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It is tough...and I didn't do it as well as I should have (Christmas vacation before surgery... So - the saying that helps me - "don't let this be a road block when it is a speed bump." Just keep your eye on July 9th. It will all be worth it. And, the journey after will not be perfect either. For me, after so many failures, I had so much doubt. The end result is worth it. And - everyday give you a chance to get up and try again.
I hope surgery went well, I just joined up a few days ago and didn't catch this. Let us know if there is anything you need to know about the current stage of recovery you're in, and what you should be doing going forward.
The psychology of this all is fascinating. Even as I was losing 10+ pounds a month for several months, I was constantly convincing myself I was done losing weight, or that I was screwing up, etc. The weight comes off so fast right away after surgery than I ended up getting to the point where I felt a lot of anxiety if I went a week without losing. It's normal for all of us to feel we're screwing up, just because we've never had great long-term success with weight loss.
But more on the psychology of it all, I definitely had a negative mentality about it all. When I initially went in to start my program for WLS, I told them my goal was to be under 200 pounds. If I could see a 1 on that scale, I felt I would be happy at 199.9 for the rest of my life.
Well, I hit the 200 pound mark just 27 weeks after surgery. And as far as the pop thing goes, I used to drink at least 3 liters of diet soda per day. I'm just over 8 months out and I haven't had a single drop of soda since. It's possible to stick with changes (I found surgery to be a "reset" of sorts), it's even possible for many of us to not only get out of the obese category, but also get out of the overweight category into the normal category. (All in terms of BMI, and as many others will attest to, BMI isn't a great measure but it's what doctors here in the USA often use)
I didn't have a strict pre-op diet. Basically I just had to go clear liquids for the 2 days prior, though I started eating incredibly healthy about 6 days out. So I have no idea what it's like to be on a liquid diet for more than 2 days personally, but those 2 days definitely weren't fun. I've heard so many people talk about how horrible it is to do that for several days or even a couple weeks. I definitely agree that you shouldn't put yourself through more of that than you are told to.
Starting a week early did not work out for you, so just wait until you really have to do it.
Real life begins where your comfort zone ends
At least 2 protein shakes; 2 times a day - I eat chicken or beef. Eat veggies 3-4 times per week. Typically, spaghetti squash, squash, some sweet potato. Snacks include almonds/pecans; strawberries and blueberries with lite and fit vanilla yogurt or sometimes sugar free whippping cream. Thinking it the number of meals and portion size. Don't eat sugar (except a bite or two at parties/month), flour or fried. Don't eat out much at all - mainly cook at home.
3.5 years out and faithful to eat the right foods and consistent exercise. Began eating bigger portions early during COVID and gained 5 pounds. Quickly began correcting that. Been eating smaller amounts and exercising (sometimes 2x/day) and have only lost 3 pounds in 3 months. Returned to my Doc yesterday and was prescribed Rx diet pill. I read that it is used to boost weight loss and/or boost metabolism as this sometimes happen with calorie restriction over time. Has anyone had any experience with this? Today is day one of the meds - so very interested to hear feedback. So afraid of falling into the yo-yo pattern that lead to surgery in the first place.
what does a days menu look like for you?
this isn't a solution but just wanted to say that a lot of us can probably relate to that. If you're normal weight or within 10 or 20 pounds of it, it's a BEAR to get that off. I put on 10 lbs between last summer and the end of the holiday season. I've managed to take off five of it since then (so five more to go), but it was SUPER hard to get off. I've learned my lesson - I can't let myself gain weight again, because I know how tough it is to get rid of it once it's on!!
to me, the pre-op liquid diet was the hardest part of the whole process. You just have to white knuckle it - although it does get better once your body gets into ketosis by about the 3rd or 4th day.
meanwhile, I ate SF Jello and SF popsicles with abandon since they were the only things I could have that resembled real food. I was also allowed a limited amount of clear broth and tomato juice (or V8) every day, so I took advantage of that because the sodium in those caused me to retain water, which helped me feel more full.
