One BIG ??

Hi!!  I am still doing the thinking that it takes to make this type of decision.  I did go to the seminar at WW with Dr. Broussard.  I really liked him.  Very down to earth and funny.  But my one big question is ---- he says that after the surgery, you have to start eating right --- no bad carbs etc..   After you get the sleeve done do you just not crave that stuff or is it still a fight not to eat that stuff???  My biggest problem is that I love the bad stuff --- cookies, cakes, pop --- Will loving this stuff go away or at least become manageable?

I appreciate any help you can give me.  I am not afraid of hard work.  I just don't want to do this and fail, yet again.  Thank you!!!

Hi, there.
My best friend had the sleeve done, and I'm up for it in a few months. It has been her experience that she just doesn't crave any of that stuff, at least not yet. She has to remind herself to eat, and because she can eat so little, she wants it to be the BEST food for her tiny tummy. Plus, she doesn't want to start down a bad road. She tells me that this is the easiest thing she's done, and she regrets nothing. Hope this helps.
Blessings,
Mary

Hi, I had RNY, but I can tell you that I DO crave the stuff I used to eat...  but, I have a different mind set about it.  Having the surgery and going through what I've gone through to get here is what helps me make my decisions to stay away from the things I can't have.

I want my surgery to be successful and I'm not going to take my tool for granted.  I don't know why, but it IS EASIER to say no to those things, but I can't say that I don't want them when I see them.

Dot

Hi, welcome to Oklahoma OH and weight wise. Everyone is different, but unfortunately they do surgery on our digestive system and not our heads.  You will still love that stuff because you just will. For the most part it is head hunger and habit. You will have a different mindset and will not be able to eat like you used to. The surgery is not magic. It is just a tool and if you use it right it works marvelously. Being a tool it doesn't fail you but you can fail it. I feel that if you put alot of thought and research in this decision and have a great support system you will be a success. It has to be something that you want and you have to really want it bad. I can tell you that without this surgery I would have never lost the weight. I tried too many times and kept gaining instead of losing. Feel free to read my story www.obesityhelp.com/member/crickett_1 And if I can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to ask. It is all a personal decision. Best of luck to you. Rita

I had VSG, I don't know how to put it because everybody is different.  They teach you at WW, what you can eat.  And what you shouldn't. I don't really ever think about carbs, and I never crave them unless I see someone else eating them.  But I have to say, now this is just my opinion, but this process to me is more mental than physical.  I know now that when I used to think I was hungry that I really wasn't it was just head hunger. And still sometimes I think that I am hungry, but I find something to keep me busy and I forget about it.  I know that excercise is so important, and that is something that I do everyday of the week. If I don't go walking everyday I truely miss it.  You have to make up your mind to do it and do it right, to me WLS was something that I thought about for about 3 yrs.  What made me make the final decision is that our family changed churches, and I had to walk up 3 flights of stairs to get to Sunday School, and guess what, I couldn't do it.  So one Sunday I took the elevator, and the only people on it were fat people ( I hope that doesn't offend anyone when I use the word Fat) and i decided that this wasn't the way i wanted to live the rest of my life.  From then on I told myself that my health was more important than any food that gave me pleasure and comfort.  Over the past 3 weeks I have really enjoyed the foods that we are allowed to eat.  It is all up to you.  You have to decide what is most important to you.    Lisa

I thought there was no way I could live life without bread, pasta, rice, soda, and etc.  My best advise to you is to follow the pre-op diet!  I was detoxed off the icky stuff well before surgery.  I thought I was gonna die the first few days of the pre-op diet.  I can say I don't miss pasta, rice, regular breads, or soda.  I do miss specialty breads (only sometimes) but know they won't sit well on tiny tummy.  Tiny tummy rules the roost.  If you don't do what tiny tummy wants you will PAY!  I did try part of a doughnut yesterday and it sat like a rock in my tummy for hours.  Don't need to do that one again.  I can honestly say I don't miss my diet coke.  I had a pretty good habit there- 2-4 cans a day.  I thought that would be the worst part and it was the easiest.  I gave myself a quit date and just did it.

The main difference now is that when I am hungry it is not the overwhelming, voracious need for any food substance that got in my way. I can easily wait and make a good food choice.  I am in control of how much I put in my tummy instead of mindlessly shoveling it in until it is all gone.  A strange added bonus- since I eat slower and less I no longer have to Spray and Wash all my shirts!  I don't spill on my chest anymore!  I guess I was shoveling it in so fast that I was a piggy.

But, unless you are ready to make longterm changes in your food choices then you are not ready psychologically for WLS.  Your head needs to be in the right place or you need to wait until your head is there.  You CAN out eat the WLS if you don't make wise choices.  Grazing, liquid calories, and slider foods (soft foods that slide on down) are the best way to out eat your surgery. All WLS procedures are just tools.  If you don't use the tool properly you won't get the full benefit.  Those of us that do best choose a high protein, lower carb diet.  We do eat carbs but get them from veggies, dairy products, and some fruits.

I will just say these ladies are my mentors on here...They have and still are teaching me what is in store for me in Jan.  I have taken out bread, rice, pasta for the most part. I have also taken off soda's except for a rare occasion. It does help to prepare for it....also remember you can't stuff a tiny tummy with these bad foods either....It either throws it back at you or sends you running to the toilet!!  Like they say...the tummy is the tool.

Remember this...Just like everything else, it is a choice. I went to the Seminar a year ago and I wasn't ready to get rid of all the bad foods.....I had my 3rd stent put in last Jan...by June 08, I was ready to live, not die....The choice of those foods no longer are an option and I am now so ready.
I want to see all 11 of my grandchildren grow up!
Sherry

I totally agree with Denise -- I do not miss the bad carbs one bit. I feel so much better and have so much more energy since surgery. Giving up those things is definitely worth it. The food I can and do it is enjoyed so much more than before now that I actually taste it!

HappyCat and Dot both make great points.  I was a diet coke-aholic but easily gave it up.  Giving up carbs was easy too because bread just balls up and makes you feel terrible!

But I do still crave evil carbs like cookies.  They bake them in my office and they smell like heaven.  But as Dot said, I find it easier to say no than I ever did before.  I fill up on protein and then I'm done.  Now, full is full and I don't want another bite.  And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't dump after eating a cookie so it's a mind over matter issue.

But you do need to be ready to turn your life around.  I was sick of being fat and terrified about what my future health was going to be like.  That was my motivation.  And now, 3-1/2 month after surgery, I just wish I had done it earlier!

Best of luck to you and please keep posting but, more important, reading.  The more informed you are the better your chances of making the right decision for you!

Kim

ok i still want those bad carbs but it is easier to say no. you just go look in the mirror and see how far you have come and go get a piece of cheese. and yes i still want a glass of pepsi every once in a while but i have yet to give in to that temptation. i'm not gonna lie...i have cheated a little. i had part of an eggroll and didn't peel the outside off. but i punished myself in the gym the next day and won't do it again.
this surgery was the best thing i have ever done for myself. i don't worry about dying before my son graduates high school or gets married. barring some accident, i know i will be there for him. that is one of the most important reasons for me getting healthy...to be there for my son and husband.
do all the research and ask all the questions that you need to before making a decision. this time was easy for me because i have been trying to find a way to have this for over 5 years and when i found a way to come up with the money i jumped on it!!
good luck!