I have read a lot of posts, and I know it is more a pre-op thing than a post-op, but I have noticed, and I am guilty myself, that there is a count down to the operation. That there is a lot blood, sweat and tears getting to that point. Like all the answers and a pot of success is just six days, 17 hours, and 2 minutes (for me) away. The GREAT FINISH!!!

I had to reevaluate this for me. Yes it is a GREAT BIG accomplishment, but it is more of a START than a FINISH. I see people saying gosh this pre-op diet is hard, I barely eat anything and it's liquid. Well reality check. That is pretty much what you are going to be eating for a month after surgery. Then I see the ones that say man I can't wait to bite into a big juicy hamburger and have all the juice run down my chin. I wonder if they will feel the same when that big ol' juicy hamburger makes it's second appearance.

I am not saying that I will never again have a hamburger, but I have my eyes set on 1/4 pound or less elk, bison, or maybe ostrich burger, with cheese, probably with a portabella mushroom "bun" and maybe some sweet potato fries that are grilled rather than fried, of which I will probably eat half, feel stuffe and out away for the next meal.

I am not saying don't wish or dream, but maybe analyze them a bit and recognize that part of the reason you are getting the surgery in the first place. MODERATION. This is a big word for me and for most of us I believe. Also using good food and not crap food. We all have to learn. I know this stuff and can regurgitate it ad nauseam, but practicing it, well there is a reason I am over 300lbs.

So let me just say I have 6 days, 17 hours, and 2 minutes until I START!!!

So let me just say I have 6 days, 17 hours, and 2 minutes until I START!!!

or maybe until you "CHANGE" To be successful, you're gonna change. Your food is gonna change......your eating habits are gonna change......your activity and exercise are gonna change......and your life is gonna change.....forever.

Good luck and enjoy.

For me, everything changed. What I used to love, I no longer love.

For example the description that the op made regarding that juicy cheeseburger. I loved cheeseburgers! I could not wait until I could have one again. Yep, I can eat them if I want to but honestly they no longer thrill me at all.

I was a spaghetti fanatic ever since I was a young child. The night before I started my liquid diet we went to our favorite Italian restaurant and had a food funeral. It was so delicious! I have had spaghetti and have made it many different ways for my family. I cannot even stand the texture of Pasta which is what I once loved.

I don't get sick but things like bread, pasta, rice make my pouch feel heavy. I now dream about a perfectly cooked filet mignon or salmon. A great piece of pork tenderloin or a juicy grilled chicken breast with some fabulous vegetables or a nice green salad. I cant eat much but boy I think about delicious food that is healthy and good for me.

I do occasionally crave a good piece of cheesecake or a couple spoons of ice cream. Because I eat very healthy the rest of the day, I can occasionaly enjoy those yummy treats.

I started living for real the day I had my surgery. I no longer live to eat but I eat to live. I make sure that everything I do eat is delicious and worth taking up precious space in my tiny tummy.

Some people say they really don't care for food since surgery. For me, I love food. I love planning menus, cooking my food and enjoying it while I eat it.

I never eat fast food and seriously do not miss it at all. In fact my hubby eats it and it really grosses me out. All that grease, fat and salt.....no thanks.

There are times when I have made something absolutely delicious and wish I could eat more but then I just figure I can have the leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.

My apologies..... I just logged back in and saw this was a male only site.......

the male forum is in shambles

the male forum is in shambles

LOL! The end of times draws nigh!

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My journey started when I admitted to myself that dieting and willpower would not be enough. The journey started when I sought out medical options. I know most people don't start counting there...but that is when it began for me. A year of hoops, fighting with the insurance, I actually gained weight. My surgeon put me on a 5 1/2 week liquid diet. If I didn't loose 25-30 lbs in 4 weeks, surgery would be cancelled because I WAS NOT COMMITTED ENOUGH!!! I made it, loosing even more by sleeve day. Now, that is where I count from on my weight loss. There are so many "firsts". First chewed food...BLISS, first day at the gym (water aerobics) and ME getting into a bathing suit, making it through a 60 minute class! The first clothes I got too SMALL for. The first 100 lbs. lost. Your count down to a goal is a good thing. Once you reach a goal, celebrate it, share it. Then determine what is your next goal and focus on achieving it. Best of luck on your surgery.

My journey started when I admitted to myself that dieting and willpower would not be enough. The journey started when I sought out medical options. I know most people don't start counting there...but that is when it began for me. A year of hoops, fighting with the insurance, I actually gained weight. My surgeon put me on a 5 1/2 week liquid diet. If I didn't loose 25-30 lbs in 4 weeks, surgery would be cancelled because I WAS NOT COMMITTED ENOUGH!!! I made it, loosing even more by sleeve day. Now, that is where I count from on my weight loss. There are so many "firsts". First chewed food...BLISS, first day at the gym (Water aerobics) and ME getting into a bathing suit, making it through a 60 minute class! The first clothes I got too SMALL for. The first 100 lbs. lost. Your count down to a goal is a good thing. Once you reach a goal, celebrate it, share it. Then determine what is your next goal and focus on achieving it. Best of luck on your surgery.

Great perspective! I was thinking this myself earlier. The sleeve was a new start. Not the first and not the last. This journey has many legs, some we complete, some we get lost on, some take us places we have never intended to go. My biggest issue is losing sight of those legs that were very successful.

I started counting the beginning of the last leg the day I had my first seminar about WLS and what options there were. The goal was the surgery. I have met that goal. Though I have a ticker in my signature with a start weight and end weight. My weight has never, ever really been my goal. It is just a means of showing progress toward my goal, which is to be healthy and most of all happy. I also have/had a ticker for surgery that I want to change for another leg, but I do not know what right now. I need to recover from surgery to figure that out definitively. Meanwhile that ticker is more of a count up from surgery. The big goal will always be the same of getting as healthy as I can and using my weight, right now, to track it.

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