Ashamed

Sofree, I hear you.  I think everyone on this board has felt ashamed of their eating.  And ashamed when people give us the stink eye, as if being fat is a crime and a sin.  Celebrities who are drunks or drug addicts get called courageous if they go into rehab, but get fat and there's no sympathy, just mean comments.

Let's get rid of ASHAMED and start feeling PROUD that we are trying, we are changing and we are succeeding, pound by pound, exercise by exercise to get healthy. 

Good point. . Thanks for the new perspective

I'm on day six of five weeks on the liver shrinking diet.  It is tough.  My first three days, I kept telling myself I wasn't going to make it, and I would have to cancel my surgery.  I was so ridiculously hungry!  Now at day six, I'm doing so much better, and although I haven't weighed I can feel my favorite jeans are not as tight.  It is a constant mental challenge.  I've had to stay away from tv (too many food commercials), and I learned that if I have my salad earlier in the day (I'm doing one salad with grilled chicken and 2-3 protein shakes), I tend to not feel the intense hunger.  Using MyFitnessPal to track calories really helps! 

"you would think I would be motivated by the fact that I'm going to get the surgery but it seems to have the opposite effect." 

This.  I did this!  I had surgery scheduled for about a year and half ago, but had to postpone due to a very expensive case of kidney stones.  I had already lodged my deposit, and I knew that I would be getting the surgery eventually.  I ate. like. crazy.  For a year and a half!   I gained 40 pounds, because in my mind, it was this constant message "after surgery I won't be able to eat this, so I'll just eat it now."  I even started drinking soda, when I hadn't previously, because I knew I wouldn't get it after surgery!  The previous poster was right- no more food funerals, which is an incredibly hard lesson for someone like me to learn.  I know this is hard.  Keep working at it, keep envisioning the life you want to have. 

I am also on the 6-month pre-op diet- and it is hard! The important thing is even if you eat something bad one day, do your best to eat healthy the rest of the day. Something that has helped me is believing that the smaller I am, the easier it will be for the surgeon to operate- and I'm not looking for any complications! Good luck!

Thanks

To be completely honest, I didn't even try during my six month period.  I knew I was opting for the sleeve and was really just clocking the time to cover the insurance requirement.

I did you the time to mentally prepare for life after the VSG.  However, the months before the pre-op diet I visited with all my favorite "friends" and then went 100% cold turkey the day I started the pre-op diet.

Thanks for your honesty and congrats on your weight loss :-)

Feeling ashamed isn't going to help. There's no reason to feel shame. You are NOT a bad person. In fact, I'm betting that feeling ashamed is another self-pity excuse to eat.  Food is whispering in your ear right now that it can make you feel better and that if you have VSG you won't be able to have the same relationship with food. 

Pre-op you just need to do the best you can and begin to prepare yourself for what's coming post-op. Believe me, it's different after the surgery. 

Think about some of the things you want to do as a lighter person and why you are doing this. Remember, you are a good person with a problem. No reason for shame. 

Tom

Do not be ashamed, we have all been there.  If I could control my eating I wouldn't have needed surgery.  I was not very successful on my supervised diet, but managed to loose a couple of pounds.  I have done great after surgery and so far have my eating habits under control.  It was like the surgery helped make things click for me.  I do regret not trying harder on the 6 month diet because I keep thinking how much further I would be on my weight loss journey now if I had.  Don't beat yourself up anymore, but try the best you can to start making changes in your eating habits.  Best of luck you!

No reason you can't hop right back on the proverbial wagon right now! Your pre-op diet is a good opportunity to start practicing the habits you'll need after surgery, including drinking lots of water and eating lots of protein, why not view it as a "test run" for after you've had surgery?