Check in if you are 4-5 months out of surgery and need an eating tune-up!
Sometimes I think that people forget the purpose of WLS. It is not so you can eat whatever you want and lose weight. It is a tool to help us stick with healthy eating. It doesn't do it for us. I am saying this for me as much as anyone else because with my first WLS I did think it would "cure" me of my food addiction. I thought it would help me be able to eat those things like snacks, chips, etc, in moderation. I gave it my best shot and I failed miserably.
Now I finally understand what they mean by "tool". Sure I could dig a hole with my bare hands but having a shovel sure makes it easier. Same with WLS. We could all lose weight, at least for a period of time, but the surgery can help it be easier.
I was very disappointed when I realized that if I wanted to lose weight and keep it off I would have to do the exact same things I did before surgery, eat less, eliminate "bad" foods from my diet and exercise. I thought WLS was for people for whom diets failed. And it is to a degree but you still have to use the tool you were given in order for it to work.
My small pouch helps me not be hungry. I try to maximize this by watching my portions so I don't stretch it out. I try not to pu**** I aim to be satisfied by my meals, not stuffed. I listen to my body and try to eat when I need to, not when I want to. I have also found that by not eating refined carbs I don't have ANY cravings for them. I can live without them and I have for over a year. To me that is more significant then any weight I have lost. I have not practiced my addiction to refined carbs for over a year. That is what works for me. Can I do this forever? I have no idea. My track record isn't very good. But I can do it today. My goal is not to never eat refined foods again, my goal is not to eat them today.
Now I finally understand what they mean by "tool". Sure I could dig a hole with my bare hands but having a shovel sure makes it easier. Same with WLS. We could all lose weight, at least for a period of time, but the surgery can help it be easier.
I was very disappointed when I realized that if I wanted to lose weight and keep it off I would have to do the exact same things I did before surgery, eat less, eliminate "bad" foods from my diet and exercise. I thought WLS was for people for whom diets failed. And it is to a degree but you still have to use the tool you were given in order for it to work.
My small pouch helps me not be hungry. I try to maximize this by watching my portions so I don't stretch it out. I try not to pu**** I aim to be satisfied by my meals, not stuffed. I listen to my body and try to eat when I need to, not when I want to. I have also found that by not eating refined carbs I don't have ANY cravings for them. I can live without them and I have for over a year. To me that is more significant then any weight I have lost. I have not practiced my addiction to refined carbs for over a year. That is what works for me. Can I do this forever? I have no idea. My track record isn't very good. But I can do it today. My goal is not to never eat refined foods again, my goal is not to eat them today.
WLS 10/28/2002 Revision 7/23/2010
High Weight (2002) 240 Revision Weight (2010) 220 Current Weight 115.
Amen! I keep saying (mostly to myself), they operate on your guts, not your brain - that's the work WE'RE responsible for.
First ultra: Stone Mill 50 miler 11/15/14 13:44:38, First Full Marathon: Marine Corps 10/27/13 4:57:11, Half Marathon PR 2:04:43 at Shamrock VA Beach Half-Marathon, 12/2/12 First Half-Marathon 2:32:47, 5K PR Run Under the Lights 5K 27:23 on 11/23/13, 10K PR 52:53 Pike's Peek 10K 4/21/13, (1st timed run) Accumen 8K 51:09 10/14/12.
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