Ok 2011 is going to be the year I take time to do for myself and take the time to enjoy my life. I am getting my sleeve in February but starting my new way of life 1-1-2011. I just need ideas how to make the transion and start making better life choices. I am endig this life long relationship with food and moving on a little bit scared but a:unsure: lot HAPPY. Any suggestion where to start ,what to eat,and most of all how to deal with the emotions of letting go of fried food and sweet tea??? So hard to imagine a world where I am thin and not always the big girl in the crowd.

Hi! First, congrats on making 2011 your breakthrough year! I decided the same thing and am really excited and motivated, too! I arranged to have my sleeve as close to the new year as possible (1/7). Although my preop diet doesn't officially begin until 12/30 I went ahead and started Atkins last week. The first day was misery but every day gets better, and I truly have found my carb cravings have nearly disappeared. So, if you're a carboholic like me Atkins is a good, fast start to weight loss. I've lost about 6 lbs and did cheat a couple of times (not horribly but enough to interrupt the weight loss). It also is good practice to get in the mindset of Protein first, veg second, and carbs last, which seems to be the most effective weight loss method for sleevers. Also, if you haven't tried crystal light, give it a whirl to replace sweet tea. I was a diet coke junkie but know I need to give up pop and have been pleasantly surprised to find crystal light a great replacement. I have nearly weaned myself off the diet cokes in less than two weeks. I had one for dinner tonight and couldn't even finish it because it tasted too sweet. So anyway, if you're being sleeved in Feb but start Atkins on 1/1 you could easily lose 15 lbs or more before surgery, and hopefully have an easier transition after surgery.

I definitely would like to know what other sleevers recommend!

Oh I have tried Crystal light years ago and liked it so maybe I need to start buying it again. I think I will get on a new plan after Christmas to keep surgery from being such a culture shock to my body because I do have bad eating habits. One girl told me to get my clothes in order by size and another told me to start hitting the local good wheel to get a few jeans and stuff in smaller sizes I am going to start on that but just not get any like super small sizes just like 1 or 2 sizes below where I am at now. Seeing how you are going first keep me updated please I am so excited

Congrats on having a date for your sleeve! You are wise to start to make changes now. I really did not do much in the way of dieting before getting sleeved and I so somewhat regret that (especially when I see someone's ticker who has a surgery date near mine and they have 2x the amount of weight because they dieted BEFORE the sleeve!) I could not let my BMI drop below 40 to be covered under my insurance, so mentally that just gave me a reason "not" to diet.

BUT, the changes that I did make before getting sleeved were these:

I dropped the diet soda habit. I didn't have a problem doing this (I used to drink 1-2 diet sodas per day) and back in July I quit buying soda to have in the house. So it then became an occassional treat when I would be eating out. Then sometime in early Sept. I just quit. (AND YOU CAN DO THE SAME WITH THE SWEET TEA! I would start by decreasing the amount of sugar you put in your tea, or switch to Splenda.)

I also quit the coffee/caffeine habit. (beware because even regular non-sweet tea has caffeine...and I love non-sweet tea but not the caffeine.) I switched my coffee to decaf before surgery and didn't have coffee for 4 weeks post-surgery.

I also decreased my carb intake. Just little changes. Instead of eggs and toast, I would drop the toast.

I got in the habit of not drinking with my meals.

I started taking my Vitamins BEFORE surgery to get me in the habit of taking them daily.

I already was a regular exerciser, so I didn't have to do much there, but if you do not exercise I would recommend starting something you can stick with. Just even starting to walk will help you recover post-surgery, and walking is not only good, but necessary post-surgery to help prevent blood clots.

THIS WILL BE AN AWESOME YEAR FOR YOU!!! I think attitude and gratitude makes a huge difference in this whole process. Going into this with the right attitude and having gratitude that you are being given a opportunity to change your life will carry you far! Good luck with everything!

Awwww yes my sweet tea I drink 10 buckets a day lol of maybe not that much but still a lot. I just want to get myself lined out. I don't know what I would do without this web site