Kindle

There is no such thing as "cheating" in my world. I simply make choices, whether it's a piece of chicken or a piece of cake. And I never feel "guilty". I control what goes in my mouth, not the other way around.
During the first few months following surgery, I chose to follow my surgeons orders to a T so I would not have complications. For those of you eating solid foods and unhealthy foods so soon postop, you are simply choosing to compromise your health. But as consenting adults, that is your right.

When was the last time you gained 8 pounds in a week? Why would you expect to lose it faster than that? You are setting your expectations at the highest, most unattainable levels and will be disappointed. Put your scale away, focus on healing and set yourself up for success by following your plan. The rate at which you lose has absolutely nothing to do with your long term outcome.

BTW, here are some definitions of cheating....
"Cheating is the getting of a reward for ability by dishonest means or finding an easy way out of an unpleasant situation. It is generally used for the breaking of rules to gain unfair advantage in a competitive situation.".
: to break a rule or law usually to gain an advantage at something
: to take something from (someone) by lying or breaking a rule
: to prevent (someone) from having something that he or she deserves or was expecting to get
So although you may be "breaking the rules" by eating off plan, you certainly aren't gaining an unfair advantage or getting a reward for it!

There is no such thing as "cheating" in my world. I simply make choices, whether it's a piece of chicken or a piece of cake. And I never feel "guilty". I control what goes in my mouth, not the other way around.
During the first few months following surgery, I chose to follow my surgeons orders to a T so I would not have complications. For those of you eating solid foods and unhealthy foods so soon postop, you are simply choosing to compromise your health. But as consenting adults, that is your right.

There is no such thing as "cheating" in my world. I simply make choices, whether it's a piece of chicken or a piece of cake. And I never feel "guilty". I control what goes in my mouth, not the other way around.
During the first few months following surgery, I chose to follow my surgeons orders to a T so I would not have complications. For those of you eating solid foods and unhealthy foods so soon postop, you are simply choosing to compromise your health. But as consenting adults, that is your right.

Yes, you will be able to eat a more at 1 year postop than you could at 1 month or 3 months. But your stomach can NEVER EVER stretch to the 8-10 cup size it was before surgery. It is impossible....unless your surgeon is incompetent and didn't remove all of the fundus. If you are regaining it is because of the food and beverage choices you are making. I could eat a whole bag of chips and a pint of ice cream and a whole pizza if I had all day to do it. That doesn't mean my sleeve stretched, it just means I'm making really crappy decisions.
WLS is a gift and a chance for a "do over". It's a shame if you squander it on poor choices and try to blame your sleeve. If you don't change the behaviors that made you fat in the first place, you will end up fat again.

That was a very sneaky title to your post...I was waiting for the "but now....." So glad it had a happy ending!

So it's very obvious the new newbies want nothing to do with hearing what successful WLS patients have to say. The recent debate over the the eating bacon 1 week postop makes it perfectly clear that what they want is for someone to tell them it's OK to be stupid. They are not interested in listening to their surgeons or nuts or veterans. Self sabotage is the new fad and compliance is apparently out of style. I made the mistake of responding to the post when, as a veteran, I should have known better. Turns out I'm just a big meanie (no surprise there!) At this point it's 95% newbies posting on that thread who don't have a clue what the long term repercussions of eating off plan so soon will lead to. The blind leading the blind.
Oh well. It will be interesting to see the stats of successful EWL go down over the next few years as more and more unprepared, uncommitted people continue to have WLS. In the meantime, I'm outa here. The newbies won. As hard as it is to tear my eyes away from the car wreck, I just can't take anymore people that do stupid shit and then whine about getting their feelings hurt. Someone PM me when the grown ups start joining again.

"This is only worth it if you are willing to do the work"
Exactly. Well said.

So it's very obvious the new newbies want nothing to do with hearing what successful WLS patients have to say. The recent debate over the the eating bacon 1 week postop makes it perfectly clear that what they want is for someone to tell them it's OK to be stupid. They are not interested in listening to their surgeons or nuts or veterans. Self sabotage is the new fad and compliance is apparently out of style. I made the mistake of responding to the post when, as a veteran, I should have known better. Turns out I'm just a big meanie (no surprise there!) At this point it's 95% newbies posting on that thread who don't have a clue what the long term repercussions of eating off plan so soon will lead to. The blind leading the blind.
Oh well. It will be interesting to see the stats of successful EWL go down over the next few years as more and more unprepared, uncommitted people continue to have WLS. In the meantime, I'm outa here. The newbies won. As hard as it is to tear my eyes away from the car wreck, I just can't take anymore people that do stupid shit and then whine about getting their feelings hurt. Someone PM me when the grown ups start joining again.

So it's very obvious the new newbies want nothing to do with hearing what successful WLS patients have to say. The recent debate over the the eating bacon 1 week postop makes it perfectly clear that what they want is for someone to tell them it's OK to be stupid. They are not interested in listening to their surgeons or nuts or veterans. Self sabotage is the new fad and compliance is apparently out of style. I made the mistake of responding to the post when, as a veteran, I should have known better. Turns out I'm just a big meanie (no surprise there!) At this point it's 95% newbies posting on that thread who don't have a clue what the long term repercussions of eating off plan so soon will lead to. The blind leading the blind.
Oh well. It will be interesting to see the stats of successful EWL go down over the next few years as more and more unprepared, uncommitted people continue to have WLS. In the meantime, I'm outa here. The newbies won. As hard as it is to tear my eyes away from the car wreck, I just can't take anymore people that do stupid shit and then whine about getting their feelings hurt. Someone PM me when the grown ups start joining again.

So it's very obvious the new newbies want nothing to do with hearing what successful WLS patients have to say. The recent debate over the the eating bacon 1 week postop makes it perfectly clear that what they want is for someone to tell them it's OK to be stupid. They are not interested in listening to their surgeons or nuts or veterans. Self sabotage is the new fad and compliance is apparently out of style. I made the mistake of responding to the post when, as a veteran, I should have known better. Turns out I'm just a big meanie (no surprise there!) At this point it's 95% newbies posting on that thread who don't have a clue what the long term repercussions of eating off plan so soon will lead to. The blind leading the blind.
Oh well. It will be interesting to see the stats of successful EWL go down over the next few years as more and more unprepared, uncommitted people continue to have WLS. In the meantime, I'm outa here. The newbies won. As hard as it is to tear my eyes away from the car wreck, I just can't take anymore people that do stupid shit and then whine about getting their feelings hurt. Someone PM me when the grown ups start joining again.

Prilosec, Nexium, Pepcid, Zantac, Rolaids, tums, Maalox

Measure your portions and stick with that as a guide. Don't rely on "full" to tell you when to stop eating. It's a very bad habit we all learned too well. Eating till we were full is how we got fat in the first place. And as for feeling hungry, like others said it's probably acid or thirst. Take a PPI (or increase your dose), try chewing tums or Rolaids when you think you are hungry, and drink more.

When was the last time you gained 8 pounds in a week? Why would you expect to lose it faster than that? You are setting your expectations at the highest, most unattainable levels and will be disappointed. Put your scale away, focus on healing and set yourself up for success by following your plan. The rate at which you lose has absolutely nothing to do with your long term outcome.

Prilosec, Nexium, Pepcid, Zantac, Rolaids, tums, Maalox

Measure your portions and stick with that as a guide. Don't rely on "full" to tell you when to stop eating. It's a very bad habit we all learned too well. Eating till we were full is how we got fat in the first place. And as for feeling hungry, like others said it's probably acid or thirst. Take a PPI (or increase your dose), try chewing tums or Rolaids when you think you are hungry, and drink more.

I almost forgot the most important things.....all nuts and nut butters. They are my ultimate slider food and I can't stop eating them. I could finish off a whole jar or a 1000 calories worth of nuts without blinking, so they do not come anywhere near my mouth.

Nope. It wouldn't have made any difference to my insurance company. That's why I went with the best surgeon I could find. He just happened to be in Mexico. His credentials, experience, staff, facility, and complication rate were far superior to any of the 8 bariatric surgeons I looked at within 200 miles of my home.

I was primarily concerned with complications that occur within weeks (or at max a few months) of surgery like leaks, abscesses, and strictures. What types of complications are you anticipating 10-20 years down the line? Vitamin Deficiencies, GERD or ulcers are the only ones I'm really aware of, and those are all fairly manageable without huge costs. The worst case scenario of any of them are so unlikely, I didn't even register it in my pros and cons. Health issues from obesity are much much much more likely to occur.

You need to read your insurance policy carefully. Mine specifically states it will not cover any WLS including any complications from a WLS unless the procedure is a necessary, emergency life saving procedure. So to me that means being rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery cause you are bleeding out or dumping stomach contents into your abdomen. But it wouldn't cover CTs, X-rays, bloodwork, ultrasounds, scopes, stents, feeding tubes, antibiotics, Pic lines, hospital stays, etc. that are part of diagnosing and treating a leak or abcess. Fortunately I had an easy, complication free recovery and haven't needed any care other than followup bloodwork.....which insurance will not pay for.
As for a separate complication insurance policy to cover stuff once you returned home say, up to six months postop, I couldn't find any decent policies. The Medical Tourism policies covered things like death, dismemberment, some coverage while still in the other country and shipping your body back to the states, etc. The coverage offered for actual medical expenses related to surgical complications once home was minimal....like $20,000 at most, which is a drop in the bucket for any serious complications. IMO the cost of the policy did not justify the minimal pay out if I needed it.
This was over two years ago, so maybe things have changed, but like with any policy, make sure you read the fine print!

My feelings are kind of mixed...I'm proud of my accomplishment and appreciate the comments, but still a little embarrassed as I'm not big on attention. If they say "you look great, have you lost weight?" I say yes, thanks . And then they usually ask how I did it, so I end up explaining all about my surgery and eating Protein and avoiding carbs (in a nutshell). Fortunately, after a year, most people I know have already seen my weightloss, have asked all their questions, know all about traveling to Mexico for WLS, and now we have other things to talk about.
And all the positive comments and resulting conversations are kind of my motivation for continued success....since everyone knows I had WLS, I'll be DAMNED if I become the one they can make this comment about.... "I knew someone who lost a lot of weight after surgery and then gained it all back in a few years"!! Nope, not gonna happen.

Telling you not to drink 20/30 min before and after your Protein shake is just stupid. The only reason for that rule is to not flush solids through your sleeve too soon so that you end up eating more than you should. So it really doesnt apply with Protein shakes . Fluids are fluids. And even the eating/drinking rule is archaic, carried over from the rules of bypass with no real logic behind it when it comes to VSG because out pyloric valve s still intact.
I say do what you've gotta do to get in all your protein and fluids and ignore the stupid rules that don't make sense and actually impede your ability to reach goals. And, BTW, that 64oz is a minimum you should aim for. You should actually shoot for more than that, especially if you are excercising, live in a warm climate, are experiencing a stall, diarrhea or Constipation. I actually got dehydrated on 64oz and now get 100oz every day.

Telling you not to drink 20/30 min before and after your Protein shake is just stupid. The only reason for that rule is to not flush solids through your sleeve too soon so that you end up eating more than you should. So it really doesnt apply with Protein shakes . Fluids are fluids. And even the eating/drinking rule is archaic, carried over from the rules of bypass with no real logic behind it when it comes to VSG because out pyloric valve s still intact.
I say do what you've gotta do to get in all your protein and fluids and ignore the stupid rules that don't make sense and actually impede your ability to reach goals. And, BTW, that 64oz is a minimum you should aim for. You should actually shoot for more than that, especially if you are excercising, live in a warm climate, are experiencing a stall, diarrhea or Constipation. I actually got dehydrated on 64oz and now get 100oz every day.

I slowly started adding more fat and healthy carbs when I was within 10 pounds of my goal weight. Switched from skim milk to 1%, fat free cottage cheese to regular, 0% Greek yogurt to 2%, replaced some Protein Bars with whole grain bars and homemade granola, ate more fruit and nuts, allowed myself a few more deserts, etc. I lost another 20 pounds even after transitioning to a "maintenance diet". My body just found its new normal and I can pretty much keep myself within a 4-5 pound bounce range just by altering my carb intake up or down as needed. Basically eat whatever unless I hit the top end of my range then I go back to Protein and veggie basics until I'm back to the bottom of my range. I still always get 60-80g protein, 64+ oz Water, a variety of veggies and all my Vitamins.< /p>