Kitt3000

@VSGAnn2014... so...
i continue the therapy i started just before i started this journey.
i continue to practice the better behaviors as often as possible.
i look forward to the time when i lose just enough weight to allow me to get back to being the gym rat i used to be before my body became too painful to move.
what can i say? i believe i will be successful, because i don't know how to believe anything different. i have to believe that the honeymoon period i've been reading here about will give me the time to cement the successful behaviors. i refuse to believe that i don't stand a chance because i am still struggling pre-op to overcome my addiction.
i can't give up, and this is my last resort. if i fail, i will not live as long as i want to.
i don't expect the head hunger or cravings to go away, i really don't. i expect to experience anguish at facing the things that make me eat now, as i do most days when i am successful in my eating. i expect to mourn the almost immediate anaesthetic effect eating gives. and i expect i will survive and get through it... maybe with a little more trouble than most, maybe a little slower or less successful than others. but i'll get through it.

I did not read the other replies, so I apologize ahead of time if this is repetitive.
They did not invent the light bulb in one try and you're not going to get this eating thing in your first, second, or however many tries it takes for you to get this right. For many of us, this is why we opted for the surgery: we needed a tool to help us get our eating into control. I too was a binge eater. I would do great all week or all day, and then I would bing on the weekends or at night. The sleeve surgery definitely help me get through the binging part. It cut it out, period. Couldn't bing even if I tried.
In my past, before marriage and kids, I was an emotional eater. The above description of my binge eating is very accurate of how my life went. However, once I was a wife and a mother, I got over all those insecurities and issues; but, I liked to eat and so I did...a lot.
Your pre-op diet is difficult. It is like an addict of cigarettes or alcohol going "cold turkey". Your body and mind crave what is comforting to you. I cheated on my pre-op diet. I cheated in my one-year post-op, but yet here I am at goal (reached it today!). I do not advocate, by any means, cheating. But, realistically, it happens. I had to teach myself to eat right. I had to "detox" my body from the bad carbs and foods. My first 10 months post-op, I was really good at planning my cheats. I am 15 months post-op now, and I no longer track because I make healthy choices 90-95% of the time. I still eat small quantities and I do eat "cheat" foods if I am at a party without healthier options or on my cheat day (Saturday). However, I will say that on my cheat day I do not binge. It is just a taste and I work out harder and longer on Sunday's. Getting to where I am was a process. It did NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT!
We cannot dwell on our failures, we have to dwell on solutions: how are we going to fix the problem; what is the resolution; what can I do better the next time; what do I have to do to avoid this? My soloution to many of my problems was not to have those foods in the house! The bad foods, the finger foods, the snacking foods...ELIMINATE them!
You need to wipe off the dirt from your knees, Honey. Get back up. We all fail. We CANNOT SUCCEED WITHOUT FAILURE. But to find success from failure, we try and try again until we get it right. It took Thomas Edison 10,000 tries to bring us light; it's going to take several tries to get the "eating right" correct as well (hopefully not 10,000 tries, though--LOL!).
Don't be so hard on yourself! Just do what you have to do to get it right! Good luck to you!!!

Just chiming in to send best wishes your way. Pat yourself on the back -- gently! -- for everything you are doing to address your health issues. Tell yourself how amazing you are. You ARE! Choosing weight loss surgery is choosing yourself and your healthy future first -- that is an amazing accomplishment in itself. The pre-op process can be so stressful, and for those of us who are stress eaters that can be a particularly difficult time. And as others have said, if we could lose weight through dieting why would we elect surgery? Duh! You are strong and you are on your way. Just keep reminding yourself of that. I am a big believer in positive self-talk these days. For me weight loss surgery stopped the constant chatter in my head about food and for whatever reason now I am able to walk away from whatever it is, or have a tiny amount (versus being a "finisher" or the old, "I screwed up so I may as well go all the way"). Good luck with the process -- and so glad you're here on the forum.

Gaining 5 lbs isn't the end of the world since most of it will be Water retention. You can drop that in just a few days so no need to beat yourself up. To gain 5 lbs of fat you'd have to consume nearly 20,000 calories over the weekend.
So, life goes on. Even after your surgery you'll have missteps. Life still goes on and you'll still lose weight.
tmf

I expect that kind of comment from Rosie O'Donnell but I don't expect to feel berated here for choosing one surgery over another. This is where I come to feel better, usually by trying to make others feel better. If people sound defensive perhaps it's because we keep having to defend a basic medical procedure. I did my research, I chose what was right for ME. Not any one else, just me. Why not support me on my weight loss journey? Are there people who want me to fail because I elected a different avenue? We are on the same path of wellness. Be supportive, PLEASE. It's the Star Belly Sneeches all over again.
Now, what I thought I'd be writing before I read all those comments -- great piece, Alex, and thanks for all you do for the WLS community through this site.

A-mazing! Awesome job, Jim.

I think I may have my band removed. It is failing me.....

@@☠carolinagirl☠ thank you! And you're right -- no crummy day for me. I'm going to kick up my heels and just be glad I didn't read any if that negative crap when I was on the forum doing my research. You, Jim, Missy, Catfish, TMF -- lots and lots of others. How could I have been so lucky? Well, I AM lucky. Lucky to have my band and lucky to have my life back. Probably also lucky we don't have TV here, since I seem to get riled up over that kind of thing.

crummy my ass....you have lost nearly 100 pounds
better health..more mobility and if you think someone who
is saying nanananabooboo your WLS sucks is going to rile you up,
let me say here and now i wont let that happen GF
any WLS works
any WLS also doesnt work
what matters is the WLS you have (and are using to the best of your abilities)
is working for YOU.
and judging by your weight loss, it is....

Thanks for starting this thread -- I came back here after the Rosie thread which left me so disheartened. I need to be with band-positive people. Instead of getting a lift here today I feel sort of crummy now. The good news: I already had an aggressive one-hour walk around a beautiful lake early this morning and I am not responding to my feelings with food. I'm here instead. Have a great day every one, and yes, I love my foreign object.

I'm coming up on a year of happiness with my band -- I am thrilled to rediscover myself. The vitality effects every part of my life. Like others, I try to just skip over negative posts. There are people with axes to grind and people who chose a different WLS surgery who chime in about the band as though they know what they're talking about. I find I can't read comments in other places, like NYT on-line, etc. because I start to get disgusted by humanity, but all in all I'd say we have a pretty good group. There's part of me that wishes we were still LB Talk but this is still such a great place to find support (thank you all by the way). Now if I read "foreign object" it makes me guffaw. Humor has always worked for me.

I have just celebrated my one year bandiversary I LOVE it. I would do it all again if I needed to. No regrets! How can I complain? I walk better, breath better, eat better, smile more, laugh often, experience life more fully....all because of my band and my new normal. My weight loss has stalled a bit over the summer (back injury has kept me out of the gym), but I have decided this was my practice period to learn how to maintain my weight when I hit my goal And I have been successful at maintaining this summer. Good luck to all!

High five!

I found myself sabotaging myself also. But then, I was having trouble seeing a thinner me. The weight gain in part, was to be invisible , and I just was not ready for all the attention that loosing weight was creating. Crazy huh? I'm a bit of an introvert, it's sort of like learning to swim, take a big gasping breath of air, then plunge head first back in the water!

I try to eat at least an egg & a piece of Breakfast meat around 10am, but my fall back is a Protein yogurt smoothee for an extra protein punch.

High five!

Post on sista!

My kids say that's why they like Nanas house too, but, I'm happy to report, they love me- not just the treats! Big surprise (happy one) to me too! Cause like my mom, we thought food was love...

My own children are feeding my grandchildren with a more healthy diet. I am banned from giving them junk food. I've asked them for healthy snack treat ideas, and they have complied. Now I'm passing out eating better to the next generation, and helping myself at the same time! Yee haw!

I take whey Protein, some fresh fruits and berries, etc, maybe some Peanut Butter with banana, pineapple...you name it...throw it all into a blender with 6-8 oz's of Almond Milk, maybe an ice cube, and Wha-La! Delicious, nutritious and 45 Gm protein....
Been doing that for almost 4 years now.....how much eggs, bacon, Cereal, etc, would it take to equal that?
And it gives me energy all day, with little or no lunch....
As far as flavors, and combinations, leave it up to your imagination...anything goes....

@ my best advice to you is to follow your Dr.'s orders. If you are compliant and do everything you can to ensure that your band and you are working together with your doc.you will do great!

Well I'm going through the process all over again I was approved back in 2006 and about a week before my surgery I was admitted into the hospital. I was in so much pain and after all the test came back, they diagnosed me with LUPUS so the surgery was cancelled. I tried again back in 2010 but this time for the gastric bypass. I had no idea that doctors dont do patients with LUPUS. When the doctor told me that he does not operate on patients with LUPUS my feelings were so hurt, but he recommended the lap band. At that time I had heard some awful things about the lap band and plus my sis-n-law had to have hers removed due to food poisoning and slipage of the band. Now I'm back at it and I have heard and read some positive stories about the lap band. I'm gonna go for the lap band, just waiting to schedule my visits for the psychiatrist, and nutritionist. Please pray for me that everything works out. The Dr knows my condition and stated that he has done the lap band on people with LUPUS so that has lifted my spirit To all the bandsters, thank you for your stories!!!! Good Luck to everyone on their journey....

This group doesn't normally perform the lap band any more because of long term issues that have arisen.
That comment bothers me. I would not my lap band surgery done by a group who feels that way--hearing my doctor say something to that effect would scare me off. My doctor recommended the lap band as being the safest procedure, and the one he would recommend given the circumstances based on my age, health, weight and other factors. If a doctor is having long term issues with a procedure, why would you want to use him? Think about it--why would he say this unless he was having a large number of problems? Or, is it due to his not having several years of experience; what is he basing this on?
Lap band patients require substantial follow up care to ensure any reasonable expectation of success. My "group" has three APRNs and two experienced surgeons in their bariatric practice. They are also a circle of excellence, which is also a requirement for many insurance companies. If a doctor retires, there is another one to handle emergencies. They also have four or five offices in the Connecticut area. I have my choice of three experienced APRNs to handle my follow up needs--be it fills, advice on nutrition, etc. Make sure that this "group" will be there for YOU one, two or five years down the road. You can read many horror stories on this board where folks are seeing inexperienced or clueless RNs for followups, with bad results, or folks who's doctors are no longer doing bariatric procedures, leaving their patients in a lurch for followup care. Always shop for the BEST provider you can find, especially for lap band surgery. I'm now on Medicare, and I still get calls from their office to come in for follow ups--and Medicare doesn't pay for follow up surgery related follow up office visits. They have me come in because they care, and because they are professionals who place their clients ahead of the almighty dollar.
My group has had excellent success with the lap band procedure. My doctor suggested gastric banding for me, based on my needs; yet strongly suggested VSG for my wife, based on her needs. We've both been very successful and extremely happy with the results, and with the follow up care.

Surgery is a big decision! For 14 years I have been talking about having wls. But I would start a diet doing great then life kicks in,get distracted and then realize I'm back plus some from where I started in weight. My ex husband motivated me unfortunately it took him dying of a massive heart attack at 45 to get me to the its now or never point. Ask yourself if you could not focus solely on you weigh loss life happened, would you be able to keep losing/maintain or would you possibly can it all back? This is Your life you will know when you are mentally ready to change your life. Getting the band has saved my life. 4 months out and next month I get rid of my blood pressure pills and insulin pump. Only you know what to do!!!

I want to thank everyone for your honest comments. All have given me "food" for thought. After many years of yo-yo dieting I essentially gave up 15-20 years ago. No real attempts to lose between then and now. Of course I "knew" what I should be eating but never did it. I looked into WLS several times during those years but didn't reach the point where I knew I HAD to do something until this year. My success so far has really surprised me and made me think that maybe I could reach my goals without WLS. But today, I proved to myself that I'm not past the stress eating that has always been my downfall. One of those days where I wanted and did eat everything that wasn't nailed down. Sure my choices were far healthier than I've ever eaten, but I did eat much more than I should have. One of my main reasons for pursuing the WLS was to have a tool that would give me a fast and unpleasant reminder that I was making a mistake. I know I need that tool to help me reach my goals and to regain my life.
Meeting with surgeon Thursday to talk about this and to see about getting EGD and/or upper GI to check GERD and hiatal hernia.