katie09/21/2016

This is a great time to learn to be able to do things that we think we can't take. You have made a huge decision to change your lifestyle and your postop diet is part of it. At least call your surgeons office and ask if you can add yogurt. You really don't need strangers approval to do what you want to do.
I know for me, it was important to be able to meet my Protein and liquid goals and follow my plan. I found each stage to get tiresome because I wanted what was coming next. It is a very small sacrifice in the big scheme. And that first scrambled egg was the best ever! You will get there.

@Katie09/22/2016. Congrats on your surgery and surviving starting your period on the day of surgery! That sucks! I was luckily 4 days post , thank god! I hear lots of women experience hormonal changes also post sleeve . I was banded previously and had it removed 4 months prior to VSG. I think we can expect mental changes! Hang in there and I hope your nausea has improved!
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RNY at noon pre op pic stats 292 January 251 today 41lbs down
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Oh my other people's urine! Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

HCG and 500 calories for 6 weeks at a time. Lost 45 pounds and gained it all back.
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The wonderful cabbage Soup diet! But hey ...that Soup was really good with tortilla chips!!!
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If we are talking crazy diets, then mine was the "Hollywood" juice diet.

So here we have all found a safe, medically monitored way to lose weight yay us . Even under the same guidelines, our experiences are all as unique as we are. Being 100% honest, what is the most over the top, ridiculous thing you have ever done to loose weight? How did it turn out for you? Were you open to people around you about what you were doing? Our fails play just as big a role as our successes in our journeys, I'm curious if people are as "jaded" as I was lol no judgement, just honesty please!
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I have not taken the time to share my story, as a matter of fact I have still not changed my Facebook pictures, or the ones of me at work. food. I believe I had an actual addiction to food, the same as an addict, I didn't see it as an issue... But now I realize that I had a problem.
I eat to live now, instead of living to eat. The surgery helped by taking away the cravings, but I worry that if I reintroduce things like breads, fried foods, and other crap, I will develop the addiction again, just as if an alcoholic was to just have " 1 drink". It is a disease, with horrible side effects including low self confidence, depression, and humiliation.
I have made it my mission to find healthy foods, and replace all of my old favs, with healthy... And what I call, feel good foods. An FG food is one that I can eat comfortably, and they just basically feel good. for me, my list of items that I probably have a little of everyday would include... Chobani Flips. (190-210 cal, 12 gram protein)... These are my go to, if I haven't eaten in a while and am hungry, I can put this down a bit faster, and the size is pretty perfect for a meal. Love them all! Pickles- (0-5 cals) I love the spicy pickles, but I can eat them all. Pickles have become a regular snack in my life. Spears, slices, whatever, they all rock! Soup, soup, and more soup!!! My souls have been a huge part of my success. I make a huge crock of soup and it lasts me weeks. You can freeze some, but always have some in the fridge ready to microwave. I make a few varieties, but the basis is always the same. chicken broth base, cut with Water. Chicken or Cod fish, yep... I said fish! My family hates the smell of my "fish soup" but I loved it! However if you are not a big fish can just go with chicken. Vegetables- carrots, onions, mushrooms, kale, spinach, and even Brussels sprouts... Whatever you like and then I would spice it up with Cayenne and red pepper flakes, I even used Sriracha at times. This soup has been a staple for me since the 3rd month post, and I still make a lot here and there now. It was just great for me to grab a coffee cup, fill it, microwave it, and enjoy it.
I pushed myself to walk, and then I started "1 TED" lol. That means 1 thing every day. If it was parking in the back of the parking lot when at a store, or walking down the street and back when going to pick up the mail, I would just push to do 1 thing, which then would keep except use in the front of my mind.
Get an Apple Watch or Fitbit, make goals and hit them! What I learned is that we are capable of so much! When you are used to walking around with an additional 100 plus, your body has been working out for a long time. Now when the weight is gone, you still have that strong frame. Put it to work! I made some new friends that are athletic, I try and play Pickleball ( the game kicks ass, combo of tennis, volleyball, & ping pong) instead of cardio... I want to transition to a healthy lifestyle, not a 30 minute gym session that I won't be looking forward to.
Think of your weight loss as a super power, but only if you stick to the guidelines. This works for me, and I believe it to be a super power... Let me explain.
Since the weight loss, the world has been easier for me. I can go to an amusement park and get on the rides. I can fly on a plane and not need an extension. I can walk into a crowded bar and not start sweating my ass off! I can buy clothes at a normal store, and with actual brand names on them. I can tie my damn shoes, and without holding my breathe! I can sit in any chair, and not just the ones without sides... I can even sit in the plastic ones.
Woman treat me so differently! I am no longer just the funny guy... Even though I haven't changed! Life has just become much easier, much better, and much healthier, and I never want to go back, so I will continue to treat it as an addiction and will not look to be able to re introduce "everything" back into my eating habits, but instead I will work to find better foods. The nice thing about eating less, is that you can afford to buy smaller portions allowing for better quality foods. Take advantage of that! I always have almonds in the house, and I love veggie chips, especially the jalepeno, but now I grab a handful and walk away... If I want another handful, I will go get it at 30 cals, per handful, but I am going to force myself to get up and walk to the kitchen to get a handful
I feel so lucky to have had this surgery, and if I can help you in anyway let me know! I hope you have found this helpful, I know that writing it has helped me... So thanks!
 


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I think it also depends on what your goals are. A couple of women on another group I was frequenting are SO worried about getting too skinny, they think if they lose their curves they will be hideous. Both had surgery. One thinks she looks like a "crack head" at 147. The other is terrified about getting under 200. I honestly wonder why they even had surgery.
Look at healthy weight charts. Do you want to get down to a healthy range? Or will you be happy just dropping a size or two? Younger people can usually handle the extra weight, but things like diabetes, high blood pressure, and joint problems catch up with every obese person as we age.
As others have said, losing 100 pounds and keeping it off is a monumental task. Only a very small percentage of people can do it. And, if you are young, keep in mind that your metabolism gets slower as you age. You will have to work harder and harder to keep it off (take it from the post menopausal lady here) Not that I won't have to work even with the sleeve, I just know it is a tool that helps most people who get it.
BUT, you have to do what works for you. I am awaiting approval from insurance. I know I will have cold feet, I have had surgery before and it was pretty terrible. I just know I can't lose this weight and keep it off forever on my own. For me, that's the deciding factor.

My surgery was 09/21 & I just got home yesterday. I'm going to be honest & say recovery is a lot more difficult than I was expecting.
I'm having the most trouble with nausea- I can live with the pain but the constant sick feeling is horrid! Meds help & it gets easier as time passes.
Oh and this is probably TMI but my period decided to arrive early - about 20 minutes before I was due in surgery!! Yes, they can still go ahead and did. I get nausea at that time normally so that on top of surgery has really knocked me around.
Im feeling thoroughly miserable but i still have no regrets & im happy I have other people's stories to read on here or i would be feeling a lot worse mentally.
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Very excited to jump on the scales this morning and see that I have lost 60 pounds!! I never thought I would reach 60 pounds gone...!!!
7 of those pounds have come off since my surgery last Wednesday & the remainder has been lost since I started my pre-op weightloss in January this year (2016).
My stats are: 5'9 (.5) tall, SW: 271 pounds (Jan 2016) CW: 211 pounds.
I can't wait to break through the 200 pound mark, it's been awhile since I've seen a 1 at the beginning of my weight....I hope it happens soon!
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I don't know how much weight you have to lose and that should be a major consideration for you but I will tell you what my doctor told me. He said that once you have more than 100 pounds to lose you have less than a 5 percent chance of losing that weight and keeping it off without surgery. Those are not very good odds, a 95 percent chance that I will fail and regain the weight if I go it alone without surgery. I guess for me, I'm just tired of failing, it's time to do something lasting and permanent, who cares about drinking? When being overweight may kill me, a few beers means nothing.

Talked myself out of it a few years ago for the same reason. History repeats itself and I found myself off the plan and had gained the wait back. This time I went through with it, I'm almost two weeks post op and through all of the recovery not once have I doubted that this was the right thing for me to do.

I think it's normal to second guess whether or not to have WLS. You've lost 40 pounds without WLS, and that is really awesome! I'm not sure what your weight is or how much you have to lose. I don't know if you're close to a normal BMI or if your BMI is in the severely morbidly obese range. I can tell you that if you've only got a little bit of weight to lose (and I'm not going to pretend that I know what that is because my "little" might be your huge), then maybe you shouldn't do the WLS.
But let me only tell you about my experience, which is only two weeks out on Wednesday. I lost 34 pounds before surgery and I busted my butt doing it. I worked out, logged my food, gave up carbs, and ate 1,400 calories a day. It took me 4 months to get that 34 pounds off. Since my surgery almost two weeks ago, I've lost an additional 22 pounds. That's right - 22 pounds. I have done nothing more than follow my NUT and doctor's orders. But it's a whole heck of a lot easier to do, because I'm not hungry. Not at all. Not even a little bit. There's no cheating on this. There's no "I will do better tomorrow." This is balls to the wall time.
I honestly reconsidered having surgery but I'm so very glad I didn't talk myself out of it. I have failed so many times in the past and this time, I want to see those pounds gone forever.
Whatever decision you make, make it the decision you can live with.
Good luck to you!!!
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I had the sleeve and 6 months out no complications. I eat a small portion, Protein first. if I did not tell you I have had surgery you would never know.
haven't tried wine yet, I am saving that for November - but if I have to give it up so be it. I'd rather not have diabetes than have a glass of wine.
keep searching, you will come to the right decision for you.

@@MiaLynn I had the sleeve surgery 11 months ago and I've had none of the issues you say you are fearing. I can only speak from my perspective....my experience.
I can have anything I want to eat.....I just choose not to. I've never experienced the dumping sensation unlike my little sister who had bypass. The only thing even remotely close to the dumping sensation that I've had is If I eat candy or sweets.....they tend to upset my stomach and give diarrhea. I attribute this to the refined sugar being a rarely injected food by my system. I'm fairly certain that this wouldn't occur if I ate that type of stuff more often. I hope that I never do !
I can drink anything I want.....but I prefer staying away from anything caloric or carbonated. My exception to this is on the nights where I'll enjoy an adult drink.....even then I stay low calorie on the mixer. I find that alcohol impacts me stronger only due to the fact that I don't have food in my stomach when I'm drinking like I did in past life. Outside of that....it's the same.
I lost a nice chunk of weight on my own......and regained it....several times in my life. I feel confident that this time, however, I'll get it right......and maintain.
The only times I've thrown up were due to actually being sick.....would have likely thrown up even if I was pre-op. Once was a stomach virus and once was from a sinus infection and the drainage in my throat was too much to handle and I hurled.
Only you can make the decision for yourself. Get the best information you can as you make your choices. I wish that had the sleeve surgery sooner.....but am very relieved that I finally did.
Life is very straightforward and easy with it.
The sleeve will prevent you from eating large quantities of food at one time.....but, for me, at least....it doesn't prevent me from eating any type of food.

I have not had surgery yet. I have not even had my first nutritionist meeting yet. But I can tell you that you have to decide what is more important to you. Maybe sociable drinking is very important to some people I have friends that cannot function in a group setting unless there's booze. I personally don't drink very often. By the way congrats on losing weight on your own! If you don't have any other serious health issues and you have come this far with losing that much weight on your own, and you strongly feel that you have the discipline to follow through with this and keep the weight off then by all means please do so. I myself am 37 years old, 348 pounds I have severe arthritis in both my knees and an issue with my back that we cannot figure out what it is because I can't have an MRI. I have tried and failed to many times so for me, this surgery will save my life, my joints, and maybe even my social life because I don't want to leave my house anymore. It's too painful to walk around.
It's better that you realize now rather than later and regretting it. Because this cannot be undone. I wish you luck in whatever decision you make.
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Thanks girl i needed to hear this encouragement!
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If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got. My thoughts, Cereal, bread, crackers, pizza, Cookies, cake, have no place in my home, 3 years since surgery. If it were here, I might slip. No, I would slip. After the sleeve you really can eat all the cereal you want, you can eat pizza every day of the week. You can eat it and never lose weight. I dearly love homemade biscuits, gravy, and chicken and dumplings like my Mother taught me. I really miss them but I could not wear my new clothes if I eat them. It is a choice. Make sure you are ready to change your life. Good luck girl!

Find distractions - read, go for a walk, color, go shopping (not for food lol), write in a journal, write a list of why you're doing this and what you want to do after weight loss!! Stay Strong!

Hey there everyone!! I can't wait to be sleeved and a projected surgery date could be January or February. Most of the people I've told about my sleeve surgery have said I'm going to look like a completely different person. In my mind for some reason I am thinking my life is going to be drastically different...but I'm trying to wrap my mind around how. How I'm going to look at a normal weight...I'm 5'11/2" and weigh between 247-250 and have been overweight almost all of my life....will I truly have more energy (when I'm home from work I don't feel like doing anything but holding down the couch and ALWAYS tired)....will I have more self-esteem and self confidence (because right now it's pretty crappy..as it has been for a very long time)...I want to be a better Mom to my son. I am a single Mom to an 11 yr old who is getting into a lot of different activities at school and we are kicking around running our first 5k together after my surgery. I'm not having second thoughts about surgery, but I want to be realistic about the possible changes and not disappointed in something that might not change. I need life changing. What were some changes (both good and bad) after everyone's surgery that were drastically different than before?
For the ladies- Did you still have PMS cravings after surgery?...chocolate, salt and Pepsi Lol.
Sorry this post is so long..just curious. ????
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My parents are supportive of my decision but today my mother then asked me "Are you sure?" and I replied Yes immediately.
I can tell they are worried and I am running out of patience a little bit.
What are you all dealing with and what are you saying?
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hi everyone--
just got sleeved on 9/28 so i am just 4 days post op. i keep reading how hard it is for people to keep liquids down and i'm worried because that hasn't happened to me -- i only threw up once on day 2 and it has been smooth sailing since. in fact i just sipped a whole can of Tomato Soup in 10 minutes with no nausea or pain and i'm worried: what if my pouch isn't small enough???
has anyone else had a fairly easy recovery? trust me i am not complaining! i am just anxious because of all the posts talking about how bad it is, i prepared myself for much worse.
thanks in advance!
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