Elizabeth21

Another reason to drop the Protein shake is that liquid calories are just not as filling and satisfying as solid ones. If I have a Protein Shake versus a Protein food bar, the food bar will satisfy me a lot longer, even though it has fewer calories. So, dropping your shake may have the benefit of curbing your appetite.
Also, adding some unflavored Protein powder to drinks or foods is a low calorie way to up protein if you are concerned. A teaspoon is about 30 calories for 10 grams of protein.
Good luck!

You know, you can always say "Mom, I want to live longer. To see my children's children. Don't YOU want that for me, too? If this is what I feel I have to do, then I will do it, with or without your support. YES, it's THAT important to me."

@@Rogofulm I totally agree with your advice for @@Stacyc311 -- mom may even have some buried jealousy --

You have a rough enough road ahead of you, my dear, without all the added stress form the outside. Maybe reduce your time with mom for awhile, not avoid her, but be very "busy" while you get ready for this adventure. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row prior to the surgery, and don't have a "need" for mom to be there when you are recovering, or going through the more difficult times (stalls, depression, hair loss...) after the surgery. Those are going to be tough times, and you don't need the "I told you so's" during this time (you'll hear enough of that, I'm sure). So have your husband get prepared for fending her off during those times, saying things like "she's unavailable right now" or something to that affect.
It is too bad people have to be this way, too bad for them. You WANT to share with those closest to you, but sometimes you can't. Self-preservation. Whatever you do, don't cave; you DO need to get ahead of this weight issue. The longer you hold off, the more difficult it can be. Good luck to you.

Sounds like your Mom is projecting her issues onto you. If you haven't already, you might try educating her about the different types of surgeries . Be enthusiastic, and then ask for her help in making your decision about which surgery to go with. I found that people are fascinated by the subject and often get on board after that conversation. (Of course, the real decision about which surgery to have should be between you and your doctor!) I'm no shrink, but if her attitude persists, you may need to tell her something like, "Mom, I've made my decision and that's final. I'm doing this for my long-term health, and I really want and need your support. But if you're going to dis me about it all the time, I'm going to have to take a break from spending time with you because while I'm going through this I can't, and shouldn't have to deal with the negativity. I love you with all my heart, but if you keep it up, I'll have to step back for a while." And then do it. Good luck, this is a tough one!

It's wonderful being moderate and a dainty eater. Why not have yummy treats? I love to cook and I enjoy food, just in small amounts now. And I indulge in alcohol -- I even had a tiny piece of a chocolate flourless cake last night after an Indian meal. I spent days cooking that food and hardly ate any of it, but I had a good time. And I love not being on a diet! This morning a four mile walk. The exercise is where it's at for me.

I do it all the time...I'm not on any diet, nor will I ever be again. I have no plan, no rules to be compliant....
Because of the band, I can eat just so much...my portions are fixed, making it unable for me to overeat. (I've tried)
It's interesting that foods that don't go with the band are also foods high in carbs...like Pasta. So Italian restaurants are out.
All I worry about is Protein and Water requirements. And exercising whenever I can.
I don't think in terms of a single meal, I think in terms of what I did over a 24hr period. A new lifestyle.
I can look back at what I ate yesterday....not bad at all and that included a meal at a restaurant....
My wife and I both work long hours, so we eat out all the time. Not a problem other than finding foods on the menu that will work with my band....no meat, no Pasta, no rice, no things made from flour like breads, majority of Desserts....it can be tough at places like Outback....and I don't trust moist chicken eating out.,.,it is usually over cooked and hard.
I was fat because I ate too much...I am now skinny because of surgery, I eat less...a lot less....it's that simple!
No rocket science involved.

Liz you are doing great. I occasionally eat or drink something I don't consider good for me. but, I lik to reward myself once in awhile with something I really enjoy. No Guilt. I love my band because I can do that now and then but get right back on track the next day. What I would have done years ago during one of my many diets, would be to get off the wagon, eat the wagon and then keep rolling around eating myself into a coma.. lol now days it's a new ballgame and I have no fear of getting back into that routine. keep up the good work and keep living.

I am guessing we all do it once in a while. For me, we are moving states on wednesday. One of the things my husband and I love to do about every 2 or 3 months is go to our favorite movie theater which is a high end movie theater where they have a restaurant and restaurant quality Snacks that you can take into the theater with you.
I was excellent all day long knowing I would indulge in their homemade onion dip and homemade chips. I never eat this kind of junk food and have not had that treat since prior to surgery last September. I made sure I had a good Protein rich dinner before hand so that I would not be able to eat much.
Given we will never go to a movie in theater and have this naughty snack again (it is outstanding), I decided I could indulge a little. It was so delicious but I am proud of myself, I only had a very small portion of chips but of course with lots of this homemade dip on it. I was not disappointed.
This morning I got up and walked 3.5 miles with one of my fitbit tracker buddies and I feel much better about indulging for this time.

Good for you! I'm not in maintenance yet, but, about a month ago I reached my minimum goals in terms of my size. I want to lose more -- and have been -- but I too want to avoid diet mentality and arrive at the ultimate goal already living the way I need to in order to maintain. Furthermore, I lost two very dear people very suddenly about a year ago and was painfully reminded that you have to enjoy some of life as you go because if you put it all off you may never get there. So, I have had a couple of indulgences myself.
Did I eat/drink off plan? Yep. However, NOTHING like I would have before surgery. So, really, even the indulgence was still "diet" when compared to my past normal! I also continue to learn about myself and relationship to eating with these experiences.
Bottom line: I believe mental attitude is the most important part of this process.
Thanks for sharing your experience and keep up the good work!!

None of us has gotten here without trying something else before. In fact most of us tried EVERYTHING else before!! And it all failed, which is why we turned to WLS. With that kind of track record, of course it is difficult to rally faith once again and believe this will work. But, do the math. Really, how can it not work without our choice? We literally cannot put as much food in our bodies as we could before. The body has to burn energy. So, focus on the lean Protein intake and drink those fluids. It's going to work! Read the success stories and be inspired!
Good luck!!

Well, here's the thing. It's not really about whether the doctor finds out. It's about avoiding liver damage and other complications during surgery. The preop diet is done in order to shrink the size of your liver. Some surgeons are more experienced, skillful, or cautious and therefore some are more strict than others about this.
Do yourself the favor of maintaining your preop diet as closely as possible so that your surgery can go as smoothly as possible. Dealing with surgical complications will be much harder than foregoing the cheating during preop.
Good luck!

Well, here's the thing. It's not really about whether the doctor finds out. It's about avoiding liver damage and other complications during surgery. The preop diet is done in order to shrink the size of your liver. Some surgeons are more experienced, skillful, or cautious and therefore some are more strict than others about this.
Do yourself the favor of maintaining your preop diet as closely as possible so that your surgery can go as smoothly as possible. Dealing with surgical complications will be much harder than foregoing the cheating during preop.
Good luck!

None of us has gotten here without trying something else before. In fact most of us tried EVERYTHING else before!! And it all failed, which is why we turned to WLS. With that kind of track record, of course it is difficult to rally faith once again and believe this will work. But, do the math. Really, how can it not work without our choice? We literally cannot put as much food in our bodies as we could before. The body has to burn energy. So, focus on the lean Protein intake and drink those fluids. It's going to work! Read the success stories and be inspired!
Good luck!!

Good for you! I'm not in maintenance yet, but, about a month ago I reached my minimum goals in terms of my size. I want to lose more -- and have been -- but I too want to avoid diet mentality and arrive at the ultimate goal already living the way I need to in order to maintain. Furthermore, I lost two very dear people very suddenly about a year ago and was painfully reminded that you have to enjoy some of life as you go because if you put it all off you may never get there. So, I have had a couple of indulgences myself.
Did I eat/drink off plan? Yep. However, NOTHING like I would have before surgery. So, really, even the indulgence was still "diet" when compared to my past normal! I also continue to learn about myself and relationship to eating with these experiences.
Bottom line: I believe mental attitude is the most important part of this process.
Thanks for sharing your experience and keep up the good work!!

Stay positive and as the NSVs add up, you forget how much you miss certain foods. I do miss my old go to's from the past but as I lose weight and have victories, I realize exactly why I gave them up. Hormones are a big factor here too. As you are losing fat, hormones are released. It can make us irritable, mad, sad, or just plain hard to be around! This is a hard stage to get through but you will! Keep your head up and stick to your plan, it's worth it!

I would be surprised if every person who has gone through WLS did not mourn food. First of all, it is probably because you are in the pureed stage and emotional following surgery which is making it worse.
This surgery is not for the feint of heart. It is very hard work, most of it mental. You have to stay positive and focus on all the reasons you had the surgery in the first place. Do not spend wasted time focusing on the negatives, it will only make you feel worse and that ultimately means you will struggle, like you are.
Keep your eye on the prize whether it was health reasons or simply because you wanted to lose weight. Pull your goals out that you wrote before surgery and remind yourself why you chose to have surgery.
I promise you will make it past this phase and if you stick to the right foods pretty soon you will crave healthy foods and not all the other stuff that made you heavy to begin with.
Also, having WLS does not mean that you will never eat those things again. You will simply have them once in a great while and in very small portions.
I wish you all the best, keep your head up and stay positive, it will help you succeed.

Try unflavored Protein powder mixed with cold Water and Water Enhancer drops, to relieve the boredom of shakes. You can find them in the grocery store. Also, keep LOTS of sugar-free popsicles on hand for the crunch/chew you will want to be doing. Good luck and let us know how you do!

Well, here's the thing. It's not really about whether the doctor finds out. It's about avoiding liver damage and other complications during surgery. The preop diet is done in order to shrink the size of your liver. Some surgeons are more experienced, skillful, or cautious and therefore some are more strict than others about this.
Do yourself the favor of maintaining your preop diet as closely as possible so that your surgery can go as smoothly as possible. Dealing with surgical complications will be much harder than foregoing the cheating during preop.
Good luck!

I went thru menapause 18 yrs ago and even that long ago now at 50 I am 10 months PO and my first 4 wks were brutal for me I swung from tears, fits, irritable to down right b*****...hang in there. when I went through the 4th wk it all stopped. I had fought through the worst carb cravings also during this time. I hope your feeling better today xx

Good Morning! @@Babbs I'm feeling good. I can't say great but definitely much better than a few days ago. I'm looking forward to improving as time goes on! Thank you for asking! I definitely appreciate all of the support I have received.

@@Tanika81
I felt the same way and I have read lots of posts on this forum about the dreaded feeling of failure. Its becasue you have tried so many things and failed so many times before. We are stuck in the perpetual trap of murphys law. We think "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong". Its a lie we tell ourselves. You will succeed. You will be fine and you will overcome this feeling of dread. We will all preservere. Take life by the ass and run with it!

My advice is to take a deep breathe, get a cup of Water and read success stories and cruise through before and after photos. Every one of those success stories had doubts too...and just look at us now.

T
I'll see you on the 16th with our nut (Jennifer) plus before that with follow up visit to Dr. Brown.
While we wait we can go share a Water.
Monument isn't close but I can drive if you need a visit before then?
Hang in there girl, sometimes crying is a good thing.
PMJ

Thank you all!! So much. I had stopped crying, then laughed and cried when I read your comments. A friend/co-worker came over to visit me so I had to straighten up and not show her my tears. And my dad called as well. So your feedback, my friend, and my father have kept my emotions at bay! THANK YOU!! This goes to show that I need all the support I can get when I feel down like this. Unfortunately, I don't have a constant local support system here. I'm from Boston but live alone in Colorado. My family and friends are so far away. I have a few friends here, but we're not that close (emotionally) for me to cry on their shoulders. And they have no idea that I have had the sleeve surgery.
I definitely need a support network :-(. Just talking (crying and typing) it out to you and reading your responses made me feel good and that these feelings are not abnormal. I WILL be reaching out to you when I need help! I appreciate you all