Lost my motivation and discipline at 4 months out?!?!

[itstimealready 180]

Help! I've been cheating for 2 weeks! Having a little carb fest over here and slacking on exercising. Thank goodness it's only translated to gaining a pound or two SO FAR but I need to get back on track! I'm wasting my honeymoon phase and I'm only half way there!

I had the best luck in the past with Hcg since you lose so quickly and it kept me so motivated. This sleeve is so boringly, painfully slow that I've lost my momentum.

You're my support group since I didn't tell anyone - good thing since I don't wanna hear the " you got that radical surgery for only 35 pounds?!?!" (Since that's all I've lost so far)

I needed to 'fess up so I'm doing it here. Maybe it's time for a 5 day pouch test thingy... Thanks for being here ya'all.

[itstimealready 180]

Omg!!! I just counted the weeks and I'm 5 months out (not 4) with almost a 2 month stall. (((

Pep talk, please!

Edited March 16, 2016 by itstimealready

[SassyNanny 311]

Thanks for reaching out! It's great that you know when it's time to fess up and get real. Bad habits can be hard to break. For me I found the surgery took away my desire to eat cheaty things. I track on SparkPeople.com every thing I put in my mouth. I know my calories, carbs and Protein grams every day. I weigh myself every morning on my wifi Aria Fitbit scale so I have a graph of my progress and can see if I'm in any trouble. I have had stalls. One at 3 months lasted 3 weeks. It was tough but I kept tracking.

It has been slow for me but it all adds up. At 4 months I'm now down 55 pounds and am losing 8-10 pounds a month lately.

Please don't give up. You can do this. It's just getting into the habit of listening to your small stomach talk to you and follow the eating plan you were given. Track. Hydrate. Move more.

Keep posting and fake it until you make it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Ok, I am biased...I see the HcG as one of my many foibles. Lost 30#, regained 30plus a few to spare. I was miserably hungry and couldn't keep it up. I have had lasting success with sleeve so my comments are to see if there are things that can help.

Are you following an eating plan? (Mine was 4-5 mini meals per day, small portions.)

Do you measure and track everything?

Are you staying hydrated and avoiding liquid calories/carbs

Do you always eat Protein first?

Are you avoiding junk food?

This kind of stuff helps keep hunger away

Sent from my KFJWI using the BariatricPal App

[Kindle 8,667]

While tracking, getting the right nutrients, excercise, etc, are all important elements to losing weight, the more important issue for any kind of long term success is fixing your head. Are you seeking professional help for your food addiction? You say we are your only support, but really, if you are this uncommitted so soon postop, you need a plan B or surgery will have been a waste of time and money.

For those of us that have had WLS, food really isn't the problem. Our heads are the problem and your bariatric surgeon can't do anything to help with that. There are other programs and mental health professionals that deal with addictions and its your responsibility to seek them out, find out WHY you abuse food, and put in the work to learn new habits.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

The sleeve is slow and steady.

You already know your issues.

You don't need a pouch test at 5 months, restriction is not your issue.

Maybe look for an Overeaters annon meeting and attend one.

You are close to fully healed, you have to learn to control your food and cravings, because you can basically eat around your sleeve if you are determined, and that is exactly what you are doing.

This is a lifestyle, not a quick fix fad diet.

Edited March 16, 2016 by OutsideMatchInside

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

If you are bored and impatient at 5 months, how are you going to react at 5 years?

This is when the rubber hits the road.

Why not make an appointment with your NUT? A therapist? Attend a support group meeting? Go to OA (OA.org)?

I know I get repetitive on my post, but embracing the stall for me is realizing its part of the process and not something to be beaten, overcome, or outsmarted. Stalls in my previous dieting life were when I gave up or did something crazy (like double-down on the crazy dieting).

I truly believe that how I learn to do deal with this anxiety and boredom when I stall is what is going to help me be successful in both the short and long run.

Embrace the Stall!

http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall

[Jennifer Ostermeier 45]

I recommend a therapist or group that specializes in eating disorders. I went through intensive outpatient therapy prior to the surgery for exactly this reason. This is a great one if they have a place near you. https://www.eatingrecoverycenter.com

Secondly, look for eating disorder anonymous would also be a great option! http://www.eatingdisordersanonymous.org/meetings.html

In terms of stalls, while only a month out, I do not weigh. Feeds into my disordered eating and addiction too well. I will become obsessed. Let my doctor take care of that piece for now.

[lealor 127]

@CowgirlJane@Jennifer Ostermeier@ @SassyNanny - - - great advice friends. Yes it is a constant living breathing life style change. All these suggestions are so important. Im 6 months out and finding its a conscious effort to stay mindful of my new lifestyle. I work with a lady who was sleeved 5 years ago, she lost 100 pounds, and now has gained 70 back. Scary. It takes time, to lose, to be serious, to stay on track and to get your nutrition and exercise in.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I can totally see how this happened to your friend.

Silly comparison - but you can't go have your teeth cleaned at the dentist and then fool yourself thinking that you are set for the rest of your life....nope... you need to brush, floss and... keep going back to the dentist! Might need a course correction (like a filling) might need new technology (sonicare), might need more frequent professional cleaning.

Maintenance is alot like that. It isn't an end to the the WLS story. It is the key piece of it and for some reason, we have a hard time grasping that (well, I certainly have!). I was so focused on losing weight. At first, the shift to maiintenance was pretty easy because honestly it was just like losing weight, only a little more wiggle room. Over time... it gets harder to sustain that focus and you think "why can't I eat all that too" - well, maybe not consciously, but somewhere deep inside you think those things.

Luckily for me I have become quite interested in how I look. Seriously, I dont care what others think - but I enjoy dressing up, being dolled up etc and so I notice the extra belly jelly roll pretty darn fast in those fashionable clothes.

So, I maintain because I think about it everyday. I don't get all stressed and anxious... but I deliberately plan to maintain. I recognized behaviors that don't support that plan. For me - #1 indicator of failure is when I stop weighing myself... that is the beginning of my own personal denial cycle. #2 is switching to stretchy clothes... its like you hardly notice it at first if you live in sweats and yoga pants and loose tops.

I haven't even hit 5 years yet, so I don't know if this will continue to work... but, I just keep doing what I do.

Reminds me, I need to go floss my teeth.

@CowgirlJane@Jennifer Ostermeier@ @SassyNanny - - - great advice friends. Yes it is a constant living breathing life style change. All these suggestions are so important. Im 6 months out and finding its a conscious effort to stay mindful of my new lifestyle. I work with a lady who was sleeved 5 years ago, she lost 100 pounds, and now has gained 70 back. Scary. It takes time, to lose, to be serious, to stay on track and to get your nutrition and exercise in.

[Fatty McFatster 888]

Any time I feel like I am veering off course, I go back to the basics. Protein, Protein, PROTEIN. I know it seems quite simplistic...and it is actually.

So, when you are getting off course then spend a few days with your liquid Protein shakes...just like during the Pre-Op and initial Post-Op diets. That course of action has helped me, so maybe it can help you as well.

And also get that exercise in!! I can't go a day without my walk to commune with nature.

Good luck!

Edited March 16, 2016 by Fatty McFatster

[stacyrg2 350]

If you are bored and impatient at 5 months, how are you going to react at 5 years?

This is when the rubber hits the road.

Why not make an appointment with your NUT? A therapist? Attend a support group meeting? Go to OA (OA.org)?

I know I get repetitive on my post, but embracing the stall for me is realizing its part of the process and not something to be beaten, overcome, or outsmarted. Stalls in my previous dieting life were when I gave up or did something crazy (like double-down on the crazy dieting).

I truly believe that how I learn to do deal with this anxiety and boredom when I stall is what is going to help me be successful in both the short and long run.

Embrace the Stall!

http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall

Except, I don't think the OP's problem is a "stall" per se. to me, stalls happen when you're eating on plan, but not losing weight. It happens, happened to me, as the body needs time to adjust. She's, by her own admission, eating off plan and is bored. I think she needs to wrap her head around what this surgery is and what it's not. It's not a quick fix, it's not a fad diet. There is a misconception out there that you have surgery, wake up and the weight flies off your body or melts off at lightening speed. It's not that. What this surgery is, to me anyway, is a giant reset button. A chance to redefine your lifestyle, without the need to resort to fad diets. It allows you to eat smaller portions of nutritious food and hopefully curbs your cravings for crap so you can lose weight at a healthy clip. If you're unwilling to accept what the surgery is, and what it does, and continue to eat "bad for you" foods because you're bored and upset because you didn't wake up skinny overnight, you'll never maximize the benefits of the surgery. OP, I hope for your sake that you get to a point where you can accept what this surgery does, as well as its limitations and also accept what you need to do to make the tool work for you. You've had some good suggestions: a support group through your surgeon's office or the local hospital; OA, therapy. All these suggestions are good weapons to have in your ongoing fight against obesity. Good luck!

[Sharon1964 2,530]

This is very timely for me. I kind of feel the same way right now, I'm 7 1/2 months out, although I'm not eating off plan. The scale is mocking me (I know, I know, get off the scale!), I want to put something in my mouth (get yer minds outta the gutter!), and I'm just feeling down overall. I'm still swimming in the cesspool of online dating, which I think makes it all worse! My daughter is turning 12 on Saturday, and I'm planning on putting on rollerskates for the first time in 10 years, and I'm hoping I don't break a hip. Oh yeah, and she wants a "space cake" - she wants to be an astronaut - so I have to bake and decorate a cake before Saturday. Oh, and to top it all off, on Saturday morning before her party, I have to have a bone graft on a tooth that I've been complaining about for years that I was always told there was nothing wrong with. The cost to me for this bone graft WITH dental insurance? $910. Nine. Hundred. And. Ten. Dollars.

Someone just shoot me now.

[Christinamo7 4,041]

you don't need a pouch test - you just need to find a way to reconcile the fact that this is for the rest of your life and find a way to live with your new way of interacting with food.

you should have a protein/fat/carb "allowance" make sure you are not ALL or NOTHING with carbs, but for example, I stay under 50 a day of carbs. make this something you can live with and get moving! even if it's slow, even if you lie to yourself that you only have to walk 10 minutes, get started. You also have to find other ways (besides food) to treat yourself - for me it is an epsom salts bath or a mani/pedi.

[livvsmum 2,368]

You kind of have to get out of the mentality that it's another diet like hcg. It has to be a lifestyle change or it will be almost impossible to maintain.....I"m speaking from almost 3 years post op, so I have a little long-term perspective. Maybe try some new bariatric recipes (there are tons on pinterest). Or you may be like me and if you let a little of the sugar, super carby foods back in, it can set of a days-long carb-fest. I have to avoid sugary things, bread, etc. altogether because it is an addiction for me and can lead to a real struggle to get back on track. I hope you are able to get things under control and continue making the most of your active losing "window". Good luck!