Kat410

4.5 months post-op.
1. Get yourself in a long-view mentality. Do not get fascinated with the quick drop at the beginning (or lack thereof). Do not obsess over what is happening with the scale on a daily or weekly basis - use it is a tool (and an imperfect one at that).
2. Use this time to change your habits. As much as possible, routinize your food. Move eating to a "background" activity (something that is done out of necessity, versus organizing activities/events around eating). Do as much as you can to completely eliminate unhealthy/non-nutritious food from your diet. Train yourself to love/crave/want nutrient rich food. Be prepared to find new activities to replace eating - walking, exercise, other hobbies and activities.
3. Prepare yourself for how you are going to communicate to others about your lifestyle change. You have the right to communicate however you choose - but think it through in advance and be ready. Be ready for people to have opinions (both positive and negative). Be ready for the overweight people in your life to be curious, jealous or inspired. Be prepared for some of your relationships to change because YOU will change.
4. Take on habits that foster discipline - making your bed every day, weighing/measuring your food, prepping meals, keeping a clean house - any habits that build or foster a sense of discipline where it has been lacking. There will be times when the discipline of keeping your word (if only your word to YOURSELF) will give you a lot of power when old cravings kick in.
5. Empower yourself - do not beat yourself up if you slip, if you make a mistake, if you have strong feelings, if people act like morons. You are making a choice for the quality of your life.
6. Create a point for the surgery that supports you. For me, looking better was not worth it. What was worth it was having my body by useful, make a difference for others and contribute to people for decades to come.

4.5 months post-op.
1. Get yourself in a long-view mentality. Do not get fascinated with the quick drop at the beginning (or lack thereof). Do not obsess over what is happening with the scale on a daily or weekly basis - use it is a tool (and an imperfect one at that).
2. Use this time to change your habits. As much as possible, routinize your food. Move eating to a "background" activity (something that is done out of necessity, versus organizing activities/events around eating). Do as much as you can to completely eliminate unhealthy/non-nutritious food from your diet. Train yourself to love/crave/want nutrient rich food. Be prepared to find new activities to replace eating - walking, exercise, other hobbies and activities.
3. Prepare yourself for how you are going to communicate to others about your lifestyle change. You have the right to communicate however you choose - but think it through in advance and be ready. Be ready for people to have opinions (both positive and negative). Be ready for the overweight people in your life to be curious, jealous or inspired. Be prepared for some of your relationships to change because YOU will change.
4. Take on habits that foster discipline - making your bed every day, weighing/measuring your food, prepping meals, keeping a clean house - any habits that build or foster a sense of discipline where it has been lacking. There will be times when the discipline of keeping your word (if only your word to YOURSELF) will give you a lot of power when old cravings kick in.
5. Empower yourself - do not beat yourself up if you slip, if you make a mistake, if you have strong feelings, if people act like morons. You are making a choice for the quality of your life.
6. Create a point for the surgery that supports you. For me, looking better was not worth it. What was worth it was having my body by useful, make a difference for others and contribute to people for decades to come.

I am 5 months post op. I have very little appetite typically. It’s more like a signal that says time to eat every 2-3 hours.
Every now and then I am hungry all the time. It seems to happen after a phase of rapid weight loss. The past 2 weeks I lost 10 lbs then I was hungry all the time. I just ate according to plan. Then after two days of that I am not hungry any more.
When I am hungry my calories get up to about 1000 so I don’t sweat it.
I think there are more hormones at play here than we know or the doctors tell us about.

I would start now. If you work, depending on the work, most of us have jobs that are less intense or we are off during the holidays and then need to hit the ground running in January.

In addition if you are mentally and emotionally ready why wait?

I weigh and track my weight every day.
I drink seltzer occasionally.
I had wine before 6 months.
I ate ZERO pureed foods and extended liquid phase then went to soft phase
I do not up my calories with exercise
I sometimes forget to take my Vitamins
I am still using Protein Shakes 5 months out

4.5 months post-op.
1. Get yourself in a long-view mentality. Do not get fascinated with the quick drop at the beginning (or lack thereof). Do not obsess over what is happening with the scale on a daily or weekly basis - use it is a tool (and an imperfect one at that).
2. Use this time to change your habits. As much as possible, routinize your food. Move eating to a "background" activity (something that is done out of necessity, versus organizing activities/events around eating). Do as much as you can to completely eliminate unhealthy/non-nutritious food from your diet. Train yourself to love/crave/want nutrient rich food. Be prepared to find new activities to replace eating - walking, exercise, other hobbies and activities.
3. Prepare yourself for how you are going to communicate to others about your lifestyle change. You have the right to communicate however you choose - but think it through in advance and be ready. Be ready for people to have opinions (both positive and negative). Be ready for the overweight people in your life to be curious, jealous or inspired. Be prepared for some of your relationships to change because YOU will change.
4. Take on habits that foster discipline - making your bed every day, weighing/measuring your food, prepping meals, keeping a clean house - any habits that build or foster a sense of discipline where it has been lacking. There will be times when the discipline of keeping your word (if only your word to YOURSELF) will give you a lot of power when old cravings kick in.
5. Empower yourself - do not beat yourself up if you slip, if you make a mistake, if you have strong feelings, if people act like morons. You are making a choice for the quality of your life.
6. Create a point for the surgery that supports you. For me, looking better was not worth it. What was worth it was having my body by useful, make a difference for others and contribute to people for decades to come.

This is exactly why I chose the Mexico route.
I was also self-pay and truthfully I wanted to be able to bring my cashier's check for a quoted amount and be done with the hassle.
I coordinated with my PCP and did all the pre-op tests (most of which are covered in an annual check up, which I was due for anyway). I sent the records to the doc in Mexico (they still did their pre-op tests, which was fine). My PCP was aligned with the choice and I knew financially it could backfire if I was one of the rare people who had a complication. I prayed that the stats stayed on my side and they did. For co-morbidities I was pre-diabetic and borderline hypertensive.
The experience in Mexico was great - albeit different from the American healthcare system.
No complications, no problems and I was fully informed and educated of what could bite me in the a$$.
I paid about 5K for my surgery - all expenses except airfare and the upgrade from the mediocre hotel in Cancun.
I would research it for yourself if you haven't already and if you think it's an option for you, consider it!

I am 5 months post op. I have very little appetite typically. It’s more like a signal that says time to eat every 2-3 hours.
Every now and then I am hungry all the time. It seems to happen after a phase of rapid weight loss. The past 2 weeks I lost 10 lbs then I was hungry all the time. I just ate according to plan. Then after two days of that I am not hungry any more.
When I am hungry my calories get up to about 1000 so I don’t sweat it.
I think there are more hormones at play here than we know or the doctors tell us about.

This is exactly why I chose the Mexico route.
I was also self-pay and truthfully I wanted to be able to bring my cashier's check for a quoted amount and be done with the hassle.
I coordinated with my PCP and did all the pre-op tests (most of which are covered in an annual check up, which I was due for anyway). I sent the records to the doc in Mexico (they still did their pre-op tests, which was fine). My PCP was aligned with the choice and I knew financially it could backfire if I was one of the rare people who had a complication. I prayed that the stats stayed on my side and they did. For co-morbidities I was pre-diabetic and borderline hypertensive.
The experience in Mexico was great - albeit different from the American healthcare system.
No complications, no problems and I was fully informed and educated of what could bite me in the a$$.
I paid about 5K for my surgery - all expenses except airfare and the upgrade from the mediocre hotel in Cancun.
I would research it for yourself if you haven't already and if you think it's an option for you, consider it!

This is exactly why I chose the Mexico route.
I was also self-pay and truthfully I wanted to be able to bring my cashier's check for a quoted amount and be done with the hassle.
I coordinated with my PCP and did all the pre-op tests (most of which are covered in an annual check up, which I was due for anyway). I sent the records to the doc in Mexico (they still did their pre-op tests, which was fine). My PCP was aligned with the choice and I knew financially it could backfire if I was one of the rare people who had a complication. I prayed that the stats stayed on my side and they did. For co-morbidities I was pre-diabetic and borderline hypertensive.
The experience in Mexico was great - albeit different from the American healthcare system.
No complications, no problems and I was fully informed and educated of what could bite me in the a$$.
I paid about 5K for my surgery - all expenses except airfare and the upgrade from the mediocre hotel in Cancun.
I would research it for yourself if you haven't already and if you think it's an option for you, consider it!

4.5 months post-op.
1. Get yourself in a long-view mentality. Do not get fascinated with the quick drop at the beginning (or lack thereof). Do not obsess over what is happening with the scale on a daily or weekly basis - use it is a tool (and an imperfect one at that).
2. Use this time to change your habits. As much as possible, routinize your food. Move eating to a "background" activity (something that is done out of necessity, versus organizing activities/events around eating). Do as much as you can to completely eliminate unhealthy/non-nutritious food from your diet. Train yourself to love/crave/want nutrient rich food. Be prepared to find new activities to replace eating - walking, exercise, other hobbies and activities.
3. Prepare yourself for how you are going to communicate to others about your lifestyle change. You have the right to communicate however you choose - but think it through in advance and be ready. Be ready for people to have opinions (both positive and negative). Be ready for the overweight people in your life to be curious, jealous or inspired. Be prepared for some of your relationships to change because YOU will change.
4. Take on habits that foster discipline - making your bed every day, weighing/measuring your food, prepping meals, keeping a clean house - any habits that build or foster a sense of discipline where it has been lacking. There will be times when the discipline of keeping your word (if only your word to YOURSELF) will give you a lot of power when old cravings kick in.
5. Empower yourself - do not beat yourself up if you slip, if you make a mistake, if you have strong feelings, if people act like morons. You are making a choice for the quality of your life.
6. Create a point for the surgery that supports you. For me, looking better was not worth it. What was worth it was having my body by useful, make a difference for others and contribute to people for decades to come.

4.5 months post-op.
1. Get yourself in a long-view mentality. Do not get fascinated with the quick drop at the beginning (or lack thereof). Do not obsess over what is happening with the scale on a daily or weekly basis - use it is a tool (and an imperfect one at that).
2. Use this time to change your habits. As much as possible, routinize your food. Move eating to a "background" activity (something that is done out of necessity, versus organizing activities/events around eating). Do as much as you can to completely eliminate unhealthy/non-nutritious food from your diet. Train yourself to love/crave/want nutrient rich food. Be prepared to find new activities to replace eating - walking, exercise, other hobbies and activities.
3. Prepare yourself for how you are going to communicate to others about your lifestyle change. You have the right to communicate however you choose - but think it through in advance and be ready. Be ready for people to have opinions (both positive and negative). Be ready for the overweight people in your life to be curious, jealous or inspired. Be prepared for some of your relationships to change because YOU will change.
4. Take on habits that foster discipline - making your bed every day, weighing/measuring your food, prepping meals, keeping a clean house - any habits that build or foster a sense of discipline where it has been lacking. There will be times when the discipline of keeping your word (if only your word to YOURSELF) will give you a lot of power when old cravings kick in.
5. Empower yourself - do not beat yourself up if you slip, if you make a mistake, if you have strong feelings, if people act like morons. You are making a choice for the quality of your life.
6. Create a point for the surgery that supports you. For me, looking better was not worth it. What was worth it was having my body by useful, make a difference for others and contribute to people for decades to come.

4.5 months post-op.
1. Get yourself in a long-view mentality. Do not get fascinated with the quick drop at the beginning (or lack thereof). Do not obsess over what is happening with the scale on a daily or weekly basis - use it is a tool (and an imperfect one at that).
2. Use this time to change your habits. As much as possible, routinize your food. Move eating to a "background" activity (something that is done out of necessity, versus organizing activities/events around eating). Do as much as you can to completely eliminate unhealthy/non-nutritious food from your diet. Train yourself to love/crave/want nutrient rich food. Be prepared to find new activities to replace eating - walking, exercise, other hobbies and activities.
3. Prepare yourself for how you are going to communicate to others about your lifestyle change. You have the right to communicate however you choose - but think it through in advance and be ready. Be ready for people to have opinions (both positive and negative). Be ready for the overweight people in your life to be curious, jealous or inspired. Be prepared for some of your relationships to change because YOU will change.
4. Take on habits that foster discipline - making your bed every day, weighing/measuring your food, prepping meals, keeping a clean house - any habits that build or foster a sense of discipline where it has been lacking. There will be times when the discipline of keeping your word (if only your word to YOURSELF) will give you a lot of power when old cravings kick in.
5. Empower yourself - do not beat yourself up if you slip, if you make a mistake, if you have strong feelings, if people act like morons. You are making a choice for the quality of your life.
6. Create a point for the surgery that supports you. For me, looking better was not worth it. What was worth it was having my body by useful, make a difference for others and contribute to people for decades to come.

4.5 months post-op.
1. Get yourself in a long-view mentality. Do not get fascinated with the quick drop at the beginning (or lack thereof). Do not obsess over what is happening with the scale on a daily or weekly basis - use it is a tool (and an imperfect one at that).
2. Use this time to change your habits. As much as possible, routinize your food. Move eating to a "background" activity (something that is done out of necessity, versus organizing activities/events around eating). Do as much as you can to completely eliminate unhealthy/non-nutritious food from your diet. Train yourself to love/crave/want nutrient rich food. Be prepared to find new activities to replace eating - walking, exercise, other hobbies and activities.
3. Prepare yourself for how you are going to communicate to others about your lifestyle change. You have the right to communicate however you choose - but think it through in advance and be ready. Be ready for people to have opinions (both positive and negative). Be ready for the overweight people in your life to be curious, jealous or inspired. Be prepared for some of your relationships to change because YOU will change.
4. Take on habits that foster discipline - making your bed every day, weighing/measuring your food, prepping meals, keeping a clean house - any habits that build or foster a sense of discipline where it has been lacking. There will be times when the discipline of keeping your word (if only your word to YOURSELF) will give you a lot of power when old cravings kick in.
5. Empower yourself - do not beat yourself up if you slip, if you make a mistake, if you have strong feelings, if people act like morons. You are making a choice for the quality of your life.
6. Create a point for the surgery that supports you. For me, looking better was not worth it. What was worth it was having my body by useful, make a difference for others and contribute to people for decades to come.

4.5 months post-op.
1. Get yourself in a long-view mentality. Do not get fascinated with the quick drop at the beginning (or lack thereof). Do not obsess over what is happening with the scale on a daily or weekly basis - use it is a tool (and an imperfect one at that).
2. Use this time to change your habits. As much as possible, routinize your food. Move eating to a "background" activity (something that is done out of necessity, versus organizing activities/events around eating). Do as much as you can to completely eliminate unhealthy/non-nutritious food from your diet. Train yourself to love/crave/want nutrient rich food. Be prepared to find new activities to replace eating - walking, exercise, other hobbies and activities.
3. Prepare yourself for how you are going to communicate to others about your lifestyle change. You have the right to communicate however you choose - but think it through in advance and be ready. Be ready for people to have opinions (both positive and negative). Be ready for the overweight people in your life to be curious, jealous or inspired. Be prepared for some of your relationships to change because YOU will change.
4. Take on habits that foster discipline - making your bed every day, weighing/measuring your food, prepping meals, keeping a clean house - any habits that build or foster a sense of discipline where it has been lacking. There will be times when the discipline of keeping your word (if only your word to YOURSELF) will give you a lot of power when old cravings kick in.
5. Empower yourself - do not beat yourself up if you slip, if you make a mistake, if you have strong feelings, if people act like morons. You are making a choice for the quality of your life.
6. Create a point for the surgery that supports you. For me, looking better was not worth it. What was worth it was having my body by useful, make a difference for others and contribute to people for decades to come.

Hon I’m sorry to hear but also glad too. Sometimes it’s better for it to be nipped in the bud before it got worse or worse, you’re legally tied. I’m sorry still you have to bear the heartache of it. I pray that you will find comfort and peace and start living happily for you, yourself.

People ask me all the time if I feel different. It's so weird, but I don't.
I am sure if I woke up tomorrow in my pre-surgery body I would probably think OMG WHAT THE HE77 JUST HAPPENED TO ME, but I think the change has happened bit by bit and it's hard to notice.
For some reason the past 2 weeks I am dropping weight like crazy - 10 lbs in the past two weeks - and the only thing I notice is that clothes keep not fitting.
The biggest difference I do notice is my want of physical activity. I live in NYC so you gotta walk a lot here, climb stairs, etc. to get around. I live at the top of a hill (in one of the few hilly neighborhoods in Manhattan) and walking up that hill carrying groceries or laundry is no longer a problem - it's not anything, I don't even notice it.
The biggest thing I do notice is getting my strength back from doing HIT and Yoga - that is a huge difference and I love the feeling of being stronger, having more stamina and flexibility.
I still have 75 lbs to lose to be at a healthy BMI - My objective is to lose 40 more lbs, get to 199 and re-evaluate!

5 months out 100 pounds down feeling great and loving the journey

I understand this!! I feel the same way.
Getting fit and healthy has ended up being the best part of this experience. I look forward to getting up early and going for my runs. I never would have imagined that a year ago.
The other great experience has been the awesome friends I have made @Newme17 and eating for health not just to eat.

The personal weight tracking system I used is based on % of excess weight loss. 165 would be at approximately 25 BMI, which is on the high end of normal.
I am not sure if I will get there, but it's useful to track access weight.
This is what the table looks like for me so far. The pre-op diet is counted as 1 week (although it was 10 days - I was not tracking my weight rigorously then).
The table is below, and an image of the table is attached.

Date Week Weight Cum Loss Weekly Loss Monthly Loss Tgt Weight Excess Weight % of Excess Weight Loss 5/12/2017 0 335 165 170 5/27/2017 1 319 16 16 154 6/3/2017 2 308.6 26.4 10.4 29 143.6 15.53% 6/10/2017 3 301 34 7.6 136 20.00% 6/17/2017 4 294.8 40.2 6.2 129.8 23.65% 6/24/2017 5 290 45 4.8 125 26.47% 7/1/2017 6 288.6 46.4 1.4 12.6 123.6 27.29% 7/8/2017 7 284.2 50.8 4.4 119.2 29.88% 7/15/2017 8 280.4 54.6 3.8 115.4 32.12% 7/22/2017 9 277.4 57.6 3 112.4 33.88% 7/29/2017 10 273.4 61.6 4 10.4 108.4 36.24% 8/5/2017 11 272.6 62.4 0.8 107.6 36.71% 8/12/2017 12 269.4 65.6 3.2 104.4 38.59% 8/19/2017 13 267 68 2.4 102 40.00% 8/26/2017 14 259.8 75.2 7.2 12.8 94.8 44.24% 9/2/2017 15 257.4 77.6 2.4 92.4 45.65% 9/9/2017 16 255.4 79.6 2 90.4 46.82% 9/16/2017 17 254.2 80.8 1.2 89.2 47.53% 9/23/2017 18 251 84 3.2 13.4 86 49.41% 9/30/2017 19 250.4 84.6 0.6 85.4 49.76% 10/7/2017 20 245.6 89.4 4.8 80.6 52.59% 10/14/2017 21 240.8 94.2 4.8 75.8 55.41%

People ask me all the time if I feel different. It's so weird, but I don't.
I am sure if I woke up tomorrow in my pre-surgery body I would probably think OMG WHAT THE HE77 JUST HAPPENED TO ME, but I think the change has happened bit by bit and it's hard to notice.
For some reason the past 2 weeks I am dropping weight like crazy - 10 lbs in the past two weeks - and the only thing I notice is that clothes keep not fitting.
The biggest difference I do notice is my want of physical activity. I live in NYC so you gotta walk a lot here, climb stairs, etc. to get around. I live at the top of a hill (in one of the few hilly neighborhoods in Manhattan) and walking up that hill carrying groceries or laundry is no longer a problem - it's not anything, I don't even notice it.
The biggest thing I do notice is getting my strength back from doing HIT and Yoga - that is a huge difference and I love the feeling of being stronger, having more stamina and flexibility.
I still have 75 lbs to lose to be at a healthy BMI - My objective is to lose 40 more lbs, get to 199 and re-evaluate!

I weigh and track my weight every day.
I drink seltzer occasionally.
I had wine before 6 months.
I ate ZERO pureed foods and extended liquid phase then went to soft phase
I do not up my calories with exercise
I sometimes forget to take my Vitamins
I am still using Protein Shakes 5 months out

The personal weight tracking system I used is based on % of excess weight loss. 165 would be at approximately 25 BMI, which is on the high end of normal.
I am not sure if I will get there, but it's useful to track access weight.
This is what the table looks like for me so far. The pre-op diet is counted as 1 week (although it was 10 days - I was not tracking my weight rigorously then).
The table is below, and an image of the table is attached.

Date Week Weight Cum Loss Weekly Loss Monthly Loss Tgt Weight Excess Weight % of Excess Weight Loss 5/12/2017 0 335 165 170 5/27/2017 1 319 16 16 154 6/3/2017 2 308.6 26.4 10.4 29 143.6 15.53% 6/10/2017 3 301 34 7.6 136 20.00% 6/17/2017 4 294.8 40.2 6.2 129.8 23.65% 6/24/2017 5 290 45 4.8 125 26.47% 7/1/2017 6 288.6 46.4 1.4 12.6 123.6 27.29% 7/8/2017 7 284.2 50.8 4.4 119.2 29.88% 7/15/2017 8 280.4 54.6 3.8 115.4 32.12% 7/22/2017 9 277.4 57.6 3 112.4 33.88% 7/29/2017 10 273.4 61.6 4 10.4 108.4 36.24% 8/5/2017 11 272.6 62.4 0.8 107.6 36.71% 8/12/2017 12 269.4 65.6 3.2 104.4 38.59% 8/19/2017 13 267 68 2.4 102 40.00% 8/26/2017 14 259.8 75.2 7.2 12.8 94.8 44.24% 9/2/2017 15 257.4 77.6 2.4 92.4 45.65% 9/9/2017 16 255.4 79.6 2 90.4 46.82% 9/16/2017 17 254.2 80.8 1.2 89.2 47.53% 9/23/2017 18 251 84 3.2 13.4 86 49.41% 9/30/2017 19 250.4 84.6 0.6 85.4 49.76% 10/7/2017 20 245.6 89.4 4.8 80.6 52.59% 10/14/2017 21 240.8 94.2 4.8 75.8 55.41%

Most of us vets that were fairly prolific in the past just aren't wanted by the new members the past year and a half. When putting out fact, not feelings, brands you as a bully or insensitive, the incentive to contribute diminishes. More and more it appears as though people are more concerned with feelings and popularity rather than actually living better.
I think the straw that broke the back was the marshmallow peeps conversation. There are very few topics that I bother commenting in anymore. People are just not worth the time to type out the information.
Oh, and the vets that are gone aren't coming back even if they wanted to. They were banned. Some with good reason though.

It is 95 lbs since pre op diet which I started on 5/16. I feel blessed by the progress.