SlimJill

Yeah the people I was with were experienced smokers with good weed. We smoked A LOT. My friend said it took her 4 or 5 times until she got high. The act of smoking didn't really appeal to me though, I would much rather eat a sundae hahah, that is my drug of choice... and sadly even the surgery didn't take that away

I never used it before surgery, and tried it after and didn't get high at all. I was so disappointed. Lol

But I don't think that is a reflection of the surgery, more a reflection of me being a first time user

I've heard of this, how some people don't get stoned their first time and I always found it interesting. I got super stoned my first time and I just can't imagine how you wouldn't get stoned unless you didn't inhale. Its mind boggling.

That my addiction is still here and I still struggle each day to control my unhealthy relationship with food.

Surgery has no doubt helped me, I would probably be 300 + pounds right now without it instead of 175, but I still expected I would have it easier than this.

I never used it before surgery, and tried it after and didn't get high at all. I was so disappointed. Lol

But I don't think that is a reflection of the surgery, more a reflection of me being a first time user

Maybe you are just taking too big of a sip?

Don't cheat because it's for your safety!

I tricked myself into thinking that if I cheated during my preop that my liver would not shrink and the surgeon would nick my liver and I'd die on the operating table.... now that is probably not true, but that fear scared me into staying on track.

For the my experience with the surgery...

The 4 days in the hospital were pretty miserable because your tummy gets sore, nausea, and being in a hospital is never fun. But the recovery was pretty quick and painless once I got home.

Well... my surgeon described it to me like this

Bypass is still the gold standard in terms of weightloss... HOWEVER if you have medical problems post-op the bypass could be the reason why. Whereas with the sleeve you still absorb everything as normal and it doesn't create more problems for you.

Now what I would use as my deciding factor would be

1. How much weight do you have to lose?

2. What are you triggers? Bypass will give you dumping syndrome if you eat sugary foods, whereas sleeve will not.

3. How much do you have to spend... a huge consideration for me was bypass was $20,000 cash, and sleeve was $10,500 cash. I was already borrowing money and draining my bank account for the sleeve so bypass was out of my reach.

Plus if you look at sleeve videos on youtube, or listen to people stories on here you can see that people lose just as much weight with the sleeve versus bypass. It's a tool and it all depends on how you use it. The sleeve has much fewer complications and problems post-op.

Well you won't ever be able to throw back a bottle of Water in 1 minute... or drink while eating... but the further out from surgery you get the easier it is to drink Water. It took me 15 minutes in the hospital to drink an ounce of water, but today I can drink almost like normal and don't feel thirsty. BUT you do need to make an effort to drink throughout the day because like I said, you can't just throw back a glass or two.

You get jealous of people eating and drinking water, at the same time!

This is something I'm wondering ...
Do I will feel thirsty forever after the sleeve?
After we Will drink again like normal people?


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I definitely know those feelings of anger. My family ordered pizza hut when I was just a few weeks out from surgery! I had such a reaction to it too, sweating, heart racing, anxiety, NOT from eating it, I did not eat it. But just smelling it, seeing it, wanting it, drove me nuts. After that I respectfully told them to please never bring pizza hut into the house and they haven't. I think there is a difference between expecting everyone to live your lifestyle and asking for support.

Yesterday, I hung out with some friends and they all knew I was on the post op liquid diet. The weather wasn't too good outside and they were hungry and decided to order pizza. They started to order and mid-order asked if I was okay with it. Of course I wasn't but I felt stupid saying no so I said it was okay. They ordered it and ate it in front of me even forgetting that I couldn't eat it and offered me some after it came. Do I have a right to be upset about them knowingly ordering a food they know I like even though I said it was okay? I feel like if the roles were reversed I would have never done that to them.


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If he sees you everyday then it can be difficult. I would make a before and after picture for yourself, put it on the fridge for your own motivation and I'll bet when he sees it side by side he'll take back his statement!

I'm 5'1-5'2 and my starting weight was 250... I am now 178 where my body is most comfortable sitting at. I would like to get to 150 lbs as my personal goal weight, but would LOVE to see 125 and be able to say I am half the woman I used to be but 150 would be a dream for me too... lowest I've been in my adult life was 168

You get jealous of people eating and drinking Water, at the same time!

I really admire that

I had that as my original goal too, but a few months post-op I took a very stressful job and 1 sugar free reeses cup turned into the beginning of the end for me. I want to get back to that place you speak of... the freedom to say... food is not my everything, it is just fuel for my body. Maybe I can harness some of your good vibes and start fresh tomorrow.

Yes I agree with that, food addiction is very tough. It would be so much easier to be able to cast food away forever. To never eat another morsel of food. But we must play this balancing act.

Yes, maybe I should just take a minute to recognize what I am feeling, stress at work, etc and channel it elsewhere.

I think this is my main struggle too. Food addiction is hard to deal with bc it's like an alcoholic being told to have one drink a day. But I think exercise, writing, journaling, art, talking to friends. I think the main thing is recognizing your emotion when you're stressed or upset and want to eat and choosing to channel it. Just take a second when you're feeling the urge to eat and think about how ur body is feeling and how ur mind is feeling and parse out what the emotion is. If it's not actually hunger, think of alternative actions that u can take that aren't food. It takes a looong time to be able to do this consistently but keep at it


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When I started this journey back in March with my six-month pre-op diet, my first goal (even above losing weight) was to re-establish my relationship with food. Specifically, I didn't want food to be the focal point of everything in my life anymore. And that was a tall order and took some time, but it eventually happened. When I say that I replaced food with life, I meant that instead of obsessing over where and when (and what and how often) to eat, we think about what activities we are going to do on an outing. My partner and I leave Monday for a 3.5 week tour of Southeast Asia. Our planning has been much more about excursions (some even very physically active) rather than what kind of food we're going to eat. We get out and walk; we go to the movies; we go see the Christmas light displays. And more importantly, we see people; we don't avoid pictures, and we re-connect with old friends that we have been too embarrassed to face for years.

I have gotten food to the point of being fuel for me and nothing else. Sure, I want what I eat to be good. If not, I wouldn't have worked so hard to get all of my Protein from food so I could dump those heinous shakes once and for all. But every day, I remind myself that food is just food -- not a friend, not a companion, not a coping device, not a support, not a destination, not an event, not the centerpiece of life. I let food and my out-of-control obesity control my life for far too long. That is over.

Yes I agree with that, food addiction is very tough. It would be so much easier to be able to cast food away forever. To never eat another morsel of food. But we must play this balancing act.

Yes, maybe I should just take a minute to recognize what I am feeling, stress at work, etc and channel it elsewhere.

I think this is my main struggle too. Food addiction is hard to deal with bc it's like an alcoholic being told to have one drink a day. But I think exercise, writing, journaling, art, talking to friends. I think the main thing is recognizing your emotion when you're stressed or upset and want to eat and choosing to channel it. Just take a second when you're feeling the urge to eat and think about how ur body is feeling and how ur mind is feeling and parse out what the emotion is. If it's not actually hunger, think of alternative actions that u can take that aren't food. It takes a looong time to be able to do this consistently but keep at it


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I still burp or hiccup 1.5 years out, if you bring in too much air you get it out somehow lol!

What did you replace food with post-surgery?

How do you deal with stress, boredom, loneliness, etc?

I am 1.5 years out and still struggling with this, every chance I have I turn to food for comfort.

So I'm looking to know what our new and older members do in real life to replace foods place in our heart...

I know this topic is a little old, but thought I would throw in my experience in case it helps or hasn't been resolved yet.

I am 22, so I was shocked when I realized after several months... I hadn't been thinking about sex, wanting it, fantasizing or anything... it took me months to even notice it was gone that's how bad it was!

I had an epiphany one day... when I went for a checkup and my surgeon checked my Vitamins he said my Vitamin D levels were low, almost insufficient actually. I did some research and found that Vitamin D is related to libido and started to take a daily supplement until my libido came back and voila, it's back! Still not full force... but much much much improved and I think it was the lack of taking my Vitamins that caused it.

You can DEFINITELY fail, trust me. *cries*

It starts with one piece of chocolate and escalates into containers of ice cream, bags of chocolate... I was 168 lbs in February and after a few months I am now back up to 173 pounds. I didn't think it would possible to gain 5 pounds in such a short period of time with the sleeve but that is with constant snacking all day long, and horrible food choices.

Just an FYI I am starting a detox diet on Monday, going back to basics with all liquid Protein shakes for a few days to zap myself out of this food binge I've been in. We can only fail if we let ourselves...

Hehe were you all looking for some pics of my hot boyfriend? He certainly does love my body too so I guess I can provide a few pics of myself and himself... And just so you guys know we actually do like each other for other reasons he is super sweet, nice, a gentlemen, smart! *Melts* It just helps that he is also super sexy with an accent and buff body

And myself... not too shabby either

 

I may have posted somewhere before that I've never had a boyfriend... well now I do!

And he loves my sleeve!

He's a pretty fit and muscular guy so he likes to eat a lot, meaning finish all my meals.

"This is amazing, I get half your cheeseburger all the time!" too funny

Just thought I would share that not every guy is going to be judgmental, some will love it for the silliest of reasons.

Do the surgery earlier for sure... although I had mine done fairly early at 20 years old.

Never reintroduce sugar or fake sugar into my diet again! BIG mistake

I had food dreams A LOT in the beginning... in one I went in Walgreens and took one of every candy bar and then got up to the register and thought "Are you nuts, you'll get SO sick if you eat even one bite of all these!" and put them back... but I also had dreams where I cheated badly on my diet and woke up for a split second thinking "ohmygosh, I've messed up all my hard work!"

I'm in!

Starting 178.8 lbs

Goal: 165

*Anything under 170 is new territory for me as I haven't weight less than 170 ever in my adult life!*

Before: 250 lbs

After: 178.8 lbs

I'm not done yet, but I'm loving this "after" already

Well today I texted my boss to let him know I've completed 32 hours of modules at home and will start the new set today. I spoke to him before about it and he said "Oh yes, just make a list of how long it takes you and I'll put it in all at once instead of 2 hours here, and 30 minutes there..." but that was verbal... now I have to see if he comes through on it. And if he doesn't I will be calling the District Manager, HR, Ethics Line, etc...

I just keep repeating to myself... 7 more months... 7 more months... 7 more months...

If only pot were legal my problems would be solved jk, not trading one addiction for another!

I certainly understand your struggle.

I am glad to hear you are seeing a therapist. In addition to therapy, have you ever considered OA? If you go to their website, www.oa.org, you will find meeting lists (phone and in-person), podcasts, and literature.

I also understand having a miserable job. Sometimes it's because the job/organization is not right, but sometimes it's because we are miserable and unhappy with our lives. You will have to do some soul searching, but if the job is not right you may just have to find something else. You don't have to quit today, but you can start working on a plan today to change jobs and find a job that works for you.

In the meantime, are you getting in all your Protein, fluids, and Vitamins?

Are you exercising?

Do you journal?

Do you pray/meditate?

Do you have a trusted friend you can talk to?

Do you have any hobbies?

Do you volunteer?

Get the junk out of your house, your desk, and/or your car, or wherever you keep it. If you don't have it you can't eat it.

Keep participating here.

Best of luck and keep us posted on how you are doing.

.

Thank you everyone for your replies!

I will definitely look into OA. I had looked into them maybe a year before surgery but I wasn't truly ready to let go of food so I never pursued it.

*Deep Breath* This job. Oh Man.

This job is at company A, and I never EVER expected it to be so crappy.

1. Never enough man power to get the work done so constantly falling behind (not just me either, but people who have been there for years struggle to complete their work)

2. Because of the above I constantly feel inadequate at my new job

3. Because of the above I frequently skip lunch to make sure I can finish my work for the night - which I know is really bad because it's a very physical job and I need fuel.

4. On the odd chance I do decide to "treat" myself to a lunch break I have the cashier calling me up for backup to help with the line (And I am NOT a manager, I make an hourly rate = working on my lunch is working off the clock)

5. Because they don't have enough labor hours provided by corporate the manager expects me to do job required training at home on my own computer which I haven't been paid for yet (32 hours worth of it with tons more to go)

6. I'm constantly stressed out, feeling inadequate, never having a moment to breath, and really hate it.

All that being said... I am definitely looking for something else. I have 7 months until I graduate with my Bachelors degree and once I have that in my possession the world is my oyster! I will finally have not a limited schedule due to classes! Right now I'm kind of in a pickle because I have class on Wednesday, so every normal M-F 9-5 job I can't have... only retail... so if I switch companies I'm not entirely sure I will have it any better at another retail company... In addition, this job has given me the title of Shift Supervisor with a whole host of new responsibilities which will look very good once I graduate and apply to other jobs so I don't want to lose that title. But at this point I need to decide which is more important to me - my health and happiness or my career.

Fluids: Check check check I'm constantly drinking Water at work and at home

Vitamins: Check

Protein: I am getting in right around 60 grams though it should probably be more when I'm working.

A new hobby I've adopted is shopping for clothes though that isn't exactly a stress relief...

I'm exercising though not on a regular basis.

And as I wrap up this long post I'm going to go throw out my junk food! Thank you guys and I will definitely try a 5 day cleanse. Unlike before the surgery I know my success is in my own hands and I can do this!