What I'm really afraid of...

[KristenVSG2014 1,872]

There are those folks in this forum who can expess the need for counselling with your doctors and nutritionist much more eloquenty and clinically than I can, so I will move on to what my original thought was when I first read your post.

Perhaps you need to think of the next phases not as a pre-op liquid diet and a high Protein diet bereft of your former culinary favorites, but as war! You are literally in a fight for your life (and your quality of life) until you reach your expiration date. Those of us who are in our sixties can attest to the fact that excess weight which is inconvenient and embarrassing in our thirties turns into arthritis, joint replacements, high blood pressure, strokes, immobility, heart attack, etc etc and the list goes on.

You are at a point where you can make so much more of difference now, and have a much longer, healthier, happier life. You will be more able to travel, enjoy family and social activities and become more present and involved in the world around you. At some point, the excess weight that is inconvenient can turn you into a shut-in as I am now, due to a stroke brought on by high blood pressure brought on by excess weight brought on by lack of control over my stomach's desire to hijack my brain.

If I can encourage you to do anything, it would be to find a private moment alone with your thoughts and without distraction. You are grown and no doubt smart and capable in many ways. Take on the devil on your shoulder and you be the one in control of your health and your future by being in control of you dietary choices, against all odds.

How would you encourage someone else who is two weeks behind you in this journey? This is one time in your life where you MUST NOT get tired of being strong. You deserve to be healthy and happy and active, but good health will not come knocking on your door. You are going to have to chase it down and put your name on it.

Please don't think of the pre-op liquid phase as a burden to bear. It is a right of passage and will be over in a few days. After you have your surgery, you will learn by doing and become quite adept at making smart choices and weighing and measuring and tracking. You can look forward to becoming a champion at this, well able to encourage others with confidence.

I cannot believe that come Christmas, I will pass my first year since my sleeve surgery. There were rough spots to be sure, and times when I thought I am not losing fast enough, but the scale keeps going downward, and I will take that as a good thing. Keep your chin up and trust in yourself to do a great job at this. You can always come here for encouragement when you are having a dark day.

This is the best post I've even read. I'm saving this to re-read in a few months after surgery.

[McButterpants 2,846]

Actually I'm having that fear RIGHT now and I'm 3 weeks post op. I'm hungry and can't feel any restriction when I eat despite being on soft foods. Im so scared I went through all this trouble for nothing I'm in near tears.

@@snowkitten - you're going to be fine. Make sure you're drinking your fluids. You could be experiencing acid - talk to your doc. Lots of newly sleeved folks confuse hunger with acid - I did. Now, when I know I'm not supposed to be hungry, I pop a Tums and am usually OK.

I drank Decaf green tea - if it's OK with your doc, you might give it a try. It helped me with hunger as well.

Good luck and hang in there!

[snowkitten 371]

@@snowkitten - you're going to be fine. Make sure you're drinking your fluids. You could be experiencing acid - talk to your doc. Lots of newly sleeved folks confuse hunger with acid - I did. Now, when I know I'm not supposed to be hungry, I pop a Tums and am usually OK.

I drank Decaf green tea - if it's OK with your doc, you might give it a try. It helped me with hunger as well.

Good luck and hang in there!

I sure hope your right. I'm a nervous wreck over it. It's not just that I'm hungry but I was able to eat WAY too much (not as much as pre surgery but still more than 1/2 cup) and still felt no restriction. What's that?

I'll try the green tea and get some tums asap

[*Lexie* 1,486]

@@snowkitten And Tums gives you your Calcium carbonate that you need. You hopefully get relief and get an important Vitamin at the same time.

[McButterpants 2,846]

I sure hope your right. I'm a nervous wreck over it. It's not just that I'm hungry but I was able to eat WAY too much (not as much as pre surgery but still more than 1/2 cup) and still felt no restriction. What's that?

I'll try the green tea and get some tums asap

You may not feel much restriction early out - I didn't. You are still healing. You need to follow your doc's Portion Control. Also, you want to eat until satisfied (the hunger is gone), not necessarily full. You need to eat very slowly and pay attention to your body and how it feels. You may not immediately identify how it feels - it takes practice.

Good luck! You're going to do great!

[Cupcake 801]

Hi I agree with the above statements , your feelings are normal but here is your opportunity to use this tool to save your life, regain the mobility and opportunity to be healthy and live a long heathy life focus on one day at a time , trust me it's so worth it. Good luck.

[Idahospud 102]

@ lexli, I am struggling with this my self and this very exact moment. I started my required 2 week liquid pre-op diet this morning and was feel very discouraged as I was prepping all the family meals and was INSANELY tempted to sample everything. I had a huge victory dance in my head at the end of dinner when I had "successfully won the battle" but as I am sitting typing I am still doing everything I possibly can to keep me AWAY from the fridge for those left overs. I would like to think that us having second thoughts are completely normal. We just have to have faith in ourselves that we CAN do this and we ARE doing this and that it will all be TOTALLY worth it 6 months from now.

I am cheering you on girly

[Idahospud 102]

@@Miss Mac, Your reply to this post was EXACTLY what I needed to hear!! I am so glad lexli started this thread. I am proceeding tomorrow full steam ahead with the encouragement from this post. 1 day down, 13 to go!

[snowkitten 371]

@@lexie and @mcbutterpanta thanks for your ideas and suggestions. I tried some tums and while it did t remove the hunger entirely it did help alot and I was even back to eating 3-4 bites for dinner. I think I'm going to try two first thing in the morning (my dr actually suggested I do so long ago cause I'm lactose intolerant so I know it's dr aproved), and have green tea before lunch.

Thanks to the one who created this thread, it helps to talk out the fear.

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

What if I fail at this too?

@@*Lexie*

as long as you follow all the rules you've learned (which i'm sure you will) you can't help but lose!!!

you will be eating so few calories at the beginning stages- then few calories later too

you must drink at least 64 oz of Water

while you are on the liquid phase - don't worry that you won't feel any restriction

thats a concern of many newbies

you will start to feel that great restriction while on soft foods/solids

stop drinking about 15 minutes before you eat

never drink with your meals

don't drink for 45-60 minutes after you eat

drink at least 64 oz a day

cut food into small pieces

chew thorougly

eat very slowly

suggestion - put food on a small plate

(that will help you fool yourself that you are eating more )

most/almost ALL NUTS say no to any soda

eat Protein first

watch your carb intake

other rules too

having a senior moment and can't think of other rules

good luck with surgery

speedy recovery

kathy

Edited September 16, 2014 by proudgrammy

[Niquee 43]

I did 4 weeks on pre-op Protein Shake, got my surgery on may 26th. So far i have lost 73 lbs. I hope to lose another 75 lbs or so ...Something to Celebrate right?

Yet i find myself struggling with old demons...These past 2 weeks have been tough, i have been munching on chips and sweet stuff, for no reason at all. I have been exercise but somehow i think i have been slacking off.

I think what got me down the most was the following: of course after losing 73 lbs you need to get ride of old clothes and get new ones. This weekend i was at my parents and my mom found a bag of clothes did i had left there that use to fit me...they were now fitting me again, and with the limited amount of clothes i have now, this was a welcome suprise. I started thinking when was the last time i wore these clothes, and i would say it was around 2004-2005. Right after i stop using the medication xenecal.

And that bothered me...because when i used xenecal i remember being happy of all the weight lost, and i thought that was it, that was the solution, but i found my way around that pill to the point it didnt work and i gain weight again.

So whats the difference between now and then? Is it going to stick this time, will i lose and stay thin? I honestly dont know, but i have to try, coz nothing else has worked and if i dont do anything the next 40 years of my life are going to be what? I dont want to end up in a wheel chair sooner than i need to, i dont want my son to be ashame of me when i drop him off to school.

I hope upyou find your motivation, and i wish we dont end up sabotaging ourselves in the end

Good luck and thank you for bringing this up

[DaiDai 31]

I've been on this site about two weeks and I'm still in the beginning stages of the process. I'm going to the psychologist tomorrow and my intention was to log on tonight to find out what not to say tomorrow when God led me almost immediately to this post. My my my this is a perfect reflection of how I feel and Miss Mac you just saved me from myself. Thank you for your words. Seriously it's so easy to lose focus on why we'd put ourselves through this. Lexie thank you for you honesty.

[TheCurvyJones 721]

These feelings are normal. Totally normal. Trust is... You'll do great. It's better that you're worried about it instead of feeling like it's no big deal. You'll work harder if you think there's a chance you could fail.

[*Lexie* 1,486]

Thanks to all the good advice I have received, I have been able to get focused on my pre-op diet and stick with it. I now see that my pre-op diet was related to my insecurity and my failure on the pre-op diet further fed my fear of failure. Self sabotage is B!

So here's the crux of the issue. If I never take a risk, then I don't have to worry about failure or change or all those other scary things. But if I don't take a risk, I'll never change and get the things I want. This process really works on your mind. I'm sure I'm just scratching the surface on some of these things. But I'm so happy to have a group of people that are willing to take time out of their day to help talk me off the ledge. You are not wasting your time, it really does help.

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

"never take a risk, then I don't have to worry about failure or change or all those other scary things. But if I don't take a risk, I'll never change and get the things I want. This process really works on your mind. I'm sure I'm just scratching the surface on some of these things."

@@*Lexie*

i love what you wrote above

you are obviously a smart "cookie"

risk/change can/is very difficult

(off topic - DH has a great job, but he's afraid to explore new and better avenues because that would be out of his comfort zone)

pre & post op many people are not aware of how much WLS DOES does play with your mind

you must deal with many food issues et al

change your life long feelings about how you used to deal with food

now you need to learn / deal with your mind and other things the new way you will handle with food

"EAT TO LIVE no longer LIVE TO EAT "

"Failure is Not an Option" (don't remember who said that, but i like it

"Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dieing" (Shawshank....don't remember the rest of the name of the movie )

"scratching the surface"?

yep, keep itching/scratching

I see from your lovely face,determination and smile you will be very successful!!!!

good luck

kathy

Edited September 17, 2014 by proudgrammy