cindy t

I’m officially at the 6 week mark today. I have lost 33 lbs & 18.25% of my excess body weight.
I feel good about the progress. I’m happy about it but it’s hard to be overjoyed. I lost 100+ lbs with the band and I remember feeling so good and being so ecstatic about every goal. I maintained that weight loss for a long time but gained it back in the last year when my band had to be removed.
It’s an odd feeling because this larger body doesn’t even seem like mine. I think that’s the opposite feeling that a lot of wls paitents feel. Usually it takes a while to accept the new smaller body.
I’m not beating myself up or thinking negative thoughts. It’s just so different from my last wls journey, ya know?

I have to agree. Funny how it feels like a disappointment when you don't like something you used to enjoy. I never drank a lot of coffee but i loved my morning half a cup. Now, i still pour it up, but it just doesn't taste all that great anymore. I also don't seem to crave sweets quite as much as before.

I can see already that you are going to be my go-to person. Your words of advice are going to be of great value to me. I have a little over 3 weeks till my surgery. My bad habits are inhaling my food after two bites and large portions. So, to hear you tell me to start practicing the small bites and thirty chews is just what I need to hear. If you are three weeks post op, then you will be 6-7 weeks ahead of me. I’m going to follow your path. Thank you for helping to pave my way to better health.

I have to let myself have a little something that's "bad" for me. If I eat perfectly all the time, I will fail. It's how I've always tried doing it in the past. I tried to eat perfectly, then I have a taste of something I shouldn't, then it's like a downward spiral, and I can't stop. This time, I'm allowing myself to have a bit of dark chocolate daily. I'm not eating a lot of it, but I'm having a little every day that I want some. I have found that sometimes I don't want any, but not often. I track every bite. It's been keeping me on track.

I’ve known several people who have had this surgery. Some people are diet commanders and some who slack every now and again. The diet commanders that I know have gained massive weight back. This procedure is not to scare you away from food. Its to help you make better choices. I have a close family member who has maintained for years who has a snack every day but stays strict on everything else. I don’t think one Reese’s will harm you if you’re doing everything correctly. Some bad foods your body just won’t ever agree with again. I can’t tolerate hamburger meat. It’s the only thing that makes me vomit. I use to listen to people on here about carbs and limiting them when my nutritionist told me to not worry about carbs. Guess what? I stalled! I started consuming carbs and the weight began to drop so fast. So now I try to have a few crackers with my tuna or a low carb wrap. Just make better choices! Try searching for a healthier version of Reese’s.

I can't say that I had a full on regret, even in the immediate post-op recovery period that was nothing like anybody else's descriptions. However, I do have occasional flashes where I kind of mourn the loss of eating as my coping mechanism/source of joy. That's not to say that I regret by any means and honestly, isn't that what I signed up for?
Someone else quoted that remorse comes from indecision. I agree and I believe that's at the very heart of this. This isn't my first rodeo into bariatric surgery. I had lap band in 2005, which was for the most part successful, but had to have it out due to complications. I lived without the band until I returned to some pretty bad habits and gained all of my weight back. It took me almost 2 years to decide if I wanted to go with another bariatric surgery, but once I decided, that was it. I reached a point where I admitted that I just didn't have the tools to go it alone. I committed to the surgery and I no longer considered alternatives.
That's my story, but it is very common for bariatric surgery patients to experience regret. And I can't say it any better than @Missouri-Lee's Summit. She totally hit the nail on the head.

I think it's only natural to experience such feelings. We've made a drastic, often irreversible, alternation to our bodies. We're not feeling physically like ourselves. There may be pain or discomfort, vomiting, Constipation, hunger, lack of hunger... and the list goes on. Probably even more involved are the emotional or psychological changes going on inside of us post-surgery. We know things will never really be the same. This can be both thrilling and terrifying. What if we are one of those weird weight-loss surgery outliers who doesn't lose weight for whatever reason?! We almost convince ourselves that after our first stall we are indeed one of those rare few!
We've invested time, money, starved ourselves in preparation for surgery, had labwork, had to convince a nutritionist that we are committed to the nutritional challenges required, had to convince a psychologist that we aren't nuts, and go through 6 months or more of supervised weight loss by our primary doctor. We also read about all the pros and cons of WLS until our eyes practically bled from fatigue and overuse. Arghh!
As for advice, it's pretty much the same advice for most wholesale changes we face. Time. Time heals, but time also moves so s l o w l y.
Posting this topic and asking questions and for advice was a smart move. Just bringing the subject to the front of your consciousness validates it's importance to you. Some may dismiss "buyer's remorse" as an inconsequential little thing. I'd disagree. It's something we've all had to deal with to a varying degree, whether we're able to admit to ourselves or not.
My advice is to keep thinking about upcoming goals... how you'll look in smaller clothing, how you'll feel when you finally weigh less than 200lbs, how it feels to eat half or a fourth of something and feel full. Hey, just creating a list of things to look forward to may help to counter that feeling of buyer's remorse. And, of course, leaving long, rambling comments like this one may help, too. Who knows?!

If you want. Download carb manager app. Not just for carbs. It has been a great help to watch calories etc. I cooked cabbage cauliflower and onions with a couple small potatoes and a cup of low salt bullion. I pureed it and have it for meals. Around a half cup . You can add a little chicken as long as you puree it. I used can chicken packed in Water . Weight loss started going better. At the store they have a very hard bread by wasa. I did not believe the nutritionists but I took one half slice with a little real butter and had it with my Soup. Everyone reacts differently. Make your own Soups but puree them for a couple of weeks. Stay under 800 calories and watch the weight pour off right now I am one week post op. The soup really satisfies. Try a teaspoon of creamy Peanut Butter every day or like me every other to help Protein . I am going to make chowder with bacon and potatoes with clams then puree it. I'm told it will do great. Keep carbs under 17. Regards Anna

@Rj’s mommyI'm 6 days behind you and feel exactly the same way. I weighed myself this morning and have lost 11 lbs since surgery. To me that doesn't seem like much but then I remind myself, when was the last time I lost 11 lbs in 3 weeks? Probably never! I'm still working on trying to meet my Protein and Fluid requirements. I know I certainly don't get in enough calories but I'm working on it. I can have soft foods now but frankly I can't seem to make myself eat anything. I have no appetite and nothing looks good. I'm working on that too. I think if we look at this as a marathon and not a sprint we will both be happy with our results in the end! Good luck...we can do this!

I figured it would be nice to have a section where we could just confess to some of the potentially dumb things we've done, pre or post op. Just so others can see we are all human. I want this to be kept as civil as possible, where people can own up to things without anyone else chiming in with anything negative, we all know what we did wasn't "right" but I'm sure we ALL have done something we shouldn't have.

I'll start.

I cheated on my pre-op diet a few times. I also like to find loop holes and exploit the crap out of them. I drank beer for a week+ on my pre-op, because it didn't say I couldn't. I only stopped after I was forced to, because my wife asked my surgeon and of course they said "no"... boo. I also ate a whole slice of French meat Pie at my Dad's 60th birthday luncheon.

I cheated on my post-op diet/puree stage a bit too. I ate rice cakes and Protein chips or other veggie chips. Not a lot, but it happened. I "pureed" a steak and cheese sandwich once. I ate a few fried ravioli on my puree stage as well.

This past weekend, I had a beer. My wife and I took my parents out to dinner at a local casino, it's Restaurant week, so we found a good looking location and went out to eat, part of the deal was that you got a draft beer with your meal. So, I had a shipyard summer ale with my grilled chicken parm sandwich (only ended up eating 3 bites of the chicken and none of the bread).

I did all that thus far and nothing bad happened.
I understand the changes are to ensure we stick to our diets, but understanding that we are all human and WILL either slip up or just stray from our diets on purpose like I did. It's good to see that, it's possible to still live and be able to enjoy a few things we "shouldn't" without any negatives happening.

So, what's your WLS confession?

I'm praying i will be approved by my insurance company to have the sleeve procedure. I'm so scared it won't happen. Can you pray for me?

Same feelings, lol. I haven't had a problem at all with liquids.

I keep reading about people having difficulty swallowing sips of water/fluid and I am having none of that. I can't/don't guzzle, but can swallow mouthfuls (about three swallows worth of/per mouthful) consecutively with seconds in between. Again, I fear that I had the placebo sleeve! 😒😅😁

Hi. My surgery date was 10/15, prep diet began 10/1 and my highest weight was 228.6. I don't know about you but my first 48 hours were pretty rough. My back hurt as much as my front but now that I'm 4 days postop, I'm doing pretty darn good.

Here's my top 13 tips!
Start altering your diet now. Cut out processed food, or at the very least processed sugar. Practice eating your Protein first and then focus on non-starchy veggies. Also, start tracking your food. There are lots of apps that make logging very easy. I personally use MyFitnessPal, but there are others out there. Find something that you like to drink that doesn't have calories. Try different caffeine free teas and Water additives. I still can't drink plain water....so you want to have something on hand that you know you like. Cut out caffeine. Most programs allow caffeine back in relatively quickly, but caffeine can hinder your body's ability to heal. You don't want to go through caffeine withdrawal along with the aches and pains of surgery. Don't use Protein Shakes before you absolutely have to! I started supplementing some of my meals with shakes to "prepare myself" for the pre-op diet. Big mistake. You will get to the point where they are DISGUSTING, and you don't want to increase the timeline of that by drinking them before you need to. Start incorporating exercising (even if it’s just walking) somewhere in your daily routine. It will make it easier if it’s already a habit. Practice chewing your food at least 20-30 times before swallowing. Muscle has memory and it will be so much easier if you already have this habit. If you screw up and swallow too soon after surgery, you will pay the price. Set timers and don't drink and eat at the same time. I highly recommend having at least 1 visit with a therapist to establish with someone for after surgery. It’s not required, but everyone seems to have some emotional struggles afterwards. Whether its 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years you may struggle with the changes. I personally wouldn't share with people, unless you know they will be 100% supportive. It is nerve wracking already and you need nothing but positivity. Plus it’s a lot of pressure from people who know you've had WLS, versus people who think you are on the weight loss track. People think that the weight is going to melt off after surgery, and sometimes it doesn't. You don't want the extra judgment. Don’t engage people with people who say “WLS is too dramatic” or “You could just diet and lose the weight” or “You aren’t big enough for surgery” or “It’s the easy way out”. SCREW THOSE PEOPLE, they don’t know. They will never know how triumphant our victory will be. I would also remember that you need to make time for you! Make the time to shop healthy, meal prep, cook healthy, and plan ahead. And I’m talking to all the selfless mothers, fathers, husbands, and wives. We give so much to our families, but NOW is the time to focus on ourselves. We are doing it for them, after all. We are doing it to prolong our lives and improve the quality of our lives. Come up with a reward system of sorts. You want to acknowledge your successes. For my 50lb mark, I went and got pedicures with my girlfriends. For my 75lb mark, I bought myself some new dresses. For my 100lb mark, I bought myself a really nice full length mirror. Stalls happen and are completely natural. There are tons of threads in this community that you can search for suggestions or for advice. Hunger happens. Some people don’t experience a decrease in hunger, but it is easily manageable with a small amount of the right foods.

I am exactly two weeks post op. Overall, it went as i thought it would. The only surprises were:
1) I felt like a zombie (kinda outta my head) for the first full week.
2) I had way less restriction than i thought i would. (I had a lap-band till three years ago.) I'm thinking i was possibly used to that feeling of restriction and maybe expected more. I'm sure it'll show it's face once i start "real" food.
3) I thought the surgery would decrease my appetite more. I'm sure it has to a degree but my head still longs for flavors and textures quite a bit.
I have no regrets, so far so good. I feel like my normal self now. I'm ready to move to the next phase but can't for another few days per my instructions. Everything is just about healed. No nausea, vomiting, headaches or gerd. Ready to put, Popsicles, Jello and yogurt behind me!

I have no suggestions for your situation as it involves work
BUT
knowing myself I would said
"I'd rather be mobidly obese than morally bankrupt", flipped the bird and watched the cinders fall...

Hey everyone, I had gastric sleeve revision surgery over 6 months ago and I have lost almost 40 pounds. I still have 20 to lose to get to goal, although I am happy to finally being able to squeeze into most of my skinny clothes. As you know, revision surgery patients lose at a slower pace, but I wanted to see how I was doing compared to other revisioners! Please tell me your stats!!

Not sure it's healthy to compare. Everyone is different. There are too many factors that come into play when we're talking about weight loss. Personally, I'm OK with the slow weight loss. Would I like it to be faster? Certainly, but I accept the consequences of the fact that I'm probably more relaxed with my diet plan than most. I feel great, my clothes fit better, I have more energy and ambition. I'm just all around in a better place, and isn't THAT what it's all about? Health and happiness?
If you must compare: I had gastric sleeve revision surgery about a month after you. I've lost 40 lbs since surgery.
Not to harp on the not comparing theme, but our experiences may be different. I didn't have a direct revision. I had my lap band out in 2009 and tried to go it alone. I was doing well maintaining until I had some major life events that had a devastating effect on my waistline. I also noticed that my starting weight was much higher than yours.

Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes...
Post Op Day 8 and i don't quite feel like myself. I feel foggy and not in sync with this new change. Taking everything one day at a time...

Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes...
Post Op Day 8 and i don't quite feel like myself. I feel foggy and not in sync with this new change. Taking everything one day at a time...

@tmrtyty2018 Good for you for being strong willed in that situation and respecting the fact that your family does not have to abide by the same rules you do. It's going to be tough at times but that's what makes us strong when it comes to re-learning how to eat healthy and not making poor decisions about our food choices. I applaud you!!!!

That's perfect make the kids and dad starve because you all went out together and you can't eat what they can. Yeah the bring along healthy Snacks is a great idea but being 6 days out I'm sure no one was thinking of it. It's a new experience for everyone and they have to learn as things come up. If she didn't have an issue with it than it's a win for everyone. Sorry you got bitter at her experience and probably would have been angry if your significant other made the same suggestion.

So my husband, who is as slim as they come, asked me nicely if I would mind if he did Chic-Fil-A for lunch while we were running errands. I didn’t want to be a drag so I told him sure. Now that is one of my favs. Their waffle fries and chic-fil-a sauce are AMAZING! So I sat and smiled and fought through all the feels while he and our toddlers ate fries and chicken nuggets and a grilled chicken sandwich while I sipped on my Water. It was probably the toughest moment so far Since the surgery. I have to say that I wasn’t that hungry so the hunger pains were minimal but I really wanted to just lick the salt off those fries. When the torture was over I felt like a new woman. I had conquered one of my previously fav fat girl places and I wasn’t angry. I was more like determined that I would never let food define me again. I thought “hey if I eat here in the future the grilled nuggets are an option”. I actually feel pretty darn good. Just thought I share.

I understand. I am mourning food. I genuinely enjoy going out to eat and drinks and now I feel like I don’t even know what to do. I am hoping it will get easier