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I'm in the early stages here, so this is not based on personal experience, just from what I've read: but some people have said they have trouble swallowing pills or that the pills bother their stomachs, so I'm planning to get the Patches for Vitamins for the first two months or so. Just seems easier.

I'm assuming my insulin needs will change through this process and I'm going to check to see whether my bariatric surgeon or my primary care doctor will advise me, but I'll certainly be asking a lot of questions about monitoring and adjusting during the process. Ultimately I hope this will alleviate most or all of my issues with diabetes, but I'm a very long way away from that now. Best of luck to you . . .

I don't think I'd presume to advise anyone on when to begin dating. People are different. Maybe the person you meet will accept you as you are now and as you will be in the future. Maybe not--but we all change in one way or another as we age, so don't we prefer someone who isn't fixated on how we look at a particular moment? As to whether you are able to handle a dating situation and food temptations, that's something each person has to answer for themselves. Are we supposed to wait a year before joining in on family get-togethers, too? Or going out with friends?

I understand that stalls are normal, but if you had surgery five weeks ago and have lost 27 pounds in those five weeks . . . wow! That's fantastic! I can't even imagine losing 27 pounds in a little more than a month. Hang on in there--your journey is just beginning, but it's beginning really well, stalls aside. This will pass.

I'm sorry for this, though I know the feeling. The truth is that you'll probably never know if your weight was a factor or if perhaps they offered the job to someone's daughter or significant other or someone who had experience doing precisely the job they advertised or someone who was willing to do it for a lower salary. Keep on your journey and know that you'll find something right for you. Best of luck.

Thank you for this! I'm not there yet at all and will resist buying new clothes until the ones I have are falling off me--but I am looking forward to that day! Love the idea of buying a few things for the middle stages along the way . . . and not spending much.

My number one goal is to stand and walk without knee pain.

I have many other goals, some physical--improvement to my health in various ways, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes. Other goals have to do with things others have said--fitting in an airplane seat, buying regular clothes. I'm also female and single, so I'm wondering what my interactions with men in general, and one man in particular, might be like a year or two from now.

1 hour ago, Pink Wonder said:

I have been thinking about having the VSG done for almost 2 years now. My dad had the procedure done in May of 2015 at 74 years old and has totally rocked it out! He's lost almost 130 pounds and feels fantastic. So he and my mom are definitely a HUGE support for me. Last year I told my husband I was considering it and he was less than supportive. He thinks I won't be successful because I haven't had success with mainstream diets, and in his mind that means that I have been a failure or a quitter, or I just haven't "tried hard enough". He's had his own weight struggles, and has gained and lost many pounds many times, so you'd think he'd be understanding. Regardless of how he feels, I have been meeting with my FNP for the past few months and just had my first appointment with the surgeon who did my dad's sleeve. They both feel I'm a great candidate and I'm ready, so I'm going ahead with it. I have a couple of close friends who are very supportive, so that's a good thing. Another friend I told gave me the whole "are you sure you want to do this?" spiel, but honestly I don't care what she thinks. She has never struggled with obesity and has no clue. Other than my parents and maybe 4 friends, I haven't told anyone else. I kind of dread telling my husband, but will do so when I have all my ducks in a row. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.

Good luck to you! If there's one thing I'm sick and tired of, it's the assumption that we're obese because we're weak-willed and just don't "try hard enough". The massive rate of failure of traditional diets ought to tell people something about this issue . . . I put myself through college, working part-time while taking a heavy enough schedule to earn two BA's in four years. I quit smoking. I've been on my own my entire adult life. I had and beat cancer. I don't think there's a lot of other evidence to support my being "weak-willed." The idea that I will FINALLY have the tool I need to make this work fills me with joy. I don't owe apologies or shame to anyone! And neither do any one of you . . .

A website I use constantly is OneLook.com, which searches multiple dictionaries for words. When you search for a word, it pops up one definition on the right side of the page, along with a symbol you can press to hear the pronunciation.

Is there a nutritionist you have met with, or could meet with? It's one of the many requirements of the program I'm in that we meet with one and I have a slew of questions already!

Somewhere down the line, you can check out the posts on the site of people's menus: with the caveat that not everyone is making perfect choices all the time!

11 minutes ago, shannybananny71 said:

Can you not have coffee after surgery? I don't like it but I don't remember it being on the list.

My understanding--which may be wrong--is that I can't have caffeinated beverages for quite some time and that dairy is kind of discouraged except for yogurt and cottage cheese . . . Admittedly, I'm in the early stages of this process and don't know a lot for sure--have just scheduled my first appointment with the nutritionist.

15 hours ago, Introversion said:

Breakfast: 3 cups of blueberry muffin-flavored coffee with half & half and sweetener

Pre-workout snack: cottage cheese, yellow squash casserole, and half a grapefruit

Lunch: ham & cheese sandwich and yellow squash casserole

Mid-afternoon snack: Quest Protein Bar (chocolate chip cookie dough)

Dinner: ham & cheese sandwich and yellow squash casserole

Bedtime snack: strawberry banana Protein Shake

Thank you all for posting these reports--helps me to envision the future . . . One question: how long after the surgery could you/did you start drinking coffee with half-and-half? Is it caffeinated or Decaf? Much as I'm a carb addict now, I think I'm going to miss coffee even more!

I haven't been able to shop for regular-sized clothes in decades, so I'm pretty excited about the prospect. I have no idea how I'll figure out what size to buy! I'm going to keep wearing my current wardrobe until it falls off me--I have so much weight to lose I don't want to spend any more money on clothes along the way than I can help. I'll keep a couple of things as reminders--but I can't wait to buy a new wardrobe!!

You are beautiful now and you will be stunningly gorgeous through this journey! Most importantly, you will gain control of your health--I'm a lot older, but have the same hopes for better looks and better health. The surgery isn't a quick fix at all, but it is a priceless tool to help us in the process. Best of luck and visit this site often--there's soooo much information and encouragement here. One of the best motivations is to look through the before/after pictures people have posted!

This is one of my fears, too, because at age 61 I have almost no wrinkles at all in my face and I definitely look younger. On the other hand, I don't look so young when I can't walk because of knee pain, and I'm not going to look young if this excess weight kills me, so . . . I'll take what comes with this process. I'm ready for the new me!

I'm pretty much a newbie, but I'd find a doctor you like/trust and see what he/she recommends for procedure. There are pluses and minuses to all, I think, and reasons some are better for your individual situation.

There is a ton of information on this site--just keep reading and looking around and you'll find all kinds of links. I've learned a lot just reading about people's experiences.

Good luck!

6 hours ago, losing2live4Him said:

I feel have no one to tell! My husband flat out refuses to talk about it. He says I'm going to fail at keeping the weight off, and that I'm cheating by having the surgery. My brother will just say I'm only doing it cause his wife did 2 years ago. My best friend had hers done 4 yrs ago and has gained most of her weight back because she eats junk all the time, so I know she will be constantly comparing me to herself. Or stop talking to me WHEN I'm successful at losing the weight and keeping it off. My in laws and other family will just chalk it up to me never being able to do anything right without cheating. So I don't know how to go about having surgery without even letting my husband know.

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My heart goes out to you, Losing2live4Him. You are a brave person to do this with so little support and downright naysayers around you. Please know that you have support HERE. Best of luck!

I think of myself as a private person but maybe it's my age--I just don't give a rat's ass, pardon the expression, what anyone else thinks or says. I've told some friends, all supportive, and my sister and one of my brothers--not sure the other one cares enough for me to bother, unfortunately. But I'm doing this for me and my health issues. And I can always quote some statistics--like, 95 percent of nonsurgical weight loss attempts fail. Or, 84 percent of diabetics who get the sleeve weight-loss surgery stop being diabetic. If that isn't reason enough for me to do this, anyone critical is crazy or stupid or both!

OTOH, I totally support anyone's decision not to share this information. It's completely a personal decision.

I agree with Apple1; it's a good idea to have something like fruit juice on hand just in case and check your blood sugar often. I'm diabetic and have had low blood sugar maybe three times . . . nondiabetics have no idea how scary and dangerous it is. For example, I like my fasting reading to be between 80 and 100. I don't panic if it gets up to 120 or 130, but if it's down to 60? A little lower and I'd be in a coma, so yeah, it's scary, and I'll admit that monitoring it during this process is going to be something I do very carefully (and often).

You're aware that this can happen now and know to monitor your blood sugar, so you have the right tools--best of luck. Hoping that diabetes will be a distant memory for us both in the future!

Everyone's experience is going to be different in this area, I think. Some people have someone at their highest weight who supports them on their journey--that's what I'm hoping, but I don't really know. But whatever he thinks or does, I need to do this for ME. If he likes the result, great. If not, someone else will, I believe.

I don't think you should wait to be on a dating site or meet someone--go for it. You don't know for sure even that the guy went away because you told him about the weight-loss surgery--it could be that, it could be that he just met someone else, it could be that his wife discovered what he was up to, it could be that he broke his arm . . . it could be that he realized you were more honest than he was. Doesn't matter . . .keep on moving forward!! And good luck!

I'm not sure I wanted to hear all of that, but I'm pretty sure I NEEDED to hear it. Thank you!

Have been reading things on this site like a crazy person, and yes, have learned a lot. I'm at the very beginning of this process and don't have a surgery date yet, but I'm hoping to have that narrowed down, at least, in a couple of weeks at my next appointment with the surgeon. I'm in upstate NY and have found the program I'm in extremely thorough--lots of nutrition counseling is required, as well as support group attendance and surgical clearance from a number of different specialists.

I've just been looking at my pre-surgery diet, which includes Protein Shakes twice a day but a real meal at dinner. One question I have--what can I put on steamed veggies to enhance the flavor? I'm pretty sure a big pat of butter is out . . . but beyond lemon or lime juice, any suggestions?

I've been looking at some of the products offered on this site, but I don't know how long it would take to get them (or from any other online source). I think I'll look carefully at labels for Protein counts, calories, and ingredients--avoid sugar. Maybe get powders you can mix yourself to the strength you like? Some of the things I've picked up from reading is that whey is much better than soy . . . I googled this question and boy, are there a LOT of different brands out there. Good luck!