nikki042

Hi All!

Well, i'm back! I had replied to a post on here earlier about an elimination diet i started January 1st to see if it would help control some of my cravings, etc.

I am happy to say that it has worked! I have lost 10 lbs and have managed to look at this "diet" as a new way of eating. I also feel that it has "renewed my sleeve" (if that's even possible). I guess I was feeling before I started this that I could eat so much more.. and thus gaining weight. I'm now back to literally having a few bites of things and then feeling full (the way we all felt post op to about 1 year after).

The elimination diet is from a book a friend gave to me called the Virgin Diet (by JJ Virgin). I believe that the reason it has worked for me thus far is that you have to be completely obsessed about what you are eating all day in order to keep certain things out of your diet. You have to read every ingredient in everything you buy. You have to be extremely creative in the meals that you prepare for yourself. It might not be the healthiest approach, but in essence, I obsess about food anyway, all day, what I can eat what i "shouldn't" eat, which creates a lot of shame, and then tells my brain to eat more for comfort. This diet is allowing me to continue the obsession, but in doing so, i'm searching for healthy alternatives. I'm eating almost no processed foods (which is a huge culprit in weight gain). And by eating mainly Proteins and vegetables, brown rice, etc. this slows down the digestive process, which allows you to feel full longer.... and also, fills up your sleeve quicker.

I will admit the past 4 days or so I had a few bites of a cupcake on Valentine's day....a chocolate....two bites of a cheese quesadilla and yesterday, totally forgot to order a "pizza" gluten free. (I say "pizza" becuase it was actually a huge farmers market salad on top of a gluten free crust... i just forgot to say gluten free and thus suffered the consequences). Yep, turns out that since I haven't eating gluten for almost 2 months, I had a reaction to it when I ate it yesterday (mouth numb and tingling and stomach issues). Also, since not eating eggs for the same amount of time, when I tried to reintroduce them, they made me want to gag.

I know this sort of thing won't work for everyone, but I feel such success and a new way of looking at food, that I never thought I would EVER see.... I want to share it with all of you that have similar obsessive food issues and emotional eating. You can still eat as much as you want (which us sleevers know ,its isnt much)... that's why I dont really call it a diet... i'm not restricting myself.

BTW, the cupcake and the chocolate did not taste good AT ALL! All I could taste was the sugar. I will say, however, the few bites of cheese quesadilla tasted incredible! I chewed and savored both bites of it.... but that was enough. Becuase I know that if I even attempted to eat an entire slice of a cheese quesadilla, the consequences that I would suffer the next few hours following that slice, is entirely not worth it.

Anyway, thank you to everyone that posted on this thread. I've read all of your posts and appreciate all of the support here. My spirits are up and I feel like I am in a much better place. I never thought that my sleeve was going to work again for me, and I was completely wrong. We can get out of this.... and its not about willpower becuase that NEVER works. I didn't think I could change my eating habits, but I do feel so much better in my body and this feeling, of not waking up every morning to diarrhea (sorry to be gross but its true), is worth me staying on this path of food decisions.

I do suggest you check out the book (or maybe you can find parts of it on line if you dont want to buy it).

Take care, everyone!

Hi,

I, too, am one of those who rarely visits the site or posts after more than three years post-surgery but, tonight, out of curiousity felt compelled to see how others are getting on (I recognise a few old faces who were with me on my sleeve journey 4 years ago this summer).

I have gained nearly 42lbs in 2.5 years. 12 months out I weighed about 187lbs and this was the lowest I got to. Gradually, the weight has crept back on and I have been dieting and exercising on and off in a desperate attempt to gain some control.

I don't think I ever fully will though. I struggled from day 1 and never ever had the feelings of fullness that others reported. I did really well for about 8 months post-op and then it just got harder and harder. I went back to my old 'ways' of drinking and bingeing and it is only now that I really have come to recognise that I have a serious psychological issue with eating. I binge, even with my sleeve, and make myself sick with it. I do it more when I am on my own and when my husband cannot make comment. It's something I feel I can do when no one is around. It's stupid. And to think that I have been through 2 bariatric surgeries and 2 hernia surgeries makes it all the more stupid.

I'm trying to gain control again and have started back at the gym. I'm logging my foods once more in a serious attempt to lose the weight again. I think I also need to look at some kind of CBT as well in order to try and recognise and address the psychological issues I have.

I'm sorry that you are struggling.... the food addiction and pyschological issues that go along with it are horrible! I've been in therapy for 8 years trying to overcome it ,but its incredibly difficult, since most of us equate food with love. It's something that we learned at an early age, its comforting.... and its very shameful, which is why we mostly eat/ binge alone. And if we're not alone we're always "explaining away" why we're eating what we're eating. It's especially shameful to have gone through weight loss surgery only to be having the same problem.

I have been trying a new approach to this... and I don't know how long its going to work, or maybe it will be a new way of eating for me, but a friend gave me this book called The 21 day Virgin Diet, written by JJ Virgin. And its basically a book to see if you have allergies to foods.... foods that maybe you are having an allergic reaction to, that causes inflammation or weight gain, and we just don't realize it. The summary is... you cut out dairy, eggs, gluten, soy, corn, sugar and artificial sweeteners for 21 days. After that, you reintroduce these foods, one at a time for a week at a time, to see if your body has any reaction to it. I've been doing this for about 8 days... and have lost about 4 lbs. But i'm trying to not make it about the weight for me, becuase that takes me to a bad place. If I can convince myself that maybe I do have a food allergy... maybe cheese, although i love it, isnt the best thing for my body to be ingesting? Or maybe i shouldnt be eating soy?

Sometimes, we can convince our brains that this is not a diet... I mean, you can eat as much as you want, just not any of those things.. therefore.. i'm not restricted, therefore, its not a diet.

I figure its worth a shot... i have nothing to lose... you may want to look into it and see if its something that might help.

Take care!

Nikki

Lezzie..

i'm happy to help. I haven't written anything on this board since I joined prior to surgery...I'm not really the "group" type of person I suppose. But feels good to get it out there. Good luck to you! The sleeve will be the best thing you have ever done for yourself. But the 2nd best thing is going to therapy, work on those emotional eating issues, because you will need it. You'll be all set for the first year or two and then BAM you can eat again... again, good luck and i'm happy to have been able to help answer some of your questions. Let me know how it goes...

anyone going to Mexico?? oooh.. I hope so.. I would have a friend!!!

I am.. sept 16th

Hi

My surgery date is sept16th so i will see you there!

Nikki