do you ever feel like you are on a permanent diet?

[Kimsterama]

HI,
Looking for advise I'm un-sleeved but thinking about having the procedure done. I am failing miserably on diets, the best I've done recently is 5 weeks, no carbs; (Atkins diet) and after losing 7 lbs, I gave up & threw in the towel as I was getting too tired of eggs and meat/tuna. So in the two weeks I've been off Atkins diet, I've gained back the 7 lbs.

My concern with the sleeve is that it seems to me that the food you end up eating is diet food, low carb, high protein. Maybe I'm wrong? But is that the type of food you need to eat to be successful at losing weight? And if so, do you get tired of eating "diet food". If not, then please enlighten me on the diet I could expect after the sleeve to be successful at losing the 100 lbs I need to lose.

thanking you in advance

[RehabNurse]

I do not feel like I am on a diet. I can eat whatever I want, but the portions are smaller. If I want a cheeseburger, only 1/2 or 3/4 of it will fit in my tube-shaped tummy.

However, you must adhere to a high-protein mindset for the rest of your sleeved life or you will regain whatever weight you lose. Protein has a high thermic effect and increases your metabolic rate. On the other hand, 'slider foods' (e.g. pretzels, crackers, popcorn, chips, wafers) will cause you to regain due to the exaggerated insulin response. In addition, our sleeved tummies can consume unlimited amounts of these sliders because they provide no sense of restriction or satiety.

Slider junk foods, grazing, and snacking between meals are the roots of all regain. Adhering to a protein-first way of life ensures your belly will feel full for three to four hours at a time, and therefore, reduces the likelihood that you'll resort to mindless snacking of junk food.

[Ann2]

See this post I just made on another thread:

http://www.gastricsleeve.com/forum/s...l=1#post538512

[Kindle]

Never feel like I'm on a diet. It's just a new lifestyle....eating healthy. In fact, I'm one of those that say I had WLS so I'd never have to diet again. You're right, the high protein/low carb thing does sound dietish, but it's just normal healthy eating. I can eat whatever I want but I now choose grilled veggies over fries, or a one egg omelet over a blueberry muffin, or drinking hot tea in the evening instead of snacking on chips.

You DO have to make the mental commitment to eat right after WLS or it's a waste of time and money. My sleeve allows me to feel satisfied with a smaller amount of food but it's up to me to choose what I'm going to fill up on. Losing 100 pounds was all the motivation I needed to embrace this new way of living. Attitude is everything. If you think you might fail, then you might. If you know you won't fail then you won't.

[tinman]

Ok...here we go.

I don't know you, and you don't know me. However, my feelings on dieting are pretty well known on this board.

Go to my profile page, hit the button that takes you to my posts and there you will find about 40 pages of my rants, musings, and drivel. Every bit of it is dedicated to the notion that we cannot be expected to diet for the rest of our lives once we are sleeved. The key to losing weight on the sleeve is learning how to eat like a skinny person. It is unreasonable to assume that just because you have a sleeve, somehow you will gain the will power to adhere to a low fat this or low carb that kind of diet for the rest of your life. It ain't gonna happen. You said it yourself. You suck at diets. Well guess what? I did too. And so did every stinking person on this board that posts.

THAT'S WHY WE ALL GOT THE SLEEVE.

So, Rehabnurse seems to have adopted, in my most humble opinion, a healthy way of looking at eating for the rest of your life post op. I eat what I want, when I want and made just the way I like it. However, I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever over eat.....ever. If you don't over eat, you cannot possibly eat enough of the "bad" foods to make you gain weight. However, over eating, and that includes grazing on sliders, will guarantee you that you will gain. Now, if you gain, it's not the end of the world because this miraculous tool will allow you to lose the weight quicker than you regained it.

I know that you are full of doubts about whether or not this will actually work. Every one of us who have had the surgery will admit to varying levels of doubt concerning the success of the procedure. However, I can tell you without a doubt that if you work a plan, the weight will come off. Hell, even if you don't work a plan you'll lose weight. You just won't lose all of your weight.

So, now you are asking, "So tinman...what is the "plan" you speak of?" That's up to you to find out. There is a magic formula of the four pillars of post of sleeve life (Hydration, Nutrition, Supplements, Exercise) that you must find in order to get the maximum results from the procedure. This formula is different for each of us. However, each of us has one and once you find it, you'll achieve outstanding results and then maintain them.

So, don't worry about things you can't control and get busy getting your plan together to get sleeved. Every day that goes by at your current weight and size is a day you'll regret in the future.

Feel free to reach out to me via pm, or anyone for that matter, if you want to ask questions privately. I am glad to help.

Robert

[Kodi's Mom]

I don't feel like I am on a diet. It is more of an attitude that I am eating clean. I am making healthy choices. I love cooking and there is no recipe that can't be made bariatric friendly. The best thing is that for the first time in my 58 years I am using food as fuel to live and not worrying about my next food fix.
It is the best decision I ever made.

[JanPit]

No, I do not diet. I eat what I like when I like. However, that being said, I listen to my stomach. When I start to feel full I stop. I don't eat until I want to puke. Since sleevers get full a lot faster, you have to learn what your portion size is. I know not to order a large iced tea, nachos and then expect to eat dinner. There is no tea, and if there is nachos, that is all there is. I could NOT eat that much food if someone held a gun to me. I just ate a Hungry Man Rib and chicken dinner. I ate most of the ribs, no chicken at all, 2 bites of potato and 2 bites of corn. That is it. I am full and satisfied. I do eat my proteins first, because this is going to keep me healthy. It is now my normal. After my protein then I eat some of the carbs. I can easily graze on carbs throughout the day, but I choose not to. As time goes on eating patterns change and it becomes your normal. I do stay away from soda and prefer to drink diet decaf iced tea. My thoughts on food have definitely changed. I do eat like a thin person and now I am a thin person. Life is good!!

[bikrchk]

Never! That was kind of the point... To be able to eat like a naturally fit person. I put protein first, avoid liquids around mealtime and try to make good choices 85% of the time. When I live this way and exercise, I don't have to diet. Since I don't have to eat for volume (can't), I enjoy real food now. Rarely choosing a "diet" product. If I want a treat I work it in without guilt. If I bounce a bit out of goal range I cut back on the treats a bit. I can't go completely off the rails and live on chips and cookies but My weight is manageable now which is something I've not experienced before.

[RehabNurse]

I have one final thought...too many people focus on the weight loss phase when they should be focusing on how they will maintain their losses. Losing weight is the easier task, especially during the honeymoon period. Maintaining, on the other hand, is a lifelong uphill battle that requires daily vigilance.

I know I sound like a broken record when I repeat the statistic that 80 percent of weight loss surgery patients regain some of what they lost. Once a person steers away from the 'protein-first' mantra and starts overeating slider foods (e.g. chips, wafers, pretzels, crackers, popcorn), it spells danger.

One forum member weighed nearly 400 pounds when she was sleeved, lost 150+ pounds, then gradually regained all her weight plus more. She admits that snacking was the root of it all. Let's face it: most formerly obese people have the propensity to regain. Our intestines will be more than thrilled to absorb the extra calories from the popcorn and vanilla wafers that easily slide through our sleeved stomachs.

You'll never be able to stuff a 9-piece chicken dinner down your pie-hole because the sleeve will not allow it. However, you can polish off a 16-ounce bag of Lays Potato Chips in a few hours and be hungry for more. Remember, protein first, or else you'll be wasting time, money and resources by getting sleeved. Good luck to you.

[Munecagirl85]

On my way from work today i was just laughing drinkimg my protien drink how my lf
Ife has changed aince surgery and i wasnt munhcing of a pre snack fry and hamburger before home. Iam just like you. I cant diet period i did atkins off an on and any other diet plan you can think of. Plain and simple i have a major food addiction and still do. My sleeve controls me. I still crave (somewhat) and want bad foods, yet my sleeve has given me frredom to be able to say no i eat healthy before junk and iam full so fast i do t want it any more. My weakness is hamburgers. Now if i eat one its ONE krystal and iam overly stuffed and iam good about 5 fries i can eat (not with the hamburger) and iam sastified
Great tool and highly suggest

[sraebaer]

No I'm not on a diet. I've gotten in the habit of protein first. I don't deprive myself of anything. I love to exercise. Life is good.

[Catlover]

Diet? What diet!! Somebody say we have to be on a diet!!! I'm not on any more diets!! But I am losing weight the tinman and Ann2 way. I found my niche reading and paying attention to those two. They are my heros!! The only thing I will say to really pay attention to is the 4 pillars tinman talks about. Leave one out and the other 3 wobble and stall!! Otherwise it really is an adventure!!

[SomeGuyJeff]

kim - in the time you cancelled the surgery just before last summer, i am down almost 150 lbs.

[JanPit]

I know I responded already but I have more to say. I don't eat DIET food. What is diet food anyway?? I eat like a healthy normal person, who doesn't stuff herself until she feels sick. If there is lasagna, I eat lasagna and so on and so forth. If I feel like eating fajitas, I make fajitas. The difference being is that I only eat until I feel satisfied, and that point comes very quickly. I do not drink with my meals, or shortly before. I will sip water during the meal if necessary, but I try not to. Life after the sleeve is definitely different. But you have to decide if you want to be healthy or you wish to continue with your unhealthy lifestyle that continually makes you feel uncomfortable. If you were happy with yourself you would not be on this site looking for input. Sorry if I am being a little harsh, but you need to hear it. It takes courage to put yourself through major surgery. If losing weight and keeping it off was easy no one would be sleeved. As Tinman says, I also sucked at diets, couldn't stay on one. Now I live my life as a thin healthy person and I have NO REGRETS. Eating is not my pleasure point anymore, wearing a size 6 and looking 15 years younger than I am and being able to bend over to tie my shoes is. Having a 116/70 blood pressure is a wonderful feeling. Sorry for my rant and I hope you get something useful out of this.

[SomeGuyJeff]

kim - in the time you cancelled the surgery just before last summer, i am down almost 150 lbs.

also - wanted to add for others who may think my comments are insensitive.. kim and i were scheduled to have surgery about the same time. she backed out due to personal reasons.. and i believe scheduled for a few months later. i was down about 50 from surgery and wondered if she regretted not going through with it. i know kim has some medications that contribute to the weight gain and those meds are ones you cannot just get off of...so that is something she is stuck with.

kim - i know your apprehension for getting surgery and know that the meds may (or may not) be a hinderance in the weight loss. i also know that you said you had issues with foods and didnt know if you could have surgery and miss out on some foods. are there things we miss? i think wed all be lying if we said no, but i think overwhelmingly we would all do it over again, if not do it sooner.i feel so much better - even compared to the shitty days now, than i did when i was 350+. i miss the convenience of foods - being able to grab a quick burger instead of something i know is better for me.. but i do not miss losing the weight and the struggle it is to get here. it isnt easy , but it sure as heck isnt as tough as the struggles you have with obesity. best of luck to you.