How to stay on track?

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ChristineO508
ChristineO508 Posts: 6 Member
in Motivation and Support
My health issues have put me on track for either gastric bipass or the sleeve. I went to support group for surgical candidates last night and those who had it already kept stressing that you need to stay on the eating plan after surgery or you will hurt yourself. My problem is that I am finding it impossible to stay on my plan. So how can I do the surgery when I can't stay on a plan? I feel like it's going to be very bad for me to keep moving forward on surgical path until I can stick with what I plan. Any advice? Ways that work for you to stay on plan? My nutritionist says what I have on paper for the plan for my menu looks great. BUT I easily get derailed when someone brings bagels or donuts or cake or chips my way at work. Help?

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  • Stacy2779
    Stacy2779 Posts: 10 Member
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    I find it helps to plan my meals for the whole day and if I have wiggle room, then I can alllow myself a piece of cake or a handful of chips . If not, oh well.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    A coworker had the bypass surgery last year. Her office was the central meeting place for the hallway, and therefore, the target of many "food pushers" in the office who woudl drop off dounts, or leftover cookies from some event the night before, etc.

    In the two months leading up to her surgery when she was experimenting with the plan, she approached the situation with grace and humor, by holding up her fingers in an "X" like she was trying to turn away the devil himself, and saying "it's not on the plan! it's not on the plan!"

    It didn't take too long before we got the message and (a) found another place to put the offending fat-food other than her office; and (b) didn't take offense when she said 'no thanks' when food was being passed around.

    You can do it! And you can get those who are currently sabotaging your plan to stop if you're open with them!



    As a post script: her surgery was in September of 2015 (so ~ 13 months ago). Although she has lost more than 70 lbs, she has had CONTINUAL health problems connected with her GI tract-- constipation, obstructed bowels, intestinal distress, debilitating heartburn, you name it--and has been hospitalized twice since the initial surgery because of related complications.
  • dejavuohlala
    dejavuohlala Posts: 1,821 Member
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    OP you can do this please keep at it, don't give up, one day at a time, if you have a bad day don't let that turn into a bad week, then bad month. Good luck
  • MsMaeFlowers
    MsMaeFlowers Posts: 261 Member
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    Start small. One change at a time. It's a lot easier that way. Don't change everything all at once or you will never stick to it.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    Hire a coach who's familiar with special population diets and nutrition. These coaches are skilled in the change psychology needed to keep you on track without having to resort to surgery. One doctor you can google is Spencer Nadalsky. Another is Felix Economakis.
    Spencer is an obesity doctor.
    Felix is a psychotherapist who deals specifically with morbid obesity.

    Best of luck.
  • ds41980
    ds41980 Posts: 133 Member
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    Hi, have you already been approved for surgery or just thinking about it? Either way please think long and hard about it and see a counselor or therapist about your eating before you make a final final decision. In my office there were at least 10 women who had the sleeve because our insurance pays for the whole thing. I went in for a consult and failed the psych evaluation with flying colors. Why? Because I was competent honest with the psychologist about my fears of not being able to stick with a food plan after the surgery. I told this to my friend and coworker before she had her surgery and she basically told me you have to tell them what they want to hear. I told her that concerned me for her because if she wasn't honest with herself about her food issues now she may have problems after the surgery. So she does th surgery. She lost about 10 lbs prior to the surgery and about 30 pounds after. 30 pounds and it's been 1 year. She still weighs close to 200 pounds. She still eats horribly albeit little amounts all day. All that time, risk, money for no significant change. As for me I never went back after I failed the eval. Being completely honest with myself I knew that I could not go through such a serious surgery having any doubts that I would be able to follow through on the after surgery. As far as the eating goes, take one donut, take it to your desk, rip it in half, throw one half in the garbage right away and eat the other half. A half a plain glazed donut is about 150 calories. Log it and move on with your day. If it's a bagel same thing. Chips are more difficult if they are not individually packaged. If you fill an 8 oz disposable cup with loose chips it will probably be about an oz of chips in volume that will be about 150 cals also. Start by doing this.
  • Charis50
    Charis50 Posts: 181 Member
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    I have never been a candidate for surgery, but I do consult a registered dietician. She pointed out that I tended to leave snacks out of my eating plan. I thought that not snacking would help me keep my calories low, but what it really did was leave me vulnerable to the afternoon snack attack. Now, when others are having donuts or cake or whatnot, I make sure that I have something at my desk that I can enjoy without abandoning my plan, whether it's a piece of fruit, some nuts, cheese.... You get the idea.

    For me, what I choose to eat also matters. Some foods make it harder for me to control my appetite or portion sizes, others make it easier.

    When I increased the amount of protein and fat in my diet (swapping out some carbs), I found that my cravings for sweets went down, and I didn't feel hungry as often. Paradoxically, cutting out artificial sweeteners also helped. I had gotten so used to super sweet food and drink that a perfectly ripe apple had no taste at all. Now, apples taste delicious.

    Don't get me wrong--I'll still spring for a sliver of my friend Michael's blue-ribbon pie, but the typical bland store-bought stuff that shows up at our office just doesn't appeal as much anymore.

    Everyone is different, but with your nutritionist's help, you can figure out a plan that will work for you, whether you opt to pursue a surgical approach or not.

    Best of luck!

  • DaytonaTheHousecat
    DaytonaTheHousecat Posts: 37 Member
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    Can't you just eat as much food as the surgery will limit you to eat like idk 16 volume ounces ? And Just eat that small of a meal 6 times a day and lose weight.
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
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    That's why I always kind of wonder why bother with the surgery? If you need to be on a special diet afterwards why not skip the surgery part and just do the diet? And if you can't do the diet you will get health problems if you go off plan once you get the surgery... at least if you go off plan without the surgery you just had a bad diet day and can move on, rather than it physically injuring you!

    To lose weight it doesn't really matter if you eat perfectly or not, or even what you eat- you just have to be in a caloric deficit most of the time and you will lose weight. Today I had French fries and chocolate and stayed within my calorie goal. It's just about portions and tracking and being smart about how you eat.

    Honestly I'd suggest to skip the dangerous surgery and just lose weight the old fashioned way- by being in a caloric deficit. Watch what you eat, exercise if you can. That's all you need to do.
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
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    Sorry I mean watch HOW MUCH you eat. What you eat is up to you. I like to eat mostly healthy nutritious food with a few treats (usually chocolate) every day.
  • melaniedscott
    melaniedscott Posts: 1,354 Member
    edited October 2016
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    I work/have worked with two people who have had gastric bypass. Both have had such dramatic health issues since that it is pretty scary. One almost died during one of the stomach inflation procedures after (don't really know what the procedure is). The other lost a tremendous amount of weight when she had the surgery 13 yrs ago but put half of it back on. She's one of my favorite people, so it is really hard to watch the stuff she has to put herself through. Recently she spent a month on some sort of high protien meal replacement and nothing else...blurg. Nasty.

    It doesn't seem worth it to me. Make a plan you can follow that fits you but also has deficit...if you really love chocolate, break a bar up and only eat a quarter or a half (obvi, less if it is huge)...or try a few chocolate chips...

    Me? I have a weakness for cheetos & chips...I buy single serve (1ounce) packs & limit myself to 1 per day, if I have the calories. And some days I don't.

    And move. The more physical activity you can get in, the better off you'll be.
  • melaniedscott
    melaniedscott Posts: 1,354 Member
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    Oh, and just say no. When people show up with crap food...don't eat it. Or only eat a little. I know it can be hard...but avoid the areas they share it. If they put it in your work area, ask them politely to find somewhere else for it.
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    edited October 2016
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    Yeah I had a coworker that got the sleeve or lap band or something like that and she only lost about half the weight she needed to and got all kinds of bad side effects- pain, indigestion, chronic dehydration because she couldn't drink very much water at once, vomiting if she ate or drank too much, migraines, etc. doesn't seem worth it at all!

    My uncle got gastric bypass or stomach staple or something and lost a bunch of weight but then over time his stomach stretched back out and he ate high calorie foods and gained it all back.

    It's totally possible to lose weight without surgery, and it's totally possible that having the surgery will not result in permanent or adequate weight loss and will likely have negative side effects.

    Just eat in a caloric deficit!
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
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    I think there is room for a little junk food to keep from feeling deprived, but a small percentage of your overall diet.
  • nitadrockon44
    nitadrockon44 Posts: 4 Member
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    I think you are receiving great advice but I would add exercise. You can start at 15 or 20 minutes of walking or exercising a day and keep working up from there. I have never lost without adding exercise to a diet. At Christmas last year I weighed 205 lbs and could hardly walk because I had been in a bad car accident where a woman ran a stop sign and wrecked my knee. I started around last Christmas on a diet and slowly added exercise. I am now at 142 lbs and am within 32 lbs of my goal weight of 110 lbs. I am 72 years old and I know you can do this. I bought a fit bit and get at least 10000 steps every day. My knee is slowly getting better with the weight off of it. My daughter has lost 130 something lbs in about the same length of time. She exercises a lot more than I do. You sound like you are on the right track second guessing the surgery. You go girl, you can do it.
  • ChristineO508
    ChristineO508 Posts: 6 Member
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    Sorry for delay in getting back. Haven't been on this side of things in a few days. I appreciate the help you all have offered. To address the issue of just following the post-op diet without the operation, part of the surgery is that you are no longer hungry. Ever. I am hearing it's sometimes an issue because your body doesn't ever tell you it's time to eat. The calories are so restricted immediately following there is no way the hunger wouldn't drive me insane. It drives me insane now at 1400 calories a day. Exercise is an issue for me, as I have 2 bulging discs in my back that cause even walking to be painful. I am addressing that as we speak, so hopefully exercise will be added back in soon.
    All the experience stories and stories about friends who have had the surgery are helpful. I think I might just keep those things in mind whenever I want to eat something I wasn't planning to eat. Also have started OA meetings because I believe the food is an addiction for me and not just about hunger.

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