Question:
If I can't stick to a diet now, how would I be able to do it after WLS?

I know you don't diet after WLS but you do have to watch what you put in your new stomach. I am considering this surgery but I keep thinking to myself that if I can't control my eating habits now, how will I control them after the surgery?    — Sandra D. (posted on May 7, 2002)

May 7, 2002
Hi, please don't think that you will not have to diet, you may not have to, but then again you might. I thought that too when I had surgery and now in order for me to drop the lbs I stick to a diet program. Metabolism plays a key role in whether or not you will have to watch what your doing. I have been on so many crazy diets and now I am paying for it. Even with this surgery I have to watch what I eat constantly. WLS is not a cure all, but it certainly helps. Best of luck to you
   — Carey N.

May 7, 2002
I too couldn't control my eating before surgery, had tried for many years and failed everything under the sun, I had lost all hope of ever getting the weight off that causes me so much pain and ill health so turned to WLS, I knew it was my last hope, had shed many, many tears over my powerless with food! I did lots of research and talking to others that had it and they all kept saying what a great tool it was - no it's not a magic bullet, but it's a tool like we've never had before. And the surgery does something to you, it gives you motivation like you've never had before, it's amazing. First of all the 1st month your small tummy is so swollen and unhappy that you could care less if you ever saw food agin - ha - then you start loosing weight like you never have before and the motivation begins and if the motivation falters just a little you have the pouch to remind you and get you back in track in a heartbeat - ha! best of luck! Lisa
   — Lisa F.

May 7, 2002
Hi there! One of the main differences between having the "will power" to stick to a diet before surgery and sticking to a diet after surgery is (1) your stomach has now been made smaller so you will feel "full" most of the time. (2) The amount of food and definitely the types of food you can eat postoperatively are limited. After a few dumping episodes, you won't want to eat that piece of cake or eat more than your stomach can handle because you won't feel good afterwards, which is different from how you eat now. Think of it as forced behavior modification. Good luck!!! Hugs, Kathie (in Hawaii)............
   — KathieInHawaii

May 7, 2002
I thought the exact same thing before surgery. I never thought I could do it. Now I am 12 weeks post op and 70 pounds down. Your new tummy will help guide you, and you will be unable to eat like before. It really broke my habit of overeating, not to mention the total fear of vomiting and dumping. :) Behavior modification really helps. After a while you will realize that you willingly watch what you eat, and you will have a new interest in taking care of yourself. Peer support is another major factor. This site has helped me so much, as have my local support groups. Believe me, if I can do this, anyone can. I wish you the best!
   — Jennifer G.

May 7, 2002
This could be me writing. I could stay on a diet til I started the regain (while still on the diet), but was sure I could not post-op. HOWEVER, I figured even 50# off was better than where I was. Oddly, I've learned a few tricks to overcome my own eating idiosyncracies and I do not hesitate to use my "crutch" to get me over the rough spots. I use protein supps before meals to blunt my appetitie to help with volume control (at 8 yrs, I'm not as limited as I once was) and I use them to work against the nervous eating I want to do just now that there is a major crisis brewing in my life. I've lost track of how many g a day I get, but it's a lot. Given the alternative (who KNOWS what food my pass thru my fingers), I'm good with it. Hopefully my terrible situation will have a solution soon and this level of anxiety will pass. But for now, this is the very worst it has been in all these years. I'm not willing to give it all up now! Under normal circumstances, I just put the supplements IN, keep the milk & sugar out and that does the trick.
   — vitalady

May 7, 2002
I'm only 16 days post-op but I wondered the same thing! In my 16 days of post-op-ness I can tell you that I am afraid of overeating or eating the wrong thing! I simply can't overeat right now, a few ounces and I'm stuffed! I think the important thing to remember is that WLS is a tool and a total lifestyle change! We shop at a natural grocery store now and I read every lable and I am very cautious of what I put in my body and my family's body. I hope I keep it up!
   — jenn2002

May 7, 2002
The way it was for me was that I had NO CHOICE!! You are so limited in what you can eat at first, your "choice" isn't a factor...at least this is how it was for me. Also, it was many months before I got my appetite back. I ate because I knew I needed to, not because I wanted to or felt hungry. I found I had to really pay attention or I would go 10 or 12 hours without eating. Then, when I did eat, I would often get sick. So you really do have to learn to eat all over again & you don't have a whole lot of control for long enough that you start developing some good habits & learning to eat because you NEED food instead of as an emotional tool. Now after 2 years, I can eat much more normally, but there's no way I could pack in the food like I used to. I can make poor food choices (& occasionally DO), but even then, not in those huge quantities. Also, I DID learn good habits & I usually am able to make the wise choices. Also, I am STILL much less ruled by hunger than I was pre-op. I think the emotional addiction to food was broken over those first long months. I still find myself sometimes getting busy or distracted (or a big one for me, shopping!)and realize I have forgotten to eat. By then I'm usually starving! :) I don't diet now, but I eat wisely (most of the time). And, even when I pig out, for example, I eat something like no sugar added ice cream or something lite--although I don't dump, so occasionally I do go "all the way" eg that bread pudding from a few days ago or those mini-eclairs....but, again, the quantities are so much smaller that an occasional splurge doesn't wreak havoc. And, for me, it seems I lose the taste for those sweet things after just a bit & I don't crave them afterwards & in fact, don't want them at all. Now, this is just how it is for ME.
   — Kathy W.