sara-seeking-sleeve

Hi everyone! I'm Sara from Riverside. Surgery scheduled for Feb.27th in OC with Dr. Le Port. I'm excited to be connecting with locals;)

Hi guys, I finally got my 2/13 date and I am doing quite a bit of self talk! Im reviewing some nsvs that will come shortly after the surgery, reminding myself of why Im doing this and telling myself I will be back on solids in several weeks. I CAN AND WILL DO THIS! Losers bench all the way!!!

California... February 26th!!!

So, I went to the Super Bowl party, served 40+ pounds of prime rib and sirloin and potatoes ham etc. I have to admit that I had a couple of small pieces of prime rib and that is it. I know I shouldn't have had any,, but considering I would normally have had pounds of meat, I am pretty proud of myself. Wednesday will not come soon enough!

Amazing! Such an inspiration!!! Thanks for posting all your details--- I due to be sleeved 2/27 and it helps me plan;)

Monday is my big day. I report in at 6am, surgery at 7:30, I pray this is the right decision for me. I started at 316ish and am now 294, I'd love to reach 290 by Monday but that's not going to happen.
If anyone is bored Monday, I'd love some prayers, good vibes, air high fives or anything else you can do for a successful surgery.

Yes-dry mouth for sure! Forcing me to drink lots of Water ( which I still can do easily since I'm pre-op)

I am on awe at how strong you have been during this time! Dealing with this pain and taking the time to update everyone!
I am glad you are getting the care you need.
Take care,
Laura

Hey Sara, I'm from Riverside too. I had my sleeve done at UCI in Orange. They have a support group that meets on the third Tuesday of the month. I attend that one.

I pray your stomach and mind treats you well... Protein shakes and water is a bit harsh... I swear..I should have started this long ago to prepare for today.
And I fully understand the food relationship. I feel like a little kid who is seeking affection from a parent and being rejected. I can either A) scream and fuss (like Im doing) about how its not fair and continue to do bad things to get any attention, or I can deal with it and find something else that will fill the void positively...
I have started walked 9 flights of stairs a day until surgery. Best I can do to take my mind off it..
Best of luck to you. I am here with you~~~~~~~~~

Feb 28th- Puget Sound Bariatric!! My pre diet starts Valentine's Day...my wonderful man is giving me the best present since we have to self pay. I looked into Mexico but he wanted me to stay local plus it includes two years of follow up appointments. 5'6 230lb...good luck all!

wow! I am so flattered. I really am thinking about writing a blog now. I will reply here if I decide I can squeeze it into my schedule. I'm already working 2 jobs and have a son with special needs so I stay pretty busy.

I drink GNC Total Lean shakes. They have 25 grams of whey isolate Protein & other Vitamins & nutrients. They have vanilla, chocolate & strawberry premade. I add different flavorings (vanilla, coconut, almond) to the vanilla for a nice change but they taste good alone. They are also lactose free.

I could not stomach the Bariatric Advantage either! It's simply not edible! I switched to four shakes a day of Premier Protein pre-made shakes a day for my two week pre-op diet. I still drink one a day now for Breakfast. They are the bomb digitty! I buy them at SAMs club for approx $1 a shake

Woohoo guys it's getting close I'm sleeved on feb 4 and so happy excited and at the same time feeling overwhelmed to be starting a new chapter. In my life can't wait - god bless us all and much success and happiness

Congrats @DivaNurse and all other Feb Buddies--a we are getting soooo close!

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to life after the sleeve, much the way the one-size-fits-all approach to dieting doesn't work. If it did, we'd all pay our Weight Watchers dues, avoid comorbidities and enjoy life as skinny people after successfully completing our first diet.
For people without comorbids, it's usually NOT a health-related choice to have the sleeve. If you don't have high cholesterol or diabetes or high blood pressure, you're not making the choice to do this for the same reason as someone who does.
I really dislike the "food Nazi" attitude. It's one thing to criticize someone that jumps on a board and complains about slow loss, stalls or discomfort after they confide that they're eating off their doctor's nutritional guidelines or that they're doing binges and grazing.
It's another thing entirely to assume an all-or-nothing approach. For some people, that works. For the vast majority of us that have dieted most of our lives, it doesn't work. It didn't work before and it won't work this time, either.
You will see me say this over and over again. The sleeve is NOT A DIET. It's not. If you treat it like one, odds are good that you'll experience the same success you achieved on all those diets you did before you finally opted to have surgery.
The sleeve is a tool. Yes, we should make good quality food choices 90% of the time. If we can do that, why would we restrict ourselves with the other 10% of our choices?
I did not remove most of an organ so I could stay on Atkins for the rest of my life, sorry. It's easy to be a carb Nazi in the first four or five months post op. But at some point, sanity has to set in and you have to learn to eat normally.
This is not about getting to a set weight on the scale. That is the easy part, believe it or not. The challenge is STAYING THERE. It's being out there, post op and able to eat a larger portion of a larger variety of foods and being able to eat without doing it emotionally, grazing or binge eating. Maintenance is infinitely harder than the loss phase, and maintenance lasts forever.
So learning how to eat in moderation, how to deal with the social customs and rituals we've built around food and doing it all without feeling deprived and resentful is a huge part of this journey.
If you lose 100 pounds by eating 400 calories and 30 carbs a day, congrats. Your loss is no less a success. But tell me how you're going to stay there for the next thirty years without regaining if all you learned on your journey is how to diet more effectively?
Good luck. It's important that we realize that VST is a place for us to share a wide range of experiences and feelings about this surgery and life afterward. Attacking someone for choosing a different way to live, when that person has shown success and isn't complaining, is not okay.
~Cheri

So we are at the hospital today for my wife's surgery! She is so ready and I am so nervous! At least I get to see what I can expect! She is a rock, I love that woman!!!!!

I read the first "disc of witches"--- loved! Time to download #2;). Thanks for the reminder

This is EXACTLY how I'm feeling! I'm trying not to let doubt and fear override my year long fight to get this surgery... But I'm struggling. I know I won't back out of it, but I'm just getting to the really scared and overwhelmed part. Glad I'm not alone;)

I've past the excited and positive outlook stage as well. I"m in the 'trying not to talk myself out of it' phase. I know this is what I want but there's a lot of fear and doubt creeping in and with the understanding that the next 3 months may just suck...it's no wonder this is no trip to disney for me.

just wanted to share something I read:
it's no secret that Water is a key ingredient for maxium fat loss. Keeping your body hydreated helps accelrate your metabolism and means you're buring more fat In fact, studies haave shown that drining to little Water can cause fat deposits to increas, while driking more can aturally reduce fat deposits. It all has to do with how your body processes fat.
It starts with the kidneys. The need adequate water to wrk well. If they dont't get it, they dump some of thier workload onto the liver. Tha's where the terouble begins because the liver is one of the key organs involved in metabolizing stored fat inot energy. When the kidneys aren't working to capacity, the liver has to pick up the slack. And when the liver is doing the work for the kidneys should be doing, it can't be doing it's job of geeing rid of stored fat and turning it into energy to the best of its ability. That means it metabolizes less fat into energy and mor fat remains stored in your body. The simple fix: drink more water.
I barely get in the 64 oz, for some reason I cant drink as much water when it's cold. I got tired of cyrstal light, picked up some mio and yes baby I am getting that water intake in now.
i just wanted to share this for those that aren't aware.

At the nutrition class I had to attend, they really emphasized that you could go back whenever you felt ready---the big HOWEVER was that you needed to still focus on your Water intake and Protein intake. Most jobs don't allow us to drink and eat constantly so that was the one concern my NUT had. Lots of people get dehydrated once they return to work because they get busy and can't drink like they are suppose to. Soooo, just drink up and stay hydrated everyone:)!

In all honesty, if you can do this without surgery, do it. Hands down it is better for you to succeed from sheer self dicipline.
The unfortunate reality for most of us is that out willpower over food was pretty close to non existant. And the brutal reality is that being obese will kill you, along with destroying your life.
YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.
Do you need the sleeve? I don't know. Only you can answer that. But if you've tried for years to lose weight unsuccessfully, then it damn sure beats the alternative (being fat & dying).