Lifestyle Change Preparation!

Hi Everyone... I'm still very EARLY in the process. In fact, my information session is on the 28th of this month. I keep reading about these protein drinks that everyone is drinking. I'd like to get a taste of what my new life would be like. Could someone please send me a link of the protein drinks that you are taking and maybe advise me of what a typical diet of someone post operation would be like? I know that it will be hard for me to follow it to the letter being that all I do is think about food all the time but I REALLY need to feel like I'm being proactive about this. I need to get prepared for my new lifestyle so that it doesn't take me by surprise. Besides, if I can get my BMI down closer to 40 (presently 48) before surgery, that'll only increase my success according to what I've been reading. Thanks a TON and I'm so glad I've found you guys!!!

Also, has anyone else tried implementing the changes pre-surgery?

My doctor made us lose weight before surgery so basically said go on South Beach or Adkins diet, my PCP said no Adkins because of my diabetes it was too much protein.  I went on just the Adkins pre-mixed protein drinks twice a day and ate a low fat low calorie dinner.  It took me forever to lose my 10lbs because part  it happened during Christmas and I was pouting that I couldn't eat everything I wanted.  So I lost nothing during December or January.  So what should have taken only a month or two I dragged out.  But finally lost the weight and had my surgery about 6 months after I started the process back in 2005.  I am currently 8 years out, at goal and eat approx 1000 calories a day Mon-Fri and approx 1500 calories a day on the weekend.  I eat only lean meat and low fat cheese in a variety of dishes.  I avoid bread, pasta, rice, potatoes anything too carby that will make my blood sugar react.  I also try to avoid sweets.  I could live on candy instead of food, ice cream is my passion, I do NOT eat it at all anymore.  To maintain forever you have to forever break your relationship with food, and I mean break it, you can be standing in front of a bakery and it has to hold no appeal.  It is an addiction when all you think about is food and how to feed your addiction, been there done that, and now I go to the grocery store and nothing looks appealing because I know how many calories or carbs or fat things have.  I used to ignore the labels like the plague, never turn anything over so I might know how many calories are really in it.  Now I make myself look so I can learn to hate that food also.  This has worked for me over the long term, to totally change my feelings towards food.  I hate coming to OH and seeing any sort of food on the home page, I find that highly offensive to a site that is supposed to be cognizant that it's members have triggers and yesterday there was a picture of a croissant.  Really that is just in-sensative.  But whatever.  It is what it is, you can't avoid food, you have to learn to pick the right thing to eat every single day.  This isn't easy, no surgery is going to fix your desire to want to eat, no matter what size you get too, how many compliments you get, how hot you feel, eventually you have to eat, and picking the wrong things over and over will lead you right back to where you started.  Think of WLS as a diet that works, once you get down close to goal it will be all you to maintain what you lost, so that is really the hard part.

Good Luck!

Here is me before and after:

Thanks for your words of wisdom. You look great! I know that I have a very unhealthy relationship with food. Ironically, it's not the sweets. It's the carbs.  I thought of doing an Atkins type diet as I've always had fast success with these diets but I've been unable to maintain it too long. I love starchy foods and beef. I guess I'm hoping that I can gradually change my mind frame by starting out now of my own free will. I really want to change. I don't want to carry this weight forever physically, mentally or emotionally. I've counted calories, worked out and did almost every diet in the book but I always feel deprived. That's where I'm hoping WLS will come in and help me out. I never eat until I feel "full" anymore but find myself feeling real hunger symptoms such as dizziness and headaches within 3 hours of a meal. The one area I've learned that I need to change is maybe focusing more on protein instead of fiber. I had it all wrong. I know that the operation will not do all the work. I really want to learn how to eat properly. I'm SO looking forward to my appointment with the nutritional. Maybe (s)he can even set me up on a food plan. (I try not to say diet because I want this to be a lifetime change).

You skin looks great. Did you work out a lot?

I had two rounds of plastics to get rid of the skin on my stomach and arms.  It wasn't pretty and no working out my unsightly stretched out skin was going to fix it.  But that is not the case for everyone, some people can work out and firm up and look great, depends upon your skin type and genetics.

As for you feeling dizzy after eating, that sounds like reactive hypoglycemia, where you eat something and it raises your blood sugar and your body reacts by producing insulin and occasionally given what you eat (especially overly carby un-balanced) will over produce insulin and then you will get that crash back down (dizziness, headache, tired, feeling irritable or hungry) so then you more then likely eat again to combat how you feel.  Vicious cycle.  I was diabetic before my wls, and now I have RH when I eat anything with too much sugar or too many carbs without eating anything else with it.  Basically it is forcing me to eat balanced meals and eliminate some of the sugar and carbs or get sick.  My normal reaction is I get queasy and feel bad right away, then if I do nothing about it I get the RH a few hours later.  I try to not eat anything that gets me the initial reaction but if I do, I will generally eat some lemon right away.  This help combat my queasiness (not everyone loves lemon I know that) but it is what works for me.  What I am suggesting to you is to try to eat more balance lean protein meals and see if you are still getting that dizzy feeling a few hours later.  Hopefully not.  Clean eating really does help, low fat meat, cheese, veggies, fruit all the things your mom tried to get you to eat when you were a kid but you probably (if you were like me) didn't want.  We used to have Sundays filled with breads etc from the bakery as our main meal.  I get carb addiction.  I get ice cream addiction.  I get planning the next meal while eating this one.  I was MO for twenty years of my life, had a eating disorder, (purging) super bad and was still MO.  I used to think **** I can't even be bulimic right.  So believe me there is nothing about food or eating I cannot relate too.  There are people here who do things totally differently and it works great for them, we each have to figure out what works for us.  I found a way I can live with that keeps me where I want to be.  I failed everything else in my life I have no intention of failing this.

Good Luck to you, I wish you all the success in the world.  Starting today!

I can't even tell you had plastics. Your surgeon did a great job! I have a friend that had it and her scarring was so bad and she's still very flabby and said she regrets the plastics. I really hope that doesn't happen to me but like you said, everyone is different and I feel the rewards far outweigh the risks. Besides, that skin will be a lot lighter to carry around than the fat.

I actually just asked my dr. to check my blood for diabetes and the test came back within the normal ranges although at the very high end. I have no medical training though so my interpretation may be off. I will try your suggestions and I love lemon so that works just fine with me. I do cheat a bit and eat it with a sprinkle of salt.

OMG! Your story sounds so similar to mine. I often joke that I couldn't even get bulimia or anorexia even though I tried. I know now that's for the better. Everyone in my family is small. They eat crap and it doesn't show. They think I'm lazy, greedy and just want a quick fix. Even my husband can't understand how I'm always hungry or sick from being hungry. I started just saying "My sugar is low. I need to eat" because I felt embarrassed to admit I was hungry so soon after eating. And I'm not eating snacks. I'm eating potatoes, steak and real meals. Today is my 2nd day at eating cleaner and I'm still hungry and a bit cranky but I'm hoping I'll get used to it. I really want to try the protein shakes since I've heard such great things about them but I don't know which ones to try. Any recommendations?

I personally hate protein shakes, so I only drank the pre-made Adkins when I was trying to lose weight before surgery and I thought they were fine.  Afterwards they all tastes bad, I got some samples from a website and tried those and just ended up getting some chocolate one at GNC and suffered through it for 6 weeks.  I never felt like they quelched my hunger at all when I was pre-op, plus I like to chew so swallowing my meals instead of chewing was awful.  You have to experiment, there are lots of people who love them.  I just don't.  I haven't drank one in literally years and if I never have to again I will be happy.

As for clean eating make sure you are doing a good balance of protein, carbs and fats.  You don't want to starve or drive yourself nuts and give up.  It has to be things you like.  For me I do a lot with fat free chicken, it is amazing how many ways you can cook it and it doesn't taste the same.  I make lots of Mexican style dishes with them too.  We even make fat free turkey taco's with whole wheat taco shells.  They are so good.  I just try to reduce the fat in everything I can.  Believe me there is no issue getting enough fat in ones diet, it is literally in everything.  And also you have to watch sugar free stuff, they do replace the sweetener with other things that are typically bad.  Sometimes to make sugar free really better for you you have to make it yourself.  I like Splenda but lots of people like Stevia, which I have tried one brand and didn't care for.  I try to keep away from Splenda though because it is all chemicals, but when I want something sweet I will use it.  There are a couple of people here who create recipes for stuff,  Eggface Michelle comes to mind.  I am sure someone will have the link to her page. 

My bmi was 47 point something when I started, it is now 23.5, it really is amazing to me that I am no longer diabetic and I am comfortable in my body.  On the down side I was hoping to resolve atleast some of my arthritis which did not happen.  But I can do so much more then I could before without being in excruciating pain just from standing too long.  No one realizes how painful being MO can really be on every joint in your body.  It really isn't fun at all.

I think I'll start out with some of the pre-made shakes just because it's easier. My sister juices but she's under weight and does yoga an seems to think it will be the answer to all of my prayers. I prefer to chew my meals too but I could use a good "snack" in between that is filling. I woudln't mind trying to replace 2 meals with shakes for a while if I see that it's working. At this point, I know that I'm never going to be able to eat the way I'm accustomed to and don't want to because I know I'll end up looking for another "tool" to get me out of a jam once I've gained all my weight back. I just can't help but to be angry at myself. I always think I could have done something differently, tried harder or worked out more. I don't know... So, now I'm here and I really don't want to fail at what I see is my "last chance".

I have a real problem with balance. My idea of diet is usually avoid anything that's white and/or fried. But I know that I need some cabs and even fats in my diet. I just have trouble getting the perfect blend that is conducive for weight loss. Whenever I go cold turkey with the carbs, I usually go crazy around day 15 and then over indulge. You would think that if I know wht the problem is, I would be better at fixing it, right?

I'm happy for you that you were able to get your BMI down so low. I'm at 48.7 now and don't remember a time that I wasn't at least overweight. Now that I'm "extreemly obese", I would pay good money to be "just" overweight again.

I'm feeling a lot of muscle and joint pains right now. I know it's the weight. I sit all day at work and normally am too tired to do too much by the time I get home from work from carrying the weight of an extra person around. SMH

But I'm on the right track now. I can't wait to be able to feel comfy within my own skin gain.

Yeah for you, you get this is all a mind game and you have to play the right tricks on yourself  to get yourself going.  Believe me I completely understand every single thing you are saying, I hated myself for being MO, I hated being MO, I was embarassed and ashamed as was my normal weight family, my grandfather once turned a picture I had given him and my grandmother as a gift to face the wall because he didn't want to look at my fat face.  Yeah being MO is hell in so many ways.  I wanted out of the prison so badly I was literally willing to do anything to get out and I am willing to give up whatever to never go back in.  It is hard, my bf loves DQ, imagine going there and getting nothing day after day, I take pride in this, but it isn't always totally easy.  I don't eat in front of people I work with, I actually don't eat at all during the day, I drink 3 huge cups of lemon filled iced tea and I never get hungry or having any blood sugar issues.  I start eating at dinner and then have two snacks.  It works for me, I am not advocating eating this way to anyone else.  I get yelled at all the time for teaching my "bad" behaviour to others, but honestly I want you to find what works well for you so you can be successful.  Whatever it is I will be your biggest cheerleader even if it is something I could never do myself.  I just want to see everyone succeed and never have to go back to our self induced prison.  I will help you out in any way I can.  I post here every day so I am never hard to find.

I know you can do this, really I do!

Thanks! I'm sorry you had to go through that from your family. My family somewhat expects me to be the fat one. Pet names like "Buns and Biscuits" or "Donkey Butt" were a regular occurrence but now that I've "lost my natural mind" and want to get surgery (their view point), they no longer call me those names and constantly tell me how beautiful I am and don't need to take that route. I gave up on trying to explain to them that although I appreciate their compliments, I have to do what makes me see myself the same way they claim they see me and most of all get healthier. I do believe that people discriminate about MO people and assume that we're lazy because of the extra weight or that we all eat a lot. I actually don't eat that much. I just have a tendency to eat all the wrong things.

I read a lot on the boards about how hard it is to get your protein in. How do you do that with one meal? If you don't mind my asking, why don't you want to eat around your co-workers?

I remember one of the ladies that work in my dept. had the surgery and we felt really bad for her because she loved to eat. She was one of my favorite lunch buddies. After her surgery, we would see her only able to eat 1/2 a Lean Cuisine. So I can understand how you might not feel like answering questions to people that don't understand this struggle. I understand how some people may knock you for your methods but they are working for you. So as long as you're healthy and happy that's all that matters.

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I don't eat during the day for a few reasons, I don't need the extra calories now that I am 8 years out and don't have a super active job or lifestyle and I refuse to have anyone ever comment on what I can or cannot eat.  It is just personal really.  I start eating at dinner time and generally get 30 grams of protein between lean meat and cheese in whatever dish I make. My snacks are Greek yogurt with fresh fruit for another 20 grams of protein and then another snack that is either nuts or a protein bar if I am in the mood.  I eat very simply and not many different things.  I could probably write everything I eat in a paragraph or two.  But this is all what works for me, I don't want to focus on food.  I went out for Mother's Day with my son and I honestly have no favorite restaurants anymore, I let him choose.  He loves Olive Garden, I hate their food but that's fine because I eat even less if I don't like something.  I ordered a chicken caesar salad so I could pick out the chicken and eat it.  For whatever reason I got a salad with my salad, so after I ate the salad when my chicken caesar arrived I was not hungry.  And the chicken was breaded which I will not eat.  Even my son who loves their blackened chicken alfredo thought the breaded chicken was gross.  So I never touched it.  The waiter came by and asked if we were done, I asked for a box for my sons food and said I didn't want one as I didn't care for it.  He took it off the bill.  I didn't ask him too, and when he did I thanked him and said he didn't need too but that I just don't eat things I don't like.  I had to go home and eat a protein bar later as I didn't really get any protein from my meal.  But I was still proud of the fact, that I didn't go home and eat one of the dozen Krispy Kreme donuts I had went and bought for my boyfriend and his mom.  Okay I did eat a donut the next day because I was pouting, but that isn't part of this story.  lol  My point is I have changed my eating, my relationship with food, the fact I eat very small portions and never eat until I feel full.  Basically everything I did when I was MO I do the opposite of now.  And for me it works.  I will give you an example from yesterday, I drank three large cups of lemon/iced tea/water all day long.  I came home and my boyfriend was helping his neighbor put up his fence so I went off to tanning and I was to go to the bar afterwards to pick up the food we were going to eat.  My bf and his brother own a pub.  I get lots of my food from there because I do not cook.  The cook knows all my dietary restrictions and what I will and will not eat, he is a personal friend of the family since my bf and his brother were young.  So he makes me special batches of things with reduced fat cheese, leaner meats etc.  And on a side note, some of these things have found their way on the menu because lots of people want to eat healthier.  I ordered a chili with cheese and some diced onions as a meal.  So I go to tanning and my boyfriend had called about 20 times while I was there, I call him back to find out there was a horrible fire in the local church down the street from the bar.  He was there with his neighbor to see if there was anything they could do to help.  I have a huge fear of fire so I wouldn't even go on that side of town, so obviously we were not getting the original planned dinner.  I opted for a frozen California style pizza from Wal-Mart.  I had only had a protein bar all day which I ate before tanning, so basically by 9pm when I made the pizza I was sitting at just 200 calories and 15 grams of protein.  I ate 1 and half slices of the pizza, I calculated about 450 calories worth.  So I am short protein and calories now.  I had a greek yogurt and some nuts before I went to bed.  I never felt deprived, I never get hungry (I attribute the lemon tea to keeping hunger down and blood sugar stable) and I woke up feeling good.  I refuse to let myself feel stuffed or uncomfortable.  I love my perfectly flat stomach and would do anything to keep it this way.  I have been super lucky about the hunger thing, and the fact I still malabsorb, but I still have terrible metabolism because I really don't eat a lot of calories to not be actually thin.  But you get what you get and you deal with it.   And I have days I am terrible and eat all sorts of bad stuff, typically I reserve the weekends for this behaviour, but overall I eat very clean.

Good Luck!