VSGAnn2014

I think the only way to start exercising is to start moving -- just a little bit. Then move just a teeny bit more. I honestly believe anyone can do anything if they just do that.
Last spring when I was recliner-bound (yup, could hardly move my ass out of it), I started counting my steps in my head (one, two, three ... thirteen, fourteen ... sixty-one, sixty-two). I literally counted how many steps I was walking each day. Kept a record. I found I was walking less than 1,000 steps a day.
These days, even before being sleeved (happens in a few weeks), I'm now hitting over 5,000 steps daily and sometimes 6,000 and 7,000/day. I've lost over 10 pounds in the last 8 weeks.
I'm now on Day Two of the pre-op diet. I have no doubt I will survive that, too.
It doesn't matter at all what you can and cannot do. Just do that today. Then tomorrow do a tiny little bit more. The next day, same thing. And along the way, be kind to yourself and don't hurt yourself.
If you want some inspiration, check out this guy!

Coming up on twenty years married and two years post-op. Our marriage is stronger than ever.

I'm a "situational ethics" kind of girl. There are few behaviors and decisions I find to be universally righteous or sinful. (Funny words, those.)
Just as with all other behaviors and lifestyles, it depends on the people, the society they live in, their families, their friends, their intelligence (intellectual and emotional), their patience, their style, and their luck.
I simply don't think I could pull it off. For one thing, this would be a deal breaker for my husband, whom I adore and cannot imagine living without. He'd leave me. Plus, it would wound him horribly. And I would destroy the life I love.
But all that has nothing to do with the OP's decisions and actions. Everything that happens to her is on her.

Since WLS surgery? Nothing. Not even the (relatively mild) gall bladder attack or GB surgery / recovery 4 weeks post-WLS.
But pre-op -- it was WAITING FOR THE DAMN SURGERY TO FINALLY FREAKIN' HAPPEN!
My surgeon was so backed up with huge demand. So jumping through all the pre-op hoops took a long time. It made me so crazy that I finally put myself on a diet and lost 11 pounds prior to the liver-shrinking diet.
Pre-op, I also practiced all the post-op eating behaviors -- eating slower, chewing lots more, not drinking with meals, drinking 64 ounces of Water daily, walking more (bought a Fitbit and got up and moved), took Vitamins, started tracking all my food on My Fitness Pal, etc.
I was like a kid who wore a Batman cape everywhere because he thinks he's Batman.
So when I hear about pre-op patients who are having a month of last suppers and whining about the liver-shrinking diet and worrying about losing their hair somewhere down the road and drama-llamaing about potential loose skin and not being able to close down the bars every weekend and other s**t like that, I just shake my head.
Don't they know how wonderful this surgery is going to be for them and that it will be worth any inconveniences and lifestyle changes required of them?
Again -- shaking my head.
(I may have had too much coffee this morning.)

Obviously, not!
My husband chose me. And my body was / is so not perfect.
Neither is his.
It seems irrelevant to how we feel about each other.
BTW, congrats on losing your excess weight and maintaining your weight loss. That's really great!

VSG patients' weight losses three years out are all over the place. The more you lurk and read here, the more you'll see that some have regained a considerable amount and others are still at or below goal -- and everything in between.
There is no single outcome. It depends on your willingness to continue to follow a lot of eating rules that you learn when you have surgery, your nutritional knowledge and the food choices you make and the portions you eat, whether you exercise (and how consistently), your susceptibility to binge eating and grazing (not the same thing, but both awful for your maintenance dreams), the support system you have for creating a new lifestyle, and your own good or bad luck with regard to your metabolism.
I also think it depends on how badly you want to be healthy and slim long-term. The sleeve helps a lot. But if you're determined to eat (or compelled to eat by an eating disorder or stress or other forces), you can figure out how to eat around the sleeve.
That's my take on it.

@@gina171 ... thank you.
But I think you deserve your own Batman cape.

Since WLS surgery? Nothing. Not even the (relatively mild) gall bladder attack or GB surgery / recovery 4 weeks post-WLS.
But pre-op -- it was WAITING FOR THE DAMN SURGERY TO FINALLY FREAKIN' HAPPEN!
My surgeon was so backed up with huge demand. So jumping through all the pre-op hoops took a long time. It made me so crazy that I finally put myself on a diet and lost 11 pounds prior to the liver-shrinking diet.
Pre-op, I also practiced all the post-op eating behaviors -- eating slower, chewing lots more, not drinking with meals, drinking 64 ounces of Water daily, walking more (bought a Fitbit and got up and moved), took Vitamins, started tracking all my food on My Fitness Pal, etc.
I was like a kid who wore a Batman cape everywhere because he thinks he's Batman.
So when I hear about pre-op patients who are having a month of last suppers and whining about the liver-shrinking diet and worrying about losing their hair somewhere down the road and drama-llamaing about potential loose skin and not being able to close down the bars every weekend and other s**t like that, I just shake my head.
Don't they know how wonderful this surgery is going to be for them and that it will be worth any inconveniences and lifestyle changes required of them?
Again -- shaking my head.
(I may have had too much coffee this morning.)

Since WLS surgery? Nothing. Not even the (relatively mild) gall bladder attack or GB surgery / recovery 4 weeks post-WLS.
But pre-op -- it was WAITING FOR THE DAMN SURGERY TO FINALLY FREAKIN' HAPPEN!
My surgeon was so backed up with huge demand. So jumping through all the pre-op hoops took a long time. It made me so crazy that I finally put myself on a diet and lost 11 pounds prior to the liver-shrinking diet.
Pre-op, I also practiced all the post-op eating behaviors -- eating slower, chewing lots more, not drinking with meals, drinking 64 ounces of Water daily, walking more (bought a Fitbit and got up and moved), took Vitamins, started tracking all my food on My Fitness Pal, etc.
I was like a kid who wore a Batman cape everywhere because he thinks he's Batman.
So when I hear about pre-op patients who are having a month of last suppers and whining about the liver-shrinking diet and worrying about losing their hair somewhere down the road and drama-llamaing about potential loose skin and not being able to close down the bars every weekend and other s**t like that, I just shake my head.
Don't they know how wonderful this surgery is going to be for them and that it will be worth any inconveniences and lifestyle changes required of them?
Again -- shaking my head.
(I may have had too much coffee this morning.)

Since WLS surgery? Nothing. Not even the (relatively mild) gall bladder attack or GB surgery / recovery 4 weeks post-WLS.
But pre-op -- it was WAITING FOR THE DAMN SURGERY TO FINALLY FREAKIN' HAPPEN!
My surgeon was so backed up with huge demand. So jumping through all the pre-op hoops took a long time. It made me so crazy that I finally put myself on a diet and lost 11 pounds prior to the liver-shrinking diet.
Pre-op, I also practiced all the post-op eating behaviors -- eating slower, chewing lots more, not drinking with meals, drinking 64 ounces of Water daily, walking more (bought a Fitbit and got up and moved), took Vitamins, started tracking all my food on My Fitness Pal, etc.
I was like a kid who wore a Batman cape everywhere because he thinks he's Batman.
So when I hear about pre-op patients who are having a month of last suppers and whining about the liver-shrinking diet and worrying about losing their hair somewhere down the road and drama-llamaing about potential loose skin and not being able to close down the bars every weekend and other s**t like that, I just shake my head.
Don't they know how wonderful this surgery is going to be for them and that it will be worth any inconveniences and lifestyle changes required of them?
Again -- shaking my head.
(I may have had too much coffee this morning.)

@@gina171 ... thank you.
But I think you deserve your own Batman cape.

Since WLS surgery? Nothing. Not even the (relatively mild) gall bladder attack or GB surgery / recovery 4 weeks post-WLS.
But pre-op -- it was WAITING FOR THE DAMN SURGERY TO FINALLY FREAKIN' HAPPEN!
My surgeon was so backed up with huge demand. So jumping through all the pre-op hoops took a long time. It made me so crazy that I finally put myself on a diet and lost 11 pounds prior to the liver-shrinking diet.
Pre-op, I also practiced all the post-op eating behaviors -- eating slower, chewing lots more, not drinking with meals, drinking 64 ounces of Water daily, walking more (bought a Fitbit and got up and moved), took Vitamins, started tracking all my food on My Fitness Pal, etc.
I was like a kid who wore a Batman cape everywhere because he thinks he's Batman.
So when I hear about pre-op patients who are having a month of last suppers and whining about the liver-shrinking diet and worrying about losing their hair somewhere down the road and drama-llamaing about potential loose skin and not being able to close down the bars every weekend and other s**t like that, I just shake my head.
Don't they know how wonderful this surgery is going to be for them and that it will be worth any inconveniences and lifestyle changes required of them?
Again -- shaking my head.
(I may have had too much coffee this morning.)

I'm a "situational ethics" kind of girl. There are few behaviors and decisions I find to be universally righteous or sinful. (Funny words, those.)
Just as with all other behaviors and lifestyles, it depends on the people, the society they live in, their families, their friends, their intelligence (intellectual and emotional), their patience, their style, and their luck.
I simply don't think I could pull it off. For one thing, this would be a deal breaker for my husband, whom I adore and cannot imagine living without. He'd leave me. Plus, it would wound him horribly. And I would destroy the life I love.
But all that has nothing to do with the OP's decisions and actions. Everything that happens to her is on her.

About 4 years ago I tried Topamax / Topiramate at the suggestion of a rather random doctor I met.
My experience was that Topamax made me ... clinical term here ... nuts. It made me an anxious, very nervous, sleep-deprived, still-fat girl.
One woman's experience. That's all.

So you're anti-alcohol of any kinds for WLS patients and think all WLS patients should be or become tee-totalers ... right?
Do you feel the same way about alcohol for patients a year out (and in maintenance) as during the weight-losing phases?
Do you also recommend no-Cookies for WLS patients? Ever? Even in maintenance?
What about cake?
Barbeque (and all the sugar in those BBQ sauces)? Chili?
Breads? If not all breads, which kinds / brands?
What about coffee? Tea? Marijuana?
What about sweet potatoes? White potatoes?
Fruits -- with or without sugar?

What the hell?!?
No, no shaving required. No shaving done.
Why in the world are you required to shave your pubic hair?
Out of curiosity, has any male patient ever been required to shave his pubic hair prior to laparoscopic surgery?

What the hell?!?
No, no shaving required. No shaving done.
Why in the world are you required to shave your pubic hair?
Out of curiosity, has any male patient ever been required to shave his pubic hair prior to laparoscopic surgery?

@@gina171 ... thank you.
But I think you deserve your own Batman cape.

Since WLS surgery? Nothing. Not even the (relatively mild) gall bladder attack or GB surgery / recovery 4 weeks post-WLS.
But pre-op -- it was WAITING FOR THE DAMN SURGERY TO FINALLY FREAKIN' HAPPEN!
My surgeon was so backed up with huge demand. So jumping through all the pre-op hoops took a long time. It made me so crazy that I finally put myself on a diet and lost 11 pounds prior to the liver-shrinking diet.
Pre-op, I also practiced all the post-op eating behaviors -- eating slower, chewing lots more, not drinking with meals, drinking 64 ounces of Water daily, walking more (bought a Fitbit and got up and moved), took Vitamins, started tracking all my food on My Fitness Pal, etc.
I was like a kid who wore a Batman cape everywhere because he thinks he's Batman.
So when I hear about pre-op patients who are having a month of last suppers and whining about the liver-shrinking diet and worrying about losing their hair somewhere down the road and drama-llamaing about potential loose skin and not being able to close down the bars every weekend and other s**t like that, I just shake my head.
Don't they know how wonderful this surgery is going to be for them and that it will be worth any inconveniences and lifestyle changes required of them?
Again -- shaking my head.
(I may have had too much coffee this morning.)

@@gina171 ... thank you.
But I think you deserve your own Batman cape.

Since WLS surgery? Nothing. Not even the (relatively mild) gall bladder attack or GB surgery / recovery 4 weeks post-WLS.
But pre-op -- it was WAITING FOR THE DAMN SURGERY TO FINALLY FREAKIN' HAPPEN!
My surgeon was so backed up with huge demand. So jumping through all the pre-op hoops took a long time. It made me so crazy that I finally put myself on a diet and lost 11 pounds prior to the liver-shrinking diet.
Pre-op, I also practiced all the post-op eating behaviors -- eating slower, chewing lots more, not drinking with meals, drinking 64 ounces of Water daily, walking more (bought a Fitbit and got up and moved), took Vitamins, started tracking all my food on My Fitness Pal, etc.
I was like a kid who wore a Batman cape everywhere because he thinks he's Batman.
So when I hear about pre-op patients who are having a month of last suppers and whining about the liver-shrinking diet and worrying about losing their hair somewhere down the road and drama-llamaing about potential loose skin and not being able to close down the bars every weekend and other s**t like that, I just shake my head.
Don't they know how wonderful this surgery is going to be for them and that it will be worth any inconveniences and lifestyle changes required of them?
Again -- shaking my head.
(I may have had too much coffee this morning.)

Here's how I think about these feelings throughout the weight loss phases .... Y'know how when newbies are in their first week post-op and say things like this:
"Am I ever going to be able to drink Water again?"
"I feel like a failure -- I haven't lost any weight yet?"
"Will the gas pains ever go away?"
"Has else anyone ever regretted having WLS?"
A few months down the line -- when we can drink again, have lost XX pounds, have forgotten about gas pains, and our only regret is not having had WLS earlier -- it's hard to remember our early concerns.
I expect that in a few months, a year, or two or three down the road you are going to look back on these feelings (if you even remember them) and regard them the same way.
This journey is so long. We encounter so much tough territory. And then we leave it behind. Last month's mountain is forgotten when we look up at the next one.
It's good to feel what we're feeling and call it by its name.
As a friend keeps saying, it's all good.

Since WLS surgery? Nothing. Not even the (relatively mild) gall bladder attack or GB surgery / recovery 4 weeks post-WLS.
But pre-op -- it was WAITING FOR THE DAMN SURGERY TO FINALLY FREAKIN' HAPPEN!
My surgeon was so backed up with huge demand. So jumping through all the pre-op hoops took a long time. It made me so crazy that I finally put myself on a diet and lost 11 pounds prior to the liver-shrinking diet.
Pre-op, I also practiced all the post-op eating behaviors -- eating slower, chewing lots more, not drinking with meals, drinking 64 ounces of Water daily, walking more (bought a Fitbit and got up and moved), took Vitamins, started tracking all my food on My Fitness Pal, etc.
I was like a kid who wore a Batman cape everywhere because he thinks he's Batman.
So when I hear about pre-op patients who are having a month of last suppers and whining about the liver-shrinking diet and worrying about losing their hair somewhere down the road and drama-llamaing about potential loose skin and not being able to close down the bars every weekend and other s**t like that, I just shake my head.
Don't they know how wonderful this surgery is going to be for them and that it will be worth any inconveniences and lifestyle changes required of them?
Again -- shaking my head.
(I may have had too much coffee this morning.)

Since WLS surgery? Nothing. Not even the (relatively mild) gall bladder attack or GB surgery / recovery 4 weeks post-WLS.
But pre-op -- it was WAITING FOR THE DAMN SURGERY TO FINALLY FREAKIN' HAPPEN!
My surgeon was so backed up with huge demand. So jumping through all the pre-op hoops took a long time. It made me so crazy that I finally put myself on a diet and lost 11 pounds prior to the liver-shrinking diet.
Pre-op, I also practiced all the post-op eating behaviors -- eating slower, chewing lots more, not drinking with meals, drinking 64 ounces of Water daily, walking more (bought a Fitbit and got up and moved), took Vitamins, started tracking all my food on My Fitness Pal, etc.
I was like a kid who wore a Batman cape everywhere because he thinks he's Batman.
So when I hear about pre-op patients who are having a month of last suppers and whining about the liver-shrinking diet and worrying about losing their hair somewhere down the road and drama-llamaing about potential loose skin and not being able to close down the bars every weekend and other s**t like that, I just shake my head.
Don't they know how wonderful this surgery is going to be for them and that it will be worth any inconveniences and lifestyle changes required of them?
Again -- shaking my head.
(I may have had too much coffee this morning.)

I had VSG surgery at age 68. I'm 69 now and at goal. It all went pretty easily for me.
My life is worth as much to me at nearly 70 as yours is to you now or as a 25 year old's is.
FTR, my life is soooooooooooooo much better now than it was a year ago.
It's never too late to improve our lot in life.
Never.