So when you say "it's not been easy"

 what exactly does that mean to you?

I see this phrase often- "it was worth it but it's not been easy"

What has not been easy?
surgery?
fluids?
food?

From someone who likes to be fully educated and is almost there in her decision, I need to know the 'not easy' parts as well.

Thank you for sharing!!

For me, the 'not easy' part has been adjusting to the small amounts of food when my mind still wants to eat more. It's hard to get used to.  It's 'not easy' giving up foods that once were favorites but i know i cannot eat now..because they're not good for me.

The most challenging and AWESOMELY WORTH IT parts to me have been learning to change the immature talk in my head about food, why I *deserve* to use food for purposes that have been non-nutritional, learning new NON FOOD ways to nurture, support, reward, entertain myself. 

For me, surgery, fluids, foods - EAZY PEAZY MAN. 

Food amounts werent even hard for me because I was READY to stop NEEDING to eat so much damned food.

Getting sane about all the crap in my head, learning/practicing/DOING new ways of thinking about me, my intake, my movement, what is true - those things have been the *not easy, but worth it* things to me.

*edit to add a MUY IMPORTANTE disclaimer!!  This mind changing stuff is definitely a challenge, some days more than others, early out more than later (for me) but it is POSSIBLE without the RAGING, ROARING FRANTIC FROTHY HUNGER that I had presurgery!  Before surgery there was just NO ROOM between the trigger and the mind numbing piehole filling!!  After surgery, and especially BECAUSE of the presuregery and post surgery liquids and food progression DETOX I could squeeze between the trigger and the THOUGHT before the ACTION happened.

Here is my experience.

Surgery it's self = easy

Fluids = easy

Food... The actual consumption of food has never been an issue for me. It's the struggling with my addiction to food and falling back in to bad eating habits. I'm speaking from my personal experience. 

Everything was GREAT until I was about 2 months out... Then the head hunger creeped it's way back in a nasty way. I would say, "oh.. I let myself have X just this one time" but the thing is with my past history with certain foods I could tell myself I'd only have that one thing, but it would lead into a downward spiral of continuing making bad choices. There have been a lot "trigger" foods that I have cut out of my life because if I have even a tiny bit of it I will loose control. 

The having actual arguments with myself about not eating certain foods. I actually was yelling at myself in the car after being out one night and me "thinking" I wanted Taco Bell. I was actually shouting "Kelby, you don't need it, just keep driving... just GO HOME!!" 

This is where planning out every meal has helped me SOO much. If I go out to eat I find it very easy to loose control. Which is why I try to avoid doing it! I personally still struggle with the "freedom" of un-measured portions.. I don't like it.. I like knowing here's my food.. I don't have to eat it all, but here is the max of what I can eat in this setting.. 

That is the hard part... does it make my journey impossible.. absolutely not! It just makes me have to work even harder and be more vigilant about what I'm putting in my body. 

I don't mean to speak for others... but I truly believe that nothing can prepare you for the mental games that come with this surgery... Some people may not have the struggles and I envy them.. 

 thank you thank you thank you!

I'm not as far out as the others that have posted but I have to agree...the head hunger is the hardest part. I have been able to eat anything I want and could guzzle water almost from the first day so fluids were no problem for me (I know that is not everyone's experience though.) But, now that I can eat any foods I want, it is up to me to make good decisions and to determine when I'm really hungry vs head hunger. Sometimes I feel sad that I can't eat my favorite selections at restaurants (just cannot eat that much and refuse to pay the price!) but I could order them and eat a small portion. But like Kerby, Taco Bell or Jack-in-the-Box calls to me and I have to be sure I've planned my eating when I am gone or otherwise I may not be able to resist. We live almost 1 hour from town so I can eat at home and will almost certainly start feeling hungry in town before I get home again. So, I have to plan for that and bring things with me. If I'm relatively satisfied, I can resist those "calls".

Knowing that we have to make a lifestyle change and actually living it don't always go hand in hand.

I'd known forever that if I didn't do something that I might not live to see my daughter grow up.  Having to make a drastic change - no-brainer.  But I'd known that before, too, and every time I set out to do something about it, I allowed my food addiction to be the winner.

With the surgery, I made sure that I couldn't eat as much, and have the added benefit of not wanting to eat so much.  Despite that, I still have to do the hard work.  I need to exercise and eat a healthy diet.  It sometimes doesn't jibe with the lazy life I led for so long, combined with the easy diet I allowed myself.

I don't know what made the difference this time, to tell you the truth.  Maybe turning 50.  I do know that I had an "its now or never" epiphany of some sort.  I have a lot of issues to face head on now about my relationships - both with food, myself and others, that I'm dealing with to ensure a good life ahead.

I agree W the others.  There is a "learning curve" after the surgery.....several weeks......to several months (regarding eating/drinking etc!  YMMV  with that)  The MOST difficult part is the.........."mindf**k"  part....emotional eating...food addiction....losing our "coping" mechanism........ALL that type of ****!  BUT.........these would be there W/ ANY  WLS  you will have!  Good luck!

 Mindf*ck... that's probably the most fitting word to descirbe it!!!! Oh if they could only figure out how to turn that part of our brains off.... Then again I need all the brain power I can get so it's probably better if they don't shut that off on me! haha 

Me too! sometimes my lil hamster's sleepin'  and not running' on his wheel!