goirish78

How's everyone doing?? I just got home from the hospital a few hours ago. Surgery went well and the only post-op issues I encountered were gas pain (which I'm still trying to work out) and pain from my drain (which was thankfully removed this morning). So slow going but happy to be home. I'm sipping Water slowly and trying not to take in any more air (I've never wanted to burp so badly in my life lol). Not hungry at all and hoping it stays that way

Wishing a safe surgery for a successful sleeve to all my fellow July 15ers as we head into surgery today. Take care of yous and we are gonna rock this! Tara

We're almost there, Alie!! Just gotta make it through the rest of today. You have done an amazing job of dropping weight! I, on the other hand, have only managed to lose 8 lbs in two weeks. I know it will come off, and I'm in no rush, but kinda surprised that's all that two weeks of Optifast got me. Good luck and catch ya on the flip side!!

Thanks so much, Daydra, and good luck to you, too, CA! I'll catch ya on the flip side

Hey everyone, Just wanted to check in and see how you're all doing?? I can't believe it's the day after tomorrow. Are all of you ready? In my hospital bag I've got a change of loose clothes for going home, a few basic toiletries, Gas-X thin strips, a pack of fresh wipes, and a couple of magazines. What are all of you bringing?

I've been on my pre-op diet for almost two weeks, and at last check I had only lost 6 lbs. I am surprised it hasn't been more (especially given how much I have to lose), but I'm not overly worried about it, since I expect it's going to take a long time to lose all the weight I need to (220+ lbs) so there's no rush.

Dustin, if it's any help, what I did was start substituting shakes or liquids for a few meals the week before my diet started (even though mine is a two week pre-op liquids only diet that will be done TOMORROW - thank goodness!) to get me in the habit of being on liquids. Then the transition to full liquids won't be quite as jarring, especially if you can alternate shakes with some broths or protein soups for the week you're on it. Good luck!!

*hugs* I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone on these forums who ISN'T their own worst critic, especially those of us who have been overweight our whole lives, so no judgments here. Literally, being fat is all I've ever known (my first diet started when I was 6 mos old and the doctor suggested my mother stop breastfeeding since I was gaining too much weight). While it has taken me many, many years to start to overcome all the negativity and trauma I've experienced as a result, I'm getting there. I'm pre-op, my surgery is on Monday, and I've only lost 6 lbs so far. I started at 379, and I am shooting for 160, so I'm looking at almost 220 lbs to lose. You know what? I'm ok with that. While I've always felt that my weight was my biggest failure, and have fought with it my whole life, going through this year long process of getting ready for surgery has made me evaluate all aspects of my life. Being this size has hurt a lot in so many ways; yet, in a weird way I'm also grateful for the perspective it has afforded me. I want a healthier and smaller body, a body that will hopefully allow me to have children, but I'm never going to be a size 2, nor do I want to be. I look at many of the thin women I know, some of them healthy, some of them not, but all with problems just like anyone else. I know that while I might end up being a smaller person, losing weight is not going to magically fix everything wrong with my life. I am grateful for all the skills that I've developed to "compensate" for not being the thin girl people always thought I should be. I wake up everyday realizing that while my life is not exactly what I want it to be, I'm still here to do what I need to in order to make it better. This is going to be a long, slow process, but I know I will get to where I need to be in the end. And part of the reason I will get there is because of people like you, who come to these forums to be honest and say how they're really feeling when things are hard. People like you remind me that I am not alone Know in your heart that you are changing everyday, that you WILL get to the place you are meant to be, and that you deserve to be happy with yourself and your life. You may need help getting to that place, and there is no shame in that. One of the best decisions I ever made was talking to a therapist, because it allowed me to be completely honest and not worry about how the person I was talking to was going to react. That was many years ago, and I realize that I may need to talk to someone again as I go through this process. You will lose the weight, but while you do, work on letting some of the emotional weight go with the physical weight; relearn the meaning of beauty, and one day you will see yourself as beautiful as we see you (hint: it really has nothing to do with your weight . Take care of you and be kind to you - you deserve it and you can do it!

I was raised drinking Diet Coke, so truthfully, I was always that person, too lol. The funny thing? I don't miss the crap food, but I'm sure I'll miss the Diet Coke!

I'm so sorry to hear you're not feeling well and in pain Do you have other people at home who can help take care of you? If not, make sure you mention this to the nurses; they may be able to keep you for further observation. Take it one step as a time, and do whatever you need to in order to get through the day.

Chellennunley, I'm right there with ya lol. Honestly, it hasn't been as bad as I thought it was going to be...just find things to keep yourself busy

My favorite powder is Pure Protein, which you can find cheaply ($20 per 2 lb. container) at Target. They make all different flavors, but I really enjoy the chocolate and the cookies and cream. I started drinking them for breakfast, and they're best out of a blender or a shaker. If you're looking for high protein ready to drink boxes, I like the Premier Protein chocolate flavor that's about $25 at Costco for a case of 18. You may just want to be careful about drinking too much of it when you're still eating food; I started to feel really nauseous when I tried to drink a whole one, and my surgeon said it may have been because it was too much protein for someone who's still getting the majority of their protein from other food. However, it's fine for post-surgery.

Personally, I think at the end of the day everyone sees everything from their own perspective, and sometimes that includes trying to share the perspective of someone in different shoes, sometimes it doesn't. Gemini, you gave me a good laugh, because let's face it, the stereotypes of the "naturally" thin complainers who eat everything in sight come from somewhere (I grew up with one of them ) just as the stereotypes of the massively obese couch potato stuffing themselves with fried chicken and frosting out of a can comes from somewhere. It's ok to laugh at the ironies and things that may seem ridiculous to us, as long as we're not invective towards others (i.e. I don't think you would ever say to her what you say to us, as we are your people . And for the record, I love that this is a place where we have so many intelligent, witty, and insightful people!!

My surgery is July 15th and I've mostly been preparing by getting the things I will need (Vitamins, small baby food containers and baby spoons, puree recipes, etc) ready, as well as trying to stick to my gym/pool schedule and changing my eating habits one by one. The hardest thing for me to give up thus far was Diet Coke, but after just a couple of weeks I'm already used to not having it. I've made a point of drinking lots of Water and trying out a few Crystal Light flavors - I never liked the powders, always thought they had a funny aftertaste, but just tried some of the liquid drops in water and they are pretty good. Between now and Monday, I also plan on making up a few charts that will help me to track my Protein, water, and Vitamin intake, as well as let me jot down when/how much I'm exercising.

I actually don't mind the soups much, I just can't handle the bars. Tried both flavors the first day and had to choke them both down. Decided I would just stick with the shakes and soups instead. Even though my surgeon wants us on Optifast only for two weeks, I will admit a I caved and had a small salad earlier today (was just really craving some crunchy veggies - I guess I missed chewing lol). I figure it's not so bad, since I made it through almost a week and a half with no slips and I still have 5 more days of liquids before my procedure. I'm also starting to get my overnight bag ready - what are you all bringing? So far I have loose pjs, a few basic toiletries, some fresh wipes, some liquid Gas-X, and a couple of magazines. Any other ideas?

At the end of the day, you can't win the lottery without buying a ticket; and yes, sometimes the odds of finding someone seem very slim. It does happen though, and having the confidence to take a deep breath and put yourself out there when you're ready has a lot to do with it. I dated briefly in college, and then spent most of the next 10 years of my life burying myself in work and contenting myself with all my friends. I had a really good, if not completely fulfilling single life for many years. However, when I hit 30, I decided that I needed to do more to put myself out there, and signed up for various online dating sites. I met more than a few frogs, but met some pretty good guys, too; however, things just didn't seem to click. Just when I was getting ready to take a break from dating again, I met a great guy online that I've been with for almost 3 years now. We live together and he's been super supportive about my surgery, but I have to admit that I'm a little scared reading some of the statistics about relationships post-weight loss. It's easy for me to say now, a week pre-op, that I'll never change, and he'll never change, and that we won't become a statistic, but I guess I really have no way of knowing what will happen. I guess we'll just take it a step at a time. For those of you who are still waiting to jump into the dating pool, go ahead, take a breath, be bold, and jump. Again, you can't win the lottery without buying a ticket

In my experiences with online dating (and there have been more than a few I have found that putting the major points out there upfront really helps to cut through a lot of initial awkwardness, etc. I learned quickly that posting a full body shot was necessary in order for guys to see who they were looking at (men are very visual creatures and those who liked what they saw wasted very little time in striking up a conversation. I also have been forthcoming about my weight and the lifelong struggle I've had with it, and on all but one occasion the guys have been very supportive. While it's really hard, I think sometimes we need to take leap of faith by by believing that people will be better than we may give them credit for; giving someone the opportunity to be supportive is risky and may not always turn out well, but they will probably surprise you more often than not.

For what it's worth, I think each person has different qualities that they look for. While I agree that for some men their infatutation with BBW is strictly physical (and kind of creepy, imho), I know other men who have told me that they've been attracted to bigger women because they feel as though they're getting someone real, who isn't afraid to be themselves, be funny, etc. Granted, I think they were probably also attracted to the confidence some of those women projected (I agree with the person who said that confidence is a big part of it). In the end, everyone needs to find a way to be happy with themselves and whomever they choose. Keep on doing what you're doing and don't lose that confidence, and you'll find your way to someone who's a good fit for you

Thanks, Cassie - it makes me feel better to know that it just seems like "your mileage may vary" is the order of the day re: the pre-op diet. P.s. where in Western NY are you? I did my grad work at RIT in Rochester

Greetings all, Well, here I am, almost one week into my pre-op liquid diet (Optifast) and I'm down 6 lbs. While I'm thrilled to be losing weight, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised that I haven't lost more (my starting weight was 379). I still have one more week of liquids before my surgery on 7/15, and I'm sure I'll lose more before then, but I wanted to ask what your typical pre-op weight loss has been on liquids? Thanks!! Tara

I'm almost through week 1 of 2 weeks of being on Optifast as a pre-op requirement. I'm not starving, but am definitely looking forward to this being done!

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled whenever I lose any kind of weight, and yes, I don't expect it to be an overnight process . I was just curious, since some of the people I've met in my support group lost a lot on liquids.

Hey everyone! I'm July 15th with Dr. Peters in Newark, DE. Getting excited and also trying to get organized with everything I'll need before and after surgery Can't wait to see us all rock it!