Little Green

Jeez, y'all. This thread won't die! Can we all just agree that increased dependence on alcohol is a risk after surgery due to various factors, that encouraging others to go against their surgeon's guidelines is unwise, and that some people will still go their own way, with or without complications, and it's not possible to argue them out of it?

I'm keeping lists of stuff I want to do, from the mundane like being able to go up the ladder into the attic to the more ambitious like a difficult 8-mile hike my friend has scheduled for September. I'm hoping checking off stuff like that will help satisfy the goal-achieving craving. I'm also going to only weigh myself once a month to try and control the dopamine rush during my weight loss phase. Hoping I have the willpower to resist, lol...

Veggie soup or stew blended will be a great consistency - nice and warm and savory. I'm starting my liquid diet tomorrow and already dreaming about my first blended soup about a month from now. Good luck!

I'm so sorry you're going through this! I can't help much, but I know that my surgeon recommended taking vitamins with a meal or snack to minimize nausea. Good luck

Sorry Raffi. I'm all for humor and sarcasm, bawdy jokes, even offensive humor, and I'm known to be blunt on occasion. I just think there are too many people looking for ways to excuse bad behavior for me to see the humor in this post, which I feel could add fuel to the fire for some. I'm wishing you all the best, though, and hoping to get excellent results like you have as well! Take care.

Even if this is true, should people on this board be required to decipher the hidden message among the barrage of macho "I do what I want" talking points?

Yeah, you're hilarious, Raffi.

It took me awhile but I finally found it

Hmm. To me it definitely comes off as bragging about the rules not applying to him. The title literally says, "I'm doing everything wrong... and shrinking." The implication there is he's still losing weight despite not following any of the guidelines and has "no regrets" according to his OP. So yeah, I don't think we're just being too sensitive by taking what he's said at face value. Giving the middle finger to the surgeon's rules is not only stupid but dangerous. And Raffi has been loving the attention his post has gotten. "Badge of honor," and all that. So I'm really not interested in finding ways to excuse it as him framing his post in a way he didn't intend. Personally I'm having surgery to lose my excess weight and permanently maintain that by completely overhauling the lifestyle that has been making me sick and fat. But that's just me.

Not sure it's good to fantasize about our favorite unhealthy foods while we're trying to focus on changing our diets! LOL

I DESPERATELY want Thin Mints but if I did order them they wouldn't be delivered until after my surgery. So no Thin Mints for me Hmm... I'm going to have a "final meal" before my liquid diet starts Thursday. I haven't had anyone yell at me and tell me I'm not committed to changing my lifestyle so I should postpone surgery yet - any takers????

No, you're definitely not! As you have gained weight your body chemistry has changed and many factors are in play in your body that are designed to keep you overweight. It's crazy how different our bodies are, metabolically, compared to normal weight individuals. The surgery resets us metabolically. (Some studies have shown improved metabolic markers after surgery even for people who don't lose very much weight!) And the junk food we all eat (ate!) was literally engineered using top-secret additives and ingredients to increase pleasure, influence your neural pathways, and keep your hand moving to your mouth. Get angry at the food industry and use that anger to rebel against it by eating whole, nutritious foods instead. Surgery will make that much easier. I use the analogy of climbing a mountain. When we're obese it's like we are climbing it with a gigantic boulder on our backs, weighing us down and preventing us from going very far. Some tiny subset of people are so strong they are able to make it to the top, but most of us never will. Surgery takes the boulder off. We still have to do the climb ourselves - there's no chair lift to the top - but it gives us the opportunity to actually be successful. Here's a wonderful video from Dr. Matthew Weiner about deciding to have WLS:

I think I'm going to switch from coffee to black tea for a few days, then green tea, then herbal tea over the course of my liquid diet. That way it's both a mental and chemical switch. The hardest part for me will be avoiding my beloved Starbucks espresso drinks!!!! *cries*

Sorry guys, I promise no one is paying me to post brand recommendations on here LOL. Just doing a crazy amount of experiments before my liquid diet starts... in... gulp, 5 days! So in the pre-op diet my surgeon allows any protein bar that meets the following requirements: 200 calories or less 8 grams of sugar or less Between 15-25 grams of protein (We can have up to 2 protein bars per day during the diet.) After much googling I found a bar that meets those requirements for me! This is almost certainly not the only bar but it was available on Amazon and at a good price range so it's the one I decided to order - it's called the NuGo Slim bar. FYI NOT ALL THE FLAVORS ARE PLANT-BASED!!! I actually wasn't paying enough attention and accidentally ordered 3 flavors that aren't vegan, ugh. LOL thank goodness Amazon will let me return them! The three flavors that I've tried (that ARE vegan) are Toasted Coconut, Chocolate Mint, and Crunchy Peanut Butter. They are all REALLY good and believe me when I say I hate most protein bars (except Fiber One which I don't eat anymore obviously). These bars do not have that awful, weird, wet, chewy texture that Quest bars, Pure Protein bars, etc. have. I would say that my favorite flavor is the peanut butter one, but they are seriously all good. The only reason the chocolate mint didn't win was I would have liked more mint flavor lol. I'm really excited to have found these bars. I wish I could eat these 5x a day instead of 3x shakes and 2x bars, lol.

http://gamechangersmovie.com/ I haven't seen it yet-- I'm not sure it's out yet actually, but Dr. Greger mentioned it on his Facebook page and said this is the best and most evidence-based vegan documentary he's seen yet! James Cameron is the executive producer and it also features Arnold Schwarzenegger. I think this is going to be HUGE! And hopefully reach a ton of people to get them eating the healthiest diet! ??????

@RunningLibrarian what's a starch-free diet? Just like a no-carb thing - no wheat, rice, potatoes, etc.?

The last month or so I've been really focusing on changing my diet permanently - getting my husband on board, donating or tossing foods we won't be eating, meal planning and cooking new recipes, etc. In addition to that, I'm brainstorming recipes for the post-op periods. Researching protein shakes & bars. Seeing my therapist every week to discuss fears and anxieties as they come up. Trying to be calm & enjoy the process - I feel this is a special, pivotal time in my life that I'll look back on with amazement. So just trying to be present with myself and my feelings instead of biting my nails and hyperventilating LOL... easier said than done sometimes but overall I'm feeling at peace.

I have to take Milk of Magnesia at 4pm the day before surgery, that's it.

Me too!

Yay, twins!! Which surgery are you having?

I'm RNY, not sleeve, but I'm 2/15 I told my husband we'll have to have a romantic protein shake dinner the night before since it's Valentine's Day I think I might also treat myself to a massage or something relaxing!

Thank you so much, you guys. I was so frustrated yesterday but today I decided to try again and explained the situation with my husband. He called back about 2 hours later with a date! February 15! Woohoo!

What's a participation heading? To the left of your posts I see the following: Is that's what you're referring to?

This is more of a rant than a question but I'm feeling so frustrated with getting my surgery date. I found out I was approved on 12/27 but I needed to get a test done to check for a certain type of bacteria. I waited and waited for them to call and schedule it but they never did so I finally got ahold of the right department and had the test today. I called the bariatric office today to see what the timeline would look like once the surgeon receives the results and, unfortunately, spoke to my least favorite coordinator, who is very rude. He basically gave a non-answer and said that once the surgeon gets the results they will "eventually" call me. I wouldn't be so worried about the date except we were trying to get it done in time for my husband to be off work to be with me. He's been on disability for almost two years after a severe accident and we're trying to balance getting him back with my surgery. The deadline for him to return is 2/20. I'm so afraid he will have to go back to work and won't be able to take time off and won't be able to even see me since my surgery is 1.5 hours away from home. I'm so frustrated!!!!!!! I see so many people say, "I found out I was approved! My date is X!" And here I am a month after approval with no idea of my date.