Dear PhatGurl80,

First of all, let me dispel your theory that you are "taking the easy way out"! It is DIFFERENT than the traditional Diet and Exercise, but they still play a major part in your weight loss! And I have to say, I am one month out, and I would NOT qualify this as "The Easy Way Out"! I am learning a whole new way of life, and it demands committment, drive, energy, determination. I don't want to scare you by saying that this is not the easy way, but it truly isn't. It is just a different direction, one that is "more sure" than diet and exercise with no other intervention.

I find that every day, I have to THINK about what I am going to eat. Earlier this week, I had an episode where (through my own laziness) I overate, and was miserable for hours! Not the easy way out at all. I knew better, but did it anyway, and paid for it for several hours. I am learning that there are choices to be made, and consequences for Bad Choices. When I was on the diet and exercise roller coaster, I made bad choices all the time, and the price I paid was not loosing, or re-gaining some of my weight. Now the consequences are more serious, (nausea, vomiting, painful stomach, etc) so I have to be even more determined to make the correct choice.

Also I found when I was trying to loose weight by diet and exercise that I gave up when I got bored with the diet, the plan, the whatever. After having a VSG there is no "giving up" cause you're bored! This is a permanent lifestyle change! It doesn't matter if you get bored, you are still going to live with the change for the rest of your life. I hope I am not scaring you or discouraging you. I wouldn't change what I did for anything! (I too went to Mexico for my surgery. I cashed in part of my retirement IRA to pay for the surgery. I wanted it THAT badly!) I have lost 48 pounds total so far (20 on the pre-op diet and 28 since the surgery.) I seem to have hit a stall or plateau right now, but I continue to try and make smart choices about what I eat, and continue with my exercise program. (I swim laps in the pool daily.)

I still have issues, like tryiing to get all my water and protein in every day. I am a poor pill taker and it is a struggle to get my vitamins down every day, and I am working on that, because I don't want to have problems down the road that might be caused by to little of one vitamins or another. I was already osteopenic (pre-osteoporosis), so I REALLY need to keep working on my calcium and Vitamin D intake. Also there are many other things that can be caused by deficiencies in your diet, like anemia, hair loss, etc. So it is a daily challenge to get my vitamins and mineral supplements taken. BUT I still have to say, I wouldn't change what I did for ANYTHING! I am SO loving myself at 48 pounds less! And I know the loss will continue, so I am trying REALLY hard not to get bored, not to loose my determination, to stay focused and to do a good job of this!

I wish you well on your journey. It is a challenge, but always rewarding. I look forward to reading your posts as you blog about your experience! Best wishes!!!

KathyD49

We dont say alcoholics are taking the easy way out when they enter rehab, we commend them for it because quitting anything cold turkey is next to impossible when you are truly addicted. To me, WLS isnt any different. And although I havent been sleeved just yet, from all the posts I've read on VST, it's still a big struggle. You have 80% of your stomach removed, but the sad news is that our "fat brains" dont go out into the medical waste container along with it. We have to retrain and recondition ourselves on how to eat. We cant just pick any old piece of food up and eat it, we have to make conscious decisions which is certainly a battle when you're addicted to food. So although the weight loss stories sound phenomenal and seeing the before and after pics are mind blowing, dont ever think that making this major change to better yourself, your health and your quality of life "the easy way out".

I wish you all the best and much success on your journey. I enjoyed this post, hope to read more from you soon!

Hey Gurl -

What I love about VST is reading people's blogs and finding out there is an entire community of people that relate to what you are feeling and can empathize with your situation. In the everyday world - people judge you for you appearance and when you are overweight, you feel like everyone is looking at you. So we go through that endless cycle of joining WW losing 20 pounds and then gaining 28 back after we get bored with the plan. So then we join Jenny and pay enormous $$ for food that contrary to thie claims, tastes like spicy camel spit. So we sneak real food to supplement the food that was too spicy - too many green peppers - whatever. I never met a peanut butter and jelly sandwich I couldn't sneak in at 2:00 am. So we decide to try slimfast or optifast or some other shake program. But we are starving after a few days. And then we are told that WW is the only logical way to lose weight - we rejoin WW and buy a Bodybug to wear on our arm to HELP us lose weight... This time...we lose 13 pounds in 4 months and gain it all back in 3 days. But of course we tell ourselves, "we just weren't ready."

The problem with this cyclical method of TRYING to lose weight is we feel like failures every time we don't reach our goals. Are we really failures? No. Did we try really hard? Maybe, but probably not. The point is the one thread that is common is we keep typing to lose weight by changing the type of food we are eating and counting endless fat grams, calories, and fiber.

I believe you will succeed and I don't know you--but I relate to what you are saying. The sleeve is going to take one important factor out of the equation...hunger followed by binging. Not gonna happen Gurl!

You will succeed because that single factor will help you modify former behaviors. In the meantime - start getting ready mentally for the hot little mama you are gonna be. It will happen. You've changed the formula by electing to have this surgery. God bless you. Have a great surgery! Reb

THIS IS NOT THE EASY WAY OUT. I WAS SLEEVED ON 7-11-11. I AM 2 YEARS OLDER THAN YOU, SAME HEIGHT , BUT STARTED AT 280. ON THE DAY ON SURGERY I WAS 260 AND AS OF 7-18 I AM 252. THE HARDEST THING TO DO IS TO RETHINK HOW YOU EAT. IT USED TO BE SO EASY TO GRAB SOMETHING QUICK IN THE DRIVE THRU OR NOT COUNT THAT CINNABON AT THE MALL JUST BEFORE DINNER. ALL THIS WILL CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. YOU ARE MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE. YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SPEND MORE TIME HERE ON EARTH WITH THE ONES YOU LOVE. MY FAMILY KEEPS ME GOING. I HOPE TO REACH MY GOAL OF RIDING ROLLER COASTERS AT MAGIC MOUNTAIN WITH MY KIDS AND ACTUALLY FIT ON THE RIDES. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR SURGERY AND GOD BLESS.