NurseGrace

I want to hand you an award. Many times I want to make posts about using google and the search funtion before asking really simple questions but I always hesitate. I think the use of that meme was PERFECT.
I feel bad but I wont even look at hair loss posts anymore or anything asking about "who has XYZ insurance" or "how much money does it cost blah blah blah"
all of that stuff has been covered ad nauseum and questions about insurance companies rely totally on your own plan so even if you have blue cross and I have blue cross, our coverage will NOT be the same.

I don't think 600 calories is a lot for 4 weeks out. I think that 500-800 range is a sweet spot for most people, actually, so I think you are good there.
You will learn what feels right for you. I am 40 days post op and for me 800 is very very comfortable. More than likely you were just fne the way you were, I wouldn't feel like you need to stuff yourself because of what other people think.

Just be careful not to swing to far in the opposite direction. Neither are healthy. You don't want to love food too much, you don't want to hate it too much either. I don't cringe at food anymore but I do cringe at disgusting mountains of artless, classless junk. Appreciate REAL good food. The buckets of fried chicken have lost their appeal, but I do have an appreciation a good formal meal in upscale restaurants where the portions are small and the prices are high lol.

Yep. Doctors are people too and I think that they try to stay up with things as best they can but they are expected to have a really WIDE knowledge base so I don't usually expect them to know the ends and outs of these pretty niche specific procedures although with the way obesity is increasing I think they would do well to be more intimatly aquainted with them but its also important to realize that your average 300 pound person off the street hasn't really done the mental work to be a great candidate for WLS.
As for him commenting on bad choices in life, there are probably nicer ways to put that, but we all have to face the truth that no one ate their way to a BMI of 40 or 250+ without making bad choices on a fairly regular basis. It sucks, but thats what it is.
I'm glad he was open to discuss with you about it and realize that he was mistaken about the procedure you were looking for though, that doesnt happen often.

I want to hand you an award. Many times I want to make posts about using google and the search funtion before asking really simple questions but I always hesitate. I think the use of that meme was PERFECT.
I feel bad but I wont even look at hair loss posts anymore or anything asking about "who has XYZ insurance" or "how much money does it cost blah blah blah"
all of that stuff has been covered ad nauseum and questions about insurance companies rely totally on your own plan so even if you have blue cross and I have blue cross, our coverage will NOT be the same.

For quite some time, I have practiced "perimeter shopping" at the grocery store. 95% of what you should be eating is found here - dairy, meat and produce. Nearly all the stuff up and down the aisles is all processed (except for canned meats like tuna and chicken - you could include some canned fruit and veg, but I prefer frozen if for some reason I can't get fresh). I am pre-sleeve, but am glad that this is a habit I started long ago.

holy moly - an omlette from IHOP here in Kansas is 8.99 for the BIGGEST one, most of them are 6-8 dollars. I usually just steal about three bites from my husband. It's way more than three bites for me - but when I am asking him to give me some that's how I describe it.

It's probably best to just keep it moving and never look back, you seem smart, you'll do fine. I am a married lady but my hubster wasn't really 100% on board with this surgery and I was mostly on my own, he hasn't given me a lot of support with this other than obvious things like picking me up, taking me to appointments and whatnot and I'm sure a lovely lady like yourself has a friend or two you can count on for a ride should you need it.
Emotionally, this site has been really helpful for me, I get to talk to other people who relate on a deeper level. I love my husband and in some ways we are really close, but his weight problem is not NEARLY as severe as mine, and I think the man just doesnt get it. So, not to make it about me or anything, but I just say this to let you know, even though it doesnt always appear this way, I lot of us are far more isolated than it appears.

This is my personal blog, not a community thread, I can say what I like here.

Thank you so much for that. I really needed it. I don't come here to be some kind of self proclaimed hard ass but the truth is that I love this site, I got a lot of good out of it while I was brand new and learning because the sleeve was sort of thrust on me out of the blue, I was really looking for a bypass truth be told and so when I joined this site I really didn't know a lot about this surgery and its been an invaluable resource. That being said, I have been post op lap band for about 6 years now and I know the ropes of weight loss surgery and the type of intestinal fortitude it takes to get serious. All these people on here crying because someone told them to get real about it already are doomed, and I don't mean doomed in the sense that they are going to fail to lose weight, but they are dooming themselves in that they will never fully appreciate what they have been given. All of us here have a second chance at getting our lives back, and for some like me, a third chance but I just do not want people to go through the pain I went through when what they need to do is right in front of their faces.
And you know what, SassySenior? I might just make that group, but it won't be called "Ranters" because I'm not one for complaining. No, nooooo, that title should be reserved for people who make post after post about their miserable f-ups that refuse to make a change. The difference is this, making mistakes is fine, I do it, you do it, we all do it, and always will, but it takes a special type of person to long on to the internet, complain about it, do nothing less than request to be coddled, rinse, and repeat. This is such a common thing here and it drags the whole community down.

Peas are a perfectly acceptable and good source of Protein, Vitamin A, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin and Manganese.

Grace you do a great job on this board. There are just so many people here that just can't handle or accept what is the truth. Its hard to change ways that have become so ingrained that to them they see only see normal. Their view of "support" on this board and many others is some type of absolution. They want to be socially accepted for their failures without having to face the hard reality that they can't make the changes needed for success. From my time here, I've seen a lot of people that haven't reconciled their relationship with food and why they are the way they are. They come here and want easy-peasy, warm and fuzzy and if I screw up, well I'm still a great person. I think that you pulling back the covers and exposing this the way you do is what is needed on this board. This is serious stuff and you can't go through the process and not make significant lifestyle changes and expect to be successful. There seems to be a fair amount of mental preparation in this process that gets completely overlooked. I see that every day I visit here, with the questions about alcohol, eating a week after surgery and the general complaints about the pre-op diets ,people simply aren't ready or are unwilling to commit to the changes they need to be successful. Of course people will fail at this, mess up, eat what they shouldn't and so on, we all do, but coming here to gain absolution seems just asinine. Support comes in all sizes and forms. For those that get upset when they hear something that might be unpleasant, or isn't what they wanted to hear is equally foolish. I urge to you keep up the good work, you are doing a lot of good. I know that you might have to get the Kevlar socks out every now and again, but what you are doing is part of the whole process of support, the good the bad, the truth and the fluff.
To the poster that wanted you go off can create your own rant group, well...If you do, I would be the first one to sign up. At least I can tell the difference from what is real and what isn't. Hang tough Grace!

Oh and I meant to say - some people just don't want to hear the truth and that's some of the mentality that probably got them to the weight where they needed surgery to correct it.

I really agree so much with this post! Personally, I think Doctors should focus more on the mental health eval than some of the other evals we go through when preparing for this surgery. Heck, even in my own surgeons practice we have people who say "I want to eat everything but just in smaller portions" or "I want to eat normally". I'm sorry but eating normally will not get you anywhere if your normal was including crap foods. For me, normal now is limiting carbs.... and yes, I love them but they don't love me. Normal is small portions of healthy foods, protein first and then some limited veggies. That's the way it has to be!

thanks for the rant, I am one month out and yesterday I made a mistake, my first ever mistake, I cried so hard last night, I was ashamed of my self. I panicked . I now understand that I am human, it IS possible to make a mistake and it's up to me to check my self or wreck my self... me and nobody else..
my mistake you ask? I smoked a boston butt for my husband, took it off the grill and picked off the fatty crispy skin and ate it... I felt soooooooo sick and soooooooooooo sorry... NEVER AGAIN.
a new day, a new dawn, and I'm feeling gooood

Well said...and needed to be said. Thank you.

This is one of the best blogs I have read on this site. Very well put.

I am only a month post op right now but I have noticed this with sugar. Everything sweet is like... too much, and I was a major sweets eater before surgery, probably 80% of my extra weight was put on with sweet junk food.
I cant stand even a little bit of crystal light anymore, I just drink tea or water now. Juice is horrible, even the smell of it grosses me out...

Alcohol...
#1) Skinny people get drunk a LOT faster than fat people and with less alcohol
#2) Cross-addiction is no joke ... and I became a raging alcoholic within 4-5 years after losing 125#.
I was barely a drinker at all before I had my surgery but later found out that once I was unable to self-medicate with food after the surgery, my brain found another addiction for me and within a very short time (following some major Life events/traumas) I was drinking 4 bottles of wine a DAY... EVERY day... for over a year. Addiction comes in many forms.
Does this mean that as a post-op patient that you're going to have addiction issues? Who knows... I just know that until I spent 3 months last year in an inpatient rehab facility for my drinking I had NO idea just how deep my EMOTIONAL issues were ... and realized that I had used the many addictions as a way to "numb-out" and not have to feel anything. Those emotional issues led me down the path of many addictions through my life .... food... love....alcohol.... but once I was able to take care of the emotional reasons and remove the CAUSE of the addictions, it has been much easier to deal with living in the moment and free of the need to self-medicate.
I'm happy to report that I now have over a year of sobriety and have still maintained the weight loss... still don't want to drink or use ... and can really enjoy Life as it comes. :-)
This is just my story.... but I hope it can help prevent someone else from making the mistakes I did.

I want to hand you an award. Many times I want to make posts about using google and the search funtion before asking really simple questions but I always hesitate. I think the use of that meme was PERFECT.
I feel bad but I wont even look at hair loss posts anymore or anything asking about "who has XYZ insurance" or "how much money does it cost blah blah blah"
all of that stuff has been covered ad nauseum and questions about insurance companies rely totally on your own plan so even if you have blue cross and I have blue cross, our coverage will NOT be the same.

I always say this - obesity is a disease like any other and should be monitored closely. Would we tell a diabetic to not check their sugars? Hell no. I think people here SHOULD be weighing in at least weekly. I don't agree with all the "stay off the scale" nonsense either and I am glad to find someone who feels the same.
I think its important to understand that there are a lot of factors that influence how and when the scale is going to move, but if you are afraid of the darn thing you will never learn and you'll always be leery of it for no reason. I know I hold water 3-4 days before and during my period. I wouldn't know that if I didn't have a pattern down.