naturegirl

I got some nice appetizer spoons on a sale site (haven't yet found appetizer forks but I'm still on soft foods so use a spoon most of the time) and that has helped take smaller bites. I feel better using it than I would a toddler spoons and forks but some people use those.

I prefer to read the postings from those like yourself who have had the sleeve for awhile and has success as well as failures instead of those that just had the surgery.

So I'm a pretty regular poster on the "general discussion" board since before my surgery in 2013. I still need support to maintain my weight loss as much as those who are actively losing. I still struggle everyday to work with my new "tool", I still struggle to make the right choices, and I struggle to keep myself in line. I join the holiday challenges to get me to goal and to keep me accountable to maintain. But more than once I've gotten snarky comments there like I don't have a right to be tracking my weight there. And sometimes when I post responses in other threads about struggles etc I feel like I get some snarky comments there as well. Like maybe once you reach goal or a certain point people don't really want to hear about struggles, or think that you don't need support? IDK......
I mean people on on the pre- and post- surgery forum seem more than happy to get feedback, so I don't get that vibe there, but I guess I just am disappointed because we all need support in this journey, no matter if we are 100 pounds from goal or at goal.
Oh well Does anyone else ever get that vibe??

Hi. My name is Keri and I just turned 36 a week ago. I've been married since 2003, and have 4 children ages 4, 5, 8, and 10. I have always been overweight. I was the fat friend in our group in elementary and junior high. In high school I was the fattest girl on our field hockey, soccer, and softball teams. But at least I was active and trying to control my weight. With college and adulthood I became sedentary. I sit at a desk for 8 hours, where the extent of my walking is to refill my Water or use the restroom.
I started jogging in 2013 in an attempt to get healthy and control my weight. As a result I have run a dozen 5ks and 2 10k. Unfortunately this spring my momentum to jog is seriously lacking due to a 15lb spike in my weight. I'm need to get back into it because I like where it puts me mood wise. In 2 weeks I'll be jogging the Tinkerbell 10k at Disneyland. I haven't trained as much as I'd like, but am still excited.
I just began the bariatric journey two weeks ago. So far I have attended a group info session and have my first meeting with the surgeon scheduled for the 13th. My husband is also along for this journey. His first meeting with the surgeon is this coming week.
Emotion wise I'm scared, excited, nervous, and anxious. I don't know how long the wait will be and it frustrates me! I'm a planner and need to know what lies ahead. But until then I'll be reading all I can to prepare for the journey ahead.

I met with the surgeon and case manager today for our first appointment. They are looking at either the end of July or early August for my procedure. I have blood work and an EKG tomorrow and then need to meet with the Psychologist before we can move forward.

Hi everyone,
My husband and I are just starting our process towards the VGS (having the surgery a few weeks apart) and have a question that I am hoping that some of you can help me out with.
We have had our first pre-surgical meeting with the surgeon and have been given our list of pre-surgery tests we need to have done. Part of that is the psych evaluation. When I was first told that we would be doing the psych eval, I was not worried. Now, after emailing a bit with the therapist who will be doing the eval on Friday, I am much more worried.
He indicated that what he is concerned about, and the things that can prevent us from being approved for the surgery are that we are currently obese because any of the following reasons:
A history of binge eating Poor adherence to prior diet and physical activity plans Inadequate control of portion sizes in meals Boredom eating, stress eating, or eating out of habit rather than hunger Eating to self-sooth or as a distraction from stressors Inability to control cravings for unhealthy foods/poor food choices So guys, what’s the deal? Do they expect that we got fat be a freak accident? Or perhaps the surgery is only for people that stick to diet and exercise plans, have good eating habits with small portion sizes, never boredom or stress eat and still end up obese?
I want to be honest with the guy, but it sure sounds like pretty much like a history of any activity that makes people fat will disqualify you from having weight loss surgery. I know that my husband and I are both obese because we eat too much, eat the wrong things, and don’t burn enough calories. It is all related to bad habits that we need to break and the surgery is just one part of that.
Any advice or thoughts?
Thanks!

Hi. My name is Keri and I just turned 36 a week ago. I've been married since 2003, and have 4 children ages 4, 5, 8, and 10. I have always been overweight. I was the fat friend in our group in elementary and junior high. In high school I was the fattest girl on our field hockey, soccer, and softball teams. But at least I was active and trying to control my weight. With college and adulthood I became sedentary. I sit at a desk for 8 hours, where the extent of my walking is to refill my Water or use the restroom.
I started jogging in 2013 in an attempt to get healthy and control my weight. As a result I have run a dozen 5ks and 2 10k. Unfortunately this spring my momentum to jog is seriously lacking due to a 15lb spike in my weight. I'm need to get back into it because I like where it puts me mood wise. In 2 weeks I'll be jogging the Tinkerbell 10k at Disneyland. I haven't trained as much as I'd like, but am still excited.
I just began the bariatric journey two weeks ago. So far I have attended a group info session and have my first meeting with the surgeon scheduled for the 13th. My husband is also along for this journey. His first meeting with the surgeon is this coming week.
Emotion wise I'm scared, excited, nervous, and anxious. I don't know how long the wait will be and it frustrates me! I'm a planner and need to know what lies ahead. But until then I'll be reading all I can to prepare for the journey ahead.

Listerine is your friend. It's nasty but it works. Gargle with it, use the pocket spray, suck on the breath strips.

NOTHING tastes good after a healthy dose of it so it will kill your cravings for sure.

Since I've had many surgeries, and just as many recoveries (Thank you Lord!!!), I always tell the anesthesiologist about my severe nausea. They then adjust for this, and I always have a patch put behind my ear, as well. Very little nausea results. Make sure you tell them about a nausea issue, so they can be read for it!

You're going great!

Congratulations!!! Very exciting journey!
If you're not familiar with these items already, ask about:
surgeon's complication rate...leaks, etc. pre-op requirements..length, diet type, etc. hospital length stay. Recovery time for returning to work, cardio, weightlifting, etc. post-op phased diets Start making lifestyle changes now...decreasing caffeine, adding exercise, lower calories, quit carbonated beverages, etc. The more you lifestyle changes you make pre-op, the easier the transition is post-op! Best of luck to you!

Congratulations! I loved the pre-op diet in retrospect. In addition to shrinking the liver, it's a fantastic start to your pre-op life!
The first few days can be rough, but I kept telling myself, "Fat is stored energy. I will not starve!" And it got easier and easier. And I lost 25 lbs between pre-op and post-op diets. Fantastic!
It was so strange from eating 3-4 cups of food in a sitting to just having Protein shakes, broth, or popsicles. But once out of surgery, I didn't miss the food at all. It was like night and day.
Once I was on purees...everything tasted wonderful. I quickly learned to love the small portions.
You're gonna love your sleeve!

Today I weighed myself and for the first time since surgery, my breath was taken away from what I saw on that scale. Less than 2 months ago (March 3rd) I weighed 270 pounds. Today, I weighed 220 pounds. Im almost to the weight that I weighed the day I married my husband. That's 50 pounds gone forever! I am so grateful for this journey no matter what I had to go through! I don't do pics...but here is my before and after face shots.  

I didn't take that approach bc I was afraid of gaining weight I worked so hard to lose. I did however enjoy a little bit of sourdough bread with my favorite homemade French onion Soup.

More like last meal(s). LOL!
We had Pappasittos, a Mexican restaurant here in Texas with margaritas, fajitas, queso, guacamole...the works.
Another night we had Papadeaux, a Cajun seafood joint and I did a Long Island Icetea, fried catfish, shrimp, fries and a slice of cheese cake.
Our very last meal, the night before pre-op was at Eddie V's steakhouse and I went full on hog wild. Oysters, vodka martinis, salad, filet mignon, blueberry cobbler and an after dinner brandy.
You'd think I was being executed on death row or something.
Get ready for a major change however. I'm 5 weeks out and stomach says no more after about a 1/4 cup of anything.
Binging on food days are long gone and I can't say that I miss it one bit! It's so true that whatever hormone comes out with the stomach portion that is removed reduces hunger and desire to eat tremendously.
Congratulations on your decision and good luck on preop.

I just joined this group but have been reading the boards for two weeks now. I just attended the group information session at Rockwood/Deaconess last week and have my first appointment with Dr. Rawlins in three weeks. I live about an hour and half south of Spokane and have not yet investigated support groups in my area. Has anyone noticed if there is overlap in the people in this group and the people that attend the Rockwood support group?