I am looking for some constructive advice. For the past decade my ability to follow almost any routine has degraded to about 2 weeks. I’m not saying I am 100% off plan at other times just if I am attempting to do low carb for awhile I can last about two weeks. Exercise regimes last about 2 weeks. I can be at 100% seeing results feeling great but the energy or attention span it takes for me to follow these plans generally runs out at about 2 weeks. At other times I “do my best” or exercise “sporadically” but I am lacking in the self control/will power to really stick to something long enough to make it truly part of my life.

So many of you started out in a similar places and yet are now working out 5-6 days a week and follow your plan almost every SINGLE day with the occasional exception. I’m guessing these changes did not happen overnight. Tell me what steps, thoughts etc.. helped you stick to it?

Or perhaps you are where I am now also looking for some advice or a listening ear? What is your “two week wall”?

I was a sporadic everything girl. It was very difficult to make myself get into the correct eating routine and the exercising ugh! I go to every support group and I go to seminars now that are produced by my Bariatric surgeon and I take my before pics and I talk about my experience. It really helps keep me focused. Also, I have to weigh every morning. It has also really helped me. I know that isn't for everybody but it has really worked for me. I use my support people who are my Mom and my husband. They have helped me so much. I come on this website and post and I have become a much better housekeeper LOL. Everything to keep my mind off of the food and into a healthier way of life. It gets easier as time goes on and I see the great results. I am so much happier now and have so much more energy to do the things I want. I still have mornings when I just don't want to exercise but I do it anyway and always feel better afterward.

I can usually hold out for a month or so, then I hit my wall. In order for this time to be different, I am telling many people about my decision to have WLS. I won't be banded until April or May, but so far everyone I have shared the news with has been incredibly supportive. Even those who think it is extreme have voiced concern without being judgmental. I have made it pretty clear that I'm going to need them to help me stay on track.

My friends are all at a healthy weight and they engage in good eating and exercise habits already. I have told them that when they head out to the gym, sign up for a new class, hit the bike trail with the kids or take off on a run, to CALL me!!! Not only will that force me to try something new, I'll be able to share it with a friend.

I'm somewhat less concerned about making good food choices than I am about the exercise. I travel frequently for work and eat out quite a bit. I find I always make better choices on the road than I do when I'm home so I hope that continues and my home eating habits come around.

For me, the key is getting other people involved and ASKING for help (something that does not come naturally to me!) I hope this one change is the first of many that will help me reach my goal.

Good luck to you!

kagead

Accountability seems to be what would help with this Kagead you seem to find that by making sure everyone around you is aware of what you are doing and Greytz the before and after pictures probably really help you visualize where you are and where you want to be.

I haven't told hardly anyone about my LB I have some before pics I should take some ongoing pics and start measuring myself again. I guess when I slip now its still not near as bad as when I slipped before. Just need to make the slips farther and fewer between.

Accountability seems to be what would help with this Kagead you seem to find that by making sure everyone around you is aware of what you are doing and Greytz the before and after pictures probably really help you visualize where you are and where you want to be.

I haven't told hardly anyone about my LB I have some before pics I should take some ongoing pics and start measuring myself again. I guess when I slip now its still not near as bad as when I slipped before. Just need to make the slips farther and fewer between.

Actually, I haven't taken any after pics yet. I am not at goal and don't want to compare pictures until I am where I want to be. I only use my before pics at the seminar and then of course they see me as I am now and can compare for themselves. It works well for me. I hope you find something that works for you also.

Minxz,

I was just like you. Not necessarily the 2 week part but I would not stick with dieting or exercising long at all in the past. I went into surgery with the mindset that I will not fail this time.

I think what has helped me to be successful so far is pure determination. Have you seen the movie What Is Eating Gilbert Grape? If you have not, I highly recommend you rent it and watch it. I don't want to put my family through the pain and humiliation of my obesity ever again and especially if I were to die this way.

I hate exercise but I found ways to enjoy it. I joined Curves and was fortunate enough to have clicked with the owner. I have great support at Curves and many cheerleaders keeping me motivated. I also discovered that riding my bicycle is fun now that I have built up the muscles to climb hills and stamina to ride long distances. I think what I am trying to say is that if you find activity you can find enjoyment in, that it is not a chore, it can be fun. I hate to sweat and find it very unpleasant.

It is small steps and small victories that keep me determined. For instance, I noticed the shadow of my husband and I walking into a restaurant the other day. Instead of my shadow being huge by comparison to my husband's, it was about the same size. I can put on my husband's bathrobe when I get out of the shower instead of my old huge 3X size robe I can wear a men's large. Just small victories are really important. Plus I weigh everyday. While this doesn't help many others, it helps me see the affect that eating a Christmas cookie or two or three have on my weight. It is making myself accountable daily. Before beginning this journey the only time I weighed was when I had a doctor visit.

Anyway, you need to find your own motivators. Perhaps you need to remind yourself daily of the horrors you have experienced being fat. Maybe you need to change up your menu when you get bored or change your exercise routine to keep yourself interested. Just don't give up trying. The motivation you need is within you. You just need to find it.

I will have to check that movie out happy! Gratz on your success!

I guess I just get frustrated many of the people who are impossibly successful with the band seem to have discovered the willpower to draw a line in the sand and say this stops. The people who lose most of their weight in the first 6 months seem to have found that willpower that they previously lacked.

I guess that is just not me. I am one of those that stumbles and picks myself back up again... a lot. At least now the spills are less spectacular and the pick up time happens more promptly since the band lol.

We all stumble. It's okay to stumble as long as you get right back on track as soon as you realize it. Falling off the wagon and not getting back on is what you should avoid. Trust me, I have had weeks where I gain weight or don't lose because I ate more then I should or ate the wrong things and so will you. Just get back up and start again. This is a long journey. You didn't put the weight on over night and it will take a while to get it off. Working out regularly helps to keep me on track because I work so darn hard that I don't want to blow it.

I am not sure how I want to word this response, so bear with me while I figure it out! LOL!

I was banded in 7/10. I have not gotten a fill yet. I have lost, as of today, 60 lbs. I can eat anything. There isn't one food I have tried that I cannot tolerate. I was a very successful dieter in the past. I could lose 50 lbs on any program I tried, only to gain it back nearly immediately. I think my 'two week wall' is about 3 months or 50lbs, whichever came first.

I have been successful so far because everything in my head changed. Honestly, it boils down to that. I think part of me is so mortified that I had to resort to weight loss surgery. I mean, I could lose weight. I was a great dieter. I could do it. I just couldn't keep it off. And, to me, I always felt like I shouldn't need weight loss surgery when I could get the weight off on my own. But alas, I decided I needed to actually KEEP it off so... anyway...

I visualize my pouch as I think it looks. I imagine it holds 1 cup of food. I don't eat more than that at a meal. Ever. Am I full after a meal? No. Am I satisfied? Yes. I love that I don't ever have that full, heavy feeling after a meal. I have been so surprised how little food it takes to feel satisfied. And I think that is a big, important lesson. The difference between 'full' and 'satisfied'. My surgeon's program spent a lot of time on this. Luckily for me, it stuck.

Here is a funny for you. I went to my regular doctor about two years ago. She, of course, said I needed to lose weight (DUH!) and recommended the book I Can Make You Thin by Paul McKenna. I read it. I listened to the hynotic induction CD that came with it. It was a good, sound program. The CD was relaxing. I liked it. The principles while very simple, were a lot of effort. I didn't try very hard. Flash forward to my surgery. I took several classes pre and post surgery. Many of the eating principles my surgeon follows were very similar to this book.

So I am hoping somewhere in my rambling I made the point I wanted to make. The changes start in your head in your thinking. I will never diet again. This is the way I eat. I eat small portions of delicious food that I enjoy. I chew it VERY well, I stop eating after 30 minutes or until I am 'satisfied' (whichever comes first). The surgeon takes care of the physical part of the band. Your part is the mental part.

Good luck to you!

I, too, have (almost) always had success losing weight. It was the "keeping it off" part that was so hard. I agree with Healthy-Me-In-AZ. Unless you can get your head around it, nothing will be long-term successful. The band is just a tool, just like the Paul McKenna book/cd. I was banded on 11/5/09. First fill 12/3 to 2.7 cc's. Yet, I've still been eating wrong and too much. I'm trying to get on track, by being here, by finding the best foods to eat that will work for me. But plain and simple, it's gonna have to be a life style change, not a diet. If only I would listen to myself!!!