Ray92

I have gained 25 pounds on the dot and in the last month have only lost 5. So it is clear like you, I have slipped into old habits.
We worked too hard for this god damn it. It was NOT easy, it was pain and suffering. SO LETS DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!
I am going back to the old old old diet that I started on. I am going to be eating a clear Soup for at least 50 percent of my daily meals. No more junk, no more Snacks, NO MORE ALCOHOL. My capacity to eat is still really small.

Anyone wanna do a thing for a month? Like a support group? For real, no judging we encourage each other and try to reconnect with the habits that worked.

I have gained 25 pounds on the dot and in the last month have only lost 5. So it is clear like you, I have slipped into old habits.
We worked too hard for this god damn it. It was NOT easy, it was pain and suffering. SO LETS DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!
I am going back to the old old old diet that I started on. I am going to be eating a clear Soup for at least 50 percent of my daily meals. No more junk, no more Snacks, NO MORE ALCOHOL. My capacity to eat is still really small.

Anyone wanna do a thing for a month? Like a support group? For real, no judging we encourage each other and try to reconnect with the habits that worked.

I wanted to give an update on here about my personal experience with band to sleeve revision.
I have been absent from the site because I have been taken ill by a complication related to the revision surgery. First 2 weeks, I was fine. Not long after I started to develop serious stomach aches, especially at nights. My situation only became worse from then. I found myself very averse to eating food and I would have gagging and wretching spells during the day but mostly early morning and late night.
Obviously I became very concerned and went to see my surgeon. I had a gastography done which came back clear. I was treated for h.pylori and my symptoms did not get better. At a certain point I was so dehydrated and malnourished that I was given IV at the hospital. My bp was 80/60. So my doctor decided to do endoscopy. The endoscopy revealed as did the gastography that my sleeve was completely healed and in great condition. No ulcers, no stricture or stenosis, no leaks. The sleeve part of the surgery was a success
So what has been the cause of all my woes? It turns out as the endoscopy showed that I have GERD as a result of the gastric band removal. Somehow the band created a wider opening at the end of my esophagus causing acid to make its way up and down. Added to that it spasms and contracts causing my stomach upsets. I am now taking Nexium and Zofran to control these problems. According to my doctor, I should be back to normal in 3 months but all these problems are caused by the left overs of the band.
P.S. sorry if some of the details seem vague, my surgeon and surgery were done in the Middle East so a lot of the terminology I had to translate from Arabic.
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Yes I had buyers remorse, especially when I had a complication. However once that passed, I realized that there is nothing to regret!
I am going to be very honest, sometimes I have fleeting moments of mild regret that come from a psychological place. I am still coming to terms with the fact that I can no longer use food as an emotional crutch. Also for me eating was a hobby of some sort, I just liked to eat good food in large quantities.
Now I just have these fleeting moments, they pass very fast and all I do is say to myself "this is your food addiction speaking, you are not hungry and you dont need food to be happy, this was a great idea". It has become a very rare occurance that I feel that way now although at first it was very frequent.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Yes I had buyers remorse, especially when I had a complication. However once that passed, I realized that there is nothing to regret!
I am going to be very honest, sometimes I have fleeting moments of mild regret that come from a psychological place. I am still coming to terms with the fact that I can no longer use food as an emotional crutch. Also for me eating was a hobby of some sort, I just liked to eat good food in large quantities.
Now I just have these fleeting moments, they pass very fast and all I do is say to myself "this is your food addiction speaking, you are not hungry and you dont need food to be happy, this was a great idea". It has become a very rare occurance that I feel that way now although at first it was very frequent.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I don't keep it a secret at all. If people want to critique me or hate on me about my choice to get healthy then I can just distance myself from them.
Everyone has been overwhelmingly supportive. I have a big family who is very invested in my health and wls. Sometimes they feel the urge to give me constant diet and health advice even though I am following the diet to the exact letter. Most of the time I don't mind because they just want to keep encouraging me but on some days after hearing the same lecture from 5 different people I get annoyed. It makes me feel like they expect me to fail even though that is not what they intend at all. "Don't forget to exercise" "push yourself harder at the gym" etc.
The most uncomfortable scenario happened pre-op. My cousin's husband thought it was a great idea and then spent an hour and a half giving me a religion lecture. "You are going to be in the hands of God" "you never know what could happen so don't forget to pray for a week before" etc. I have no problem whatsoever with a nice religious pep talk but at some point he got me so scared. He made it sound like I was just going to die on the table. His whole conversation was so morbid that by the end I was suffocating.
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It sounds like that woman at your job needs a surgical procedure to remove her cranium from her rectum.

I have been so fortunate. I work really closely with four people, two of which office within 15 feet of me. They are my friends. I told them when I was looking into surgery. The three of us always laugh and joke about diets and working out and food. None of us had any discipline. They were really excited when I told them I was doing it.
I told several people at work. I am an open book. I also consider many people at work my friend. I told my family early on. Every single person was supportive of me. It was awesome!!
Part of it may be that most people in the building know me, many well enough to know that I say what's on my mind and they knew I would have none of their nonsense. I just would not have listened to it. I honestly feel each person in my life is sincerely supportive of my decision. Friends check up on me, ask how I am, how much I've lost, what I eat, blah blah blah. I have been very open about it. Part of it may be that I have nothing but positive things to say about my surgery.
I work with wonderful people. My family is wonderful. The ones that truly care about you have your back and the others can stick it where the sun don't shine!!!!!!! ????
It's such a personal decision, telling who you want. You can't until it, so I do not blame anyone for being choosy.
Good luck to all!!! ????

I have a mixed salad with tuna or grilled chicken. I usually end up eating tuna or chicken mostly and 2 bites of the actual vegetables before I get full. I always dress with lemon/olive oil.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Yes I had buyers remorse, especially when I had a complication. However once that passed, I realized that there is nothing to regret!
I am going to be very honest, sometimes I have fleeting moments of mild regret that come from a psychological place. I am still coming to terms with the fact that I can no longer use food as an emotional crutch. Also for me eating was a hobby of some sort, I just liked to eat good food in large quantities.
Now I just have these fleeting moments, they pass very fast and all I do is say to myself "this is your food addiction speaking, you are not hungry and you dont need food to be happy, this was a great idea". It has become a very rare occurance that I feel that way now although at first it was very frequent.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Yes I had buyers remorse, especially when I had a complication. However once that passed, I realized that there is nothing to regret!
I am going to be very honest, sometimes I have fleeting moments of mild regret that come from a psychological place. I am still coming to terms with the fact that I can no longer use food as an emotional crutch. Also for me eating was a hobby of some sort, I just liked to eat good food in large quantities.
Now I just have these fleeting moments, they pass very fast and all I do is say to myself "this is your food addiction speaking, you are not hungry and you dont need food to be happy, this was a great idea". It has become a very rare occurance that I feel that way now although at first it was very frequent.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I had Soup. If they didn't have soup then I just ordered a cup of tea and ate at home later.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I have a mixed salad with tuna or grilled chicken. I usually end up eating tuna or chicken mostly and 2 bites of the actual vegetables before I get full. I always dress with lemon/olive oil.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I either walk for an hour everyday, swim laps or 1hr of cardio at the gym.
I am not allowed to do weight machines until 3 months post op which is very soon but I just try to stay as active as possible
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I had Soup. If they didn't have soup then I just ordered a cup of tea and ate at home later.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Yes exactly! Obviously he was being very caring but I was already such a scaredy cat. He did not help!!! Also for family, the more you progress, the more intense they become. Mainly because they cannot believe it and they never want the amazing progress to go away! I only see my father on the weekends because he works in a different city and every time he sees me he gets more vocal! He is very happy to see me losing weight and in a way he is in disbelief because I have always failed at my dieting attempts and now he is finally seeing something long term.
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I had Soup. If they didn't have soup then I just ordered a cup of tea and ate at home later.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Great attitude. You are going to keep on rocking it.
The family.....even though they are wishing well and have great intensions......can be suffocating at times with their advice.
My parents were the same way when I visited them at Thanksgiving. We laughed it off. I'll be seeing them next month and it'll be funny to see their reaction to the progress since last visit.
As far as your husband's cousin's husband.......you were literally preached to. That is too funny. Good stuff, too. Getting right with God is always advised before going under. I'm sure he meant well......but why is it that some folks hear that you are having surgery and then feel compelled to tell you about all the morbid aspects and possibilities. Makes me wanna yell out at them...."Fool.....hush up........not trying to hear that noise right now !!!!!".

I don't keep it a secret at all. If people want to critique me or hate on me about my choice to get healthy then I can just distance myself from them.
Everyone has been overwhelmingly supportive. I have a big family who is very invested in my health and wls. Sometimes they feel the urge to give me constant diet and health advice even though I am following the diet to the exact letter. Most of the time I don't mind because they just want to keep encouraging me but on some days after hearing the same lecture from 5 different people I get annoyed. It makes me feel like they expect me to fail even though that is not what they intend at all. "Don't forget to exercise" "push yourself harder at the gym" etc.
The most uncomfortable scenario happened pre-op. My cousin's husband thought it was a great idea and then spent an hour and a half giving me a religion lecture. "You are going to be in the hands of God" "you never know what could happen so don't forget to pray for a week before" etc. I have no problem whatsoever with a nice religious pep talk but at some point he got me so scared. He made it sound like I was just going to die on the table. His whole conversation was so morbid that by the end I was suffocating.
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I pretty much did like @@Inner Surfer Girl did and skipped the whole puree stage.
For me....puree meant Soup, oatmeal, yogurt and other stuff. I could see myself allowing foods like mashed potatoes and knew that it would sabotage my weight loss efforts.
I stayed on full liquids (Protein shakes) for 4 weeks instead.
My surgeon had a weird schedule leading up to my surgery and he made it known to me well prior to my surgery which he was able to either do my sleeve "really soon".....or delay it a month. I opted for the "really soon as in next week option....please" and it all came together.......and it did so really fast.
As a result.....my first follow up appointment was on day 6......and then the next appointment was at 4 weeks once he returned from his travels. He'd not discussed any other way of eating for me other than Protein shakes at the first appointment......and the NUT wouldn't disclose any further schedule other than to "follow the doctor's orders".
I'm really glad I did it that way.
Enjoy going out with your family. It's a really special time of year and we are all truly blessed if we can spend time with our family.
Be glad they want to go out......this will keep you from having to cook or prepare meals for them.
I remember wanting nothing.....and I mean NOTHING to do with the kitchen my first 6 weeks or so.
Get a bowl of soup....and laugh at yourself stirring it around the bowl the entire meal after eating such a small amount. My surgeon told me on our second visit......"Get used to never finishing another meal again....especially in restaurants".

I told my boss and my coworkers.
It's not like they wouldn't have noticed my different way of eating & drinking and the large volume of weight loss that is in progress.
Seemed kind of silly not be honest about it.
I look at it this way......I did this to make immediate improvement with my health. I really don't need anything from them. My friends before are still my friends......
This is about my own health and nothing else.
I will say this.........the response has been overwhelmingly positive from everyone. Even one of the ladies at work who was not in favor of my decision to have wls approached me the other day and asked for surgeon contact information. She has a close friend that she wanted to see do what I did. Funny stuff.
There are a lot of self appointed health experts among those we all know.....they do seem to come out of the woodwork at times.......they remained supportive, though....both before and after the wls.
Water off a duck's back.
No worries.

Thats awful beckyrow! What did you say? Some people are so rude and just dont think before they open their mouths!
I told my friend when I was pre op and I got nothing but negative comments after that I decided to keep it to myself except for my mom, sister and husband. I was so proud of myself for finally taking the step and doing this and I didnt need anyone dragging me down before I even had the surgery. Im 4 months post op now and I am very choosy with who I decide to tell. Luckily I have had no more negative comments when I tell only positve remarks and lots of compliments!

I'm just telling a select few. My husband, children, mom (she had RNY) and one friend cuz she will most likely have to watch my dog when I get my surgery. I find it's easier to keep it to yourself at least until after you've had the surgery just so you don't have to deal with the foolishness of other people and their opinions. Opinions are like belly buttons, everybody's got one!

I pick and choose. Now that I am post-op. Pre-op I keep my circle very small. I didn't want to deal with anyone trying to talk me out of it or putting negative thoughts in my head. I believe you need to be able to go into surgery with a positive outlook. I did my research so by the time I was committed to surgery I knew what I was getting in to.

Everyone is a doctor and they have no clue to feel like us....