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Keep concentrating on those health problems the sleeve will help you ameliorate. You will be fine.

I felt like you do, but most of your situation is temporary. You should, however, be on a diet the rest of your life. The sleeve is a tool, the diet and exercise are what will help you lose weight and keep it off for a healthier you. I hope you had nutrition classes and that they covered the lifetime diet.

--Walk up and down stairs without leaning heavily on the railing. --Put on my own shoes and socks so I don't have to wear sandals all year. --Cross my legs. --Watching the scale go down instead of up. --Having more energy. --Enjoying exercise? --Being able to travel more. There are so many, many things I want to do!

Yes, it is funny. I had seen the post, but hadn't seen the irony before you pointed it out.

Bravo!

Congratulations on your progress! You are stunning in that dress. If you keep on losing you will need to have it fitted again before the wedding. Won't that be wonderful?

I suggest you get written information from your insurance company about what is needed before approval for the surgery. I am glad I did that. Mine included the three months visit to my primary care provider for weigh-in, but also required that he document our discussions about diet and excercise and my actions to improve my diet and exercise. If you don't have exactly the right information documented in exactly the right way, the insurance company can deny your application for approval of the surgery and you would have to start over. The insurance companies are very rigid about their requirements.

Yes, but when someone with a chocolate problem asks if it is all right to have a "small piece" of chocolate, my answer would be no every time. Yes, it is judgmental, but she asked for a judgement.

Hear! Hear!

I suggest you also discuss it with your surgeon. He/she may want you to have additional testing.

I'm sorry you're going through this. I'm assuming you are two days out from your surgery. You are not alone with this problem. It wasn't until the fourth day that I was able to drink.

Congratulations! Your hard work has paid off.

Thank you for your responses. I think I was so, so anxious to have the weight loss that I had totally committed to the diet changes it required well before the preparation for surgery.

You are like me and the strict diet is my hope for the new life the sleeve offers.

It sounds as though you have been able to beat the carb addiction so many of us had pre-op. Congratulations!

That sounds reasonable for you and probably for many sleevers, maybe even me when I get to that point. The problem is that, for many people with weight problems, and that includes everyone on this board, in our former lives it has been "give me permission for a little and I'll take a lot." That's how we got here. That's why, when we lost weight, we gained it back. That's the cycle we need to break. It seems as though you have done that and are able to keep your carbs to what the diet allows. Shape shifter is right "Elminate flours, sugars, etc. Eat protein first, veggies last." If a person can avoid flours, sugars, etc. and keep healthy carb eating to a reasonable amount, they should go for it. If eating a reasonable amount of carbs (myself included in this) leads to eating an unreasonable amount of carbs, they should be avoided like the plague. That is my philosophy. As was pointed out to me in an earlier thread, I may feel and act differently as time goes on.

Good response!

No, you aren't. Noodles, rice, potatoes, sugar added foods, etc. are not on the diet. Some people go totally with the diet, others "cheat" once in a while, and some get caught up into the "cheating". It all depends on how much and how fast you want to lose and whether or not you want to stay at your goal weight.

What's the point of having the sleeve if we don't change our diets to make the most of it? We go into this with the knowledge of how to eat a healthy diet and should stick with it. We have been told and tell others that it is a tool. Let's treat it like the tool it is and implement the healthy eating part, which is the main part of the plan. Going off the plan is an invitation to lack of progress or actually gaining weight. I tell myself, "Never again will I be overweight." and I hope to continue acting in a manner that will ensure it. When I get tempted, I pull out a picture of me at my highest weight and it gives me support in my decision not to eat "bad stuff." I am only three and a half months out, but have resisted temptation and hope to continue resisting it. I'm sorry if I come across as though I think I am a saint, but this is my plan and I am sticking to it.

Sugar free jam would serve you better and, from what you say, you have a problem with chocolate (the m & ms). It appears you are likely to go beyond the small piece of chocolate. Planning is one thing, doing is another. Check out eggface's site for some chocolate flavored desserts.

So it's emotional rather than physical?

Suggestion: Take it out at home before going to surgery. Otherwise, it has to be checked in and put in a secure place, often the Security office. Then you have to go through the hassle of going to the place it has been held and checking it out when you leave the hospital.

I have had what sounds like the same pain you are having. I had it about 10 times in the years before surgery and again a few days ago. I am three months out. The pain is unbelievably bad and no position or gas medicine relieves it. I felt like lying on the ground and curling up in the fetal position. I found that taking a big swig of a liquid got rid of it. The doctors have no idea what the problem is.

A lot of people post that they are having a rough pre- and/or post-op diet period. I am at a loss. I wasn't crazy about having to do them, but didn't think it was hard or particulary bothersome. Am I the only one who felt fine about it?

I agree. Go for the earliest date. I panicked when I got my date, too, but got over it when I concentrated on the health reasons for the surgery. It looks as though the earliest date gives you time to recuperate before starting school and the new job.