Learning from the journey of others

Hi all:

for those of you who have had your WLS, I am wondering if you thoughts or learnings for those of us still prepping for ours. In hindsight/with the gift of looking back from where you are now, are there things you would have done differntly, done more of or less of to prepare for your new life after WLS?

I think even though each of us has our own journey, we often share many steps on the same path as well.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and ideas to support me on my steps on this journey!

One of the best things I have done is to remain a member of the OH community.   It has been a key to long term success (11 years)  You tend to lose motivation/obsession over time but coming here most days keeps me mindful and accountable.   

Being a part of a community is great and I have met many many good friends here, both online and IRL.

Hi peacebypiece

Welcome to OH!  If you have time take a look at my profile.  I would not change anything.  My best advice is to use the first year to learn about yourself, new ways of eating and find a great support group.  WE are here for you, but if your surgeon's office offers a support group, join also.  Make sure your surgeon offers an extensive pre-op and post-op program.  I can't tell you how  I get when I see someone on here not even knowing what to eat!  Stick with the rules and move.  Is regain possible?  You bet, if you stop following the rules.  

You are more than welcome to post here on the main forum, but may I suggest you also post on your surgery type forum to reach out to those that are having the same procedure as you  Use the search feature in the upper right hand corner next to the MY OH for your research.  Check out our latest articles under the Community tab.  

Let us know if you need anything.

Regards,

Kathy

I probably would have done more therapy ahead of time and focused not only on my compulsive eating but on my screwed up body image issues (working on that now).  I wished I would have found OH before my surgery...I didn't discover it until two weeks post-op. Otherwise, I felt really prepared and feel good about the plans I made and what I had ready. 

Please see my profile page if interested. I detail my RNY experience there.

As someone who is between surgeries (Lap-Band in 2011, revising to a RNY this year) I feel I learned a lot from my lack of preparation for my lap-band surgery, which I am correcting and being better prepared for my RNY.

Start journaling your food early to get in the habit.

Research what kinds of food people eat after surgery (I found the RNY forum's daily "What's on your menu" thread SUPER helpful in planning what to buy for groceries).

Self-assess what your trigger foods are, where your weaknesses are in eating so you know what you'll have to face head-on after surgery.

I'd love to see other opinions here, too since I am absorbing as much as I can before my RNY revision!

This one might be just personal to me, but getting rid of all of the bad food choices NOW, before surgery, will hopefully make me less mournful after surgery.