Motivate me (again)

hello all,

I guess with the time i've been going through the motions of getting prepared i've been on and off a diet i can't seem to stick to one....i know surgery should be motivation enought but it doesn't feel real yet....Anyone have any insight on pre surgery dieting? Anyone sucessful at this? Also when is the next victory meeting ??

hi.  this is what i did when i first started preparing...   write it ALL down.  every first, middle and last bite and drink of anything i had.  If it passed my lips, wrote it down.  i could see what i was taking in and worked on modifying that.   veggies were not my  thing, so i set a mini goal of adding 2 veggies to day.  if  not a lot of protein in your diet, add 2 servings of protein a day.  start small, set goals that will help you but you can reach.  this is how my nutritionist had me start out to begin to eat healthier.   best bet  - if you have access to a nutritionist, talk with them.  or ask the nutritionist on here - the OH website.  mentally it worked better for me ADDING the veggies and proteins to what i was eating, instead of  taking away things.  of course decreasing the high sugar and high fat content items helps as well.  don't know if this is what you were looking for - but it did help me.  and i don't know what a victory meeting is.  can't help you there:)  good luck!

hey there...

Thats sounds good i'll write everything down and see what that will do.. thanks for your input....

Don't think of it as a diet...look at it as a lifestyle change.  I think when you use the word diet you just give up.  I didn't do much pre surgery diet stuff.  I did a lot of last suppers.  Funny thing is I can eat things I thought I would be giving up for a life time.  Its weird how you think one thing and another happens. Debbie

Without being too harsh, let me ask you this...why are you looking for motivation to stay on a diet or weight loss program?  Being this close to surgery, you really need to evaluate what motivated you to overeat in the first place, what brought you to this place?  Ask youself, What issues are causing me to keep stuffing bad food in my face when I am not even hungry?  Why in God's name do I keep eating like this? Altering your insides will make you lose weight, but you MUST deal with the emotional issues first.  Your head has to be in the right place in order for this to work for you.  It sounds like you are in a mindset of "I'm gonna be having surgery so does it really matter what I eat now?  The surgery will take it all away soon so why bother with dieting?"  It's not a DIET anymore, it's a lifestyle change.  You have to change your thinking as soon as possible.  That's what the psychological evaluation is all about.  You have to be motivated and prove that you can stick to a program in order for this to be successful for you, because once they permanently alter your intestinal tract, there's no going back. It won't "feel real" and you will never find that motivation until you lay all your cards on the table and be brutally honest with yourself about how you got here.  Once you deal with the emotional baggage, the inspiration to stick to the pre-surgery plan, AND the post-op lifestyle will be much easier to come by.   Before I had my surgery, I did a lot of soul searching.  I asked myself all of the questions I mentioned above. I blamed everyone but myself for my lot.   I was in the same rut you are in.  I just figured, --hey, who cares?  Pretty soon, I won't have to worry about food anymore.-- Wrong.  If you think you are in a battle now, wait and see how it is AFTER surgery.  I scrutinize everything that goes in my mouth, asking myself these questions: 1.  Why am I going to eat this food?  Am I eating for fuel or for comfort? 2.  Is this food pouch friendly? 3.  Is there enough protein in it? 4.  How much do I WANT to eat? 5.  How much do I NEED? 6.  When was the last time I ate? 7.  When am I going to eat again? 8.  When should I stop drinking my fluids so I have room for food next time? 9.  Is there more than 7 grams of sugar in this serving? I could go on and on but I only know one thing.  Most obese people have an eating disorder, that being we are obsessed with food.  We eat to excess, and then we eat some more.  After surgery, we still have a food obsession but it's opposite.  We are obsessed with making sure we get enough protein, stay away from added sugars, we have to watch fats, calories, and carbs.  We are obsessed with portion size and the nutritional quality of every morsel we put in our mouth, every time we eat or drink.  It is the hardest thing I have ever done, and a daily battle to combat malnutrition.  I am religious about my vitamins and B-12 supplement.  I know I am not alone in the gastric bypass world when I say that my food issues are worse now than they ever were before surgery.  Back then, I never had to think twice about bending my elbow, I ate anything and everything I wanted.  Now, and for the rest of my life, I have to plan every bite I take to make this surgery work to my best advantage. It's easy for you now, before your surgery, to say "wah wah, I can't seem to stick to a plan; someone please motivate me."  In my opinion, and by personal experience, after surgery you HAVE to stick to the program or you will be sick, throw up, suffer malnutrition, have episodes of dumping syndrome, feel weak and run down, your hair will fall out, and you could suffer fatal health issues. Get on track my friend.  Deal with those issues and find the inspiration in yourself.  This thing works if you get in the right mindset, and stay there no matter what.  Only you can do it.

 

 

 

Touche to KathyGallagher! I would add to the list of issues you could face if you do not comply is 'weight gain'... Some of us need to hear it hard and true the way Kathy said it. Maybe if I hear it a 100 or so more times... Try with all your heart, and head, to get it together NOW... before wls.  Good luck. T

Thanks. I think thats what I needed to hear. I haven't got much support on the outside. I really do need to rely on myself more for motivation. Too bad  I can't keep you in my back pocket. lol Thanks for your support and your words of wisdom!

You're welcome.  The truth is always brutal but sometimes it's the only way to see things for what they really are.   I miss food real bad sometimes, and wish I could just sit down to a relaxed meal that wasn't pre-planned earlier in the day, or even the day before; and I want to eat the whole meal, not just the meat and be too full for anything else...I want to be spontaneous again, stopping for chinese or McD's instead of trying to decide; "chicken, fish, beef, or a protein drink?"  I want Rice Krispies with bananas like I used to eat them...Cap'n Crunch...Hershey Kisses...a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with potato chips on it...I want to guzzle, literally guzzle a big glass of cold milk again...Nachos BelGrande...SoftServe ice cream...A Rita's...an Italian Sub with oil and mayo...crap, I can't have most of that stuff anymore and frankly, I just don't need it...it nearly killed me so why would I even consider going back?  But I DO NOT deprive myself totally.  I am just very careful about sugar grams per serving, and I listen to my tummy.  When it says STOP, I STOP, right now.  One more bite and I'll puke.  Sometimes I get very depressed about my new life.  But when I see what I have accomplished because of this surgery, I thank God every day for the gift He gave me.  I have been able to give up the obese lifestyle and actually eat and live healthy. I can have my cereal and bananas, but only a handful and 1/2 banana.  Milk makes me bloated but I drink small amounts a couple of times a week because I love it so much.  I have had my nachos, but only like, 4 chips and heavy on the beans, cheese, and meat for the protein.  And the Hershey's?  They make sugar-free kisses now, but it's just not the same creamy texture, so I have forsaken those I guess.  Rita's?  Well, here in Longneck there's a place called Nana and Pops Ice Cream and Water Ice.  The lady there told me she is trying to come up with a recipe for water ice made with Splenda that will work like regular water ice.  I will wait.  The italian sub takes me 3 days to eat, and most of the bread gets tossed aside, but I DO have one once in awhile. My pre-surgery diet was this:  Drop all breads and cereals, starches, etc.  No chips, crackers, pretzels.  No pasta.  Drop all sugars and honey.  Get used to Equal or Splenda.  Drop carbonated beverages...no sodas.  Drastically reduce the fruits and veggies.  Go to skim milk or 1/2% milk.  Easy on the salt.  I had to lose 2% of my body weight, which for me at the time was 6 or 7 pounds.  I lost 18 pounds in the month before my surgery.  I was really religious with the diet though, and I tried to get some kind of exercise in every day, like walking a little bit.  It worked for me.  Try it, I can almost gurantee that just taking all the carbs and sugars out of your diet will make you lose weight. The reason for dropping of all the carbs(starches) and sugars is to shrink your liver, which makes the surgery less risky.  Also, losing the weight will reduce the size of your abdomen, even just a little bit helps the surgeon.  The less fat they have to work through, the easier it is to do the procedure. I hope I have been of some help to you.  Good luck with your journey and keep me posted.  Feel free to drop me a note anytime. KathyG