SLL

I enjoy sweets also. I was sleeved on 11/15/11, and weigh 159 now at 5'6". So, we're very close in surgery dates & stats! I fall back on peanut butter maybe once or twice a week. I just go easy on it. If I really am soooo hungry and need some protein & want sugar, I will take 2-4 saltines & make peanut butter cracker sandwiches. I've done that twice since surgery. I don't deny myself dessert all the time. If I make some homemade cookies or cake or anything, I just limit myself to a very small portion size. One thing that seems to satisfy my sweet craving most of the time is taking 2 of my butterscotch calcium citrates. It only takes a bite or two of something usually to satisfy my cravings. My husband bought me some sugar-free russel-stover chocolates for valentine's day. I tried them, but honestly, they don't taste very good to me post-op & don't make me feel very good. Of course, I stay at or under 1 serving. Protein bars are also a good "sweet" satisfier. You could just cut one up into small bites to eat when you have the craving. You don't have to eat the whole bar. (Sometimes I have to remind myself bc old habits die hard.) I'm not wild about ice cream or chocolate anymore like I was pre-op. Once, post-op, I had a kid-size frozen soft yogurt from Braum's. I think as long as I don't "feel deprived", I am more apt to make wise decisions. So, I allow myself a treat here & there, but make sure I have checked the sugar content (I'm fanatical about checking sugars), the serving I am dishing myself, and I make sure that I have consumed a proper amount of the nutrient/protein-rich foods my body needs. Hope this helps bc I know this is a difficult thing to balance & that there are different schools of thought on sweets. Congrats on your success! I know you must feel as great as I do!
-Stacey

Take a slow, deep breath. You are in a perfectly "normal" spot for pre-op. Most of us have a mental freak-out just before surgery. It's a big decision & a big deal. I am 2 months post-op & have lost 45 pounds...it was worth it! I still have some more to lose, though. I went through a bunch of different emotions before surgery...& I had mine JUST before Thanksgiving! So, that meant mushies over the holidays! Hard times. Anyway, my advice is to go ahead with your surgery as planned. It will be a huge relief when you are past that big part of this journey. For me, waiting is always the hardest part. And it sounds like you have made your decision to do this. You're just having last-minute jitters, which is completely fine & healthy! Also, there are ALWAYS going to be people who are going to have "bad foods" around you. Just make up your mind that YOU are the one in charge of your feelings about what you choose to eat or not eat. You CAN totally do this! YOU are in charge of the choices you make for you, regardless of what bad foods are around you, whether it be at home, on the road, at work, at the grocery store, at your family or friends' homes. That's the name of the game from here out. Making "better" decisions for yourself every time you have a choice to make. Block the bad stuff out. It's simply "off limits". (Although you are eventually going to be able to have things you currently enjoy that are not exactly healthy, just in moderation.)
You need some other support people too. Check to see if your surgeon has a support group he can recommend for VSG. My bariatric center has one every Thursday night, & I go when I can. It is so neat to be with other people who have been where you are & who are going through what you are going through. And you get some great ideas!
I sincerely think (if you haven't already) that if you just sit down and calmly dicuss your husband's feelings with him, you will lovingly find out what he is going through emotionally right now & you can let him know where you are as well. It sounds like he is possibly afraid of you going through the surgery. I don't know for sure. He could be afraid that you will lose a lot of weight and attract attention from other men, so maybe insecurity??
Wishing you the very best as you continue along this exciting journey! Trust yourself & make great choices for yourself! You are going to to fantastic! (((HUGS)))
-Stacey

Wow! MNBSLEEVE, your post almost brought me to tears. I pasted the Mandela passage for my journal I will take to surgery. Thank you for that! You know, really, if you think about it, we lose both ways with certain people...we are insignificant to some when we are overweight & we are offensive to others after we lose our weight. I've always been told that I can't please everyone all the time...and believe me, I try! I try way too hard, sometimes at the expense of my own self, whether it be sleep deprivation, overbooking myself, helping someone do something I greatly do not want to do, etc. This journey may be the perfect time to start doing more for me and less for others in some regards...I don't mean to be selfish. I think it is VERY important to help others every chance I get. But, to find the perfect balance between serving others & nurturing/respecting my own needs & wants. Does that make sense?
Anyway, Shanny, your post was thought-provoking. I am sorry for your loss. I had a friendship loss 1 year ago (not weight-related) also where I just had to cut this person out of my life bc she was very manipulative, controlling & hated my husband...pushing me (forcing me really) to divorce. (She had divorced also bc her husband forgot to stop dating other women after they got married). She was an asset in some ways, but I realized that she was toxic to my marriage & I had to walk away so as to not live in chaos and turmoil anymore. It is sad & I hate that, but I had to take responsibility for me & my family. Such is life. We just can't please everyone. We have to be true to ourselves:-)

Hi! I wouldn't call myself an "experienced sleever", but I have reached a few milestones I thought I would share. I attended my first-ever WLS seminar on September 24, 2011. Then, my appointment to have my initial labwork done & meet with the Surgeon & my Patient Advocate was on October 6th. I scheduled my own sleep study through my PCP, which I completed October 13th (My results came back positive for central & obstructive sleep apnea & Grade II Obesity). I received my insurance approval letter from UHC already around October 21st! I was surprised, because I didn't know the surgery center had already submitted for approval. In the meantime, I had requested and received my 6 months of medical records from one of the many stretches of weight loss attempts I had tried. Tomorrow, October 25th, I am scheduled to complete my computer psych testing, psych eval, diet review & exercise review. So, from there, I have to begin attending support groups monthly beginning this Thursday. I anticipate scheduling surgery when I go in tomorrow. However.....I am still apprehensive! I haven't told anyone but my husband because I know they will try to talk me out of it. I am worried about having complications and I guess my mind has not really wrapped itself around this whole concept yet. I started the process in September by speaking with my PCP about the surgery bc she had it a year ago from the same surgeon I am seeing. She looks and feels AMAZING! She completely recommends it! Still, I am cautious. So, I thought I would go to a seminar and see what it was all about. Then, after the seminar, I decided I would go ahead and set up an initial consult and "just see what the surgeon had to say". He recommended it, especially since I had labwork that just came in showing a very high blood sugar at 4X the normal high limit! So, I have been blessed by no speedbumps along the way, but I am just doing my research on the internet & taking this one step at a time. It's a HUGE decision & I want to make sure I make the right one! I would love to hear your story if you don't mind sharing your decision-making process! Thanks & good luck!