LittleBill

I was discussing this with Mrs. LittleBill yesterday. I am just a few weeks ahead of you. I hit a stall shortly after Thanksgiving, and am still there. I have been behaving myself probably 90%, which means I have had a very few Cookies, a small amount of stuffing, all the BAD carbs. Did they contribute to my stall? Am I not exercising enough? Am I a worthless person who deserves to be fat the rest of my life? The answer to all of these is mostly no, with a little maybe for the first part. It doesn't matter, and in a case like this, trying to pin it down and assign blame is as fruitless as a post op liquid diet. What matters is staying the course for the long haul. What matters is looking back and seeing how far you've come already. Stick with your program, tweak it as it needs it, and don't look at the scale so often. If you do things as your are supposed to do, your weight will come off. But it does not come off in a linear fashion.

A lot of temperament associated with diets and weight loss can be laid at the feet of hunger. Once you are sleeved, you won't have to deal with that. Perhaps if you could show your husband that information he would consent to being a little more supportive.

Stand around with an appropriate beverage in your hand. Sip it slowly. Talk and be socially engaged. Don't eat. I used to do that even before I had surgery.

With all the other sub forums here, it should not be hard. It could be called Gastric Sleeve for Millennials who need a Safe Space.

I had all my stuff scheduled, and was on schedule, when the woman in charge of making that schedule called me and tried to talk me into having my surgery two weeks early. I told her no way! She didn't understand, and I reminded her that I would not be able to do my pre-op diet properly, and I was not going to risk my liver for the sake of her scheduling convenience. I understand they have holes to fill sometimes, but she has been through this herself. You'd think she would have known better. I do not know how much the surgeon would have been involved in that kind of decision. I think it is more like he walks in and asks who is on the schedule for that day. I do think he would have backed his staff though.

One thing I have seen in my short time here are lots of posts about eating stuff we shouldn't too early, while our sleeve is still healing. But I HAVEN'T seen posts titled, My surgeon opened me up again because I ate solid food". I suspect people are a little more circumspect about posting that kind of stuff.

Always looking for boobies! Well then, here's a pair for you!

I end up having to eat out with friends or associates on a fairly regular basis. Like @ says, make careful choices, and eat slowly. One other thing I do is to divide up whatever comes on my plate before I start eating. I try to guess on the low side of what I can handle. It is better to be a tiny bit hungry than it is to feel bloated and uncomfortable for an hour or so. Diving it up gives you a definite stopping point.

@ Oh, I can talk just like him, western accent and all. Mrs. LittleBill doesn't know it yet, but I am working on growing out my mustache nice and bushy like his as well. I just have to keep my barber away from it. He is obsessed with trimming it down to a pencil 'stache every time I go there.

That's illegal in most states.

@@theantichick Well said! Or well written anyway. I am quoting one line you wrote: "They are not representative of most people, and should not be used as the example other people follow." Remember, no one is completely useless. At the very least, they can serve as a bad example.

Thank you! I am getting there. I'm 2 1/2 months out from surgery, and haven't quite lost as much post op as I did pre op. I would like to lose about 65 more lbs. I notice I have more energy, but I keep using it up pushing harder every day (or most days). I guess that's a good thing. I notice when I chase Mrs. LittleBill around, it is easier to catch her now.

I have a very deep voice. Think James Earl Jones or Barry White deep. Even when I was (really) fat, women would constantly gush over me and my voice - even if Mrs. LittleBill was present! She is used to it by now, but some of them get pretty demonstrative, and they are always asking me to "say something". The standard thing I say is "Oh baby, oh baby" whenever something like this comes up. I am not sure I am going to tell her you think I look good though, even though I I know it is in the most manly way possible. You know, just in case. At any rate, thank you. I appreciate it.

@@Malin I'm blushing. Again.

Okay, I'll contribute here. I went and found one of the more unflattering pictures of myself. But it is an important one because I am holding my two youngest grandchildren (out of six) from our two older daughters. This is me a year before surgery holding Jonah (2 months old) and Sadie (1 month old). I am pretty much the same weight as I was when I began the program in June 2016 - 481 lbs. The second picture is of me Christmas Day 2016. I am down 117 lbs in this picture. My parents, who are in their 80s, gave ME this book for Christmas. This was one of my favorites as a young boy. We both love to read to our grandchildren, as we did with our children. So Mom and Dad aren't quite senile. They're just ensuring that the traditions can be continued with the same stories.

It does get easier. There will be changes to make mentally and emotionally as well as physically, but as you succeed in making them you will discover a new independence.

I looked at it this way. I wanted to give the surgeon every possible opportunity to not screw something up while carving up my insides. Not only did I follow my dietary restrictions exactly, I even trimmed my beard back to next to nothing because he said it would be easier on the anesthesiologist if they had trouble. It grew back.

@

I went right to the top and got a Garmin Fenix 3 HR. Part of the reason for that was it is the only one that fits my giant (bony, not fat) wrist. But it is waterproof, has an excellent heart rate monitor, and lots of other stuff besides.

Sleeve damage, maybe. Mindset damage probability is a lot higher. Your sleeve is a tool. If you don't follow your guidelines, you will damage it. Then the issue becomes, why did you bother? The more important issue though, is what kind of mindset you have. If you aren't willing to make the tough choices, your sleeve, and all you went through to get it, will do you no good. Is that what you want? Keep in mind, what you do, what you decide, affects no one here but you. We can offer advice and opinions, but none of us are living in your skin. Only you have to live with your decisions.

I did not mean to put you on the spot. I've just seen some Christmas pictures over the years where the subject had on what you describe, and nothing else. I did not mean to pry into your privacy. But I could not resist asking.

I had a small slice of pumpkin pie today, and I felt NO GUILT AT ALL! Do you know why? It was because this is a lifetime change, not a daily grind. Yeah, we have to pay attention day by day, but we can also let loose on our restrictions for a single instance now and then, because we are human. Tomorrow it will be back to lots of Protein, little carbs, and working out. In the meantime , I was able to relax and enjoy the day. I hope you can do the same.

As I grow older, I realize more and more, things change. Life is not static. While we might want things to stay the same, they never do. The best thing is to realize that change will happen, and embrace it instead of fighting it. As the Marines say, Improvise, adapt, and overcome. It really does work.

Thank you! We had a wonderful Christmas with my parents, my brother, and his daughter. It was small and quiet, and we really enjoyed it.