I guess I hurt someone's feelings on the VSG board

I actually consider pizza part of my "plan". My doctor does not have an eating plan. Just says to eat what you can tolerate, although he is not a fan of carbs and wants his patients to exercise. I did a lot of research before my surgery and took all of the other plans I saw on OH into consideration.

I eat full fat cheese and I eat meat. If you don't eat the crust on your pizza that's what you've got. Meat and cheese. For full disclosure though, the pizza I like has chicken and mushrooms on it, so it's not swimming in grease!

Jen

I suspect some of the 'newbieitis' we see on the main board are trolls -- people deliberately posting to get things stirred up.  I think there's a fine line between giving clear, direct advice and not sugar coating tips for sucess and telling people the MUST follow one narrow path to be successful.  In one case, you get the message across, in the other you can cause the 'target audience' to shut down. Some of these questions are really about people recalibrating to a new 'normal' when they've been anything but for most of their lives.

I am very 'compliant' -- probably more so than most, but I struggle at times with being compliant and having a sense of  'normalcy.'  I work through that by cooking -- I see others, here,  who seem to do that as as well.  I cook fabulous things, sometimes for hours, only to eat 2-3oz. 'Normal' weight people can eat pizza or chips, etc., they generally are better at self-regulating the amount than people who are overweight and obese. Why is that?  Is it their relationship with food or their relationship with themeself? 

I am neither a VSG vet nor a newbie, but I am pretty successful in life, generally.  I also have done a good bit of volunteer work over the years in programs for treating substance abuse and women coming out of domestic abuse situation. I do a lot of career counseling, mentoring, etc.

My observation through my work, volunteer work, and my crazy hobby (breeding/showing dogs)  is that the people who will be successful long-term not just in 'white knuckling' through, but in really putting their problem behinds them is  fundamentally change their relationship with themselves.  I've seen alcholics with 20 years sobriety fall into a death sprial after one drink and others who can truly 'recover' and drink acohol occasionally, socially. What's the difference?  JMO, but it's not defining oneself by the problem or even the cure but rather by learning to live and cope with the world without the crutch or the excuse.