Nhope

My surgery is Aug. 4th. It feels both too far and too close. I'm fighting the urge to eat everything in sight (so far, successfully) and am introducing more protein drinks into my current diet so I can find ones I like and get used to them. Though I'm staying within my recommended 1800-2000 calorie diet in order to lose as much as possible before the surgery, I have to admit that part of me says: screw it. Eat what you can, when you can.. I've decided to build in a treat or two a week in order to maintain a balance. I'm also debating just throwing out my scale altogether. I certainly get weighed often enough with all these doctors' appointments, and I'm trying to get over an unhealthy obsession with what the scale says.

You don't owe anyone an explanation!! Take care of yourself first. Ignore snarky comments as best you can (that's their monkeys and their circus). Be proud of how you handled your dinnertime challenge!

I would follow any post-op recommendations that apply to smoking in general, if you're smoking, rather than consuming, weed. The stress on your lungs post surgery can be intense. Make sure you've healed properly.

Don't forget to let the user delete as well as add things. My Fitness Pal allows you to add foods to your list but not delete them!!

Not vegan, but pescetarian (I eat fish and dairy products). Not eating meat or fowl does present some challenges. But I'm happy to be a buddy, amyjanelle3. I'm in that waiting period of being approved for surgery and now waiting for the big day on Aug. 4. N

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts, hope this thread will continue. B.Annie, fyi--I am female, so it's more accurate to say "Woman of God." I think the difference between talking about sex and talking about weight loss is that there is more social permission to talk about the latter. No one has ever said to me: Have you had sex lately? You look great! But I do appreciate your input. I will certainly need to find a balance in what I feel comfortable saying and what I don't. While I would characterize my congregation as being very loving and supportive, sometimes what gets said out of love can be painful. Case in point: one of the people I chose to confide in at this point responded by saying; "That's not good news for me. I don't want to be the heaviest person in the congregation." Does this person support me? Yes. Did this person say something insensitive because of her own issues? Again, yes.

HA!!! I'd imagine the waiters at Disney have seen worse. Good for you for going.

What I'm referring to is using the language of my faith and tradition to talk about my decision and experience.

I'm wondering if there are other clergy folk on this list (rabbi, minister, pastor, imam, priest, etc). I feel that there are some specific challenges I am facing wls while being the spiritual leader of my community. I'm thinking of everything from how much to disclose when I take time off, to dramatic weight-loss in the public eye, to handling the (inevitable) inappropriate remarks and "suggestions", to putting the whole journey into a more spiritual, God-forward, framework.

I'm not actually at the very beginning, but now that I have a surgery date and I've completed all the pre-op classes, it feels real. I'm 53, currently weigh 334 (on my home scale--and that's what I'm going by!) My highest weight was 359 about a year and a half ago. Also a year and a half ago I swore I would never get WLS. It seemed contrary to all my convictions about being body positive, the ability to change eating habits, rejecting societal pressures for people (women, especially but no exclusively) to physical harm their bodies in order to diminish their presence, a lifetime of trying to be good enough just as I was...all that and more. So I went to the Bariatric Nutrition center with the intent of finding support for addressing food addiction through a mindful eating practice. No one pressured me about surgery, which was great, and I started a series of uninspiring appointments with a variety of nutritionists. I did lose 20 lbs and then I gained 15 lbs and the self-loathing and frustration amped up. At the same time, I was diagnosed with a degenerative condition in both of my heels. I had all sorts of treatments and therapies, but the reality was that it can’t be fixed, only managed. It really interferes with my daily life and makes it difficult for me to do everything from walk the dog to travel. The doc said that the most effective way of managing it was to lose a lot of weight. I still didn’t want surgery. I thought I would just double down on the dieting. I have no other co-morbidities: heart is fine, blood pressure is fine, no diabetes, only borderline cholesterol. I had waited my whole life for some diagnosis that would be the magic switch in my brain to get me to stop overeating. One day I was talking to someone at work who happens to be a doctor and when he asked me how my heels were doing, I told him what the other doc had said. Very simply, he said: “you should get wls.” At any other moment, with any other person, I would have been offended, or defensive, or upset, but for some reason, I knew he was right. I then found out the next obstacle: my insurance would not cover it and I am not willing to incur the kind of debt necessary to cover the cost on my own. In truth, I was relieved. I now had an excuse to not do it! And then, another person encouraged me to write a letter to the hospital, and used her influence to get it into the correct hands. Within weeks, I got the word that my appeal was accepted. I felt like someone had called my bluff!!! So I started doing the pre-op classes in January. I was still very reluctant, and not at all a good sport. Everything I heard made the whole process sound miserable, but I figured I could change my mind up to the moment I was on the operating table. Over the months I talked to some friends who had the surgery and talked to close family and friends. It was their gentle support that helped me come to some sense of peace. I am very, very blessed to have that. My plan was to finish all the pre-op stuff in the spring, have the surgery early in the summer while I’m on a break from work, and be ready to start the school year by the time I was starting to eat solid foods again. That’s pretty much how it is working out, though my surgery will be in early August because I decided to have RNY instead of sleeve. I made this decision because I do have some acid reflux and didn’t want to have that be an issue, and also I figured I’d get the most bang for my buck. I need the most effective tool I can get in order to lose and maintain the weight. Now I am getting into the home stretch. I’m trying not to eat everything in sight, as if I’ll never eat again, and I’m trying to stay focused on the positive outcomes and not the challenges to getting there. Surgery still freaks me out. The post surgery eating and digestion issues definitely freak me out. But I’m going to keep going, in spite of everything, and keep reminding myself that I am worth the effort.

I have a very public job and have only told people who I needed to be supportive of me, or who would be impacted by my being unavailable after surgery (in August). I'll be away from most people on my job for the summer, so I'm telling them now that I'm taking some time to get healthy. I know that there will be comments and questions when I return or when weight loss becomes really obvious. I'm not sure what I'll say then. As private as I am, and I want to keep things, I am really grateful for all the people I know who were open about their surgery and have been incredibly supportive in this process and helping me make the decision.

I just met with my surgeon for the first time this week. I went in almost positive I'd do the sleeve, but left with a date (Aug 4!!) and a decision to do RNY. Why? The reflux issue and because it has a higher and longer success rate. My motivating factor for the surgery is a deteriorative disease of my heel and achilles tendons. Significant weight loss will be the only way to manage a problem that can't be cured. I want to make sure it works. I'm lucky to have a surgeon who didn't pressure me, but gave a very reasoned recommendation. I'm still freaked out about surgery in general, but happy with my decision so far.

The only way I can tolerate yogurt's taste is in savory, not sweet, preparations. I add it to soups or add some spices and a splash of vinegar to it, and it's delicious!