Pre-Op: I think I like food more than being thinner...

I am now 4 days post-op. I had the same concerns at one point. It seemed like my entire world everyday revolved around food. Get the kids up and make them breakfast and make their lunches. Go to work and have a break then lunch break and afternoon break. Then go home and make dinner, do homework and have bedtime snacks. All special occasions involved food, then I started to panic what if I can't do this, what if I fail again, maybe I'm making the biggest mistake of my life. Then I took a few deep breaths. I sat down and really started to think about what the problem was. I wasn't a real heavy weight as some people put it. I was only 236 at my highest weight but I have high cholesterol, arthritis, sleep apnea and was pre-diabetic. I then realized for me and I know yourvsituation is different as you didn't mention any health problems but believe me they are coming. I decided I wanted to live long and old to see my 6 kids they range in ages from 20-7 and I want to see them grow up and see them graduate, fall in love, get married and give me grand babies and watch them have all the up and downs that life will bring them and I want to be there to help them. In the end it wasn't food vs thin. I was food vs future for me. I was just afraid I was going to fail again and not have that future I was dreaming about. I was on the liquid diet for 2 weeks and once I had truly made up my mind that this is what I wanted it was nothing. I would continue to make all the meals and while everyone else ate I would have my shake and we would all sit and laugh and talk about your days and not once did I cheat or sneak food because I had truly made my decision and my eyes were on the prize. Watching the 6 kids in front of me grow up !!! I hope you make the decision that is right for you Good-Luck :-) P.S sorry if that was too long winded.

Hi Laura - I think it's smart to be so honest with yourself.  

I'm going to give you my honest opinion:  if you think you have one more diet left in you, if you believe for a second that you might still be able to do this on your own, then surgery isn't for you - not yet anyway.  

I would encourage you to work with a therapist to sort through the head issues you're describing.  Surgery is definitely NOT for everyone and you are wise to give it serious thought before committing to the process.   There are some people who just aren't willing to make the long-term sacrifices necessary to make surgery a success.  You may be one of those...only time will tell.  Give yourself the time to figure it out.  

Ok I see we have the same starting stats. Well I lost most of my weight by 4 mos. I still have a  few pounds to loose but if I don't I'm totally ok with where im at. I felt I didn't need surgery also due to I was a light weight. Let me say I'm so glad I did. I love the energy wearing the cute clothes. I feel so good.

I am having surgery the same day as you. The pre-op diet is hard, but we can get through this. I spent over three years thinking that giving up the ability to eat what I wanted and stuff myself was not worth it. For years I ate whatever I wanted because I thought that would make me happy. But then it wasn't that great anymore. I got it out of my system I guess. When I started realizing that my health was declining and that I didn't feel well, I stopped caring about what I could and could not eat. Being healthy and living longer is more important that any food. I lived that life for long enough. Now it's time for me to live a different life, one where I am thin and healthy. I am only 27. It is only a matter of time before the weight starts affecting your health. I did not have a lot of success with diets either. Diet and exercise only provide temporary relief from obesity and yo-yo dieting is bad for your health. I see no reason to prolong my suffering. Research set point weight. Here is a good video about it:

http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2015/02/time- to-act-on-obesity-video.html

I agree with the others that say you are probably not ready.  It would be horrible to go through this surgery and then not put 100% effort into leveraging the tool.  Wait until you feel this is 100% right for you.  

Good Luck!

I'd have to say that I agree with the posters that say you're not ready. I went into this after 15 years of yo-yo dieting, loss/gain/loss cycles, and just keep gaining and gaining more weight. Prior to me looking into this surgery, I tried many different diets - including doing Weigh****chers for like the 100th time.

I would strongly recommend that you stop and try a plan and see what happens. Have you ever tried to lose by tracking food via a site like myfitnesspal, sparkpeople, or other? Maybe you should really give that a try first. Though the surgery is such an amazing tool to most people, you also have to realize - it's surgery. You are getting 85% of your stomach permanently removed. It's not something I would ever jump into without years of trying other methods and failing.

Laura I understand exactly what you are saying because I was the same way. It is okay to have doubts (we all did) and to think it through because it WILL change your life forever.  My hubby and I are foodies and very social.  We love to go to dinners together and try different venues and I was afraid of losing that.  For the first few months it was rough because I felt like I had lost who I was and who we were. Now (6 months out and then another surgery due to complication 2 months ago) I realize I can do all of those things still but I now have discipline.  When we go to dinners I order a half plate or kids menu and eat low carb.  What I realized was I was using food to make me feel comfortable and as a source of entertainment.  Now I use food to be healthy and I am even more social because I do not feel awkward because of my weight.  But that is me and everyone has a different journey.  I hope this helps, know that it is normal to have doubts but if you aren't ready then there is nothing wrong with waiting.  (((Hugs)))

Laura I understand exactly what you are saying because I was the same way. It is okay to have doubts (we all did) and to think it through because it WILL change your life forever.  My hubby and I are foodies and very social.  We love to go to dinners together and try different venues and I was afraid of losing that.  For the first few months it was rough because I felt like I had lost who I was and who we were. Now (6 months out and then another surgery due to complication 2 months ago) I realize I can do all of those things still but I now have discipline.  When we go to dinners I order a half plate or kids menu and eat low carb.  What I realized was I was using food to make me feel comfortable and as a source of entertainment.  Now I use food to be healthy and I am even more social because I do not feel awkward because of my weight.  But that is me and everyone has a different journey.  I hope this helps, know that it is normal to have doubts but if you aren't ready then there is nothing wrong with waiting.  (((Hugs)))

"we all did *** excuse me but I had NO doubts whatsoever. Pleas remember you can't speak for everyone when you make statements like this

Your post was very honest.  You'll need that kind of honesty and self reflection to succeed no matter what path you take from here.

maybe the rules have changed since I had my sleeve done in 2011... But I thought bariatric surgery was only offered to patients with a long history of failed weight loss attempts.  Perhaps I'm misreading your post, but WLS should NOT be your first real attempt at losing weight.  If that is the case, if highly recommend that you take a step back and see what you can do without going under the knife.  Once they chuck 85% of your stomach into the biohazard trash bag there is no getting it back!

it was never a "rule" that only ppl with failed weight loss attempts were eligible for Wls. You are totally mistaken.