It boggles my mind how many people, who are beginning the process of weight loss surgery, come to these forums and ask strangers for permission to fail. With questions like, "Oh, I am two day into my pre-op diet, is it ok if I have a beer with my bestie because she's leaving town tomorrow and I won't see her for 6 months?" or, "I've been on Clear liquids for two weeks and my husband brought home pizza. Is it ok if I just take one bite?"

This is hard work. It takes motivation and dedication every day. If you can't refuse "a drink" or "a bite" now, how weak are you going to be down the road? Tighten those boot straps and get ready to battle! It's on! You are getting or have had the surgery and now it's time to put in the work.

Don't ask us to give you permission to fail. Think about that question you have, you know the correct answer. Do the right thing.

And then they call you perfect and judgemental if you dare tell it like it is.....go figure.

I've said it before and I'll say it again....I think it should be mandatory to have at least 6 months of counseling or psycotherapy before having WLS. So many just don't seem prepared for the needed changes in lifestyle and attitude for success. It really makes me sad sometimes.

And then they call you perfect and judgemental if you dare tell it like it is.....go figure.

I've said it before and I'll say it again....I think it should be mandatory to have at least 6 months of counseling or psycotherapy before having WLS. So many just don't seem prepared for the needed changes in lifestyle and attitude for success. It really makes me sad sometimes.

I recommend it, but I don't think counseling or therapy is a magic bullet for success. I didn't have it before my surgery. I did start therapy about 8 months after when I was almost at goal mainly for marriage issues. My therapist has about 10 weight loss patients and I am the only one that has reached goal weight and kept it off. Granted, she does not specialize in WLS patients. I think very few do.

I would love to see if there has been research done on the efficacy of therapy for WLS patients.

I'm 17 months postop, I was self pay and I haven't had one minute of therapy. But I still managed to follow my doctor's preop and postop diets to a T, lose over 100% of my excess weight, and maintain below goal for over 9 months. Perhaps it's the self pay part that gives another level of accountability for postop choices.... This was a huge financial AND mental commitment I was happy to make.

And, BTW, if I was going to do something like have a piece of cheesecake for dinner tonight instead of something containing Protein, I would just DO it. I would not ask any of you for permission. LOL !

I didn't dare go off track while my stomach was going through the healing process. Now, for special occasions I'll have a little bit of something without going too crazy. These past few days I've been getting hungrier so I've been eating SF Jello to stop me from wanting to "snack"