[njmom]

So, I am stealing this from another sight, but I thought that it was some great and useful info. Hope you think so too.

Just This Once Won't Hurt ? by Ken Miller
I've had the opportunity to closely watch the weight-loss journeys of hundreds of WLS patients during the last several years as I've studied those who are very successful and those who struggle.

Almost everyone has plateaus along the way. Some lose weight rapidly and consistently; they reach their goal weight quickly and are able to easily maintain their weight when they get there. Meanwhile others lose weight much more slowly and some never reach their goal weight. Most of those who lose slowly, with extended plateaus along the way, usually struggle much harder to maintain their weight once they reach their goal than those who lost weight quickly and consistently.

The number one factor that affects a WLS patient's rate of weight-loss and the ease with which they are able to maintain their weight after they reach their goal is the intake of refined carbohydrates.

When they start their journey everyone wants to know . . . "How fast will I lose weight?" "Do you think I can actually lose all this weight?" "Do you think I can do it in a year?" Those are difficult questions to answer because we can't predict, just by looking at them, which people will lose quickly and which ones will lose slowly.

The number one factor that affects a WLS patient's rate of weight-loss and the ease with which they are able to maintain their weight after they reach their goal is the intake of refined carbohydrates. Of course there are rare exceptions, but my observations clearly show these two facts:

Those WLS patients who say to themselves, "Just this once won't hurt anything . . . I'll go back to no carbs tomorrow," and eat refined carbohydrates struggle to reach their goal weight and then, if they do reach their goal, they have a much harder time maintaining their weight than those patients who don't.

Those WLS patients who eat only complex carbohydrates and who do not eat any refined carbohydrates lose weight rapidly and consistently and they have a much easier time maintaining their weight during the following years.

So, here's my advice to those who might be interested; Don't make the mistake of saying to yourself, "Just this once won't hurt anything." IT WILL. The consequences of that decision won't be immediately evident to you; it will take time before they show up. But, they WILL show up, and by the time they do, it will be too late to go back and "fix it".

Don't cheat yourself out of the final success that you can achieve and maintain for the rest of your life, by trading it for "Just this once . . ." The Carb Monster shows no mercy; not today, and not tomorrow, or next year.

I know that's very black and white advice. It's not sugar coated; it doesn't taste good, or feel good, and it might create fear in some WLS patients who have already cheated themselves. I hope so. The good news is that the sooner you banish the Carb Monster from your life, the easier the rest of the journey will be for you. I also hope it will scare every new patient enough that they'll use those initial few months following surgery to banish the Carb Monster forever. There will never be an easier time to do it. It only gets harder later.

I expect there will be those who want to express their opinion on this subject . . . both those who believe they are exceptions to what I've said, and those who are willing to take a couple of minutes out of their lives to warn other WLS patients about what happened to them when they said, "Just this once won't hurt . . ."

[DocSanae]

It's a straight and narrow line, but the better off one will be, by staying on the instructions from your surgeons.
Good article, Jolie.
Thank you for sharing.

[Kat]

Thanks....today at work I had a couple of "special" home baked croutons, some roux while cooking a gumbo, just miniscule amounts but know where it will lead if I continue. I thought when I did it that if I contiue, I will be right back where I started. Old habits and ways are so freakin sneaky!!!! A big part of it was being very tired and having my guard down.
Thanks for posting.

[SheliaMae]

Thanks for the article! I'm going to go search for a comprehensive list of refined (simple) carbohydrates! I must be getting too many in as I have had a really rough time of it the last few months... This may be just the tip I needed!

[DocSanae]

Basically, whole grain stuff, and procude like potatoes and such are complex carbs. In other words, unprocessed food, farm produce.
What has been fixed up in the factory often have lots of refined carbs.
If you live on a farm, or have a yard large enough for a veggie garden and you have the time to tend and grow, home made veggies and stuff will help you go a long way.

[mike]

That was one of the best articles I have ever read, and it makes total sense. Now that I have gone over my goal weight. YIPPEE BY THE WAY. LOL I really don't fine myself doing that at all. HONEST I just hope that my new habits don't change. People that know this about me are now trying to push food on my like all the time. They all say HEY YOUR THIN NOW AND ONE BITE OR PEICE WONT KILL YA! I am like so many others though at this point. I don't consider myself to be thin. GETTIN THERE, but not thin. I do have the strength so far to say no and leave it at that, but when I have my down days it is still hard. For me, I am hoping that this part of it doesn't last a lifetime. To be honest, for example, I used to love spaghetti o's, ravioli, things like that. But, after reading the labels, NEVER AGAIN. I intend on keeping all the weight I have taken off OFF! Thanks again for that awesome article.
mike