Licia'sjourney

I struggled with these same thoughts as well before surgery. Now I am 2 months post op and I don't regret getting the surgery at all. But I think the true test will be 1 to 2 years out when the honeymoon is over. I hope and pray I have the strength, diligence and motivation then as I do now to stay on track.
I think we all can do it if we remember how important this is to us, to out health and to our mobility.
Basically, its one day at a time and we can choose to make the healthy choice every moment of every day.
Good luck and I wish you well!

Who said you cant have veggies? You just need to eat lower carb veg. This is a great option for many people.
Also, it can take some people 2-3 months for their bodies to completely convert to fat burning before they start to lose weight others start losing the first week.

I had the sleeve surgery 06/2015 and I dont regret it at all. I'm sure its the main reason I havent regained all the weight back.

However, now that I am 2 years out I can eat a lot more and I am working just as hard now as I did before the surgery to maintain the loss I have had and I am still trying to lose the last 30-40lbs. I am 58 so there's that.

I would like to suggest you read The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung before you make your final decision. He makes so
much sense in what he talks about. I wish I had come across this book sooner but I still dont regret the surgery.

I had the sleeve surgery 06/2015 and I dont regret it at all. I'm sure its the main reason I havent regained all the weight back.

However, now that I am 2 years out I can eat a lot more and I am working just as hard now as I did before the surgery to maintain the loss I have had and I am still trying to lose the last 30-40lbs. I am 58 so there's that.

I would like to suggest you read The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung before you make your final decision. He makes so
much sense in what he talks about. I wish I had come across this book sooner but I still dont regret the surgery.

Honestly, I usually don't reply. I do amuse myself by reading the threads and all the pre-op people who respond with-- "It's no big deal, you'll be fine" on all the cheating and 'should I eat this' threads. It's like asking the alcoholic if you should have a drink. When I do rarely reply, I simply respond that if they are pre-op they should postpone surgery. If they are post-op then I tell them they should want more for themselves and that french fries and chicken nuggets are not worth a complication at 5 days out and leave it at that. Somehow and I don't know how, I have yet to called a bully or sent a PM to that effect after over 4 years on here.
Lipstick lady, I think I recently read a thread where you and Babbs tried to tell someone they were effing the whole thing up and the thread just deteriorated from there. My favorite reply was you telling the pre-ops and newly sleeved something to the effect that they were right and you were wrong and you would just walk away in your size 8 skinny jeans. I guess I just figure that those folks choose to be a statistic, the percentage of people for whom WLS "didn't work".

The Beck Diet Solution was a huge help to me as well. I got the book from the library so no cost. I took the cognitive tools I needed and with practice, practice you will gain so much will power. I tell myself "hunger is not an emergency, and in xx amount of time I will enjoy my planned snack or meal." Highly recommend this book.

Hello,
I'm about 2.5 years out of surgery. But, I still sometimes feel totally clueless about this Sleeve I got. I
Looked at pictures from a year or so ago yesterday,
I'm still the same size, believe me, 163 is better than 260. But, I can't seem to get a grip. I've posted on here my issues, bad moments and sometimes good moments. But, I still feel like I failed because my mind has a hold of me ALL THE TIME.
I spoke to my therapist ( I've been with her for 5 years) I want to know what's my reasoning for emotional eating, causes ya know? So far, nothing really.
I hear the Big Book on Gastric sleeve is a good one

The Beck Diet Solution book helped me with emotional eating. It doesn't have one scrap of information on dieting, which is nice because at this point, we know what to eat, we just aren't doing it. Instead it focuses on changing behaviors. I still use skills from this book and it's really helped me eliminate some bad habits. And finally, 2 1/2 years from surgery and I'm 2 pounds from goal.

@@RJrocks
Loose skin seems to be a fear for many patients. Its that unknown outcome from surgery. You will not know how your skin will look until you reach goal. Some insurance will cover plastic surgery if you have documented rashes. Self paying for plastics is an option.
I can't afford plastics. I wear shape wear. I weight lift. The muscle is filling out the skin and I look healthy. (healthy is my goal) I will always have loose skin.
I would not go back to my obese body just to fill out my skin.

First and foremost, I strongly believe in the idea that we are what we think we are, so the negative self talk has GOT to go. You are a successful WLS patient who has fallen off the wagon a bit.
A failure is someone who quits, refusing to try again. You regained only 20 pounds and you are back. You could have waited until you had regained 40, 60, 100, or 100+ or you could have thrown in the towel all together.
YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE.
Go back to your surgeon and see what he/she recommends. Go back to your pre-op diet for a week or two. Go back to liquids for a week or two. Start weighing/measuring/tracking your food and move your ass a little more than normal. You can totally do this.
You are not a failure until you stop trying. You don't sound like a failure to me at all.

I hope people here never have a major illness that the insurance company decides not to cover or doesnt cover to the extent they need it. Your life is then thrown into a tornado of losing everything you have and possibly die. You can work until your 60, never break a law, fight in wars for your country, pay taxes out the wazoo, pay thousands for medical insurance, and you are still walked over for the almighty dollar. Then tell me how universal health care is worse.
Remember folks, just because you have medical coverage doesn't mean that they will cover you.
Sent from my SM-G930P using the BariatricPal App

We are in our new open enrollment for our insurance. This is a copy of what I sent up the chain. We are a company of 15000+ employees, there is no reason why the company can't get better rates. Needless to say, I'm pissed.

I was 47 and 235 when I had surgery. I lost slowly but steadily. Took me a year to get to 150, and another several months to lose about 7 more. I started cardio along with resistance/strength training at around 6 months out, and have been exercising consistently ever since. It helps a little in my opinion, at least the areas that aren't completely gone, lol. No amount of exercise will help with my panni area, only surgery. I've got a bit on my inner thighs, but my arms and legs look pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised. Like I always say, not bad for an old broad lol.

Oh, and I have also used won ton wrappers to make lasagna muffins. I use just two wrappers and load it up with delicious ground beef meat sauce and a ricotta mixture: Ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, an egg and some fresh or dried parsley.
These are great to make a small batch and pull one out for lunch or dinner with a few bites of green Beans or a tiny salad with balsamic dressing.

I loved it with warmed marinara...YUMO!!

ok people, scale is moving!!!
AND i worked last evening and was able to totally avoid soda and junk. DID eat a breadstick but also SF Jello, tea, cold coffee and lots of Water. feeling much better about myself after committing to get off soda and actually making it happen!

You can look at my other post on here. Was sleeved 5 years ago. Was 300, lowest I got was 175. In Feb 2016 was at 205 & having nightmares about gaining my weight back.
In Feb my wife had a health scare & we were asked to watch Forks over Knives. Since that day we have been eating 100% healthy food. My wife's health problems went away & she was taken off all her meds except one. I am down to 160 & feeling great.

I had surgery dec 2012, i gained almost 40 pounds back from not eating right and not excercising. The good thing is though, its a tool, if you use your tool, you can lose. I am happy to say that i have lost that weight and continuing on a downward spiral...thank goodness.
Sent from my SM-N920P using the BariatricPal App

Looks legit. My best results are certainly when I keep it between 50-100 grams. Still have good energy for the gym and loss still occurs.
Right outa the Paleo diet playbook.
Slight derail follows....sorry......
I know of few guys and a gal who are reaping the benefits of this. Only two of them are into it as fanatics.....embracing the marriage of Paleo + Crossfit. The others don't take it to the near cult-like level but really are doing well after eating more wholesome foods that aren't processed and full of extra additives/preservatives/etc.
Fresh outa the ground, off the vine, from the sea and on hoof. I can say with absolute sincerity that since being post-op I've been eating this way for the most part and I feel much better overall. Cutting out the diet sodas, chips, candy, pop tarts, Cereal, frozen Desserts and etc has been great. If I get the strong desire for something sweet......then some chilled seedless grapes or blueberries are the ticket and so much better tasting now than any of that other garbage was before.
I still use artificial sweeteners in coffee and the list of chemicals in my Protein powder and pre-workout drinks are not good. Areas to work on.
Anyway, cool chart. Thanks for posting.

I am 13 months out and this would not work for me. I am still trying to lose and have to keep my carbs well below 50.
I'm sure it works for a lot of people but I bet there are a lot of people it wouldn't work for too.

I no longer move far to the wall in hallways to let people pass.

So, anyone have an odd or surprising milestone they hit AFTER they became "a vet"?
Mine is this: I went to the doc yesterday (for an eye infection), and I did not feel my gut clench when the nurse led me to the scale, I weighed in and did not make a comment about 'just having eaten/drank' to account for the weight, AND then realized that for the first time in my entire adult life, I did not consciously make sure to remember to pee before I went in to weigh! Yay!!!
The number just is not so important now, and I felt the most lovely realization that I'm finally taking it for granted that my weight/number does not define me.
Call me a Happy Camper.
Now, what yours?

I just had a follow-up with my nutritionist and she said I'm losing weight too quickly. They want me to be around 5% per month and I'm around 8% for the last month. (I'm almost 2 months out)
Has anyone else heard anything like that? She didn't really say what I should do about it. I thought I was doing awesome.

1. Exercise
2. Do something that requires using your hands -- crafts, woodworking, home repairs, I am sure you can get creative here!
3. Allow yourself unlimited dry chicken breast and broccoli. Then you can tell yourself, if you are really hungry, go eat some chicken. And if you don't want that chicken and broccoli, you aren't hungry and your mind can move on after acknowledging that.
4. I know this sounds a little masochistic, but . . . make a list of the most painful physical, emotional, and psychological things you have ever experienced in your life. When you start to feel hungry and sorry for yourself, go review the list and ask yourself how bad your hunger is compared to what is on the list. Remind yourself that you got through those things and you can get through your hunger.
5. Plan your eating in advance, at the beginning of each day. Whether that is writing a schedule or pre-logging your food in MFP, once you have it written down, it is easier to commit to. When you start to feel hungry, bored, cravings, you can remind yourself that you are scheduled to have a snack of apple slices at 4 PM (just as an example) and that it is fine to wait until then.

Okay, so I got off track when I was out of town, but now that I'm back I'm trying to get back into the groove. My problem is I get "hungry" I'm sure it's head hunger, but it's so hard to ignore. That and I still want to boredom eat. That will get me back to pre surgery and I don't want that!
What are some things you do to take your mind off eating and/or hunger? I find myself more obsessed with food after surgery than I was before and I need to get my head out of that thinking.