Hi there,

So I have been so excited for April 28th to get here so I can finally get started on this journey back to the real me. I have been waiting in anticipation, all the while eating pizza, burgers, fries, soda, chocolate, chips, etc. etc.

I was in a chat room the other day on this site with a person. We were talking and I was saying how I'll probably do some strength training 30 days out or something to help me be stronger for the surgery, but for now I'm just eating whatever I want and not exercising at all. She asked me, why not start now?

My immediate thought was No Way! I'm about to do this horribly difficult and painful extreme thing to get the weight off. Why not just enjoy the last moments before with my relationship with food and eat and eat and eat whatever I want because it will be the last chance in my life to ever do this again. C'mon, I know many of you pre-op'rs are thinking the same thing!

After thinking and thinking about this, I have come to realize how wrong I was to think like this. THIS TYPE OF THINKING IS WHAT GOT ME INTO THIS MESS!!

If I am willing to go to this extreme and have most of my stomach removed, then why would I want to continue to live in the misery that I have been living in these past 12 years?? The moment I made the decision to have this surgery, I changed the game, I changed my life.

If you are doing this and you are pre-op, today is the day to start your weight loss journey - no matter how far out your surgery is. You can decide to have surgery, but you can't say no to the donut? (I did this yesterday) The time is right NOW to start thinking of yourself as a sleever. TODAY is the day to do what you need to do to be ready for post-op.

Start slow, don't think of it like you'll never be able to eat bad ever in your life again. Just make one or two good choices for yourself today. Go for a walk. Choose Water instead of soda. You all know how this works from the thousands of failed diets you've done in the past. Only this time you are about to get this wonderful tool to help you through this.

But remember, this may take away our physical hunger, but the mind games will still be there. Today is the day to start that battle. It will be a daily fight for me, I know this. But with this decision to have surgery comes the decison to fight this battle... AND WIN!

I know I went through a huge food funeral up until the 24 hrs before surgery. I regret it SOOOO much because at the end of my 6 month diet I weighed 232lbs... The day I started my 24 of liquids before surgery I weighed 248... So I gained 16 lbs while waiting for my surgery date... I regret it Sooo much cuz now it puts me even further from my goal weight now that I am sleeved. My advice to Pre ops is to start now!!! U will be happier in the long run

I actually started walking around my block in the evening and walking around my parking garage a few times at lunch. I also started eating better, smaller portions and occasionally I am even replacing a big meal with a protein shake or a yogurt. I know that it is helping already as I have been feeling MUCH better and may have lost a couple of pounds...but I am REFUSING to step onto the scale until my first OFFICIAL day of the preop diet.