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My Suggestion-Stop The Obsessing. Rules Are Meant To Be Broken



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I have to say.. 48 LIKES and only 4 naysayers.. ALL of us are entitled to their own opinions, of course. Keep it nice!! It is fun, though, being on the winning side of the debate per the populous :-)

OOPS 18 to 4.. Same point, though

I have to say.. 48 LIKES and only 4 naysayers.. ALL of us are entitled to their own opinions, of course. Keep it nice!! It is fun, though, being on the winning side of the debate per the populous :-)

OOPS 18 to 4.. Same point, though

You seem way to intelligent to believe this. There is no "dislike" button, or you might be seeing different results. In order to disagree with your points, one has to take the time to write a post and be willing to "publicly" disagree with you. Plenty of people here aren't willing to do that. They are too nice.

I'm sure if you met up with a bunch of alcoholics carrying a bottle of whiskey you would be quite popular. That's what you have here...people who do not want to change their bad behavior one bit, they only want the sleeve to control their portions for them. But for people with food addictions and eating disorders, that approach absolutely will not work. They will find ways to eat around the sleeve.

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@butter I so agree. Many who have a lifetime of eating disorders will eat around their sleeves. These same folk will also do that whether they "lick the cheese off a dorito", "take a bit of a pretzel and spit it out" or actually take 2 bites of each and listen to what I wrote in the post. It's moot.. They need to have therapy and deal with it and it is a serious matter. NO reason to starve and torture yourself.. Black and white diets, as my point stated, are proven to not work, wheras, learning to be and eat healthy does... Don't forget, the dorito was just an example of stupid ideas people suggest, but I had suggested a bowl of Soup pre op or a can of tuna post op...(if they can handle it)- None of which will take them off the health wagon.

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While I don't think anyone should disregard their doctor's orders, I do agree with the stop obsessing part of your post. What I mean by that is for instance: 1.) We don't have to worry about dehydration more than we did before forever, just for the first few weeks post op when we still have trouble getting fluids in. I see people on here at a year out worrying about not getting all of their fluids. I'm 14 months post op and I drink just like I did before surgery, sometimes a lot, some days not much at all. It never hurt me before to only get 30 oz in a day why would it now. 2.) We don't HAVE to eat Protein first forever just in the weight loss phase because let's face it we are put on a high protein low carb diet, yes diet by our docs to lose the weight. I chose to have this surgery so I could eat like I did when I was thin in my younger days and that is a little of this and some of that but not 4 servings of anything. When I really started trying to diet to lose the 10-15 lbs I had gained in my late 20's is when I really started gaining weight. If I wanted to stay on Atkins I would have just done that and not had surgery, at least then I could have eaten a whole steak and not just 3-4 oz. lol Anyway that's just my two cents worth take it or leave it. lol

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You have a few very valid points as others have mentioned with the stop obsessing and whatnot, but I feel like your approach to the whole subject is brash and that tone comes across strongly in many of your replies. I don't mind a debate that much, and this one was interesting to read, because when I was early out I got yelled at by a bunch of people for being on the opposite side of the topic and wondering why someone would intentionally go against their doctor's orders.

Like that day, I still maintain that I think people should follow their physician's plan, because this surgery is not a one size fits all and not all of us have the same mindset/starting place that others do. This is not to discredit researching on your own, but I feel like I researched my physician enough to trust his judgment on my post-op plan, be it because I will put myself at risk of physical injury, because it will help me lose weight faster in the beginning, or because it will help me build new habits having a structural diet. All of those actually sound like very good and educated reasons to follow a post-op diet as your doctor recommends.

Some people have very real addictions to food and for some one or two steps down the wrong path is a hard thing to come back from. For this reason, I think your post is far overreaching in its generalization that cheating is fine. Cheating is fine for you. I do worry that people will use this an excuse to continue down a path that lead them to being obese in the first place. My goal is not to be vindictive or chastise, cause I know that I am by no means perfect, but I love to see people succeed. Every time I see a success on this community it makes me genuinely happy because these are people I have talked to or who have encouraged me or vice versa and I feel connected to.

I am happy for you that your choice of foods is going well for you. Personally, I would not have been able to eat many of the things you are eating so soon out. Now that I'm a little farther out, I'm still glad that I didn't eat them, because most days that go by I want them less. I still get cravings, and once in a while will satisfy them, but the slow pace has given me time to evaluate my choices more clearly. I am not clouded all the time by my food addiction.

I'm not sure where exactly else I was going with this post, but to let people know (When I was pre-op I came to these boards all the time reading everything I could find) that there are multiple sides of this and that just like you would follow your own doctor's advice on other medical problems, that it may be best to at least have a dialogue with your doctor about what you feel and how you eat. If you are having problems, maybe it is best to work with your doctor to overcome these or find ways to fit things that you enjoy into something that will continue to better your health. Doctors don't read minds and realize that their patients aren't compliant - this information can give them a far better understanding of where you are so that they can treat you better. They are not an enemy forcing you to follow a plan, they are a health care provider, there for you, to help you be healthy. For me, the idea of "cheating" brings me back to a place where I was hiding food, eating things I shouldn't be, eating far too much. I want to be able to have a level headed honest conversation with my doctor who is there to help me through this process.

And to the OP - I would be interested if you could ask your friends/family who are bariatric surgeons, nutritionists, anesthesiologists if they could point us toward some research on these topics. I'm sure that they've attended many seminars and have a wide knowledge base on the subject, but I think it'd be very interesting. I've looked myself on PubMed and some of the journals that my nursing school provides, but I haven't had as much luck finding actual studies relating to VSG and post-op diet comparison/information.

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It seems that there are two major groups on this forum. Those who get the sleeve and use the tool to eat less and loose weight and those who get the sleeve to kick off a new life of healthly eating, exersice, Protein Shakes and basicly a totally new life. The first group, in which I belong, is a little more laid back, we are going to incorporate birthday cake and margaritas. I would love it if the group of "Sleeve life changer- health nuts" would give us "Laid back sleevers" a break and not accuse of us of being trolls, or giving bad advice. We have a different lifestyle, it is okay not to be just like you, I promise. There needs to be room for both types of people on this forum. When I first started reading I thought the only people on here were health fanatics, I am glad to see there are people who are not running 5k's and drinking Protein shakes 4 weeks out.

Perfectly put into perspective!! I whole heartedly agree!!!

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@neil: I liked your post

@pdx: I liked your post too

@easye: if you can't tolerate ice cream, have you tried frozen yogurt?

I tend to be a "question authority" kind of person and although I am now old enough to know better, still, when someone tells me I can't do something I'll be danged, I just feel compulsed to do it. In some cases that has been to my benefit; in some cases, not so beneficial (i.e. speed limits). So, when the bariatric surgeon & nutritionist gave me guidelines about when to move past the liquid phase, I pushed it forward a week (no problems, felt great) and so on for each stage. And by golly, I have had zero problems or issues and feel that my VSG was a complete success and is doing exactly what I wanted it to do - I didn't expect it to cure my issues with food but just to limit the amount of food I could consume.

Maybe that's the message we need to tell the newly sleeved and the gonna be sleeved: it only limits the amount of food you can eat at one time. Period.

disclaimer so I don't get roasted alive: these are my opinions and my experiences

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I have to say.. 48 LIKES and only 4 naysayers.. ALL of us are entitled to their own opinions' date=' of course. Keep it nice!! It is fun, though, being on the winning side of the debate per the populous :-)

OOPS 18 to 4.. Same point, though[/quote']

Ummm, we don't have a dislike button.

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Water and gatorade was the only things that kept me going for the first week and a half.now i eat cream Soup, yogurt,watermelon,soft cheese, and tried turkey slice a tiny bit and it kept me full for hours .im craving a tuna salad but i know i wont get it dwn so gonna give it a bit longer.im also craving pickles in a jar.but i think it would maybe burn my stomach ? Scared to try.oohh i cant wait to have my first propper meal.i would like ,tuna with lettuce an cucumber with pickles .yum yum lol.

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I have had the worst pickle craving, I think the skin might be hard to digest though. I totally want that for my first real

meal too!!

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That's what you have here...people who do not want to change their bad behavior one bit, they only want the sleeve to control their portions for them.

Wrong. Of course people want to change their bad behaviour otherwise we would of never had the surgery. The sleeve is designed to control portion sizes. It was never designed to change the mind set. It has no connection to the brain or our thought patterns.

My bad behaviours have changed tremendously. I now drink half a cup of diet coke every second day as opposed to 2 cans of real coke per day. I have had only one bite of a McDonalds hamburger in the past 3 months as opposed to 3-4 maybe 5 servings of McDonalds per week. So, yes we do and we are changing our bad behaviours..

Changing bad behaviours doesnt mean we have to live on tuna and salad for the rest of our lives or completely deprive ourselves, its all about moderation, isnt it?

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Perfectly put into perspective!! I whole heartedly agree!!!

Just curious ... have you read the entire thread? Namely, my response to the post you quoted or the several other responses to that post?

Ummm, we don't have a dislike button.

True, and his math is a little off. If he were to go through and count all the likes on the opposition posts, it would be a landslide. But, as I mention in one of my posts, we're not here for a p!$$ing contest, but to help the community.

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Wrong. Of course people want to change their bad behaviour otherwise we would of never had the surgery. The sleeve is designed to control portion sizes. It was never designed to change the mind set. It has no connection to the brain or our thought patterns.

My bad behaviours have changed tremendously. I now drink half a cup of diet coke every second day as opposed to 2 cans of real coke per day. I have had only one bite of a McDonalds hamburger in the past 3 months as opposed to 3-4 maybe 5 servings of McDonalds per week. So, yes we do and we are changing our bad behaviours..

Changing bad behaviours doesnt mean we have to live on tuna and salad for the rest of our lives or completely deprive ourselves, its all about moderation, isnt it?

Over Blubel, this is not fair ... you are taking Butter's quote out of context.

** Edit **

Looks like Overthewhingers changed their name to Blubel

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It was never designed to change the mind set. It has no connection to the brain or our thought ?

I do believe the elimination/reduction of ghrelin, the hormone that triggers the hunger sensation qualifies as a connection to our thought/brains.

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I do believe the elimination/reduction of ghrelin, the hormone that triggers the hunger sensation qualifies as a connection to our thought/brains.

Yes that is true, to some degree. I do feel that it controls some of the hunger sensation but the connection Im referring to (which I should of clarified), is the psychological side. That the sleeve has no connection to controlling emotional eating etc.

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
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      1. LeighaTR

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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