vipgilbert

i feel your pain! i too...was HUNGRY. no, not head hunger, not all in my mind...i was HUNGRY. and guess what? i still get HUNGRY. as a matter of fact...i have to eat about every 2 hours around the clock because i get real hunger and i don't like to be hungry.
for me, as my body becomes more adjusted to life post surgery and the new me is emerging, i realize that i go through two phases every day, REALLY fast, around the clock:
1. i get hungry VERY quickly
2. i get full VERY quickly
i do not have a "middle ground" where i am "on my way" to being hungry. i eat and i am very full, and then two hours later, i go from full to hungry.
i no longer have a signal telling me i am GETTING hungry. i just get hungry.
i have adjusted to it, and i am fine with it. at first, i was very worried, but my surgeon was honest with me throughout the entire process. he reminded me that EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT.
EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT.
and that is not a bad thing.
some of us still get hungry. some of us don't.
i do.
personally, i like being hungry. i haven't lost my love for good foods, i haven't lost my desire to eat. personally, i was worried that i would "forget" to eat. ha, that is not a problem for me! i now struggle with my full signal...but that's another thread entirely. LOL.
do i regret my surgery? not a bit. i am almost 46 pounds down in a bit less than 4 months. i have no regrets and no qualms.
our surgeries are only tools...we are ALL different. you did not waste your money...you just have to make it work for you.

Thanks everyone! I have done well but I am just really proud of him and wowed by his transformation. I think when you see someone everyday you see them differently. I was floored when I saw this picture taken July 19th, I might add, because I never remember him being that heavy. The sleeve was always my journey and he jumped on board hesitantly at first only because he was afraid he would lose me if I lost weight and he didn't but now he is unstoppable!

.@@SuperDave
enjoyed reading your post
you have lost over 100 lbs before surgery!!!
thats wonderful!!!!
shows your strength, determination and commitment to losing weight
losing so much weight on your own - woo hoo!!!
looking forward to seeing "less and less" of you
you really are "super"
keep up the good work
good luck
kathy

Hello there. I’m Dave, 44 years old, from Arizona. I will apologize in advance, this might be long!
I am 1 week post-op today, but my weight loss journey started almost 3 years ago. I knew my weight was out of control, but I had no idea how bad since I had long ago exceeded the max weight of a standard scale. I was walking out of work one night, through the warehouse. Nobody was around, so I decided to weigh myself on the shipping scale. (Hopefully I didn’t weigh more than a pallet of goods!) I was 450. I knew it would be bad, but I was shocked at that number. Definitely my “what the @#!*?” moment! I decided that night that I had to make changes, and I did. Bariatric surgery had not entered my mind at that point.
Several months after that, I had emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia. By chance, the surgeon on staff that day was Dr. Podkameni, who also happened to be the head of the bariatric center at the hospital. There were complications that resulted in an 11 day hospital stay, meaning that I saw a lot of Dr. Pod. We talked about bariatric surgery, but I told him I was already working on it and having success, and I didn’t feel like such an extreme measure was needed. The truth is, I feared that I would have to give up food the rest of my life. I was raised in a food centered family. My father was a baker by trade. He owned several cake shops throughout his life. My earliest childhood memories are playing in the back of the shop while Mom baked and Dad decorated cake after cake. Family activities centered around food. It is just how it always was, and still is. I picked up the bug at an early age. I became an excellent cook, and still to this day nothing brings me greater happiness than cooking for family and friends. It is my escape from reality. It is what I love to do.
So, over the next 2 years I worked at it. I had my ups and downs, but I managed to lose 120 pounds. Down to 330. A definite improvement, but not where I needed to be. And then I bottomed out. I hadn’t changed what I was doing, I just got to the point where it was no longer enough. I settled in at that weight, but in the back of my mind I knew I had to do more. The one thing that kept coming back to me was what Dr. Pod said on the day I was released from the hospital. Basically, I knew where to find him when I got to the point that I needed help. I did some research and decided it was time.
I had my initial consult in March of this year. I started my medically supervised weight loss, as required by my insurance. The whole process reinvigorated me. I started losing again while the bariatric center and insurance company fought about payment. After 8 months I was finally approved and scheduled for surgery on November 10th. The morning I checked into the hospital for surgery I was 299.9 pounds. I truly do not remember the last time in my life I weighed under 300 pounds.
Surgery went well, but the next few days were rough. At times I was sure I had made a huge mistake. I had extreme nausea for 3 days, including dry heaves several times a day. My pain level was much worse than I was expecting. I was unable to even come close to taking in the fluids I needed, and I am still struggling with that. But it gets better every day. I am down 12 pounds from surgery and ready to face the challenges ahead. I appreciate the information and support from the people on this site. I have no doubt now that I can finish the journey.
Thanks for reading and for sharing the adventure with me!

You are such a mature and brave person. Honestly, it's so hard to look at yourself and realize when you can't fix everything on your own. What you're going through sounds like disordered eating like you said, but just remember that so many of us on this site have experienced disordered eating, albeit in the opposite direction. Having surgery doesn't change the way we think about food no matter how prepared we think we are, and it's going to be a journey for many years to come. You seem to have a really clear head about all of this, and I hope this program helps you heal a bit. I've done inpatient programs before and it can help to take some time out and focus on yourself. Good luck with everything, and let us know if you need help or support.

I send you Christmas wishes for a positive outcome and continuing self-awareness. I bet you can figure this out and learn to live in the healthy zone--however you need to define that for yourself.
It's impressive that you are taking this seriously. I'm also impressed with your partner. What he did took courage, too.

"they" say knowing the problem is 1/2 the battle so..... you are half way their!!!!
good for you on recognizing you have a "situation" that needs immediate attention
you are very important
glad you are putting yourself on the front burner
taking care of you is essential to your health and well being
the plan you have made sounds great
in patient therapy for awhile
more therapy at home
I know you can/will work hard - others helping you
you will deal with this problem and become successful
i wish you a healthy, happy new year
good luck
kathy

My appointment today had a scale reading of 279. Last dr visit I was 295. The team was excited. The dr came in and had a true heart to heart with me and said I was doing above average. He said not to worry about having issues with certain foods because there may actually be foods that I simply can't tolerate with the sleeve. Most important to watch Protein intake and liquids. His expectations are 1-2lbs per week. Just continue on the path I'm on and I will do fine. I expressed my concern over an increase I saw in the scale. He said all that was normal and DO NOT STRESS. Do not stress people! I read so many times of those who feel u aren't loosing fast enough or referring to someone else who lost more. Well they aren't you. The main thing is compare yourself to no one. We are all going to progress at different rates. The only wrong thing is to not follow the instructions you have been provided with to use with your new sleeve. Reverting back to poor eating and not using this amazing tool as it was designed "to help". It isn't a quick fix or a solution. You have to change the way you see food and change your relationship with food.
Enough rambling! I'm excited after today.
And if you doubt yourself don't!
Wishing everyone happy holidays!

All I seem to see on here are how amazing everyone is doing, how they're the model patients, getting all their Protein, Vitamins, Water intake, daily hours in the gym etc. I had my surgery in Nov 14 and here's what I e learnt so far....
1) some foods that are bad for you are easier to eat e.g chocolate
2) I'm still hungry and I still crave all the food I did before
3) you get bored or the same food choices very quickly
4) Protein shakes, Protein Bars are disgusting
5) your breath stinks and you have a taste of metal/metallic in your mouth
6) you don't lose the weight as quickly as you might think/hope... but you do lose
7) the novelty of only being able to eat soft tiny portions wears off and sometimes you wish you could join the rest of the family for a big old dirty Chinese
Having said all that it is worth it, I'm so glad I had it done. In 2 months I've lost almost 35 pounds. I thought I wouldn't be hungry... I am. I thought I wouldn't be able to eat chocolate/sweet stuff... I am. I've now accepted that and know I need to resist as much as I can.

Many Take-out places have alternate menus. I stick with places where I can get nutritional values like Panera, for example. Since I am gone a lot I sometimes have no choice but to order out. Its about being flexible and making choices that work. One meal from a take out place will not derail you if you don't let. That is advice from both my surgeon and my NUT. Everything in moderation and make good choices and be mindful. No need to be extreme.

I'm 4'11", but I always say I am 5'. I was sleeved close to 8 weeks ago and have lost about 25 pounds (I don't closely track it). I'm walking, but have not made it to the gym yet. Good luck, everyone!

@@blessedin08 - as far as I understand it, the insurance covers you for 12 months post-surgery, but it does only cover you *there*. Meaning, it would pay for you to fly down to your doctor and receive care there, but I don't believe it covers postoperative complications that you have to deal with stateside. The thought of being rushed into surgery for a leak, with no insurance coverage here at home, is a terrifying one. I actually called and talked to an adjuster and they had never had a claim for my surgeon (Dr. Ramos Kelly). I am hoping I'm not the first one!

November 10th for me in Tijuana Mexico with Dr Ramos-Kelly! I'm nervous for the after life of being sleeved. Especially only sips of Water, normally I love to chug water... Going to be a huge adjustment but I'm ready!

the tasting thing makes sense thanks for that

I heard this tonight from someone and I thought that I would share it. What I definitely won't miss is a woman telling me that I "would be such a good looking man if I just lost some weight". Well tonight it really rubbed me the wrong way.....and I said, " ya know, I'm handsome now and in 6 months I WILL BE SKINNY and in shape and you will still be a bitch!!!"

the tasting thing makes sense thanks for that

I too am panicking about losing my favorite foods this post helped a lot

What a great thread this is. I don't know how I've missed it until now! I love reading about shedding sizes. I haven't been under a size 16 in over 30+ years. Right now I'm in a size 20 and really looking forward to surgery and a new wardrobe. Keep posting all these victories please. It gives up pre-ops something to look forward to. :thumbup1:

I was able to buckle the seatbelt without an extender yesterday on my flight to San Diego! Have lost 17 lbs on pre surg diet!
By this evening I will have crossed the line into sleevedom!

Hey, I just realized a couple NSV! My CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) seems to have disappeared along with the depression. I was going through my old journal, and I was amazed how this has all slipped away. Who would have believed it! It might be that I no longer eat refined carbs (flour/sugar) and am following a healthy regime now. It's like a 180* turn around. I thinks it true, we actually are becoming new people. Maybe that is why others may feel insecure about our weight loss. We are changing to be better version ourselves. Praise be!

Loving this thread! My favorite thus far is the one I posted about last week. I can no longer buy my clothes from the woman's department at Kohl's. I now can shop in the regular sizes.

Hi all. I am now down roughly 60 pounds and seven weeks out from when I started my liquid pre-diet. Am also having some awesome NSV moments. Some are:

No longer wearing 3x shirts. They are packed and ready to be taken to Goodwill. My size 48 (expandable) pants? Gone too. Can button my pants at my belly button. No more "slant pants." I wore a much smaller belt...and it was a new one! Went three days this past week without needing a mid day nap. Three days now without any slimes or throwing up. Joined a local health club to work out. Snoring is all but gone. No more BP meds at all (125/65 is normal now). And BMs much more normal and less stressful. Bought myself an I-touch. That was my 50 pound loss gift to myself. Any suggestions for the 100 plateau? That's a short list, but ones that come to mind.

Please, share yours!

Let's look at the fact that this journey is not just about the weight loss, but about all the wonderful things that continue to happen along the ride!

ME ME ME!!! November 17th in Tiajuana. Excited to pieces. I know everyone is different, but I am going to think positively. I want to throw away all this insulin, needles, and pills!

the tasting thing makes sense thanks for that

the tasting thing makes sense thanks for that