Day 1 - Calling all Vets - Questions for you all

Hi everyone. I decided to ask people on the RNY menu thread on Monday if they had a question for an OH Vet (Veteran) here what would they ask? I got great feedback and have 16 great questions that some of our regular posters wanted to ask the Vets here.

Here on OH if you are 5 yrs post op you are considered a "Vet." So everyone who is 5 yrs post op or more are welcome to chime in (RNYers, VSGers, DSers etc). I will ask two questions per day per post, today is day 1. I hope that all the Vets out there will help us by giving us your experience, insight, knowledge & expertise to all of the pre ops, newbies, anyone post op who is struggling, anyone who is a lurker but does not post and for any Vet out there who may have had regain and is fuzzy about the "rules" and needs help. Thanks in advance to all the awesome Vets!

When you reply to make it easy please just say "Response to Q1" or "Response to Q2" hope that works! ETA: can you also include in your response how many years post you are, thanks

Question #1 (Q1):

How do you get past diet fatigue?

Question #2 (Q2):

Do you ever lose the fear of regain? Or do you gradually accept a 5lb here or there and if you do how do you know when your on a slippery slope?

Now let's talk!

Hey Daisy! This is a great idea for a thread. People in general ( normies, as it were ) seem to think that WLS is the "easy way out" or that it's "cheating", but those people are uninformed nincompoops. This **** is HARD. To answer your questions:

1.) I'm actually struggling with this right now! My problem lately seems to be more dinner related than other meals since I cook for myself and my normie family. Incorporating my dietary needs with theirs somewhat limits what I make. I am researching recipes, flavor profiles, and cooking methods both online and in the few cookbooks I have. This weekend, I plan on forcing my husband to take me to grocery stores at which we don't normally shop in an effort to find different ingredients for dinners. Finding new recipes and branching out with ingredients is my plan of action. I can't wait to read other answers.

2.) I absolutely know when I'm on that slippery slope, but there are days when I just don't care. With that being said, the fear of regain is ALWAYS rolling around in my head somewhere, and that is what brings me back from the edge of crappy food choices. If I stay within a 10 lb window, I'm okay; beyond that-I re-evaluate things and go from there.

Thank you for taking the time to respond, really appreciate your feedback!

Okay, not a veteran but I'm asking a question that might be a stupid question. I don't really eat "special food" but my food tastes gravitate to healthier choices most of the time. My problem was despite my own basically healthy cooking, I didn't like to cook and did fast food a lot and I was a binge eater so I would eat something healthy for meals and then binge out on candy and ice cream. I don't eat bread, simple carbs and stuff like that and for the most part, other than a few choices such as pizza or ice cream (I do dump with sugar and did so 2 months ago so I do avoid sugary foods) I don't really feel deprived. I think the only real angst is when I make something that is especially good and my tummy said enough before my taste buds are satisfied. I was never a big bread person (yes, I was a fast food queen and ate more than 1 fast food hamburger but the bread was just there if that makes any sense), have always preferred brown rice to white rice etc. I also make sure I get adequate protein. So with all of that, what is different about what you eat and what you prepare for your family as far as "dietary fatigue" applies?

I don't make special food for myself unless it's some sort of veggies. ( My sons and husband hate them..lol.) A typical dinner for me is: some sort of meat and maybe some cheese if I have tacos/fajitas for dinner. Diet fatigue for me right now is more akin to being in a rut as far as cooking dinner as opposed to being tired of eating my morning yogurt, or drinking my morning coffee, neither of which I will ever tire. :) Hope this helps.

I'll be 10 years out in July!

Q 1: I never viewed it as "diet fatigue", but I tend to go in spurts where a particular food is a favorite....then I get sick of it. Other spurts involve us avoiding cooking at home and eating out more than normal (usually when we are both working a LOT). Ideally, I plan my meals including a planned lunch or dinner out, and aim for variety and balance of types of foods (homemade veggie soup, a chicken entree, grilled salmon, pork loin is a good rotation for us.) And in that ideal world, there are leftovers for the next day's lunch!

Q2: For close to 8 years I held very steady within 5 lbs. of my best weight. (BTW this was not my original goal but the weight at which I could wear clothes at a perfect size range for me, look good, feel good about myself, really feel confident and "normal"). Then in mid 2016 I faced a string of difficulties including some serious marriage work that needed to be done, my mom's illness and care, and ultimately her passing, and moving to a different state. Through that my own self care waned and I have gained 30 lbs. (almost 30% of my total weight loss). I'll be honest, it's flat out scary. After my mom's passing last month, it took a while to get my head on straight and find the energy to do what I need to do, and I am doing it now. I know the consistency and determination it takes are HARD. But you know what? So was working through the surgery in the first place. I did the big thing by having RNY. I was so afraid I would not get insurance approval, and then what would I do? I do NOT want to see all of my good work slip between my fingers.

Thank you for taking the time to respond and sharing with us your expertise.

I am like you I can eat the same good for months and then get sick of it. My husband and I are the same as you & your hubby, we eat home cooked meals mostly but we do go out every now & then for variety. Its nice because a lot of restaurants are so health conscious and you can get a good quality protein meal and usually have leftovers!

Congats on our 10 year surgiversary! 8 yrs of holding a steady weight I think is amazing!

My condolences on the loss of your Mom. I personally believe that going through all the life changes you did and losing a loved one and still being able to recognize that you need to "get my head on straight" and "find the energy" is remarkable. I wish you continued success

1. Try new things. Season food differently. Branch out.
2. Yes. Once I accepted that my weight is entirely within my control, I stopped being afraid.

Thank you for taking the time to respond!

I do find the more foods I try out of my comfort zone the more I like and therefore I have a much larger variety of foods to choose from.

I love your answer to Q2. It so true that our weight is so entirely within our own control. But dammit its so much easier to blame someone/something

Question 1

I don't know that I've ever successfully gotten past it, to be honest. When I'm track, it's the fear of regain (especially since I'm working on it right now) that keeps me logging. I keep some of my pre-op pictures around and look at them when I want to give up.

Question 2

I did lose the fear, and ended up regaining 30lb, 5lb at a time. So I'm definitely getting that fear BACK into my head!

A lot of people here talk about having "danger zones" for regain and I think that's a fabulous idea. If you get, say, less than 5lb above goal weight, that's OK, but once you hit that threshold, then it's time to buckle down and get strict again and get back to where you want to be.