Yes thats right , I said it! I'm outraged at myself for gaining so much weight . I went from 272 last may to 232 last october. NOW, today....I'm 272 again. Back to my highest. I have been eating like a horse since i found out my surgery was scheduled and everything is a GO. Now, I'd like to lose 10 lbs before I start pre op. Does this sound stupid or logical? be honest , i love all of your honesty!!!!

I have done the same thing, I havent weighed myself because I dont want to know how much Ive put on, but since Ive had a date for surgery ive eaten like a horse, i hate the fact that im doing this to myself

I say go for it - never hurts to get a head start - plus I hear that the less you weigh when you get the surgery, the less you will lose when all is said and done.. ie someone 500 might get down to 225, while someone 450 might get down to 190, not sure how true that is though. But it is safer the more you lose - liklihood of complications goes down with size - which is my motivation for trying to lose 50 pounds in the next month or so.. (I weigh 660, I can sweat 50 pounds of water in a week- i have before on other diets.. so I know I can do it if I just put my mind to it).

You should start a pre-pre-op diet. Other's may say don't worry about it, I say they are wrong. I did it for six months and the change was slow but it was worth it.

I lost 60 pounds during the six month pre-op. If you follow the standard pre-op diet of 80 grams of Protein and 45 - 75 carbs and chart your food on myfitnesspal.com you could easily lose 20 pounds or more before surgery.

Find a 100% whey Protein shake you like - I use Pure Protein 100% Whey Protein Shake in Frosty chocolate and I eat that for Breakfast. For lunch I would have cheese, cottage cheese or something like that, a yogurt even.

About 1/2 hour before you eat dinner, drink a hot flavored decaff tea. I like Peppermint myself. Learn to not drink Water with your meals. For dinner I would eat my meat first, vegetables second then I would eat my starch, like rice or potato or something. Switch to skim now. Get rid of pops, drink 64 ounces of a water a day now.

Learn to chew your food slowly and thoroughly. If you learn that now, it won't be so hard as when drinking a sip of water is hard.

Before your pre-op shake phase if you have one, switch to decaff. It blows, I know, but why go through caffeine withdrawal during the preop shake phase, that time is going to suck.

If you don't exercise. Walking in place while watching a show you enjoy. I literally walked through all all seasons of Lost, One Tree Hill, Vampire Diaries lol. I then started doing Gazelle. I could do the gazelle only 5 minutes at a time (at first I was too bit to fit on my machine) now I do an hour twice a day.

I have attempted to go through this surgery twice before. Once I quit because my husband lost his insurance, and then the second time I got pneumonia and I was upset about the six month pre-surgery thing. Why make the weight loss so much more extreme AFTER surgery. Why not set yourself up now for the best possible outcome. Start overcoming bad behaviors now.

The surgery is not a cure all. People that don't follow a good pre-op routine seem to have a more difficult time. I have spent countless hours pouring through this site and others reading stories. Those that have a lot of complications, I went back and saw posts prior to surgery. A positive attitude goes a long way, starting behavior modifications goes a long way to a positive outcome. If you expect the surgery to make your life wonderful, it won't, only you can do it by starting to get rid of the behaviors that brought you here today. There are also unexpected complications after surgery that no matter how vigilant you are you may have to face. Knowing this in advance is good, but realizing it and having a positive attitude and losing some weight before hand lessens the chances of problems, but if you are going to have a problem having it with less weight on you has to be a lot better for you.

The eating like a horse is a normal reaction, let it go, you did what a lot of people here have done, but you have time to correct it now. Let it go, and start again, make today the start of a new you.

Surgery is next week for me and I'm scared. I am sick I have Lupus, I have a small brain tumor, I could have gone through this surgery and slept and ate my way through the six month program like others have, but I decided I wanted to show I got it in me to succeed. I was afraid of feeling that I wasn't strong enough if I only counted on this surgery. I had to prove that I have it in me to succeed. I have more excuses than most to just wait for the surgery, I'm 48 I have had a heart monitor, I take a lot of medicine that makes me tired and makes me feel crappy. I even gave up a sleeping pill realizing it made me a night eater. Last September I sat on my couch and could hardly breath and realized I was What's Eating Gilbert Grape. My son had to help me tie my shoes, my husband helped me up the stairs. I saw the look in people's eyes when they saw me. I went from oxygen during sleep to needing it during the day after walking up the stairs. I was over 300 pounds then and I started trying on my own. By October I had the courage to call up again and schedule an appointment for the third time. I laid in bed at night thinking tonight is the night I die in my sleep, like my cousin did. My great grandmother died at 49. I'll be 49 this year.

I may very well have a lot of complications, but I have decreased a lot of them just by working out some kinks before surgery.

Change the way you feel about yourself now. You will beat yourself even more after surgery when you can't eat anything and if you gain anymore now, it will only be more you have to lose later. You look like a beautiful girl, logically it makes sense to start now. Go into this 100% give it your all, you are worth it. Surgery is only a tool, you can figure out how to use the tool you will be given by practicing now. Imagine how close you will be to your weight loss goal if you work on it now.

Good Luck to you and I am looking forward to seeing your success story.

I think most people can totally relate to how you ate after you knew your surgery was scheduled. I know for me I love food and love to eat and I think a lot of people do the same thing that you did. I know I tried to get a lot of my favorites in before I have to start my Pre-OP diet (which starts tomorrow).

I did cut out soda about 3 weeks ago which even with what I have been eating(which hasn't been great) has allowed me to drop 10 pounds. Had I not cut the Coke out of my diet I am sure I would have continued to gain like you did.

I think it makes total sense to now try to lose 10lbs pre-op, you might as well get a jump start on the weight loss.

Good Luck!!!!

Gene

Mina, WOW What an inspiring story, and all of your information is spot on!!! Good luck with your surgery and your journey! I know you'll be successful!! You have the right attitude.

food funerals are natural, even normal, but they are negativity to ourselves. It's like our mind is subconsciously sabotaging our weight loss efforts. The sleeve is a tool to help us learn to control our minds.

I think it is important to know the weight loss process and have realistic goals. I think that was one of my failings in my pre-sleeve life. From my research, this is how I understand it. (extremely simplified for the purposes of this post)

Your body converts calories you consume to glycogen. Glycogen is what is burned for energy. It is stored in your muscles and your liver, drawn first from the liver. Glycogen needs to bond with Water in order for it to be stored in a 1 to 4 ratio, meaning 1 pound of glyogen bonds to 4 pounds of water. Your body can store about 2 pounds of glycogen, so bonded, you have 10 pounds.

Each gram of carbohydrates is 9 calories, the highest gram to calorie ratio along with Proteins. So, drop your carbs, you drop your glycogen reserves and voila! A week later you have lost 10 pounds!! YEA!! ... well, no ... you haven't lost any fat and now you have no energy (glycogen stores depleted and not being quickly replaced because you aren't eating much carbs)

So, now, you are in the next week and you are not losing any weight. You get discouraged and say, "Screw it, give me a bag of Doritos." And, wow! You feel so much better! (carbs coming in ... glycogen stores re-filling)

Let's say you don't do the above and stick with it ... you're not losing weight! Why!! So frustrating! Well, the process to convert stored fat to glycogen is occuring and this is not going to happen as rapidly as you might like. Also, your body may not necessarily convert stored fat to glycogen. It may look to your muscles and feed off of them. Remember, they are Protein. 1 gram = 9 calories ... a great source.

So, why do I type all of this? It is about setting realistic goals pre-sleeve for a pre pre-sleeve diet. Are you thinking you are going to lose fat? Are wanting to start healthier habits? What is your attitude going to be when you drop the 10 pounds after a week and then don't lose anything more until the surgery?

This is an individual journey and I just want you to set yourself up for success. I do wish you the best.

Great information there Pdx!!!!

Thanks for all the info guys! My biggest problem is.....well theres 2 ........1st my boyfriend. Yes, im responsible for my own self but he comes home with all these goodies and I eat them. But he brought them into the house!!!! and 2nd...my life is so crazy hectic that its easier, faster, and cheaper if i stop and get dollar menu fast food on my way from one job to the next. But, proudly I can say ...today I stopped at chik fil a and got a salad fat free dressing, un sweetened tea. and when i stopped at the store i wanted a snack so i got all natural veggie chips Hey, its a start !i'm not trying to lose 100 lbs by surgery. I'd just like to get back to the weight i was when i sent in my paperwork (10 lbs ago i think) I promise to not get addicted to the scale but i will be more conscious about whats going into my mouth.

again thanks for the help you guys are amazing and I can't wait to be post op with you all !

Thanks for all the info guys! My biggest problem is.....well theres 2 ........1st my boyfriend. Yes, im responsible for my own self but he comes home with all these goodies and I eat them. But he brought them into the house!!!! and 2nd...my life is so crazy hectic that its easier, faster, and cheaper if i stop and get dollar menu fast food on my way from one job to the next. But, proudly I can say ...today I stopped at chik fil a and got a salad fat free dressing, un sweetened tea. and when i stopped at the store i wanted a snack so i got all natural veggie chips Hey, its a start !i'm not trying to lose 100 lbs by surgery. I'd just like to get back to the weight i was when i sent in my paperwork (10 lbs ago i think) I promise to not get addicted to the scale but i will be more conscious about whats going into my mouth.

again thanks for the help you guys are amazing and I can't wait to be post op with you all !

It's hard when those around you make it hard to make the right choice. It sounds like you are making good choices today. One choice at a time, they won't always be perfect but at least we are thinking about what we eat now. If you are anything like me that's something I haven't had a lot of experience with in my life. I was so used to eating what I want, now I feel a lot better about making choices that benefit me.

Might be time to sit down and have a heart to heart chat.

"Honey, I love you and all the great things you do for me very much, but I am about to embark on a life altering journey and I am going to need your help. Part of the reason I am at this point in my life is the poor food choices I have made and the presents you bring do not help. The sleeve is going to help me, but it only a tool. I still have to make these choices and it would help me sooo much if theses gifts weren't even an option."

This is a tough conversation for us to have as it draws a line in the sand saying you are making a change in your habits. But, it is a change you are going to have to do if you want to be successful with your sleeve.

There are healthy options out there in the fast food world, as you pointed out. I ate salads from McD's 3 times on a recent trip. They were tasty and healthy. There are options out there, but you also need to find the time to prepare options. I am a big proponent of Soups frozen in pint jars. Grab one on my way out the door about everyday. I make a large batch on Sunday evenings.

As I have posted in other threads ... things only change when things change.

I agree with PdX. In the end the decision is yours. I still have to buy food for my family that I cannot eat. They eat it, heck I even have to cook it, but I have changed the way I buy food now.

Many of us are busy and though what you say may be true, at this very second in your life, that it's cheaper, faster & easier to buy McDonald's than it is to buy chicken and fresh vegetables and grill. Make homemade soups, chili's. Take the cost of this surgery, health care, doctor's visits that you will inevitably have to deal with like some of us that are older and you will see which is actually, faster, cheaper & easier.

After the surgery it will still be cheaper, faster & easier to buy McDonalds, once you are in your 40's like me and have spent easily 100,000 going to Cardiologist, Rheumatologist, Neurologist, Internists, as I sit and think of all the hours I spend in waiting rooms, all the money on prescriptions, surgeries I may end up needing in the future, like hips, knees, neck, I realize, what is really important.

Your boyfriend got used to doing this for you, because he thought it made you happy. That or you have to realize you are allowing him to help you sabotage your efforts.

Good luck and I hope today is an easier day.