Ysettle4less

I felt a little frustrated today. Went to Cracker Barrel and felt like I wasn't going to find anything to eat. The waitress was so sweet. She strained the vegetable Soup for me.

Hugs and sympathy for all my sleeve sisters and brothers! I'm on clears until the 1st and if I have another chicken broth, I am going to start plucking. My friend got me some miso and tom yum broth so i am excited for the variety. Protein drinks are going down fine and i especially like the Chike brand.
The pain seems to come and go and I suspect it may be more gas than anything else. I just feel so bloated in the mid region. Also I am getting headaches off and on and get tired pretty easily. Mood swings come fast and hard. I told my husband yesterday, "right now, I want to punch you". LOL. I also told him I am claiming no responsibility for anything I may say for the month following surgery.
One thing I wanted to share was just the crazy odd sensations and emotions I have been experiencing with food. I know I have head hunger and need to find some nonfood based self soothing mechanisms, but I am weirded out that I haven't really eaten anything for about a week, and I haven't eaten the dogs or broken down and tried to eat a biscuit...or necessarily have the need to either. That is not to say I haven't had the desire or the habit to...but the intense dire need is gone. I actually sat down to a family dinner yesterday (with my broth) and yes, the rice and stir fry smelled amazing, but I survived. Without killing anyone. I wanted to lie down and roll around on the sweet pork Buns, but oddly, was ok (not good, but ok) with not putting them in my pie hole.
Anyway, for those who Celebrate Christmas, merry Christmas to you! This first week is rough but we got ourselves (and our loved ones who need us around for the long haul) a pretty sweet Christmas gift this year--our better health and selfcare. Be kind to yourselves and remember you deserve the very best life has to offer.

I would like to introduce myself to all the 12/17 sleevers. I'm 40 years old and happily married for 16 years. I have a wonderful husband and two teens girls 12 and 13 yrs. old. I live in Smyrna, TN close to Nashville, TN. I have been fighting my weight problems since I was 12 years old. I have done several diets and have lost weight and then gain it all back or more. My highest weight has been 255 in November, BMI of 41. Back in 2011, I decided to go back to school for a second degree. On October, I tought I was having a heart attack after having to climb the stairs as the elevator was broken. I knew then I had to do something about my weight. I talked to my doctor and she suggested the sleeve surgery. After researching it, and going to several support group meetings I decided to do it. Now, I can't believe in less than a week I will be having surgery.
For Goodnurseg, I have been doing the pre-opt diet since December 3 and I'm down 10 lbs. I hope to lose 7 lbs more by 12/17. I noticed that if I stay on schedule and drink Protein drinks every 3 hours I don't seem to be hungry. The best Protein shake that I have tried is Pure Protein from Walmart. I just add cinnamon and a drop of nugmet and it taste delicious! I have also done it with just strawberries or blueberries and it taste wonderful. I have to do different Protein shakes throughout the date so I don't get burn of drinking the same thing. Best of luck to everyone that is having their sleeve on 12/17. We should keep intouch after surgery!

Wow! Thank you so much for the post. I really needed to hear that. Ill give it time. Need to hide the scale lol

How's the 12/17 crew doing?
I experienced some out of nowhere emotions yesterday. Found myself in tears from frustration with the hunger. Is anyone else having this issue with hunger?

What is the secret to being a weight loss surgery success? The answer may surprise you!


HOW TO BE A WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY SUCCESS

When aspiring writers ask me, “How can I become a writer?” my answer is invariably, “Write.”

So, want to know how to be a successful WLS patient?

The answer is: “Be one.”

What does that mean? It means that I write every day. Other than finding or making the time to do it, it’s not hard, because I love to write. So to be a writer, I practice the art of writing every day. What I write varies, just as what you eat varies, depending on how much time I have and what I’m in the mood for. Within 15-30 minutes of getting up each morning, I write something. I write e-mails to my accountability partners, telling them about my eating, exercise, and perhaps some funny, or infuriating, or interesting stories about my daily life. I write down the thoughts I have about newsletter articles. I write lists of things to do and things to think about. At some point during each day, I write sentences or paragraphs or chapters of articles, essays, stories and books. I write journal entries that help me muddle through puzzling situations and relationships.

I also love being slim and healthy, so I practice the art of being slim and healthy every day. This too varies, but within 15-30 minutes of getting up each morning, I practice my healthy lifestyle. I update my food log and report my food plan and eating behavior to my accountability partners. I get dressed in workout gear and spend 45 minutes at an exercise class, 5 days a week. I write a weekly menu plan and I write my grocery list. Even when I’m doing something that isn’t directly related to weight and health, I’m practicing. I see a plate of home-baked Cookies on the break room table at work and think about whether I want to eat one or if I’ll regret doing that. In a short 15 minute break, I practice good eating skills as carefully as I can despite feeling hurried. When I get in my car to go home and notice I’m thinking wistfully of chicken McNuggets or Dulce de Leche ice cream, I take a deep breath and ask myself if I really need those things or just want them as a quick fix. I try to see myself driving home and preparing the healthy meal I’ve planned. I try to remember how good I felt when I did that the day before. I think about how happy my dogs will be if I get home on time (anybody who claims dogs can’t tell time has clearly never lived with a dog).

The key words in the two paragraphs above are “love” and “practice”.

If you’re thinking, “But I don’t love to diet!” maybe it’s time to adjust your thinking. Instead of thinking, “I hate dieting,” try this on for size: “I love being a WLS success.”

And it’s definitely time to discard the notion of being “on a diet”. A diet is something you do for a finite period (a week, a month, 3 months). It’s temporary, and when it ends, your eating goes back to the way it was before the diet, and lo and behold, the weight you lost comes back, and sometimes it brings all its friends. I know that for an absolute fact because it’s happened to me so many times since I was 14 or 15 years old.

Being a weight loss success means practicing healthy eating every day of your life, for the rest of your life. Some days may be healthier than others, and that’s OK. You’re just practicing, right? It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be regular and ongoing. I don’t think about weight loss and health and all that good stuff every waking minute, and not all my thoughts are virtuous. I spend quite a lot of time thinking things like, “Why doesn’t that pickup truck just pass me rather than riding on my tail?” or “If he spits toothpaste on the mirror one more time, he's gonna die a painful death.” But thoughts about weight and health do go through my mind a few times a day. I’ve heard WLS patients say they never want to have to think about that stuff ever again. I don’t think I could succeed that way, and those thoughts are not a burden for me. The real burdensome thoughts I bear are ones like, “I should have hugged Mom more often before she died.”

Oh, I know that “shoulda, coulda” thoughts are a waste of time and energy. That’s probably why they’re so hard to bear. But that’s a topic for another article.

So, do you want success? I want to hear you say it, loud and proud:

I WANT TO BE A WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS!
I WILL BE A WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS!
I AM A WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS!

And give yourself three cheers for your effort, even if you feel you haven’t yet achieved success. Sports teams get cheered at every game, whether they win it or not.


BE A CHEERLEADER

Speaking of cheering…

Sometimes your WLS journey seems endless, and you wish someone else would notice all the work you’re putting into it, and you wonder why no one else has noticed that hard work and praised you for the results. In Bandwagon I list some of the reasons other people don’t seem to notice your weight loss (#1 being that they’re preoccupied with their own issues), but you can set the stage for the cheerleaders you wish you had by becoming a cheerleader yourself. When you give out (deserved) compliments, smiles, and encouragement, all that good stuff will eventually come back to you. Other people are usually attracted to someone positive and optimistic. Of course, there are people who are attracted to the vulnerable loser I used to be, like several toxic ex-boyfriends I could name, but I’m no longer so desperate for attention that I’ll take abuse just so I won’t be alone.

Here’s an example of how cheerleading works. I have a young coworker who I’ll call Suzie. She is short and plump, with a sweet face and severe acne on her face, throat, chest, neck, and upper back. I often feel sorry for her when I look at her poor, inflamed skin, but pity isn’t going to do much for her, and I’d rather save my pity for the truly deserving people, like me. (Just kidding!) It’s hard for me to watch my young male associates flirting with the other girls and ignoring Suzie. But I don’t go up to Suzie and tell her those guys are idiots. I go up to her, gesture at her sweater and say, “Suzie, that color looks fabulous on you!” A smile lights up her face, and we go back to whatever we were doing before that exchange.

Two days later, Suzie finds me in front of a mirror, holding a sweater up to my middle-aged body, and she says, “Miss Jean, that would look great on you, but I think you need a smaller size.”

Get the idea? Try it - you might like it!


FAKING IT

I probably quote this saying too often, but it bears repeating now because it relates to the theme of this article. 12-step programs have a saying that never gets old and applies to anyone who’s trying to change or to live a better life:

FAKE IT UNTIL YOU MAKE IT

At one point in my life, that saying struck me as disingenuous. I was hung up on being the “authentic” me and looked down on the idea of role-playing my way into a better place. But I was miserable being that “authentic” me, and faking it is one of the things that helped me learn how to be a happier me. Pretending to be a weight loss success is one of the things that made me a weight loss success, just as practicing scales is one of the things that makes a pianist into a virtuoso.

So, try it - you might like it!

Well, I was really hoping to find more recipes in this group. . I may not have a true recipe, but I found something to make Protein Shakes a little more palatable. I'm only on my third day of the pre-op diet. The first day I thought "these Protein shakes are actually pretty good". The next day I thought "well, at least they're not THAT bad". Then today I'm thinking "how in the world am I ever going to live off these things?"????? Then I had an idea. I put some peppermint extract in my chocolate shake. To my surprise it made it so much better! Tomorrow I'm going to try banana in vanilla, and others. I'll let you know how it goes!

Keep us up to date if you feel up to it! Everyone says walking walking walking helps with the gas...
~Dana

I think you're on to something...removed my patch last night and woke up to normal vision again!

Oh, man, I would love that.
As I went to her freezer and loaded up her steaks in a bag I would say, "Ya, I am stalling because I don't eat enough Protein, thanks for helping out."

No, I had mine done at the Slidell Surgical Center. The surgery was a breeze. I expected so many more complications! I was up and walking within 5 hours of surgery.
I have lingering gas, as in if I swallow too fast, a bubble comes up! Makes me think of a goldfish! Lol!

you guys having surgery during the holidays are very brave! people like me thinking NO WAY, have let the food take control of our lives (to a higher level).....seriously, would we postpone a hip fracture surgery?? or a heart cath? our sleeve surgery is saving our lives, at least prolonging them.
Happy Holidays to all and be strong!!

hello my name is Jason and Im an alchoholic, no wait. wrong web site, yes I lust for the baconader at wendy and a giant Dr Pepper and snickers and fried fish and popcorn ect. but PEOPLE that is the food that made our jea ns tight and our t shirts tight and underwear tight and I can only speak for myself, but I refuse to go back to that.

My sleeve is today also! I am so excited to begin this new journey. A new chapter begins.

My sleeve is today also! I am so excited to begin this new journey. A new chapter begins.

I'd like to at least see and feel what "too small" may be like! If I don't like it...I'm an expert at gaining weight, I already know that!

I'm excited to announce our new official VerticalSleeveTalk iPhone, iPad and iPod app!
This app makes it fun and easy to access the site while you're away from your computer. You can also take pictures with your phone or device and attach them directly to a thread.
The VerticalSleeveTalk iPhone, iPad and iPod Forum application features include:
Full posting abilities
Attach photos directly from your Apple device
Private Messaging (with optional push notifications)
Subscribe and track your favorite threads and topics (with optional push notifications)
Supports both Landscape and Portrait views

The app is free and you can download it directly from your phone. Just open up the Apple app store and search for "VerticalSleeveTalk" and you'll find the app. Then just click install. You can also go to VerticalSleeveTalk.com on your phone and it should direct you directly to the app.
Once it's installed, you'll have a new icon on your phone that says VerticalSleeveTalk. Click it and you'll be ready to go. Here are some screen shots:
iPhone and iPod touch Screenshots:




iPad Screenshots:



Get the app and get ready to take VerticalSleeveTalk with you wherever you go.