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I'm in!!! I'm on day 3 of pre-op diet & being sleeved 21 May (yikes).
My BMI was 36 and I too receive comments like 'you don't need it' and 'why not just join a gym'
Seriously? I'm like 5 foot and look like I got stuck inside a swim tube, although I must admit none of them have seen me naked (I don't even like to look)!
I had intended to keep it to myself, hubby & kids due to the negativity from others and shame that I couldn't do it alone (the rest of the family just assumes I am lazy, pfft I walk 6km almost every day).
Then I got to thinking, they don't know my journey so far or that the treatment for my diabetes piles the weight on, or that the dietary treatment for it is carbs first, coupled with hypertension and sleep apnoea.
I'm not making a big announcement or anything, but if I'm asked I'm not going to try and hide it. This was a huge decision, a lifelong commitment but I know that this is my only hope of taking back control.
Looking forward to following everyone's journey!

Hi, I'm on day 3 pre-op diet & doing ok. My sleeve date is 21 May and I'm getting so nervous (almost to the point of talking myself out of it).
I would love to get hold of your soft foods recipes if that's ok? I think planning, prepping & freezing meals in advance will certainly help not being caught out & just winging it!
BTW was 'ragrets' from We're The Millers?

I am in too!!! I didn't even finish reading all the posts but I fit in perfectly here!! I am 5 ft tall and weighed 191 at the surgeons office. My husband and friends and coworkers that know are all supportive...my mother is one of those who seems to think I can do it on my own. I even took adipex for 4 months and are 1100 calories a day, and only lost about 15 lbs. i am sitting in the gi docs office right now waiting to see when I can have my scope done. Then all I need is my pre op clearance from my PCP and one more dietician appt (on the 21st) and I then wait the insurance approval game.

@ Hey! My surgery is 21 May and I'd love to have a buddy too.

I'm in!!! I'm on day 3 of pre-op diet & being sleeved 21 May (yikes).
My BMI was 36 and I too receive comments like 'you don't need it' and 'why not just join a gym'
Seriously? I'm like 5 foot and look like I got stuck inside a swim tube, although I must admit none of them have seen me naked (I don't even like to look)!
I had intended to keep it to myself, hubby & kids due to the negativity from others and shame that I couldn't do it alone (the rest of the family just assumes I am lazy, pfft I walk 6km almost every day).
Then I got to thinking, they don't know my journey so far or that the treatment for my diabetes piles the weight on, or that the dietary treatment for it is carbs first, coupled with hypertension and sleep apnoea.
I'm not making a big announcement or anything, but if I'm asked I'm not going to try and hide it. This was a huge decision, a lifelong commitment but I know that this is my only hope of taking back control.
Looking forward to following everyone's journey!

I was blessed to have people who supported (and paided) for me to get this tool...gastric sleeve in August 2009. I want to say it here and now, do not step away from this forum when you are feeling good and that all is done. Do not let the embarrassment, shame or even despair keep you away AND if you are new to the forum, please be aware it can happen and always, ALWAYS come back.
So here is my deal, I have gained 57 lb. back...totally walked away thinking I've got this and then life continues to happen. I would occasionally come back to the forum; however, was embarrassed because there were discussions about putting 5 or even 10 lbs. back on which made me feel that I really really messed up and feeling like a major failure. So, this is my way of overcoming my first obstacle...my pride AND we all need to talk about the reality WHEN it happens. Now, I'm not saying it is going to happen to everyone...truly, I am only saying WHEN so for those of us it does happen to we have a place to come back and not be humiliated or called out. Does that make sense???
I use food to deal with stress, anxiety and all that other junk...LOL. I want to put a caution out there...I had the food sort of under control and then have come to the realization that alcohol was now my new friend and over a period of the last 3 years the weight started coming back on and then guess what, I noticed one day my eating habits were right back where I started.
I am grateful for the ability to have an area to come and begin again. It is my hopes to not scare anyone, I'm not a negative nelly either! Most of my friends see me as being a very positive person and yes, that is pressure as well....LOL.
Today, I am behaving like I had my surgery yesterday. I'm scared, cautious and freaked out about what I will put in my body...LOL. The beauty is I know I can do this...one sip at a time. Okay...enough for now, have tears streaming down my face, laughing and glad to be back here....

Hello BariBrothers, BariSisters, BariFamilies, and general lovers of healthy, good food. My name is Smye and I live on a small farm in the Pacific Northwest.

WHO IS SMYE?

I've always been a big guy. I hit 100 pounds when I was 4-years-old, was 200 pounds before I turned 10, and was bumping 300 on my 13th birthday. I grew up in a fast-food home, 2 of every 3 meals were eaten in the car and I continued to 'grow.'

After college I decided to turn my life around (despite hating the clichéd phrase) and started my farm with the goal of raising 80% of my own calories. Over the course of a year, my partner and I started a large garden, built a green house and started raising ducks, chickens & goats.

Three years later, I was far healthier, felt better, and felt grounded - yet I continued to grow. Whenever friends would come to stay with us, helping me haul hay, split wood for the woodstove or process a goat, they would all inevitably ask the same question "I don't get it dude, why are you still fat? You work hard, eat well, and still you're huge." I'd smile, shrug, and wish I could figure it out myself.
Turns out I was just eating too much of all the right things.
When I hit 415 in January 2015, with the help of my doctor and an enormous amount of research, I decided it was time to pursue bariatric surgery - that dreaded procedure for the 'weak' I'd kept in the back of my mind for 15 years.

On February 12, 2015 I had a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy and I couldn't be happier about it. Between beginning the pre-op diet and the end of April, I lost 91 pounds. I had more energy than I'd had in years, fit into clothes I haven't worn since high school, and found myself better able to navigate the socio-political mazes of life.

Let me be clear, however, this has not been easy. Bariatric surgery is never the easy way out, nor is it for those who are weak. I'm sure I'll post specifics at a later date, but I want you to understand that my choice to have surgery, and my success in the meantime, were not in any way simple, straightforward, or comfortable. This has been FAR harder than any diet I've tried in the past, and it's going to be a lifelong effort to keep the success I've got, let alone losing the 100 remaining pounds I need to shed. But wow, has it been worth it.

WHAT IS BARI-DELICIOUS?

First, some background: During both my pre- and post-op appointments with my nutritionist, I was horrified by the suggested things I could eat once I was back to 'regular foods.' The suggestions I received were flavorless, full of preservatives & junk, and/or otherwise reminiscent of the American 'instafoods' that are, in my opinion, a large part of the original obesity problem I faced, that many of us face. I reached out to other bariatric patients, both on the web an in-person, and while several folks had one or two recipes for decent food, the majority offered me bland, uninteresting junk. Even those with a recipe or two had only those options and were struggling even then.

So what is Bari-Delicious? Bari-Delicious is a space for me to share with you some of the real, whole foods I've been enjoying lately without hurting my sleeve or deviating from the dietary guidelines provided by my NUT (who is excellent, by the way and has been super supportive, despite my complaints above). Not only am I losing weight, I'm loving every meal as much as, or more than, pre-op.

I've spent the last 7 years accommodating good foods to meet my partner's corn, dairy, and gluten allergies without losing any of the flavor or texture with 80% of all ingredients sourced from my own small farm, so it wasn't a huge jump to make these recipes low carb, high Protein and, above all, delicious.

There's no need for food to be tasteless, uninteresting or questionable in it's contents. If there's something you'd like to see that's not here, please email me here and I'll do my best. I also make sure to try everything myself and feed it to my executive chef neighbor before I post it to make sure I'm only sharing excellent food with you.

Whatever happens, my promise to you is that the blog will be a place where REAL FOOD, REAL WEIGHT LOSS and REAL DELICIOUS happen.

I'm in!!! I'm on day 3 of pre-op diet & being sleeved 21 May (yikes).
My BMI was 36 and I too receive comments like 'you don't need it' and 'why not just join a gym'
Seriously? I'm like 5 foot and look like I got stuck inside a swim tube, although I must admit none of them have seen me naked (I don't even like to look)!
I had intended to keep it to myself, hubby & kids due to the negativity from others and shame that I couldn't do it alone (the rest of the family just assumes I am lazy, pfft I walk 6km almost every day).
Then I got to thinking, they don't know my journey so far or that the treatment for my diabetes piles the weight on, or that the dietary treatment for it is carbs first, coupled with hypertension and sleep apnoea.
I'm not making a big announcement or anything, but if I'm asked I'm not going to try and hide it. This was a huge decision, a lifelong commitment but I know that this is my only hope of taking back control.
Looking forward to following everyone's journey!

This is a great thread for me as well. So glad to run across it. My surgery was 9 days ago with a starting BMI in November of 35 (minimum for my insurance if other issues). By time of surgery I was 40 BMI because I went on a food Funeral eating all of my favorite things that I'll never have again. HUGE mistake! I've lost 24 lbs and I am so disappointed in myself for gaining the extra weight because I feel it put me behind.
I am truly struggling today especially (into tears) because we went to a funeral and afterwards at the gathering was every favorite summer cook out food you could imagine. Everyone was shoveling it in and I couldn't find a safe place and felt like I couldn't breathe. My husband saw something on my face and said "why don't we go". He by the way never ate in front of me there. This happened 3 hours ago and I am laying on the couch still starving and seeing all the items in my head and want to cry.
I feel like it's Karma for gaining the weight pre-op....

Best of luck to you guys :you all have made a decision that is best for YOU. I was sleeved on April 1st with a BMI of 32.9. I qualified under my insurance plan with co-morbidities and a BMI of 35. I heard the same "arguments" from my best friend, and future MIL:"you managed to lose weight pre-op, why can't you just continue doing it like that instead of having surgery? " 1) no one understands my struggle with weight, the ups and downs, all my life, like I do 2) if I didn't think I needed this tool to help me lose and KEEP the weight off, I certainly wouldn't be doing this. It is far from the" easy way out ". I finally decided to stop justifying MY decision. My fiance, my kids, and most of the people that really matter in my life are in my corner. And.. I turn to this forum often for support. I am 5 weeks post Op now and am feeling better everyday. My BMI is 29 now, and though I have another 38 lbs. to goal weight I am more confident in my ability to get there than I have ever been. Keep in touch. I would love to know how you are all doing in your journey.

I qualify for the sleeve due to having developed hypertension. I was 35% when I started this journey in February and am now 33% BMI. I attended the support group and others told me I looked really good then asked when I had my surgery/ how much weight I have lost. Lol. I guess I feel a little guilty if they think I already look good why couldn't I do this on my own, with out surgery? But I've tried and it just doesn't come off. I go to the gym, run a 5K but I can't turn down a chocolate chip cookie... Hypertension was a wake up call. Insurance is covering the surgery so I'm rectifying the problem before it gets worse. I guess if insurance has agreed to cover it I shouldn't feel like I'm doing something wrong or cheating the system by "taking the easy way out". I do have a real need for this. Anyone else with lower pre op BMI feel this way?
My husband is very supportive. He tells me I'm beautiful every day, no matter my size. However, I can never tell anyone else in my family. Everyone in my family is rail thin and doesn't understand why I'm always the one to polish off the cupcakes. They seem to assume I don't work out because I have all this extra weight. I regularly run 5k at the gym. I just have a real problem with food... Mainly Cookies, cakes, Pasta, and pizza. I'm so tired of feeling like the obese kid at family gatherings. I'm so over trying to discreetly position myself at an angel behind my sister so I look a few pounds lighter in the family photo. I don't want to feel like everyone is watching me to see how much I pile on my plate as I approach the Deseret tray.
I would really love to find a buddy, male or female who also has a lower pre op body weight and is going through or has been through the same thing.
Thank you for taking the time to read and I look forward to your reply!