Strangefruit

I will admit - there are TIMES when I regret this surgery. I had the surgery in Oct 2012, and am down a smidge over 61 lbs...I look better, I feel better, BUT...there are times when I still miss/mourn my old relationship with food. I had a love/hate relationship with food for over 40 years! We would fight, break up, get back together again and I have to admit - there are times when I miss being able to go back to food again. I can't. Ever. If I eat ONE BITE too much, I get sick... there are some foods that are permanently off limits for me... I don't miss them all the time, but occaisionally, I do. My taste buds changed...there are some foods I just don't like anymore...

Today? Today I would totally do it again... but I would be lying if I said that I NEVER regretted the surgery. It is hard...the behavior modification is very strict... the old me, if I "fell of the wagon" and had a dinner of margaritas and nachos, I had to deal with my guilt and disappointment in myself. Now, I will get PHYSICALLY sick. I guess that is what it took for me to remain compliant. But it is hard.

Never heard of it, but I am going to search for it...sounds great!

I used to be a big coffee drinker... Had to have my minimum in the morning to start my day... It doesn't make me sick, but I no longer care for the taste. I have taken to having a cup of English Breakfast Tea every morning... I was never a big fan of beef, but now the smell turns my stomach. And ALL of the Protein Shakes I had pre surgery are sickeningly sweet now... Weird.

We actually just started talking to them again. We didn't talk to his family for 6 months because of a stupid miss understanding. It is really hard getting through to them. I'm a really blunt person and they don't like it at all. So I don't feel like they do it out of bluntness I just think it's because it's one thing they know will hurt me. I hate to say that they are out to hurt me but sometimes that's how it feels. My husband has tried talking to them several times and it just makes it worse. Excuse my mouth but its just a shitty situation. The only reason I do anything with them is because my kids adore them and my family is 2000 miles away :/ I don't want to lie to them but I also don't want them to laugh at me. Last time I went on a diet his dad said' date=' "well if this one lasts maybe you'll actually fit in with our family" and then his mom and sister started giggling. I'm not really a very insecure person, I've kinda just always rocked what i had ya know but they are in my opinion just mean spirited and I just don't want them to ruin this for me. I'm so excited beyond belief. Like I don't think anyone is as thrilled to get cut open as I am and my family is kind of already being downers so thats why I'm on here so much. I'd rather surround myself around people that are excited for me and see the beauty in this surgery rather then the people that think its a cop out or a hoaks.[/quote']

Wow... My in laws are rough too... I dont blame you at all for not wanting to share your surgery info - which is personal medical information - with them.

Last time I ate out w co-workers that do not know about my sleeve, I picked at my food... I simply told them that I had had a late Breakfast and that I should not have had any of the appetizer (both true). I asked for a box and got three more meals out of my lunch!

#1 - Your wedding pic is beautiful!

#2 - This is going to be YOUR journey. You cannot DO or NOT DO this for anyone but you. It *will* be hard... but you can do it!

~hug~

Welcome, Dee! I loved reading your post... I am post surgery - Oct 22, and it has been hard - ups and downs...but overall, I am glad I did it.

I *did* have some co-morbidities - HBP, sleep apnea, and like you, have two kids that I want to live long enough to enjoy my life...

I hope that if you decide to do this, it works for you. It *does* work... but it is also very hard. If I had it to do all over again - I wouldn't do it... BUT I am glad I did it. Does that make sense? Like, I could not repeat the whole surgery thing and recovery, but now that I am on the other side of it, I am glad with it.

If you do this, prepare yourself for your relationship with food to change. By this I mean there are times when I actually MOURN my relationship with food. People say, "But you are losing weight!" Yes, but understand that your entire relationship with food will change...and if you are someone just a little like me - where food was a BIG part of your life, you will miss some things. But it is worth it to be healthy... but it is hard.

I'm gonna stop - I don't want to scare you... it is a wonderful thing to do... but also, very hard.

Mine was ketosis...living on Protein Shakes for 5 weeks, my tongue was white and my breath was stinky. Once I got to real food, it went away.

I am almost 4 months pre-op and I am getting a little discouraged. I have done ok and lost 61 pounds so far however I need advice.

I eat between 700-900 calories a day which includes my Protein drink. I also work out 4 days a week. Well this week I was only down 1 pound and last week 2 pounds. That does not seem right. I burn about 250 calories at the gym. What am I doing wrong? Starting weight 292, current weight 231.

I know the weight does slow down but I would think I would lose at least 2 pounds every week the way I exercise and eat. I use the LOSE IT app and it is great. I have a lot of Protein and not much in carbs at all.

I am certain that I will lose the excess weight in time but I really didn't think I would have this slow period. It seems like I was losing more when I didn't work out, which does not make any sense. I have only been working out now for about a month. Could it be I am building muscle?

My doctor told me that I can actually eat up to 1200 calories daily, which I don't because I am satisfied and at this point cannot eat that much.

Any advice would be helpful as I feel a bit discouraged. Not to mention I have lost 61 pounds and very few people even notice.

I am very interested in what kind of f/b you get... I am 3 months out and down 54lbs.. my weight loss and caloric intake seems to be very similar to yours... and I do 45 min. daily on the treadmill...

The only thing that helps is that I have had VERY LITTLE loose skin, so I am thinking/hoping/rationalizing that folks that lose slowly like us, give the skin time to snap back... I also use the Lose It app and track daily, faithfully... My loss seems to be about 1-2lbs per week... and considering I exercise daily and usually consume about 700 calories, I would think it faster as well...

I *thought* about saying I was having a hysterectomy (folks - esp. males - don't ask a lot of questions - but ended up just saying abdominal surgery and not telling more... I agree - it's not being secretive, it's privacy.

I am at 3 months out and have not lost any hair... But it might be just around the corner! Who knows!?

Sometimes my kids get pissy about ground turkey I don't know why because it all we ever buy ( yet I still got fat) so I buy Liptons onion Soup mix and an egg and add it to a pound of turkey. Worst part about it is mixing with your hands yuck!

I wear surgical gloves to mix ground meat for burgers or meatloaf...

Eggface rocks. I keep trying to steer the newbees over to her site. I starting reading her blog pre-op. She's the one that made me realize that I could still be a foodie and lose the weight. I got the Hamilton Beach soft serve maker. All last summer I made multiple varieties of the Protein ice cream. It really works and it is ever GOOD!

She is of the super strict crowd. She doesn't even eat crackers and uses cucumber slices in lieu of. No Pasta either. She shreds or slices zucchini. She even makes protein muffins' date=' protein donuts and is a wiz with leftovers. She even has a cheeseburger meatloaf recipe in keeping with the topic.

Every time I see a post about people hating Protein Shakes, I want to force them to make hers. I actually look forward to them and still drink them.

BTW, The Hamilton Beach one was about 30. It comes in retro colors too.[/quote']

I love Eggface's site, but bought her recommended brand of protein and HATED it... Different strokes, I guess... I am sick of protein shakes and have to gag them down... I try to get as much protein as I can from food...

Post script - Tawny - your comments were spot on for me... I think because I am seeing the scale move sooooo slowly, I do get discouraged. And, I did not take pre surgery measurements - I don't know HOW I missed doing that - so I am not sure of the inches... But today, I went into a crate from my basement of clothes I wore about 4 years ago... I remember myself weighing much less than NOW...yet most of them were clothes that I (surprise!) could wear now... a few pairs of pants I could get ON, but were snug... so, I should be in them in a couple of months...

Don't get me wrong - I am grateful for the surgery... but I would not be honest if I didn't say that there are times that I miss/mourn my past relationship with food.

Thank you!

recipe??

I am 52 and was ALWAYS hot! Now, I am always bundled up under a throw or sweater... I guess some of the 48lbs of fat padding was keeping me warm!

...Willpower and the Atkins diet will only get you so far, even if you cut out most of your stomach. The real difference here is that I had a tool to keep the hunger under control, the portions in check, and the scale moving (albeit slowly) while I worked on the REAL issue behind my obesity. Which wasn't an inability to eat a special diet or hop on a treadmill - it was an emotional attachment to food. I was an overeater (and totally in denial about it) and I had a completely unhealthy relationship with food.

You're doing great. And I've seen a number of people go back and forth on this. I can't speak to what you could have accomplished without surgery. But I can tell you that in my experience, no diet was going to last the seventeen months it took me to get to goal and it wouldn't have given me the extra tools I needed to not just lose the weight, but the baggage.

~Cheri

I think, Cheri that you hit the nail on the head... what I am "regretting" is really mourning my relationship (albeit) unhealthy - with food. I am 52, and for over 40 yrs have had a love / hate relationship with food... I have "broken up" with food, loved food, gone back to food, and what I am feeling now is the inability to resume that broken relationship. I have to look at food differently now - food as nutrition, not food as comfort, as love, as entertainment, as so many things...

With the sleeve, even when I eat healthy food, I have to stop before *I* am ready...not when my stomach is sated... it is a hard thing to unlearn. My relationship with food is what I am mourning... I used food to reward myself for so long, I resent that when I really *want* something, I can't have it - even when I *think* I deserve it.

Last week, my son texted me to please stop by Krispy Kreme and bring home some hot donuts... I did and got a dozen... I did not even eat ONE as I was afraid the greasiness and sugar would cause dumping syndrome (which I have never had, but like a root canal I know I don't want it)...

And, I guess it bummed me out...that I couldn't even have ONE.

I needed to read the responses...you guys *are* right...I am off my blood pressure medicine, I am exercising daily and feel better, the scale is moving slowly, but I am wearing clothes I haven't worn in over 2 years... I guess I just needed to "say" it aloud - that sometimes I am sad that I cannot order pub fries and a margarita anymore for dinner...

Good comments, all... I agree - I have lost weight before, but could never KEEP it off... I needed to hear that from people who "get it". )

I have been private about my surgery - meaning it is not in the company newsletter, but it is not a big secret either... A few people have asked me about what I am eating because they SEE what I bring for lunch - and I truthfully tell them that I am following an Adkins-like diet - high Protein and low carbs... but no one has asked if I had surgery... If someone asked me point-blank, I would say yes, I had gastric sleeve surgery...

When I get to ONEderland, I am treating myself to a Fitbit.

Don't get me wrong - I was sleeved on Oct 22 and am overall pleased with my weight loss... But sometimes, I wonder... I was on liquid Protein for five weeks straight... anyone who is on Liquid Protein for five weeks straight would lose weight.

I am now on a semi-Adkins like diet...No more than 30 grams of carbs and at least 60-75 grams of Protein daily.. I average about 750-800 calories per day. Anyone who ate 800 calories a day would lose weight.

I am on the treadmill EVERY morning for 45 min... again - anyone doing this would lose weight.

I guess when I *do* have the issues - and I am extremely lucky - I have had very little complications - I just wonder if I could have done this same behavior modification without surgery and lost weight.

Part of me says, without the surgery and my appetite being suppressed, I wouldn't have stuck with it. But another part of me wonders if I could have. If I could have done all of the above without permanently losing a big chunk of my anatomy and having to eat really really really slow or throw up or get indigestion... And, I feel like if I had done this without surgery, it would feel like more of an accomplishment. Don't get me wrong - this has still been really really hard... but I still feel like I had a leg up with the surgery.

I don't know... am I the only one who feels like this sometimes?

After you announced your two week "vacation" rumors started that you were having gastric bypass? That's odd... out of all the reasons you could be out, why would everyone assume that? Have you shared any medical stuff with anyone at work? On the other hand, if you said that you DID have surgery, what would happen?

Well, Fiddleman - you da man! I'm tired just READING your workout routine! I thought I was doing ok doing 45 min. on the treadmill daily, but - geez! You rock!

So, I was sleeved on 10/22/12... I have been working really really hard, but last time I saw my surgeon (Dec 18) he said I wasn't losing fast enough... My starting weight was 255, and my reward goal is reaching ONEderland...I plan to buy a fitbit. So, I re-doubled my efforts...get in my Protein, eat very low carbs, and excercise on the treadmill for 45 min. EVERY day.

I only weigh on Monday mornings, as not to get too discouraged...last Monday, I was 208.9... this morning I get on the scale (scale is at the same place on the floor, wearing undies only, right after my shower) and the scale said...

197.8. I almost fainted. I stepped off, let the scale reset to 00.0, and stepped on again. (I always do this)... 197.8. I run back to my phone so that I can log in my weigh in Lose It... Then I think - I should take a PICTURE of the scale! I return to the bathroom, ditch the robe, step on the scale and...

208.3. WTF!!?? I let the scale reset to 00.0 again and step gingerly on... 208.3. No matter what I do, it doesn't budge. I am sooooooo bummed... I told my husband, it was like getting a lottery scratch off and having it say you won $100,000... then, have the decimal point move and you actually won $10.00.

I will buy new batteries for my scale this evening... but now I feel as though maybe it is been wrong all along!? I am trying not to make it a big deal...but it really really is.

It's a long learning process complicated by the fact that certain foods will bother you at certain times and go down easily at different times.

I had to re-learn my capacity (with lots of tossing up food) when I got pregnant. I felt like I had more room and sure, I do, but that means ten bites of steak instead of six...not fifteen bites.

Certain foods make this harder - if bread, Pasta, rice or flour tortillas are involved they swell once they hit the stomach. For me, I can go from perfectly fine to discomfort in just one small bite. So always watch those foods until you learn your limits.

Don't be so hard on yourself. I was a fast eater that took big bites for nearly 30 years prior to surgery. I didn't just unlearn that habit in only a few weeks!

You'll get there. I'd say lesson learned but sometimes it takes a while.

~Cheri

Yes, "perfectly fine to discomfort in just ONE SMALL BITE". Ugh. Yes, it will take some time, but I am getting better.