Tomo

Did a reverse sear venison back strap, over some sautéed spinach, side of roasted veggies and one roll. I like to cook and this one was good and I ate almost all of it, but should have stopped sooner. food after surgery doesn’t have to be boring, just smaller portions. 😎

Most meals are between 300-500 calories each except the sushi was like 250. I’ve been eating a lot of eggs the past week but am definitely not doing the egg fast diet again! And most of these “meals” are things I pick at for a couple hours.
Today’s lunch (the last picture) I made at 3pm and finished around 630pm. It’s roasted butternut squash with sautéed kale, garlic, onion, and shiitake rice.

I just got the call today that my surgery is scheduled for February 7th! I'm both excited and nervous, I knew this day would come, but I'm still in shock 🤣

Mine is pretty severe, I’ve been on the highest dose of pantoprazole for many years now and still have flare ups sometimes.

I haven’t looked in other cities, I didn’t like the idea of having to travel for hours after surgery. But I guess that’d be better than having complications

Easy? Ha! Weight loss surgery is not easy. People who say this are speaking from ignorance. The diet, the psychological work, working out a new way of eating that suits you & your needs, introducing more activity into your life, … And there is the life long work to maintain your weight loss - it’s much easier for an obese person to regain weight than it is for someone who was overweight or who lost a few pounds. Obesity is a disease for a reason & those demons that lead us down that path are still there. We just learn how to understand & manage them better & change our relationship with & dependence on food.
Many of the benefits of the surgery, which kick start our weight loss, fade over time. We are able to eat more, our restriction weakens, our appetite returns. That’s when the real work begins. To me the most important benefit of the surgery was that during the time of no appetite, strong restriction, etc, I had the time to do the head work about my relationship with food, eating behaviours, & work out a new way of eating,
I never worked as hard with losing weight & then maintaining my weight as I have since my surgery. It is so very much worth it though.

Easy answer, tell no one. I only discussed it with my husband and son. Even now I limit my answers to how I did it. I do tell obese people the truth though if they ask.
When you are the biggest person in a group, your 'friends' will always feel thinner by standing with you. Its human nature. Jealousy is an issue too.
Trust yourself. You will come to the right decision for you.

Maybe its too late, but I told no-one except my husband and 2 sons. And swore them to secrecy.
I was concerned about the lectures I might get from friends and family, and answering millions of questions, and people question my serving sizes and side effects etc.
You shouldn't have to explain your health decisions, and listen to opinions that criticise you.
The only thing I think you can do is state that your weight was causing health issues for you, and that although you have tried other methods, you think this surgery is the best for you. And leave it at that.

I mean, I guess fear of prison is ultimately what keeps me from actually slapping stupid people... but the way the world is going, something's bound to make me break eventually. Honestly, why is it so hard for people to just be supportive and kind to other people?

Try consommés or broths like bone both. You can get them in tins or fresh in deli sections so easy heat & eat. They will still have some Protein too. You could also strain a wonton Soup & drink the broth alone. These can be handy in the post surgery liquid stage too as an alternative to shakes.
All the best with your surgery.

I drank Herb ox chicken buillion powder. I just got mine at the grocery store ... but here's a picture of it from their website . It's really good,too !

https://www.hormel.com/brands/herb-ox-bouillon/product/chicken-granulated-bouillon/

I still feel my restriction at more than 4.5yrs. I don’t feel it as often & it has softened a little but I think that is because I’m more aware of my portion limitations & when I’m nearing that point of not being full but having had enough, I stop.
I was a low calorie eater barely eating 900 calories at 6 months & took another 11months or so to get to around 1300. Though you seem to be quite low.
Have you spoken to your surgeon? If not I’d make an appointment to see what they suggest & ask for some testing to be done.. You may have a stricture, your esophagus maybe over tightening, the boogie may have been too narrow, etc. Generally these are easy to remedy usually via an endoscopy if this is what is happening.
All the best.

For me, it was an easier recovery. No new food aversions. I didn't have any before with the sleeve either. My gerd is gone an that in itself made being able to stay on program much easier due to better sleep, no fake gnawing hunger signals due to excess acid... Etc. It was the best thing I've ever done. I've said this before on quite a few posts but I feel so normal now, like pre-WLS of any kind, and I still have restriction. At first, you will feel that your restriction is gone but it isn't, it's different than the sleeve. Also, like the sleeve, wait until you begin solids because the fluids will just go right through your system. I had a learning curve to determine when I was approaching fullness. With the sleeve it was a runny nose. With the revision, I can feel it more in my stomach. I still get the runny nose but that is far too late for me so I stop before that now. The signals are different. I have not dumped, and the only symptom I have is slight Constipation so I take 1 tsp of Miralax in my coffee every morning. Some need more, some don't need it. My Vitamins are the same, a Multi-Vitamin patch, and depending upon my blood tests (I take every 6 months), I may take an additional chewable ADEK Vitamin.

I went that exact route and the bypass was the easiest recovery for me and with no side effects except Constipation which is easy to treat. I take miralax (a tsp a day) is perfect for me. But I have to add the common "everyone is different" so this is my story.

I had to go from band to vsg due to serious complications of the band, and then I had to go from vsg to rny due to developing severe gerd.I really think the band created that environment by damaging my esophagus before the sleeve. The best way for me to describe the rny revision is... Finally a feeling of normality. I feel so good and normal now, pre-any weight loss surgery normal except I can't eat as much. No severe gerd, no side effects, no hassle anything except taking daily Vitamins which I always did anyway pre WLS.I hope this helps.

He’s the only one I can find in my area that accepts my insurance :/ But I really don’t think I want the sleeve. Thanks

I think a lot of surgeons prefer the sleeve because it's an easier surgery to do. It seems like it's also overtaken bypass as the "gold standard" (although that wasn't true when I had my surgery since it was still relatively new then - at least as a standalone surgery). Although there are a few situations where bypass is the better option (like...GERD).
I had GERD prior to surgery. My surgeon said he'd do either, but he recommended bypass as it usually improves - and often outright cures - GERD - whereas, as you know, sleeve can make it worse (although only in about 30% of cases. But I didn't want to take the risk). I'm glad he encouraged me to at least consider bypass because I didn't want to end up one of those 30%. But there are sleevers on here whose GERD never got worse, and for some, it even improved. It's really a crap shoot.
anyway, yes - it's definitely a risk. I'm not sure what to tell you since this guy seems deadset against doing a bypass. And you're sort of limited by your insurance. Yikes. What a predicament. Although maybe you'll luck out and be one of the 70% who DON'T experience GERD issues (or in your case, worse GERD issues). My heart goes out to you - that's a difficult position to be in.

I had reflux before my sleeve surgery. It was mild & I managed it through dietary choices. Only needed to take esomepraole 3 or 4 times a year (usually when I had too many champagnes or G&Ts). My surgeon & I discussed my situation & he decided to proceed with the sleeve because I managed my reflux & it was mild but he would have done bypass if I wanted,
After surgery I take esomeprazole everyday & I always will. My reflux manifests itself a little differently now - more burning in my throat but way less incidences of the hideous hiccups & bad taste in my mouth.
I would question a surgeon who will only do a sleeve regardless of your gerd which usually means sleeve is not for you. Are there any surgeons in a neighbouring city who will take your insurance & you could meet with?

I eat porridge a bit, especially now I'm in maintenance. Potatoes almost never but if I have to, then skin ON. They were an absolute staple before surgery (I'm Irish) but I approach them with real caution now. White carby things (bread, rice, Pasta, potatoes) don't contain enough goodness to tempt me any more. If I do eat them it's wholegrain/brown/skin on versions and in small portions after I've had something properly nutritious.
*Obviously other than during the holiday season when I loosen up a bit without guilt*

Raspberry Chia oatmeal- (not my portion but it was pretty). I eat oatmeal maybe once a year.
Also Steak fries w/ketchup and BBQ Sauce. I eat potatoes at least once a month. Anyone else still eating these carbs regularly?

pizza ish. I used a mini naan bread and spoon full of Tomato basil Soup that was already cooking. The real star is the turkey pepperoni, which next time I’ll just eat alone.

pizza ish. I used a mini naan bread and spoon full of Tomato basil Soup that was already cooking. The real star is the turkey pepperoni, which next time I’ll just eat alone.

I went that exact route and the bypass was the easiest recovery for me and with no side effects except Constipation which is easy to treat. I take miralax (a tsp a day) is perfect for me. But I have to add the common "everyone is different" so this is my story.

I had to go from band to vsg due to serious complications of the band, and then I had to go from vsg to rny due to developing severe gerd.I really think the band created that environment by damaging my esophagus before the sleeve. The best way for me to describe the rny revision is... Finally a feeling of normality. I feel so good and normal now, pre-any weight loss surgery normal except I can't eat as much. No severe gerd, no side effects, no hassle anything except taking daily Vitamins which I always did anyway pre WLS.I hope this helps.

All the great responses above and...

For me, 100% worth it. Like@summerseeker said above, if I had the chance to do it when I was young, I would've done it in a heartbeat. I wanted to, but didn't have the $ resources as well. My family was deadset against it so no support system at the time. Not financially nor emotionally.

When I finally did it, I was much older (40s), and I did it completely alone. I was a "healthy" active heavy young adult, but in my 40s, all my commorbities flooded in. I was miserable. When I was younger I felt that anything would be better than the life I was living, and I was right. lol. It would have saved me years of pain, suffering, embarrassment, isolation. I really can't be happier about finally getting it. I'm in my 60s now.

All the great responses above and...

For me, 100% worth it. Like@summerseeker said above, if I had the chance to do it when I was young, I would've done it in a heartbeat. I wanted to, but didn't have the $ resources as well. My family was deadset against it so no support system at the time. Not financially nor emotionally.

When I finally did it, I was much older (40s), and I did it completely alone. I was a "healthy" active heavy young adult, but in my 40s, all my commorbities flooded in. I was miserable. When I was younger I felt that anything would be better than the life I was living, and I was right. lol. It would have saved me years of pain, suffering, embarrassment, isolation. I really can't be happier about finally getting it. I'm in my 60s now.

He's so awesome. He is so knowledgeable and he always seems so sincere. Thanks for sharing this. Watching it now. [emoji1]

If you ever get the opportunity to do yoga with baby goats, do not pass it up. You will get very little actual yoga out of it, but you will get to spend time with baby goats romping around in diapers! I really can't imagine a better way to spend an hour.