Relearning Past Lessons

 Full disclosure:  I'm not at maintenance yet, and this is from the perspective of someone who is still losing and trying to find out what works and what doesn't

Until now, I guess my surgery really governed so many of my choices.  And I didn't even follow all those strict rules that some have!  Post op life seemed to distinctly different from preop life.  Like eat protein, eat very little (which is easy now, thanks to my sleeve), and it's worked.  What I had done before clearly didn't work, so I abandoned some of those tenets of dieting.  I am realizing that I threw the baby out with the bath water!

Yes, some of our rules are different, like the necessity that we eat protein first.  But so many are the same, I'm realizing!  

I may need to tell myself not to eat even though I'm hungry sometimes...........just like before

I need to exercise.............ugh..........just like before

I need to make healthy food choices.........................just like before
(I notice it has come up on here recently--fruits and veggies!  Oh how I have missed thee!  Personally I think a well balanced diet is extremely important)

I have to take this one day at a time................just like before

Some people may get bummed out reading that so many things are similar to preop.  Admittedly, I was a little perturbed to think so much of this would depend on me.  I've been around this block, I've tried, and I've failed.  But the difference is that with the sleeve, my chances of success are substantially higher.  I had to do all the above before in order to just maintain 277lbs!

Congrats on your 100 pound lost! It does suck that we still have to do so much work, but you know I would be so much worse off with out the help of my sleeve, so I'm thankful for that!

When I told my PCP that it was a lot of work, weighing and measuring my food and logging everything, he called it , "A labor of love." Nice way to reframe it, so that it is a positive thing that I am doing for myself.

You are so right girlie!  This is diet and exercise just like before...only lots easier thanks to sleevie!  But still lots of work.  My non WLS friends don't get just how hard this.  They say I took the easy way out.  Well, this ain't easy.  I just have a fighting chance now.

Laura

Darnit.. I totally have a chip on my shoulder for people who think it is easy for me.. I work so darn hard! God forbid I actually got a little help since I worked my butt off before and got nowhere. I'm trying to get rid of that chip because it really sucks that I let their opinions get to me. In the mean time I have told few people about my surgery so I can avoid comments like that.

I've been practicing responses because I'm anticipating blow back once I tell them (when they ask.)

The easy way was diet, exercise, stop dieting, gain, repeat.. that's the old comfy way we lived. It was safe, we knew how it would feel.. I have no doubts that this is going to be the hardest thing I'm going to do, it's a permanent change to my anatomy, my psyche will have to have a rapid turn around too to deal with all this and I will never be the same regardless if I succeed long term or not.. and it's for life- no going back!! Easy, BS.

Regardless of food and exercise pre-op, I never stood a chance in my battle against obesity.  With my little Sleevie, I'm still working just as hard, actually harder because I gain at 900-1000 calories.  Before surgery I'd bop along until I gave up.  Where I'm at now in the "this is still so freakin hard" stage, I would have given up before, only to have to start all over again, thus the 249 repeatedly. 

This time around the block, Sleevie keeps me from giving up and just keeps urging me to keep going.  I've found that I love Pilates as much or more than walking and hiking and I'm grateful to have a full gym, pool and sauna right here in my condo.  I have nothing in the world to complain about.  Don't most slim women at 60 have to watch what they eat and exercise?  So that's me and I'm grateful for these size 10 pants that I'm sitting here in.  I haven't been a size 10 since elementary school.  Bring on the angel band because I'm a happy camper, but you're right, it's not easy.

I did not expect it to be this hard.  I know the sleeve is just a tool.  But since I am able to eat more than a lot of sleevers, it is really hard work.  But I am going to do it and maintain it!!! 
Easy way out - what a load of crap. Says with a smile
Kathy

 BTW Blondee, you are drop dead gorgeous!!!

I often find myself explaining this to people who feel like I "cheated".  I guess I often feel like I need to "defend" myself to prove I'm still "working hard".  The one thing I always illustrate for them is that while all of these things are the same, the difference is that when I measure out what I "should" eat, now it is actually satisfying... before I would have eaten that and then found myself looking for more!  Also, now after I've eaten what I "should" not only am I satisfied, I'm not starving an hour later and white-knuckling it until my next meal.  So, although it is still a lot of work, now it is actually doable!  Before I could lose 20 lbs, maybe 30 but then I got sick of starving all the time and eventually the physical pain and struggle of constant hunger beat out any good feelings about dropping a clothes size... and thus the diet would end.  Now I know that with these relatively simple principles I CAN and WILL make this a lifelong change!