4me4them

OMG...your post could be me except I haven't had surgery yet...5 really good weeks and then whamo blamo a horrible stressful unhealthy back to old habits week. UG. I agree with the suggestion to look for the why....but I would add at some point you have to shake It Off! I'm not trying to rationalize being off the program (so to speak) I'm just saying for me, I can let a day of unhealthy behaviors become a week of unhealthy behaviors...and before my commitment to this life changing tool a week would have become months. You can recover your big Mo (momentum). We can do it together...

I read all the "success" stories I could before I decided to have surgery...they are certainly inspirational. One thing I would consider is if I could whole heartedly recommend the surgeon/practice because being a success story for them will be a kind of advertisement. Those are the things I would consider... On the other hand...congrats for creating a success story...it didn't happen because you wished it...it happened because you worked it!

This is just my two cents...I would tell my friend that I'm bothered by her lack of support and would prefer not to discuss weight, fitness or food....but really want to continue the friendship (if you do) as long as those topics are off the table. It might be that she is jealous or there could be a bajillion reasons she is not able to be supportive...key thing is you don't have to figure that out...that is her problem... On the flip side...you go girl! Rah Rah for you! You are an amazing person and will do things in your own time and your own way. As long a you are following drs orders you are accountable only to yourself! Consider me a cheerleading squad...but please don' ask me to do a literal back flip...it would be dangerous

Yep, been there doing that! I have one month left to go on the supervised diet. Things were humming along, I was losing weight and really wasn't "suffering" too much and I started to think...hey maybe I could do this on my own. Then, ran into a particularly bad week at work, totally went back to habits I thought had conquered (as if 40 years of habits can be changed in 6 weeks)...anyway, for me...I proved to myself that I need a tool that I don't currently have to successfully reclaim my health. That tool is surgery.

Yep, perfection is never going to happen. Take a look a the WHY you did it more than the WHAT you did....and then shake it off and move on. I'm seriously trying to take my own advice...I'm preop and totally fell back into every bad habit I've been working on since August last week... Trying to regroup for the week to come...WE.CAN.DO.THIS!

I haven't had my surgery yet...my go to breakfast for workdays is a Protein shake...usually with almond milk and maybe some blueberries. I can drink it on the way to work and hit the ground running...

Congrats and welcome to the site! There are a lot of good folks here and lots of different opinions, advice and at times just plain silliness! Let us know how things are going for you!

Congrats on getting home! Good luck with your "voiding"...couldn't resist

I had to give up Muscle Milk because my NUT said it had too many carbs for the protein...

I actually felt more reassured after reading the threads. I feel like I have a good idea of the risks, the behaviors that will set me up for success and how to deal with the inevitable stalls/slow downs. For me, I have to weigh the possible complications (which are statistically small) with the almost certain diabetes, knee replacements and so on that are in my future if I don't get the weight off. Having said that, if you need to meet with the surgeon and then take more time to make your decision...please take it! You have to be sure for yourself.

Oh my. So sorry to hear of your complications. I have not been sleeved yet so I can't comment on the issues you are having...and I'm writing to let you know that you are not alone! I know there will be folks who will be able to share with you. I will keep you in my thoughts and hope that things improve for you soon.

So my Progresso soup victory (see previous post) was very short lived. My stress overwhelmed me the past few days and well...lets just say I resorted right back to unhealthful eating habits. I'm not even going to try to put a positive spin on it. After 2 weeks clean eating...no flour products...bread, pasta...I have binged to the point of feeling woozy on carbs. Bread in particular...lots of bread. I work in the education field...I've taught high school math and science and now work for the Army where I am in charge of about 55 people doing everything from teaching Soldiers how to teach, to designing curriculum, to building educational technology. Once every three years we get accredited which means a bunch of people descend on our organization and tell us whether we are doing a good job. This is the first year I am responsible for so much (last time I just had the teaching Soldiers how to teach part). I mention this because as I've prepared for this visit, I've been looking at what the Army believes about training and education and one of the key beliefs is that Soldiers should be "self-directed learners". That is an awesome phrase and I understand what it means...the problem is, we don't do a good job teaching the young Soldiers how to be that....its as if we expect them to be born with the ability. That's how I feel about stress management. I logically understand that my stress reactions are not helpful, that I should "shake it off" and "not let it derail me". The problem is I don't have a clue how to do that! I know how to eat. I've found myself thinking this afternoon that I just need to survive the week and then I can get back after it...after all I will still have 2 full weeks before I have to go weigh in again...sigh...I'm tired of just surviving. So here's what I'm going to try...no I'm going to channel YODA and say here is what I'm going to do. Before I eat a meal, I'm going to walk for 5 minutes. I can do that, I can do it at work by walking through the halls to the other end of the building and back, I can do it at home rain (on the treadmill) or shine (outside). It might not solve all my unhealthful eating reactions to stress....but it IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT! I'll let you know how the experiment goes. Beth

I'm thinking about Arabella....it makes me think of light happy things...we'll see though...from what I've read the first few weeks "demon child" might be more appropriate.

Guys can be so clueless Congrats...hopefully I will join in you the non burrito towel group some day!

First let me say welcome to the forum! You will find lots of good folks with lots of good experiences to share. Congrats no having a date! I'm still working through the insurance requirements. I imagine it would be very difficult not to have the support of the ones closest to you...but realize...you are not alone! You have us now!

If I've learned anything on this forum it is that all docs are different! Mine has a lose 5% of your current weight policy...

Awesome post! I may not have the courage to say it but I will certainly think it if I'm ever in that situation...

So I'm still in the supervised diet phase before surgery and I've been doing pretty good (insert back pat here). But MONDAY was a MONDAY all day. I went to work with a long list of things I need to get done before our big accreditation team visit next week. Of course, life had other plans and by 1130 I had done exactly NOTHING on my list. I was stressed to the maximum.... And then it was lunch time. And the 3oz can of tuna, lettuce and low fat dressing just didn't appeal to my emotional side. Now I've eaten this lunch quite happily many many days...but emotional Beth said nope not going to work. Six weeks ago I would have walked across the parking lot...OK, who am I kidding, I would have driven across the parking lot and gone through the drive through of the fast food chain that is there. So I start looking around the office and I found a can of Progresso Light cream of potato soup....so I had it, both servings...200 calories and way more sodium than I consume now but two amazing things happened: 1. The emotional side of me was soothed in a less destructive way 2. I didn't snack on anything rest of the day (except my veggies that I brought from home). Hence the title...Progresso Soup saved my butt. I have now replaced that can and consider it my failsafe for the next MONDAY whenever it comes!

Congrats on your twofer! Hope all continues to go well!

Thanks! I used to eat those back in the day...

So I love movie theater popcorn...I don't get the butter, but I can put away a really big tub...or I should say I used to put away a really big tub of popcorn. I'm still in my preop, but even so I know that movie theater popcorn is not exactly a health food. We don't go to the movies very often, but I couldn't imagine a movie without popcorn. My office was meeting at the theater today to see Guardians of the Galaxy (totally worth your consideration) and I wanted to go AND I wanted to stay within my calories for the day...so...hubby got a small popcorn (he used to eat big tubs too) and I took a Quest Strawberry Cheesecake protein bar (which I had already budgeted for in my daily menu). I had one handful of popcorn...it tasted good....then was perfectly satisfied with my protein bar...and guess what...I still enjoyed the movie! One bad habit conquered...a bajillion more to go...

Mom and weight relationships are the hardest...I can sympathize AND empathize with you! Hang in there and define your happy weight for yourself. I'm going to experience it first hand...I finish my 3 months supervised diet on Oct 7th....but I'm not having surgery till later in November because my husband and I had a 2 week trip planned in October to go see my folks (73/75) and his folks (78/76). My mom has already started...."Oh I guess that means we wont get a Bonnie Bells cake while you are here" or "you'll have to tell us what to cook while you are here" Or "does that mean you don't want to go to Muriel's (awesome Italian rest). I know that the whole time I'm there every bit will be scrutinized... Sigh...but I love her and like you I couldn't not tell her...good luck and thanks for listening

Thanks so much for sharing! Sounds like you are off to a great start... I hope to be where you are by the new year...