First Steps in the pre-surgery process

[MarylandCrab 25]

I'm relatively new to this forum (just started last week) and I am so glad I found it.

I just had my first consultation with the program coordinator and nutritionist at my surgeon's office. That was the big first step for me. I'm looking at a 6 month timeline here -- 6 months of nutritionist appts, other tests, and getting myself into some new habits. And I am SO excited. The only problem is I'm having a little trouble getting started.

I've made a few changes in the last few days: I've started tracking what I eat, and I haven't had a Diet Coke in the last 3 days. I just can't seem to make myself believe that I am going to have to change what I eat, if that makes sense. I know it logically, but I can't seem to make it sink in in terms of what I'm eating.

Anyone else early on in the process? Anyone having this trouble?

[anewme15 40]

Hi, I'm new also, just had my 1st appointment 2 weeks ago and scheduled to meet the nutritionist and behaviorist on Jan. 23. I also stopped drinking pop 1 week today, really hard. Let's hang in there! Keep us posted.

[Pac-woman 325]

Hello. I know what you are going through. I started the process in June and I finally finished my 6th dietician appt earlier this month. I also did the Psych eval too this month as well. Good news today, I found out I was approved and I am possibly looking at Jan 12.

I have had 6 mths to train my brain on these new changes I have to make. I have been doing changes here and there trying to adapt. I still find it hard to get away from old habits.

But as time gets closer, you will get excited and I think the excitement will drive you to do it more. For example, I know that I have to start my pre-op diet on the 29th. Man, am I going to be grouchy. But even though I am little scared, I am excited as well. I feel that the excitement is going to drive me to do the right things.

To be continued!

[Gingerisgreat 56]

Hello Ladies! First of all, Congrats on taking the first steps! I am not in the beginning of the 6 month journey but my surgery was just the week of Thanksgiving so I remember all too well how my journey started. I had a horrible addiction to caffeine as I work midnights in an extremely high stress profession, and I work a lot of hours a week on top of having a family to care for. I thought i would NEVER kick the habit. I started by cutting back on the number of coffees I allowed myself in a day. I made a small "surgery bucket list" of things that I wanted my husband and I to do together before the time came to put all of my focus into resting, healing, and working out. We went hiking at a favorite location, we went on a few dates that we had been talking about doing and hadn't done, we went to a couple restaurants that I knew I would always experience in a different way after surgery, and I ate Wedge salad about six times because its my favorite taste ever and I knew it would be a LONG time before I was able to have a taste of it again. With that said, my list only contained four of my absolute favorite restaurants and we went to about one a month for the first four months of the six, and I made healthy choices at ALL of those meals to test myself. I found that I was NOT any less satisfied with making healthy choices than I had been with prior meals at those locations. I learned that what I enjoy most is the environments, the company, the conversation, the time with my family, and good quality food, not quantity or fat content. So as it turned out, I was learning new things about myself and my eating habits while I was completing my bucket list. Start slowly by picking one or two things a month to work on within yourself, and start rewarding yourself with things other than food. Enjoy it, the time will FLY by!!! Best of Luck!

[ocque2000 0]

Hi guys I'm also new to forum my surgery date for the sleeve is approaching, it's February still nervous and exciting at the same time. I believe my family felt the same way because at first they were very supportive and now they're having negative thoughts. I read so far of every one's great results and so far they kept me motivated.

[anaxila 501]

@@MarylandCrab, I had a ton of difficulty getting started, and don't have a lot of weight loss to show for my 6 months of appointments with the nutritionist. My surgery is next Tuesday (OMG!), and it's only with the pre-surgery diet that I'm actually dropping any real weight.

But I very gradually changed all of the habits that were going to be trouble after surgery. I found a nutritionist I like a lot and was able to be completely honest with her, and she helped me to change little things here and there over time. Mostly, I focused on substitutions. For example, my worst habits were around eating out, particularly fast food. So I started with cutting down drive-thru visits for Breakfast, and once they were gone started in on other meals. Then I started bringing a brown bag lunch one day to work, then two, then three, etc.

One of my biggest barriers is "all or nothing" thinking. Such as, "I don't have time to make homemade whole food fancy whatsis, so I guess I'll just have to eat this bacon cheeseburger here." Even grabbing a crappy frozen meal from the freezer was better than drive-thru, even though they were nutritionally not that different, because it was the habit I was trying most to break.

Caffeine is (was!) a huge deal for me, in both Diet Coke and coffee forms. So I tackled them one at a time. I substituted Diet Pepsi (blech!) for Diet Coke and that cut down my consumption. Then I switched to Diet Sierra Mist (which is caffeine free), and then eventually tackled coffee at the end. They key for me was gradual changes. I knew I wasn't going to succeed in going "cold turkey" off everything at once. I've tried that many times in my life, and maintaining for 6 months on willpower alone is nearly impossible.

I don't know if any of this will resonate with you, but that's what it was for me. Hope this helps.

[MarylandCrab 25]

@@anaxila Thank you. That all resonates me. I have a good friend who had the DS surgery and has said much the same to me -- it's a process, you can't just do it all at once. If you could, you wouldn't be having surgery. Same with the "all or nothing" thinking. I fall into that one, too. I haven't accomplished all that the nutritionist suggested for me this month -- chewing everything 20 times and not drinking while I eat, etc. Once again, I have to remember that this is only my first month of 6. I was pretty bummed about it, thinking "how am I ever going to change all of my ways".....but I guess what everyone is saying to me is that I need to give it time. I'll be thinking of you on Tuesday! Good luck!

@@ocque2000 welcome! I hope you are finding this forum. I have months ahead of me (June) and I'm hoping to learn as much as I can from people who have surgery before me -- like you! So keep me posted!