newbies....this is for us

i have read  many stories how after the honeymoon phase wears off people tend to fall back into their old habits. and i see that many struggle to find the answers for how to get back on track.

so i called my dr's office. my surg isn't for 18 more days (lol) and i know me well enough to know that initially i'll be excited and working the program because i'll be looking good. but what i don't know is how i'll be long term. this is all new territory. i don't know if my brain will be "oh damn girl you look good and we are not eating that taco" or will I be like "oh damn girl, you look good you can have that taco, no big deal"

so what I wanted to know from the dr is first off will there be a continual support system for me, 2, 3,4, 10 years down the road. And yes there will be. They have monthly meetings with a certified nut avail; a therapist leads the meetings, and always when in doubt she advised, go back to basics. the protein shakes 2x a day and a healthy dinner. and she said not to wait until you've 15 pds, once you see the pds coming back; go back to basics. i guess that's where a food log would be essential.

I want to have a complete arsenal to be able to fight off the unknowns before the unknowns become an issue. If you have any advice or suggestions, please share

This group has been a big help to me, so far. Just being able to vent, and even get the "STOP IT" advice is nice. Also, it's a good idea to have a food/ calorie tracker from the start. I also religiously weigh and measure everything I put into my body. When or if you start to slide back, or have the moments where you want to cry over that piece of cake, remind yourself of how HARD you have worked and how far you've come.

I have people telling me that I am stronger than they are and they never could have done it. That's not what keeps me going. It was hearing my mom say that she finally sees how hard this is and that it must have meant the world to me to go through the starvation before surgery and everything that comes along with it afterwards.

Knowledge is a big and powerful thing. Read and learn as much as you can, and NEVER be afraid to ask your doctors, nutritionists, or even psychiatrist for help if you need it.

My advice to you would be this:  It's never over.

The day you think you're "done", or "that's 100 pounds that's gone FOREVER" is the day you'll start slipping back to old habits.  It's like exercising - you're never "done".  If you train up to being able to run a 5K and then stop... you'll slide back and won't be able to run 5K in a couple months.  

As you lose weight, as you hit goal, as you maintain... keep checking in with yourself, over and over.  Keep weighing yourself.  Keep reevaluating what you eat and how you treat your body.  Don't stop.

I guess my other piece of advice would also be to make sure you have alternate things in place to have things that provide happiness, love, and support other than from food.  A lot of us turn to food as a source of comfort; if you do this, I'd start now (as a pre-op) on breaking that pattern and finding solid replacements for you before surgery.  I've seen some new post-op patients have a sort-of adult temper tantrum after surgery because they weren't honest with themselves about this, and then (because of the surgery) weren't able to get their 'fix'.  So they broke down, or worse, bailed on their diet (I'm going to keep drinking my 500 calorie Starbucks because I have to live a little!)  In this society, we are taught to celebrate so much with food, to reward ourselves with food, to compensate for bad times with food... it's tough to find replacements for all these situations, especially in a restricted and modified way.

Good luck!

Oh, I've written a little bit about trying to avoid regain and getting to goal, if you like.

People get to focused on WL and forget it's all for non if you can't keep it off......the real goal is maintaining a healthy goal weight for life....

Personally.... I haven't and would not claim any kind of success for myself till at least 5 years of maintenance..... and when I get to 5 years I'll probably change it up to 7 years.....

WL is the time to learn and establish the proper habits so you can take them into maintenance for the long haul......

frisco

I totally understand your thoughts. I am just so very very thankful my surgeons office offers continued support and at no extra charge. It will be nice a year or years from now to attend a meeting to encourage people and also hear the excitement of others to keep me moving forward.