Southern Missy

I have participated in this forum for about 3 years and this probably about the 5th time I have seen threads very similar to this one. Most members of this forum have a lifecycle. I won't go into detial but,the join and begin their participation by asking questions. They soon become active members and start to get involved in many ways. At some point they become annoyed at the new members that are asking questions that now seem simple to them. Eventually they no longer have much interset in the board and they move on.
Usually this type of thread creates a controversy because it can offend new members. It is important to note that individuals learn and process information differently. Some people love to do volumes of research and others want to know what they need to know and they want to know it right now. Many people fall in the middle somewhere but it is unfair to condem anyone just because their learning style different or the knowledge of the topic is minimul.
Honestly I have grown to dislike threads that discuss how other people should approach their journey or what types of questions are stupid and which ones are not.
Conversley I probably took part in a similar thread as an agreable participant about 2 1/2 years ago.
Just my thoughts
TommyO

I think you have fallen into the Dieter Mentality. Certain food is Good and if you eat it, YOU are good. Certain food is bad and you eat it, YOU ARE BAD. It's the same thing with exercise. Exercise is something you do because you HAVE to. Again, if you do it, you are good, but when you don't, you are bad.
I believe that if you change your mindset, I think it will be less of a struggle and you'll find yourself making better choices because the emotion and the judgement will be gone. Feeling ashamed, beating yourself up for being a Bad Girl is not productive. It leads to a cycle of extremes -- being a model citizen followed by falling off the wagon and feeling despair and hopelessness.
First, there is no such thing as good or bad food. It's just food. There are good and bad choices, but they have to be evaluated in the context of your entire food intake. Did those oreos and pb cups put you over your calorie intake for the day? Then eat less today. If they didn't, then look at your overall nutrition. Did they make your diet have too much fat or sugar that day? Eat something with less fat and more Fiber today. You have nothing to beat yourself up for if you made one bad choice one day if your week was full of good choices and your overall intake is balanced and healthy.
Also look at what you define as treats. I don't want the fact that my kids have no weight problems today lead me to teach them habits and ways of thinking that will lead to weight problems tomorrow. Therefore, I try not teach my kids that only junk is a treat.
Why aren't strawberries treats? My kids go nuts when I buy strawberries. They are expensive and only in season for a short time, so they see them as a big treat. They feel the same about cantalope. We don't buy it that often so when we do, it's a big treat.
Sure, we buy ice cream and chips and other things too. But we don't act like junk is a treat and good food is something you have to eat because it's good for you and I think that's an important distinction. Anything you love is a treat.
Finally, we get to exercise. I never "exercise". Exercise is something you do because you have to. Instead, I have "active hobbies". These are things that I like to do because I like them, but they also involve moving my body. I never think of them as exercise and I never think of them as things I HAVE to do in order to be "good."
Your active hobby can be anything, too. It doesn't have to be going to the gym or taking up marathon running. It can be gardening. It can be bowling. It can be ballroom dancing. Ice skating. Joining a 'just for fun' softball league. Whatever you LIKE to do.
And don't worry about whether or not it's "good" exercise. People get so focused on doing things perfectly, that they won't do "good enough" stuff because it's not perfect. Sure training for a marathon burns way more calories than bowling. But bowling burns way more than sitting at home watching tv or typing on the computer or reading.
You say you haven't got a sedentary lifestyle so you probably already have active hobbies. Instead of beating yourself up for not going to the gym (or whatever you think of as "exercise"), congratulate yourself for not being a couch potato.

Alright, I'm all about the 80s but I have NEVER heard of that show BBK! :confused2:
And I also have to ask, what's wrong with BIG hair?? :tt2:

I jumped in right away, figuring that the less I had to lose after surgery, the closer I'd be to goal.
How about picking one thing per week to work on between now and surgery, to prepare? i.e.
Week 1: drink at least 64 oz of liquid per day
Week 2: eliminate all caloric beverages (low-cal beverages like Crystal Light are fine), except 16 oz of milk per day
Week 3: decide on a Multivitamin and start taking it every day
Week 4: start journaling what you eat
etc.
Baby steps, to build up to the band guidelines. Indulging in "last big meal" happens to a lot if not most people, but remember -- chances are you will be able to eat practically everything after banding, just in much smaller quantities. (not counting the healing phase, which is very short)