Tell me about the lifestyle changes

 I've done some research, I lurk here and on the VS Talk forums, I've been reading a ton and I think I have a fair idea but I want to know from the pros, those who've BTDT.

What is the biggest lifestle change you've made?

What's the smallest adjustment you've needed to make?

What caught you unprepared?

 The biggest changes -

1. Eating out - I used to eat out 1-3 times a day. Now, I eat out 1-3 times a month, and absolutely no fast food. I think it's ok once in a while or if traveling, etc, but I had to start preparing my own food for better control over quantity/quality of food. 

2. Candy and other junk snacks - I used to think chocolate was a daily necessity. I do not eat candy of any kind and find other healthy alternatives to satisfy my sweet tooth. 

3. Protein - seems obvious but I'm pretty sure I lived for weeks or months off primarily carbs and sugar. I never really understood the importance of protein. 

4. Water - I used to think 64oz diet soda was good enough. I never drank plain water or other healthy alternatives. Now I have to drink a min of 80oz a day or I feel like crap. 

Another important change is actually paying more attention to nutrition labels. Some things may seem healthy but once you actually look closer, it might be higher in fat or sugar/carbs or lower in protein than I thought. 

I was honestly unprepared for how difficult the emotional eating issues would be. 

I could not have summed it up better!  acbbrown hit it right on the head!

 I agree with everything acbbrown said.  I could have written that post, except for chocolate.  For me it was salty snacks - especially popcorn.

What caught me unprepared was the ammount of work I would have to do on myself.  Face myself, face my own emotions, and learn to deal with those.  Some people have addictions to food, some people have other issues that cause them to turn to food.  Its a subtle difference.

I used to think I had complete control of myself, I was all self-actualized.  I distrusted the over-application of psychology.  I had to open my mind up alot going into this.  I started to realize that a lot of my mistrust was fear.  Fear of having my assumptions about myself challenged.  Fear of maybe having the last leg of my self-image taken away.  

What I have realized about myslef so far in my journey, is that I was not being honest with myself.  I was too scared to deal with what I was really feeling so I conveniently labeled it "boredom eating" and turned to food to numb myself and avoid what I was really feeling.

I think thats the heart of what seperates long term success from just losing a few pounds and regaining.  You have to constantly be mindful of both what you are doing and looking honestly at why you do it.

 That's a great way to put it, couldn't agree more - that's the long version of my thoughts :)

 hi skinniwithin! what a great idea - you can't get better than real life experience to balance text book knowledge.  i'm only 8 weeks out but i would agree with all the above and add...

1. making my healthy as much a priority as preparing my fam their favorite meals. i've had to discipline myself to plan each days meals in advance (the night before) - and i stick to it no matter what - even if it means me cooking my meals separately. 

2. along those lines - i've learned how absolutely vital it is to be accountable for everything you put in your mouth. i plan and track my meals and daily exercise in myfitnesspal.com. i love this site - it helps me feel accountable and keeps me in control. when the head hunger hits - and it will hit - i go to my pre-planned plan for the day. it sobers me up and i remember - it's just not worth it. i actually go thru the exercise of looking up the item i think i want - review the nutritional value - add it to my meal plan and evaluate how that decision will affect my plan.  i can't tell how empowering it has been to have so much control in an area i've allowed to get out of control.  i still have emotional eating desires but this tool helps me keep my intellect over my emotions.

3. exercise - 6 days a week.  i'm not talking a gym membership or prepping for a 5k.  i just walk - 30 - 45 minutes a day. that has been one of the biggest adjustments - pushing past how i feel and making exercise just as vital in my new lifestyle as eating right. i also pre-plan for my daily exercise on myfitnespal.com - it holds me accountable.  note: i don't exercise to add more calori/es for the day - just a personal choice right now.

4. probably the most obvious - the small amount you can eat. before surgry it was hard to comprehend but i can really only eat 1.5 to 2 ounces before i'm full. i'm learning to pause between bites so i can find my satisfied feeling. not a master at it yet - but that's a top priority for me. my head says there's no way you can be stuffed after 2 ounces but my sleeve says you wanna bet! lol.

5. lastly i would say all the changes to my desires and tastes

 sorry i didn't finish that thought... my tastes for foods i frankly use to love before surgery are gone. i don't know how much of that is due to my still being relatively new at this - but i plan to ride the wave for as long as i can and hopefully come away with a few life-long changes.  i nevr eat sweets - ever - but not because i'm so strong - i literally have no desire. anything moderately sweet is discusting to me. so glad for this side-effect. lol

for he other part of your quetion - there's almost nothing i would consider a little adjustment. it's amazing how this process has managed to affect every area of my life - and all of it feels significant. everything is everything right now - and i'm loving it. i'm thinking about everything more carefully. my conversations.... my thoughts... my prayers.... my free time.... my play time... my interactions... my feelings/emotions... my fears and frustrations.... i feel born again... again lol

hope this helps :-)

I agree so far with everything said above!

My biggie: I realized I needed to understand how my body works on a deeper level than calories in/out.. I made it a point to start reading on what food does to our endocrine system, how that effects fat storage/usage and moods and energy. I came to realize the diet I lived on pre-op was slowly poisoning me.. and my husband and I both changed our eating styles to fix this.. I have lost almost 130lbs, and he fixed a bad blood lipid issue that the Dr wanted him on statins for life to fix.. food is not just a mundane thing to fill an empty stomach or satisfy a craving... food effects us much more than just on a hunger/no hunger level. I recommend reading Gary Taubes highly.

Smallest: Not eating out often. I cook a lot now, and have improved on my already good cookery skillz!

Unprepared: No matter how much I intellectually knew it: the further out you get- the harder it is. I read it often enough, and I believed it, but it doesn't prepare you for the time when it actually start****ting you. That fast loss slows, the hunger and head hunger especially- comes back, then you need to muster all those great habits you put in place those first few months to push through those hard times and keep going to lose more or even just maintain what you lost.. that's just the way it is. If you rely on the sleeve to save your butt without changing the reasons/behaviors/habits that got you to this point to begin with.. you are seriously shorting yourself a huge opportunity here. You can gain by eating huge plates of food, but you can just as easily gain by eating small amounts of food as well. Grazing your way back up the scale happens, to many.. The first few months are the blissful reset time, your hunger is low, your cravings are as low as they ever will be.. set yourself on the right path, and do it early!

Wow, you have gotten spot on responses from the boards! Really excellent insights and feedback.

I'd like to reemphasize the need to really, truly look at what causes you to overeat. I have been a "boredom" grazer my whole life (well as far back as I can recall). Not really  caused by boredom, though. It was and has always been emotional/stress eating. I would eat to soothe my emotional/stress levels or not deal with some negative emotion that came up during the day. I've had to learn to figure out what's going on internally. Example: the other day I opened up the fridge on auto pilot and started looking for something to eat. WTF!!!!! I don't do that anymore, right? Wrong. Had to stop and figure out what was going on. I'd had a particularly rough day at work, had a cold and wanted to feel some comfort. Got on the comp and read these boards for a while and then when it was time, I had my afternoon protein shake.

Old habits die hard. I have to be ever vigilant. That's probably my biggest adjustment.

Thank you all for the insight.

I eat a lot now and somehow even when I feel full I still eat.  I eat for emotional reasons, I eat from boredom and I eat from hunger.

I am going to need to learn how to listen to my body.

I love what you guys have written here.  I need to really think about it.

What scares me the most is the stuff I don't know what to expect so keep those thoughts coming...