragement or inspiration. You would think that clothes would inspire me..but it hasnt. I feel like i am stuck in this rut and i feel like i dont know how to move back into the healthy place i was at before.....mostly to do with the hoardes of chocolate in our house leftover from Christmas.

PS: I still have to lose another 40 pounds before i hit goal.

Inspiration or encouragement? Thoughts?

I haven't had WLS but it always helps me after the holidays to get RID of the leftovers, whatever they may be, and get back to my regular routine....get rid of the chocolates or whatever else is left....buy your normal food and resume your normal routine...are you still living at someone else's place? or are you home in your usual routine now?

i'm always faced with difficulty getting back to my normal healthier choices after a break in routine and I always struggle with the temptations of the holiday food.....however I have never slacked off on the exercise, because it's my ME TIME and the only Me Time that I really get lol

Let's look at this a little differently. Once we have WLS, we actually STOP dieting, and embark on learning a whole new, and different, way of eating.
And, most important, it's about changing our thinking and emotions so that we can live with the surgery and new eating habits.

Doesn't mean we won't occasionally dive head first into a vat of chocolate [or booze, or cookies or whatever], but what's important is what we do AFTERWARDS. And believe me, sometimes it takes awhile to find a way BACK to our new 'normal' of smaller portions, more protein, lower carbs, etc. As long as we take a step in that direction every day, we'll make progress.

So, find a new home for the chocolate. If you can live with a little around the house, or if you can limit yourself to one or two pieces a day, save some for a treat. But if it's too much for you now, get rid of it. Get back to tracking what you're eating [even if your diet consists of cookies and chocolate - just track it - you can decrease the cookies and chocolate the next day and increase the protein!]

think about how wonderful the water feels when you're in it. Even if you just swim two laps, it'll be a step in the right direction.

focus on the RIGHT NOW, not tomorrow, and certainly not yesterday.

I'm not going to hijack your thread because I'm going to start one of my own but I know exactly where you are. I had my VSG surgery in Oct 2011, lost 70 lbs relatively quickly and easily and it has been a stall for a long, long time. I just can't wrap my head around eating properly. Anyway I echo what others have said about trying to get back into your previous good routine and the sooner the better. I left it too long and it is going to be a huge uphill battle to get back to the groove I was in.