The part I hate most...

The part I hate most about having surgery is that, even in month 4, when I cheat, I still lose weight.  I have gotten it in my mind that when the head hunger kicks in, I can have it and not cause a big stall.   I am working on this, but I wish that I was intolerant to some foods!!!  My sleeve is fabulous and I'll never regret having surgery, the mind is a very powerful thing!!

Yup the sleeve is awesome and what you say is the truth. But I'm going to tell you what you really need to know. I hope you take it in the spirit of helpfulness that I intend.

For most of us, with not a lot of effort, the first 50% of our excess weight pretty much falls off.  The sleeve does all the work. The problem with your current approach is that those who approach things your way usually don't lose the other 50%. The weight loss slows and eventually stops.

Not to suggest that losing 75% of someone's excess weight is a bad outcome, but because they haven't learned to be committed and compliant to the required changes, quite often they start regaining.  The hunger comes back and our sleeve capacity increases.

You're actually in a race against the clock, so that's how you need to act.  Any time you slow down you will eventually be penalized for.

So you need to get super serious about this and use the coming months to take off as much weight as you can.  You will NEVER get this time back. You are only cheating yourself, not the scale. You'll see that in time.  Eat virtually nothing but protein, weigh and track everything.  Every single day. 

Thanks, I totally agree with you.  In no way am I suggesting that people indulge themselves!  Its not that I cheat constantly, but every so often I do, as does everyone.  I have lost 50% of my weight, and have no intention of slowing.  I will meet my goal.  I was just saying that, in a way, I wish I would be "punished" for having the bite or two I whish I hadn't had.

I'm glad you responded because my intention is to be helpful. I'll clarify as well. My point is that you will indeed be 'punished' for those bites. You don't see it now because you still have a good bit of weight to lose, but the scale gets a lot harder to move when we get further out from surgery and the bites get more frequent and bigger. And not everyone cheats. 

Food as punishment is never a good idea, at least not to me anyway, but I can understand if you'd want a hand to pop out your food & slap you in the mouth if you'd tried to eat it. Oh head hunger is such a pain in the ass!

I did not "cheat" even one time until I reached 15 pounds below my goal weight.  Now that I'm below goal, I still severely limit starchy foods like bread, rice, pasta, crackers potatoes, etc.  I don't miss them either.  I took my weight loss phase very seriously and changed, entirely, the way I relate to food.  It's just fuel for my body, nothing more.  I would not put kerosene in my car because, if I did, it would not run. Likewise, I do not feed my body crappy food that will cause my body to not "run" efficiently.  I had an 8 pound regain in year three.  I lose and gain the same 8 pounds.  I'm still well below my goal weight 5 years after RNY.

Getting the head stuff right is the hardest part of the journey.  Wishing that your body would "punish you" for indulging is not doing you any good.  Committing to changing everything about how you relate to food, getting healthy, and holding yourself accountable is a good start.

I'm not too sure about the race the clock or the statement the previous op made about the weight falling off. For me nothing fell off in the way described in the previous post but there is something to be said of the "honeymoon period" & how important it is to get the most out of it because things do slow down, not because of anything physically wrong with your sleeve but the mental stuff becomes more prevalent.

The go getness attitude you have in the beginning dies down, diet fatigue sets in, old bad habits creep back. Do you want to deal with it now when you're the most motivated or down the line when you're not. Mini stalls add up!

Oh, how I envy you (for the weight loss, not the ability to cheat). I am 10 weeks out tomorrow and I've seen more stall than I have loss. I think I have it figured out, what will cause the scale to move downward, and it works for a day or two, then quits and I start seeing plateaus or even gains.

One thing that I do have going for me, due to trying to eat a bite of cake on my birthday, I do know that I have a sugar sensitivity. I also know that I can't handle fatty foods, like fried foods. One bite of either and I am sick. I just wi**** worked that way for all carbs. lol

My first month was great, the second month was ok, the 3 wk stall got me! Then it picked right back up again. Giving my body a chance to adjust made a difference in my expectations.

I think people have misunderstood my post...I do not eat a whole pie, pan of brownies, or a jumbo muffin. My cheats are a bite of pie at thanksgiving dinner...a little extra dry popcorn...a saltine or 2 with my cottage cheese.  I fully understand the weightloss process. These cheats, I believe, will not cause failure.

I haven't misunderstood. Right from the get go in your original post, I knew that you were not referring to extra bites of meat or veggies. I knew your list would consist solely of things you should not be eating at all. I have food issues too so I really do get it.  We all do, so we want you to stop expecting the sleeve to do the work and for you to make better choices for yourself now. If you don't learn, you will be eating a lot more brownies, birthday cake, popcorn, pie, muffins and crackers. You really need to take this advice to heart instead of minimizing/normalizing what you're doing.