Pre-surgery dieting…
March 13, 2007
For awhile, perhaps more specifically over the past two or three weeks I’ve been eating with no regard for its impact – hey I’m gettin’ me a lap-band after all.
Yesterday I tried on the clothes I bought for the christening of my God Daughter. They don’t exactly fit anymore.
I don’t recall what led up to the purchase of the skirt and sweater – but I must have been behaving myself food wise in the week or so prior, because the skirt and sweater are in sizes smaller than I would usually buy – and I clearly recall being surprised by the numbers at the time. Even going as far to ponder that obviously retailers were doing that “down sizing” thing again – where they just move the numbers down – 22 is now a 20 etc.
So to curb my wanton disregard for prudence in my food choices, I am going to start the shakes. Early.
I have been collecting a variety of shakes, different brands, different flavours and I’m hoping to find one that is as palatable as the Dr Mccleods were. The Dr Mccleods shakes are too hard to get hold of and fairly expensive, so I’m going to start tomorrow.
This of course signals a descent into hell that is swift and reliable. 3 days of headaches, frantic food cravings, food obsessions and the shaky feeling of deprivation. Another week or two of food focussed days, then the sweet relief of the shakes doing their thing and my body adjusting and enjoying the relief of getting everything it needs without being overloaded by fat and carbs and junk.
My ticker says 2 months and 1 week until my surgery. It’s getting close.
May I ask, is there any reason why you haven’t also looked at exercise?
I can understand if you might feel too big or uncomfortable to do so but have oyu thought abotu taking it nice and slow and starting with even an hours walk after breakfast or dinner and then slowly working your way up? A weights program would help with the muscle tone.
The lap surgery might help but you will also need to be toned and to do that you need to do weights 3 times a day.
Hi Natalie
Thanks for your comment. I have looked at exercise, and have found in the past that diet and exercise and exercise alone have worked.
The choice to have lapband surgery is a complex one, and one of the inherent components of it is exercise. Resistance training and exercise are something I have started to do (at the moment I am visiting the gym 4 times a week for 1 hour of cardio and resistance work) and for someone who has lived a completely sedentary life for 32 years this has been a big step.
The biggest problem I have is mental not physical. For whatever reason I eat too much. WAY way way too much. I love food, and I want to leave that behind. For me the band is about finding a way to physically limit the amount that I can eat, to give me a chance of making changes. To exercise off all that I can eat would truly see me in the gym 24/7, so the band is about getting a fighting chance to make a difference.
I want to eat a normal amount. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life on a “diet”. The band doesn’t make you loose weight – it’s just a tool to help.
Choosing a band has been a long road. It has taken me 5 years to come around to it. Originally it was suggested to me by my GP, as she has seen me through many diets and eating plans, weight gains and weight losses.
I have a few other health problems that actively work against me when it comes to appetite and weight control. The band is a way to force my body to only need a small amount of food (what a typical person might eat.).
Thank you for your input. I know to people on the outside this seems like the easy way out. And perhaps it is – but I figure it’s worth a try.
Hi Blythe,
You know I posted a question and completely forgot to come back and check the answer and found this on my bookmarks.
How are you now that a few weeks have passed since the surgery?
I wish you well to a happier, lighter future.
P>S I can highly recommend pilates and yoga for mental clarity, you feel heaps betetr afterwards…not for weight loss or anything but for feeling control and feeling good afterwards.