My brain being conditioned by 30+ years of eating big meals. A stomach that was used to eating the equivalent of 4 kids (?) meals, and I didn’t want to.
I’d lost weight before on diets etc but like a classic yo-yo dieter put it back on and then some. After years of doing that you do tend to say ‘fuck it, there’s no point in trying’. The amount of weight I needed to lose just seemed insurmountable… so I gave up.
But I have two young kids and I would like to be there for them when they grow up. I’m 43 and I would have been lucky to make it to 50 the way I was going.
I’m 5 months out from having the Gastric Sleeve, so it’s nice to hear from someone how successful it’s been.
I’ve wanted it for years but never had an insurance who would pay for it. At first Medicare wouldn’t either then I found out if I had any one of certain health problems they would. Those problems are hypertension, high cholesterol, Sleep Apnea, and Diabetes. I have all four.
One of the main reasons I’m having it is because I need both knees replaced and they won’t do it until I lose 50 pounds. I want my independence back, I want to be able to go where I want and do what I want without worrying if I can maneuver the terrain. And I want to go back to work without the pain medicine dulling my brain. Most of all I don’t want to end up in a wheelchair, in an assisted living facility wishing I were dead.
As for the taking the easy way out, the program I have to follow is hardly easy. Six months of psychological counseling, physical therapy, working with a dietitian, a nurse and support group meetings before the surgery and for two years after. Then a sleep study, nuclear stress test, echo-cardiogram, ex rays, multiple blood work ups, weekend seminars, lose 20 Lbs, join a health club and get the councilor and all six of my doctors to sign off on the surgery.
I hardly ever eat out, maybe twice a year I’ll eat something I haven’t made. Both of my parents cooked for a living for 30 years and I grew up in a household where eating well was more important than anything else. Eating ‘child’s meals’ or ‘sizing up’ is a complete anathema to me; the ‘food’ that restaurants serve is not good, not even anywhere near to being good. My parents’ restaurants followed a formula of 25% rent, 25% labour, 25% bills and 25% food. That’s a normal ratio, and not unusual. When you eat out, only a quarter of the expense is on the food, when you eat at home nearly 100% of the costs are the ingredients you are using to make your meal. I eat really, really well and enjoy nearly every meal I make, 99% of the meals I eat in restaurants I am disappointed by, because I can make them better - and much cheaper - myself.
If you can read; you can cook. It takes time to learn the rudimentary basics, but starting off by making a decent omelette is a good way to begin. Then choose a chef or two (there are hundreds online) that you like and just follow their recipes to the letter. Once you’ve gained some confidence you can start to alter their recipes, and invite friends round to sample your creations. Be a bit self-deprecating but own your kitchen, find which ingredients boost your metabolism and fire your senses, and have some fun in knowing you’ll be avoiding the mass-production, crappy food industry that is only interested in you eating more.