BSU

I kept it quiet at first.
After a while it becomes obvious that something is going on and you get tons of questions on how you are doing it. I usually just said "eating better, eating less" to the casual enquiries. If I felt like sharing, I might say more. I have only rarely been asked directly about surgery. In those cases I say, something along the lines of "well yeah, I thought that was obvious".

It is major surgery. It will take some time to recover and heal.
Some people have had serious complications, but that is not the norm.
Also, keep in mind that the surgery is only part of the process. It will get you started, but if you do not change your eating habits long term you will not succeed.

Depends on how much you have to lose. Also greatly depends on how well you adapt to the new lifestyle.
I'm shooting for 180 down by the one year mark. Ultimately, I hope to make it even lower. May take another 6 months on top of that. We'll see.

I also try to go low carb. My NUT said 100 grams or below.
Avoiding pastas, potatoes and sugars altogether and very careful with breads and tortillas.

Hard chairs hurt more now. Less cushioning.
I also feel cold more easily.

Tacos work for me. They are a treat. Two crunchy taco supremes with no shredded cheese are only 340 calories.
As a rule, corn tortillas, even crunchy corn, are better than flour.

Hard chairs hurt more now. Less cushioning.
I also feel cold more easily.

Exactly. It has to be a long term lifestyle change, right? The sleeve was a great tool, but its effectiveness diminishes. It eventually comes back to us, the same us that previously got fat over and over again.
I am also thinking I will be logging and counting forever.
Yes, but guys have an advantage there.

Okay, I am a little over 6 months out. So far so good. I'm eating better, working out and making steady progress.
I'm now healed up and I can physically handle any type of food. Also, my capacity has stabilized at about 8 oz or so. I am targeting 1,500 to 1,600 calories a day with 100g or less of carbs.
My sense is that the surgery did most of its work in the first couple months and it is now on me. I still get full much faster than I used to pre-surgery, but I think that if I eat the wrong things I could gain weight at this point.
So, my question is, how do you maintain the momentum? In the past I have always slipped into bad habits an put weight back on. The underlying food addiction is still there. It is lessened. I don't crave so hard. Also the restriction should keep helping. However, I am worried that I could slip back.
What are the keys? How do you maintain the new lifestyle?
I have a vague idea that once I hit a good healthy weight I will dial in a calorie target and then adhere pretty much forever. Maybe I won't log everything every day like I do now, but then again maybe I will have to.
I don't know. I could use some insight.

Okay, I am a little over 6 months out. So far so good. I'm eating better, working out and making steady progress.
I'm now healed up and I can physically handle any type of food. Also, my capacity has stabilized at about 8 oz or so. I am targeting 1,500 to 1,600 calories a day with 100g or less of carbs.
My sense is that the surgery did most of its work in the first couple months and it is now on me. I still get full much faster than I used to pre-surgery, but I think that if I eat the wrong things I could gain weight at this point.
So, my question is, how do you maintain the momentum? In the past I have always slipped into bad habits an put weight back on. The underlying food addiction is still there. It is lessened. I don't crave so hard. Also the restriction should keep helping. However, I am worried that I could slip back.
What are the keys? How do you maintain the new lifestyle?
I have a vague idea that once I hit a good healthy weight I will dial in a calorie target and then adhere pretty much forever. Maybe I won't log everything every day like I do now, but then again maybe I will have to.
I don't know. I could use some insight.

So I've been waiting for this for a while, but now I can say that I have lost more than I weigh! I've literally lost MYSELF!!
Weight: 138.6
Weight Lost: 139.8
Sweet!!

I generally agree with Frankie.
I like to fly Southwest and for the past few years I always bought two seats. First, I wanted to avoid this exact situation. Second, I knew I was big and although I could fit between the arm rests I really would encroach upon my neighbor and did not feel this was fair. Unfortunately, I think this second point is largely being ignored here. The "passenger of size" rules are there for a valid reason.
In this case, the airline employee approached the OP before the flight and just warned her it could be an issue. I was going to say that it is better to be warned before than have them wait until you sit down on the plane and then call you out in front of everyone and potentially pull you off the flight, however, this is not quite right. Really, these things should be flagged at the ticket counter or not at all. Once you are on the plane, there is no possible way to address it without huge embarrassment.
I should also mention that Southwest has a great policy on the extra seats. You can call them up after the flight and they will refund the cost of the extra seat. I mean, every time. Even if the flight was completely full. Just buy a second seat with your name but use "XS" as your middle name and no frequent flier number, then tell the ticket agent upon check in that you bought a second seat and they will check you in properly. Then, just call customer service after the flight and they will refund the extra ticket fee. No problem.

I generally agree with Frankie.
I like to fly Southwest and for the past few years I always bought two seats. First, I wanted to avoid this exact situation. Second, I knew I was big and although I could fit between the arm rests I really would encroach upon my neighbor and did not feel this was fair. Unfortunately, I think this second point is largely being ignored here. The "passenger of size" rules are there for a valid reason.
In this case, the airline employee approached the OP before the flight and just warned her it could be an issue. I was going to say that it is better to be warned before than have them wait until you sit down on the plane and then call you out in front of everyone and potentially pull you off the flight, however, this is not quite right. Really, these things should be flagged at the ticket counter or not at all. Once you are on the plane, there is no possible way to address it without huge embarrassment.
I should also mention that Southwest has a great policy on the extra seats. You can call them up after the flight and they will refund the cost of the extra seat. I mean, every time. Even if the flight was completely full. Just buy a second seat with your name but use "XS" as your middle name and no frequent flier number, then tell the ticket agent upon check in that you bought a second seat and they will check you in properly. Then, just call customer service after the flight and they will refund the extra ticket fee. No problem.

I think you are doing fine. At one month out I was averaging about 1,000, but everyone is different. My Doctor told me to target 1,000 - 1,200, but that it is okay if I did not reach it at first.
You've also gotten past the dreaded week 3 stall, so that is good.
Hang in there. Your capacity will increase. Also, your weight loss will slow down, but if you stick to the plan you will keep losing.

I generally agree with Frankie.
I like to fly Southwest and for the past few years I always bought two seats. First, I wanted to avoid this exact situation. Second, I knew I was big and although I could fit between the arm rests I really would encroach upon my neighbor and did not feel this was fair. Unfortunately, I think this second point is largely being ignored here. The "passenger of size" rules are there for a valid reason.
In this case, the airline employee approached the OP before the flight and just warned her it could be an issue. I was going to say that it is better to be warned before than have them wait until you sit down on the plane and then call you out in front of everyone and potentially pull you off the flight, however, this is not quite right. Really, these things should be flagged at the ticket counter or not at all. Once you are on the plane, there is no possible way to address it without huge embarrassment.
I should also mention that Southwest has a great policy on the extra seats. You can call them up after the flight and they will refund the cost of the extra seat. I mean, every time. Even if the flight was completely full. Just buy a second seat with your name but use "XS" as your middle name and no frequent flier number, then tell the ticket agent upon check in that you bought a second seat and they will check you in properly. Then, just call customer service after the flight and they will refund the extra ticket fee. No problem.

I generally agree with Frankie.
I like to fly Southwest and for the past few years I always bought two seats. First, I wanted to avoid this exact situation. Second, I knew I was big and although I could fit between the arm rests I really would encroach upon my neighbor and did not feel this was fair. Unfortunately, I think this second point is largely being ignored here. The "passenger of size" rules are there for a valid reason.
In this case, the airline employee approached the OP before the flight and just warned her it could be an issue. I was going to say that it is better to be warned before than have them wait until you sit down on the plane and then call you out in front of everyone and potentially pull you off the flight, however, this is not quite right. Really, these things should be flagged at the ticket counter or not at all. Once you are on the plane, there is no possible way to address it without huge embarrassment.
I should also mention that Southwest has a great policy on the extra seats. You can call them up after the flight and they will refund the cost of the extra seat. I mean, every time. Even if the flight was completely full. Just buy a second seat with your name but use "XS" as your middle name and no frequent flier number, then tell the ticket agent upon check in that you bought a second seat and they will check you in properly. Then, just call customer service after the flight and they will refund the extra ticket fee. No problem.

Summary: try sugar not vinegar
Sorry to hear things are so rough between the two of you.
I do not smoke, but as I am on this Board I do have some familiarity with unhealthy habits. Let me throw something out there. I could not be told to lose weight. I knew I had a problem. I knew it was unhealthy. I knew my wife wanted me to lose weight because she loved me and that she wasn't just trying to annoy me. However, "harping" just pissed me off. It was counterproductive. I finally found this path on my own and am appreciative that my wife supports me.
Your husband apologized and you told him he needed a psychiatrist. Maybe he does, but that was not a productive response on your part. You may feel hurt that he gave in to his addiction, but I bet he is also very hurt by your behavior.
A more productive path may be to express concern and offer that, when he is ready, you will help him in whatever way he wants. Now, he may never get there on his own, but pushing and harping on him hasn't worked very well either.

I had a 2 1/2 week pre-opp diet. I've heard of some people doing just a few days, so it is really just what your doc prefers.
Not to be discouraging, but I just suffered through it. I was starving. The food and carb withdrawal sucks.
I too quickly got sick of the Protein shakes. Ended up drinking only 3-4 a day when I was allowed 4-5. I was allowed V-8 and Tomato Soups, so that helped.
The good news is, it gets much better after surgery and is totally worth it. You will not always feel this hungry. When I was on pre-opp it was torture to be around people eating real food. Not a problem now.
Hang in there. It sucks, but you can do it.

I have UHC and my surgery was covered. It must vary by plan.

I avoid it. The daily fluctuations bother me.
I'm fairly comfortable just trusting in the process. Also, I use myfitnesspal to make sure I am staying in line on calories.

I avoid it. The daily fluctuations bother me.
I'm fairly comfortable just trusting in the process. Also, I use myfitnesspal to make sure I am staying in line on calories.

Amen.
If it were as easy as diet and exercise, I wouldn't have needed the surgery.
I am finding that, already, that my yearnings for the "good stuff" are lessening. Not gone, but it is not the agony of the pre-opp diet.

I avoid it. The daily fluctuations bother me.
I'm fairly comfortable just trusting in the process. Also, I use myfitnesspal to make sure I am staying in line on calories.

There seems to be a lot of variation in recovery time. Some are fine in 4-5 days. Some need 3 weeks. I don't know how you can predict what you will need.

Yeah, that is a trap. For me it is "real food". pizza, nachos, burgers, fries, taco's, spaghetti. That's real food. It's also what got me where I am. For me the sleeve is a tool to help with my portion sizes, but I also see that I need to change my ways. Normal needs to be healthy and low carb. I am not swearing off the bad stuff 100% in the long term, but it needs to become the exception and not the rule.