6 Month Medically Supervised attempt

Vent!! First, Hi, I'm Kristy. I've been thinking about surgery for several years. Always thought I wanted the band, but after attending two separate groups info sessions, I decided I didn't want to have to have the band replaced eventually, so I'm doing gastric bypass.  I'm 326 lbs, 6'0 tall, 36, married, and have a 6 month old daughter. For those who had to go through the 6 month medically supervised weight loss attempt, who struggled even more with losing the 10LBS required for surgery?  I've been through 2 months so far. Gained 1LB the first month. Gained 5 the first two weeks of this month and now have hussled this last week and 1/2 to get that off so I'm at least back to where I started.  Tomorrow is my appointment and I think I'll be back to EVEN.  I am so embarrassed!  Feel even more like a failure than ever before. Then my mind plays tricks on me, saying who cares, you need surgery for a reason, because you don't do it yourself, so eat whatever. UGH!  I am struggling with having SO much time, 4 more months to lose the 10. I fear losing it now and then yo yoing like I always do. Another question, is there a way to SEARCH the posts in the forum? Maybe I'm blind.

Kristy, Welcome to the MN Board!  The people here are wonderful and will be able to provide support for you along your journey including the 4 months you have left of the supervised diet!  I did not have to go through this, but did have about 6 weeks (I know small in comparison to yours) where I went through a prgram with a Health Coach and Nutritionist provided by insurance company to learn about surgery and eating problems (like emotional eat, compulsive overeating).  I had to keep track of my food, water and exercise and report every 10 days so I was accountable for what I was doing.  My only suggestion would be to challenge yourself to start eating now like you will post-op.  I am not talking about the portion sizes (that is pretty impossible) but the protien first, then veggies & fruit then good carbs (whole grains, brown rice).  I know that it is not easy to do this but the prize at the end will be worth every minute of it I promise!  Just keep your baby girl in mind, you are doing this so she can have a helathy Mommy.  I hope this helps some, I know there are others here who have gone through the 6 month supervised diet so I hope they chime in here.  Oh, I tried to see if there was any way to search posts, but I couldn't find anything either.  Hope to see you around!  ~Nicole

Hi Kristy and welcome!  Just do the best that you can on the 6 month diet.  Remember that you don't have to be perfect and that making small changes that will help you out post-op will add up to some pretty significant numbers on the scale.  I weigh quite a bit more than you do, but I lost about 10 pounds by giving up regular soda.  Cutting down on your fast food or making healthier choices when eating out will also help.  Another big thing that you can do is eliminate snacking between meals.  The nutritionists just want to see that you're making the effort to make changes that will support your weight loss post-op.  If you still have not lost the weight at the end of the supervision, they will have you do a LD to get it off. I was two weeks post-op yesterday and my therapist asked me if the current me was to go back and give advice or information to myself before I had surgery what would it be?  The information that I wish that I would have had was the knowledge that life post-op is not as "easy" as I would have guessed.  I really had come to believe that I would never feel hunger, that I would never have to plan what I ate, and that I would always want to eat what I was supposed to eat.  These things, right now, simply aren't always true.  I have to be very dedicated to planning my meals and making good choices for me and in some ways it feels no different than other times in my life when I was trying to make better choices for myself.  The only difference this time is that I do NOT have the ability to say, "This is too hard" or "I don't want to follow my food plan" today...if I say those things my pouch will quickly and painfully let me know that I am no longer in charge of those decisions.  I'm not saying that I have any regrets and I'm not saying that in many ways the pouch doesn't make it easier to limit my consumption of foods - I'm very happy and the pouch helps a lot.  I'm just saying that I now realize how important it is that I got used to making good choice pre-op because post-op you have NO CHOICE and it's a fantasy to think that you'll always want to do the right thing. I wish you the best on your continued journey and hope that you post here often for support.  I'm not sure how you search the forums, but I've also never heard anyone complain about giving information that may have previously been posted.

Hi ,  I had to do the 6 month supervised weight loss too and ended up gaining 10lbs.   I started the 6 months at 313 lbs and ended it around 323 lbs. The more pressure I put on myself to lose weight the more I gained.  Just make a few small changes like the no pop (even diet pop) or fast food suggestion.  Also use this time to try to increase your protein and drink lots of water.   These changes will help you lose weight but also prepare you (physically & mentally) for surgery especially if your doctor requires the 2 week liquid diet before surgery  (I loss 30 lbs on the LD).

Thanks for the welcome! Nicole- Wow what a great inspiration you've lost over 100LBS!  I like the advice "the protien first, then veggies & fruit then good carbs ."  Thank you! NewDay- (I didn't see your name, what it is?) Thank you for sharing what it's been like for you since surgery. I'll have to keep tabs on your progress and watch to see how you progress, your struggles and triumphs!  Way to go on 35lbs down already! Kathy- Wow, you were at about where I am and where I want to be.  I can't even visualize what I will look like when I'm down to your current weight.  At my appointment yesterday, the PA basically said, forget the 10LBS, focus on spending at least 1/2 hour on eating your meal, chew slowly, eat balanced meals, etc.  We'll see. I can't NOT focus on the 10lbs it's impossible. I know I could lose it in 2 weeks if I had to, I can do ANYTHING for 2 weeks, that's how I've always been and why I never really lose much more than 10-15lbs at a time before regaining. Ugh!  Thanks again for the welcome!