Hi,

This is my first visit here. I started my pre-op journey in mid November 2013 and my tentative surgery date is in May. I'm on 1400 calories a day and I did very well the first month, dropped 10.5 #. The next month, over the holidays and my birthday, I had a few bad days, but managed to lose another 3 #. February has been awful. This miserable winter has kept me inside. I'm handicapped and use a wheelchair most of the time. I live in a senior building and don't work, so, while I'm glad I don't have to go out and fight the weather, the bad part is the isolation and cabin fever.

My attitude has gone from trying to cut out as many calories as possible to trying to sneak in as many as I can get away with. My average daily intake has inched up to around 1550. I'm going in for my next weigh-in in 4 days and it's not gonna be pretty!

I am certainly an emotional eater and I can't afford to let depression and discouragement build up to defeat me. I fear that I'm losing faith that my life can change. How can I revitalize my attitude?

Hello and welcome...it's tough when that emotional eating factor starts sneaking up on you. I find that keeping busy is super important even if that means talking on the phone with friends or cleaning up around the house. Also, don't lose sight of your accomplishments so far... 13 pounds is not easy to lose!

You must mean your 6 month pre surgery nutritional evaluation? It's called many things but we usually call the 2 weeks before surgery the pre-op diet and it's usually liquids or atkins?

I had to go on the 6 month nut eval and didn't lose weight and they still OK'd me for surgery.

Yeah, maybe I didn't use the right term. I need to stick to a 1400 calorie diet for 5 months to qualify under my insurance. I guess most of you have some sort of similar program.

Today it's sunny here after a few warm days and simply not looking out at piles of dirty snow has made a bit of difference in my mental state. I'm a retired horticulturist and I pick up on the subtle details about nature; I see a couple of my houseplants are showing signs of waking up to the coming of spring, setting buds and growing more due to the increasing day length. I try to build optimism on things like that.

When I have my weigh in Thursday, i don't think I will see any new loss, but as long as I don't gain even one pound over my starting weight, I will qualify for insurance coverage. I should be safe.

Sometimes the slips and failures serve to prove a point. Today I had a bagel, the first one I've had since early November. I used to eat bagels frequently and I was feeling self-pity about giving up all my favorites. The bagel turned out to be like a big lump of gummy dough, and I now feel reconciled that after surgery, I won't be tempted to try to swallow another one. Better to get it over with now, and have closure on that food item, anyway!