So about a month and a half ago, I was given the green light for surgery provided I hit my goal weight which was around ~29lbs. I was given a 1200 cal diet to follow, super detailed and guaranteed to have me lose at least 2lbs a week which would have me hit pre-surgery goal weight in 15 weeks.

I don't know if I can....

I have been having the hardest time not only getting started but staying on track. I have been having so many setbacks, so many issues with motivation and greatest of all DOUBT. In that, if I can't get on board with this simple thing will I end up having this surgery for nothing? Becoming another one of those statistics of people who gained the weight back and failed at yet another chance to lose weight. I mean I'm losing weight and have lost 10lbs but I have been stuck at this weight for 2 weeks and have either gone back up 5lbs or stayed at this weight. I often find myself over my 1200 cal limit by about 100-200 cals sometimes way more if I'm super honest. I also am barely exercising, walking at lunch, 2-3 days a week. I just can't seem to get out of my own way and I don't know if I can do this even though I want to soo badly. OR am I just being too hard on myself and not giving myself enough compassion and understanding? Is this all just normal pre-surgery diet jitters and struggles? I just don't know and feel so confused. I want to be successful with every fiber of my being but is the struggle I'm having showing I'm not ready or is this normal?

1200 calories is hard. I am 2 years post op and sometimes I have 1200 calories, but rarely. I can't really function off of it. It is a huge deficit for someone with a normal metabolism.

I think you are being too hard on yourself.

Losing weight post wls is easy because you have no hunger, your are healing so eating hurts, and you have a major metabolic reset going on in your body.

I was a diet failure for decades. WLS boom, lost over 170 pounds in less than 2 years. And it felt pretty easy most of the time. I'm not a serious exerciser and I still lost my weight and kept my msucle up, so all is not lost.

Don't give up keep going, and be kind to yourself.

So about a month and a half ago, I was given the green light for surgery provided I hit my goal weight which was around ~29lbs. I was given a 1200 cal diet to follow, super detailed and guaranteed to have me lose at least 2lbs a week which would have me hit pre-surgery goal weight in 15 weeks.
I don't know if I can....
I have been having the hardest time not only getting started but staying on track. I have been having so many setbacks, so many issues with motivation and greatest of all DOUBT. In that, if I can't get on board with this simple thing will I end up having this surgery for nothing? Becoming another one of those statistics of people who gained the weight back and failed at yet another chance to lose weight. I mean I'm losing weight and have lost 10lbs but I have been stuck at this weight for 2 weeks and have either gone back up 5lbs or stayed at this weight. I often find myself over my 1200 cal limit by about 100-200 cals sometimes way more if I'm super honest. I also am barely exercising, walking at lunch, 2-3 days a week. I just can't seem to get out of my own way and I don't know if I can do this even though I want to soo badly. OR am I just being too hard on myself and not giving myself enough compassion and understanding? Is this all just normal pre-surgery diet jitters and struggles? I just don't know and feel so confused. I want to be successful with every fiber of my being but is the struggle I'm having showing I'm not ready or is this normal?

I felt exactly the same way before surgery. I was overwhelmed and a hot mess. To the point where psych evaluated me as a risk. I gained weight before the preop diet. I did lose 15'lbs once I went on the preop diet but before that oy, I just kept gaining. I truly didn't think they were going to approve me. Even after I still struggle every day and feel like I make it harder for myself. But I am losing weight and I am trying daily. My point is, you're not unusual in that way. The thing is a 1200 calorie diet pre surgery is hard! That's a strict diet. How much weight do they want you to lose in 15 weeks? How old are you? I found the two week preop diet doable but idk how I would've done over 15 weeks. That's a long time and if I could diet that easily for that long I would've not needed surgery.

As hard as it is, focus on finding filling low-calorie choices--salad (not too much dressing), roasted vegetables, protein (not that low calorie, but filling). It's a short-term problem, really--your goal is to get to the surgery. Because believe me, after the surgery, everything changes. My biggest problem now is eating enough to meet the protein goals. I had an egg and a couple of tablespoons of cottage cheese for breakfast--it felt like a huge meal.

I know this won't last, but it sure is a great way to lose weight for now and the retraining of my choices should definitely stick after months of this. You can get there too--each part of the journey is hard in its own way, but post-op, your chances are good that hunger won't be an issue then.

Good luck!

The easiest way to stick to a strict diet is to figure it out ONCE and then eat the same exact thing every day. Boring? Sure. But it's good training for the boring, restricted diet postop.

Sample menu:

Breakfast: 1 cup full fat cottage cheese and 1 small fruit (320 cal)

Lunch: 2 eggs and 1 cup pinto beans with 2 T. Salsa (400 cal)

Dinner: 1 4oz skinless chicken thigh, 1.5 cups green beans, 5oz sweet potato (426 cal) you can add a total of 1 teaspoon of butter if you want for an additional 34 calories.

There you go. Salt, pepper, cinnamon, and herbs are all ok. Each meal features protein, carbs, and fat. No snacks (if you MUST have a snack, save the fruit from breakfast and don't add butter at dinner. Now you can put a teaspoon of peanut butter with your fruit.)

Chicken thigh is 206 calories, can switch out for other equal-calorie meats or fish.

Thank you Priscilla. I am scheduled for sleeve surgery Tues. Yes 7 days from now. I am having so many doubts also. My pre-op diet is just 1 week, which I have started with no issues. Well big deal, 2 day. lol. But the doubts you describe sound just like my own and I was sure I was the only one feeling this. I feel so bad for you but am so grateful for all the positive responses you received. Exactly what I needed. Please be easy on yourself and know you have the power. Keep us posted!!

Priscilla,

Don't be hard on yourself. Your feelings are completely normal. We all have doubts before we tackle this life changing event in our lives. You can do this. You just have to decide that you are going to change your life. It is not enough to want to change it. You have to be determined to make that happen.

Obviously, we all must make permanent adjustments in what we were doing if we want long-term results. I think that is the difference between those that meet their goals and maintain vs. those that regain most of their weight back. Most that regain their weight back never let go of the bad habits and way of eating that caused them to gain weight in the first place. If they did, they re-introduced that way of eating later.

Exercise is important. Some people can lose all of their excess weight and maintain without it. That is some people. Being that I am a strong believer in the fact that being thin doesn't mean that you are healthy, I think that getting the heart rate elevated is very important. After all, we are doing this for our health aren't we? If walking isn't your thing, try something else. If nothing else, it will allow you to consume a few more calories than you could without it.

As far as diet goes, diet is the MOST important thing. You can't out-train a bad diet. You can burn 1,000 calories per day with exercise, but that burger, fries and soft drink you eat for dinner might be 1,800 to 2,500 calories. That can be 2 days worth of your 1,200 calorie goal. If you must go out to eat, have a salad and dip into your dressing. Don't pour it all over your salad. Many salads can contain less than 200 calories, but the dressing will add another 5-700 calories. I find that I eat less than half of the dressing if I dip. If salads aren't an option, have a protein shake before you leave, and share a plate with someone. Have water instead of a sweet tea or soft drink.

At home, try to adopt something rather boring. You tend to not overeat boring foods. Also, try to make healthier choices. You can eat 2 eggs with 2 slices of bacon for breakfast, but 4 egg whites with 2 slices of Canadian bacon is a better option.

Totals:

242 calories, 17g fat, 390mg cholesterol, 18g protein

vs.

108 calories, 1g fat, 20mg cholesterol, 14g protein

If you had a big appetite, you could actually eat 8 egg whites and 4 slices of Canadian bacon and still have less than half the fat and calories, a 10th the cholesterol and 50% more protein than eating the regular food. To those egg whites, I will normally add about a cup of fresh spinach and maybe some hot sauce. It stretches the amount of food, adds some good nutrients and fiber, and has a negligible amount of calories.

If you start to replace all of your go-to foods with healthier options, you can save a lot of calories and not feel as deprived.

Anyway, I know this is rather lengthy. The surgery will help you to eat less, but that is only 1 tool. Learning how to eat will prepare you for the future when you will be able to consume more than a 1/2 cup of food at a time.

Good luck and keep trucking. You will get where you want to be.

@priscillak Breathe. This (for most of us) isn't a short process...it's a marathon--a 3-6-12 month marathon. What you're feeling is so very normal. We've all been through something almost exactly like you describe. Doesn't make it any less excruciating for you, though. ((hugs))

Remember to glom on to perspective. You say you're eating 1-300 cals over and above your 1200 cal diet. What were you eating prior to this diet--maybe 3-4000 cals/day? How much do you weigh? So what if it takes you 16 weeks, rather than the estimated 15? Also, weight loss is rarely linear. You will have stairsteps up and down with an ongoing downward trend line (hopefully). You also will have stalls that last days or weeks--sometimes more than a month! You just have to remember to breathe and ride the wave where it breaks and takes you. Otherwise, you will exhaust yourself.

I love the ideas of working out the numbers once and eating repetitively. I made that deal with myself and accepted it--that during weight loss the object is NOT to eat yummy, tasty, emotionally satisfying foods. I reconciled that for the period of intense weight loss both before and after surgery, my food was to be deeply nourishing, super low calorie, simple, and repetitive. That way I'm able to interact with food as LITTLE as humanly possible while still feeding myself super healthy foods that get me to goal the ABSOLUTE quickest.

I eat the same 3 things for breakfast every day.

I eat the same 3-4 things for lunch every day.

I eat "about" the same 3-5 dinners every day. On days when I'm jonesing for comfort, I remind myself of my agreement with myself for success. If that STILL doesn't do it for me, I then use one of my "gooey" choices for dinner that is still very nourishing and low cal, but includes a bit of luxury like an ounce of cheese and low carb sauce like a lite alfredo, or lite marinara, or lite enchilada sauce, etc.

Also, I plan my most important meal of the day first--for me that's dinner. Then let all the other meals fall according to the numbers...since breakfast and lunch are just meals that are mostly quick, convenient, thoughtless and designed to fill me up and keep me full until dinner.

You can do this!!! Congrats on qualifying for surgery!!! Now just breathe and take it one day, or even one meal at a time. Make that agreement with yourself to get to the other side. OK?

Edited September 20, 20178 yr by FluffyChix

You are all so right, I'm being super hard on myself. If this was an easy process I wouldn't be here in the first place. I guess I'm just struggling with the belief that I can do this and be successful when all the other times I haven't. But you guys are right I need to go in hopeful and also re look at my connection to food. Also most of my overage is due to just snacking too much and always feeling like I need to have dessert with dinner.