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Anyone have trouble changing their old ways even after surgery. As far as eating goes. I am afraid of not being able to do it or getting to comfortable. I am still waiting for approval and these thoughts keep going through my head like its not going to work for me. Or something really negative. I really want and need this tool for weight loss but doubt is setting in during the waiting period. Anyone else feel this or something similar. Please share your stories. And thank you all for listening.

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Hello! I worried about that too, Pre-surgery. I loved food and lots of it for my whole life. I started the process at 329, 318 on surgery date of 6/24/15. I was 61 years old.

The wonderful thing I discovered after surgery was that I was no longer hungry. Before surgery, I never had an off switch. I could eat and eat and eat and never really felt full until I was I was uncomfortably stuffed. After surgery, I think I felt like people who are normal weight naturally. For the first time in my life my body had an off switch. I'm not gonna lie. There was a period of time that I call my mourning period where, emotionally, I missed my old friend. I loved my old friend, food. And when it was gone I felt angry and sad for a time but physically, I now had that off switch and achieved a feeling of fullness that I never had before. This learning period passed. Daily, I started feeling better emotionally and physically. Where as, food used to be my everything, now I was living a life not ruled by food. I felt like I was actually living my life like, "normal" people. As I lost the weight so quickly, I felt really good. Moving around and not getting winded was a great feeling! I no longer have high blood pressure or acid reflux. I love to walk now. I used to run out of breath walking from car into the house. I used to have to sit down to prep food for meals and take frequent breaks doing simple housework. Now, I move and breath with ease. Granted, I still have arthritis pain from a lifetime of carrying around an extra 180 pounds. That damage was done but I feel great. I have lost 150 lbs. over the last 16 months.

I'm mindful of what I eat but I'm not obsessing. I developed habits of eating slowly, and enjoying flavors and what I am eating. I have this wonderful new tool that lets me know when I'm full. I don't crave sweets anymore. In fact because they make me sick, I have long given them up and I don't miss them anymore. I can eat pretty much anything but I don't eat the old daily standards of fast foods and processed foods on a regular basis. I like healthy foods. I enjoy my family and friends and food in a whole new way. Food is no longer the priority. If you will excuse the pun, food is no longer the elephant in the room .. I'm 62, 174 pounds and Life is good!

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Imagine 1 my highest weight is 391 everything you listed and then some pretty much describes me. Thank you for your responses. I also come from a hispanic background so not only do i use food as a crutch but in my family food is everything. Turn food down and you hurt peoples feelings. So its not just myself that needs change but my family too. Long hard road ahead. Im happy to see with your story there is hope. Thats what i need thank you so much.

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Well, part of the process is to get your mind right, and that's just dedicating yourself to the process. If you're still afraid you won't be able to "stick to it," then you need to really make sure you're committed to this...because it's not something you can take back. That said, the surgery enforces the new behavior...you simply won't be ABLE to eat the way you used to, in any way. Your new stomach won't let you. You can either embrace that and be happy about it (because that's why you're doing the surgery) or you'll just be frustrated all the time and regret the decision.

I'm just over two weeks out and I'm developing new, good habits with my eating...reversing the bad habits that made me obese, in the first place. Changing my mindset, and working through my mental issues with food. It's a lot of change, and a lot to work through. But the proof is in peoples' results, so that's what I keep in mind. It's not a question of IF I will lose the weight, it's a matter of how fast :)

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I had some recent experiences that make the answer to if I can change my old ways a 'yes'.

I had a work lunch lthat I couldn't skip last week. First time in a restaurant and the options were limited. I ordered my old favorite: brisket and mashed. It's a given that I ate only about a 5th of the plate, but the part that surprised me is that the fatty meal made me have this bad feeling in my stomach for over an hour. It wasn't nausea, but just unpleasant. My old food tasted too 'rich' which was a sensation I was unfamiliar with. (I think they even put bacon grease in the mashed). When I described it to a fellow sleever friend I said: "Imagine you sat down to eat a bowl of lard. That's how it felt."

The next day I tried a bit of the leftovers, thinking that maybe I was just having an off day. Nope. Animal fat is now something I don't enjoy. I also slightly get this sensation if I eat the dark meat of a roasted chicken, especially if it's skin-on. Another old favorite.

The other MAJOR change for me is that for most of my life I was an evening eater. In fact at least half my daily calories would be consumed in the evening and it's definitely why I became obese. A couple of evenings I had teeny tiny healthy Snacks close to bedtime and experienced GERD for the first time. It woke me up and is so unpleasant that the negative reinforcement has 'cured' me of night snacking :) Now if I feel like something at night I sip some tea or bouillon.

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I'm about 9 weeks out. Hubby and I are actually eating lunch at a bbq place. I'm having smoked turkey breast..no bun and green Beans...you can do this, you just have to make the decision now rather than later that you're going to start making better choices. Because believe me...I want, ribs and baked Beans and potato salad..but I'm enjoying what I ordered. Good luck.

trixie's line

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Getting your head straight is important because as time goes by, restriction loosens up. Oh and as for RNY patients, hunger comes back so your really have to recognize real hunger from head hunger.

I am at a normal healthy weight for the first time in 30+ years and I fight every day to stay that way. Some days I do better than others but it is all about my head and the want to keep the weight off.

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