New Beginnings 78

Who's with me??? surgery date 7/20/17.... Looking to connect!!!

Who's with me??? surgery date 7/20/17.... Looking to connect!!!

Who's with me??? surgery date 7/20/17.... Looking to connect!!!

Looking great💯

Thanks for the list of tips! Good luck to those going in. I have mine Aug. 1st.

It's a very exciting time! Congrats on your new journey and tool for losing and keeping weight off.

1 - take gas-x strips for gas pains (bring to hospital)
2 - drink Protein Shakes the first year even if u hate them
3 - take your Vitamins and supplements; kefir and triphala good for digestion, collagen/biotin for skin
4 - follow eating plan religiously the first 6 months - don't rush solids
5 - don't rush bringing back simple carbs like bread crackers, junk food back in your diet - take this time to start eating healthy foods.
6 - exercise daily it will help increase your metabolism for maintenance
7 - do not weigh yourself daily do it once a week - but do it forever! So those pounds don't creep back.
8 - don't drink pop and don't drink with meals have sips (I found this the hardest) still practice it though
9 - don't graze stick to basics 3 meals 2 snacks
10 - chill and enjoy the process - don't obsess and feel like a victim embrace this time to heal yourself from obesity. You basically have 1 year to lose the majority of your weight...use it! And wishing you both all the best!

My surgery is in 14 days. I'm nervous and impatient and excited all at once. We just have to hang in there!

I have been waiting so long for this and now its down to the wire.....12 days until my surgery actually! I am so excited, yet a little nervous which is normal I guess. Any last minute suggestions or words of wisdom?

Holy cow! 40 to 60 pounds in 2 months is amazing!

I faced the exact same question between bypass and the sleeve when I first started out the process (my surgery was November 2015). In the end, I decided on the sleeve because a less invasive surgery at my initial weight (518 lbs, 67 BMI) seemed safer and I thought that I would be happy if I could just get done to a weight where I could simply be functional. My surgeon flat out told me that I "would never be normal" and the stats backed that expectation up. For gastric sleeve, average weightloss is 60% of excess body weight. That meant that I should have expected to have lost 202 lbs and gotten down to 316lbs. I decided that I would be good with that.
As of today, I have lost 304 lbs and am at 214 lbs. This is beyond anything that I ever expected. The key to remember is that the averages are just that, averages. They include people who have really seized this lifeline and run with it, others who have struggled a bit more, and still others who have not changed their eating & exercise habits. I have been one of the lucky ones. Look around at this forum and you will see a good number of men who have made amazing progress with a remarkable level of commitment.
Whatever you decide, best of luck to you. I have absolutely no regrets and I cannot begin to describe how big of a difference the surgery has made for me.

I'm only 2 months out, but I have a few things to contribute that I feel are appropriate. I stressed a lot over which surgery to have. BMI 40 at the highest. I wanted something reversible. I was scared. My mother had early bypass in the 90's and she suffers terribly now from mal-absorption, cant swallow important meds, can't eat.

I got lucky with a rep for a travel surgery company over the phone who spent time with me discussing sleeve. Thank goodness she was insistent.
I'm having an experience that seems not typical, but I am believing one thing from research and limited experience.

Gastric sleeve makes the most logical sense as a concept when you break it down. Individuals vary but logically . . .
It does not actually change the flow of the human body, or digestive system, it just keeps the natural flow, but reduces the pouch of your stomach size. It does not leave foreign objects like the band, port, etc in the body. Scarring is minimal, invasion is lower, recovery is faster. For me the recovery has been so fast it's almost unbelievable. It simply restricts you from overeating and presents you with a nauseous reminder to STOP, or SLOW DOWN constantly. Recovery seems to be the fastest for a general observation, Side effects for me have been nearly non-existent. I had a home made seltzer yesterday as an experiment (I do NOT call that "soda") and surprise, I did not die, explode, tear out my staples. Like all things in life, be smart, listen to your body. Seltzer provides an oral stimulation I enjoy within reason, and a squirt of some taste also can happen. Vitamin effectiveness is too early to gauge at 8 weeks, but at least taking those larger pill presents no problem like the eternal suffering my mother's radical bypass endures for 25 years, causing non adherence to Vitamins, which then causes more problems. My anecdotal research tells me men have a vastly different easier experience when compared to women overall. ANECDOTAL. I'm just 2 months out, and of course years of a journey lie ahead. Oh by the way, I'm also HIV positive, 35 years healthy, never needed meds until proactive treatments started recently, and even those I have no problems with post surgery.

Negatives I'm becoming aware of . . .
you can find unhealthy high calorie foods that can slow or stop weight loss and slip by the restriction process. My personal example is Low Sugar Fudgesicles. I'm craving chocolate, I did not used to. I used to binge eat popsicles in general, now regular popsicles taste weird, but the Sugar Free Chocolate products like Peppermint Patties, dark chocolate, in general also help because they have a laxative effect. I ate too many "Outshine' fruit low sugar popsicles last night watching Netflix (with no chill unfortunately) - and I vomited in my sleep, which strikes me as a bit potentially dangerous. I hope the negative reinforcement works. Tastes seem to change a bit. Cravings change. Whiskey/Scotch/Vodka tastes gross now unless it's an expensive super high quality bourbon. That may seem minor to you, but taste and craving changes can seem bizarre. I can sense a long term danger that mentally, I will "figure out" how to outsmart the surgery when I'm stressed and resorting to old eating behaviors and patterns. Last week I went to support a friend who is a cabaret theater singer, and there was pressure to order food and drink to keep the prime seating location we were in. I felt guilty for the waiter with me milking an appetizer and one drink for an hour and I pushed it ordering more food, and more alcohol, ill advised. I gained 2 pounds just from that stupid exercise. Thankfully avoided vomiting, but perhaps that would have been better mentally. My weight loss was so slow at first I was genuinely scared then angry. Then I resumed cardio exercises and teaching Zumba, which is twice as much exercise as just taking Zumba. Then the weight started falling off. Muscle tone is weird. I need to lift weights as I did when very overweight. It feels different.
Hope this contributes and helps.

Phew! What a week it's been!
I got notification of a work investigation on me last Thursday, and had to sweat it out without pay until Tuesday, when I was notified that I was fired. (It's a long story, but it wasn't anything bad or shady on my part - more like a technicality.) I was so dejected, thinking I'd lose my surgery, which was scheduled for August 15, since my insurance ends July 31.
Well, I called my surgical center and they worked hard for me and now I have my surgery on WEDNESDAY! This Wednesday! Ahhhhhh!!!
I was supposed to be on a 2-week pre-op diet, but now it's going to be 4 days. I have to get all my last appointments done in the next few days instead of the next 30. It's a crazy time, but I'm so grateful I get to have my surgery still!
I'm so excited, grateful, astonished, and nervous!!! Ahhhhhhgh!!! :-)

I started my liquid diet 11 years ago to date. Within the year of 2005/2006 I weighed 289 lbs on Morning of surgery. At the 1. 1/2 yr mark after surgery I had lost 135 pounds. I am in my 11th yr and gained back 25 in 11 years. I am actually starting the liquid diet for three days then moving to Soup with possibly carrots and fat free Jello and pudding. Those 25 pounds MUST go.
Ladies and gents I wish you the very best on your weight loss surgery. Feel free to email me at rosemary.landry@yahoo.com. I promise to listen and try to answer any questions. You are all in my prayers as God is taking us on a new journey in life. Good Luck. Rosie. Belle of the South
Louisiana

Got my surgery date.....July 19th!!!!

I'm so excited I got my surgery date...July 21st!!! So I will start my liquid diet on July 7th. I'm so excited. Any suggestions??
Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

I hope to have the gastric bypass soon (awaiting insurance approval) and some of my friends and family have suggested I use a waist trainer after the surgery to help with sagging skin. Has anyone used a waist trainer or something similar, like a abdomen binder or compression garment after surgery?

When asked at work, I just respond with "eating healthier and exercising" which is complete truth. I don't feel it necessary to share surgery details with anyone other than my husband, mother and a couple of close friends. It was a very personal decision for me and there are folks out there with very different opinions from mine regarding bariatric surgery, and I just do not feel the need to justify my decisions to anyone.
I feel it is similar to taste in music and there are folks out there who just don't like AC/DC which I totally get, however I decline to debate the awesomeness of "Back in Black." Silly answer but it is 1 am and that is all I have right now

I don't have a problem with discussing my surgery with my family or close friends. But I don't want my work colleagues discussing my weight or intimate details of my health. So at work I just said I was having surgery with no other description. I started dieting (and losing a great deal of weight) long before my surgery, so the changes since surgery are not so extreme. If people ask me about my diet and exercise program, I tell them. Once they hear how strict it is, they quickly lose interest.
I don't feel like I'm doing a disservice to other obese people by not revealing my surgery to all. I'm not losing weight any faster than I did pre-surgery. (Although it's true that I am counting on the surgery to help me maintain the weight loss by teaching me to eat less overall.)

I say that I am working with a nutritionist and working out hard at the gym, my colleagues don't need to know. I don't eat around anyone at work, I leave the building for lunch. When it comes to work gatherings I get Soup, veggie Soup. When they ask what I am doing I tell them I have cut out all carbs, sugar, fast food, and sodas...lots of Protein. By then people are like hell no and they walk away. My gym friends I tell them I am running outside and working out at home. I still do go to the gym for weight work outs. I am not comfortable yet telling people, only a handful of people know the truth and even with that sometimes I feel ashamed.
Good luck and hope everything works out for you.
On 7/21 it will be 4 months, I am currently down 52.8 lbs and went from a size 18 to 10 I am blessed, never thought I could ever see a size 10.

I started this journey 5/9/17 after years of denial. This year I made the realistic decision to walk in the Dr. Office asking for help with now a possible death sentence. After the traumatic fire lost after a new marriage, I realized that I could have dead in the fire. I am expecting a longer healthy life. My son got married this year and couldn't imagine not being able to enjoy my grandkids. I'm excited about my NEW BEGINNING!

My Dr. Office scheduled my surgery before approval so I am not on pre op diet. My clearance came to my husband phone while in the chest xray 🙇 what is the required days of pre op diet?
Greetings to ALL!

@New Beginnings 78 (aka Tex!!)
you DID hit the lottery!!!
required days of pre-op??
some don't have any pre-op diet
others will vary anywhere from
2, 5,7,+ days - your doc will tell you
good luck
speedy recovery
kathy