sillykitty

I'm in Long Beach. I'm 3 months post op and love my sleeve!

I have had a fantastic week! My weight loss is finally becoming noticeable. Three colleagues I had not seen in over a year this week commented that I’ve lost a lot of weight. It was all separate meetings, so it’s not like they could discuss amongst themselves. I’m finally getting too small for my clothes. First I had to get work slacks the next size down. This week I was on a trip and packed a couple of dresses and jeans that fit just a week or two ago. The jeans were way baggy and the shirt was too long. The dresses looked ok, but it were quite loose on me. I ordered some jeans in 1 and 2 sizes down. There were here when I got home, and the ones 2 sizes down are what fit! The only downside is the thought of the expense of replacing or altering my wardrobe. I misconnected on my flight home and instead of getting my upgraded seat, I got stuck in a middle seat, exit row. Not only are middles always awkward. Exit rows have solid arm rests, instead of the moveable arm rests that can be raised and lowered. And because the seats have the solid arm rests with the tray table in them, it makes the seats even narrower. I usually avoid these seats at all cost, but today I had no choice. I was so surprised and happy when I fit in the seat and was completely comfortable! It’s getting much easier to lie to people about WLS. I don’t know if lying is a good thing, but at least I’m not stressing about people asking why I’m not eating. Oh, and this happened!

TSA making you take out food is sometimes a thing now I guess. I haven’t experienced it yet, and I fly nearly weekly, but maybe because I’m always Pre Check? https://thepointsguy.com/news/tsa-snacks-out-of-bags/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/tripping/wp/2018/03/29/your-sugar-bomb-may-get-extra-scrutiny-at-the-airport-tsa-agents-ask-some-travelers-to-remove-snacks-from-carry-ons/ Procedures and metal detector sensitivity definitely do vary airport by airport

Are these people you dine with very occasionally or more frequently? I don’t know if my colleagues are just super nosy or what, lol! One off meals are no big deal like you describe. But once someone has seen me barely eat more than once, I definitely get questions!

I bought way too much food for my liquid, puree & soft foods stages before surgery. I was eating so little, I barely made a dent in it.

In my personal life I've been pretty open about it, telling my friends and immediate family. I will tell my extended family if/when they ask. I only have people in my life who are supportive (well, my sister is questionable, lol), so it wasn't a big deal to tell. Work is entirely different. I have kept it quiet, just told 2 people. One is a good friend, so that was an easy decision. The other is my assistant, I didn't really want to tell her, but we work so closely together I had to tell her something. She has had some health issues lately so I know she'd be worried and bug me to no end if she thought something was seriously wrong with me. Everyone else I've told I've had stomach issues and depending how hard I'm pressed, I've gone into more false detail about it. My company's management would definitely judge me for having WLS, so I don't want it getting out.

I struggled with vitamins because they made me nauseous. Now I've found some that are easy on my stomach and I'm happy. It's a lot of pills, but I space them all out throughout the day. If I'm home I just put them all next to my computer and take them one at a time throughout the day. If I'm not home it's harder to remember, but I put them in a baggie and keep them in my purse and take one whenever I remember. Whole Foods Prenatal Multi - 3 per day Viactive Calcium Chews - 2 per day (will switch to the Barimelts above once these are gone) Nature Valley Biotin 10,000 mcg - 1 I also take Hyperbiotics Probiotics, alternating between the Pro - 15 and the Pro Women

I am a perfectionist by nature. I tend to only set goals that I know I have the skill set to achieve. Honestly, it has made me very successful in my career. But the downside is, if I don't succeed at something, I usually jut say f*ck it, and just eliminate that as a goal. This surgery has helped give me the skill set, a smaller stomach capacity, combined with my learning to embrace healthier eating. So for me saying that I MUST get to a certain weight is dangerous territory. There is no reason that 140 is better than 142, or 148, or even 150. I will be successful if I get to a weight that is near my goal and I look and feel good at, period. If I struggle, have to starve or be miserable to get to 140, then I will feel like a failure, and I'm afraid I'll be fine with 160-170-180, whatever, failure is failure. I also will have plastic surgery when I am at or near goal. Unlike some on here, vanity is definitely one of my motivations for surgery. I want to look and feel attractive, and once I have achieved that, I know I will be motivated not to screw it up.

That is why I said it is combined with healthier eating.

I don't, and my psychologist agrees

I agree with this so much. I am not going to be miserable anymore, in any way. I won't be miserable about my weight any longer. But I also am not going to be miserable by starving myself, or being on a super restrictive diet. I will follow a diet that is healthy and balanced, but still has room for the occasional indulgences. One of the most appealing things about this surgery was feeling satisfied by smaller portions. If I can make healthier choices, and eat significantly smaller portions, then I can succeed without feeling deprived.

I also have no food addictions or medical reasons to have gotten to 243 at 5'3". My weight gain was caused by making poor choices at nearly every opportunity. French fries or steamed veggies, vinaigrette or ranch, etc., etc.. I simply made the tastier choice because my mindset was, "this one meal isn't going to make a difference" This was compounded by going from a physical job to a sedentary job in my mid twenties. Then my weight gain accelerated when I began traveling and entertaining for business.

I'm in the same 25%-40% grey range. I started turning grey young, and have been dying my hair since before I was 30. At this point I need to color my hair every 4 weeks. Going to the salon is expensive, so I alternate every other time dying my own. I've been using L'Oréal Paris Superior Preference Permanent Hair Color, and have been happy with it.

This isn't going to help you at all, but dresses are much more forgiving on sizing then pants are. I did buy my favorite work slacks in 1 & 2 sizes down and get them hemmed. I'm on the next size down right now, and am glad I have the next smaller size ready to go. I will continue to do the same until I get to goal. It sucks to spend the money, but not many options if we need to look professional. Thankfully women's work shirts tend to be forgiving, and I will be able to wear mine for a while longer still, maybe even a long while.

But where did your goal weight come from? Is it realistic? Speaking for myself, my goal weight of 140 is what I weighed in college. But nearly 20 years later that may not be realistic. I may get to 150, and be happy with how I feel and look. I may get to 150 and struggle hard to get down to 140. For me, personally, if I get to a healthy weight and and happy with how I look, there is no way I am going to fight everyday to get to and maintain some goal weight that is arbitrary.

I used to drink a lot of diet soda. I definitely had the caffeine headaches post op from not drinking it. I was not getting my water in though. I just really dislike water or anything like crystal light, powerade zero etc. On a good day I was getting 32 oz. I did a lot of reading about the "evils" of diet soda. There are a lot of studies and although there is correlation between drinking diet soda and negative health effects, no study has shown causation. I also read a lot about stomach stretching from carbonation, and several respected surgeons consider it a myth. I spoke to my surgeon's PA about what her opinion is on diet soda. She agreed it was unlikely to stretch my sleeve. And she also agreed that there have been no studies showing directly that diet soda caused health problems. She gave me the go ahead to drink diet soda as long as I doubled my calcium intake, and took in at least 32 oz of non diet soda fluids. Also as long as it didn't lead to any other cravings or bad habits.

It's possible you may lose the desire to drink. I was a big social drinker, but now, it just isn't appealing. It was completely unexpected.

Part of this is just me. I have never expressed any unhappiness with my weight to anyone, not family or my closest friends. The friends & family I did tell were surprised I wanted WLS because I appeared happy and confident. So personally I am not comfortable with people knowing my weight is a struggle for me. It feel s like a weakness and I don't want to open myself up to being judged anymore than I already am. Secondly, I think the medical excuse works better than, I'm watching what I eat, or I am dieting. Only being able to eat 2-3 oz barely makes a dent in a plate. If people think I'm voluntarily eating so little, they will definitely encourage me to eat more. If I don't they will jump to the conclusion I've developed an eating disorder. Additionally, I have to have a medical excuse to not drink. If I don't I would hear endlessly about, "Just one drink" etc. In fact my workplace has such a drinking culture I'm badgered endlessly to drink even after telling people it will make me ill.

Yeah, in this case you have to choose between the truth or more elaborate lies. Just last week I was at a meeting with some peers I only see quarterly. One of them I consider a good friend cornered me about what exactly was going on with me, am I really ok. I was touched by his concern. I wanted to tell him the truth, but I had been lying to my boss, so I decided to stick to the same story. I just want to minimize the risk my upper management would get wind of my surgery.

I don't like it, but I lie. I do a lot of dining out with customers and colleagues, so the small amount I can eat is obvious. I usually tell people when ordering that I have been having stomach issues and won't be eating much. If I dine with them frequently then I've had to go into more detail, i.e. more elaborate lies, about an ongoing stomach condition and reassure them I am under a Dr.'s care.

I'm glad to hear this. As many others have said, you have done the research, you know what is best for you. These people do not know your struggle. This intervention was really unfair to you and comes from a place of ignorance.

Yep, can do it on My Fitness Pal

Premier Protein shakes are a popular option, IMO the chocolate is the best tasting