Steve Demko

Very well said !

Makes two of us, I get on this more than I go on Facebook lol

Hello to all, this is what I did, take from this what you will and I'm not looking for a pat on the back! I just passing on what ive leaned from the other that have gone before me. .
Once you have decided your going to have WLS why wait to start the changes? The sooner you start the better off you will be. There are so many changes that are required, starting with just these few I'm going to list but there is no reason to wait to make these changes. Soda diet or other NO more,Drinking with meals Water or anything NO more, chewing food until its mush a MUST for the rest of your life,5 min between bite well this one is hard as you are still eating full size meals but please try it a few times a week. Tracking food intake and Protein with a app of some sort I use my fittness pal this is a must for so many reasons, sipping Water not gulping it 1oz at a time , not drinking 30 min before or after meals, Vitamins start taking something if you don't just to get in the habit, exercse start walking I'm up to 3 miles a day take 45 min. The things I've just listed are for the rest of your life. Here's what these changes did for me pre op,
I've lost 50lbs in two months, my surgeon moved my date up one month and bumped someone else out of my way cuz they wernt doing what was needed. If you think this is easy to make so many changes that you have have a lifetime doing think again .
Skinny out!

Yes, please share more details. And no offense, but I'd say that rather than nearly dying from VSG surgery, it sounds more like you nearly died from horrible medical treatment. If they couldn't manage to send people to your room you could have died from any complication from any surgery. You should most definitely be warning people away from that hospital and surgeon!
I hope that you're healing now and in better shape.
~Cheri

Welcome and good luck with your surgery See you at the loser's bench soon =)

She's in her 40's. I would advise her to up her cals a little at a time and eat instead of drink her cals. For Breakfast I usually eat eggs and veggies or steelcut oats and fruit sweetened with a little honey. Or even ww toast with an egg and cheese. For lunch leftovers from dinner or a salad with veggies and meat and cheese. For supper it varies so much. But I love to cook. I usually eat 3 Snacks. 1 in am, I in pm and if I'm hungry one before bed. Nuts, cheese, apple with pb. I know ppl find it odd but upping calories works (for me at least) we need calories. What funny is the woman messaged me and said I was eating too many carbs. I usually eat around 120 grams. But they are usually from whole grains and fruit. Id rather eat real food that's good for my body and still lose. Just my opinion.

Honestly, I'm a little shocked at some of the reasons for regret. I'm 18 days post op. I've not had a single regret at any time. Surely you didn't go into this without realizing this was going to change your entire way of eating!? Did you really think that you would lose weight by still being able to eat full meals? Isn't that what got us into this mess? Not all of us, but a mass majority of us had no control over our portions, or the things we chose to eat. So now your regret is that you cannot sit down and eat an entire meal with a friend!? I... well, I'm sad for you about that. I went to dinner with a friend just a couple of days ago, and I was ecstatic that I could only order a piece of fish, and more ecstatic that I could only eat a small portion of it! It was THRILLING! There was a time when I would go to that same restaurant and scarf down an entire meal.... that put me at over 300 pounds! Why would I NOT want to give that up? From what I've read, all the things we go through for the first few months are NOT permanent. Yeah, it sucks that you have to have liquids for a couple of weeks, and pudding, and mushy stuff for a month, but its temporary. This is a long term change that will change your entire life! There is NOTHING embarrassing about eating a small portion of food! If ANYTHING your friends probably wish they got full on such a small amount! Embrace this change... and expect nothing but greatness from it.. because in the end, that is what you are going to have... a GREAT NEW YOU!

Bryn, don't you dare apologize and the same goes for tamz too. Geez, Karelia posted if anyone wished they hadn't done it, and those few souls who are brave enough to admit this is harder than they expected aren't allowed to post in peace. Nobody's trying to convince anyone not to have the surgery, but an honest discussion of the variety of experiences post-op ought to be possible, and this ought to be someplace you can come when you truly feel like crap and get a little support! Many of us may not have friends or spouses we can share fears and tears with.
Honestly I don't think anyone who was truly sorry would hang around here very long. I've already found myself another forum with more long-timers, where the conversations are generally a lot more introspective, and the people are a heck of a lot kinder to each other. One poor woman posted this morning that she is sorry, one year post-surgery, because her life for the past year has been one complication after another. She's getting a ton of love, support, and where possible advice from those who've been there. Am I sorry I did this? Certainly not, at least not at this point. I'm so grateful to have had no surgical complications, to be able to be off the narcotics, to be able to keep down all the Protein supplements and liquids (knock on wood) and for having enough energy most of the time to get out and walk several times a day. But at the moment it hurts like crap, maybe I got out of a chair the wrong way yesterday or something. And I realize that I'm one of the LUCKY ones - life is a lot harder for those who had complications or are suffering from a lot of nausea. I for one think it's pretty clear Karelia is very intelligent, ready to make as well-informed a decision as possible, and perfectly capable of distinguishing the relatively minor pains of immediate post-op from serious long-term regret.

6+ months here, I never had buyers remorse, but lots of adjustments to get used to for sure. I love it now, and continue to learn new things about my sleeve life every day. I tell myself I am eating out for the company, and not so much the food, but as time goes on, the food is in the picture more. I can eat anything now (good and bad!), but started out as a vegetarian that became lactose intolerance for the first month... that is better now and I can eat any dairy without problems. If you search this site, you can find lists of the yuck factor from WLS. Skin, hair, puke, pain, wrinkles, food mourning, 3 week stall (look that one up if you haven't already! People starting out go CRAZY when that shows up) and worse. In fact there are few here who did not experience at least one or two of these things. I know for me, perhaps my posts focus on the "glow" of the results, because they are really more important to me than anything bad that has happened to me. A chance for a longer life, my knees and joints are not yelling at me as often, I can up my exercise with JOY! Hike and interact with nature and people better, look hotter in cloths! Junk some of my meds and compete better in the work force. I recognize myself in the mirror after 20 years of WTF is that?! I am grateful and want others to have the chance to feel the same way. First month was the least "fun" of the process so far, but really, the 20 years before that were really the worst part! Not everyone is ready for WLS of any kind... heck not everyone is ready for regular dieting at any one time. The sleeve just evens that out by controlling how much you eat at a sitting on any given day.Sometimes I resist that control, but mostly I enjoy it. A LOT.

Ok well it's jan 25, 2012 this thread was from July 2011. I'm doing it in march, but TAMz how do you feel now? You took a verbal beating though out this post. I'm so glad I found this thread from 7 months ago, how's everybody doing?

Having negative thoughts constantly is a terrible thing. People on here have a bad day and then find relief. This seriously pretty girl is trippin and needs some tough love. THERE IS NO GOING BACK. So she needs to saddle up, get off this site which just allows her to be negative all the time and find some happy things to do. This place is the only place where someone who constantly has negative thoughts can have someone feel sorry for them. I am my mother's child and she would tell me to stop wallowing in my negative thoughts. NO ONE ON THIS SITE WOULD DO THAT. Support is one thing, but if my mother ever heard me say what she just said about regretting it every day because I can't eat with my friends...After I cried and cried about being fat...She would slap me. She didn't say she was in pain. She didn't say she was having a compllication. She was saying she regrets it everyday because she can't eat with her friends. Nope sorry. Not gonna let that one go. Well I am certain to be a pariah now, but I just couldn't let another day go by where this...DID YOU SEE HER...SHE IS SO PRETTY...girl wallows in her own self-pity or if it isn't pity possibly maybe needs to seek out some therapy if she could be depressed.

Thought the approach may have been harsh, I think June was right on point with her advice to Tamz. As someone who is almost 6 months out, I can tell you it gets better. The first week was pure hell. The first month hell. And you know everyday it gets better. At almost 6 months out and 70 pounds gone. I'm happy I did the sleeve. I am even a happy slow loser. I think the only people giving you advice should be those who are AT LEAST 3 months out. 6 months if you wanna know about real remose. The first few weeks are NOT always nice, but you can have a really crappy early sleever talk you out of the best choice you can make for your life. Then in 4 months when Tamz posting NSVs and buying sizes in the misses section, you'll be wondering why the heck you listened to a new sleever. In my opinion.

Tamz, it DOES get better at 6 months out. Your capacity will increase and all the funny feelings should drop away. I too enjoyed food immensely and felt shorted when I could not partake, but I now enjoy the conversation and fellowship more than I ever did the food. I feel SO much better physically that it MORE than makes up for missing it. I also enjoy the small amount of food I eat just as much as I used to enjoy the masses. We went to Red Robin and we ordered garlic steak fries and I ate maybe two, I had a little less than half my bunless burger too and enjoyed it too.

It WILL get better, especially when you pass the 6 month mark.

Tamz - You were over 300 pounds and really need a reality check. Everyone has bad days, but you seem to be extrememly negative about the sleeve and that is your right, but in all honesty - there isn't **** you can do about it now. So you have to embrace it and learn to love it. I fear your misery will be forever if you don't punch yourself in the face and start telling yourself that first you needed this because you couldn't do it on your own and second so what if you can't eat. FAT OR EAT? I guess you wanted to be FAT. BUT I know you didn't and you don't. SO PUT ON YOUR BIG GIRL PANTS and tell yourself you made the right choice...Because even if you didn't, again...There is no going back. I am not even 30 days out yet and my incision pain is still seriously bothering me. It feels like SCIATICA in my stomach, but OH WELL. I gotta go to work. I am dizzy everytime I get up, but I gotta push through it and drink more and figure out what I need to do. I was eating like I had lost my damn mind, but finally, no more bad fat girl thoughts...Eater's remorse. GONE. At 30 days. You have to really get it together. Because we are gonna lose our hair, our skin is going to be saggy and who knows what else is gonna happen...You have got to start getting to a positive place because the journey is long and FOREVER. Do you want to be all down forever. You post a lot of negative things on this site, and I think you need to take a break, get your nails and toes done, get a massage and LET THE **** GO. It is ok to have a bad day, but you don't seem to have any good days. Maybe you should also see someone. And I am really sorry to say this, but I have been lerking on this site for awhile and it just seems you are really bad off. Attitude really is everything.

As Meg states probably a good portion of us wonder "WTF did I do to myself?" after awakening from surgery and a few times over the next days / weeks / months. Then everything heals and we start losing the pounds. For some of us with food issues - and YES nearly all of us DO have food issues of one sort or another, else we wouldn't be in the shape we are in and need the sleeve - once in a great while we would like to vegetate and scarf down a bag of chips, a big juicy hamburger or a full plate of nachos. But the desire wanes and reality sets in and we realize that's what got us into this mess in the first place.

YES, it would be nice to not have the restrictions once in a while but that's just foolishness talking. Without a doubt we are all generally better off without the capacity. Few, very, very few have problems and it causes health issues and so forth. They are FEW and FAR between. It's the luck of the draw and a FAR, FAR surer bet than anything Vegas or the state lottery has to offer.

Tenshi, First, welcome to the loser's bench. Yes, the euphoria will settle in soon. The first few days are the hardest and it takes a little time to really adjust to your new reality. But, like anything else, time will make it better.
Sip, sip, sip and walk, walk, walk. Once the weight starts melting away, you'll feel much better about the process. Soon you will wonder why you didn't do this much sooner.
Congrats and you will rock that sleeve!!

I started feeling human again on my 8th day, that was when I started my Vitamins and B12. My first 3 weeks are liquids, first diluted with Water, then without diluting and now blended. I remember it used to take me 1 hour to drink 4 oz of diluted juice. The first few days you think you will never laugh again, but the day will come!
This is all for a healthier you =)

So, I wrote a thread on this a couple weeks ago:
http://www.verticals...__fromsearch__1
As I understand it, Dogzz is pretty much correct, although the extra is converted to glycogen, which the liver uses for energy, if it's stores are full, then it does get sent to the body to be stored as fat.
The amount of Protein your body can use is based on several things of which a main factor is the type of activity you are doing. Two people, with the same stats, but where one is sedentary and the other is active ... which is going to require more Protein? Let's take this even further. Let's say that second person lifts weights 3x a week, or is a runner ...
The 30g per intake is a guideline for the average person, which, is also controversial. So, what is right for you? As I say in the post I referenced earlier, talk to your NUT, PCP or Fitness trainer who know about this stuff and knows about your activity level.
But, yes, having too much protein in a single intake won't do you any good and may actually increase your fat stores. What is too much for you? I don't know and neither does anybody else on this forum.

My surgeon used a 34.
The number is a measurement, in millimeters, of the circumference of the tube they place in your stomach to use as a guide for the staple line.
So, a difference between a 34 and 36 is 2 millimeters in circumference. I believe the thickness of a dime is a bit more than 1 millimeter, so your sleeve is 2 dimes bigger than mine.
But wait, that is circumference, so we actually have to divide that by pi squared to get the diameter ... well ... it isn't much of a difference ...

This is how I lived weeks 2-5.
Lentil/ham with veggies
Chili
chicken veggie
Get that hand blender out and whirrrrrrrrrrr ... yum

Dude you rock I've been working on this for a short time now, I can't wait to join you! I have the same thoughts of myself that you did in your PAST life body. I can't wait for the ladies I'm going to kill it! Thanks for making my day, I'm going for a walk.

I can say, as silly as it sounds, that attention from males is really bugging me at this point. I'm irritated with the sudden over-helpfulness of male sales associates, the sudden messages from strangers on Facebook, etc. I was always the girl with the "pretty face" AKA FAT ASS BODY, so nowwwwwwwwwwww you want to be nice and attentive?
I know i'll get past this stage, but right now, I know exactly what you are referencing.

eyes on the prize. Today is my *last* day of the pre-op diet, and I only have two pieces of advice:
1.) When you're hungry, drink a Protein shake. Protein really helps you feel not hungry.
2.) Remind yourself that YOU are in control. Not your brain, not your hunger, not your stomach, YOU. No matter how hungry you get, or how much pain you're in, you ALWAYS have a choice. You've come this far, so just remind yourself every day that you chose not to cheat.
The other big motivating factor for me was my doc said that if you cheat on your pre-op diet it exponentially increases the chance of having to convert to an open surgery, which involves splitting your torso in half, and cracking open all your ribs.
^---- 2 weeks of hunger is definitely worth reducing the risk of having 3 months of cracked ribs.

I couldn't agree more it's like the vet's lead the newbie's, then the newbies start to become vets ,and the cycle progresses forward. We all learn and get smarter together. The body's shrink, and the minds get stronger. Truly cool and awesome system!

I couldn't agree more it's like the vet's lead the newbie's, then the newbies start to become vets ,and the cycle progresses forward. We all learn and get smarter together. The body's shrink, and the minds get stronger. Truly cool and awesome system!