How to cope with........

jennielou75

Well no-one said it would be easy but I find the mental part of weight loss actually more difficult than the physical. My weight loss is really slowing now. I have lost no weight at all this week and am hitting my first plateau. I have 4 pounds to lose then I will have lost 10 stone so it is getting me down a bit. I find it is all to easy to forget how bad things were and how much I have achieved so I think a look through old photos and a bit of retail therpay might be in order!!!

What do you find it difficult to cope with or adjust to???

jeepermom

I had a rough time giving up sweet tea. I have just now gotten to the point that I don't want it and I found that honestly it was more of a habit to drink it or order it than it was that I wanted it.

Another thing I had (and still have) a really hard time with is head-hunger. Snacking when I "think" I'm hungry. I know I'm just bored, so I've had to try to find other ways to deal with that...it's been a big struggle.

I stalled for 3 months and would lose and gain the same 3 pounds in that time...I just got back on the downhill slope. It's natural to stall, but I found I was causing mine by my behaviors so I had to take a close look at those and change some of them...

Hope this helps! Hang in there!

UnderCoverShyGirl

I totally agree and struggle myself. Eating because i "should" based on time of day or grazing out of boredom or stress, etc...i can definately defeat the sleeve. I'm doing better, i don't want failure to be an option. But also feel a bit of a "guineau pig" with not much in person support or plan after surgery. Somehow i guess they think i magically will just change based on a smaller stomach...seems that many people do...maybe i'm just more hard headed than most! At least seeing it helps to then work on it. I wish you luck too!

Mwrarr

I'm still fairly new to the game (2-1/2 weeks), but the biggest head game I've got going on lately is the scheduling of eating. It takes me 90 minutes to get a protein shake down (without chest pressure, belching, etc) and then the waiting for drinking water...which I've found much easier to get down these days. But it seems like I'm either hitting my protein goal for the day (and usually ending that day with a general "over-full" feeling), or hitting my water goal for the day. I'm not sure which is more important, since I can't have both. I also have found that I have to keep my calories around/under 500 or else I get munchies big time. The other big issue I have is that I *KNOW* it's supposed to be: Protein 1st, Veggies 2nd, Fruit last...but I've found that protein (other than drinks) HURTS & I can't eat enough of it to count for anything. But certain carb-y things go down easily & don't hurt. & then I beat myself up over it b/c even though I was starving (well, like stomach growling, empty-pit-in-my-gut feeling, etc), I'll obsess over that cracker with PB on it & how I failed somehow because I didn't choose to have cottage cheese or tuna & a raging gut ache all night.

escapepod

Mwrarr, you should check with your medical team, but I didn't have to wait between drinking protein shake and drinking water, because the protein shake is still considered liquids. It wasn't until I started on pureed foods that I needed to leave a gap between the meal and drinking, and with puree, you won't need that long to consume your 2 tablespoons. :-)
If protein really hurts, it's probably because you're still really swollen inside, so your sleeve is extra narrow - it WILL get better! Don't worry about getting in enough for it to "count" - I felt the same way, but as it was explained to me, the idea in large part is to ease your stomach back into things that require a bit of work to digest. Thinner is better, less is better. If you feel like you're really hungry, are you taking a prescription antacid? For many of us, it FEELS like hunger, but it's really stomach acid.

lee91356

I still have a hard time coping and I still want to see more of a loss on the scale, despite all that I've lost. Sometimes I play the "shopping game" where I pretend to go shopping i.e. I go to stores that I never before would have been able to shop at and I try on different things, I have no intention of buying mainly to see if I'm small enough to shop there if I were to buy something. I have found that I can fit into some items at H&M and Express or non-plus clothes at Target and Macys and I even a handful of things at Forever 21. Still on my list is Guess, American Eagle, Urban Outfitters and Holister (but I still have at least another dress size down before I can fit there).

Another thing that helps is looking at my before photos, I have TONS of those. That sometimes helps put things in perspective. Along side that is keeping the biggest set of clothes that I own - I have my largest jeans, shirt and jacket - and from time-to-time I put them to compare, then gasp at how big I used to be. Sometimes I still cant believe that I was THAT big (size 26 US!!!!).

KimberlyinMN

I'm still fairly new to the game (2-1/2 weeks), but the biggest head game I've got going on lately is the scheduling of eating. It takes me 90 minutes to get a protein shake down (without chest pressure, belching, etc) and then the waiting for drinking water..

How are you making your shakes? Are you using an electric blender or are you using a Blender Bottle? The reason I am asking is that I am about 8-1/2 months out and can just now drink a shake that has been blended in an electric blender. The thickness and extra air in the shakes made me take much longer to drink. I switched to a Blender Bottle and my shakes are waaaaay less thick, more like chocolate milk, which makes it much easier to drink.

Pre-surgery, I loved shakes made with an electric blender. Post-surgery, the Blender Bottle became my best friend. I have three of them so that I'm never without a clean one to grab.