Elizabeth21

In addition to slowing down, you need to chew, chew, chew more. Also, eating moist foods will help.

My surgeon prefers us to avoid liquid calories. He states that his patients that focus on getting Protein from solid food have had better success rates.

You've got this. Remember to be nice to yourself!! Don't be a hero -- if you find yourself uncomfortable or in pain: tell them! Insist on proper care and meds. Keep in mind that walking around will help you feel better faster. Even just a few steps at first and working your way up to more is good!! Most of all: REST!! Good luck!

Hi all. So, cold winter and losing weight is AGING my face. My skin is dry and now that my face is getting thinner -- well -- hello wrinkles. Any suggestions??? Also experiencing dry itchy skin all over from tough winter. Do you have a fave body lotion? Thanks girls!!

You've just had major surgery and your body needs time to heal. You WILL feel better!! Be really kind to yourself right now. Sip, sip, sip, and walk, walk, walk. Then rest, rest, rest!! It took me about 3 weeks to feel back up to speed after surgery and another 5 before I felt closer to normal. Read the success stories! It will be worth it. I just got to 4 months out and already I am enjoying so many benefits! You will get there. Meanwhile, be gentle with yourself and your body. It's working hard! Good luck!

I suspect that your mother is very jealous of you. Maybe it is subconsciously so. My obese mother has always been jealous and uncomfortable with any of my weight losses. It might be that your mom is just not going to be capable of understanding this decision. So, I agree with the suggestions above -- be careful with your exposure to her and her toxicity. And, just relate to her as you might a child who cannot understand. I find when I accepted that my mother was incapable of understanding of my choices in life, I felt less hurt and angry because I looked at it as not a choice of hers and not a rejection of me personally, but rather a mental inability of hers that she has no control over. Good luck!

Another reason to drop the Protein shake is that liquid calories are just not as filling and satisfying as solid ones. If I have a protein shake versus a protein food bar, the food bar will satisfy me a lot longer, even though it has fewer calories. So, dropping your shake may have the benefit of curbing your appetite. Also, adding some unflavored Protein powder to drinks or foods is a low calorie way to up protein if you are concerned. A teaspoon is about 30 calories for 10 grams of protein. Good luck!

@@mysleeve, you can do this! The reason I explained the reason for the preop diet was because that is what helped me maintain it. Knowing that it wasn't just about staying on a plan to lose a pound, but, would really make a difference. Do your best, and, if you are worried, just let your doctor know. Chances are it will be fine. Good luck!

None of us has gotten here without trying something else before. In fact most of us tried EVERYTHING else before!! And it all failed, which is why we turned to WLS. With that kind of track record, of course it is difficult to rally faith once again and believe this will work. But, do the math. Really, how can it not work without our choice? We literally cannot put as much food in our bodies as we could before. The body has to burn energy. So, focus on the lean Protein intake and drink those fluids. It's going to work! Read the success stories and be inspired! Good luck!!

Well, here's the thing. It's not really about whether the doctor finds out. It's about avoiding liver damage and other complications during surgery. The preop diet is done in order to shrink the size of your liver. Some surgeons are more experienced, skillful, or cautious and therefore some are more strict than others about this. Do yourself the favor of maintaining your preop diet as closely as possible so that your surgery can go as smoothly as possible. Dealing with surgical complications will be much harder than foregoing the cheating during preop. Good luck!

Good for you! I'm not in maintenance yet, but, about a month ago I reached my minimum goals in terms of my size. I want to lose more -- and have been -- but I too want to avoid diet mentality and arrive at the ultimate goal already living the way I need to in order to maintain. Furthermore, I lost two very dear people very suddenly about a year ago and was painfully reminded that you have to enjoy some of life as you go because if you put it all off you may never get there. So, I have had a couple of indulgences myself. Did I eat/drink off plan? Yep. However, NOTHING like I would have before surgery. So, really, even the indulgence was still "diet" when compared to my past normal! I also continue to learn about myself and relationship to eating with these experiences. Bottom line: I believe mental attitude is the most important part of this process. Thanks for sharing your experience and keep up the good work!!

The scale can make me crazy. So, I stay off of it. I can tell I am losing by the way my clothes fit and what I am doing. I am not going to weigh myself again before I go back to doctor for follow up at the end of April. The last time I weighed in was at my last follow up appointment. For me the number can just be an enemy. I am focusing on the non-scale victories. I have already enjoyed so many of those! (Lower BP, fitting in chairs, looking better, etc.) And really, if you think about it, those are more important than the actual number on a scale. My advice: let go of the scale and embrace the new you. Let the new you focus on your improved health and quality of life! Good luck!

Fit into regular bathroom stall Comfortably sit in public seating (movie theatres, planes, classroom desks, amusement parks, etc.) Remain independently mobile and not become trapped in my own body Being noticed for something other than my size

Take a deep breath and be nice to yourself. I had a rough weekend too. Just too many opportunities to slip up and I did. However, I am choosing to learn from the experiences. Much of this journey has been trial and error. So, I am reflecting on this weekend and working on what I can take away from it. It's just been one weekend @2bullymom. We are in this for life. Good luck!

I was scheduled to stay two nights, but went home after one night. I was more than ready to go home. Of course complications, etc. can affect any projections. Good luck!

@@Gladys62 I am glad that you are going to be working with a different doctor. Remember YOU are the customer and you deserve to be treated like a queen!! I cannot tell how long ago your surgery was. I too had some crappy complications after surgery. It was about 8 weeks out before I began to feel more myself again, and, really it was about 12 weeks before I felt more normal in terms of energy. So, take heart. Your body is trying to handle a lot. I agree with the recommendations above including not being too hard on yourself. It will get better. As you heal, things will become more normal. Good luck!!

Overall quality of life. I am almost 4 months out. My biggest surprise is how quickly I reached my "minimum goals" for my overall quality of life. Even though I am only about halfway to the ultimate weight loss "goal," I am already so much more comfortable in my own skin. I now look "average" not huge and I can fit in chairs and bathrooms and look decent in clothes. My BP is better and I do not hurt like used to. Although I'd like to lose more, if I didn't, I would still be okay because I can move okay and function normally in the world again. For me, it is important to acknowledge how far I've come already so I do not get caught up in what could be an elusive goal of a number on a scale. The only "symptom" I did not expect was how dry my facial skin would get, but, that's just a matter of updating my moisturizer. But being able to feel pretty again -- and feel good again -- and just "fitting in" again: priceless. Good luck!

*HUG* I was so conflicted and scared when I first began to research the sleeve that I was physically ill for the first several days. It had always been something I thought I would never do because of the all the risks and life changes with bypass. But the sleeve was different and as I learned more and realized that I was seriously considering it I really was nervous. Honestly, it was my research on this site that convinced me to do it. I am three and a half months out now and I am very glad I did it. But, I think mindset is the most important thing. So, I think you are doing the right thing by doing research and asking questions. You do not have to rush into this. If you do decide you want to do it, you may have to educate the people around you. On the other hand, you do not have to tell everybody either. Many of us have chosen to not to share with too many because we did not want to deal with their negativity or justify ourselves. Good luck!

Monday mornings can be excruciating. I feel the pressure of all my responsibilities and problems all at the same time. I've struggled with major depression most of my life, so I know this is a part of it. I'm just wondering how others deal with the downward spiral when it hits. I appreciate your suggestions. Thanks.

That is good news!

@@mns112182, I am sorry you had that experience. That assistant should be fired. Obviously she is incompetent and insensitive. I'd report her to the surgeon personally. Hopefully the surgeon isn't as big an idiot as her. They owe you an apology. YOU ARE THE CUSTOMER!! You do NOT deserve such treatment. And furthermore, you are absolutely correct in your comment that everyone does not lose at the same pace. You've lost 40 lbs!! That is awesome and more will come. This is not a race -- it is your life!! You are on your own timeline and do not let that bully discourage you any further. Insist that you see your doctor only from now on and remember that doctor should treat you like royalty!! Good luck!

Take a breath. You're going to be okay. Learn from the experience. You do not need to do penance and punish yourself tomorrow by backtracking to liquids. Just pick up from where you are. This plan will take some time to adapt to. Be nice you yourself!! Good luck!