rosestara

oh no, keep us posted! You can do this!

wonderful! I look forward to hearing about your journey.

Surgery went great, little trouble with anathesia, other than that, hell of a experience. At home drinking plenty of Water.< /p>

I buy whatever I want. I don't cut corners on my bras. The only thing I do make sure of is that if I buy something that I plan on wearing it within a week or 2, or I buy it a size smaller than I fit.
Life is too short for cheap clothes. I'm not going to punish myself for losing weight quickly. I battle with head hunger all the time. Winning that battle, I deserve whatever I want.
Don't sell yourself short just because you are winning at weight loss.

Surgery was for 9am today I am doing fine
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Here is a silly little tip from me....buy a ramekin or two to use as bowls, if you don't already have some. The thicker walls seem to keep my food warmer for longer, which is great when you are trying to eat slower.
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Below is the gist of what I posted on my first year surgiversary. I'm now 20.5 months post-op, have lost 100 pounds and am now maintaining happily and easily at 135 pounds.
Very best to you!
Ann
A year ago yesterday I was sleeved at age 68. I knew I had the energy for one last shot at getting healthy. Like so many of us, controlling my weight was the one thing in my life I’d been unable to manage. Failing at that was a tremendous embarrassment and disappointment to me, not to mention the cause of mounting medical comorbidities that had almost sidelined me from life.

A year ago I’d already been on WLS forums for 9 months. I could not WAIT to get my WLS show on the road. I’d already lost almost 20 pounds on a 2-month 1,400 calorie diet of my own and, later, my surgeon’s 14-day pre-op diet. I’d been practicing for months the behaviors I’d learned here—eating slower, chewing more, no more soda, a lot less coffee, no NSAIDs (ouch!), walking more (yea, Fitbit!), and my favorite tool of all—planning meals and tracking my food and drink on www.myfitnesspal.com.

Fast-forward to yesterday morning, my first surgiversary. I weighed in at 143 pounds. I feel great, physically and mentally. I look so much younger (I’ll be 70 years old in December). And I truly feel like I’ve been reborn.

How I Lost the Weight

I was lucky—had no complications, had a great surgeon and team, healed well and recovered fast, and have had more non-scale victories (NSVs) than you could shake a stick at. I’m full of gratitude and amazement at all of WLS’s benefits for me.

Below is a list of things I did (mostly pretty well) that led to my success. As always, your mileage may vary. This was my experience. Yours will be yours.

• Ate the minimum amount of protein—at least 60 grams to start with (hit that target on Day Five post-op)
• Ate Protein first at every meal
• Drank 8 glasses of Water daily (or at the very least 8 glasses of liquids daily)
Protip #1: Dehydration slows weight loss and makes you feel like crap.
Protip #2: Our kidneys work overtime when we’re losing weight rapidly and need lots of Water to function well.
Protip #3: You can actually die from dehydration. • As healing happened and restriction eased, added healthy (colored) veggies, then non-starchy fruits, then whole grains
• Took my vitamins/minerals and Rxs daily and on schedule
• Ate 3 meals a day
• Chewed my food well and ate more slowly
• Didn’t drink 15 minutes before or 30 minutes after a meal
• When I got hungry (not bored), I added one or two Snacks of healthy food
• Didn’t graze between meals (note that “a snack” and “grazing” are different things)
• Avoided / minimized highly processed, high-carb foods and slider foods like potatoes, white rice, white breads, crackers, Cookies, chips, ice cream
Protip: These foods slow weight loss and, for some people, trigger binge eating. • Moved more than I used to move and gradually kept moving even more
• Followed the Number One Exercise Rule for Old People: Don’t injure yourself!
• Got some sunshine daily, which kept me full of happy thoughts and Vitamin D
• Tried to sleep 8 hours a night
• Minimized stress—for me, this meant I stopped sweating the small stuff and learned that most stuff really is small stuff
• Am seeing a shrink to understand better why I couldn’t or didn’t care for my health better prior to WLS and to learn how to do better in the future (as the saying goes, they operate on your stomach, not your head).

Unsolicited Advice:

I’ve been at or below goal for 4 months now. Here are some things I learned while losing weight and during maintenance (at which I’m still a newbie). Some of these things have surprised me. And as always, your mileage may vary.

• Don’t feel pressured into telling the world you’re having WLS. Do what is best for you. Just know that “telling a few people” may not be the best way to keep your WLS private. There are a lot of mouthy people out there. I'm on the down-low about WLS; other than my medical team, only my hubby and two good friends (who don't live anywhere near me) know about my WLS.

• Don’t overeat, but don’t starve yourself either. As your healing continues, eat more healthy food and raise your calories gradually. Otherwise, you may wind up reaching your weight goal but only able to maintain it eating 1,000 calories/day. Ugh! At 143 pounds, my daily maintenance calorie budget is 1,700 calories/day. I am over the moon about that. I think it’s because I didn’t starve myself while I was losing weight. I ate 800 calories during Months 1-4, 1,000 calories during Months 5-6, and 1,200 calories during Months 7-8. As my calories went up, so did my Protein grams. I still aim for 100 grams of protein daily.

• Post-op, don’t just eat to lose weight—also eat to become healthier. Learn more about nutrition—macronutrients, trace elements, Vitamin and mineral supplements. Read articles and good research. As smart as I thought I was, turns out I didn’t know nearly as much as I needed to know to care well for myself.

• If you’re craving sugar, you’re probably already eating sugar. The only way I know to kill those cravings is to cold-turkey the sugar.

• Don’t let anyone pressure you into having WLS. This is a life-changing deal. A year down the road you’ll probably be able to eat pretty much anything you want, although not in massive quantities at one time. And you’ll need to always be vigilant about your nutrition, meal-planning, eating behaviors, etc.

• WLS won’t prevent binge-eating or emotional eating. It will discourage it, but it won’t prevent it. There are plenty of WLS patients who’ve learned to eat and drink around their tools. I personally know folks who’ve wasted their sleeve, bypass or band with (sigh) sweet tea, Mountain Dew, beer, Wheat Thins, ice cream, chips and dips. What those drinks and foods all have in common, other than being high-calorie and lacking in nutrition, is that the sleeve cannot challenge them. They move rapidly through the sleeve and into the small intestine. You can eat that crap all day long and never start to feel full. Remember, it’s a shame to waste a sleeve.

Very, very best wishes to everyone out there considering a VSG or other form of WLS. You can change your life with WLS if you use your tool well. But you must understand it’s only one tool in a bigger healthcare arsenal that you must acquire and use daily.

I have learned a great deal. You can learn a lot from reading this forum.
Some of the things that I have identified as critical success factors for me. I:
Weaned myself off of caffeine and carbonation gradually before surgery.
Made up my mind to do everything my medical team asked me to do, even if I thought I couldn't do it.
Committed to being rigorously honest with myself and my medical team.
Learned as much as I could about the surgery process.
Decided to make it my policy not to tell people how much weight I have lost when they ask. Now, if someone asks how much I have lost I tell them that I am not sharing that information with anyone.
Followed my pre- and post-op program.
Track my food using MyFitnessPal.
Wear a fitness tracker.
Focus on getting in my 100 grams of Protein and at least 64 oz of fluids, every day.
Avoid added sugars, starches, and fried foods.
Take my Vitamins and supplements as directed.
Practice eating mindfully, slowly, chewing thoroughly and taking small bites.
Exercise regularly.
Weigh infrequently (early out I only weighed at doctors appointments).
Participate in the forums on this site.
Try to practice creativity more frequently (I try to do something creative every day).
And, most importantly, learning to Embrace the Stall!
Embrace the Stall
http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall

So today I woke up and took my normal morning tubby. When I went to dry off the strangest thing happened... The towel went all the way around me and I was even able to tuck a bit in to hold it!
This is proof that towel gnomes exist and they must have come in the night and magically made all my towels longer and bigger. The husband says it's because I've lost weight but he's a silly man. I know who's a work here. Now if they could just give up the underpants and sock gnomes that infest this house I'd be ever so grateful...
Is this one of those NSV thingies?
Wow. What a gift this surgery is. Every day I'm amazed and thankful.
Jen
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I am going into my 3rd out of fourth weigh in. And working on all my insurance criteria!! I was bummed at first but Intel ya it flew !!!!!
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On May 25th, I'm meeting with the nut, psychologist and surgeon. My endocrinologist has faxed a letter over, which I hope will cover the 6 months things... In my mind I'm hoping it could be submitted the same day or with a few days of my appointment... I'm a teacher and ideally having the surgery over the Summer would be perfect.. This is the game plan but as they say you plan and God laughs so let's see how it turns out... By this time next week I'll know more.
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I go in for my first visit with my surgeon next tuesday. I was really hoping that would count as my first visit. Now that I have read all this stuff, I know not to get my hopes up. My insurance also requires 6 months and they do specifically say 6 continuous months

My oldest sister had a bypass. My younger sister got a band. I was sleeved. We are in our 60's and are all doing well. Your success will depend upon your commitment. I am in my maintenance forever phase, even though I would like to lose just a few more to keep a bounce-back number that I am comfortable with.
At first, I worried about losing as much as possible as quickly as possible. Now, looking back at two years, I realize that this is more about improved health and a better quality of life than it is about numbers. No matter how much you lose, once you get past that first thirty pounds, you will begin to notice a difference in your mobility. Once you get past fifty pounds down, you can expect to feel better and have more energy.
Once I got about seventy pounds down, I actually felt like exercising and adding more movement to my day. Follow doctor's orders and stay determined. You will succeed no matter which surgery you have. And yes, there will be discouraging stalls from time to time. Just keep in mind that stalls are like lovers: Your first will probably not be your last. This ride is forever.

I had a girls weekend and sipped on a daiquiri, doc approved of course. It lasted all day because I took my sweet time. No problems here. Other that that I'm on my grind working to get down but I plan on having a nice drink in moderation ever now and then. Btw... lost two pounds that weekend!!!

Hi, it's nice to meet you!
I am 46
I have 7 kids. don't hate em, glad they don't all live at home anymore
I have a dog and a cat
I grow herbs and tomatoes on my deck
I like to quilt, sew and crochet, smock and embroider
I do not like centipedes. or any other creepy crawly
I love cheese too! oh. don't get me started!
looking forward to seeing your updates as you go through the process.
edited because I had a birthday and forgot I am 47 now.

Welcome! Bariatric Pal is a great place to get information and find support as you go through this journey. I recently was sleeved 28 April 2016 and it was a great decision.
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sure I will support you. I went to my seminar a few weeks ago and have my first appointment with my surgeon next tuesday. My insurance requires the 6 month thing so hopefully I will get my surgery in December before the New Year. I have also done an insane amount of research. Right now I am totally addicted to youtube videos and following people's journeys. I'm trying to decide if I have the courage to post on youtube or not. I am 44 and I also don't have any kids but that is because I had to have a hysterectomy at 35 so didn't get a chance. I have two small dogs and their names are Allegra and Lunesta because I am a pharmacist.
I am headed out the door right now to go to dinner and tell a good friend about my surgery. I am almost positive she will be supportive. Wish me luck!

Good luck, the six months really do fly by[emoji6]

Let's hope I get through this day without killing anyone
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Hello Rosestara,
Yes it will be great to compare especially since we are both from AZ. I was originally going to try to go to the Weight loss Institute but my insurance said they weren't on the list so I went with Bridges. It's a bit of a trip for me since I live near Avondale but my jobs downtown so I just go to my appointments after work.
The paperwork that Bridges gave me for my insurance says either 90 days PCP AND Nutritionist or 6 months PCP but when I was reading the policy it only says 6 months so I'm going to double check over the phone with my insurance. I wouldn't mind doing the 6 months because I want to learn as much as I can but I think either way I still want to see a nutritionist monthly.
Good Luck on your first appointment!!

Good luck on your journey. I am also just starting out. I went to my initial session at Banner Gateway last week and I have my first appointment with the surgeon on May 24th. It will be interesting to compare our journey. I almost went to Bridges but I picked Banner just because it was much closer to my house. My insurance company requires the 6 month supervised diet thing so my surgery won't be until November or December.

I flew from Washington to Arizona recently. I got to wear shorts and loved it. But the biggest surprise was when I sat on the airplane seat and slowly buckled my seatbelt. I saw it buckle, heard it click and had a foot of of belt left over. I was so happy I'm dancing in my seat singing, smiling,,,,, bee bopping around ,then... .the stewardess came over and asked if I was o.k.? After I realized people were watching; I told her I had lost 144 pounds and was happy I was able to buckle the seatbelt without needing an extender. Next thing I know...people are clapping. I bet my face was a million shades of red. I thanked all and asked if we can go now.....
That indeed was a new experience I shall never forget....

All went well. I went to my new pcp today and she listened to my story and said she will do whatever I need to help me get the surgery, She said she has helped about 8 other people have surgery. I can't believe it since I kind of picked her at random. I am so happy that step is done, now I am going to the informational session at banner tomorrow.

I went through a similar thing with one of my closest friends. She is close to me but she has only known me for 4 years so she didn't know me for the 20 years that I have been trying to lose weight. I am 44. Anyway, I just explained to her the reason why I want to have the surgery and then I told her how long I have been researching it and I told her about the long term statistics for people keeping the weight off. I also told her about some of the stories here. I even talked about some of risks and complications and the diet before and after so she would see that it isn't an easy way out. After several weeks of me talking, she said she would never have it herself (she is also very overweight) but now she understands why I am having it done and she will be there to support me. She even offered to go to the informational session with me. She is great friend.

I went through a similar thing with one of my closest friends. She is close to me but she has only known me for 4 years so she didn't know me for the 20 years that I have been trying to lose weight. I am 44. Anyway, I just explained to her the reason why I want to have the surgery and then I told her how long I have been researching it and I told her about the long term statistics for people keeping the weight off. I also told her about some of the stories here. I even talked about some of risks and complications and the diet before and after so she would see that it isn't an easy way out. After several weeks of me talking, she said she would never have it herself (she is also very overweight) but now she understands why I am having it done and she will be there to support me. She even offered to go to the informational session with me. She is great friend.