ocean4dlm

I thought not drinking with food was going to be tough. But it's not. And yes, I did practice it for a few months prior to surgery.
First of all, you'll find it a good idea because very early post-op (even during the puree phase and then soft foods an then during real foods) you simply won't feel like you have enough room in your very small, very swollen stomach for both food and liquid.
You'll also be VERY motivated to get the most out of your sleeve. After all, you / we are all doing this to lose weight. Yes, there are a few idiots out there who try to "cheat" from Day One, but most of us are really trying to follow our instrucs well.
There are some meats you will eat that are dry -- and in those instances, just take a little (little!) sip of something to keep it from sticking. I also used sour cream to avoid dry meat sticking.
I'm nearly a year out, and I still don't drink with meals 95% of the time. I may have a few sips of wine at dinner, if I haven't finished my pre-dinner 4 ounces of wine. But that's about it. And those few wine sips haven't made me yearn to drink with food all the time because I really do like the feeling of restriction I get by eating only 6-7 ounces max of food at a time.
That's my experience. I think you'll find this easier than you think.

I believe we have to hit an emotional or a physical low point to trigger an "awakening" , before true change can begin. When the physical and psychological work together, we can be most successful.

I believe we have to hit an emotional or a physical low point to trigger an "awakening" , before true change can begin. When the physical and psychological work together, we can be most successful.

I believe we have to hit an emotional or a physical low point to trigger an "awakening" , before true change can begin. When the physical and psychological work together, we can be most successful.

I believe we have to hit an emotional or a physical low point to trigger an "awakening" , before true change can begin. When the physical and psychological work together, we can be most successful.

I believe we have to hit an emotional or a physical low point to trigger an "awakening" , before true change can begin. When the physical and psychological work together, we can be most successful.

I believe we have to hit an emotional or a physical low point to trigger an "awakening" , before true change can begin. When the physical and psychological work together, we can be most successful.

I believe we have to hit an emotional or a physical low point to trigger an "awakening" , before true change can begin. When the physical and psychological work together, we can be most successful.

I believe we have to hit an emotional or a physical low point to trigger an "awakening" , before true change can begin. When the physical and psychological work together, we can be most successful.

May 27th for me !!!!

I got my Traditional Blue approval on 6 days. Didn't even have to call and nag. I'm excited to have passed another milestone !!!!

Well…your doing a fine darn job of going in the right direction. Beautifully written and warmly received.
May your strength for love of family and self continue to grow. Would love to read as lovely an up date in the future.
You shine girl!

I thought that getting WLS was going to be hard. Turns out, it was pretty easy. I had great insurance and got approval and had surgery six months after starting my process.
I thought losing the first 100 pounds was going to be hard. Turns out, with my LapBand, it was pretty easy. My body cooperated with my band and when I ate right, the weight came off.
I thought leaving my emotionally abusive husband was going to be hard. Turns out, once I took control of my food and my body and got out of my food coma, leaving him was pretty easy. Logistically tricky, but with reliance on friends and family and a good lawyer, leaving was only temporarily difficult.
I thought the divorce process would be hard. Turns out, it is stressful and emotional, but the actual tasks put in front of me, although tedious and time consuming, are just tasks. I am blessed with a good job and resources that many women don't have. The slowness of it is harder than the tasks in front of me.
I thought walking for exercise was going to be hard. Turns out, it is the one exercise I love and have not grown tired of. I can walk for miles with ease.
I thought asking for help was going to be hard. Turns out, like exercising a muscle, the more I do it, the easier it gets.
I thought being kind to myself was going to be easy. I was wrong.
Oh, was I wrong.
Oh, I've learned it's okay and necessary to treat myself to little things, like a manicure, or a foot massage, or a movie. But then there's the other things.
And I can't help wondering if these other things have a lot to do with why I overeat and stayed obese for so long.
Like saying no to people. I say no. But then I go into "shoulda woulda coulda" and feel guilty about it.
Like reaching for comfort food or wine once in awhile. And then I start the tape in my head that says I'm bad, I'm lazy, I'm never going to get to my goal weight because I don't deserve to.
Like going out with friends and holding my head up high because I feel pretty for the first time in years. And when a musician in a band notices and makes a sweet comment about the "beautiful women in the room tonight" and points directly at me, I find the next opportunity to gather my things and call it an early evening, because to flirt would be bad, and I don't deserve that kind of attention.
Like getting a strong lawyer who is fighting for my financial rights and future, but crying at night because this divorce would go so much faster if I just didn't fight for the college money for my girls or maintenance for myself; because if I wanted out so bad, shouldn't I just cut my losses and end this?
Like not losing any weight for the last six months even though I have fifty left to goal, and telling myself it will never happen because I've never followed through on a goal weight before and what makes me think this time is any different?
Like standing up to my mom's criticisms in person, but in private wondering if she is right about me -- that I'm making a big mistake doing this or that or the other thing, and remembering how judged I felt my whole childhood and adolescence and wondering if she was right about me all along?
This is what is hard. Calling bulls!# on these thoughts and patterns and habits.
My higher self knows it. But it's so DAMN HARD to stop the negative thought cycle, that shi##y committee in my head.
Attitude is everything. I just turned 54 over the weekend and birthdays make me reflective. I have what may prove to be my best year ever ahead of me. God willing, I may see divorce papers signed in 2015. Maybe. I'm 100 pounds lighter than I was a year ago and healthier than I have been in decades. I may be moving into a new home by the end of the year. There is every reason to be hopeful.
So why does my sick brain still gravitate toward self blame and misery? Why, why don't I believe I deserve happiness?
I may never know why.
I'm a practical person. I believe in results. So what I'm planning to do about this is purely practical. It may or may not have any basis in psychology, but it seems reasonable to me.
I plan to abort those thoughts the second I sense them in my head. Literally catch myself and interrupt it with the opposite thought.
I do deserve joy. I do choose healthy food and I will meet my weight loss goal. That person that said I was beautiful was telling the truth. I choose to believe my older daughter who just told me I am strong and a role model. I believe my younger daughter who just told me I've always got her back. I am deserving of financial security and what is rightfully mine. I am deserving of a slim body and to feel pretty. Accepting attention is not shameful. I make good decisions. I take care of my loved ones and I am a good mother. I am smart and strong and pretty and nobody's fool. I am precious in God's eyes and I will live my best life.
This is the hard part. This is the only hard part. The head is always the hardest part to change.

May 27th for me !!!!

That's my sleeve date too ! Friend me and we can compare notes !

I'll be changing jobs week after next and just had a thought... My new co-workers have never know me fat. How weird\wonderful will it be to have a truly fresh start?

I agree with the above, and I seriously thought I was having a heart attack. Chest pain that rolls to the back, between the shoulder blades for me.

I am facing the same challenge. My insurance requires that I am at or above a BMI of 40 when I am weighed prior to surgery. They say that with my insurance, surgery has been cancelled if the BMI dips below.

Well said!
It is a reality that having WLS is a lifelong commitment. In order to be successful, you have to follow the rules and stick to the plan. The sleeve only prevents you from overeating in a single sitting. It does NOTHING to dictate what foods you eat, stop you from grazing, or stop you from drinking your calories. It still requires a huge amount of discipline and self control. The psychological component needs to be addressed or the OP will run into similar issues post-op as she has with the pre-op diet.
And before anyone asks me "if you're so perfect, why did you need WLS", the truth is that I was able to be perfect for LONG stretches of time in the past. I've lost hundreds of pounds on my own over the years. But it always eventually ended. I had this mentality that I could be "done" with my past diets. I can never be "done" with the sleeve. It's this simple fact that has allowed me to change my mentality this time around. My sleeve is for life. If I don't prioritize Protein, I can get sick, lose my hair, etc. There are very real and believable consequences if I mess up. It's not about weight anymore, it truly is about my health. When I was heavy before, I had a nebulous "this could be bad for my health" idea, but nothing that was an immediate threat. Now my immediate health is dependent upon my making the right decisions every day.

Gotta agree with this
You have problems now with period mood swings and sweets cravings, and responsibilities that keep you running all day. None of this will change after surgery. Sure, your stomach will be smaller but what you put in it and when becomes critical to your health and long term success.
You'll have sweets cravings with your period. How will you deal with that? You're rushing all day. How will you deal with that?
Excuses aren't reasons. You have to own the behavior before you can change it. Why were you not able to adhere to your preop diet? What are the challenges you are facing? Most importantly how do you plan to change your behaviors for post op success?
My surgeon says "I operated on your stomach, not your brain".

Sorry some of you didn't appreciate some of the truthful "tough love" comments on here. I expressed my concerns as someone who has gone through this. 16 days of a liquid preop followed by another 18 days liquid postop and 22 additional days with a restricted diet. That's almost 2 months of following my doctor's orders to a T and not cheating even one single time. My preop was over Christmas with lots of holiday parties loaded with food and drinks and sweets. But I sat there and drank my Protein shakes and Water because I was committed to this surgery and everything that goes along with it, including fighting head hunger.
My post was meant to help the OP realize that while preop is hard, it's nothing compared to the years of temptation she has in front of her. If one week of saying no to sweets is too much to handle when her medical safety is at stake, she has a long, hard road in front of her once she is healed unless she gets help with her addiction (and yes, not being able to stop a behavior despite its negative impact is an addiction). This surgery is not a miracle and the physical restriction will not change what she chooses to eat. I'm 14 months out and believe me, the head games we play with food never end.

The only reason I haven't ignored anyone yet is because they at least give me comic relief, and help me realize that I hope I never become a bitter, vindictive person.

I am a Reiki Master and encourage others to find out more. When I give a treatment to myself or a client, the energy returns to me two-fold. Reiki is an excellent way to center yourself and empower spirituality to contribute to overall health.

I had gastric sleeve surgery 12/29/2014. I was recently cleared to have bread again. My NUT said to have toast. She said I could also wait longer if I wanted to. I'm afraid to try bread because I have heard it doesn't go well post op. I don't know if it causes pain, vomiting etc? I was offered a biscuit this AM. I used to love biscuits but I
was afraid to have it so I threw it away. Can anyone give advice about bread and biscuits post op? So far I have
done well with my sleeve but I have measured everything and I have been careful. What kind of symptoms happen when you eat bread or biscuits?