Mandatory Support Group/ Feeling discouraged

[kad_82 42]

I just came back from my first support group meeting you are required to do two before surgery. The group is a mix of pre and post op. I am completely discourage I felt like it was just everyone telling you what you can never have again post sleeve. I know that it's a lifestyle change and things are hard after but just hearing all the post opts just telling you what you can never have again and the chewing slow forever and no Water with meals my brain feels like it's gonna explode and now I'm like what am I getting myself into. Support group had the opposite effect tonight

[Cape Crooner 589]

I just came back from my first support group meeting you are required to do two before surgery. The group is a mix of pre and post op. I am completely discourage I felt like it was just everyone telling you what you can never have again post sleeve. I know that it's a lifestyle change and things are hard after but just hearing all the post opts just telling you what you can never have again and the chewing slow forever and no Water with meals my brain feels like it's gonna explode and now I'm like what am I getting myself into. Support group had the opposite effect tonight [emoji26]

Don't let it get you down. I was forced to attend two as well. The pre surgery folks said almost nothing. The meeting was dominated by post surgery folks who had no life before WLS and have been reborn thru the process.

I'm guessing that they had become insignificant obese "faces in a crowd" before and now they're filled with confidence - which is great, but now they're persona as a "WLS success story" defines who they are.

I'm not saying we don't have to eat healthy post sleeve, I'm just saying it's much easier to do when you can barely eat 8 ounces of solid food at one sitting and you can exercise without lugging the weight of a small person on your back.

WLS has its own social world. If you want it or need it, it'll be there for you. If you don't, it'll be in your life's rear view mirror before you know it!

#zeroregrets

[kad_82 42]

Don't let it get you down. I was forced to attend two as well. The pre surgery folks said almost nothing. The meeting was dominated by post surgery folks who had no life before WLS and have been reborn thru the process.

I'm guessing that they had become insignificant obese "faces in a crowd" before and now they're filled with confidence - which is great, but now they're persona as a "WLS success story" defines who they are.

I'm not saying we don't have to eat healthy post sleeve, I'm just saying it's much easier to do when you can barely eat 8 ounces of solid  food at one sitting and you can exercise without lugging the weight of a small person on your back.

WLS has its own social world. If you want it or need it, it'll be there for you. If you don't, it'll be in your life's rear view mirror before you know it!

#zeroregrets

Thank you! CapeCronner that's exactly what I need to hear at the moment

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

50 minutes ago, kad_82 said:

I just came back from my first support group meeting you are required to do two before surgery. The group is a mix of pre and post op. I am completely discourage I felt like it was just everyone telling you what you can never have again post sleeve. I know that it's a lifestyle change and things are hard after but just hearing all the post opts just telling you what you can never have again and the chewing slow forever and no Water with meals my brain feels like it's gonna explode and now I'm like what am I getting myself into. Support group had the opposite effect tonight

I'm going to be honest.

I never chewed slowly, I still don't. I don't chew a ton of times, my chewing is basically the same as it ever was. I could never master the slow chewing and I hate cold food, so I never ate super slow either.

I sometimes drink with my meals because I would rather take a sip than choke to death, I know crazy. there are something I have that I drink with, like I will drink Water and eat a Protein Bar. Mainly because a Protein bar is a lot of calories that can be consumed in a few bites and drinking water with it stretches it out. I didn't do this until past the one year mark but I do it. As long as your portions are measured and you know your capacity, eating and drinking isn't a big deal. You won't do it much just out of habit because it can cause you to be overly full very fast or push your food though. This is learned behavior by following your food progression post-op. It won't seem weird or like a punishment, it will seem normal. After the one year mark I sometimes eat and drink when I am in public eating situations but it is pretty rare. I grew up not eating and drinking so this doesn't seem like odd behavior to me. It really isn't something worth getting hung up on. You are only going to need to follow it rigorously for the first 6 months, and that is just to prevent being overly full.

Long term you can eat anything with the sleeve unless you have complications. The question is will you want to eat these things. You probably won't long term, but you might short term. I love orange juice, I mean love it. I have had it twicee in the past 2 years at special occasion brunches. It was amazing, but I don't crave it because it isn't a part of my normal diet. That is what following your food steps and retraining yourself on how you feel and think about food does. I can have orange juice if I want, it doesn't make me dump or anything. I just don't want it.

Lastly a lot of people are going to those groups just to lord things over people. I have been very successful in my opinion and I have never been to a group. When I was in orientation and I saw how people were asking about having toast and oatmeal post-op, I already knew those groups wouldn't be for me.

WLS is like being a parent. Everyone tells you how hard babies are and that they cry etc. No one warns you about teenagers, college age kids, and being a parent to an adult child. Those are the really hard parts, People just focus on the beginning. The beginning of WLS is tough because you are healing, long term, as long as you don't have complications, you are not every different from anyone else. You just have a smaller stomach.

The end game, maintenance and almost being at goal is way harder than the beginning.