Lorie269

I don't understand why you are devastated when you lost 25 lbs in 6 weeks, especially at a lower weight start than most. That's a great start, even faster than some who had a virgin rny. Too high expectations can and will defeat all your hard work if it gets to you. Perhaps seek therapy if you truly feel "devastated". I know depression can sometimes occur after WLS.

I had a revision just to get rid of the gerd. Even if I never lost a pound, to end the horrible acid reflux and sleepless nights are 100% worth it to me.

Here are some tips that might help you manage this change:
Listen to your body: Pay attention to the signals your body is sending you, such as hunger and fullness cues. Eat slowly: Chew your food well and take small bites to allow your brain to catch up with your stomach. Stop eating when you're full: Don't try to eat more just because you're used to feeling full in the past. Avoid high-volume, low-nutrient foods: Foods that are high in sugar or empty calories can be tempting, but they won't fill you up and may contribute to overeating. Drink Water regularly: Staying hydrated can help you feel full and prevent overeating. Keep a food journal: Writing down what you eat and when you eat it can help you identify patterns and prevent overeating. Remember, everyone's journey is different, and it may take some time to adjust to the changes in your body. Be patient with yourself and stay focused on your goals.

Thanks Lorie. Im laying here in my post Op hospital room about 24 hours after the surgery. So far so good. Having done this before, even though I don’t remember much for that first time 10 years ago has helped. I too look at it as a chance to not make the same mistakes twice. I lost 20 lbs (8% EBW) just in the 2 week Optifast preop diet and I’m taking that as a win. Defiantly a bit skittish about stressing this little pouch so I’ll sipping slowly. Only clear fluids in hospital and certainly no hunger yet. Incision sites are painful, walking around the ward seems to help with the gas. No GERD or coughing so that’s the real blessing! Anything else is just extra

I had the revision in August for gerd, and I still have the exact sentiments of wishing I just got the bypass in the first place. I think of that often. I was scared to do something "drastic"so I went for the sleeve. Had I known that it doesn't feel any different physically compared to the sleeve, and appetite is far more suppressed for me now... It would've saved me years of pain and sleepless nights from gerd. Most sleevers don't have the gerd side effect but unfortunately some of us are unlucky. Wishing you success.

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My first confessions. Here goes...

1. I confess that I am afraid to take pics of myself yet because I am afraid that I won’t see in a pic what I see in the mirror. I really like what I see in my mirror for once.

2. I confess that as much as I want people to comment on my weight loss, the attention is sometimes extremely overwhelming and I want to hide from everyone.

3. I confess that even though first and foremost I had this surgery to have a healthy future, one of the biggest incentives for me to lose weight was to fit into roller coasters again. My poor husband has had to ride alone for the last 6 years.

4. I confess that even though I am more than halfway to goal in 3 months I am terrified that any day now I will stop losing.

5. I confess that after I tried on my wedding dress from 14 yrs ago AND IT FIT!!!, I stayed in it all night while I vegged out on my couch and watched TV.

My first confessions. Here goes...

1. I confess that I am afraid to take pics of myself yet because I am afraid that I won’t see in a pic what I see in the mirror. I really like what I see in my mirror for once.

2. I confess that as much as I want people to comment on my weight loss, the attention is sometimes extremely overwhelming and I want to hide from everyone.

3. I confess that even though first and foremost I had this surgery to have a healthy future, one of the biggest incentives for me to lose weight was to fit into roller coasters again. My poor husband has had to ride alone for the last 6 years.

4. I confess that even though I am more than halfway to goal in 3 months I am terrified that any day now I will stop losing.

5. I confess that after I tried on my wedding dress from 14 yrs ago AND IT FIT!!!, I stayed in it all night while I vegged out on my couch and watched TV.

My first confessions. Here goes...

1. I confess that I am afraid to take pics of myself yet because I am afraid that I won’t see in a pic what I see in the mirror. I really like what I see in my mirror for once.

2. I confess that as much as I want people to comment on my weight loss, the attention is sometimes extremely overwhelming and I want to hide from everyone.

3. I confess that even though first and foremost I had this surgery to have a healthy future, one of the biggest incentives for me to lose weight was to fit into roller coasters again. My poor husband has had to ride alone for the last 6 years.

4. I confess that even though I am more than halfway to goal in 3 months I am terrified that any day now I will stop losing.

5. I confess that after I tried on my wedding dress from 14 yrs ago AND IT FIT!!!, I stayed in it all night while I vegged out on my couch and watched TV.

The majority of people who have had a gastric sleeve for longer than a couple of years (including me) will tell you that their stomachs have 'relaxed' enough to accommodate a significantly larger volume of food.
People are reluctant to use the word 'stretch,' but those early pre-op days of becoming full off 3 to 5 bites of food do not last very long for most sleevers.
I could eat no more than 3 ounces during the first couple of pre-op months. Now I'm 2.5 years out and can consume 8 to 10 ounces, depending on how soft or rigid the food is. In other words, my capacity has tripled.
It is up to me to not eat to my sleeve's capacity.....

Well, the point of ANY show is to make money. So I'm not sure that's supposed to be a bad thing.

The show also opens the world of the disease of obesity, like no other show ever has. It is not only relatable by obese people, but also by those family or friends of obese people who won't listen to their obese loved one.

Bottom line? That show has many many viewers. Thankfully, people who are obese can be heard like never before. Entertainment? I doubt it. Most people looking for entertainment would not turn on this show. Before I had surgery, watching that show helped me tremendously. I actually couldn't believe that there was such a show.

Dr. Nowzardan is one of the best bariatric surgeons on the planet. And he gets to show the world the issues with the disease, the surgeries, and how the success of losing weight is up to the person, not the surgery, all of which are true.

There are definitely people in this world who are not obese who have somewhat of a better understanding about it because of this show. Is it perfect? No. But does it need to be.

I'm also glad they show completely stubborn people, who refuse to follow the doctors orders, a lot like real life.

As far as why we are obese, there are a lot of reasons, including illness(s) (like me) and everyone's story is different. Another reason I like the show.

So I will be watching that show, and hope it continues on for years to come.

For me.
Mexico is only scary in theory. But was a breeze.
The Drain in the shower makes you feel like you are in a horror movie. Blood everywhere.
barium swallow is awful but watching it on a monitor was worth it knowing surgery was successful.
very little pain. Off meds by day 3.
Flying sucks 4 days post op.
how normal you feel until you put something in your mouth and quickly get that "full" feeling.
liquid diet is the worst and graduating to soft food is the most rewarding feeling ever.
The psychological struggle of keeping pace subconsciously with others you eat with. So many stomach aches because I ate too quick. Take smaller bites and fork down for a min or two kids.
The head cravings suck and don't go away easily. need to break those habits.
How quick I'm dropping lbs is awesome. 3.5 weeks postop and down 52lbs.
Gaining confidence in the weight loss is a weird feeling. Especially when I haven't done much except eat less.
Those are some of the things I'm finding.

Hmm, it is really complicated and long.
First as far as identity and image that isn't just about body image. I spent my entire adult life as a plus sized woman. I shopped in the same stores. I had a certain style. I had a body I was familiar with, and that I did not hate. When I dropped enough weight, suddenly I had to find all new stores to shop in. I went from being an Apple shape to an hourglass. I had to change my style. I used to be able to look at clothes and know if they would work for me. I have to try every single thing on. Even now when my weigh has been fairly stable within 5 pounds for a few months I am still dropping inches and things no longer fit. I was comfortable as a plus sized person and that was part of my identity. Now I am no longer in the plus size club. I am smaller than the average woman in America who is now a size 16 or 18.
Not only has the way I think about myself in relation to the rest of the world changed, but how people treat me and react to me has changed a lot also. Women are not as friendly to me as they used to be when I was plus sized. I have always worn a lot of makeup and had big hair. When I used to be in Sephora as a fat girl with a beat face, people talked to me all the time. Normal size, beat face, cheek bones poppin even without highlighter, not as much convo. Men however treat me very differently. I always had men smile and talk to me, but now they really go out of their way to be super polite to me. Some of it has to do with how I dress now, usually dresses (typically bodycon or sheath) and heels. Looking more feminine really gains a lot of reaction from men, especially since most women rarely wear dresses and skirts and that is pretty much all I wear (they last a lot longer and are more forgiving to changing sizes).
As far as body image. I read a book that helped me a lot. Spending a lot of time on the internet plus what I do for my career, I am forced to look at what seems like perfect bodies all the time. That isn't really how people look. I use photoshop every day. I know all these images are fake, but I am still a victim of feeling like I don't measure up to those images. About 9 months ago I had a really hard time with my loose skin, but it has gotten better mentally, and physically. The longer I stay in the same size range, the better my skin gets and the better I look. Shapewear and dressing right for your body and personality can fix anything. Watching people whine on skin tight on TLC helps too. I realized they are making their problems worse by having a bad attitude about it. Most of them can't dress to save their lives and that is 90% of the problem. Also I accepted that I earned this body the hard way. Most people will never have the loose skin I have but they will also have never lost as much weight as I have. I wear shorts, sleeveless tops and work out in sports bra and leggings. I earned all these stripes. I think if I didn't like my body before then maybe it would be easier to accept my new body but I didn't hate myself before. If I could be fat and healthy I would probably still be fat. I wasn't a miserable fat person, I was a person with failing health, which was making me miserable.
http://a.co/fI9AKK1
I look great in clothes. I look great in clothes even without shapewear now. My boobs look great in a bra and they are fine if I am on my back . Like seriously the number of people that are ever going to see you naked, even if you are dating a lot is really low on a planet of 7 billion. It doesn't matter.
Therapists are useless, imo. I looked and tried out a few and all of them are just as dumb as the rest of the general pop. The ones I talked to just assumed that losing weight solves your problems, and their solutions for body image issues were trash. That book helped me think about myself more as a whole person and not a bunch of body parts and remember the real purpose of my body (even if you aren't religious, you can benefit)

How do you know it didn't work for you when You had surgery 2 months ago and are not even fully healed? Get back to us in a year.

Pros:
The whole thing was shockingly easy. The surgery was fast and almost painless. The recovery was easy.
2 years later I still barely have an appetite.
Lost weight without much effort.
Cons:
Everyone talks about addiction transfers and alcoholism and compulsive shopping. No one addresses identity, and body image issues post-op. Not nearly as much as they talk about alcoholism etc. I felt I was very unprepared for the emotional issues that come with massive weight loss.

Hmmm.
Well. Here is the thing...
You can't know for sure if losing weight and looking better per societal standards are going to help you in the long run.
I can 100% say I had surgery to look better. That's the main reason I did it. And for awhile it felt GREAT to look better. I felt like a million bucks.
But it wore off. After a while it wasn't enough.. I found I felt the same about myself. There was always something about my appearance to feel unhappy about. So then I wanted plastic surgery. And I got that. And still... nothing really got better. I felt unsatisfied by another thing and then another.
I also realized that finally looking better (or what I thought I should look like) left me feeling even more scared and vulnerable about food. What if I gained it back and got ugly again? Was I going to diet forever? I was miserable.
I was more miserable than ever as I felt even more at risk for losing what I wanted which was to look good to other people.
Then I realized looking good still wasn't enough to make everyone love me.
Anyway. In the long run I had to get away from caring about my looks and start working on my life. I had to forget about being good looking and perfect in order to be happy. I said no to any more dieting, made peace with my body. I'm still working on continuing that process every day. I got angry. I got pissed about how I treated myself before I lost weight and how others treated me. I got it through my head that being fat does not equal being ugly.
Being fat DOES NOT equal being ugly. Period.
I decided my looks were like getting an unexpected bonus from work but they weren't what made me deserve that bonus. Looks are secondary to happiness and they should be. Looks are subjective. Lots of people like overweight body types and visa versa. I wasn't ugly before and that is what I needed to realize.
It's okay to want to take care of yourself and to feel good but it's important to make sure that physical appearance is what you need to do that. What will REALLY make you happy/unhappy?
Taking care of your appearance isn't vanity and neither is practicing self care. Just don't forget about all the other factors in your relationship with yourself and others that matter.
And be careful what you say about yourself to others. Being overweight does not imply anything negative about a person. Just because you feel that being thin is important to you doesn't mean it's okay to be negative about body weight- remember there are many people out there working to love themselves as they are and they don't agree with you about what is attractive.
Don't feel badly about what you want for yourself but don't place your aesthetic beliefs on others.
When you say "I lost weight to look better" you are making a value statement to others about what is attractive. You are saying that being at a higher weight isn't attractive. That can hurt others a lot. Being at any weight can be attractive, period.

Today I had an "ah-ha" moment. It took 4 years, but I think I get it! It was triggered by this before photo popping up in my Facebook memories from 5 years ago, (coupled with my most recent post-op photo taken last week, down 120 pounds since surgery in 2013). (attached below)
....And then reading the following quote on a friend's post:
"Maybe the journey isn't so much about becoming anything. Maybe it's about unbecoming everything that isn't you so you can be who you were in the first place."
I've struggled for years since losing the weight after surgery with questions of "is this the 'real' me, or am I just pretending and the 'real' 'fat' me will resurface sooner or later?" "Can people really change long-term?" It felt like the obese, sad, self-hating "me" was a monster waiting just below the surface to re-emerge. Give enough time and the right circumstances, the "real me" monster will rear it's head and I'll find myself back at nearly 300 pounds.
Guys! I get it now! It's not about change. It's not about the "sticking power" of change. It's not about willpower or determination. It's not even about counting carbs, Protein, calories, and ounces of Water. Sure those are tools that help. But it's not about that.
It's about doing the hard emotional work to figure out why I was hiding myself behind 150 excess pounds. It was about allowing myself to have a voice and using it. It was about demanding self-respect and respect from others. It was about leaving behind, painfully as it was in some cases, the toxic people in my life who emotionally damaged me. It was about processing the feelings that I didn't allow myself to feel for 18 years.
Once I realized this, once I did this work, I could little by little shed the layers that hid who I was. I don't hate myself anymore. I'm not even angry at myself for letting myself get to be 300 pounds like I was when my journey started. I realize now that I was coping. I was doing the best I knew how to do at the time. I look at that person in the "before" picture below and I feel compassion because I know she did her best.
I'm able now to let go the "fear" - and trust me, it's a literal fear - of that "real me" monster re-emerging from just below the surface. I can let it go because I realize, this is the real me. It was actually opposite. It was all the hiding I was doing under the emotional eating and the 150 excess pounds that was hiding the "real me."
So I have to on some level disagree with those who say this is a process of change. Sure, you have to change your behavioral choices with food and exercise or none of this will work. But for me it was not "becoming a new person" or "changing" who I am as a person. For me it was about simply allowing myself to feel and allowing myself to return home to who I was before I was hurt and who the universe intends me to be.
Feel free to check out my blog linked in my signature for more of my journey!

Approved!! The wonderful coordinator helped sort it all out! Waiting to hear back in 48 hours for appointment to set up surgery!! Getting closer

In my experience, most NUTS don't know what they are talking about.

The stretchy part, or fundus, is cut out during the surgery, therefore making stretching VERY difficult. A few carbonation bubbles do not have enough force to stretch anything. We do not have "regular" stomachs anymore. Drinking non diet soda with all the empty calories was the cause of weight gain, not stretching.
There are studies proving this, but believe what you want.
For the record, I've drank carbonation for a couple of years in the form of selzer waters, and my capacity is exactly the same as it was from the year before. So your NUTS "theory" pretty much is disproven.

Was just watching GMA (Good Morning America) they had two girls who lost a lot of weight and were half their size. I guess they're featured in People's Magazine because they had the editor on there and they asked why they choose those particular girls. Her response was because they lost weight the hard way no surgery no gimmicks. It really upset me to hear that because it feeds into the idea that surgery is the easy way to lose weight, but if only they knew the dedication and hard work we put in as well. I wish people would educate more before opening their mouths about anything. I don't know why it has to be a competition anyways as to who lost weight "naturally" and who got surgery. Either way you lost the weight, you're getting healthy, no way is better than the other. Okay rant over lol
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And this@@Fredbear, is what a real man sounds like!! Not condescending, not boorish, not patronizing but with compassion and understanding of another person's grief, no matter the fault, no matter the reason!

@@Fredbear I am not going to get into the whole thing about revenge, or who is right and who is wrong. None of us know the whole story. But I do have to write a few things in response to your posts. There are a lot of men out there who still believe in honor, integrity, and responsibility. I have no idea what the dynamics were in her marriage, but I do know that two people created not just a "contract", but a family. That family has been torn apart for whatever reason. The man involved still has responsibilities, whether he chooses to acknowledge them or not.
Regardless of what passed between him and his wife, the children are the ones who suffer the most in this. They will spend the rest of their lives wondering if it is something they did, and if they could have done better or made it right if they had just tried harder.
You might want to consider editing your post to reflect the fact that it is only your opinion. You sure as hell don't speak for me, or people like me.

As someone who is almost a year further out than you and about 25 pounds over my goal weight right now, I can honestly say the moderation thing you are talking about has stopped working for me. I found this forum to see if i can get support to get back on track. I am able to eat more than before, and have found myself eating too much of the sweets and carbs like Cookies and crackers. I was really good about staying away from that stuff the first couple of years but started the moderation thing and it kind of spiraled out of control. Because I wouldn't gain for so long when I would eat sweets and carbs, I found myself constantly pushing the limits and now am facing a 25 pound gain. I honestly think if I would have tried to stay on the straight and narrow a bit better and not given into the moderation lie people use so much regarding surgery, I would still be where I need to be weight wise. I think it catches up to us eventually and we really need to watch what we eat a large majority of the time. It almost seems there were metabolism changes that happened with me, where stuff I could get away with before, I no longer could and would see the scale climb instead.
If we couldn't moderate food before, then what makes us think we could after surgery? Portion Control just isn't enough after a certain amount of time in my opinion.

yep
that's right, you heard me
it's been 5 years since i took that stretcher down the long hallway!!
hard to believe!!
life is soooo different before and after being sleeved
too many NSV's to shake a stick at
newbies et al, you'll be amazed with changes in your life
health issues improved, or are gone
that's the main reason i had WLS
the fact that i look like a hot sexy grammy doesn't hurt!!
losing weight has been one of the highlights of my life
i can't imagine my life today or tomorrow as a "heavier"" person
life didn't start once i reached GOAL
life began the first day at GOAL
also called MAINTENANCE !!!
one of the few things i still can't do??
leap tall building
i still can not touch my tongue to my nose
rub my new tummy , pat my head clockwise
chew gum standing on one foot
but.... still working on it!!!
most anything else i can do LOL
i have good, better, and a couple of "not so good times!!
life can't be fixed as a "thinner" person
comes pretty darn close!!
i used to be 5"3' - now i am 6" tall!!!
i was turning 58 years OLD DOS
5 years later - almost 63 years YOUNG!!
i continue to work with my sleeve daily
bringing me health, happiness, and success
life is good
kathy
proud 5 year graduate!!!

Sorry to say, never for me. I always have to be thinking about what I am eating, how fast i am eating it, how often i am eating.
In maintenance for me it has become even more critical because I am always concerned about regain. It is easy to do, 1 lb becomes 2, and before you know it you have gained 5....and so on.
Also, I might add that it always has to be discussed when going to the doctor and you need to be well educated. Most general doctors dont know enough about how those of us with different digestive systems need to be treated.
When I changed insurance companies my bariatric team is no longer covered so my general doctor had to take over completely and I have had to get information from my old team just to educate her enough to order the right tests and monitor my nutrition which is absolutely critical for a bypass patient.
You do get used to it, for me it is a whole new way of life and took hold almost before my surgery.
It just becomes the way that it is.

Oh my, can I relate to this!!! I have been trying to accept my new weight of 145 as my normal since it was my actual goal weight from the beginning. However, I got down to as low as 128 and now I get so distraught at the the thought of being 145. I know it's crazy! I feel good (better than at 128 even), people say I look better, but in my head, I'm a failure because I couldn't stay at 128-130.
My clothes don't fit as good and I am noticing that some of my fall clothing from last year is a little tight. I know I won't be happy unless I get down to 135 again so instead of trying to accept me at 145, I am going to fight for what I feel will be my happy place. This is definitely a mind game!!! I have to cut carbs, I know. They weaseled their way back in and I allowed it to happen. No time like the present to start, I guess. Good luck to you!

I am SO thankful for my family, my friends, and all the blessing my life has brought me.

I am incredibly thankful that I made the decision to have VSG and the great health and active life it gave back to me with my successful weight loss and maintenance.

I am especially thankful for the lovely connections and friendships I've made on these very forums. Many of you have become real life friends beyond these boards and I am so happy to consider you family.



Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!