Redo2017

Let me try this one more time! Here is a link to the post with the shopping list.

Awesome advice! Thank you!

I totally agree with this. One of the million diets I tried was Paleo and I felt great while I was doing it. The struggle for me was the work the went into always eating "real" food, especially because work keeps me out of the house quite a bit. Do you have any post-op tips? Favorite meals/snacks you can suggest?

Graciously shared by a member on another thread: https://www.bariatricpal.com/index.php?/topic/396763-Post-Op-Shopping-Lists/page__view__findpost__p__4462706

Yes! Thank you so much!

Not long ago I came across a post-op shopping list someone posted. It was provided to them by their surgeon and it was very helpful. Of course, I forgot to save it and I can't find it! Does anyone out there have a post-op shopping list they would share, either provided by your WLS team or one you have created? Thank you!

Congrats! Do you live in Mexico or will you be traveling there from the states? If you are traveling, what's the post-op plan? Do you have to stay in Mexico to heal for a bit or do they clear you for travel straight away?

I agree that have meals thought out and pre-proportioned is key to success. In addition to prepackaged food, I have found that doing meal prep a day or more ahead of time is really helpful. It's the mindless eating that always gets me.

I definitely feel like I need to start preparing now for the mental aspect of post-op. Most of my problems with overeating stem from my head, not my stomach. I can lose weight and I know exactly how to do it. I have lost up to 60 pounds at least 5 times, but always put it back on plus some. I am going to start meeting with a therapist next week to start trying to work through the causes of my overeating. My biggest fear post-op is falling back into my old mind-set with food.

I can empathize with this one. One of my issues is that I've been in denial about how overweight I've become. Telling anyone I'm having WLS is akin to broadcasting, "YES, I am overweight, and so much so that medical professionals have recommended surgery." It's a tough reality for me. I have not been obese my entire life, and in fact I was quite thin in my teenage and early adult years. It's only recently with the development of health issues that I actually am beginning to identify as an overweight person.

I have definitely starting researching. My plan is to make some mushy foods ahead of time and freeze individual portions. One thing I have learned from years of dieting is that I must have the right foods at my fingertips or I will make bad choices. I have the goal of focusing on real, unprocessed foods after I am sleeved, but I don't want to be too restrictive. An experienced sleever posted a post op grocery list somewhere on one of the forums. I need to do a search to try to find it again. It was very informative.

This is exactly why I'm hesitant to tell my mother. If she does not support the decision it will really complicate things. Ultimately, we have to do what is right for us!

What are all you other July people doing currently about your eating habits? I'm a little concerned about the fact that I have no motivation to get my weight loss started prior to my 2 week pre-op liquid diet. My insurance did not have any requirement for medically supervised weight-loss, so I'm kind of just maintaining status quo.

Sounds like we have similar concerns! So far I have only told my husband. If I had it my way I would not tell anyone else! Truthfully, I am embarrassed and I do not want to deal with judgment or unsolicited advice. I do not think that any of my close friends or family members will support my decision. I will likely tell my mom because I will need her help with my children after surgery. I know that she is going to be super critical and probably will try to talk me out of it. Who have you decided to tell? I have been trying to work on the mental aspect of things for several weeks. I am very scared to permanently alter my body only to find I lack the will power to make a long term change. I found a podcast called the Weight Loss Surgery Podcast that I have found very helpful. I highly recommend it. I've listened to every episode. I've also been reading a Geneen Roth book that has some good ideas about changing mindset with regard to food. Thanks for responding! It's nice to have someone to bounce concerns off of!

Are you scheduled for WLS in July as well? How are you planning on dealing with food issues post surgery? I'm trying to gather as much insight on this before my surgery date!

I am also scheduled for July 10th! I hope the long wait doesn't give me time to get cold feet!

I have been considering WLS for some time now and lurking on the site for a bit. I finally have my date for VSG: July 10, 2017. I am inspired by your story, especially because your beginning stats are almost identical to mine and we seem to have similar body types. (at least we did before your WLS!). Your after pics are a peek into future possibilities, which is helpful in getting over the massive fear that has begun to set in. What was it that finally inspired you to go through with WLS? Were you afraid of not being able to maintain the post-op lifestyle in the months leading up to your surgery? Thanks for any advice!

Just got my date: July 10, 2017. I have what seems like a fairly typical lead-up to WLS: losing between 20-50 pounds repeatedly since reaching adulthood and always managing to put the pounds back on plus some. I have tried many diets, including Weight Watchers, Atkins, Paleo, Nutri-System, Slim Fast, Isagenix, and various other meal replacement shakes. It is only recently that I have really recognized that I have a very unhealthy relationship with food. I don't know that I necessarily am an emotional eater, I just really like to eat and I really like the feeling of being full. I have started to work on the mental aspect of my food issues and I anticipate that this will be the biggest struggle for me after WLS. Basically, food is my vice. I also have been in denial about my size for some time. I have always carried my weight in a way that kind of masks my size. I have always figured that I am doing OK as long as I can still find cute clothes that fit me. I also have a healthy sense of self-confidence and have never let my weight hold me back. However, I finally realized that it was time to take control of my obesity through weight loss surgery when I was diagnosed with sleep apnea earlier this year. I cannot allow my weight and my obsession with food compromise my health or lead me to an early death. I am also totally nervous! I am not necessarily afraid of the surgery itself (I have had three C-sections and NOTHING can be worse than that!) but I still need to get to the place where I am as close to 100% sure as possible that I will be able to commit long term to a massive life style change. I know myself, and it will be difficult, if not impossible, for me to moderate around certain foods. Thus, surgery may mark the end of my relationship with some of my favorite things. I have learned a great deal from lurking on this site for the better part of 2017. I am hoping to find some fellow July 2017 sleevers to commiserate with and I would love support and advice from any experienced WLS veterans, especially when it comes to post WLS surgery veterans who feel like they may have/had a dependence or addiction to food.