Would love to hear "what I wish I had known" facts/comments from you all!

Actually, it depends on the context and what it happening when they start nipping, AND the horse. Sometimes it's pain, sometimes it's how I am feeling, sometimes it's that the horse has no boundaries.

As for horses being therapists I never said they were. I said they can  "sometimes have more impactful results" than therapists. My friends, the people in my life who know me well, and can tell when I am unsettled will simply say "you need to go hang out with your horse". Just because your horse isn't therapeutic for you doesn't mean my horse isn't for me.

We are all different people, we all have different methods, tools, and coping devices. I sincerely appreciate your concern, thank you.

Actually, you did.

My new therapist has 4 legs ;)

I'm glad you've got it all figured out.  It seems the most any of us can offer you is good luck!

OK, here's the positive stuff:  WLS will help you lose weight.

But, here's the not-so-positive stuff:  Surgery is just a tool; you have to use your tool properly to lose the weight and keep it off.

How do you use your tool properly:  Preplan your menus to meet your new dietary guidelines, which generally are:

Eating at least 65 grams of protein; under 800 calories; under 40 carbs.  Drinking at least 64 oz. of water/fluids.

Protein first, then veggies, then fruits.  Generally no breads/pastas/starches until you reach maintenance.

Pre-op you will go through stringent testing and have many appts. and informational meetings.  Your insurance company may require a six month weight loss program.  You may require a two week all liquid diet starting two weeks prior to surgery.  Post-op you will have another two weeks of liquids, then pureed food, before starting your "losing phase".  It will be recommended that you pre-plan your daily menus, that you weigh and measure your food, that you track your food in a program such as myfitnesspal.

WLS does not by itself make losing weight easy.  It takes hard work and commitment to succeed.  You will experience stalls that can last a few to several weeks - that is normal.

All in all, most people here will say it's the best thing they ever did.  Have you read the information under "Resources" at the top of the page?  Use the search feature (magnifying glass) to learn specific information you may have a question about.  Read the threads here religiously to learn all you can.

Good luck to you.  We all wish you success.

Mary

By the way, I don't think anyone suggested you were "an idiot" -- we are sharing what we have learned and experienced.  We want you to succeed.

We are giving tips for a New newbie -- as requested.  It is all positive stuff.  Losing weight and keeping it off is still a challenge, even with surgery.

Again, good luck.

Mary

I am frustrated that people seem to think I am simply here about a quick fix, and that I expect the surgery will make me thin no matter what I do.

I don't have a problem eating properly, but I have seen more than 1 instance where a person is not tied in to weighing and measuring for the rest of their life, and I have seen more than 1 instance where assuming the weight was gone, and the person having it thought they could eat whatever they wanted and gained the weight back. I tried to be clear, I am not looking for a magic cure, I am not afraid of a healthy diet free of grains (breads, pasta, potatoes, rice, etc), I am not afraid to follow the prescribed diet. I am not looking to be able to sit on my butt and let the weight fall off while I eat cake.

Maybe some people come here thinking that, but that isn't my perspective, and I tried to be clear about that when I said I had NO problem with healthy eating.

It's very discouraging to come to a place, and ask for help/information/support, and to get told repeatedly that you have no clue what you are talking about (well, have it implied), and that what you have personally SEEN work (more than once), WILL cause you to fail.

You know what's even MORE discouraging? Getting really excited about something, having nobody point out potential roadblocks, and failing miserably after being blindsided.

I am working just as hard eating right---weighing and measuring, staying active and all that good stuff... as I did in the many incarnations of diets past and 'doing the right thing'... only this time I am seeing results and have more confidence in the long term success. It is easier to stay motivated when you are seeing the fruits of your labor. Even pre-portioning things is still measuring at some point... It is worth it, but it is a tool, not a magic wand.

I never said I didn't have to measure....

I said I look forward to not having to measure "EVERY. SINGLE. THING." I feel fairly confident that there is room for me to not try and log 1/4 or 1/8 tsp of BBQ sauce, or "a squeeze of lemon juice", and things like that.

I am not going to live my life like that again. Obviously I am not going to be stupid about it, but I am going to let myself relax a little bit on those small things to avoid this being a treacherous experience (again). I feel as though the extra 15 calories (or so) won't be detrimental to my weight loss if it's not happening 5 times a day.

Are you seriously expecting us to believe that when you tracked before that you tracked the lemon juice you squeezed over some fish?!?

People are raising the issue of tracking because You raised it, and the way you worded your post it sounded -- whether you meant it that way or not -- as if you did NOT want to have to track and measure your food.  Nothing more, nothing less.

No, you don't have to be a slave to tracking and weighing your food post-op for the rest of your life, but people are trying to tell you that you need to plan to do it until you can control the portions and make good choices without tracking.  Some people cannot do that even a number of years out (or they choose not to risk it and find out).

I am not a "tracker". I did not formally track my food intake from about 6 months post RNY until just a few months ago (so, for about 7 years), and I was successful doing that, but I eat a lot of the same things every day, so it is easy to keep track mentally of where I am for the day.  After gaining about 15 pounds after knee replacement surgery and a very hectic work schedule after that (where I grabbed food that was handy rather than heathy), though, I am now trying to lose that weight and I have gone back to tracking and measuring. So I "get" not wanting to have to do that for the rest of your life.  It wouldn't work for me, either, because I would feel like I was on a perpetual diet, BUT... you need to be willing to do it at first... and the impression that you gave from your initial posts that you weren't.  It gave the impression that you saw how great someone else looked and decided you could do that, too, even though you don't want to have to track and measure.

Lora