TwinsMama

You're almost there. 16lbs is good. This has felt like the longest 4 months of my life. Even longer than pregnancy. I think I want this sooooo bad that I am like you...ready to be done!

Praying everything works out well for you!

Brilliant! I have been playing with trying different Proteins in water. I love love love the idea of using tea instead of water. Almond milk is working for me but I'd like to get down to water just in case. I'm trying tea tonight!!!

Congrats on doing well and having a good heart! Funny how Drs assume larger people don't work out. You showed him...hehe! Hope you are done with the hoops, keep us posted.

Hi JustSleeveIt, I'm still pre-op but my friend had RnY and had to do the same thing. I also just got that assignment from my Nut. My friend told me that after her surgery she was literally always sipping. She still has a fear of being dehydrated over a year out. Looking back I remember her always having a water bottle. She was either sipping protein or water at any given moment. She even had all her bottles for the day measured out and ready to go. She did really well with that. She didn't stick to any times (other than the half hour rule) though like the assignment they have us doing.

I'm month 4 on my 6 months requirement. Yes it is hard and initially I even wanted to change from Kaiser to shorten the amount of time I had to qualify. Then I realized that the longer I do the pre-op process the more time I have to get rid of bad habits I know I have. Best wishes to you and try your best to enjoy this process.

So agree with this. I've told my closest friend who had RnY and I plan to tell the others in our close group at our next get together. I've told my husband (of course), Mom, and sisters, my Dad will worry so he will find out closer to the date. Also, as far as extended family, I doubt they'd care one way or another as long as I am healthy. Extended friends, if they ask I'll proudly tell but I tend not to broadcast everything to everyone about most anything in my life. I know some of my close friends will worry but that is for them to get past. I can't think of anyone who would down my decision although I know that is a strong possibility. I've come to realize that some people who may seem like they are unsupportive may be masking concern/fear for you. While others will be unsupportive due to their own self-acceptance issues.

I didn't bring my lunch to work today. I decided I'd go grab something quick to eat. There are tons of choices downtown so I started looking at a few menus online. What was supposed to be a quick and easy choice was a bit tough. The more I looked at menus the more I realized I could not eat half of what was available. Many of the foods I LOVE would result in over half my daily calorie intake. This is why I bring my lunch. I was a bit frustrated. How oh how can a small salad be over 500 calories??? Needless to say, I opted out of eating out. I really want to get some protein in but I just couldn't spend money on something that would not even be within my plan. Instead I grabbed a serving of Special K crackers, and a fruit cup. Do I feel fully satisfied? NOPE! But, I'm not hungry either. There is one more fruit cup here but I'm going to continue drinking my water and try to hold out until I get home. There at least I have healthy snack options. I won't be doing this again. I'm also going to bring some snacks to work so if I happen to forget, I'm not stuck.

Thanks for your comment DaybyDay. I'm probably going to be Feb too. I love the Egg Face blog. I never saw that quote, I like it.

Congrats!

Me too...this is the new FB!

Wow, I love this site! This was my fear too. In researching the sleeve (I learned about it in my seminar) I found it used to be the first part of a Dudonal (?sp) Switch surgery. It started off with the sleeve and then later you went in for a bypass. That's what they give many people who have lots of weight to lose...at least until they found out the sleeve was successful on its own. I am also 5'10.5" in my 30s and am opting for the sleeve. My friend (not quite my height) had RnY and the amount of Vitamins she takes scares me to death. Plus at any given time I worry she is going to throw up or choke. Dumping is not a joke! That's part of the reason I put this off for over 2 years from when I first considered WLS. 300poundsdown.com is the BEST! She is a real motivation and her courage is amazing...all while being a single Mom. I love her site! I started at 375 lbs. So although I'm not exactly at the same starting point, I have over 200 lbs to drop. I was shooting for 150-160 lbs (last weight I felt my best). I'm in this for the long haul and I'm sure you'll be successful Andrea!

Yup, I sure did. Then something just told me...really, you're not dying you're just eating healthier. Just wait until later once you've already learned and retrained your body. You probably won't even want it then. I started thinking okay, if I had a toddler, would I let him/her eat this? That's how I normally (when I'm not mentally breaking down) look at this process. I'm getting a reset. So in the end it wound up not being worth it. However, Thanksgiving will be a challenge...

Wow...congrats and great job!

I wondered this too. I plan to tell my kids, they are a bit older. I figure...I better tell them something. They'll ask a million questions and worry if they don't know why I'll be in pain, or moving slower, or can't play/cuddle like we normally do. You could tell him that your tummy hurts (post-op). That way he'll understand that he has to be careful around your stomach and also it is a child-friendly way of telling him the bottom line.

TheCurvyJ wow..you are down to only 8 lbs left before your personal pre-op goal? Fantastic! I'm glad I'm not the only one who set my own goal. Good for you for sticking to it and making it. Wow...just wow! Great job!

LezzieLez I agree, wow, you already have your date, that's great! If I could get under 300 I would be glad. Good luck to you and yes, making the changes now seems like it would make for a smoother post-op process. You've given me motivation I needed today. Thanks for that!

Yesterday I had my visit with my Nut. She didn't fuss express any complaints. She was glad I understood and did research on what would be required at each stage of post-op. She also weighed me. After my last meeting of 5 lbs down, I was very disappointed to only have lost 1 lb. this last month. I have been following the plan and even reduced my calorie intake as suggested. Exercise has been consistent. Today I woke up very tempted to just diet until my immediate pre-op diet starts. I have a goal (self-imposed I'll admit) to get down to 300 lbs by my surgery date. Since I don't know when that will be (most likely late Jan/ early Feb), I want to get this first 50 or so lbs. off. I realized that I still have some mental crap stuff to get over. Logically I know that this is a marathon and not a sprint. It is going to take time to lose just as it took time to gain...years to be exact. But man would I love to have only 150 lbs to lose post-op. Why 150? Because I like round numbers. Also, because I've read that sleevers don't lose as much or as quickly as Rny patients and well I'm scared that in the first 6 months I won't lose much. I know I will continue to lose but I worry what it will feel like to lose 50 lbs and then have to lose the remaining 100-130 at 2 lbs a week for another year and a half. That type of slow weight loss has never kept me motivated or going. The faster I lost the more motivated I was to keep eating well and exercising. I also know I have problems keeping weight off so that is a whole other side of this. I've come to realize if I'm only going to lose 2 lbs a week, heck that is the same as any other low calorie, low carb diet. Why go through with surgery for such a slow loss rate? Sure, I'll have the extra tool of the sleeve but I really worry after all this is said and done I will not have reached my goal. I understand this goes back to my fears. I also get it that I need to take a major chill pill. I'm really trying to get my head right for this and know today's recurring thought of not reaching my personal goal is hurting more than helping. So I'm going to chill wayyy down and go have some tea. Has anyone else felt like this? I'd love to know I'm not the only person so particular about how much I lose before surgery to make things "easier" after surgery.

Today I meet with my Nut. It is part of my 6 month pre-surgery requirement from Kaiser. I have a secret... I really don't like meeting with my Nut. Okay there I said it...My Nut and I were kind of thrown together. I originally met with another Nut (A). She was great. Honest but firm and helpful. She treated you like a partner and held you accountable. I had my first meeting with Nut A where she sat and helped me come up with a plan. I then had my second meeting with her where we decided I would pursue surgery. We tweaked my plan and she scheduled me for a third. That's when the problem started. She is just too darn popular. Everyone (or at least most in my area) wants to work with her. Again, she is great. However, to meet with her you literally have to schedule 2-3 months out. By the time of my 3rd appointment, she didn't have anything available for 2 months. I didn't want to add even more months to my 6 month process so I agreed to meet with another Nut (. Nut B is the exact opposite of A. She makes you feel lousy no matter how well you do. It is like she tries to not be happy. At my last appointment I lost 5 lbs. This was major for me. Not because I haven't lost weight before, but this time I didn't do anything crazy extreme. I was proud that I stuck to the plan (from Nut A) and increased my exercise. Her response? I'm going to pause here to let you know something - - that little lady almost caught big time attitude. I think time stopped for about 30 minutes as my mind processed how to not show my tail in there. I didn't get rude, rather I reminded her that I ALWAYS wear my walking shoes to each meeting because I come directly from work and have to take public transportation. You see, she is simply not easy to work with. In fact, at my last meeting with Nut B, she received a call that someone else (apparently this is common) is leaving her to work with Nut A. Instead of being phased she proceeded to insult the guy - in front of me. Wow! - - and these 2 examples are the "nicer" ones regarding my interactions with her. My point for writing this...it is a challenge that I'm having to overcome. Working with her is actually helping me to see that this really is for me...not her or anyone else...me. It gives me perspective that not everyone cares that I am losing weight. Not everyone cares that I stick to my plan. Not everyone wants to hear my crap (good or bad) regarding this change in my lifestyle. Sure, my Nut should want to be more of a partner with me but her job is to supervise my progress and provide correction to my plan when needed. Her job is to ensure that I stick this through and meet Kaiser's requirements and not to be my friend. Her stand-offish (is that even a word?) behavior helps me to keep my focus on doing this for me and not for someone else's approval. I stick with my Nut (such an appropriate name sometimes) because she does have a high success rate. Very high, even though she is not the most liked. Her people tend to be very independent and exceed their set goals. So there is a method to her madness.

I used to do wraps whenever I was experiencing a plateau. I would go for a session once a month and noticed a visible difference not to mention it would end my weightloss stall. Now this was when I was working out religiously and really watching what I ate. So I know those had something to do with the great results. Sure the wrap may not have been the root cause of my skin bouncing back, but it did help my skin look/feel much tighter, stopped my plateau, and even eliminated headaches (not sure why/how).

I have and you're right, some people look like they were never over weight and others make me feel so sad for them because of how sad they are with their skin. This is a major concern of mine too. Not enough to stop me from pursuing surgery but enough to give me pause.

My husband told me the SAME thing and he is a big guy. He likes my curves and even likes my size (I'm the first big girl he ever dated). I'm tall (almost 5'11") so I worry what that sagging skin would look like on someone my height. I've seen a few videos on YouTube but all the women were shorter than me.

You have done a very good job and don't worry about other people's comments. I had a friend who lost over 100 lbs with RnY. She recieved such negative comments (masked in "compliments") during her journey. She ended up deciding not to tell most people that she even had surgery. It was hard for her to deal with the negativity of people who she felt should have been happy/proud of her. She eventually surpassed goal and now many of those same people are looking to her for support through their journey. She is a kind person so she offers support, but boy, they put her through it. In the long run you know what you're doing for yourself is important so stay your course and try your best to shake off the foolishness of those who treat you bad.

My Nut has me changing a few behaviors that she says will make things a bit easier post-op. As I've worked to do these things I've noticed some things about myself I've been doing that have worked completely against me. I didn't realize just how much the little things matter. Eating slower - my Mom used to make us chew 20 times before we swallowed. Who knew that eating slower would also make me eat less? As an adult of course I thought, okay I don't need to eat that slow now that my Mom is not sitting a the table watching me eat. Well low and behold, I do need to eat that slow or else my lower calorie count would not sustain me. 3 months into this and I still have to remind myself to eat slower. I do find that after a while I just get tired of eating so I put the food up or avoid food just so it doesn't take me a hour to eat 300 calories. That's a whole other issue I'm overcoming. Smaller bites - this goes hand-in-hand with eating slower. I didn't realize just how much I cram into my mouth at one time. I reallllllly struggle with this. I remember being so happy when I didn't have to cut up my kids' food so small as they got more teeth. Who knew I'd end up having to cut up my own food so small? I know this is necessary, but I have to admit i feel like a loser sometimes when I do this in front of people.Sipping - I come from a family of gulpers. We can keep a waiter/ress on the run for drink refills. I enjoy water and protein shakes and tea and coffee (decafe) and heck anything but beer and until recently wine. This is by far the hardest part so far of my new eating style. I averaged 80-100 oz of water alone daily. Now I'm lucky if I hit my 80 oz. Sipping causes me to drink so much less water and I've all but cut out everything else to encourage getting my water in. It also never quite leaves my thirst quenched. I'm always thirsty now.Strawlessness - probably not a word, but it sucks. I love straws. I used to go out and buy cute colorful and decorative ones. I am having a hard time learning to overcome the thought of putting my mouth on a glass after someone has handed it to me. YUCK! Didn't realize I was so OCD about this until my Nut said no more straws. The plus side is that it does encourage me to not drink while I eat or to drink at all while I'm out.No drinking when eating - I get thristy (see sipping above). I like to drink while I eat. Having to stop this has made me realize, I didn't need to drink when I ate. Simply this is more of a culturally learned behavior. The only time I miss drinking when I eat is if I consume bread, sweets, or crackers. All my no-nos so it is funny that when I purposely eat something I shouldn't it makes me thirsty.Drinking calories - I could live off of protein shakes, frappes, and iced coffee. While protein shakes are good, all the other things I like to drink aren't so much. I am always on the go and for a while I sustained myself on Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks. It wasn't until I truly started documenting EVERYTHING I consumed that I realized 1 of my fave drinks was almost all my daily calories. Ouch! That hurt because I just knew saying skim, or lite was really helping...sike! It was not doing a darn thing. Lesson learned!VST is really helping me because at first I thought my Nut was being really strict. The more I read the more I see that these are the exact behaviors I will need to maintain post-op. I really appreciate all of you sharing your stories and helping me not get annoyed with my Nut to see the bigger picture.

In years past this has been the night (okay one of the nights) I wished my kids would go to bed without incident. Why? So that their Dad and I could raid their candy! Tonight this ritual will still take place, only without me. I won't be able to participate because I am choosing not to cheat myself. I'm still on Kaiser's 6-month pre-op eating plan. Well not really a plan but more like proof that you can eat well for 6 consecutive months. So I've decided while my husband and cousins (oh yes, we will have company for the first time ever on Halloween) raid the kids' bags, I will try something else. Yes, this took a lot of planning. I went from frustrated, to sad, to angry (at myself for having to even refrain myself), to acceptance - - this is me and I have to learn to deal. At first I thought I'd just go to bed early. But come on, really, could I go to bed with my cousins over? Then I thought I would make a shake...nah, I want something crunchy. Oh well I guess I'll just sit and watch them have fun. Then it hit me...get rid of the stupid all or nothing thinking. I want to participate but I know I can't afford to cheat. Sure I could lose the 2 lbs. again that I've already lost but why even set myself up? Rather, I'll have my own version of "candy" (a granola bar that fits into my plan) and then go walk my dog.