Greensleevie

How are you doing Joni?

The irony of obese people who had to to resort to WLS judging other obese people who had to resort to WLS is staggering.

Obese is obese. Whether you're 250 pounds or 650 pounds, the struggles are basically the same.

Be humble and remember that.

I know it's hard not to stress about it, but honestly, don't stress. Like what was said above, drink your calories and more fat in the form of Peanut Butter, avocados and even use butter to cook with. And get that GERD taken care of!

More than likely, a couple years from now you'll be looking back fondly on this period of weight loss when you're having to watch every bite you eat because the scale seems to want to go up inexplicably. Our bodies are constantly fighting us to get fat again once we hit maintenance.

Believe me, you won't waste away. Hope you can figure out a happy medium!

If you talked to people who have actually had WLS and have been successful with it, most would tell you they're happy they did it.

This surgery isn't some fly by night diet we do to "get skinny". It's a serious, life changing medical procedure that should only be done only after some heavy duty research and contemplation. It won't change your love of eating, won't choose what you decide to eat, and the chances of you staying "skinny" (IF you even get there) are less than 50% if you haven't made the decision and have the emotional tools to completely change your lifestyle. If anything, people who are unprepared are more unhappy than they were before because they went through a life altering surgery with all the possible side effects and none of the results. It really has a tendency to complicate things in our lives, too, so be prepared for that.

On 7/26/2017 at 3:47 PM, MelodyBronson said:

It's a struggle for me.....I am one who eats for other reasons than hunger so I am struggling with this delimma......I am recently had WLS....my old habits are still there and I have to constantly fight the urge to eat...just to be eating!! I can't eat very much at a time so I tend to "graze".......I am very discouraged about this struggle I am having.

Your comment is a perfect example of the misconceptions people have about these surgeries. I cringe when pre ops think everything will change and all our diet woes will disappear. We've all had to come to the sad realization that it's really not that easy unfortunately.

Like the saying goes, they operate on our stomachs, not our brains.

The less you weigh, the slower the weight loss. The one downside of being a lightweight

You seem smart. You know what you need to do

shake things up. Start tracking on an app like My Fitness Pal, figure out where you need to be calorie and Protein wise to start losing again. Get at least 10,000 steps in a day. Lay off the wine and sugar. You'll have plenty of time for that as an occasional splurge once you get where you want to be. Put your nose to the grindstone and get to that goal weight if that's what you really want. After the honeymoon period ends, it's really hand to hand combat to get the rest of the weight off. Now win the battle!

I personally didn't eat any kind of bread until I was 80% to my goal weight. I wanted to eat as much Protein as I could, and bread products just took up too much precious real estate in my sleeve. I stuck to protein and a bite or two of veggie for close to a year. Now when I indulge occasionally, it's the nuttiest whole grain bread I can find to get the most nutritional bang for my buck. I stay away from white bread and tortillas altogether.

You're doing just fine. The scale is moving in the right direction, and that's all that matters.

Don't look at it as some kind of race, because there's really no end. Even at 3.5 years post op, I still struggle with going up and down 10 pounds. I didn't lose all the weight and live happily ever after. I mean, it's great, but the reality is it's still tracking, exercising, measuring and worrying about what I'm putting into my mouth constantly.

Would it be awesome to just wake up thin one day? Sure! But how will you learn to appreciate the journey and all the lessons that come with it? How would you ever learn the habits you need to keep the weight off once you get there? This is the time to start the habits for lifelong success. Don't rush it and enjoy the journey! You'll get there. Then the hard work REALLY begins.

Body fat % is a more important number to pay attention to IMO. Have someone check yours and go from there.

You look great!

10 minutes ago, Berry78 said:

Not sure exactly what you mean by this, but it sounds like you may not really understand what this surgery does. Your tummy will be so small, that it makes almost no sense eating more than 1 thing per meal (meat OR veggies, not both) for quite a while. (at least for me, I can't fix a bite or two of something.. I'd rather make 4oz of the single item, then next meal fix the other thing. I'm 4 months out, so maybe over years things will slowly change...) The people that eat a bite of veggies with their meat have the veggies ready to go, already prepared. That works too, it's just not my personal system. But the idea of going to a buffet and eating a bite of this or that.. it's almost laughable.

BUT I ate the way you do the first year and a half or so.

4 minutes ago, Berry78 said:

Not sure exactly what you mean by this, but it sounds like you may not really understand what this surgery does. Your tummy will be so small, that it makes almost no sense eating more than 1 thing per meal (meat OR veggies, not both) for quite a while. (at least for me, I can't fix a bite or two of something.. I'd rather make 4oz of the single item, then next meal fix the other thing. I'm 4 months out, so maybe over years things will slowly change...) The people that eat a bite of veggies with their meat have the veggies ready to go, already prepared. That works too, it's just not my personal system. But the idea of going to a buffet and eating a bite of this or that.. it's almost laughable.

Yes, it does change the further out you get from surgery.

Last night I ate 5 Oz of steak, 1/4 cup of green Beans and a few bites of salad for dinner. I'm 3.5 years post op.

42 minutes ago, Lord Nikon said:

Yep. Need to debunk the legend. It's okay to drink diet or zero calorie (just carbonated water) in moderation. As always drunk your Water or your flavored drinks first and maybe save the diet soda as a treat. It's what I do. Once a week, when we have company over, on game night. I'll enjoy some Coke Zero over ice. It's a nice treat.

The Surgery is a tool, not the answer. It's there to help you learn moderation and how to live a healthier life style.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Science is truth. Facts are truth. There have been several people who have sited scientific evidence to show that it's a myth to no avail.

I know we are currently in a fact/science denial period right now, so I feel it's more important than ever to set the record straight using facts and science. There's nothing rude or disrespectful about that.

Just because you don't agree with it, doesn't mean it isn't true.

12 minutes ago, heycrystal2052 said:

I'm not going to say anything about those who live my drinking carbonation, they are entitled to live as they may. Just as those of us, who'd rather not take any chances w/ soda or carbonation. I work w/ several women who chose to get the Sleeve and I've seen them drink soda often, in the same gulp, they speak about gaining a lot of their weight back. They eat and drink things I've been told, I needed to stay away from. So, with that being said, I'll stay away from carbonation and many other things. What we do is our choice at the end of the day, we all may not agree or may view it as a "myth", who cares. Be kind and respect what works best for others, just as for yourself.

Now, I'm super excited!! My insurance just approved my skin removal surgery!!

Soda has sugar and empty calories, and that's why they gain. Has zero to do with carbonation.

But good for you. You're right, you do you. But let's not keep perpetuating the same old tired myths. You don't want to drink carbonation, then don't drink it. People who know carbonation won't cause weight gain and want to drink no/low calorie carbonated drinks, more power to them. Whatever works.

12 minutes ago, KamalSalem said:

So about drinking, what should one be drinking post op if I wanted a good buzz?

Any hard liquor should do it. Avoid sugary mixed drinks, but even hard liquor turns to sugar in your system. It really only takes one vodka and tonic to give me a decent buzz without too many calories.

Drinking should only be occasional if ever during the weight loss phase because it can really mess with your weight loss if it becomes a regular thing.

2 hours ago, jess9395 said:

Yeah I sorta roll my eyes on the carbonation stretching thing. I mean seriously?!? It's AIR and not even pressurized air and once healed the stomach is tough tissue. Science says nope, though they did worry in the early days of the sleeve they later proved it wrong.

And yeah it relaxes some over time. Now a full plate? Suppose it depends on the initial size of your sleeve, whether the full fundus was removed, the size of your plate and what's on it.

I'm four years out and still have great restriction. No way could I eat a full plate of food unless it was a small plate and full of Cheeze-it's.

I can definitely eat way more than I could early on, but not a full plate.

Okay, full SMALL plate

Aaaaaand no matter how many articles and videos you post stating that carbonation doesn't stretch a sleeve, people still are saying it and believing it.

Fun fact: Things are going to naturally relax and stretch out over time. At about 5 years out, you'll be able to eat a plate of food. So it really doesn't matter what size our stomachs are at that point, but what we are putting in them.

People who solely rely on the size of their stomachs to keep them on the straight and narrow will have a tough road ahead I'm afraid.

Yup. Stop eating it.

The more you eat, the more you crave. You stop having it, you stop missing it.

Studies show abstinence works better than moderation in the long run.

Also, have you heard of Halo Top? It's a very low calorie, high Protein ice cream. Kind of spendy, but its a good substitute.

Read this. She speaks from experience.

https://www.bariatriceating.com/2013/03/bariatric-surgery-only-makes-your-stomach-smaller-otherwise-youre-exactly-the-same/

4 hours ago, Jeffrey Stern said:

Well Ms. Greensleevie

I didn't want to go the route of name calling...however you started it. Immature??? really The very reason people start the name calling is they have NO ARGUMENT to defend. And because I won't join your "pity party" you feel threatened by my MATURE attitude towards my life long commitment to be healthy. Just because you are a failure doesn't mean everyone else must follow your weak and IMMATURE attitude. GROW UP !!!

I didn't have this surgery on a whim. This was a decision with my doctor and then a year long process with the hospital performing the surgery. Surgeons, nurses, nutritionists, psychologists ( to make sure I was mentally prepared) to venture into this new lifestyle. And post surgery I have a 5yr program to follow with the same. I have my first post surgery meeting with the nutritionist on Aug 11th, then the nurse practitioner Aug. 22th, then another nurse practitioner Nov. 3rd, then the same day with a social worker, and then to end the year another nutritionist on Nov. 10th where I will get the schedule for the next year...so you see for the next 5yrs I am good...by that time I should be well on my way to having a healthy life. BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I WANT !!! Like I said before it took a good kick in the pants to get here. And I ain't gonnna screw it up. Sorry I won't be joining your pity party this time.

If you are in addiction like you say...than doesn't AA say you must admit you have a problem before you can get help. I admit I HAD a problem...now I got help... so sue me.

So my dear if I fail and I won't....it's because I didn't take this surgery seriously. Just like you !!! your weak... and you are looking for other people to join your Debbie Downer pity party. I really don't understand why it's so difficult for you to GET THIS !! oh wait your a loser.

Jack Canfield (Jack Canfield is an American author, motivational speaker, seminar leader, corporate trainer, and entrepreneur). said quote: "success depends on getting good at saying no without feeling guilt. You cannot go ahead with your own goals if you are always saying yes to someone elses projects. YOU CAN ONLY GET AHEAD WITH YOUR DESIRED LIFESTYLE IF YOU ARE FOCUSED ON THE THINGS THAT WILL PRODUCE THAT LIFESTYLE." end quote. this was given in the many pages of information from the Toronto Western Hospital were I had my surgery.

You see they don't want me to fail either. I'll take a rain check on your negative attitude. Be Healthy and Prosper

Wow. You respond to me calling your attitude immature by posting a completely immature response. Good show.

For the record, I'm not a failure. I lost all my excess weight and have kept it off within 10 pounds for 2 years. So basically, I've been keeping my weight off. So far, much more successful than you have been. I also know what to expect a few years out. Way ahead of you there, too.

I think you protest too much. You almost sound like a scared child with all the projection you do.

Okay, good for you. You'll make the surgery successful and you'll have no challenges and issues and everything will be perfect and you've cured your obesity and all the issues that go with it and you'll live happily ever after. You've figured this out all in a matter of under 3 months time.

I'm not being negative, I'm being truthful. Obviously that bothers you. I'm not saying this isn't mostly all on us. Ultimately, it is. But you don't want to admit that the road isn't as easy as you seem to want to make it out to be, and that people who've been there might actually know what they're talking about. I was ONLY pointing out the challenges I and many, many others have faced. You know, because we've been there? And you haven't?

You also obviously don't know how to have a normal discussion without getting over emotional and insulting people. So you are now being put on ignore, because I don't do willful ignorance very well.

Also, I work in addiction. You know the first indicator I see when I know someone is going to relapse?

They swear they are NEVER going back to drugs or alcohol.

They don't have enough insight to understand that absolutes and extremes just don't work in the real world with real world challenges. They get blindsided when they happen and deal with them the only way they know how....resorting back to their old self destructive behaviors.

The more successful clients understand that although they can't promise they won't ever go back, they will work their programs the best they can, use the tools they've been given and deal with the challenges they know will happen as they come in order to be successful. They don't assume to know it all, either.

4 hours ago, Jeffrey Stern said:

Well to all those who are saying how easy it is to so called "slide down the slippery slope" or hit "those rocks in the road" and us newbies who "have the tiger by the tail" and every other idiom out there all say that you obviously weren't mentally ready to engage in this new world of self awareness.

Again...having surgery which ever method you decide to have..lap band, sleeve, or bypass... THIS IS NOT MAGIC SURGERY. It does not give you the permission to go out after words to the nearest buffet or fast food place or buy a family size bag of potato chips, and think OOHHH boy I had some magic surgery now I can eat anything I want (not to mention the unmentionable...exercise) . NO NO NO. So you need to decide am I going to be successful at this or not.

If you are making excuses like "nobody is validating me any more" ... you're becoming healthier ..are you doing this for them or yourself? I'm going to try eating more sugar...why? I personally have type 2 diabetes and got so tired of taking large amounts of insulin everyday. I can't drink alcohol any more... boo hoo...maybe you have another issue to deal with?? What's an occasional splurge ? really? Cut out carbs all together.. again I made a decision to not eat carbs/ gluten anymore. There are so many subs to replace all the bread, rice, and Pasta you crave. Try some.

Any one of your Nuts out there will tell you if your putting more calories in your body than your burning your doing something wrong. SO NO SLIDDERS !

So if all you who have been out for 3 or 4 or 5 yrs plus have just forgotten why you had the surgery to begin with. Maybe you need a second so called "HONEYMOON" a few of you mention all the failures out there...what about all the successes !!! which I will be one of...It's not BULLSHIT...

Obesity is manageable. Some of us need extra help such as the surgery of your choice...but healthy eating is a close second option. So make all the excuses you want. That's what they are EXCUSES. Nobody has a gun to your head saying eat that junk.. it was all your decision. So hate me all you want I will talk to you in 3 or 4 or 5 yrs from now and still be on my "HONEYMOON".

*Clicks profile*

"Surgery date 4/30/17".

Yup. I remember thinking I had it all together, too. It's easy when you're not hungry and the weight is falling off effortlessly.

Glad you have this ALL figured out at a whole 2 months post op.

I never understood how people presume to know what the future holds when they have no idea what challenges lie ahead? How immature.

Are we saying you're absolutely going to be one of the almost 50% of people who are going to gain some or all of their weight back? No. We are saying to KEEP that from happening, you need to be aware of the pitfalls to PREVENT it from happening.

You no more know what's going happen 3 years down the road at 3 months post op as I do 6 years down the road at 3.5 years post op. You can at least admit that, right?

11 hours ago, Introversion said:

Bingo. You hit the nail on the head. People with brand new sleeves or fresh gastric bypass pouches often do not realize the stones that lie in the road ahead.

Initially, surgery alters a person's biochemistry favorably to promote weight loss through hormonal changes. This is known as the honeymoon period. In the beginning, the surgically altered person has a diminished appetite and can lose weight without a great deal of effort.

But over the years, the intestines become more efficient at caloric absorption, especially in those who have undergone gastric bypass. This phenomenon is known as intestinal adaptation. Intestinal villi adapt to being bypassed by enlarging and increasing their surface area to absorb more calories, priming people for weight regain.

The bariatric surgery patient is several years out and scratching his/her head, wondering why the number on the scale creeps upward rapidly even though eating habits are the same as before. They don't realize that the human body is a marvelous piece of art that will find any way to extract every last energy source (read: calories).

Sleeve and lap band patients usually regain by backsliding into bad habits. Gastric bypass patients often regain via the intestinal adaptation phenomenon discussed earlier, but backsliding into bad habits is also a noteworthy culprit.

Most obese and formerly obese persons have bodies that favor fat storage rather than fat burning. Hormonally, there are differences between us and our naturally thin counterparts.

Obesity is not curable, ever. Obesity can be forced into remission by achieving a normal body weight, but our bodies will always fight to get back to where they once were regardless of weight loss surgery.

YES, YES AND YES!

It's SO easy to be cocky newly post op (1-2 years). I remember. You think you have the tiger by the tail.

Then the honeymoon period ends.

Suddenly, you're hungrier. You can eat more. You've settled into "boring" maintenance. You no longer have the thrill of the scale moving downward. People are used to how you look now, and you aren't getting the validation of constant compliments on how great you look. You're fully healed and feel as normal as you did before surgery, and sometimes you're alarmed by how much more you can eat and how much hungrier you are. Behavior fatigue sets in, and you push the limits of how much sugar or alcohol or carbs you can consume before you see a gain. After all, you pretty much could still lose early out even after the occasional splurge. And if you did gain a pound or two, a couple days of cutting back on carbs and some extra Water, it came right back off. Until you discover it doesn't work that way anymore. You gain much easier now for seemingly no reason, and no matter how hard you try, the weight won't come back off like it did before. You become complacent, almost accepting a 5, 10, or even 20 pound gain because it becomes so hard to lose it again. We won't even talk about the guilt and self loathing regain causes. You feel like a failure (even though you really aren't).

A fairly new post op has no idea the struggles people 3, 4, 5 years out and more have, so telling people to just suck it up and have more willpower is utter bullshit.