TweetyVSG13

All I can say is Babe, you've dealt with Cancer. The rest of this is just sweating the small ****.
Be amazed at yourself for how far you've come. So what, you had a wobble?! I had a wobble! I was supposed to go in on the 2nd Sept, but had too much going on in my life and in my head, that I rolled it till the 19th Sept.
Yup, I'm 3 days out. I'm alive, I'm well - yes, I'm a bit sore - but I am very optimistic. This WILL change my life. And, if there are hurdles (which I'm sure there will be), then I'll cross those bridges when I come to them.
I know you say you have an addictive personality - but I think most of us food-lovers have a food addiction at some level. I hope to swap one shower of crap traits for a load of healthier and happier ones. Like, for example, wracking up extensive debt for all the designer clothing I shall be buying! Huzzah! (Only kidding - to a degree ). If you need more time, take more time. If you need to talk to someone - talk to someone. If you want to bounce ideas in this forum - we're all here and every viewpoint is valid.
However, it is important to note that no matter what is said - the decision ultimately lies with you. As it stands, I think you're amazing on many levels. Surviving cancer so courageously and baring your soul so openly and honestly on here being two of them. You're a survivor. Take a deep breath, weigh up the pros and cons like you had to do before, make your decision and be comfortable with it. Whatever you choose, we'll all be here rooting for you. xx

My daughter and I were on vacation and had walked into a store that we have never been in. As we were walking around the produce section I looked across the store and I saw two people that had on our same outfits. The one I noticed first was the lady dressed like me, only she was much thinner then I was. Then I noticed the other woman, and realized she had the same outfit on as my daughter, I walked over to my girl to point the two out to her, and then it hit me! I wasn't looking across the store at two different women wearing our outfits, I was looking into a big mirror that was placed there ( I guess to make the store look bigger) and so of course I was seeing us....I just didn't realize that I was so much thinner then my mind gave me credit for. I still pointed it out to her while laughing at myself....we both started laughing so hard, that I am sure that anyone else that was around must of thought we were either completely nuts, or just on some kind of drugs! Lol
Well that I consider an NSV right there....not even recognizing myself in a mirror! Haha
Hope you enjoyed my silly little NSV!

Total BS! My doc said to have your cheat days twice a month and thats it....Getting real tired of people telling me "well its ok to have this once in a while". Then you start thinking to yourself "hmm, you know thats right, I can have it once in a while". Next thing you kno, every thing ur eating becomes a "once in a while type food" lmao.
This whole summer I messed up badly, BBQ's everywhere, hangouts, drinking etc. I was trying to focus on clean eating but everyones like chill out u deserve to have sum type of fun. So thats what I did, chilled out. My mistake bc ofcourse, I had to pay the price of weight gain! (Like 5-10 pounds) Which was a set back for me bc I was only 20 pounds away from my goal and just ended up prolonging it as we all know the last 20 pounds r the HARDEST to lose.
A small stomache is a TOOL! You cannot exspect to be eating junk in small portions and believe that you will have your dream body in no time. I'm so glad I was able to get my ass back in check and get back to work! I now meet with my strength training coach 3x a week and then go to lucille roberts to take a few classes when I can. I focus on Protein Protein protein and very little carbs. Two weeks so far and Im feeling FAB! Yesterday at work we had a pizza party. Everyone had pizza and I watched them while I drank my Premier Protein shake! Someone told me "You can have a slice, one slice wont kill you" I said "It wont kill me and it wont HELP me either. Today isnt cheat day, It can wait"
I'm just feeling unstopabble and Im not tryna hear no one's peer pressure. Just thought I'd warn some of you. Dont ever get too comfortable and dont listen to others. Always do YOUR BODY good! Have a nice day

I too am just about three months out. June 24th, down 41 lbs. and it shows. I don't feel uncomfortable sharing. I do however wait to be asked. If they don't ask I don't offer. But when asked I tell the truth. Nobody has come right out and asked "hey did you have that weight loss surgery?" Its more like "so are you working out a lot? Then I share. Eventually everyone finds out. I made a choice and feel good about. it was almost a year from my first bariatric surgery meeting until my surgery. gave it a lot of thought, learned a lot and chose to move forward. I'm happy with my decision thus far, and sharing is easy for me. I hope it gets easier for you and anyone else that may feel weird about being honest.

Ladies -
Only you can answer the ultimate question of whether this is right for you or not. Your surgeon can advise you on the risks of surgery. Weigh that factor heavily.
There is a plethora of information on this site about the trials and tribulations of pre-op and post-op weight loss. While I certainly Celebrate individuality, I see many threads of commonalities in the postings here. Meaning... there are other people just like you. Look for them. You may even want to contact them. Ask what you are really worried about....
I was sleeved in June of this year. So most of us June sleevers are about 3 months out or a bit less. 99% of us are past the physical issues related to surgery and now dealing with stalls and avoiding old habits again. I would suggest reading the June 2013 sleevers trail of messages where you will see the good bad and ugly as about 100 people went through this process.
In my humble opinion, the physical repercussions are relatively minor compared to the mental and emotional ones. Each of us has their our own set of challenges but there is a great deal of crossover.
Build a strong network of people close to you in real life and perhaps a few key supporters online that really "get it" and "get you".
This is not easy but either was being overweight with no hope in sight. 24+ years of just getting heavier, trying every diet, exercise plan, gaining after pregnancy - I am surprised I am still sane.
"Did I try hard enough?" That is the self-sabotage question of a lifetime. I asked myself that long enough and was becoming my own worst enemy. Finally, for me, I just said to myself - "The results are in and these people with sleeves are really doing it. I just don't want to live like this anymore and I don't want even more problems when I age." There is a posting about the Straw that Broke the Camels back here. I would suggest you read those postings. VERY compelling statements about what brought people to this point. I suspect you will see yourself in a variety of those postings.
"Did I try hard enough" can imply that this step is not a hard one. This process/journey is by no means easy. So I suspect when you're on the other side of surgery you will say "Damn right I have!!" Pat yourself on the back for figuring out that this is going to work for you and get ready to work with a tool that you have been looking for all of your life.
I wish you both the best of luck in your continued journey. Feel free to reach out to me privately too. The best is yet to come.

You know, guys, I'll be honest here. I am a HUGE DRINKER! (not booze, yall!!!!) I can remember as a very young child drinking at least two glasses of Water BEFORE our food arrived if we ate out. That has always been the case. Now, I have also ALWAYS HATED water! LOL. As an adult, I always drank gallons of Diet Coke. Once I was sleeved, I actually cold turkeyed from DC a few months before not even realizing I was going to be sleeved so I had broken the habit prior. I did have the occasional diet drink or carbonated diet something but nothing like before.
Once sleeved, and having the need to get the water/fluids in I found that the Water made me nauseous and discovered Crystal Light (I know - I know - don't give me any guff about the aspartame) I now drink at least 12-15 cups of water a day always with my favorite citrus Energy CL. And I drink during, before and after meals. It doesn't phase me. I have played around with it and I don't get any hungrier if I wait or don't drink prior.
Now, in the early stages of recovery I did adhere to the policy simply because I could NOT eat/drink and needed to get my Protein in. At 3+ years out, I don't see myself not drinking with my meals. I don't actually drink much at all. Maybe a few sips because I don't eat much food either!!!!! STILL. Here is a good explanation of the Pyloric Valve and how it works with fluid:
The function of your Pyloric valve is the single most not talked about important part of understanding how and when you should eat and drink.
The Pyloric Valve is just that....It is a valve that is located at the bottom of your stomach/sleeve. This valve is in between your sleeve and the lower intestine. The basic definition of a valve is an apparatus that opens and closes.
When open this valve it is about the diameter of a dime. When closed it’s opening is closed down to the diameter of the head of a ballpoint pen.
Dense Proteins and harder to digest foods will cause the Pyloric valve to close to hold the food in your stomach for pre-digestion...... stomach acids breaking down this “Rough” food.
That’s why we are told to eat dense Proteins first.....To close the Pyloric Valve so food stays in your stomach/sleeve longer so we have a sense of satisfaction.
It takes about 30-60 minutes for the food to clear the Pyloric Valve...... Than it’s OK to drink.
That is also where the term slider food comes into play. A slider food does not close the Pyloric Valve and as the term is intended.....food slides right past an open Pyloric Valve.
There is a video that gets posted every so often that is supposed to explain food going past the Pyloric Valve. The guy uses a funnel and has apple sauce or something in it....and it shows the apple sauce dripping out the end of the funnel very slow. Than he pours water on top of the apple sauce to dilute it, illustrating drinking after eating.....and the diluted apple sauce runs through the funnel end faster. Than he concludes that this is how your pyloric valve works.
Well, it is a great video that only tells half the story.....remember it’s a valve...and he is only showing it in the open position....
So now the other half of the Pyloric Valve function..... You eat a dense Protein like chicken that causes your Pyloric Valve to close. Say for example your sleeve has a 4oz. capacity.....and you eat 4oz. of chicken.....your sleeve is full and holding all 4 oz. of chicken for pre-digestion because your Pyloric Valve is closed.
So now try and drink something....where is it gonna go? Up.....Up until it hits another valve of sorts..... the Esophageal Sphincter (valve) and above that is a flapper valve. The function of these two valves is to hold food, bile and stomach acids in your stomach and not backing up into your air way. This is a very high pressure system. Thats why when you eat to much or drink after eating a hard to digest food and your Pyloric is closed.....It hurts cause you pressurized your intake track. Vomiting would be a natural pressure release.
So you can see how learning and understanding how the Pyloric Valve works is important as it pertains to eating and drinking with a Gastric Sleeve.
So that was kinda like VSG and the Pyloric Valve 101
As you get further a long you will want to use the Pyloric Valve in other ways to keep food in your sleeve longer to stay satisfied longer.
A sleeve empties faster than a stock un altered full size stomach so sometimes it’s beneficial for you to learn what foods stay in your sleeve longer to extend satisfaction.
Dense proteins are #1 in closing the Pyloric Valve. Chicken, steak, pork, fish.....in that order seems to be the way it goes for me.
Other foods that are hard to digest and help close the Pyloric Valve are foods like:

Broccoli Stalk
Asparagus
Celery
Cucumber with Skin
Radish
Cabbage (I’m testing this right now)
Bell Pepper

So I hope you understand my 5 cent tour of the Pyloric Valve and how it effects the way we eat with a VSG and how important it is to work the Pyloric Valve to your benefit.