LoserMama

I am jealous that you get to come home to full liquids! I have Clear liquids for a week first.
The loser's bench side will respond, but here is what i did. I am somewhat worried because I hear so often that our tastes change post-op and that things that were good pre=op won't be palatable post-op, but I wanted to have stuff on hand too.
I have:
2 cases of Isopure RTD Zero Carb (orange and grape)
2 cases of Premier Protein RTD from costco (which I am regretting -- eww)
A big set of samples from Vitalady -- my favorite purchase so far - REALLY like myofusion samples.
nectar samples of the fruit flavors

I have this same question. I don't need to be able to down a bunch, but I'd love to be able to take a couple of big gulps without worry

This is a really old topic, but I'm thinking a lot about emotional eating and what tools I can use to work on that part of all of this. I was an OA/DA member about six years back....it was helpful, but it was very depressing to me. I am not sure what it is about it? Someone earlier in the thread talked about manifested demons and some of that is true to me. I felt so down and focused on my failure in OA/DA.
I am really seeking somethign that can be positive and proactive. Not sure what that is yet. I joined "shrinkyourself.com" in hopes that that might help, because the bookw as good, but the site is weird and feels repetiive, but i'm trying.
I'm with others about WW. it felt like a joke to me, because so many of the people are there to lose 20 lbs or something....and it just feels like while it touches at emotional eating, sure, its superficial.
I am going to try the WLS support groups.
I consider this whole forum a WLS support group. But I am also surprised that there isn't a forum just around psychological/emotional eating issues to discuss those!
Well, rambling, but it is what I am thinking about.

Yeah, I think that is what I am thinking about. I have struggled with this a lot over the last year, thinking about this. I guess i've found that I react a lot better with encouragement rather than bluntness, and that is me. I don't need someone to sugar coat it for me, I just dont' need someone judging me, because I already do it a lot worse to myself.
A lot of people got here through denial, very true and no doubt. Denial probably plays a role in most emotional eating issues. but it may not be the biggest issue for all of us.
I got here not by denial as my primary problem, I've always been painfully aware of how bad what I was doing was, but unable to stop. I've spent years continually beating myself up and being way more blunt and over critical with myself than anyone else could ever be. For me, using language that represents a judgement on an action, is very black and white when I talk to myself or someone else, and is something I'm really trying to change. So a word like "cheating" is just a super loaded word to me. Which for those of us who have this particular flaw in thinking, cheating leads to feeling I'm a failure, and then that leads to thinking why bother and more failure. But saying I made a mistake, helps me know I can do better next time.
Think of it this way....if you forget to take a dose of a medication you need to take, do you consider that you have cheated? I don't. I don't think I'm a failure or that I've completely blown it.
Taking the emotions and judgement out of things is helping me a lot in getting to a new normal.
The other thing that is interesting is how we define cheating. The original poster, Indymom, said:
which is a way different definition of cheating than I have. I think that if I have eaten one more bite than I should have, or a type of food I shouldn't have, that I have cheated. And I'm trying to beat that kind of judgemental feeling out of myself, because when I feel that way I feel like a failure.
I'm encouraged by this kind of discussion about what works for us.
If useful, here is a coverage on this from Beck Diet Solution, which is the cognitive behavioral based therapy approach to eating issues developed by Judith Beck, who's father actually developed CBT.
The other thing that I think about, is in post-op diet, what really IS cheating? I mean with the super wide variation of advice on the post-op diet, those of us who research and see all this variation, you realize that there is a WIDE definition of what is considered ok during the immediate post-op diet phase. My single surgeon and his plan is not the definitive be-all end-all of advice. I don't take one person's plan and advice as my absolute truth. If there were a gold standard out there, or if all of their advice was remarkably similar, then I'd say the choices i've made since surgery that deviated from my doc's handout would be something to think more about why I've made other choices.
Example there -- the Cornell VSG post op guidelines say we can have oatmeal, grits, farina. My doc's guidelines say no. Am I cheating if I have thinned oatmeal?
All very interesting.
I *think* the original post was targeted at folks that are blatantly doing really major things that are not good for them in the post-op phase, which I support, but where is the line? This really triggered me to do a lot of thinking! Thanks!

I'm having major issues right now with this same thing. Its what I feared pre-op, that made me feel like i should probably go for bypass. I still have the ability to eat the crap and I haven't conquered the beast of head hunger. I am currently being done in by two very bad foods that I keep eating, and they blow my calorie count. And i think the worst thing is, I'm still losing (albeit slower than I should be) so I'm having trouble motivating myself to change my behavior. I know I need to get back on the straight and narrow.

Yeah, exactly this. For me, this tiem period is hard, because i actually do have to buy new clothes, but because its clothes, it feels frivolous, so I feel that guilt, too, but its unfounded.
That said, I do definitely have problems with impulse control with spending (in addition to food--call it compulsion, addiction, whatever you want to call it, the end result is behaviors we have difficulty stopping that are relieved by doing things that taken one at a time, seem harmless, but if its a repeated pattern, it adds up to big problems.)
If you always pay off your cards and have never had debt/money issues in the past, I wouldn't feel guilty, but I would be watchful as to whether the new behavior is now soothing things that food used to. Your gut about it is probably right.

Per the doctors orders, since I've lost over 10% of my body mass, am sleeping well and continuing to lose weight, the doctor has officially taken me off the CPAP machine!!!! WOOOHOOO!!!!

I just wanted to say "hugs" and I am glad you reached out. you know what you need to do, but knowing and beign able to do are not the same thing. I deal with food addiction too, and its NOT EASY. Everything has already been said, but get yourself that counselor right away, someone familiar with WLS. Also, I know I have mentioned this book on here before, but pick up Beck Diet Solution -- its a step by step approach for learning the new skills we need to change our behaviors. Work through it day by day.
OA would also be a good choice in addition to a counselor.

Very cool. I hope maybe I can do that kind of home test very soon. I kind of figure once I reach 199 that might be my trigger point. I still am not certain if what my ENT told me is true, that I may still have sleep apnea because of my deviated septum. The surgery for deviated septum, I have heard, is NOT fun. So I don't know about that part, but a home sleep study would be awesome. I'll have to ask!

That is awesome!! Like you, I seem to be experiencing resolution too, and my doc also wants to see how I do for a while on solids with a couple more A1cs, but i'm not on meds anymore. he won't declare me resolved until he sees a 3 month a1c of me being on solids, but with the readings I've had since being on solids, I think it will be good news.
congrats to you!!!

That is awesome!! Like you, I seem to be experiencing resolution too, and my doc also wants to see how I do for a while on solids with a couple more A1cs, but i'm not on meds anymore. he won't declare me resolved until he sees a 3 month a1c of me being on solids, but with the readings I've had since being on solids, I think it will be good news.
congrats to you!!!

Knitting and crochet, and now in the past week, have incorporated regular exercise at a gym. So that is taking the place of a lot of the old preoccupation with food at the moment. Trying to establish new things to do instead of eat is hard!

Definitely find out if its ulcers, would not be good if that were the case.
In the case its not ulcers, there are some great steps you can take about truly really getting good at distinguishing between hunger and desire/craving. For me, I thought I knew what hunger was, but i realyl didn't. You might know for sure, but for example,its ok for your stomach to growl, that doesn't necessarily mean you're hungry. Post op our stomachs growl a lot while they are processing the food, it doesn't mean we're hungry. I've also found that I don't feel like I have to eat urgently if its real hunger. Hungry is different -- for me I'm learning that I feel kind of hollow. You can also conduct an 'experiment' to tolerate hunger. i.e. when you feel that hunger, get going doing something else -- if it fades away, its possible it was just digestion or a craving or whatever, but the point being, you will survive it without needing to eat.
Its not fun if there is not a medical reason for feeling hungry. I am sorry you are feeling this way and feel like there may not be relief in sight. I hope the GI doc gives answers that might be more clear cut.
Any chance you are having blood sugar related issues? That can also make you feel like you have to stuff food in your mouth right now, and it feels crazy.

This is an interesting thread. The immediate post op time period isn't a time for cheating for sure. But I know I have made choices in the past month that were mistakes.
This may be a bunny trail, but, the word cheating is one I have issues with. Anyone reading or read Beck Diet Solution? It talks about mistakes versus cheating. I think the majority of folks in here who talk about cheating on their post op diets make mistakes, they don't cheat. In all likelihood, a few bites too much or the wrong thing are not going to be the undoing of our sleeve. But when we attach words like cheating to it, there is such a message of immorality and failure to it..I dunno.
I guess apart from the extreme posts like eating a burger and popcorn a couple of days post op, I'd rather see us encourage each other in getting back to doing the right thing. Many many of us got here because of emotional eating and black and white thinking, so I'd rather us offer each other support to do the right behaviors.
While we did have extreme surgery, for many of us the ability to be perfectly compliant doesn't magically occur just because we had the surgery. Maybe I shouldn't have been approved, dunno, but I think I am doing a helluva lot better, even with mistakes, now, than preop!! But by my former harsh use of the word cheating , I definitely have done so many times in the past month. But each time I eat I have a chance to do it better.
Eta--not upset by original post, just challenging us to think about what cheating really is and encourage us to help each other out of black and white thinking!!!!

Yeah, I think that is what I am thinking about. I have struggled with this a lot over the last year, thinking about this. I guess i've found that I react a lot better with encouragement rather than bluntness, and that is me. I don't need someone to sugar coat it for me, I just dont' need someone judging me, because I already do it a lot worse to myself.
A lot of people got here through denial, very true and no doubt. Denial probably plays a role in most emotional eating issues. but it may not be the biggest issue for all of us.
I got here not by denial as my primary problem, I've always been painfully aware of how bad what I was doing was, but unable to stop. I've spent years continually beating myself up and being way more blunt and over critical with myself than anyone else could ever be. For me, using language that represents a judgement on an action, is very black and white when I talk to myself or someone else, and is something I'm really trying to change. So a word like "cheating" is just a super loaded word to me. Which for those of us who have this particular flaw in thinking, cheating leads to feeling I'm a failure, and then that leads to thinking why bother and more failure. But saying I made a mistake, helps me know I can do better next time.
Think of it this way....if you forget to take a dose of a medication you need to take, do you consider that you have cheated? I don't. I don't think I'm a failure or that I've completely blown it.
Taking the emotions and judgement out of things is helping me a lot in getting to a new normal.
The other thing that is interesting is how we define cheating. The original poster, Indymom, said:
which is a way different definition of cheating than I have. I think that if I have eaten one more bite than I should have, or a type of food I shouldn't have, that I have cheated. And I'm trying to beat that kind of judgemental feeling out of myself, because when I feel that way I feel like a failure.
I'm encouraged by this kind of discussion about what works for us.
If useful, here is a coverage on this from Beck Diet Solution, which is the cognitive behavioral based therapy approach to eating issues developed by Judith Beck, who's father actually developed CBT.
The other thing that I think about, is in post-op diet, what really IS cheating? I mean with the super wide variation of advice on the post-op diet, those of us who research and see all this variation, you realize that there is a WIDE definition of what is considered ok during the immediate post-op diet phase. My single surgeon and his plan is not the definitive be-all end-all of advice. I don't take one person's plan and advice as my absolute truth. If there were a gold standard out there, or if all of their advice was remarkably similar, then I'd say the choices i've made since surgery that deviated from my doc's handout would be something to think more about why I've made other choices.
Example there -- the Cornell VSG post op guidelines say we can have oatmeal, grits, farina. My doc's guidelines say no. Am I cheating if I have thinned oatmeal?
All very interesting.
I *think* the original post was targeted at folks that are blatantly doing really major things that are not good for them in the post-op phase, which I support, but where is the line? This really triggered me to do a lot of thinking! Thanks!

This is an interesting thread. The immediate post op time period isn't a time for cheating for sure. But I know I have made choices in the past month that were mistakes.
This may be a bunny trail, but, the word cheating is one I have issues with. Anyone reading or read Beck Diet Solution? It talks about mistakes versus cheating. I think the majority of folks in here who talk about cheating on their post op diets make mistakes, they don't cheat. In all likelihood, a few bites too much or the wrong thing are not going to be the undoing of our sleeve. But when we attach words like cheating to it, there is such a message of immorality and failure to it..I dunno.
I guess apart from the extreme posts like eating a burger and popcorn a couple of days post op, I'd rather see us encourage each other in getting back to doing the right thing. Many many of us got here because of emotional eating and black and white thinking, so I'd rather us offer each other support to do the right behaviors.
While we did have extreme surgery, for many of us the ability to be perfectly compliant doesn't magically occur just because we had the surgery. Maybe I shouldn't have been approved, dunno, but I think I am doing a helluva lot better, even with mistakes, now, than preop!! But by my former harsh use of the word cheating , I definitely have done so many times in the past month. But each time I eat I have a chance to do it better.
Eta--not upset by original post, just challenging us to think about what cheating really is and encourage us to help each other out of black and white thinking!!!!

This isn't about watching people eat, but sorta related.
I have already found myself noticing people like me (obese) and wondering what their story is and what they want to do about their weight, too. its a very weird feeling that I feel ashamed of I just feel like I am on the road to feeling better physically and about my appearance, and I wish that for them too, but its very patronizing and I need to cut it out.
I think its kind of like the phenomenon of when you have a new car or something and suddenly notice that car everywhere. I think it will fade. I am counseling myself about it.

This is cracking me up. I haven't named my sleeve, but I will tell you that my little tiny pillow that I've carried around to protect my tummy from kids and dogs post-op and to push against me when I'm achy, I named him. I have a history of naming essential pillows. My body pillow during my pregnancies was Phil. And this little pillow is called Bobby B. Said like the person who does the Whitney Houston parody on SNL.
Now, to think of a name for my sleeve. Hmmm.. It better be unique.

I made it through surgery ok..have been resting a bit. Walking as much as I can. I've been in since Tuesday and kept longer due to swallowing issues. Hopefully that will resolve itself. I knew what to expect going into it so it's not so bad. Thanks to all of you for the kind thoughts and prayers, it really means alot!

Yeah, it depends on plan design and what plan your employer selects. There are a bajillion blue crosses, ok, not that many, but then each of them has lots of different plans that employers can choose for their group benefits. The employers can customize too.

This is kind of what I think and what i meant by "nature"....lol. I am kind of sort of wondering if you have awful stretch marks, whether you probably have less elastic skin and that means you'll have more snap back problems....I'm just assuming I will not have good bounce back. Sadly.
How much does brachioplasty and the panniculectomy cost if you are self-pay?

I amd on day 1 of my pre-op liquid diet. OMG. Its getting closer!
Anyway, I was given all of these post-op nutrition guidelines and phasing and examples, but for pre-op, was simply told to do full liquids for 6 days prior to surgery and Clear Liquids 1 day prior to surgery.
What was not included was whether my pre-op portions/calories/protein targets should be the same pre-op as they will be post-op. The sample post-op full liquid diet phase is 4 oz of Protein shake for Breakfast, 1-2 oz of additional full liquid if still hungry, same for lunch and dinner, and then an evening 4 oz of Protein Shake. is that the total amounts i should have in pre-op phase? That will be a ridiculously small amount of food with a still huge stomach, but maybe that is the point.
Were you given more specific guidelines for amounts/calories?

Man, i want to print out this whole list. many of mine are repeats, but:
1. I want to fit in an airplane seat comfortably without an extender.
2. I want to be able to not feel like i need to use the handicapped stall in the bathroom to have enough room.
3. I want hygiene to be easier.
4. I want to chafe less if I'm really active.
5. I want to be able to go skiing with my kids (we live 30 minutes from the slopes, haven't skiied since I was a teenager)
6. I want to be confident I can fit on amusement park rides.
7. I don't want to worry about whether a booth will be too tight.
8. I want to stop needing to use a CPAP.
9. I would like my diabetes to be gone, and get rid of all my assorted diabetes stuff.
10. I would like to not always look for shoes I can slip on.
11. I would like to be able to easily paint my toenails.
12. I want to have energy to play with all my kids.
13. I want to buy lingerie at victorias secret.
14. i want my original wedding rings to fit again.
15. I would like to run a 5k.
16. I would like to join a dance class.
17. At church, I would like to be able to kneel properly without leaning back on the seat.
18. I would like my furniture and bed not to have sagging where I sit or lay.

You are right! I love your attitude, and I'm working on developing that attitude in myself. I've been fat for so long, it will be an adjustment for sure.

Hi Tina, I just love your picture, you look like someone I'd love to be friends with :smile1:
I'm having a hard time with trying out the Protein stuff too. The ones I think I can handle best are Isopure zero carb drinks (orange and grape) and powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury chicken Soup. I also kind of like unjury vanilla mixed with some milk, ice and sugar free salted caramel syrup. It was pretty good.
Texture is hard for me, but smell is worse, and that is what is really getting me with most of them. bleah.
I love to sing, too, but I've been dealing with LPR (silent reflux) and it has really hurt my voice. Technically I am supposed to be on vocal rest for the next two weeks, but I can't do it.