The other day it was super hot outside and it seemed like everywhere I turned there was a kid with ice cream. Large gorgeous scoops of frozen gold in a waffle cone of goodness. My love of ice cream is real. I haven’t had ice cream in over two years and I’ll never have it again.
The obvious reason for no ice cream is that I had RNY Gastric Bypass and eating ice cream can have painful effects on my stomach. This is where people will jump in with the many alternatives that are either on plan or close to on plan. I get told about Halo Top brand ice cream on a daily basis. Apparently, they taste very good with minimal sugar and calories in an entire pint. So why not try that?
It’s the door. Thirty years of failed diets and roller coaster weight gain has definitely taught me a couple of things about myself. The main one is that when I open a door it’s really hard to close. The second thing is that if I do open it I will start off with a small portion and then work my way up to full tilt boogie and next thing you know I am right back at the beginning. At that point I’m usually hating and berating myself for opening the door in the first place.
Ice cream is a particular door for me because my love of ice cream is unmatched. I can’t say I’m solely responsible for the growth of the Ben & Jerry’s corporation but I am confident I certainly helped on a major level. I could eat PINTS in a single sitting. Ice cream was the cure for whatever was wrong and also the cause!
I know if I picked a pint of Halo Top my muscle memory and mind will instantly return to 1983-2014 Ice Cream Loving Fanatic Regina and I will not back down. It’s a very dangerous door that I’ll probably be too scared to ever open again.
I read posts about weight loss surgery and I always see people asking about when they can eat ice cream after surgery. The advice is aways a range. Some people take just a few bites, others devour pints of Halo Top or others brands that are better health wise. My answer is always never.
Ever.
Like kryptonite is to Superman so is ice cream to Regina. Living at the beach during a hot summer surrounded by carefree vacationers and ice cream parlors on every corner can be a challenge. Resisting the unrelenting call of ice cream is becoming my full time job!
When I get caught up, when I get jealous, when I get angry, when I get sad that I’m no longer exclusively dating Ben & Jerry’s I have to remember these things:
- I can climb stairs with ease
- I can cross my legs
- I can shop at any store
- My husband can wrap his arms around me
- I can fit in one leg of my old pants
- I’m a karate yellow belt
- I am happy
They used to say that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels but I think it should be nothing tastes as good as healthy feels! That includes ice cream!
NOTE: I’m preparing a video of some ways I beat the heat without resorting to ice cream. I’ll keep you posted!
3 Responses
You go! I can relate to having a door that shouldn’t be opened. I appreciated that analogy! You’ve got this!!
I can totally relate to this too. For me, my ‘ice cream’ is meat & dairy. Keeping the door shut on those two food categories makes it easier (not necessarily easy, but easier!) to pass on food at events, avoid fast food, avoid convenience foods, etc. Keeping that door shut is important to me!! Like you, I think if I went down that path it’d be a direct route to sneaking fast food, gobbling up ice cream, ordering Chinese takeout etc. All those things that I never ever want to do again!
Good for you!! I’m finding I may need to cut dairy entirely. I did very well without it on Whole30, but I’m finding that it, like bread/crackers, are a door for me.