GoldyGirl

I'm sorry, but lately I am just getting annoyed with how we are trying to make everything sound less offensive.
And the result is that As a whole we all become hypersensitive and lose ownership of our actions and the result.
The last straw for this to me was the recent "Sandy Hook school shootings". WTF, why don't we ca it what it really is? It was the "Sandy Hook Massacre". And the guy that killed all those people was not a "shooter" he was a murderer, or a lunatic, or a monster. Shooters are hunters & recreational target shooters.
Now that I've gotten that off my chest I'm going to bring it a bit closer to home. I've been guilty of calling myself a "foodie". In reality, it's not that cute. I am a full blown "food Addict". I ate too much too often and the wrong things. It was not cute, and didn't deserve a cute little term like "foodie". I was murdering myself slowly & painfully. I don't think I'm alone in this.

I had my pre-op appointment today, I am down 10lbs from a month ago! I am so excited for my new life to begin on the 9th! Thanks for all the support January sleevers! Now let's keep doing good on our prediets.

I wanna Ride ALL the Ride at the Fair with My kids, and Not worry about NOT fitting in the Seat, or NOT even trying 'cause I know I WILL NOT fit!!!

Ride On all the Fair Rides my omyut worring about NOT fitting in or not trying cause I KNOW i want fit in the Seat...

Oops, hit "enter" too soon. Anyway, I know it's kind of off-topic but is anyone else experiencing a bit of jealousy from the hubby? I'm 6 weeks out, down 24 lbs, and I'm getting a bit of a jealous overtone lately...comments about being friends with guys on Facebook, staying late at work to go to gym...one thing I did NOT expect as a side-effect of losing weight and getting healthier was to have to reassure my husband. Like I don't have enough to think about!

Taking some dance classes and auditioning for the Laker Girls!! Growing up I was in gymnastics, ballet, dance, and a varsity cheerleader. Most of the skill i still retain. I think I'm so gonna try it!

Ride On all the Fair Rides my omyut worring about NOT fitting in or not trying cause I KNOW i want fit in the Seat...

I am going to try hot yoga. Looks fun!

Ladies, I want to ride my husband like a wild horse without getting out of breath and stopping to change position because I feel a heart attack coming ...lol would love to take Pole dance,belly dance,salsa classes....so much more!Sorry if its TMI.

Strip dance for my husband w heels on .. Lol

Just like I said you sad little child, but then again, look at your age. Very mature huh?
Get a life!

Him being an @ss lets you off the hook.

January 9th for me!

Seriously? NO... NO... and NO!!!! You just had MAJOR surgery on your stomach. If a drink on your 21st birthday was important then you should have moved your surgery date out. Sorry to sound harsh but this is the second post in a week where someone felt that having a drink 1 was important.

I think you are doing great. I lost 21 the first month and then 8 lbs the next month. I stalled the end of the second week after surgery. So, I think you are right on track. You're dr doesn't know anything if he is going to chastise you. My surgery was 12/7/2011, last year, and I have lost over 100 lbs with many stalls. SO don't let anyone get you down. Just keep doing what you are doing.

Sorry your Dr. chastised you, that wasn't cool at all and very unprofessional. You've lost 38 lbs. in 2 months? I think that is pretty good, it's an average of almost 4 lbs. a week, which is more than you would've been able to do on your own pre-sleeve. I wouldn't worry about it, it'll start up again, and remember when you're not losing weight, your body is losing inches to catch up.

Hi Everyone,
I decided that I would make a list of things for new people who are thinking about having WLS that might be helpful to them. This is long so please PRINT THIS OUT TO READ if you don’t want to read it all at one time. This is my point of view after having surgery with Dr. Aceves , in Mexicali, Mexico.

First thing is to start asking people on the board you are on all kinds of questions—make of list of things you want to ask and keep coming back and ask more questions as time goes on. The more questions that ask the more you educate yourself about WLS and the process and what doctor they liked. Don’t rely on just one source of information. It is really normal to have all kind of feeling and emotions when trying to decide if you want to have Weight Loss Surgery. I must have talked myself in and out of doing this at least 50 times during my 6 months of research. My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. This is a big step. But if diet and exercise worked for us then we still wouldn’t be fat and would have lost the weight a long time ago and never regained it. It takes a lot of courage to have Weight Loss Surgery. I am very proud of you for looking into this. Don’t give any more days of your life being overweight, and your body hurting along with being unhealthy. WLS really is your answer.


How do you select your surgeon? First of all this is NOT a time to price shop for the cheapest doctor to do your WLS—that is just the wrong way to go at this. There are a lot of doctors who advertise on the Internet doing sleeve surgery for a lot less than some other doctors. I found one posting from a person who had the following concerns after having surgery in Tijuana, Mexico. (a) They put NO name band on her to be able to ID her when giving medications or anything else. ( NO one asked if she had any allergies to foods or medications—thank goodness this person didn’t have any. ( The lab did NOT label tubes of blood with the person’s name on it—very dangerous. © Day after surgery they gave this person ice chips, tea and apple juice. The next day (day 2) they gave this person NOTHING so this person asked why and the nurse said this person wasn’t allowed to eat anything. Well, this person then said I had Clear liquids the day before and they wanted to know WHO gave it to this person?? (d) This person was told that they would get a copy of the operative report on their discharge to take home with them—This person has not received it yet and that was about 2 weeks ago. So make sure have positive feedback about the Surgeon and Staff and Hospital that you choose. There are some good doctors out there and there are so NOT so good doctors out there. My choice after 6 months of research was Dr. Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico. What I can tell you in my opinion is that he is the very best you will ever find to do your surgery. I can only speak about my experience and my research that I did before I made him my choice for a surgeon. I am sure there are other people out there that feel the very same way about their doctor too.


Pack lightly for your WLS. So many of us have gone to Mexico, so you want a small suitcase with wheels, a laptop & a cell phone. The clothing that you wear to Mexico are the same ones you can wear home—slip on shoes work great too. Make sure that the clothing is loose fitting. Something just comfortable for your ride home. While in Mexico—that is if you go to Mexico for WLS make sure you take GAS-X. They have nothing in Mexico that they give your for gas, and the use gas in your abdominal area during surgery. It is painful after the surgery, so GAS-X STRIPS are easy to use by just placing them on your tongue. Take a couple of boxes with you—you will be glad you did. If you are going to use a credit card make sure you tell your credit card company and your Bank if you use your debit card or credit card. Sometimes if you DO NOT let these companies know you are outside of the US they block your charges. Use a credit card or debit card vs cash it is much easier to use. Take small amounts of cash for tips—I took $45.00 in 1’s for tip money for various things. If you go to any hospital anywhere leave ALL jewelry at home –just a watch and no rings or other jewelry. I never had any problems at all leaving my purse and computer& cell phone in my room while I was in surgery, but they recommend that you leave all jewelry at home. If you are a lady please remove all nail polish—they need it removed to see your nail beds during surgery.


The first month you do after surgery is the HARDEST month you will ever have to do. You do 10 days of nothing but Clear Liquids to start with—that means you have to be able to see through the liquid. Do not panic if you can not get the Protein they want you to have the 1st 10 days—I couldn’t find anything I liked that was clear during the 1st 10 days. They want you to try to drink 64 oz each day, and I don’t think I could ever get that much Water drank—just do the best you can. Your new stomach has just had major surgery and it is swollen and will only hold something about the size of your thumb. The next 10 days gets much better—you are now on creamy liquids for these 10 days. You can now have some creamy Soups, yogurt, and pudding—sugar free and find a Protein Drink that you like. For me it is Premier Protein Drink and I get mine at costco. When looking for a protein drink, make sure they are low in calories, high in Protein—Premier has 30 grams of protein in each drink box and make sure you have low carbs too. I know there are a lot of other Protein drinks out there that people like. When it comes to carbs I tried to keep mine at no more than 20 carbs per day. Ask others what kind of Protein Drinks they liked and where they get them. The last 10 days are mushy foods. So this is a bit of a challenge. How many foods can I make mushy? I even considered using some baby foods. Start thinking about what will work as mushy foods for you.


Starting the 2nd month is quite an adventure. You can eat regular food. Here is where the relearning process takes place. You now will take tiny BABY BITES of food and chew each bit about 30 times or until it is like a liquid. From here on out you will need to take small bites of food and chew and chew and chew. I found out that chicken and fish were a lot easier to chew up. I don’t eat much red meat—your tastes will change and things you didn’t like a lot might taste good and something that you used to love don’t taste that great anymore. Keep track of what you are eating and keep your calories at about 800 calories per day and no more than 20 carbs per day—whole grain carbs are the best to have—NO white or refined carbs. I highly suggest that you keep track by writing them down or using some of the Internet sites that offers you this. I suggest this site it works great there are other sites to use this is just a suggestion. hair 3 or 4 months after having WLS. I would find a lot of hair in the shower after washing my hair. That is pretty normal for a lot of us—this does not happen to everyone. There is no magical cure for hair loss—some people use different shampoo’s or take Biotin. It happens and you live with it. YES, it will grow back. For me I had pencil straight hair and mine grew back natural curly and I love it now. I already had thin hair so for me, I got some cute wigs and wore them for about 9 months until my hair looked a lot better. It was worth the Hair loss to lose 105 pounds.


Because we eat a lot of protein we suffer from Constipation. You need to have at least 70 grams of protein EACH day. So I mix my protein drink each morning with Miralax. It is NOT habit forming and is tasteless and it is just a good way to start off the day. I put the protein and a cap full of Miralax in the blender with about 5 small ice cubes and that is my Breakfast. 3 years later I still have this for breakfast and nothing else, it just works for me.


You may have periods where you have what we call STALLS. You may be doing everything right and eating and exercising and you have NO weight loss for a week or more. This is normal—mine lasted 9 days. Don’t panic the weight loss will start up again, just keep doing what you are doing.


Our heads play games with us sometimes it is ugly what our brain tried to convince us of—We call these “Head Games” and they really are tough times to work though, but you can do it. Your head is still thinking with your old brain and way of thinking that you have been doing for most of your life. You now are eating VERY small amount of food, but your head is used to you eating LARGE amounts of food and that is what your brain wants—so it tries to tell you the you should be eating more—NOT true at all. So you need to have a talk with yourself. Do I just WAN T to eat or do I really NEED to eat?


You are not on a diet, but you are making a LIFESTYLE change and that is good because you can do this for the rest of your life. You will NEVER be able to eat like you used to. That is good because that is how we got fat. You will morn the loss of food—you will look around and see others inhaling all this food and you think to yourself—I used to eat like that. You will notice how fast people eat and inhale their food and talk and hardly chew what they are eating. That is pretty normal feeling to have—because you are now eating such small amounts of food and chewing and chewing. You will never be able to guzzle a bottle of water again—that is OK too. These are all good things. In time you will look at all the food people are eating and thinking to yourself oh my gosh I could never eat that much again—it is way too much food.


When you have issues or problems come back to the board and ask others who have already done this. We are here to help and support you.


Give or exchange all your fat clothes away. You will never need them again after they become too big for you. This weight loss is something you will be able to maintain for the rest of your life. You have earned the right to have new clothes.


Make sure you have the VERY best doctor that has had a lot of experience with sleeve surgery and check his success rates out. Check the doctor for HIGH patient reviews from the people who have gone to him or her. I can NOT STRESSS this enough. Make sure that your surgery is being done in a hospital NOT a Clinic. One clue that it is a clinic is if they send you to a hotel room to recover—that is why they cost less, this is also dangerous too. YOU are worth the extra money that it cost to have this WLS in a Hospital and by the best Doctor you can have. You want to have a happy and GREAT life and having the RIGHT Doctor and Hospital are the key to this.

Sorry if this is long, but it is intended to have as a reference and answer a lot of your questions that you might have. For some of you, you are very lucky because your health insurance is now starting to pay for Weight Loss Surgery. For many of us, we did not have your luck, so we are self pay patients. There are companies that loan money for this surgery—be aware that their interest rate is high. Once you pick your doctor ask them about these companies that give loans for surgery if you are a self pay patient.
You know we never think twice about making car payments. If you have to borrow the money for this surgery just look at this as “body payment.” It will be the best money you have ever borrowed. Please PRINT this out to read later. If you have any questions for me please feel free to contact me. I had surgery almost 4 years ago, so I do have quite a bit of experience. I really am here to help you along your journey. It took me 14 months to lose this weight and I was 63 when I had the surgery, so it is NEVER too late in life to do this.

I am right there with YOU, and it sux. I am sick of food, but eating outta stress. I have not gotten on the scale, but my Jeans are tighter, so that is not a good sign!!! Ready for the Roller~Coaster~ Ride to be over and fell More normal with food.

So i've posted about falling off the wagon issues over the past month... and I feel like these "lasts" have taken over control... Before booking the surgery I had been reading about others struggling with the food funerals and I remember clearly saying I have no need or want for that, I don't want to de-rail my success, I want to continue my good habits until I have the surgery...
Somehow between that and 2 weeks later, I've somehow done the complete opposite
I still run 5km/3miles 4 times a week, (ok who am i trying to kid, it's like 2.9miles/4.59 km) but I'm getting there, I'm close, the program says I completed 5km but i'm just a bit off on the treadmill, I bet you if i lost the incline I'd have it already.
However, I am still happy that I am continuing my running schedule! That's the good news, the bad news is that I have GAINED 7.8'ish pounds in 1 month :| I kid you not! ( I weighed myself at night when I normally weigh myself when I do in the morning... however, I'm not using that as an excuse or Water weight, or I'm gaining muscle since 1 pound of fat/muscle/cheese etc is 1 pound.)
I honestly feel like crap, my runs have been getting a bit harder (prob due to the crap I've been eating.. and in all seriousness, i haven't been AS BAD over the past month as I have been before!!! I feel like if I look at food right now I gain weight even without consuming it!
It just seems since I lost the 26.6 pounds, it has come back SOOOOOOOOOO much easier and quicker than before. I am now sitting at a weight loss of 18.8 and no i'm NOT i refuse to update the ticker...
I honestly feel like crap, but cant help myself from doing my lasts... how bad was everyone else's food funerals? Did everyone else gain a substantial amount of weight pre-liquid diet? I know a few of you are super strict with wanting to loose a certain amount before their surgery date.. and I know that some enjoyed their food funeral or wish they did more since I've read a few crave what they didnt have for their funerals... I know that everyone is different
MY FEAR! I over the next 2 weeks and 6 days... lets just say hypothetically.... I get up to 260 pounds... which is NOT far off from now (254.4) The amount on my sheet I submitted to the surgeon was 249 (I later got down to 246.6 but they dont know that!) ... even if I was to lose 10 pound on my liquid diet... I'd get back down to 250... how bad would I look walking into surgery the same as what I said I was in November after completing a 2 week liquid diet? !?!?!?! I was hoping to go in at 240...
ugh... Im stressed... I should have never got on that scale last night. I seriously have thoughts of running over it with my suv :|
So my questions for those who are pre-op.... are you feeling the same way I am? are you gaining your last few weeks? or am I the only one who broke down?
My question for those who are post op, please tell me i'm not the only one who's gained 10 pounds ish before liquid diets? how bad were your food funerals?

Jan 9th, 2013 Excited and Afraid Both!

I am 8.5 months out. I am down 113lbs and would have surgery again in a heartbeat. But no i didn't wake up from surgery feeling like a different person. I still love food, but I am happier and satisified with a lot less. When I am out and watch others eat I can't believe I used to eat that much an more. I think the way I eat now is more normal than the way I ate before.

YES, YES, and YES! Your question is very valid and very important. I've had my sleeve since July and I'm still adjusting to a lifestyle that is different than any other I've had before. I have envied others at the table who are eating everything they ordered. Although no one has commented on my eating habits being odd. They envy what they thought was my self-control. I have been disappointed after preparing a wonderful, albeit small, meal and only being able to eat a few bites. When I'm stressed, I miss the relief and comfort I got from food. But since my pre-op diet in May, surgery in July, I've lost 80 pounds. I exercise and eat properly and I've never been happier. THIS is why I had the surgery. We never get it all, do we? And we tend to mourn lost relationships, even ones not good for us. So it's a matter of priorites and this is what I wanted more than the relationship with food. My only regret is not having done it years ago.
Good luck to you and welcome to the forum.

I'm PRE op but I'd like to offer a little.
I've never seen anyone at a year or so out say they regret surgery. EVER. even The ones that had complications.
Also, how do you feel after you eat large quantities. I don't know about you but I "usually" feel guilty, dirty, lame and ashamed. I will NOT MISS those feelings at ALL.
I am ESTATIC about surgery, and being free from this prison of food addiction.

Ive been "lurking" on this forum for weeks, and I appreciate all of the input from all of the great people out there. I have been through it all trying to decide on the right procedure. At first I was all about the lap band, but through lots of research I've decided on the sleeve, and mine is scheduled for three days after christmas. I'm 5'10 male and weigh 256. Ive had a lot of trouble with my weight over the last 5 years or so. Oh, and I happen to be a doctor.
I guess the thing that is bothering me the most is the fact that I have always had a very large appetite, and I simply can't fathom the change that is supposed to happen there and I can't quite get my mind around the change that my surgeon is saying will happen after the surgery. I can't seem to imagine a time where food is no longer a driving force in my life?
So my first question is this : for all people that have had the sleeve at least three months, are you finding that your changed relationship with the way you think about food - is this at all a source of sadness in your life? Do you look at what other people are eating and wish that you could go back to enjoying food like that (and occasionally in those quantities?) Do you sit down to a restarant meal with friends or family and wish that you didn't have to eat in such a "wierd" manner that surely must draw attention to you? Do other people find that the way you eat now is strange? Does it in any way affect your dining experience? The way my surgeon says it, it's like a switch goes off, and food just simply is not as important to you as it once was. He told me it's like trying to tell a guy (sorry if this is crass, ladies) that after a surgery he is simply just not going to be nearly as interested in sex any more - it's such a natural part of our lives and thought processes, that you simply cannot prepare for how your mind changes after the surgery. He says that you simply wake up after the operation a different person when it comes to food. Do you guys find this to be accurate? I know that was actually a lot of questions, but I have not seen these types of subjects on this forum.
The most important preop question of all in my opinion is,
For all of you who have had the surgery at least 6 months ago, would you really, truly do it all over again?

I was 9/27 and down 52 today! Great job on all your progress!