Question:
Are you allowed to
Please don't slam me for this question. I am not looking for a way around my surgery. I am pre-op (another month to go!)and I have made the commitment to changing my lifestyle to accomodate WLS. For the sake of my sanity, and stressing out for the next 25 years over weight regain, what would you say is the percentage of Compliancy/Non-compliancy that will still prevent you from regain. If I am compliant 75% of the time, is that good? Obviously we are all human and will always be MO, so mistakes will be made. The reason I am asking this is to be sure that I can make a complete change of lifestyle, but don't feel that I will be 100% compliant, and don't want to freak out when I mess up. From previous posters, I see that you "slip" from time to time. I definately feel that I can do 80/20. Again, I'm not asking for permission to slip, but what is the realistic goal that I can set for myself that I can live with? ALSO, Am I a grazer? I usually eat three meals with a small snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Does this constitute a grazer? I'm not really sure of the definition of the term. Thanks for all your help! You have all been tremendous and helped us pre-opers through a stressful time. — Denise B. (posted on July 24, 2003)
July 24, 2003
I probably make 80/20 and I haven't had any problems maintaining my weight
so far (2+ yrs out and @ goal for 15 months). I think the trick is to adopt
generally healthy eating patterns and do something about it when you get
out of control. I notice every few months that my carb consumption gets out
of control and I feel hungry and miserable. I may gain a pound or two. That
is my clue to jump on it before 2 pounds becomes 20 pounds. It is a whole
lot easier to lose 2 pounds!<p>I think you are on the right track. I
don't look on this as failure, I am glad I have the ability to regain
control of my eating. Most people tell me I eat the healthiest of anyone
they know and, truth be told, with a few exceptions I eat what I want.
(Between you and me, I DO miss some of the breakfast foods like cinnamon
scones and stuff ;)<p>I eat every 2-3 hours and have from the
beginning. I think this has actually been crucial to my success because it
allows me to get in plenty of protein and it keeps me from feeling deprived
while keeping my metabolism steady throughout the day. Eating every few
hours is not grazing. Grazing is if you have a bag of XXX (insert your
trigger food here) that you leave on your desk at work and pick-pick-pick
all day long. You are never really full/satisfied, yet you may end up
eating the entire bag of XXX. To use the pouch to its fullest advantage,
you need to actually fill it up so that the stretch on the pouch walls
sends a chemical signal to your brain that says, "I'm full. Don't eat
any more!" If you eat over a long period of time (>20 minutes) or
drink while you eat, you will defeat the purpose of the pouch. Hope this
helps!
— ctyst
July 24, 2003
I have no knowledge to address the first part of your question, however the
latter I do. No, you are not even close to what I call a grazer. I am
definately one at night. My husband usually does the cooking so I don't
even have to deal with that. What I do that qualifies me as a grazer is
SKIP a meal (usually dinner) and pick at stuff all evening long. Kind of
the way you do when you're a little hungry and can't decide what for. You
know, a piece of cheese, a handful of chips, a scoop of ice-cream etc. You
get the point. Keep in mind that I have not yet had surgery.
— Angela T.
July 24, 2003
I'm still pre-op also so please take what I say in that context. Regarding
grazing, I don't think 3 full meals and a small snack twice a day would be
considered grazing. As a matter of fact, my nutritionist feels that the
typical time between meals (usually 5 hours) is much too long and a small
protein snack is necessary. Regarding 100% compliance, you're right, of
course, that it is virtually impossible to do everything correct all the
time. We are, after all, human. However, I think you have to prepare
yourself to commit 100% to this. I think it's wrong to go into WLS saying
"I'll be good 80% of the time." That just leaves too much of a
chance for your to undo the surgery and why would you go through that only
to give yourself over 80% of the time. When you "slip",
hopefully the built in deterrents of WLS (dumping and vomiting) will keep
you from slipping again. But it's my opinion that if you aren't ready to
really commit yourself to doing what you need to do to make this tool work,
don't do it. Just my opinion.
— antiques55
July 24, 2003
Firstly, I have to agree that I do not consider your eating pattern
"grazing". At first (post-op) I was instructed to eat 5 times/day
to get in what I could.
That being said, don't sell yourself short, thinking that you can only put
forth a limited amount of effort and commitment. You can do this! To be
really, really honest, the people I see regaining do the following: 1. stop
doing support groups, 2. try to test their dumping mechanism, 3.
occassionally cheat on the quality of their food, 4. start gaining weight
back, 5. Eat emotionally and forget what a blessing their WLS was.
Just an observation, since you did ask.
Also, have something "illegal" once in a great while won't
sabotage you completely... take one bite, and be done with it. Just realize
what you are doing, and remember that you are making choices when you eat.
Don't eat emotionally.
One last thing.... I am confused by, "we are all human and will always
be MO." I know I am human, but I REFUSE to go back to begin morbidly
obese. This attitude has kept me moving... especially away from the
fridge!
Good luck to you- you can do this!!!
— kultgirl
July 24, 2003
I think we have to be forever vigilant, but not perfect! I don't think
anyone can break down the percentage of time you must be "good"
and can be "bad"--it will vary by person, by what you choose to
be "bad" about (water, carbs, sweets, exercise, etc.), by your
metabolism, etc., etc. Go into this with the idea that you will do the
best you can every day, will take measures to help you notice when you get
off-track, get back on track when you know you're slipping into poor
patterns, and be conscious of your health. Do that on a regular basis, and
you'll be just fine. Also, I would not label you a grazer by any menas.
Grazing means eating small amounts of food frequently. Distinct meals and
snacks is a very different thing. With grazing you can easily lose track
of what you've eaten, how much you've eaten, and then have no room for
healthy food. Distinct meals and snacks are intentional and planned for.
When I was MO, I didn't snack during the day, thinking that that was how I
was supposed to eat. All that did was make me so ravenously hungry by the
time I got home at night that I ate everything in sight until bedtime (a
pre-dinner snack, dinner, a post-dinner snack, a pre-bedtime snack--now
THAT'S grazing). Now, I plan three meals and one or two snacks every day.
If I eat every three hours or so, I don't get hungry, and don't have the
urge to eat everything I come across. I firmly believe it's a smarter way
to eat. You're going to be fine.
— Vespa R.
July 24, 2003
I don't think you should put a percent on compliance. If you do, lets say
being "good" 80 percent of the time and it slips to 70% are you
being "bad"? Doesn't that just smack of our pre-op days? Make
the committment for a lifestyle change but that lifestyle has to be
livable. If you have to live thinking that you have to be compliant a
certain percent of the time and if your not, you have slipped, you will
lose your sanity and thats too much. Better to make the committment to eat
right, get plenty of protein, water, exercise, vitamins and minimize
snacking. For me, I have to have my treats and DAILY. So, I get in my
protein, keep an eye on the scale, exercise regularly, drink only water,
and enjoy the treats. After 17 months, successful so far. If the scale
creeps up a little, I increase the exercise and lower the snacking. To me,
thats a much easier way to live.
— Cindy R.
July 24, 2003
I had this surgery to escape the diet and good and bad food mentality. I
have never dieted, nor counted the calories or fat grams of my food. I am
over 2 1/2 years post op and maintaining effortlessly, without ever
dieting. I wouldn't know my percentage of compliance. Perhaps, the
difference in my success is this... My weight problem was a byproduct of
years and years of deprivation
--binging--guilt--deprivation---binging---guilt, etc... I no longer have
any deprivation, so the cycle can not repeat. I truly eat whatever I want.
I have given myself permission to eat. I no longer label foods good or bad.
The reason I am successful, is my tool now restricts the amount of food I
eat. And the foods that I want are not the same as pre-op. Don't get me
wrong, I do not eat salads all day and avoid snacks. Quite the opposite. I
eat lots of protein (all from food) and if I want a snack (Hershey's dark
chocolate!!) I have it without hesitation. I don't ever feel like I have to
then compensate and restrict my food the next day to "make up"
for the mistakes I made. This is soooo liberating and I really wish that I
could encourage others to pursue this pathway postop. Of course, the main
thing that helped me is my surgeon also has the same mindset. He wants us
to be normal!!! He has never expected protein shakes, food journals,
dietician consults, fat gram or calorie counting. He gave us the tool to
live normally and to get the focus OFF of food. I am proud to say, this
approach has been wonderful for me. Shelley
— Shelley.
July 25, 2003
Denise - One of the wonderful things about the tool of WLS is that it
assists you in being able to make good choices. For example, I'm almost 3
months out. One of the foods that I miss most is sugar. I didn't realize
that I consumed quite a bit of sugar pre-op. Even though I didn't drink
many sodas, I had 2-3 a week. Well, I can't do that anymore and miss it.
I never had ice cream or foods like that because they were so
"bad" for me. The thing about this wonderful WLS tool is that it
assists by, what I call, "holding me accountable" when I eat
something I shouldn't. For instance, I was craving ice cream for weeks. I
finally stopped at Dairy Queen and got a small cup of soft ice cream. When
I got home, I had a bite of it...no problem. A while later, had another
bite, and then another...still no problems. So, I ate the whole small cup
of ice cream, very slowly and felt just fine....for about 30 minutes and
then I got so sick, cramping and nauseous and heart racing and clammy. It
sent me to bed for 3 hours. I haven't craved ice cream since! See how
that works??!!! ha As SHELLEY stated, the WLS completely has taken away
the deprivation for me. That has been the BIGGEST change in my life. I
don't feel deprived so I don't feel the need to binge. It's a wonderful,
wonderful thing and I thank God for it every single day.
— [Deactivated Member]
Click Here to Return