Not cheating.....did any of you "skip" stages in your post-op phase? I ate soft foods before I was advised to. YES, it's wrong. I already know that. Was just wondering about you other guys.

Edited December 10, 201312 yr by MississippiQueen

I can only speak for myself... have no idea if this applies to anyone else. I have been very successful with the sleeve.... maintaining at goal and am a transformed woman, weight and looks wise. One of the things I had to do was be a little humble and accept that my surgeon had a "program" that is very successful for many many people. I many not understand or agree with 100% of it - but letting go of my arrogance and sort of surrendering to the process, the program, the guidelines is the only reason I am here today at goal. I have a lifetime of dieting, weight watchers, etc etc etc and could probably teach a class on nutrition for all the reading I have done. It was always hard for me to to accept that my "knowledge" wasn't getting me any where and I needed a new path. So, there are lots of people who do for example weight watchers as "Jane's plan" - you know, I will follow it sorta when I feel like it but tell everybody I am following weight watchers. In general, those lots of people don't have the best results compared to those who do. As time goes on, you do find your way. Maintaining at 150 is much easier then the daily battle i used to fight to keep from gaining more weight when I weighed 300# so don't be afraid. What vets are trying to tell you is that you never even get a chance to find your own path if you don't do what needs to be done to get to your own personal goal. And alot of people lose about half of what they want and kinda grind to a halt. If you picked a surgeon with an excellent track record and good results, why WOULDN'T someone follow their instructions to maximize your own odds of getting to goal? btw, my comments are not actually directed at the OP as she has already decided, it is for others who read this and wonder why not...whats the harm in following "janes plan". I can tell you why, because Jane's plan never got me to goal, it was my surgeon's plan who did. The sleeve just enabled me - he even asked me "what are your secrets to success" since he knows the sleeve does not do the whole job, it is up to each of us individually. That applies no matter what WLS you have.

Beautifully put.

oh no not me! I wouldn't dare cheat in the beginning. I had surgery on nov 18. first week was Clear Liquids, 2nd week was full liquids. That week was thanksgiving and I had a Protein shake for thanksgiving lunch. I went to my dad's house that dad and purposely showed up after everyone was done eating. Worked out great. I wasn't hungry anyway so it wasn't a big deal. This week is purees. So now its cottage cheese and chicken salad. Still not hungry. Just eating cuz i have too.

I am not qualified to tell you what you are doing is right, or wrong, mainly because this is new to me as well, I am only 3 days post op. BUT I can say for me, it isn't a question of what can I get away with, it's what can I learn from this situation? I know what "what can I do early, what can I get away with?" has gotten me, obese. I have learned much about myself in a short amount of time, the first being, I am worth it to do better for myself. To follow the pre op diet, and now the post op. Have I had moments of weakness where I think, oh I can just sneak that and it won't matter, yes I have. The difference for me is, I haven't done it. After going through such a life altering surgery, I just want to do the right thing this time. I want to learn why I eat what I do, and when I do, and how I can cope with my emotions without food. I want to follow directions and not push it. I am not saying you can't do what you want, but don't you owe it to yourself to do the best you can? Just my two cents

I'm 6 weeks out and I've followed the surgeons plan to a T.

Like mentioned above by one of the vets, I went into the process willing to do everything they asked of me. After so many failed attempts to lose it before, I was willing to accept that their way was better and for good reason.

I did a solid 8 weeks of liquids too...yes it was boring and on some days tough, but here I am 6 weeks post op send I've already lost 30% of my weight. I have exactly 100 more to go until my goal.

Good luck.

Edited December 5, 201312 yr by gomekast

I followed my surgeon's plan too for three reasons -

1. He was the expert and had a track record that showed me he had helped others be successful whereas my efforts had got me nowhere other than fatter

2. I paid for my surgery and couldn't afford to waste my hard earned cash by mucking about with the plan and failing

3. I was desperate, at the end of the road and depressed so I wanted my surgery to work because I had nowhere left to go

I knew that my stomach needed time to heal and that I might not feel it if I was causing damage when it was still numb - so you could add "scared" to the reasons why I didn't eat food before I was told.

It's worked for me. My life is transformed and my only comment to the OP is stick with the plan, don't make life difficult by bringing old habits with you. The period on liquid, mushies etc is boring and feels like it will last a lifetime. But it doesn't.

For me it was six tough weeks but it was six weeks that reinforced that life had changed dramatically and was going to keep changing. Use that time to start making changes otherwise why anyone would have surgery just to carry on eating as before,,,,

I believe word meaning and choice are important, and cheating is the wrong word here.

It's only cheating if you do it to try to win. Failing to study for a test is not called cheating. Getting the answers ahead of time is cheating, because you will do better than you deserve because of your behavior or actions. There is no benefit to you for failing to follow your surgeon's plan. It would be cheating if it helped you lose weight faster or otherwise gave you a better outcome. What you are doing won't help you in any way, even if it doesn't hurt you. This is not cheating. It is putting yourself at risk. Playing chicken with your health. Call it risky behavior, not cheating.

Edited December 5, 201312 yr by mistysj

Mistysj, I wish there was a button for "really like" your post!!!

I am out six weeks and my dr. Had me on real food after 4 weeks. I can't each much and really still have a shake a day. It is so hard to get the protein in. But I eat protein first. I am not trying to lose it fast. It didn't come on fast.

I won't have my sleeve until 12/16 and am 7 days into the liquid pre op diet, so I get it's hard, but...

I have worked as a surgical ICU nurse for almost 2 decades. I know exactly what happens to those who don't follow instructions. I'm sure some get away with it, but I've seen enough patients who ruptured their stomach staple line by eating the wrong things too soon. Once you've watched a 30 year old women fight for her life for months on a ventilator, overwhelming infection, multiple surgeries, only to lose in the end, because she ate half a chicken 1 week out, cheating is not an option. I've personally taken care of a few patients in the same situation, some lived, some didn't but it was a hard road either way. Why risk that? I don't say this to scare anyone away from the procedure. I was scared. Spoke to my surgeon and his experience is the same, he hasn't personally had a complication in his patients unless they were non compliant. It's a relatively safe procedure, and the surgical team does all they can to educate us, but some people just seem to know better or maybe should have never passed the psych. eval.

Back to the original poster...

Sounds like my curse.

"Have some simple carbs and it all goes to hell in a handbasket".

I do not know about you, but I avoid simple carbs ALL the time. I just get SOOOO hungry if I have any. Call it addiction. Call it a medical problem, but for me it just is.

I can stay strict because I know what will happen if I don't stay strict.

So much of this journey is about changing your mind about things. As has been said earlier one of the ways to do assist you to do this is by changing your language

The dictionary definition of cheating......

cheat

tʃiːt/

1.

To act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage.

To be sexually unfaithful.

2.

avoid (something undesirable) by luck or skill.

What you are doing does not fit within the definition of cheating. You are not gaining an unfair advantage and you are definitely not avoiding something undesirable by luck or skill. I won't ask about sex though.....

Basically, you are being dishonest to one person only and that is you. There is nothing to benefit you in this process. You need to decide to treat you better and not to be dishonest to yourself. This is so very much a head journey, learning that you deserve better. And I am not talking about the pizza, I am talking about beating yourself up about it afterwards.

Yep, you ate something that really was not going to be good for you. Own it, learn from it, forgive yourself for it, and get back on plan. Dismiss words like' cheating' from your vocabulary around food. Be good to yourself in your mind and your behaviours will follow.

how do I delete this thread? I feel like Im in elementary school & Im standing in the corner.

how do I delete this thread? I feel like Im in elementary school & Im standing in the corner.

Hey girlie

Remember when I told you these threads end up in fights sometimes?

Well the good news is this one didn't.. That's a start!

I know it's hard not to take some of this personal.

But part of what people are writing here are not reflections of what they think of you.

It is rather everyone working out the reasons we ALL did these kinds of things in the past..

It's all a learning process for of us..

Edited December 6, 201312 yr by laura-ven

MississippiQ, you might be sitting in the corner, but your friends are waiting for your timeout to finish so we can go outside for recess.

Ok, stupid analogy, but I am concerned for you and want you to be careful!!!! I also want to see you succeed and graduate from elementary school with the rest of us.

MississippiQueen, I apologise if my post read as condescending. That was not my intention, I was trying to share part of my own journey which was very much about learning to change my mind about things. To do this I had to often go far away from the emotional and into the facts, hence the dictionary reference. But on reread I can see how in your current space this could be viewed as lecturing. Please be assured that my intention was far from lecturing and my words come from my own experiences with failure and poor choices along the journey I have been on.

Edited December 6, 201312 yr by LouiseC