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It has been two weeks and I've met my first "mini" goal! Yes, I've missed food but I also want this very bad. I had my follow up and staple removal yesterday and was told no wine for my birthday, in September, but a small glass for my husband's in December would be ok. I have to remember I didn't get in this weight mess in two weeks and it won't go away in two weeks. It is a journey, I know this as I made this trip with the lap band 10 years ago. I also realize when you are as large as I was no one will notice until I lose a lot! The little victories that I have noticed, both feet easily go on the scale, I can go up the front steps without pulling myself up, my knees hurt less. I will take these victories and celebrate. My husband is very supportive and I have to remember that he also has the right to eat what he would normally eat. He has stepped up and is learning to make his meals himself, that is pretty funny as he's never cooked. I am in a good place today. For those that are starting out, there are good days and there are small victories you can do it.

Can't wait for your day to come, @Mikeyy!! Thanks for your responses. Sounds like you have a lot of things in place. You may already be following this other thread/topic, but for anyone who is not whether they are pre-op, post-op, etc. I highly recommend FluffyChix's "Doing the Headwork" topic. I've joined a few FB groups and learned a lot more. Am searching for a new therapist that has experience with clients who have had WLS. I had one who was wonderful but he is ill & no longer practicing), but I know I need someone to still work with as I have decades of learned behavior, habits, and bad coping skills that food was centered around or it came into play at some point. I'd like to find someone who specializes not only in WLS clients but also in grief support.

*Bursts In* Am I Late? No, cool 😂 I've noticed that whenever I ate a lot of watermelon, as opposed to other fruit, I lost more weight. Maybe its all the water and fiber for relatively low calories or that it also kept me very regular (also TMI) I didn't start eating it until maybe 6 months post op. Ask your Team about it.

I didn't eat any fruit at that point after surgery. I had no room after I ate my protein.

I was told to go with the Gastric Bypass because of my GERD from my doctor. Once I told him I had really bad Reflux he would not consider the Sleeve because it would make it worse.

I'd love to hear this doctor's explanation as to why a sleeve is a good idea for someone with a GERD history. Pushing for a procedure contraindicated by a co-morbidity makes me suspicious about whether your best interests are being considered. It's sad that some doctors exploit patients to match their medical shortcomings. Run don't walk to another surgeon. What are your current doctor's qualifications exactly? Make sure you make an appointment with an experienced bariatric surgeon. (I'd make a recording of his/her explanation to play for the second doctor!)

Today is exactly 8 months since my VSG surgery. I haven't lost as much weight as I had hoped to be this point, but I got back my first lab results since having the sleeve done and I am reflecting on how much healthier I am now than 8 months ago. Since having the WLS I have gotten rid of several co-morbidities: no more high blood pressure, no more sleep apnea, no more GERD, no more acid reflux. These are the best lab results I have EVER had! My triglycerides 18 months ago were 353 and now they're just 104! I'm not pre-diabetic anymore! I'm having no trouble absorbing vitamins . . . in fact they're way above the range where they should be, so I'm super-absorbing them now or something, taken just one soft chew each of Vitamin D, B12, Calcium Citrate and Multivitamin daily. So as I sit here sometimes wishing the scale was showing a lower number, I recognize how blessed I am with these great health results and am so happy that I had this surgery.

Time for a status update: Yesterday marked my one year anniversary on Bariatricpal.com. What a year it has been and I am so grateful for all the people here that have helped me along the way. I'm also so grateful for @Alex Brecher for creating and maintaining this site for all of us. I hope that my ongoing purchases of calcium and multivitamin supplements are enough to express my gratitude. I'm a huge fan of the BariatricPal Multivitamin One 45. I kept a journal starting in July of last year starting the 2nd day after I was serious about considering bariatric surgery. Reading all the entries is very therapeutic to me. Looking back, I probably wouldn't have changed a thing about how I started and went through this process. Almost everything has gone well in this journey for me. Sure I've had my low points, but I seemed to have come out the other side very much in-tact. There's still a long road ahead once my real hunger returns, but I'm going to keep on the straight and narrow path of eating well and exercising every day until that happens and then some. In celebration of my 1 year on this site, I thought I'd share one of my early personal journal entries:

I agree- see someone else. I had GERD and Barrett's esophagitis with a Barrett's polyp. My surgeon did not even give a 2nd thought to doing gastric bypass because of the history. He told me that anyone with bad GERD before surgery could have it worse after a sleeve, and in those cases, bypass is the better option. My GERD is gone now. If you have GERD now, you may end up with a revision to bypass down the road, and IMHO, why not just get the bypass now and be done with it.

As with another poster above, I have a bypass but do not dump. Ever. So, you were counting on something that may or may not happen. You can be very successful with either procedure. The most important factor for success after wls is your brain, not your stomach.