Hello All,

I'm meeting with the dietition tomorrow because after months on the weight watchers (which I can't keep on good terms with) because I'm always going out to eat otherwise I'd never see anyone! anyways I'm hoping this will help me pick better things and not have to have my computer with me to find out what the points values....I know WW can and do work for some people but it's just not for me I guess. I'm in my 2nd month of the 6 month diet and I GAINED 4 POUNDS!!!! I'm going crazy I do watch what I eat for the most part I'm guessing it's all the other parts that I'm missing that are skrewing me up. I'm so looking forward to having a list after the surgery that says exactly what I can and cannot eat and having a very bad thing happen besides just gaining some weight if I don't follow what they say. I know it's horrible but I feel like once this is done. I'll look at food totally differently not just a comfort or stress-relief but as something to keep me alive not to push me closer to dying at an early age. Wow.....did i get off topic, The point of this was to ask anyone if they thought that the dietition was helpful during their 6 month diet in losing weight? or what was their best help in losing weight I feel like if I go back to the Doctor next month and I gained again I will be very dissapointed in myself.

Thanks All, xgrl

A dietician will pretty much tell you to eat like WW's teaches. You will get lists telling you how many calories you should consume. If you join a WW meeting you will get info on points and can purchase additional books that list the points value so you don't have to use the computer at all to do the plan. IMO WW is cheaper unless your insurance pays for the dietician.

The Dietition is actually free, they have one on staff at my university and it doesn't cost anything for students to go.

The Dietition is actually free, they have one on staff at my university and it doesn't cost anything for students to go.

That's a great service for the university to offer and will save you some money!

i too was on weight watchers sporadically for several years, and i had very little success with it. However, the reason i didn't have much success was because i didn't follow the plan, at all. i have a very bad habit of going out to eat all of the time, and this is my downfall. so believe me, i know where you are coming from!

you say that you have a difficult time following WW points. I wonder, have you tried following the core plan? there are no points to follow, just a list of foods that you can eat. for the most part, they are all lean meats and healthy carbs. i know that it is difficult to follow this plan at first, because all of the good foods that you WANT the eat aren't on the list. But you might try this plan, really try it, before you give up on WW (for your 6 mo diet). Once you get your band done and are on solid foods again, you'll have a list of foods to eat that is very, very similar to the WW core plan. the only difference is that the WW lets you eat some good grains in limited amounts, and you'll have a harder time with them with the band. so if you can master the core plan, and stick to it for the most part, you'll have a much easier time once you get banded.

you also said that you think that the surgery will make bad things happen to you when you eat things that you aren't supposed to. to some extent this is true, particularly in the beginning. but the band is not like bypass. you will still be able to eat most things with the band, so you will have to learn how to make the right choices, or you won't lose weight with the band. if you can begin "learning to look at food totally differently" now, you will be much more successful with the band than if you depend on it to save you from yourself.

i'm saying all of this not as someone who knows better than you, but as someone who is very similar to you. i didn't take advantage of my 6 mo diet, and i am still in the place that i was 6 mos ago. i will be banded on monday, and i still have all of the same food issues and excercise phobias that i've always had. if i'd tried a little harder for the last 6 mos, maybe i would be better prepared to succeed with my surgery. i still know that i will be successful, but i think that it will be harder for me.

look at the band as a tool to help you be successful, but not as a fool-proof plan. if you don't deal with your food issues now, you will have to deal with them later. the band won't keep them away. good luck.

I just came back from my appt, And you are right it's gonna have to be a change before hand, I'm now seeing her every week (her suggestion) I'm working on leaving some food on my plate. that's my week goal It sounds so easy why do i have the feeling it's going to be really hard! I hope your surgery goes well, your situation sounds identical to mine it's really nice to know that other people out there are going thru the same stuff I don't know what i would do if I had to go thru this alone! Thank you so much, How was your pre-op diet? was it really hard? does it get better as it goes on? I guess the mostly liquid diet kinda freaks me simply cause i'm paranoid I'm not gonna feel full....If you don't mind me asking what insurance do you have? was it an easy approval? I'm kinda nervous about that to...So many things!!! I know it's gonna be all worth it in the end but it's so much right now!

How are you doing now after getting the band? I will be seeing the doctor tomorrow (4.28.08) to start my 6 month diet. Good luck to you.

I'm still working on my diet I'm seeing the Dietition every week now! can you believe that, that's how often she says people come. but I don't mind if it helps me get my band or lose weight i'm all for it unfortunatly my first month I gained 4 lbs and my second month I gained 3 lbs..... It is so dissapointing but my doctor tells me to try as hard as i can and that the diet is doing what it is intended to do which is prove that conventional diets and exercise don't work. I try to go walking for the most part because my knees are so bad after I do anything that is high impact I can hardly walk.... I'm 23 and I have bad knees WTF this is so wrong. I can't wait till I'm at a healthy weight and I don't get winded walking up a flight of stairs...it's so bad i actually think of ways to avoid walking up stairs cause if i do it to much my knees hurt...Good luck with the start of your 6 month diet. Check with your insurance and see if they will pay for a dietition she's really helping me out at least mentally for the pre-band diets. my dietition is actually free through my college which is great she reports to my doctor who is also at the college and now i'm going to the shrink because of my depression but i think i'm gonna take the conversation to how my weight and body image effects my depression so he can also write to me needing the band. Where are you starting at BMI wise if you don't mind me asking?