I am really sick and tired of being lectured on this site...people assuming just because I was fat, that I had an unhealthy relationship with food. Not everyone was like this! Pre op, I never ate to excess because when I was full I would stop eating. (I was on a low calorie lifestyle change and stuck with it for years...I stuck with it so I wouldn't gain weight) Fat people get this stereotype from those on the outside all the time (that we eat a lot)and I finally thought this was a place of non judgement. I am aware many on this site got the way they are because they ate a lot but not everyone. Same goes with exercising: people are lecturing that you have to make sure you exercise daily or else and half of these holier than now lectures haven't seen the inside of a gym until this year. Which isnt a problem because they have chosen to make a change but do not lecture others when you dont know their history. Finally...being lectured about my post op drinks. Everyone is given a list by their drs and are not supposed to stray away from that list. I was told 2oz 3x per day of boost, ensure, atkins, slim fast, etc. I am constantly being told these are not healthy...and being read the nutrition facts..um I have it right in front of me and can read but honestly if my dr says to drink it I will.

Thanks for giving us the link to the book to read. While I'm off work recovering I want to read as much as I can to help change my cravings and ways. Any other books you suggest?

Another food addict book I read is called "The End of overeating : taking control of the Insatiable American appetite"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0025VKJNA/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title

*getting out the popcorn because now I can*

Can we eat popcorn later????? Holy cow! I was mourning popcorn last night!! (still on my liquid phase post-op)

I don't doubt you at all. We are all different in body shape, metabolism, and body fat to muscle. I was a size 18/20 at my heaviest and my BFF who weighed about 10 pounds less than me wore a size 22/24. I am athletic and active and when I do concentrate on eating well, I lose weight quickly and then after about 3 weeks I stop all together. (This is when I usually give up all together, binge a bit and gain it all back.)

I have fat genes on both sides, but that said, I can blame no one but myself for where I am in my weight loss journey. My parents are both in good shape and they work hard to stay that way. I work hard most of the time but the times I don't work hard, I gain copious amounts of weight and justify it to my own detriment.

I chose this surgery because I can't quit it. I also chose this surgery because I am extremely obsessive compulsive and when I did WWs, all I thought about was points, measuring, weighing, planning meals, tracking, to the point that I drove myself nuts and I felt unproductive in other aspects of my life. I can't do that any more. Now, with my teeny tiny tummy, my choices are made for me. I still have to worry about getting in the protein and liquids, but my mindset is completely different because my choices are so limited for now.

I hope this creates new habits for me as my tummy heals and I slowly incorporate new foods into my diet.

This is me in a nutshell!!! Hello all - from my nutshell!!

You have got to read the book "Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the food giants hooked us" if you have not already. This expose will show you exactly how much the food giants have messed with the system to make us into food addicts. I just read it a couple weeks ago and was amazed at the depths the food giants will go to, the political lobbying and the outright manipulation of advertising in the name of profit both in the last century and this century. It is a very corrupt system we live within. You must read this!

http://www.amazon.co...at, salt, sugar

Have you ever read "Fast Food Nation"? The chapter about food additives is crazy. It's amazing how much of the flavor in a McDonald's hamburger is actually just chemicals produced in a lab.

One time my MIL bought an organic, free-range chicken. She told us it was the "worst chicken she ever had." I remember telling her "That's because you don't know what chicken actually tastes like."

Have you ever read "Fast Food Nation"? The chapter about food additives is crazy. It's amazing how much of the flavor in a McDonald's hamburger is actually just chemicals produced in a lab.

One time my MIL bought an organic' date=' free-range chicken. She told us it was the "worst chicken she ever had." I remember telling her "That's because you don't know what chicken actually tastes like."[/quote']

Is the documentary and the book the same thing? If it isn't ill check it out or if it is may e ill rematch the movie.

I haven't read the past 7 pages or so but for me hunger had returned. Keep this in mind as you go along this process. I am 4 months post op and its not close to before but I still get hungry.

i get lectured every time I put it out there that I cant seem to eat just one SF fudgesicle. Because I like to eat 2-3 people assume it is because I am using food for comfort. Can't I just like the taste? Geez.

I just have a hard time seeing them as a healthy alternative...

I'm a food addict and these and me together would be trouble!

True that. As a fellow food addict I agree.

This is me in a nutshell!!! Hello all - from my nutshell!!

Acorn or peanut?

Acorn or peanut?

Buckeye.

Weight loss and weight gain is simple. It's calories in vs calories burned...we all know that. Sure, metabolism has some influence on that equation but every human still has a resting basal metabolic rate. Based on age and height/weight and activity level, it's a mathematical configuration that will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your current weight. If you eat more, you gain weight. I don't understand how a human being can eat at such a restrictive level, calorically speaking, and become morbidly obese. It's not that complicated and even if you had extremely poor metabolism, you still need at least 1,000 per day to pump blood through your heart and oxygenate your lungs, etc. Your situation is very interesting and suprising to learn about. Best of luck!

I agree with a lot of what you said, but a BMR is more than a mathematical calculation--it can vary even among people of the same weight, height and activity level. That is why you can get your BMR tested. Some people do simply burn more calories than others, all else being equal. Not sure if it could be to the degree to cause morbid obesity on a consistently calorie restricted diet, though. I think the thing is that people who have very efficient metabolism (ie, lower BMRs) and health issues that complicate the ability to lose weight (hypothyroid, insulin disorders, etc) often do severely calorie restrict and have trouble losing weight. But they/we were unable to do so consistently prior to VSG because it is not something that is sustainable if you are human. That is the difference with VSG--you may lose weight more slowly than many others, but you will do so consistently even with a bunch of health issues that would keep you from losing without the surgery. So although someone may feel like you are always calorie restricting pre-VSG and not losing weight or gaining, it is probably from going on and off the VLCD. That can lead to a pattern of your body wanting more calories than normal when off the very low calorie diet, too. VSG provides a tool for consistency....

Is the documentary and the book the same thing? If it isn't ill check it out or if it is may e ill rematch the movie.

Never seen the movie so I couldn't tell ya! I'm sure it's based on the book, but how it compares I can't be sure.

Hi, my name is Sandy and I got fat because I ate a whole bunch of truly delicious food over an obscene number of years. I ate whole pizzas and multiple tacos and butter, cheese and cream. I ate loaves of bread and pasta with cream sauce and steaks with butter. I ate pies and cakes and cookies. I ate everything I wanted anytime I wanted to. And all my friends said, "we don't know why you are fat, you hardly eat anything". What a load of crap. I can see now that I was eating huge amounts of food. And I was eating all the wrong food. I had a good run, but it had to end and I had the sleeve so I could not be tempted to go back. I really think that people who say they are not fat by their own hand are in denial. Denial will never make a problem go away.

same here!!! it takes a lot for someone to truly admit to themselves the ugly truth. sometimes denial can cross over into an uncontrollable state of delusion. i commend you on your honesty and i wish you the best of success on your weight loss journey.

i have seen people who are 30-50lbs overweight due to medication, metabolic disorders, etc but to be honest i have never seen anybody who was 100lbs+ overweight from medication and/or metabolic disorders and I've spent over 15 years studying both psychology and metabolism (on a cellular level/biology). you know, you can lead a horse to water but you can not make them drink even if they are dying. and when it comes to issues of morbid obesity, it really is a life or death matter.

some people are unable to cope with what they have done to themselves. i've taken prednisone, and was unable to walk for 2 years after some injuries that i had. i would ride in my medical transport van and we would go to a fast food place and get 3 meat shwaramas, poutine (fries with all types of delicious stuff layered on it and topped in cheese and gravy), 4 pieces of baklava, then have a few pieces of cheese pizza at physical therapy.

i would still go home and have what my household considered a healthy balanced meal. Grilled chicken, green beans, tomatoes, cabbage, rice, and a banana. i would often have seconds. my eating was so secret. even people who LIVED with me thought that i was just overweight based on having seconds at most meals and not being active. because i gained most of my weight after my injuries (i went from about 175 to 375 in just over a year and a half then another 150 crept on over 4 years) my mother in law was from Somalia and she was quite large and i added rice and banana to almost every meal (which is a very Somalian tradition).

people would actually defend me and say 'she doesnt eat that much - i have seconds too and i havent gained as much as she has, it has to be her metabolism'. because people try to make the illogical logical so they can cope with it. but it's just PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE to gain massive weight unless you are consuming and storing those calories. if you are in a coma and no one gives you nourishment you are going to waste away. no matter what type of crazy medications you are on, no matter what type of crazy edema you have. it's physically impossible.

it is a whole lot to mentally deal with and maybe the OP is just not there yet. as frustrating as it is to witness a person in that dangerous of a state, no one can FORCE her to see the light, you know?

it just really hurts my heart because people out here are trying so hard to get this surgery to save their lives. people are mortgaging their homes or taking out loans to even go out of the country to get this surgery. and then when you see someone so defiant and abrasive and unappreciative of it...that just breaks my heart. and then when they become HOSTILE to the point of wanting to pipe off at a community dedicated towards getting healthy it's just so painful. obviously the OP is just unaware. and you know, hey. it is what it is.

imagine going to an AA meeting or an NA meeting and you have that one person there who wants to rant at everybody like "Oh, yeah...I have 100 DUIs, I ran into a few houses, I drove my car into a lake, but I do not have an alcohol problem, I do not have a drug problem. Every DUI I got was because I had just used Listerine right before I drove. I always drink in moderation. My body just doesn't process alcohol well so that is not my fault but yet I am going to keep drinking. I don't know why I am here I am sick of hearing about being clean and sober." You'd want to pull your hair out!

Well, maybe not after the sleeve LOL. I want to keep each and every strand I currently have.

Wowzers! This thread is still going?!?! I don't usually chime in on particular behaviors but this post is quite irritating. Mainly because the only person being aggressive is the one who started the whole thing but clearly cannot see that.

PS. Some of you ladies are hilarious' date=' lol! Enjoying the haikus! [/quote']

I agree. It's mostly for attention I have found not only on this site but almost all web boards.

Hourglass, thank you for getting it.