Struggling with Pre-Op Diet

[Gnat 15]

I'm coming up on visit 4 of 6 to the nutritionist as a part of my pre-op work up for the sleeve...and I am struggling. Not sure what the mental block is but I am super struggling to stick with the my plate lifestyle. The fact that I haven't been able to successfully make the shift pre-surgery is really starting to make me nervous. Will I be able to do it after surgery? Why am I still clinging to comfort foods? I've explored the psych reasons behind it and literally can't find anything - and this is with a therapist. She says I'm "catastrophizing" life without these foods after surgery (even though I can technically have them...so let's say limited comfort foods in order to be successful). That sounds logical but I can't just let. It. Go. Help! Please!!

[vsgdon 32]

talk with your team. if you arent ready to take the steps you need to, maybe give it some time. It is not easy, no one said it would be.

[Marblicious 130]

I struggled with a lot of resentment about having to change. I always ate a lot of healthy fresh food but ate far too much of everything. Add to that all the things I went to for comfort, like chips, and cheese and wine and pastries. Always loved savory flavours. I resented that I had to eat a 1000 calorie a day diet to lose weight. And I resented that I can't keep weight off if I eat 2000 calories a day. It just creeps back on. I resented that everyone around me could eat what they liked and not put on weight and I resented that no matter how supportive people are, I didn't feel they really understood what i was giving up.

I came to the conclusion that If I don't get over my resentment and stop eating, then I would probably not make it 55. I am 53. I knew I had to stick to the pre op plan or risk dying on the operating table. I have 100kgs to lose and a long way to go, and I resent that I have done some much damage to my body that I will never look like the teenager I once was. (Of course being 53 that is unlikely lol). I don't necessarily think that my resentments are fair or sensible, but that is just how my mind works.

I have lost 23 kilograms so far, I have virtually already given up using my Ventolin, I can actually walk from my car to the first floor of the office without sweating and being totally out of breath. I can get out of the chair without the groaning and pain in my knees and my blood pressure is sitting at a perfect reading at the moment. So in just 8 weeks I am already feeling so much better.

I don't regret having the surgery and I can still eat things I like. Just not as much. I guess what i am trying to say is, I had to reach a point where i made the decision that was right for me at this time. I was struggling with standing, and with walking, I was getting sicker, I became Insulin resistant for the first time and my cholesterol started rising. Nothing fit me and my face was so fat that i hated looking at myself in the mirror. And after 6 years of my doctor suggesting surgery, I finally went and asked her for the recommendation.

Only you can know when you are ready to do this. All I can say to you is, I thought it was the end of life as I knew it, and in a way it was, but what I have now after such a short time, is already so much better.

Good luck with everything, speak to the psychologist some more and if you need to delay then do what is right for you.

[Walter.Sobchak 978]

I can relate to what you said.
I am tired of my back hurting all the time.
Tired of my knees hurting.
Tired of feeling like **** all the time.
Tired of being so immobile.
Tired of my clothes not fitting.
I am wearing a size 6XL shirt and waist size 54 pants, that is f*cking absurd.
I have surgery in 21 days.

Sent from my SM-G900V using BariatricPal mobile app

[Marblicious 130]

You will do great, Walter, I guess I was trying to say hold on to those feelings and use them to help you, to motivate you and the incremental improvements start to come quickly. It isn't all about how much weight you lose, but the daily changes you are seeing in your general wellbeing, health, mobility, clothes, jobs, everything we do.

[Walter.Sobchak 978]

I agree.
My wife was sleeved 7 weeks ago and the transformation is amazing.
She is obsessing about the scale and how she "isn't losing enough" but I keep telling her that it isn't all about the pounds. She has lost inches like crazy. Her legs are thinner, her booty is shrinking, her belly is smaller. It's amazing.

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[heycrystal2052 430]

58 minutes ago, Walter.Sobchak said:

I agree.
My wife was sleeved 7 weeks ago and the transformation is amazing.
She is obsessing about the scale and how she "isn't losing enough" but I keep telling her that it isn't all about the pounds. She has lost inches like crazy. Her legs are thinner, her booty is shrinking, her belly is smaller. It's amazing.

Sent from my SM-G900V using BariatricPal mobile app

Congrats to your wife and you will do just as well! You know, at this point (almost two years later) I still refuse to buy a scale. I'm so afraid I'll become obsessed w/ it, so I always look forward to my appointments so I can see how much was lost over that period of time. You're so right, the scale may not reflect the loss of what you'd like, but the inches will happily let you know when they're being kissed, goodbye.

[bostonmama 135]

I had the same struggles pre op, and I'm still working on it 10 months post op. I've lost a lot of weight and feel amazing, but my results would be better if I rarely ate rice/bread/pasta. I don't have these things every day, but several times a week. Occasionally I eat still eat complete junk, but at least it is a very small amount now compared to before surgery.

Someone posted on here recently that you need to figure why you are eating something. It is because you are hungry? or some other reason? You need to figure out those other reasons. I definitely use to eat because I was tired, or anxious, and if food is your coping mechanism you will have a very very hard time during the liquid diets right before and after surgery. I felt like I was going through a breakup from my food boyfriend, it was very rough.

Its up to you to figure out if you are ready for the surgery or not. Ideally, you do all the work of breaking a food addiction before, but I think it can be done after too if you are committed and aware. If you aren't able to break bad food habits the surgery will fail.

[kem91 38]

Pre op diet has been a struggle for me at times too. Especially like when the other people in my house can have the food I know I shouldn't eat, but love anyway. I'm grateful it's not a terribly long time til my surgery and I just won't be interested in that kind of food. I just have to keep reminding myself why I chose this in the first place (which honestly isn't that hard).

I got into a lot of bad behaviors with food, so I'm having to re-learn healthy eating habits. It's a little hard to imagine life without some foods, but I know it will be better for me in the long run. You'll learn to adjust, it's just hard to do after a lifetime of living a certain way.

[Gnat 15]

Thank you all for your advice! I am doing this for a good reason and I guess I just need to make an effort to remind myself of that more moving forward. I only have a few more months before surgery. I need to make a more consistent effort to eat healthfully as well.

[PrayingForWeightLoss 337]

Gnat, you are not alone in this struggle. Most of us struggle everyday with our relationships with food. I am 14 days post op. I will say the preop diet was a big challenge mentally and physically. Post op is a bit better because the shakes actually fill you up. I start purée today and I have never been happy looking forward to a scrambled egg...lol. It might sound cliche but just hang in there one day at a time. You can do it!! Wish you well in your journey.

[SandraD_PDX 78]

Gnat, you are not alone in this struggle. Most of us struggle everyday with our relationships with food. I am 14 days post op. I will say the preop diet was a big challenge mentally and physically. Post op is a bit better because the shakes actually fill you up. I start purée today and I have never been happy looking forward to a scrambled egg...lol. It might sound cliche but just hang in there one day at a time. You can do it!! Wish you well in your journey.

This is so true! I am just past my one week, and am looking forward to that scrambled egg more than I ever thought I would! I've been trying to stay out of the house as possible to stay distracted. Some days are much easier than others.

[Gnat 15]

Gnat, you are not alone in this struggle. Most of us struggle everyday with our relationships with food. I am 14 days post op. I will say the preop diet was a big challenge mentally and physically. Post op is a bit better because the shakes actually fill you up. I start purée today and I have never been happy looking forward to a scrambled egg...lol. It might sound cliche but just hang in there one day at a time. You can do it!! Wish you well in your journey.

Thanks! I appreciate the advice

[Janet610 76]

It was a challenge for me too, but I just keep reminding myself that nothing can possibly taste as good as I'll feel when I start losing weight. I also refuse to let myself mess up asy insurance won't cover it and in private pay. So I can't let my mom and dad down who have invested $23,000 for my health! 😁

[Lovergurl 59]

I absolutely understand what you are experiencing. I actually cried the day before I started my "pre-op". I'm scheduled for Sept 27th so I still have a ways to go. But decided I'm starting now and not waiting for the surgery. I'm a "lightweight" but still a BMI of 36 is a lot to carry around. I cried because I started to realize I can't use food to "deal" with my stress or my fears or my emotional roller coasters. I am an addict and my drug of choice has been food. I was not always heavy, actually skinny as a kid. My weight came on after starting a small business. The more it grew, the more stressed I became. I would diet, lose weight, it would come back anytime something major came up. Now my weight has crept up to the point I'm pre diabetic. Yes, I'm active, but I eat entirely too much food and not good food either. Sitting down and eating an entire Ben and Jerry's because of a bad day at work can no longer happen. I must view food at a source of fuel, not an emotional bandaid. I am following a low carb diet, so thankfully all cravings are gone. But, right now I"m in the place that I must avoid temptations, just like an alcoholic. Something that did help was putting out in the open that I have an issue with food. I discussed this with my husband. He's totally on board. Our kids are grown so it's just he and I. I am cooking for myself and than he gets extras like garlic bread with his dinner. He's the type that can eat anything and has never gained weight. But I do know he enjoys food, but it's just something you do when you are hungry. In the end, the place I am at now is I must do something. I am tired of feeling the way I feel, tired of be concerned about my health, tired of clothes fitting like crap, tired of this emotional weight I've carried around for too long. I'm tired of my weight being an issue in my life. So, when the head stuff starts, this is what I think about. And believing it's going to be OK.