really... seriously.. you dont know why?!

Maybe this annoys me more now since I have conquered my monster. .. Maybe its because its on overload right now... maybe I am Just a big meanie head.. but.. this was on a fellow wls patients status

"Uggg why can't I just lose weight"

Two hours later I see the check in at McDonald's

Chances are she isn't getting a chicken Patty

Recently I have seen so many posts all around here, other forums, groups, and at meetings talking about not losing and being so upset but then go on about the things they "can" eat... CHANGE THE EATING HABITS ...
Wait I forgot our tools are magic..
I'm not going to say I didn't slip up here and there cause I did.. and that's why I was fat.. morbidly obese.. but if I ate something I shouldn't have I couldn't say OMG why!? I knew and that kept me moving forward and growing in my journey..

OK rant over lol

OK rant over

There's 2 things I've learned :

1) People are extreme "creatures of habit", and those habits are hard to brea****il they're willing to recognize, tackle and accept the challenge of behavioral changes, the sleeve is not going to do it all for them.

2) Justification (I was guilty of it) will make all the "wrongs; right". As long as they can justify the poor choice, they'll continue to do it. Problem with that thought process is that they further out we get, the easier things get. The easier it is to eat poor choices, the "oh **** life is happening" and I just thought the sleeve would keep me in check is a distant memory.

Myself, and several other vets have been posting for weeks about how we see the trend around changing, and if you notice most of us have completely backed off the "food posts" because our comments are not well-received at this point. I still share when I am not in a foul mood, or raging with hormones, but for the most part, I completely avoid the "Pollyanna" posts wanting to be coddled for eating ****tastic foods.

You inspire me..

Someday I hope to be as helpful as you are..

I know that I am still in the newlywed phase of this VSG journey, at less than a month out. However, I can definitely see how/why those of you who have "been there, done that" can get frustrated and want to give up. Hell, I'm frustrated sometimes, and I've only been here a few months!

I really want this to work and I know that I will need help along the way. I love the advice that many of you give and reading the tips/ideas that made you successful has been so valuable to me. Without all of the vets here, this board would not be as successful or helpful.

I guess what I would like to say is PLEASE feel free to comment on any of my posts, give me tough love as warranted, or just plain reach out in cyberspace and smack me when needed. You can do so privately if you're worried about the villagers coming after you with pitchforks because you were mean to me!

Thanks for all that you (and all the vets do)!

Jenn

I promise if you post about a weight stall while eating hos hos and NO SUGAR ADDED ice cream, my pitchfork will be kindly wedged sideways up your hiney ! ! !

In all seriousness, we want to help, we want everyone to be successful, and we really, really want people to realize that once you lose weight, maintenance isn't always as fun as we think. It's tough to avoid certain things, it sucks when appetite returns, it really sucks when "fat habits" sneak in and you gain a muffin top in those size 2 super skinny jeans. Been there, done that, and it was a hard lump to swallow. Grant it, I was eating and drinking copious amounts of alcohol and party foods, and it took 3 months to gain 7lbs, but if I would have continued those BEHAVIORS, 7lbs over 3 months X 4 (per year) that would put me at 21lbs gained. See where I am going with this thought process? ? ?

Just remember, justification and masturbation is one in the same; In the end, you're just screwing yourself ! ! !

I mainly want everyone to be safe, logical, and use common sense especially during the losing stage. Once into maintenance, that's when we can reevaluate our needs, wants, and food.

In the end, most of the boils down to pure safety to me. I made a major decision to change my anatomy forever. Now that I've done that, I would be insane not to follow the guidelines of my medical team and to listen to those that have been so successful before me.

Part of the problem is that everyone is not informed. I researched all available WLS for months before I even went to my first seminar. Then, I continued to research and read everything I could on this site for the next six months until my surgery. So thus far, there have really been no suprises. Not saying there won't be or that I'll do this perfectly, but educating yourself sure helps!

And... I'm writing that justification/masturbation quote down somewhere. I laughed so hard I almost spi****er all over my keyboard!

LMAO @ ****tastic
Added to my vocabulary already

I think the people that have been here a few months have noticed that many of the vets stopped posting regularly on this board.  I too post less and less now, it really comes down to a few factors.

1) There are a number of new doctors that are performing the VSG and they have very different plans then we had.  Will their patients have the same success as many of the vets had?  Time will tell.  It is hard for us to tell these people to not follow their doctors program, but instead to follow what we say, so we just move on and pretend we don't see those posts.

2) Partly because the post diet plans are so different ( less restrictive), many patients feel free to experiment with foods we would never have tried early out.  Again, we must bite our tongue or seem insensitive. 

3) The fact that so many people are on these new programs leads to a very different "feel" to this board then when we were newbies.  When most of us were starting out, the focus was on how to stay compliant and maximize our weight loss, now so much of the talk is about how to eat more or different kinds of food.  Many of us shake our heads and move on. 

Before, the VSG was only performed by a few select doctors, now that insurance covers it, many new doctors have jumped in.  This a good thing long term for everybody, but I am going to go out on a limb and make an uncomfortable prediction here and now.  The stats of VSG overall are about to take a nose dive, and that is a very sad thing for all of us. 

Personally I feel that the location I had mine was hard, even though I know they did a good job, I have restriction (great restriction), and I have been successful.. the food plan was very vague.. It was in a military hospital so the Nutritionist doesnt soley deal with WLS.. Had it not been for the vets here that provided me with their food plans, which I borrowed, I think I wouldnt have come as far as I have..
 

HOWEVER with that said, I knew I wasnt going to be drinking milkshakes and fraps, eating hamburgers or pasta..

Even if the food plans are different and less restrictive, where the hell did the common sense plan go?!


Who cuts open their body, rips out their stomach just to eat soda, fast food, and other sugary crap?! Regardless of any plan, it just seems so....obvious.