Surgery Date

Hi.  I have a date, August 16th, and am having doubts now.  Already I am having trouble keeping appetite down and losing the weight before the surgery. Is this a sign that I might not do well?  Also exercise has not interested me the way it should.  I wonder if I am prepared enough.  I have days when I feel more motivated, today is not one of them though.  Will all this change after the surgery - will I lose this appetite?  Just worried - wonder if I am doing the right thing or not.  I'm not eating junk food.  I am eating the right stuff, just too much of it sometimes.  

WHY I HAD WLS SURGERY

Be as nervous as you like, that's normal, but also use this time to get clear on why you are doing it.  Most likely your reasons are more than your appearance. I would suggest making a list and then you can check them off over the next months and have motivation to keep the weight off.  For what it's worth, here is the logic I had for surgery: 

   1 - My knee is messed-up and if I do not get the weight off, I will be looking at knee surgery.

   2 - I just lost 100+ pounds with a conventional diet and put 90% of it back on within 2 years, so I am not one of the lucky 3-5% who will keep the weight off.  This may be you, also.

   3 - WLS is easier to recover from than knee surgery.

   4 - WLS was (and is) the right option for me. It may not be perfect, but it is my best option.  If I don't get it, I will yo-yo every 5 years - 2 years to take it off and 2-3 years to gain it back. 

   5- Things that will be better:  enjoying the outdoors, clothes, . . .

I was more than nervous - before surgery I updated my will, changed my insurance benficiaries, had everything notarized, made sure a lawyer-friend had a folder with all my important papers, (I had the advanced directives form to fill out but I did not get around to it).  That is just me - be prepared.  But, now all that stuff is done. 

But, when it was all said and done, and I was in pre-op and felt the first wave of sedative kick in, I looked at the clock and my reaction was - 7:42, my new lucky number!  I had difficult times - most of us had, but pre-op clarity will help you get through a lot of post-op crap.

May I humbly suggest you generate a list and write down your motivations for surgery.  It might help you prevent 'buyers remorse' and give you focus to get through any difficult times. And give you something to do while you are waiting for the 16th to arrive.

Best of Luck, or more currently, MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!

I'm sure you will get lots of good advice here.  I did a couple things before surgery that I think were helpful.  I stopped drinking all soda because you won't be able to have it after surgery.  I reduced my caffeine intake to 1 cup daily because you will also have to give this up for some period of time around your surgery.  I started keeping a food journal.  I use an electronic one but whatever helps you keep track.  This is again, something that will be invaluable to you post-op and the sooner you get in the habit, the better off you will be.  And I tried to start eating lower carb in general.  I didn't go crazy with it pre-op but was just more aware of carbs and tried to make better choices.  I ended up losing 20 lbs before my surgery which was definately a bonus.  

Thanks. I don't drink soda at all.  I do like coffee though.  I am trying to cut down now to 1 cup.  I keep a food journal but need to be more consistent with it.  I am trying to cut down on carbs, doing pretty well with that.  But I have only lost 6-7 pounds, so I don't think I am cutting down enough.  If I get more strict with charting in my food journal and keeping track of exactly what I am eating, I would probably do better.  I also need to concentrate on getting more exercise.  Thank for your input on this.