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Oh I think that is totally normal! In fact I remember posting about it too! :-) I was SO emotional the first few weeks after surgery. I remember being really surprised by it. I would cry at the drop of a hat. I think in retrospect it was a lot of things combined....... my body adjusting to this shock it just went through, me going through sugar/carb/caffeine withdraw all at once, and at least subconsciously dealing with the realization that my go-to coping mechanism (eating my feelings away) was gone. It's a lot to adjust to! Give yourself some time.

Definitely take something you are comfortable eating if it's a "take something" party. If you are at the stage where you can eat full solid foods, you should be able to find something at the parties. I don't think I've ever been anywhere I couldn't find "anything" that I could eat. The biggest thing for me is having a plan going in to it. Even if I don't know exactly what's going to be there, I know what I WON'T be eating. Getting that in your head ahead of time is helpful :-) Oh you also could go on pinterest and search whole food appetizers. There are tons of boards and pins on there with great ideas.

Awesome! Congratulations!

You look amazing! Very motivating to me as I'm working to get these last 15 pounds off. I'm sorry to hear about the difficult time you've had medically, but you pushed through and you have amazing results to show for it. Congratulations.

I can't add anything new, but just hit some of the points that others have said that have personally worked for me. First of all, I think that as you eat foods that are higher in carbs and sugar, you trigger that "addictive quality" that they have and you want more and more and they make you feel hungrier and hungrier. I find that on days I really stick to the 70g Protein and no more than 40g carbs I feel good restriction the next day. On the days I don't, I'm hungry the next day. I haven't personally done the full 5-day pouch test, but I've heard good things about it. When I start to get off track I do a version of a re-set where I go back to protein liquids for a few days just to get that good restriction back and flatten my tummy out. I always feel so much better when I'm sticking to the plan ....physically and emotionally. I also have been seeing a therapist weekly for about a year and a half now to work on the underlying causes of my eating issues. That has helped tremendously and I know for certain I would not have been able to keep the weight off without addressing these issues.

I don't remember the exact number but I do remember a several pound gain and it really just was from the IV fluids. It came right off.

Tell them what you are comfortable with. I only told one friend at work and she never would tell anyone else. I simply said that I have to take a medical leave. No one asked questions. They may have speculated between themselves, but no one came right out and asked me. The only one I had to tell was just the person in HR simply because it was written on my FMLA paperwork that I had to file. As the weight started falling off rapidly, that is a different story. While people are not likely to straight out ask you why you went on a medical leave, they will have NO problem pestering you non-stop about how you are losing so much weight. There was one secretary at my work who asked me literally every single day for months what I was doing. It got to the point where I would just altogether avoid her. My response has always been that I cut out sugar, wheat, and flour, eat lots and lots of Protein, lots of Water, and I started running. None of these things are lies. :-)

It is a long process and can be discouraging at times. Hang in there! Your surgeon wants you to have your surgery. Even if you are denied they will help you with an appeal. Good luck! It is a long process and can be discouraging at times. Hang in there! Your surgeon wants you to have your surgery. Even if you are denied they will help you with an appeal. Good luck!

Congrats on a smooth road to your surgery! Good luck!

The pre-op liquids are hard! But you will get through & it will be so worth it. If it's on your surgeons recommended food list, sugar free Popsicles helped me when I was really craving something "normal" Good luck on your journey!

Congratulations! It sounds like you've already had a long road! I"m sure that you will do great and being nervous is absolutely normal! It's a pretty life-changing thing you're doing, but SO worth it!

Congratulations on getting your surgery date finalized! Very exciting! Your surgeon should give you his/her specific recommendations for vit's, but mine recommended chewable, no pills you have to swallow whole and no gummies. And you are right, the support is so helpful. Good luck to you.

Congrats! Very exciting!! Be sure to stock up on everything you will need ahead of time. Find a Protein drink that you "like" before hand so you're not struggling then. Be sure to have lots of sugar-free Jello and popsicles on hand for when that initial "head hunger" strikes. Good luck on your journey!

Yes, for sure. I'm pretty sure that's relatively normal. I mean, you're not getting anything but liquids that you are taking in so I guess it makes sense that solids are not coming out.

1. 3 days seems excessively soon to me. I have a desk job, very sedentary, and I went back at 2 weeks post op, but that was WAY early. I should have taken a full month off. 2. I wouldn't think so. I had to have liquid versions of meds for a while, but that is a question for your surgeon. If it is a small pill it might be ok. 3 & 4. I guess some things might work a bit for loose skin, but in the end, it is what it is....skin. In the end lotions, potions, Water and working out will work to some extent, but it all depends on your skin elasticity, age, etc. I ended up having a TT and it was the best thing ever!!! 5. Again, a question for your surgeon. I would think you should be able to start working out maybe 6 weeks or so after, but everyone's surgeon recommends something different. Good luck

Welcome and good luck on your journey! I also started out thinking for sure that I wanted the bypass. However, about 4 months into the pre-op process I realized that all of my reservations were related to the re-routing of the intestines that goes on with the bypass and not any other part of it. So, I talked to my surgeon and we agreed that I would do the sleeve instead. I felt a huge relief because I knew it was the right decision. It just somehow felt less invasive if that makes sense. I have not one single time regretted my choice. I was thinking the bypass originally because I read that you could lose more weight with it. But, I just realized that at a certain point, I had to just work hard to make up that final 10 pounds that maybe I would have lost easier with the bypass. In the end I've lost 140+ pounds so far and have been maintaining for about a year and a half. So, no regrets~! The one thing I wish I would have done pre-op that I didn't was start working on the emotional side of things. I didn't get to be 280 pounds and in need of WLS by just liking the taste of food. I had underlying emotional eating issues that had to be dealt with. I didn't really start dealing with this until about 9 months post op, and I so wish I would have started sooner. If you have some free time I highly recommend "When Food is Love" by Geneen Roth. I would have loved for someone to have shared that resource with me pre-op because it's made such a difference in my life.

Once your insurance approves it's basically up to the surgeon's schedule. I'm guessing everyone does this differently. My surgical coordinator tentatively scheduled my surgery when they submitted everything to insurance. They were scheduling about 4 weeks out. That way, if insurance denied, we would just cancel it while I appealed. Thankfully it was approved and I didn't have to reschedule. Good luck to you.

I was exactly the same. My surgeon didn't want me to gain weight, but I couldn't really lose too much either because then my BMI would be too low for insurance. It ended up taking my 8 months instead of 6 to get through the requirements, but it was worth the wait. Good luck!

I can't think of any questions other than what was already mentioned. But I totally second the how long to wait after surgery to drink. That was awful! Oh one thing.....If you haven't already put it on your list, take an iPod/iPhone and ear buds. I was supposed to have a single room, but ended up in a double and the women beside me was SO loud all night. I never would have slept at all without my earbuds & music playing. Good luck! What an awesome way to start the new year!

I started therapy with a therapist who specializes in eating disorders around 8 months post op. I'm now over 2 years post op and I go every week. It has made all the difference for me in being successful on this journey. I cannot recommend it highly enough. :-)

Love this post! What a great question. For me success has become less about a number and more about freedom. Freedom from the constant obsession with food....what I'm eating, what I'm not eating, what I shouldn't be eating, what I should be eating but I'm not eating. You get the point. Still working on this one.

That's a great time! Congrats! I've run several races since then, including a half marathon, but I will never forget the feeling of complete accomplishment that I felt after completing that first 5K. There is just nothing like it! couch to 5k is great. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Definitely follow your instincts. I changed surgeons about 1/2 way into my pre-op program....maybe 4 months in. I didn't like the way they did things. They didn't let you meet the surgeon until right at the end after you had met all of the requirements and I wasn't comfortable with that. As soon as I switched surgeons, everything was speedy and flawless. I was so glad I did it. It's too big of a deal to be uncomfortable with the program. Even if it is "just" the surgical coordinator, she/he is likely the one you will deal with more post-op with questions you call in with, etc. You don't want to get attitude every time you need some assistance.

That's awesome! Good for you. I started a blog when I began my journey (about 9 months pre-op) and I still keep up with it now (27 months post op). I get messages all the time that it has helped complete strangers with their struggles and that means the world to me. It also keeps me honest. Everytime I want to give up or go off track I think about everyone who reads my blog and I feel a sense of responsibility to them. it's also great for me to go to it and look back over my journey. Some day in the future when I feel more like my journey is "complete" I'd love to make it into a book. Anyway, just wanted to say I think you will be really glad you did this a couple of years down the line when you can look back on it :-)

You are going to be a success!!! Congrats on your approval and getting a date set. My starting weight was very close to yours at 278.4. I too have always been so obsessed with weight going from restricting to binging and back again. It sounds like you are definitely off to a good start. If I might make a recommendation, I would definitely suggested reading "When food is Love" by Geneen Roth. My therapist recommended this to me when I was 10 months post-op and I SO wish I would have read it before surgery so that I could have started working on the underlying stuff ahead of time. I try to pass it on as much as I can now because it has been such a life-changer for me. :-) Good luck to you on this journey!