Were you prepapred mentally?

I am just curious to know if anyone had changed their mental state of mind before surgery? I know there are some people out there like myself eat because it is all in my mind, not because I am hungry. I wanna know did you prepare yourself for this life long change with your relationship with food? I know it is all about what you eat and how much, and I know that I will never be able to eat as much as I did before surgery but I have heard so many stories about people that did not use this tool correctly and gained weight back etc. I guess I am just concerned will I fall back into the same trap as before I had the surgery. I am in the last few weeks before the paper work gets submitted to the insurance company.

Yes. you do have to make a commitment to want to change your eating habits before having the surgery. You can use the preop period to practice onhow you will have to eat after the surgery. The difference is you will feel more full post op. Salads and protein shakes got me through the preop period. hope this helps and let me know if I can help.

 Not sure I can say I was prepared....I knew I had to do something to make a change...several changes...and was determined to adapt and succeed.

I'm actually at the point where I can eat whatever and am fighting those old habits, losing the weight was incredibly fast and easy for me (I was very lucky), now comes life :).  

Sounds like your attitude is right and your eyes are wide open, you should do fine.

i just had my surgery on may 31st and just got clearance to start intrdsucing foods back into my diet.  i will say for me, the mental change was hard.  because of the surgery you won't be able to eat quantity, but the quality matters as well.  truthfully, one of the things that has helped is that i know i can't finish that piece of cake, pie, cookie, greasy burger etc.., so i never bother to start eating it.  even once i got to pureed foods, i was so excited i could eat something other than liquids i wanted to eat because i was used to it.  but it is a battle of the mind and will and something many of us will have to deal with. the thing that i remember as well, is that this was big step for me and i don't want to waste a wonderful opportunity that GOD has given. 

the fact that you are asking these questions means that you are well on your way to success!!!

I thought I had changed my mindset but I didn't change it enough. Week 2 post op I was in tears - I wanted food. I wanted to chew. I wanted something other than broth so bad. I even went as far as to tell my NP at my one week follow up that I would NOT do WLS again if I had the chance. I was a mess. Now, almost 1 month out and I feel a little differently. It isn't the weight loss that changed my mind, but the acceptance that what is done, is done! I cannot change my WLS, so I need to accept it and work with it. I have accepted the small amounts of food that I eat. I have accepted the tons of vites / meds that I have to take. Once you accept the changes you can move forward. It really takes some soul searching though. This is definitely NOT the "easy way out"!

Thanks for all of ur input!

I think the one thing that helped me tremendously was to start making new habits. Bad habits, or behaviors take time to overcome, and modifying those behaviors really helped me recognize what I needed to do for long term success.

I started changing the way I ate by chewing slower, and not shoveling my food in quickly. I started being more mindful of portions. I started slowing down my meals, and stopped drinking with my meals. Making all these little changes really helped during the post-op time period. One bad habit that I've allowed to creep back in is night time eating or snacking. It's especially bad right now with the pregnancy. So, I've gone back to doing something else instead of eating at night. Staying busy, keeping my hands busy, cleaning, folding laundry or just going to bed keeps me out of the pantry and fridge.

I think I was pretty prepared mentally, but I put in some work before surgery. I knew what triggers had contributed to my obesity. I wasn't happy about the changes, but doing some behavioral changes pre-op really helped established better habits post-op. I think it really helped me manage all the changes that occur post-op, and into maintenance. The sleeve does a wonderful job with portion control, and I've lost all my physical hunger. BUT, I still have a fat girl's mentality and love for food so I have to be diligent every day or those bad habits and behaviors could easily take over and defeat all the success I've had.

Oh the wonderful smells of food cooking and knowing what it taste like does not go away, but you stomach does.  Eating them is not as much fun as it use to be and any of these prcedures take away your best friend..FOOD!!   It is all a head game and I thought I was ready for it but it is harder then I thought.  Eating out is not always easy for me. There are a lot of food that bothers me and doesn't settle right.  Unfortunately it is easy to have the things that are not good for you like chips and cookies, because of the texture.  Just keep in your mind that you need to have the protien first!  Good Luck..it is worth having this done for your health!

You have to stay focused on eating the healthy  things like protein first, then if there is any room left over, which there usually isn't, you can have the other thing you really want.  It is a struggle, especially at first, but eventually it becomes a habit and comes a lot easier.  It is a mental thing.  Like if you go to a cookout and think about what you want to eat, there is no way you could possibly fit it all in, so you gotta mentally decide in advance what you are going to do to handle the situation.  Or if I go out to eat at a Mexican restaurant, they always bring the chips and salsa first.  I could sit there and eat the whole basket, or I could have two or three chips then eat my protein when it comes.  Just gotta make up your mind and stick with it. 

I can say I still miss eating... I wasn't prepared. I have changed my eating habits but the quantity still has me in awe. I am always done eating before my family and I sit envious as everyone shovels in their food. But I guess thats a small price you have to pay to play.