6 Month Diet Troubles

I'm about 6 weeks into my 6 month diet and I have no motivation. I'll do well for a couple days and then overeat the next day.

The first weigh in I gained three pounds. The doctor told me the surgeon and the insurance company are looking to see if I can lose weight before they ok the surgery.

Did anyone else have such a problem? I just don't know what's the matter with me. As much as I want the surgery one would think I'd be on top of this diet.

I was able to quit my 4-5 cans of soda a day without a problem. That surprised me. I'm also putting the fork down between bites instead of shoveling food in.

Any advice is appreciated.

It sounds like you are trying, soda my my firsth thing too. It is really hard to diet, but if you can't do it now then how are you gonna control yourself after surgery. Kick yourself for cheeting because you are the only person that you are effecting when you do that. I don't want to upset you, but need to try harder! You CAN DO THIS!!!! =) Good luck!

If it makes you feel any better I can tell you that I had a horrible time with my 6 month diet. 

My NUT wanted me to eat more calories then I was use to eating.  I was a meal skipper and she wanted me to eat three meals per day.  I went kicking and screaming...and I gained weight for the first two months.  I think I gained 6 pounds or so.  I then asked if I could please cut back on the amount of calories and carbs selections that she wanted to me eat.  She she yes and I finally dropped a few pounds.  I think I only lost 10 pounds or so....but I still lost something.   I look back on things now and I see that she wanted me to start doing some of thigs like eating breakfast so I would form healthy habits.  I do eat breakfast now...everyday....even if it's a protein shake...so I did learn.....even if I was kicking and screaming!! LOL!!

I also had to write everything I ate on a food journal and hand them in to my NUT and I think they were sent to my insurance company.  So, having to write things down helped me....kicking my Mountain Dew habit...now, that was a hard one!! 

Hang in there...take it one meal at a time and try not to look at the big picture and get yourself too stressed out.  Yes, you want to do well.....but you don't want to be a mess of emotions either.

Have a great afternoon,

Chrissy

If it were easy to lose weight none of us would need WLS. For some,like me, food is an addiction and no matter what the motivation it is tough to give it up. That's why we need the extra tool of WLS.
Just keep trying and read all the success stories from others. It will be worth it, I think.
Good luck and may God bless you in your journey. Jackie

As the previous poster I didn't do that well with my 6 month diet. I gained one month, lost then in the end ...ended up losing about 10-15 lbs ish.  Some on the board have said that they (the doctors office) know you're not going to do great and it supports why you need surgery Also I have noticed that these doctors and programs are getting more strict with the pre-weight loss to show that you will be successful after surgery.  so..with that being said i did a couple of things.

1- Like you I gave up pop and also bread and fried foods.
2- I started back walking just a couple of days per week.
3. - What reallhy helped me was going into my final month, i started an angel club of friends and family to diet with me. They even fasted with me going into surgery. We emailed each other daily and I sent them a funny enouragement each morning or week.

They helped me because they wanted to see me succeed.  Also, my daughter still eats what i eat, and she lost about 7 lbs also.
Good Luck!

im two and a half months into the 6 months and i started at 248. im 256 now. I have to get down to 248 in 2 weeks. i keep flucuating like  roller coster, eat bad two weeks and good the next to lol thats what im doing. but  i was told to stay in the range of 246 to 250. so thats what im trying to do anyways.


Its soooooooooooooooooo hard. they want us to lose weight but hellooooo we are having the surgery because we cant lose it on r own.

You may already know this, but doing the 6 month pre-op diet is not to torture you.  It is done for at least two good reasons: 

1) Doctor (and insurance company, too) want to see how compliant you are with following instructions and how committed you are to a lifestyle change.  I don't think they expect perfection (although some people on this board have blogged that their surgeon has refused to perform the surgery if they continue to gain during this time period).

2)  The surgeon wants you to shrink your liver as much as possible so that he has an easier job when performing your surgery.  That was a great motivator for me right there.  I felt like I was doing my part in helping him do a great job for me.

So, hang in there, don't beat yourself up if you slip, just start again at your very next meal.  This is good advice to learn now because even once you have the surgery, there will come a point in time where the tool will only do part of the work and the majority will be on you.  So, the sooner you learn to get right back on the bandwagon, not beat yourself up for what you did, but learn from it (ie, what were you feeling when you did it, what could you do differently), you will be successful. 

What might help you right now is to make sure you are eating regularly, don't go too long between meals, don't skip meals, if you feel extra hungry, fill up on veggies or low calorie protein like cottage cheese or yogurt.  Also, make sure you are prepared, stock your fridge and pantry with good foods to eat, so you won't be tempted to eat on the run.  Good Luck to you.

 during my pre-op 6months diet.. i did 2 sugar free carnation instant breakfast shakes a day and one meal at lunch time.. and lost over 50+ lbs just by adding the shakes.. beacuse i usually only ate one meal a day an when i ate i ate...  so nut wanted me to do 3 meals a day an inorder to not over eat 3 times a day i opted for the shakes..(suggested by nut) i eat 3 meals an 2 snacks a day most days now.. so it helped to teach me new eating habits.. and i also was totally addiced to diet mountain dew... im "was" diabetic no longer since surgery.. but used to loveeeeeeeee my dews so much so i tolerated the diet just to have it..  good luck... u can do it! just find what works for u..

I'm just starting the 4th month of my 6mo diet and as of today I've lost 50 lbs. It's a surprise to me because I've never lost weight this fast and easily. The only reason I have is my mindset is so different than ever before. After much soul searching, I want this surgery more than anything and will do what it takes to get it. That said.....

I no longer look at this whole thing as a diet, it's just how I eat now. Since it isn't a diet there's nothing I have to feel guilty about if I eat more than expected, it's just one meal and I make changes in the rest of the day or the next day to allow for the extra calories. Or if I know we're eating out, I plan for it. I'll have to eat this way after surgery, why not start now so it will be second nature to me by then? Another thing is I no longer feel the need to reward myself, usually with food. Every week when I'd weigh and show a loss I'd 'celebrate' for a couple of days! 'I was doing so good, I could afford to cheat a little'. Sound familiar? Those thoughts never even happen now. I've always been heavy and over the years I guess I had come to believe that was my life and all I deserved, so every success was followed by self sabatage in some form. Fat was comfortable, thin was/is a totally foreign concept.....but I feel now I deserve it. It's so hard to explain but my mind is in a totally different place than it used to be. I've put so many post surgery things into my routine my husband said he feels like he should remind me I haven't had surgery yet!

All I can suggest is to really look into yourself and decide just how bad do you want this surgery? You are the only one who can decide that. Only you are in control of what goes in your mouth, what changes you make...how serious and dedicated you are.

I wish you luck.

Thanks too you all for your posts, all of which made a lot of since. I feel much more motivated and a lot less down on myself.

I can see the purpose of the diet isn't just to see if I can lose weight, but to get me to develop good habits and lose some of the old ones. It's going to be hard, but I can do it.

I Don't want to go through surgery only to fail.