lucky8mb1

You look great!! We have very similar stats and body styles, so this gives me a great idea of what I can look forward to in a few months!

I went today and pre-registered at the hospital, had my consultation with the nutritionist at my doctor's office, signed lots of papers, got lots of important info, and handed over lots of money. There's no backing out now....unless I want to be out a very large chunk of change. 6 more days!! I'm finding that I'm surprisingly calm right now. I know I'll probably be good until Sunday, at which point my major freak out will commence. I can't believe I'm actually doing this!

I met with my nutritionist today and she said no corn or popcorn after surgery.....ever. Anyone have the same restriction, or find very negative consequences when you do eat it? I sure will miss a good ear of corn on the cob in the summer!

Yay! A rogue 24 hour stomach bug and my super busy job keeping me from thinking about food all day has played a huge part in this, but I'm still feeling good about it. I'm starting to feel like I can truly handle life post-sleeve. I'm back in control of my eating, and I can live just fine without munching on junk all the time. I still need the sleeve to help keep me on course, but I'm ready to do my part, too. One week from today I'll be fresh out of surgery, in the hospital, and ready to continue my new found reign over poor eating habits. Ready to get back to the gym. Ready to start caring about how I look again. Ready to be a participant in my family and not just an observer anymore. Tomorrow I pre-register at the hospital, cough up the dough (self-pay), and have my consultation with the nutritionist to talk about post-op diet. This crap is getting real!

I'm mom to an 8 and 5 year old. They don't know what's happening, and for me that's best. My husband will visit me the day of surgery while the kids are in school. He'll leave to pick them up and I'll be on my own until the next day when he picks me up at discharge - again while the kids are in school. It's a little different for us because the hospital is closer to home, but I'll be honest - I'm really looking forward to a couple days just for me. I have to worry about taking care of myself and that's it. No work, no wife stuff, no mom stuff. Just me. I would be ok all alone for the entire time, but my husband would laugh in my face if I told him not to bother coming on surgery day! We both work, so it's not unusual for either of us to take an overnight business trip. The other parent is used to being "single" for a day or two here and there. It's what works for us.

Good luck! I'll be in your shoes in one week and I can imagine how you feel!

I gained 20lbs between my first consultation in late September and Monday when I started my pre-op diet. I went out guns blazing, including a week at an all-inclusive resort. Can you say buffet? Anyway, I started my pre-op diet Monday and I'm already down 10-11lbs. Lots of Water and low carb eating have almost wiped out my indiscretions from the past 2 months.

As my surgery day rapidly approaches, I won't lie - I'm panicking. I'm stressed about leaving my old "fun" life behind. The one where I go out to lunch with my husband and vent about our work day, or meet friends for dinner or brunch on the weekends, or go to a work holiday function and enjoy some goodies. I don't want the old days of gorging myself back. It obviously has done me no favors. But I'm worried that there will be no balance - because I'll be so focused on trying to get enough Protein and nutrients that I can never partake in the good stuff now and then. Moderation is all I'm interested in. Can some of you give me an idea of what my life may be like 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-sleeve? I know we're all different, but I'm curious to hear everyone's experiences with living a "real" life with their new stomach. Thank you!

My husband and I were joking about how our eating out expenses are going to plummet! A nice little side effect of the surgery!

Thank you all so much! I'm starting to feel better about this, knowing I can have a slightly altered version of my current lifestyle. 10 days to go!

We're dealing with a bit of a scheduling issue in terms of my surgery. I have to be there at 6am, which means we'll have to wake up the kids early, drag them out, and then my husband will have to hurry back and get them fed/ready for school. It's doable, just not ideal. I'd much prefer to drive myself, have him meet me there, and then drive myself home the next day when I'm discharged. My husband thinks I'm insane. I'm curious if he's right.

I had a feeling that would be the case, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask! We don't have anyone to take the kids and I'm not going to pull them out of school for this, so we have to work this out on our own. I'll probably drive myself since it's so early and I don't want to deal with a cab. He'll catch a cab after he gets the kids off to school and hang out with me until the kids are out of school. I'm self-pay so no insurance coverage to consider.

Another 12/10 surgery date! 4 days into my pre-op and completely excited and terrified!

Yesterday I started my pre-op diet and also had my pre-op testing. By last night I was not feeling well - headache and nausea. This morning it was worse (to the point where I had no desire to eat). I managed to take in some oatmeal in the morning and after two sips of broth this afternoon, I was vomiting. I never vomit. It has seriously been almost 15 years since I last did it, and that was due to having a few too many in my early college days. There are only two brand new things I ate yesterday that I suspect could have made me sick: 1) Atkins shake 2) The solution I had to drink for my h.pylori breath test I suppose I could have the flu or something, but I've never (knock wood) had flu in my life...ever. Plus the timing is strangely coincidental. Has anyone gotten stomach sick from either of these two things? I managed to eat a few pretzels tonight, which are not part of my pre-op diet - but I have nothing in my stomach and the salt really helped me feel a bit less icky. I'm really hoping I start to feel better soon. I still have 13 days until surgery! Thanks!

My surgery has always seemed like this far off event that would take forever to get here. But it's now 13 days away and as I spend my last day eating the "old" way, I'm starting to freak out. There is something very sobering about starting the pre-op diet. Almost like a point of no return. Of course it's making me question everything. Am I being too drastic? What if I dropped all this surgery money into personal training and pre-portioned foods? Could I be successful this way and not have the drama of surgery? In my heart I know what's right. The weight just keeps piling on so fast, and every time I lose weight, I gain it back plus 10-20% more. I know I need to take drastic measures, but that stupid little voice in the back of my head keeps blabbering away and it's so hard to ignore it. I know this is pre-surgery jitters and probably pretty normal. It's so weird to be excited and terrified about something all at the same time.

Weight: The last time I weighed myself (a few weeks ago) I was 290, which is the highest I've ever been. Height: 5'4.5" Size: I honestly don't know. I've gained about 70lbs in the past 7-8 months and have majorly outgrown all of my "real" clothes. I haven't wanted to buy bigger clothes because I don't want to accept where I am right now. So I've been wearing anything without a button/zipper I can find in my closet. Usually it's XXL. If I had to guess, I'd say I'm a size 26, but I don't think I even have anything sized bigger than a 22 or 24 right now. Surgery Status: I'm pre-op, scheduled for 12/10/12. My goal is 150-165lbs. I hit the 160's before I got married and was a size 8-10. That was perfect for me, as I'm a larger framed girl and I think that weight fits my body style perfectly. I won't lose my hourglass shape, and won't get too bony/hollow looking.

December 10th here. One month from today - yikes!

Thank you for this post. I'm still pre-op, but it's exactly what I needed to hear.

The Woodlands here. Getting sleeved by Dr. Collier on 12/10!

I'm also December 10th! Nervous, but anxious and ready!

I was always under the impression that Protein shakes/drinks were for the post-op period where it was tough to get food/protein in. However, the more I read, the more it sounds like people use them long-term. How do you all use protein shakes/drinks/supplements? Do you still drink/use them well after you're eating solids and "regular" food again? How do you use them? As a Meal Replacement? Supplement? Treat? I haven't seen the nutritionist yet, so perhaps this will be addressed at that point. For now, I'm just kind of curious what to expect. Thanks! Crissy

I was always under the impression that Protein shakes/drinks were for the post-op period where it was tough to get food/protein in. However, the more I read, the more it sounds like people use them long-term. How do you all use protein shakes/drinks/supplements? Do you still drink/use them well after you're eating solids and "regular" food again? How do you use them? As a meal replacement? Supplement? Treat? I haven't seen the nutritionist yet, so perhaps this will be addressed at that point. For now, I'm just kind of curious what to expect. Thanks!

Today when I got home from work I was catching up on some things and my husband walks in the room flipping through the Soma catalog that had come in the mail today. For those not familiar, Soma is a lingerie/intimates store. Very classy, practical, yet sexy - and they have THE MOST comfy (yet cute) undies you'll ever find in your life! Of course I haven't been able to fit into their stuff for at least 6-9 months. Sigh... Anyway, he hasn't talked much about my upcoming surgery other than the fact that he's very nervous about it. So today he comes and sits down next to me with the Soma catalog and tells me he can't wait for me to get back into wearing stuff like that again. Then I thought about it and realized he's right. I'm 34 years old and I've been wearing nothing but high waisted cotton granny panties and sports bras (because that's all that fit me now) for close to a year. Ugh. I lost about 40lbs last year (with at least another 60-75 left to go) , but gained it all back plus 30lbs this year, sizing me out of pretty much all of my undergarments and 85% of my clothes. Double ugh. For me it was an interesting little peek into how my confidence issues due to my weight affect the people I love the most. We've been together 11.5 years, started dating when I was overweight, and I've yo-yo'd up and down ever since. He has never made a negative comment about my weight/appearance, but on the contrary has reaffirmed over and over again how beautiful and sexy he thinks I am - no matter how much I weigh. This past year brought me to a weight I've never seen before and it's squashed every bit of confidence (albeit small) that I could ever manage to muster. I don't even bother trying to look decent anymore. I wear whatever I can fit on my body (which isn't much anymore, and it's definitely not anything cute), throw my hair up so it's out of my face, and go about my day. Sometimes I forget that I'm not the only person who looks at me every day. His comment made me feel very hopeful and excited. Excited to get back into wearing things that make me feel sexy and confident again. Hopeful to know that even though my husband has loved me and found me completely and equally hot at 162lbs and 280lbs (not necessarily in that order!), that I can finally believe it when he says that I'm mind-blowingly gorgeous to him. My surgery day can't come quick enough!

I'm not having second thoughts or anything, but I do have this weird guilt over lopping off the majority of a healthy, functioning organ. I know it's not doing me any favors right now with my weight, but it's still just weird for me. Did anyone have feelings like this during the pre-op period?

Wow, you look great! You've done amazing in such a short amount of time. Well done!