Might be time to give up another food

I've been doing an excellent job on giving up my sweets and bread.  I've only been doing it for a couple of weeks, but it's really kept my food very clean and simpler.  Sweets for me is all about desserts ... ice cream, cake, pie, candy, etc.  I'm trying to incorporate those changes now since I have quite a few months before I have my weight loss surgery.  I don't want to be one of those people who rationalizes bad food choices after the surgery, saying that I somehow have to live so it's okay to eat a little something sweet now and then.  Personally, I don't need butter pecan ice cream to live.  Actually, that stuff makes me die.  Slowly, granted, but the result is increasing my blood sugar and my weight, leading to death if a I stay on that course.  Today, though, I realized I should probably add chips to my list.

I went to the store to go grocery shopping, and I found myself really staring at the breads and sweets.  I almost felt lost, in a sense.  I walked down the aisle that has the ice cream, for example, and realized there's nothing in that particular aisle that is for me any longer.  As I realized this, I had an overwhelming sense of feeling emotionally lost.  If I don't go to that food any longer to cope with stress, boredom, anxiousness, etc., then what will I go to now?  This voice inside my head said, "Well, if you can't have ice cream and you can't have bread, at least you can still have chips."  The feeling was as if it was a consolation prize.  It's no consolation, though, because I'll go through the whole bag of chips before I can put it away in the cupboard.

Is eliminating every problem food the solution for me?  Well yes and no.  Yes because my problem foods contain sugar, fat and grease - either all together or separately.  These are things that I'm pretty sure I won't be having after the vertical sleeve or gastric bypass.  I haven't learned everything there is to know about the do's and don'ts, but from what I've seen so far, these particular foods will need to be pretty much eliminated from my diet.  I also recognize that eliminating any food that gives me the desire to want to overeat or binge is not an ultimate solution in the end because I then may eliminate every food possible!

For now, though, I know that there are certain foods that are triggers for me to compulsively overeat.  If I can eliminate those triggers right now, perhaps that's what I need to do.  It feels amazing to be able to end a day knowing I ate healthfully and have no regrets with my choices for the day.  I'm doing what's right for me and my health.  Sometimes that means making difficult decisions, but ultimately it is better than having my hand down a bag of chips or in a carton of ice cream.

Water Challenge Day 58:  Drank 180 of 180 ounces