pre-surgery dietary changes

Am I the only one having a hard time with this?  I have stopped all alcohol, pop, caffine, have started taking vit D ... I am writing down my meals but I am still eating a lot.  I am hungry.  I still have sugar and carbs.  I still have pasta.  I still have desert but not as often.  My weight has not gone down at all.  I feel like this is why I am having the surgery - if I could do it on my own, I would, but I don't seem to have any will power.  My day starts off great with a protein shake, apple ... then cheese and nuts for snack ... then the portions get bigger and I snack when I pass candy in the office ... not always, but frequently.

I have my follow up social work and first dietician appointment next week and I am afraid they are going to tell me I don't have the will power for this ....

no judgement please .... my husband is already commenting on what I eat "doesn't look like you are trying that hard to make changes" ....

What  helped me the most was giving up all flour, sugar, rice, cereal, potatoes, corn, peas, lima beans, bread, pasta, noodles, fruit, and desserts six months before surgery.  I did not have any withdrawal after surgery. 

I ate beef, pork, chicken, turkey, eggs, cheese and fish with vegetables like spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, lettuce and tomato.  I did not drink protein shakes until after surgery.  After the first few days carb cravings went away.  It made it easy before and after surgery.

Some things that will help a lot.  Weigh everything on a digital food scale, track in my fitness pal, get daiy exercise.  Weigh yourself everyday and wear a fitness tracker.

Timely post.  I am just starting--as in I have orientation next week but last week I decided to start cutting out my carbs, taking vitamins on time and eating more protein.

I have been doing really well and I have actually dropped a couple of pounds :)  I know that some people eat more at this stage becasue they are lamenting what they will no longer have.  Having the 'Food Funeral' if you will.  I have decided not to focus on what I will not be able to have but to focus on building myself up.  

Think Positive.  You can do this.  Start by measuring every portion.  Increase your protein at dinner by 25% and decrease your carbs by 25%.  Do that for a few days and then adjust again. Plan out your meals on Sunday and don't make the carbs a highlight of the meal. Make a fruit salad for dessert with some fat free cool whip. 

Pasta is just pasta.  Sure you like to eat it but what's it ever done for you?   Don't think of it as a loss but rather kicking an idiot to the curb.

As others have said I'd suggest starting to drop your carbs. No need to go cold turkey at this point,just weaning. For example, if you're having stir fry, focus on meat and veg and skip the rice. Then work on how you can eliminate them from lunches. 

The other thing I'd  suggest is, the protein shake might not be substantial enough for breakfast. By that I mean, it won't keep you full long, which is why you're hungrier as the day goes on. I don't know your schedule, but if you can have 1/2 English muffin, scrambled egg with a piece of ham on it, that might hold you over longer. Or make egg muffins you can store in a ziplock and eat on the way to work.

also, in terms of preop, the most important thing, in my opinion, is to differentiate between head hunger and actual hunger, and thirst. This takes practice. If you think you're hungry, have a glass of water. Still hungry, then have some protein( like rotisserie chicken, a boiled egg ) , if you still think you're hungry, you're not. It's head hunger.

if that's the case, now you need to distract yourself til it passes. I do that by logging in here, or checking out other wls people on Instagram. I have a list of reasons why I'm doing this. You'll need to find your thing that works. 

Youre not going to get it right every time. Your goal should be to start making more good choices than bad. Building a streak. Then once you get going, knowing you've hit x goal so many days in a row becomes its own motivating factor.

good luck, keep posting.

Oops and to add to an already long post... no you're not alone. We all went through the same struggles to a certain degree. You can't rely on will power for long term success. It's all about behaviour change. Which is hard. To me, that's kind of the point of the surgery. It's the strongest tool we have right now to disrupt our disordered eating behaviours. The goal is with the restrictions, you can learn new habits, break the cycle of weight gain. 

From everything I've read from the vets both who maintained and regained is you need to work on those behaviours on your own too. Restriction alone will not be enough. It's important to know that and believe it early on.

I can totally relate. When you go to your follow up, emphasize all of the wonderful positive changes you've made.  You stopped alcohol, pop, caffeine; you're taking Vit. D., you're trying protein shakes, which will come in handy for knowing what you'll be able to tolerate after.  Those are all major changes so don't sell yourself short. You haven't cut out desert but you've cut down, and that's something to be proud of. You're eating breakfast, which is a big deal (for me, anyway; it's something I struggled with for a long time). You're choosing healthy snacks.  You still struggle with challenges but that's why you're here, and why so many of us were here; if we were perfect we wouldn't need the surgery.  If will power alone worked, we wouldn't need gastric bypass as a tool to help change our eating behaviors.  Are you keeping a food diary?  That can help to pinpoint WHEN you run into trouble. 

I made all of the same changes you did and still struggle too. Sometimes at night, I get into the mindset that I may as well have a treat now because I won't be able to during opti or after surgery. It feels almost like grief to me, like I'm grieving certain foods as though they're friends I will miss, but then I get angry with myself because  the foods I will miss  aren't my friends, they're the reason I look and feel the way I do.  I already know my biggest struggle will be my own brain.

I think the main thing is to keep trying and not give up. 

Good luck; you can do this.

Hi Leeann, first of all, every person who has ever tried to lose weight has will power and determination. it took determination and "will power" to cut out the alcohol, the pop, and caffeine! Acknowledge to yourself how awesome that was, don't just lament the mountains you're still trying to climb, because you're still moving; you haven't given up, you haven't said screw-this, I'm done! You're human and you, like everyone else, experiences lifestyle challenges (work and family). I'm not in your shoes, but if my hubby said that I would have hit him over the head with the fry pan! YOU ARE TRYING HARD, and though you may not be perfect with every goal of yours right now, you're working on it.... you just keep going- The "will power" is not to be perfect, but to be someone who is human and doesn't give up.

You Go Girl, you got this!!!!