Why don't sleevers follow their diet plan???

[walliegale]

I am seeing so many posts of people going on regular food their first week out, or eating ice cream or chips and crackers WAY too soon. Maybe I'm nuts, but I assumed my surgeon and nutritionist knew what they were doing when they gave me my diet guidelines. I have NEVER just tried something to see if it agrees with me. If you focus on all the protein and fluid you are supposed to have each day, there is just no room for anything else. I think cheating on eating plans is what got me to my highest weight of 245. I'm not going to do ANYTHING to sabotage my sleeve success. I don't want to dehydrate, and I don't want to slow my weight loss. I think eating whatever you want, just because you can, or because protein shakes are yukky, makes absolutely no sense. These are the same people who will fail at weight loss, or regain what they lose, and be back on these forums saying the sleeve does not work and heading for gastric bypass. This surgery is serious, the diet plan is serious. It's not a license to eat whatever you want cause you don't hold as much. Rant over.

[Kitreena]

I will tell you I felt the same way! I was like "Man Im gonna stick to this like glue I got this!"....5 days after surgery....I wanted eggs. I mean want is an understatement I felt I not going to make it through the night if I didn't eat some scrambled eggs. Eggs were on my week 3 list and I was only 5 days out. I decided to scramble 1 egg and try and eat it. I only managed 4 bites until I was full but it was enough to satisfy the craving. I told my doctor and he said I should be careful but cravings are a sign that your body is missing something, in that instance he assumed I was missing protein. I ran into the same problem at week 6 craving a food that in my week 12 plan. Its really something you have to deal with as it comes.

I agree some people eat the "Wrong" foods but others might just be trying to figure out what works for them.

[Truebody]

Until I'm sleeved I'm going with - "there but for the grace of God go I". Logically, scientifically I understand the need for liquids completely and absolutely and as I sit here and type - wild horses will not make me ingest anything not on the diet list for post-surgery.
I also believe the mind is an amazing thing and you need to respect its' power - because when it is set against you it is a formidable foe.
If I get climbing the walls crazy in my desire for something - see Kitreena's experience above - then I'm going to separate myself from the kitchen, divert my attention elsewhere, walk, clean my teeth, do anything but give in - that's the plan anyway.
I'm a firm believer that you don't die from wanting something except perhaps an organ transplant.
I may be deluding myself but this time next week I will be in a position to let you know how the plan went....

[Danimedi]

They will also blame their surgeon. I'm right there with you... I hope people know that this is a very serious surgery. That it is very important to follow your doctor's guidelines if you don't want any complications. I'm two weeks out tomorrow. Thank God I'm not feeling hungry yet. I'm following my eating guidelines. I went to a first communion last night and did not put anything in mouth. The friends I was with kept asking why aren't you eating? I just told them I ate before I came and feeling so full. I'm doing my liquids till Tuesday then will start soft foods Wednesday. I just want my stomach to heal. I'm trying to prevent a leak as much as I can. thats why I'm sticking to my full liquids guideline plan that was given to me by my surgeon. 2 weeks post op appointment in the morning. I'm feeling excited. Good luck all in your journey!

[Kitreena]

I think the diets have a reason for sure and that they are set up with great thought and care...But once you have a craving for something your body "needs" (protein as an example) it's very hard to justify denying it. However I dont think anyone should be eating a steak a week post-op either.(lol) Every BODY is different, you just have manage things as they happen. I didnt plan to not follow the diet....Its just how it worked out in a few cases.

I wish you TONS OF SUCCESS at the diet

[LisaI]

Many people ARE on regular food at a couple weeks out. Doctors have a thousand different variations .... From no protein shakes to nothing but protein shakes for a month. From fluids for a month to fluids for a DAY. I'm not suggesting anyone eat unhealthy cookies for breakfast everyday, but having good foods in moderation is a GOOD THING.

[Sharita]

On the topic of sticking to foods on the list, I have a confession, two weeks post op, i was elated to see that I had lost a whopping 20 lbs.... Was soooo happy! I was jumping around like tigger on speed. Had I celebrated too soon! For 19 days straight I didn't loose an ounce! I read up and saw that. Was on a stall... I had protein shakes, 40 oz of water, fruits, veggies, soft khichree, I thought I was eating how my doctor told me to eat! On week four, I went on a rampage, I ate all the wrong foods, I ate all the junk I could find, little of everything...cakes cookies ice cream, chips, at the end of the evening I sat on myfitnesspal, and tallied up my calories and it came to 1250 cals... All from the wrong foods. I vowed to myself that if I continued to eat this way, I will gain back all my weight, and I'd be a major failure. I have put myself on a strict regiment. I have 2 protein shakes, 2 laughing cow cheese triangles, an egg, and some kind of protein ... I am either eating or drinking something all day long... I don't get hungry, but I have cut out all carbs and sugars. I am on week 6 now, and have dropped another 10 lbs. what I am trying to is, the sleeve is a tool, what you put in your mouth is your choice, but in order for this tool to work, you have to be careful, we are all here because of the wrong food choices we made, we have to be careful and make the most of the new tool we have been given. Eat right, change how you use food, only then can you see the true results. It is all upto you!

[Ducky]

It's addict behavior, pure and simple. Food addiction, emotional addiction, or physical/mental masochism -- whatever the personal vice, it's not just "food" for most people who have reached this point of obesity. Look at alcoholics, drug addicts, abuse victims, etc -- there's no logic behind going back to the damaging behavior, but they do it again and again. I think a lot of people who fail at weight loss surgery may have been successful if they'd been in continuous therapy. I would confidently say that in most cases it's not stupidity, gluttony, or even conscious decision making. This doesn't apply to everyone, but it's definitely a factor for some.

[bergamini]

It's complicated and while I did stick to plan, in hindsight plan was cautious though I'd stick to it all over again if I had to. The thing I worry about on this forum is the rigidity, or perception thereof, of the long-term post-op meal plans. The people who say "my surgeon said never to eat that again" are likely to be the ones buckling under too much pressure and break. I'd rather see people who bend the rules than those who break from the plan. Also, for example, most people are like "800 calories" and carbs are the devil. I averaged 1500 calories per day in the last 8 days, with about 100g of carbs per day or more, and I lost 4# in that timeframe or .5# per day which is good at 5+ months out and 15# from goal. What I'm saying is we have our own paths and bending the rules to satisfy a craving is better than breaking from the plan due to too much rigidity.

[niamh]

I understand your incredulity, but please consider that the way you write may only serve to increase the shame that people feel. We were all in the same boat to some extent of eating badly in the first place, in spite of all the best knowledge and guidance about how to manage health. Addictions are tricky tricky things - I feel compassion for those people for whom the surgery doesn't seem to dent the level of impulse/craving they experience.

[Tarheel2012]

While I don't agree with eating foods with out the proper approval from your doctor...I did try softer foods (watermelon, grits and canned chicken) before it was actually recommended! For me...my doctor gave me a guideline of foods that worked for the majority of wls patients and I took that and learned what worked for me but I also used common sense and listened to my body and tried other things as well! You also have to realize that if following a doctors order was so easy many of us wouldn't need this surgery in the first place! Don't devalue the mental journey...it's been the hardest part for me!!!

[Tarheel2012]

Love it!!!!!

I understand your incredulity, but please consider that the way you write may only serve to increase the shame that people feel. We were all in the same boat to some extent of eating badly in the first place, in spite of all the best knowledge and guidance about how to manage health. Addictions are tricky tricky things - I feel compassion for those people for whom the surgery doesn't seem to dent the level of impulse/craving they experience.

[Keir]

I so agree with you - I didn't see your post and just wrote something similar . Can't understand why you'd have major surgery and within a week risk your life by eating solids or try to cheat to cheat the system by eating ice cream or crackers etc - just beggars belief !

[Tarheel2012]

Mistakes aren't cheating and you aren't risking your life a week after surgery anymore than than you are spending months and years of being over weight with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other comorbidites! I haven't read one post that said eating these things post-op are good and everyone should try them! All I've ever read are people being honest about the struggles with food addiction post surgery! If you can follow these strict guidelines great...but be careful being so newly sleeved with how easily you dismiss others struggle!!!!

I so agree with you - I didn't see your post and just wrote something similar . Can't understand why you'd have major surgery and within a week risk your life by eating solids or try to cheat to cheat the system by eating ice cream or crackers etc - just beggars belief !

[Sharita]

Some of us here have struggled with weight all our lives, a huge roller coaster of binge eating and feeling guilty afterwards, you are absolutely right when you say food addiction is no different to alchohol or drug addiction, all logic flies out of the window when the dreaded cravings set in! Some people can encorporating these indulgence food into their diets and be fine with it! I on the other hand is trying the "quitting cold turkey" approach, everyone is different, everyone's body reacts differently, right now cutting out carbs is working for me.... What is most important is, do what works for you, you have come so far, don't fall back in your old ways...that's what got us here in the first place!