I need to lose 25lbs before my surgeon agrees to perform surgery. My insurance has been approved since June. I can't seem to stick to a diet long enough. Has anyone needed psych assistance to help change your way of thinking? I know I need this wls but I can't stick to a diet.

It's very hard, but it's something that you really want. You have to put into play how much you really want this and want's more important. I know you want that discomfort from you knees to go away. On the other hand, thank God you have a doctor that's more interested in your safety. I know sticking to a certain amount of calories is hard, I'll say a prayer for you. Try to do low carb dieting/ Atkins or South Beach. I have faith that you can do it.

Good Luck to you.

I feel for you. I was where you're at. What worked for me is to figure out what I could do vs. following a traditional diet. If you have more than 2 weeks, do what I did. Start recording everything you eat on the My Fitness Pal site.

Nothing like seeing the cold, hard facts. This helped me realize what I was consuming. Once I knew that, I was able to make slightly better choices. I'm not a snacker. If you are, start chewing gum, drinking coffee with half and half. I ate cheese and crackers when I was super hungry in between meals.

Just figure out what you can eat and can stick to, keeping in mind to reduce your calorie count from what you're eating now.

You'd be amazed how much easier it is to reduce your caloric intake once you know what it is.

If you're having trouble with the pre-op, reduce the carbs you eat, but don't eliminate them. One doctor I saw told me to have one sensible meal: 4-8 oz. meat, 1/2 cup mashed potatoes or rice, veggies and 1 piece of fruit. Said I could have fruit 3 times a day. For the other two meals, he recommended a Meal Replacement bar. He doesn't like Protein drinks, but that's what I drank for the other two meals.

When I got so hungry I couldn't stand it, I ate some raw, unsalted nuts and drank another Protein Drink. I just struggled through it as best I could. I wound up losing 13 pounds in two weeks, with one week to go on the pre-op diet. I find out tomorrow what more I've lost.

Best of luck to you. You can do it. I did, to my shock and amazement.

Can you get another surgeon? Approved since June, lose 25 pounds or no operation, sounds like a control freak. If we were great at losing we wouldn't need surgeons. My doc just wanted me to lose as much as I could....no ultimatums.

Will your MD support your doing Optifast?

Ugh Optifast. It'll work, though! You'll shed those pounds in a few weeks on that plan if you can hang in there.

As for counseling/therapy, I'm of the opinion that EVERYONE should have some. The group of people here that don't have disordered eating, food addictions or other underlying issues is minuscule. Almost everyone here has some form of disordered eating and most of us have reinforced those bad habits for years. Our relationships with food and our emotions about eating are incredibly complicated. We like to tell ourselves prior to surgery that all our issues are due to overeating and illness or genetics and that the sleeve will be that choice that finally cures it all for us. Sadly, this isn't the case!

And to take it a step further, in many cases the obesity isn't the issue. I wasn't unhappy because I was obese. I was obese because I was unhappy. And losing the weight made me feel a little better, yes, but it also made all of those things I was hiding under the food and the fat come to the surface. So I definitely needed support to get through that.

Long story short, counseling will never, ever hurt. It can only help.

As for losing the pounds, it's hard but you have a choice. The sleeve isn't going to make everything easier, either. You're still going to love food and want to eat, at least after the initial healing phase (and sometimes during!) so those struggles you're facing now, having trouble sticking to a plan? It won't be as tough post op, but there will still be times you run in to the same challenges, particularly once you're into maintenance and trying to live this new life for the rest of your life.

But Arts is right on - Optifast is hard but you'll lose weight on it!

~Cheri

Ugh Optifast. It'll work, though! You'll shed those pounds in a few weeks on that plan if you can hang in there.

As for counseling/therapy, I'm of the opinion that EVERYONE should have some. The group of people here that don't have disordered eating, food addictions or other underlying issues is minuscule. Almost everyone here has some form of disordered eating and most of us have reinforced those bad habits for years. Our relationships with food and our emotions about eating are incredibly complicated. We like to tell ourselves prior to surgery that all our issues are due to overeating and illness or genetics and that the sleeve will be that choice that finally cures it all for us. Sadly, this isn't the case!

And to take it a step further, in many cases the obesity isn't the issue. I wasn't unhappy because I was obese. I was obese because I was unhappy. And losing the weight made me feel a little better, yes, but it also made all of those things I was hiding under the food and the fat come to the surface. So I definitely needed support to get through that.

Long story short, counseling will never, ever hurt. It can only help.

As for losing the pounds, it's hard but you have a choice. The sleeve isn't going to make everything easier, either. You're still going to love food and want to eat, at least after the initial healing phase (and sometimes during!) so those struggles you're facing now, having trouble sticking to a plan? It won't be as tough post op, but there will still be times you run in to the same challenges, particularly once you're into maintenance and trying to live this new life for the rest of your life.

But Arts is right on - Optifast is hard but you'll lose weight on it!

~Cheri

Cheri, Your responses are thoughtful, well written and spot on. This and ALL others! THANKS!