17 days till surgery

17 days till surgery and 10 days to my pre-op appointment. Need to get my bmi solidly down below 60 (it's 59.5) at this writing! I am dieting, dieting, dieting. Hate it. Counting down till surgery....drinking slimfast. Hopefully, the dieting AFTER surgery will be easier than the dieting BEFORE surgery.....I just feel the need to write it in here.

Just a thought that might help you out mentally. This is not a diet. This is going to be a permanent change in the way you look at food for the rest of your life. Even though my words sound ominous you can look at it in a different way. I likened it to a release. A release of the proverbial chains that have bound me for many a year. Don't buy into the hype that you are going to get through the surgery... loose your weight and then -- VOILA' you will find yourself slender/skinny/etc. and THEN you will be able to eat normally (albeit in small amounts).. HOGWASH! I am not saying it won't happen to you...but I have seen waaaaay to many longterm postops fall into that trap and guess what? The lbs. creep back on... a little bite here, a little bite there.. oh that can't hurt... and WHAMMO ... guess what? They didn't change how they looked at food... they didn't change a thing really and it is coming back to smack em' in the face. REALITY sucks at times... You never will nor would I wager you would want to. What is normal for you now when you take the time to reflect. Do you really want to go back there? I don't. I believe (my thoughts) that in order to be successful. I'm mean REALLY successful you need to re-invent yourself. That means from the inside out. The surgery fixes the physical part of the problem. The mind/head issues are a work in progress along the way. If someone would of told me 15 months ago that I would be eating the things that I am eating now (and loving them) I would of said HOGWASH. I knew that I would be successful because of the type of person that I am. By nature, very driven and a veritable taskmaster to myself. Not to mention the fact that I have fought for YEARS to have this surgery. I was not about to "blow it" on screwing things up. In other words... I plan on using this tool for a lifetime... and by the good Lord above I will do my best. So here I sit, eating yogurt, drinking smoothies, getting in my protein, taking my supplements and staying away from the crapola that landed me with a BMI of OVER 50... and here I sit... -160 lbs. with less than 20 to goal. Low end goal at that!.... I feel great, look healthy and I am still in the process of learning who I am and what I need to do to become the person within. Wishing you nothing but the best! I know how excited you must be right now! Elizabeth~

Your doing great! Just a few more days to go.. I would like to tell you that the diet will be horrible right after surgery. Alot of liquids but you will not be hungry. Your head hunger will be bad because you are withdrawing from suger and crap that you use to eat. It gets better and better as time goes on. Do exactally what your surgeon tells you too do. I had my surgery Nov. 4 so I am 2 months and three weeks. Last night I had about 3/4 cup of spagetti with meet sauce. It was so good. So hang in there and you will be eating spagetti before you know it. God bless, Penni

The menu after surgery for me was easier to follow. I am almost never hungry (real hunger or head hunger) so it has allowed me to rethink how I look at food. At first there were some foods that I missed but now I look at food as a tool just like my surgery. When we agree to have this surgery we make a pact with ourselves that we are going to change the way we treat food in our lives. I am only 1 month out but I can honestly say that the way I look at food today is 180 degrees from how I saw it before surgery. Today I control food it doesn't control me. Wayne

I really appreciate the viewpoints. I am closely examing this long term relationship with my first love - FOOD. Replacing myself within that love is the missing link. I live with the knowledge that my obsessive, perfectionist self can work FOR or AGAINST me in this journey. I pledge to walk the path, seeking help where I can find it and helping others where it is welcomed.....Thank you all for your part in my life.