Fad dieting - a bit of a rant

I'm not expecting responses to this, I just wanted to vent about this somewhere.

I follow a few Bariatric pages on Facebook. I follow them because I find motivation in seeing progress from people and transformation pictures. The rest I just skim through it. If there is a question I can answer, I will, but otherwise, I'll just quickly look at the post and continue going down. This morning, I read a post from someone that needed to loose weight after a regain and she posted that she will try the hard boiled egg diet. sigh If these fad diets actually worked, we wouldn't need this operation. They might work at first, but then you stop and most regain the weight back because they go back to eating the way they did before and have not learned anything. My sister goes on those diets, she alternates between the Hard boiled egg one and the Military Diet. I looked at both of them, the Military one is ridiculous, but I wouldn't tell her that. I learned to keep my mouth shut. She gets really defensive if you make any comments on the way she is eating. So I don't offer her any information. She goes on these longer than she should, and then she has a cheat week where she eats whatever she wants, binge eating really. Like I said, she is not learning anything. She is getting success, actually lost quite a bit. She just wants to be skinny, it all about looks for her.

I used to weigh 610 pounds, I almost died. I needed to be hospitalized and that is where I got a second chance. I needed to loose weight before they could do this operation. So, I was put on a strict shake diet. 4 shakes a day, two cups of vegetables, liquids like water and broth. That was it, for almost 6 months. I lost 250 pounds on this diet. During that time I got help, from Dieticians and Social workers. I dealt with my emotional eating and other issues. I relearned to eat. I know you can't change someone that is not willing to change, I'm proof of that. I was depress, but I wasn't doing anything about it, until I had no choice. Today I weigh 245 pounds, a bit more than 3 month's post op and I feel better than ever. I've gained a lot of information of what to do and not to do. I'm surrounded by people that make poor choices in the way they eat, including my husband. He knows it, but he is not ready to change. The only thing I can do is make a healthy supper, the only meal we share during the day. I don't get tempted by anything that gets brought into the house, because I came too far to go down that hole again, and I learned coping skills that helped me a lot. Again though, it's about wanting to change, and him and my sister aren't ready or willing to listen. My biggest worry is that eventually my sister will stop doing these diets, mostly when she gets to her goal weight, and then what. Like I said, she goes on them for 2-3 weeks at a time and then has an entire cheat week where she eats whatever she wants. There is no balance there, no moderation. It just saddens me that I know that I will eventually get messages from her saying she is regaining and not happy with herself and then this cycle will begin again. I wish she would have learned something from my experience, or is she just seeing the fact that I lost so much weight on a shake diet, but the difference is that I learned a lot while on it. Sorry for the rant. lol

I saw that post too earlier, and just decided to skim right past it.

I do find that there are a lot of "fad diets" on the facebook pages. There's no changing some people's mind.

I experience some of those same emotions when dealing with loved ones. I want them to have the same success that I am experiencing now! However, I am 47 years old and finally at a point where I'm getting better about the way I eat. I have to remind myself that everyone is on their own journey and will take it at their own pace. I'm sure a lot of people rolled their eyes at me as I tried one diet after another. Hopefully, your family will come to a place where they are ready to hear other ideas. :)

I have a song playing in my head after reading this

"I can see clearly now..."

Its amazing how or thinking changes with all that we learn. I truly hope to stay strong and committed to this lifestyle change so that I can use this great surgery to stay healthy.

p.s. My hubby also didn't want to make any changes in the beginning. He supported me, but that was it. Something clicked for him when I was about 8 months post-op, he had his lightbulb moment and has been making healthy choices with both food and exercise since. I'm so proud of him and happy for the changes that he is seeing. I think thats am important part in the healthy lifestyle process - for each of us to come to it when we are ready to commit.

Exactly. My husband is my biggest supporter, he's been my rock through everything. He is making small choices here and there sometimes and he is looking forward to our evening walks. The thing that worries me is that he is type 2 diabetic and loves his snacks. I tell him sometimes in passing that we need to find him healthier snacks or he should cut down on his sugar intake, but I don't nag him, nagging him won't help. He'll make these changes when he is ready, I can't speed that up. Good luck on your journey.

exactly and good luck to you too

Sounds like my husband, since I went on liquid diet 3 weeks before surgery, he's been eating much more carefully cause he doesn't have any choice, at his last weigh in, he was down 25 pounds and has gotten his A1C down to 6.5, he still eats much junk but a lot less than before.

I think that's not uncommon particularly if you are the main cook and grocery buyer.

I've removed myself from every FB group except for a small one related to people who had VSG the same month I did. There is simply too much of the fad dieting and also people pat each other on the back for eating like crap.

This is a bit of a lengthy read, but I got so much out of it in regards to all the "fad diets". Made me feel so much better about my feelings about them... not that I hadn't tried a bunch of fads myself in the past. This is not specifically related to wls, but so relevant to your issue with your sisters eating habits... maybe send some of this her way...

http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/03/ultimate-conversation-on-healthy-eating-and-nutrition.html