Am I Being Realistic???

Hello Everyone!

I have a question I'd like some honest responses to.

I started this process back in January. I list 13 lbs before I even attended my 1st seminar in February. I attended every monthly NUT appointment as required for 6 months. I followed her suggestions and worked out daily.

Midway I began small slips...staying under my calorie goal, but increasing my carbs. The past month my carb intake has been out of control even though I am still maintaining about 1600-1800 calories/daily, good on protein & water, still working out, but CRAVING like crazy!

I don't have my surgery date yet, but it should be at the end of September as I have completed all my pre-op work.

So am I being too hard on myself by expecting ongoing 100% compliance PRE-surgery tool...after all this only reinforces why I need the surgery OR is this an indication of problems to come since I am having difficulty getting myself under control????

I'd appreciate any feedback!

Remember WSL is only a tool that will help you loose the weight.  It's up to you to follow the diet plan post op.  AND from what I read in your post you will be fine!  Good Luck!

From what I understand carbs after WLS are not good for you at all, and thus would negate the reason for needing surgery if you cant get the cravings under control. I have been doing my NUT appointments now for 4 months, I am not allowed to eat bread, rice or pasta as they expand in your stomach and are not foods to be eaten after WLS. We have began to condition my body to not eat the foods That will not be approved after surgery. I have lost 34lbs. It is tough but remind yourself why you want this and how hard you are willing to push yourself to resist the cravings you are having. Also on top of what Im not allowed to eat my calories are only supposed to be around 1300 and I am much heaver than you are.

GOOD LUCK YOU CAN DO IT!!!

I figure if we could be 100% compliant forever with a diet pre-op, none of us would have needed surgery. That said, if you're not seeing a therapist already, definitely add one to your team. We all need more tools to help us win our battles than just WLS!

Yes, you're being WAY too hard on yourself. My surgeon wanted me to lose 30 pounds in six months. Hah! I was never able to lose 20 pounds in my whole life! I did manage to stay at the same weight (with tremendous struggles on my part) during the 6-month approval process. I lost 10 pounds the week before surgery when I started the liver-shrinking pre-op liquids. That's my grand total -- 10 pre-op pounds.

Like Gwen said, we wouldn't need surgery if we were able to comply 100% of the time. Your struggles are not indicators of post-op problems. In fact, based on your pre-op success, I would guess you'll have very little trouble complying with the post-op restrictions. You'll have both your hard work AND the sleeve working for you. Good work!

psychoticparrot

Gwen is right -- the idea that my sleeve is a "tool" (albeit a powerful one) is very true.  It's not magic -- you still get hungry, you still have monster cravings, you still have all the temptation you had before the further out you get.  You'll see this phrase repeated over and over on the boards:  They operate on your stomach, not your brain.  AND IT'S SO TRUE!

If your expecting help -- meaning a quick loss of a significant amount of weight that keeps you motivated, constriction that kicks in after only 5 or 6 bites of food, the regular attention of health professionals that keep you accountable, etc. -- then your expectations are realistic.  If you're expecting to be "healed" of food addiction and to never/rarely experience the urge to overeat or eat non-program foods, well, that's not very realistic.  

I wonder if you're also probably panicking a bit, saying "goodbye" to all the foods you love because your surgery date is approaching?  My doctor sort of "sprung" my surgery date on me, so I didn't have time to truly do the whole "last meal" thing, but I'm sure I would have if I could have!  

GREAT POST!Love your honesty and willingness to put it out there for others. I'm sure what you are going through many, many more are dealing with silently. Good for you for asking.

Since you asked for honest response, here is mine:

1. VSG will provide you with two major advantages - reduced stomach capacity and an unfathomable reduction in hunger. Both reduced capacity and greatly reduced hunger last for a very, very long time. At almost 4 years out, I still get only mildly physically hungry if I haven't eaten in say over 6 hours.

2. Eating carbs triggers cravings. Reading the book Fat Chance by Robert Lustig, MD may help you understand the physical reactions caused by the insulin response.

3. What is happening to you is very normal. It's called Diet Fatigue. You are battling years of ingrained eating patterns. Willpower is finite. It will only take you so far. Hormonal responses cause so much of our drive to eat, it's unreal. Post surgery VSG levels the playing field, so to speak, giving you an opportunity to adjust your eating and create a new normal without hunger, maintaining a great level of satiety AND without a constant barrage from your insulin and warped leptin response system. Hopefully, by the time you hit maintenance you will have a new structure around which you can create a good maintenance plan.

4. If you could be compliant 100% of the time pre op, you most likely would  not be standing in line for WLS.

My honest opinion is that you are thinking and foreseeing possible problems. You are analyzing what  you have done and are also taking complete responsibility for your eating and lack of compliance to your pre op program. In my book those things point towards long success.

VSG will only fix your stomach. It won't fix the thought processes/triggers behind emotional eating. If you are worried about self sabotage you may want to explore ways of supporting yourself and dealing with the negative emotions that cause us all to sabotage our weight loss efforts. Some people do that with therapy, others by doing a lot of reading, others attend support groups, and still others attend 12 step programs. Find what will work for you.

You are taking your journey very seriously and trying to set yourself up to be successful. Be proud of that and give yourself a big pat on the back.

Kairk...Thank you for the book recommendation "Fat Chance", by Robert Lustig, MD. I just looked it up on Amazon and plan to order it. I love reading books like this that give the hows and whys.

I think you are being too hard on yourself, Kathy.  Like everyone else is saying, if we could have done this on our own then none of us would have gotten surgery.  

However, you MUST, MUST, MUST have a plan in place to keep your carbs as low as possible.  You are not going to magically hate pizza, pasta, bread, rice and crackers (or sugar) after surgery.  You might not feel like eating it right away...but eventually you'll want to.  So you have to make a commitment to cut all of that out of your diet during weight-loss phase.  

Eating carbs makes you MORE hungry; it sets you up for failure and makes you CRAVE.  Just keep that in mind and do what you can now to wean yourself off the bad stuff...as much as you can.  

Best of luck to you! 

We all slip up.  Awareness  is huge.  Since you know what you're doing, you should be good.  Always be aware.