Kia kaha

Yes! Find a decent psych who can unravel the mysteries of food and emotional eating for you! I read a quote recently (from a good book about sleeve surgery) that said ‘remember this is stomach surgery not brain surgery, it will not change the way you think’. Which is a good point….but it not to say that you (me, everyone) cannot change the way we think about food however. My surgery package has two psych appointments before and several after. It wasn’t until I found myself burbling away about my mum, food, being an overweight kid (with a thin mother) did it strike me how deeply ingrained my attitiudes to food are. The brain bit takes work for sure, but I reckon it’s the key to the whole thing, surgery is the tool, but you have to have the knowledge to know how to use the tool to best effect.

Hiya, yes a fine line between taking responsibility for yourself and blaming oneself for everything isn’t it 😊 One thing for certain, changing mindset sounds easy but takes time and work. I have a tendency to slip down the negativity rabbit hole as well…catching my ‘self talk’ (especially in the dark watches of the night) is a good habit to build. But having the chance for this surgery is amazing (scary but amazing). My surgeon said to me ‘it’s not your fault that you’re overweight, obesity is a disease’. That blew my mind to hear a respected medical professional saying that to me. TBH I do still blame myself a bit, being fat ain’t fun, but the very fact that we, as a group, are doing this thing shows that we are taking responsibility for our health and wellbeing and doing what it takes to sort it out. So, there we are, we are super humans who are focused on action and not just sitting in a sad heap not knowing how to sort ourselves out. Kudos to us.

Gosh, hope you’re OK! I haven’t even had my op yet so I don’t know why I’m replying really…but were you given anyone to contact for after your op? And, for what it’s worth I would say that if this is a one off event then don’t stress, but if you have any pain ongoing or this happens again then seek medical help asap.

Soo, I’m pre op and today is my husband’s birthday, so I’m doing the last supper thing and sitting down at a fancy place for a lovely lunch (venison salad so not too bad…until the tiramisu…but anyway) we were chatting about the journalism course that I have applied to start in July….there are so many options out there for writers….and I suddenly had a brilliant thought “ wow…I could be a food critic”….husband looked at me sideways “if there’s one thing that you won’t be able to do…” “oh, yes. Dam” Anyone else got any funny stories to make us all smile?

Hiya, I have a lowish BMI, around 32-33 at the moment. I am self paying for surgery here in NZ. I can, and have lost weight over the years by eating very little, but back it comes plus a bit every time I take my eye off the ball as it were! I broke my back last year, spinal compression fracture with no damage to the spinal cord thank goodness, but the orthopaedic specialist said ‘whatever you do don’t gain weight’. Well i have gained about 6 kg since the accident. I also suffer from weirdly high blood pressure on occasions, it goes up and down like a yo yo! So all in all….I just can’t be doing with carrying around this extra weight anymore. I need to get down to around the middle of my healthy weight range….I have also lost an inch in height since my accident which is kind of annoying!

Hiya…from what I understand ‘filling up’ is going to be pretty easy as one’s sleeve is about the size of my index finger. My surgeon is using a 32 french bougie…it’s pretty dam small. I’m advised that 2 teaspoons will max me out to start with 😳

❤️💕 there are so many amazing people on this site. It’s very heartening.

I was told to do 2 weeks on Optifast, but I know how hard that is if I go straight into it, so I’m trying to kind of do a lead up and am (mostly) watching what I eat now…husband’s birthday today though so I’m kind of doing that ‘last supper’ thing…and eating too much!

I know it sounds like expensive advice, but you could (should) try and find a registered dietician who can support you and help you through this. If your surgery was a while ago you should be able to exercise freely by now….walking is great as it’s low impact on the joints, it’s hard to over do it. Walking, drinking water (measure how much and try and get to at least 1.5 litres a day), eat only 3 times a day, log your food using an app, my dietician recommended baritastic, weigh your food (boring but worth it) read the labels and cut right down on the carbs (that is starches and sugars), go hard on the low carb proteins, don’t eat too much fatty food….try to aim for ??1000/ 12000 calories a day and the weight will drop off in no time.

Hiya TamTY mine is on the same day! 😁 Excited, nervous, confident…can’t believe it’s actually going to happen….I have all of the emotions going on at the moment! Still seems ages away at the moment though. When do you start your pre op diet?

Hiya everyone! I’m so excited to have got my date! April 11th! I was feeling pretty unsure and nervous, but I’ve got to the ‘bring it on’ mindset now! No easter eggs for me then! Re. the pre surgery diet I have to do 2 weeks on Optifast, I actually really like the shakes. I might start Optifast early to give myself a head start!

So Lizzie, I’m picking that you have been accepted for surgery and have a date in April? Me too! Part of the process I have been through is seeing both a dietician and a psych, and will have this support after the surgery? Do you have this support? If not then you need to take steps to put it in place so that you can talk through your issues with a qualified psych and not have to roll with all the (undoubtedly well meaning) judgement on a public forum. I don’t think that you will ‘get turned round for BMI under 30’ at the surgery stage if you have been approved and accepted. That would be really unethical of the surgeon if that is really on the cards. Regarding the liver shrinking diet I don’t think that this is negotiable, (you say you’d ‘like’ to do it…I’m confused about the process you are following). If your surgeon has told you to do it, then do it as prescribed and the weight loss that goes with it is coincidental, you are doing it to make the surgery easier not actually for weight loss at this stage. I’m also picking from what you say that losing weight isn’t an issue but keeping the weight off is? Is that right? In which case yes surgery is absolutely the right approach for a chance at a permanent solution to get off the diet merry go round of yo yo weight loss and gain, if that is what you want. You say you feel that you need to indulge in unhealthy eating to keep your weight above 30 BMI? My advice would be that if you have been accepted for surgery, and you have talked to your support crew (psych and dietician) and surgeon about your dilemma, and got some constructive advice, then stop jumping on the scales for the next few weeks, eat healthily, like really healthily, include some healthy carbs, eat real food, then just stick to the liver shrinking diet for the amount of time your surgeon requires pre op and stop stressing. Focus on your health not your BMI at this stage. Keep doing healthy exercise, be as fit and active as you can be before surgery. Follow the plan from your surgeon and dietician exactly as they say, and know your own mind. I think that you need to be very sure of your reasons for doing this very permanent, crazy thing to your body. If when you have done all the research you can you feel that this is the best and only way forward to get to a healthy BMI for the rest of your life, then go you!! If however you still think that you can lose the weight….and more importantly keep it off through diet and exercise then maybe that would be the healthier option, both physically and mentally, for you.

Having doubts! I have my last meeting with the surgeon March 4, then we will set a date for surgery. The thing is I’m still having doubts about whether to go ahead and do this crazy thing to my body, or whether to cancel and stay on the diet roundabout for ever! Is this normal? Should I be 100% sure or not go ahead at all? I flick flack between being sure I should go ahead, and being sure I shouldn’t. I’m worried about having a long recovery, I had an awful year last year with two seperate accidents (horses!) where I broke 4 ribs then broke my back (wedge fracture L1, not wheelchair territory fortunately but dam painful). To be deliberately putting myself through more pain and another recovery feels difficult. But I know once the weight starts coming off I will feel good! I’m also worried that I will put myself through this and then just gain the weight back after a couple of years, this has been the pattern before and somehow I can’t see it being different again. I have fought hard with my weight since I was a child, I’m now 57. I guess I would like to be free of this struggle, but does this surgery really free you, it seems as hard as any regular diet?

Thank you so much for sharing your feelings. I am pre op and posts like yours and their supportive replies feel so helpful to give me a realistic insight to how things might (might not but…) go a little pear shaped after surgery. Having said that, I am sending you all my aroha ❤️, as we say over here. Noho kaha, Kia kaha, stay strong, be strong.

Such an interesting thread. I’m pre op and obviously my husband knows, I have one daughter aged 26 who struggles with her weight and she is totally encouraging, and one daughter who has never struggled with her weight who is less than enthusiastic! I have lost both my parents in the last couple of years and, to be really honest, not having to tolerate their judgement is really freeing. Whilst I’m all about being honest, my weight and my health is my business so I’ think I’ll just let folk ‘go figure’ when the weight starts dropping off! I guess dealing with others is all part of the great journey of life

The first GP I talked to was against surgery, she said that it didn’t address the psychological issues of overeating and if I eat emotionally it would be extremely hard for me to cope with my emotions afterwards. She recommended a ‘health coach’ and keto. Roll forward a year, couldn’t find a qualified health coach, lost weight with keto and realised that it’s not sustainable. I have at this point nearly put back all the weight I lost last year. Spoke to another GP who I know is diabetic himself, he said absolutely , surgery is the only way to lose weight permanently, he gave me a referral. As a postscript I saw GP. Number one in the car park, she is a lovely human, but you couldn’t fail to notice that her own bmi had shot up over the last year, maybe she shouldn’t heed her own best advice.

Oh ! Makes me realise how darn slow everything happens in NZ! I spoke to my GP last August, it took him 2 weeks to even write the referral letter (I had to get referred even though I am self funding). I waited until December to see the surgeon, then i had to have two psych appointments and a dietician appointment, then they all got together yesterday and agreed I can have the surgery 😁 I have another final appointment with the surgeon beginning of March where he will schedule the actual date…..am elated and terrified at the same time! So it will be near 9 months. Though I did actually talk to another GP in the practice about surgery over a year ago, she was negative and told me that keto might work…it did but I have since put nearly all the weight back on again.