Having doubts -- still a food centered life?

[Thinside 155]

I'm dieting to lose as much as I can before surgery (while staying within the BMI range needed for insurance approval.) I've dieted MANY times before, and it is a lot of work! The only thing that has consistently worked for me is logging every single thing I eat. It also requires a huge time commitment in terms of planning every bite I'll take in a day, and thinking about what I'll do if we are going to be somewhere where I will need to eat out. As a result, a huge amount of my time is spent thinking about and planning my eating. It's the only way I can successfully diet. And it's a bit exhausting.

So, here's my worry: am I putting myself in the situation of having my whole life centered around food forever if I go through with the sleeve procedure?

Do you have to plan every single day's eating and think about what you're going to eat ahead of time and log everything forever? Or does it just become second nature, part of life? I would hate to devote a huge chunk of my life to thinking about food! That's one reason I want to have the surgery in the first place -- so food is not such a big part of my day and my mental landscape.

[smile121 66]

Hello! I am right there with you. I was extremely successful with weight watchers, but eventually got burnt out from logging all of my food. It gets exhausting!!!

[CanyonBaby 1,852]

So I have to ask, what would be your outcome if you didn't have the surgery? Yes, we plan our food, a lot of us weigh and measure it, log what we eat, but then we carry on...to a healthier life than before the surgery. What is different? Dieting will get you this far....and then there's that slippery-slope that pulls us back to being overweight. How many times do we have to diet, then fail....before we say "enough, already!" and have the procedure that we can use as a TOOL that will help us keep from sliding backwards? If you think it is easy, READ THE POSTS! It is not the easy way out, we still have to fight to maintain, but at least there is now a tool in the box that we can use as a lifeline, IF WE USE IT PROPERLY. Read what those of us go through everyday; we still battle, but look at the success rate for those who are using the tool properly. If you're looking for an easy way out, there is none, not even with surgery. And if you're like me and the many others on this site, you will use the tool and lead a slimmer, healthier lifestyle for the rest of your life! Good luck in your decision-making!

[woo woo 872]

Different people do it differently. Some log everything, always. Others only log if they feel they are getting off track.

What does your doc/nut recommend?

[Thinside 155]

Thanks CanyonBaby. I don't expect this to be "the easy way out." There doesn't seem to be anything easy about it! I'm hopeful that the surgery will help me stop thinking about food and being hungry all the time, and will help me manage my portions, which I have trouble with. I hope to make it just a part of life, not the focus, which it has been for too long for me!

Do you log every meal every day? Do you plan each day's food the day (or week) before? I do that when I diet, but the longest I've been able to sustain that is 3 months. I lead a very busy life, with 9-12 hour work days. The thought of having to log every meal for the rest of life is exhausting. Food has governed my life. I don't want it to be the focal point any more!

[bikrchk 1,313]

Overweight since I was a kid, I'd been successful at "diets" as far as losing, but never could maintain for more than about 6 months. I was never a "food logger" pre-op, but took on food journaling with WLS because I needed to understand how to get all my Protein and re-learn good habits. Protein is the only macro I really paid attention to. 80-100g per day while getting 1000-1200 calories while losing. I logged everything for the duration of my loss and the first 6 months of maintenance until I decided consciously that I wanted to try and live a bit more naturally (if I could do it and not lose ground). Counting was beginning to feel more like a crutch than a tool. I made a deal with myself that I'd continue to weigh once per week always recording that, and if I went outside my 135-145lb zone I'd go back to journaling till I was comfortably back where I belong. It's working for me at least for now, (It's been 10 months). I've only had one incident where I needed to log again and that was right after vacay. I was back in the zone in a week. I pay attention to protein, (still supplement 20-40g per day) and I know based on the experience of journaling for a year I'm getting the rest of what I need from food. I'll continue doing it this as long as it works, but have no illusions I may have to return to counting at some point. I'm still a noob a this maintenance thing, less than 2 years out from surgery and refuse to let it get out of control again. Still learning what it means to live as a fit person long term.

[CanyonBaby 1,852]

@@Thinside

Unfortunately (or NOT), the surgery does not alter the brain or it's thinking pattern. You will still have the same mental issues with food, it's the hardest part of this. You will have "head hunger" that has been imprinted in you brain for all of your life up to this point. You will have to work on that to change it. It is HARD! You may need some psychological assistance, which is not unusual. Your Dr. can assist you in finding that help. The question is how committed to change are you?

This is what I do, and it's not for everyone. Everyone is different, and approaches this lifestyle change differently. I do not log my food choices for the day. I do not "officially" count calories, carbs, Protein, or fat. I have a mental idea of what they are and what I have done for the day. I have been doing the diet thing for years, and am satisfied that what I am doing is adequate for me. My dietician and nurse know what I do, and are not only ok with it, they are happy with my progress. The surgery is doing what it is supposed to do, and I recognize that it will do only so much, and that my part is unfinished, and always will be. I exercise a few times a week, when my arthritic joints allow, eat Protein first, and, if there is any room left (rarely) will have a few bites of healthier carbs. I follow the 2-3-2 program (eat within 2 hours of waking, approximately every three hours and within two hours of going to bed). I am rarely hungry this way. My life DOES revolve around food (it was worse before surgery, as I was diabetic then - it is in remission now), but in a more positive way. I don't restrict too much what I eat (types of food), since I eat so little of it, but I focus on the protein diet. I have treats in moderation, and not regularly.

It takes a lot of effort to do this, planning meals can be a challenge (since I eat so little, a normal size meal will last me days!). I freeze a lot of my leftovers to use later on. The biggest thing is I think it was definitely worth it, as at least with the surgery I CAN see a difference, and it is working. And it WILL Stay off if I follow the rules, which get easier each day.

You can always send me a message if you need further advice or have any other questions, I'm happy to help!

[JamieLogical 8,684]

I don't track my food. I keep kind of a running tally of Protein in my head to make sure I get my required Protein in, but that's it. You will have to think about food a lot and make good choices. I have a pretty regular routine I follow with Breakfast and Snacks, so that really doesn't require much thought at all. It's just the same stuff every day. lunch and dinner are my two meals that vary from day-to-day. I pretty much always just have some sort of meat for those meals. Occasionally I'll have egg instead of meat.< /p>

When going out to eat, I just order meat or chili. Usually I just get an app of some sort or share with my husband. Every restaurant sells meat! A chicken or shrimp appetizer usually works well.

When I go to a party or social gathering, same thing. I just look for whatever has the most protein and eat a little of that.

It's way easier than diets in the past where I have tracked every single bite of food and just couldn't eat something if I didn't know exactly how much calories, fat, carbs, and protein it had. I would have to look up nutrition info on restaurant's web sites before I went. I would have to ask my mother-in-law all the ingredients she used to cook dinner before we could enjoy a meal at their house. It was absurd!

Now it's much simpler. Protein first! Try to limit carbs somewhat. That's pretty much it.

[Nyelaah 77]

I have similar concerns as the OP. I do NOT believe this is the "easy way out" however I think that we need to dig deep inside and figure out what works for us. I would like to use the sleeve as a tool for a healthy lifestyle. I don't want to write every little thing I eat, but I am planning my meals on sundays to include the Protein and greens and carbs that is "recommended."I hope this change in lifestyle, exercise plus the sleeve will help me achieve my WLG.

[fox99 19]

I think the OP has a valid point. Its not normal to obsess over food either way.

[smile121 66]

I think that, for me, I want to stop my obsession with food. I want food to work for me, not me working for food anymore. I have talked to my nut and therapist about this and they say that my thinking is really good. The problem is making the "skinny person" mentality my own. I have conditioned myself to think that food is love and comfort, I have also conditioned myself to think that to lose weight I have to deprive, or log or count everything. See what I do there, eating is freedom and dieting is punishment. Because I recognize this, I know I am ready to make the change!!!

[Thinside 155]

Wow, thanks everyone for such thoughtful responses. I know I can do this, and live a healthier, non-food-centered life, where I eat to live, not vice versa. I'm glad to hear that after adjusting for several months or a year, some people are able to just eat healthily, eating Protein first, but don't have to log every single bite to maintain weight. I do plan to follow my doc's instructions to the letter! I'm not going to do this and do it half-way.

[par1959 470]

I guess it depends on what an individual considers a large amount of time. In reality, logging ones intake takes at the most 10 minutes per day. In my real time support group I have heard house wives that don’t work complain about not being able to lose weight. The first thing the nut is going to ask is to see a log of what they have eaten. Their response is they don’t have enough time to log food. Makes me laugh. I work full time and find time to exercise and have a life. The 125 lbs I have lost has given me more time and energy. Logging my intake is easy and takes minute. After a while you will know portions by heart and the various on line logs take most of the work out of it. Bottom line, when somebody tells me they don’t have time to log means they are looking for excuses. In short, BS.

[Thinside 155]

Wow, par1959, judgmental much? I've logged food since 2009. I know how to do it. I've done every day, every bite, every meal for months at a time. I know exactly how long it takes. And it's not simply logging, it's planning every day in advance exactly what to eat. I do not want to live that way forever. I simply do not wish my life to be so food centered. I hope to live more like my "normal" weight friends, who can stay healthy by making good choices but don't have to think about food constantly. So laugh all you want. But if you can't add anything constructive it might be better to keep your thoughts and your laughter to yourself in the future. Or is your goal in life simply to tear people down and attack them? (And your housewives remark says a lot about you.)

Edited March 18, 2015 by Thinside

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

It really depends on you. I am a food logger. I have been more or less using a food diary for the past 4 year. However I am not married to my food diary. After a while you have an ideal of what you can and cannot eat. I actually log in for the day first thing in the morning. If I am going out to eat and it's somewhere I'm unsure of, I just eat light for most of the day. If a surprise comes up or something unexpected, I just use common sense. Friend spontaneously decided to go for ice cream? I make a choice. I may go and get a kid's size, I may go and just get a drink of Water and not have any, I may have a kid's sized sorbet instead. I may split with someone, take one or two bites and be done. If I go over one day, it's not a big deal. I just don;t go over every day.

Food logging just works for me. Moreso than weighing myself. My life isn't centered around food in that I am obsessed with every bit I put in my mouth, but I don't think we can afford to pretend we don't have to watch what we eat.