RHCD

Great news @SueSaBelle! I’m so glad you’re getting amazing support from your other half despite your mother comments. I will say figuring out the walking schedule is important and also hard. I didn’t start walking regularly until in month 2, then month three I was traveling for half of it and then got back in my rhythm only to be waylaid by unhealthy air that wreaked havoc on my lungs and finally an emergency gallbladder removal that’s slowed me down for several weeks. Some of this time I just did more at work and other I just was kind with myself cause I’m so not perfect and trying to be does serious mental harm to me.

I’d be lost with out cheese/dairy as part of my protein allotment. Granted I still have to be careful of the amount because I was lactose intolerant before and that didn’t change. I do have to watch that I’m not succumbing to head hungry because even at 4+ months out it’s still there. Less than the first few weeks but still a question I ask myself. Seriously I had a convo with my Nut how anything highly processed wrecks havoc in my digestion system so I still eat regular cheese just way less of it, avoid sugar and it’s alternatives, etc. Part of this journey is giving you the space to figure out what works for your body. And yes that means sometimes telling your mind to stuff it and stop playing games. You’re doing great!

I’d be lost with out cheese/dairy as part of my protein allotment. Granted I still have to be careful of the amount because I was lactose intolerant before and that didn’t change. I do have to watch that I’m not succumbing to head hungry because even at 4+ months out it’s still there. Less than the first few weeks but still a question I ask myself. Seriously I had a convo with my Nut how anything highly processed wrecks havoc in my digestion system so I still eat regular cheese just way less of it, avoid sugar and it’s alternatives, etc. Part of this journey is giving you the space to figure out what works for your body. And yes that means sometimes telling your mind to stuff it and stop playing games. You’re doing great!

For me once the decision was made and approved I was actually really calm and matter of fact about it. It wasn’t until I was checking in the morning of my surgery did my nerves finally kick in. Like big time

Small plates and small bowls are my friend now when eating at home. We also go out to eat a lot too and appetizers or happy hour are my friend for ordering. I’m also not shy of eating a bite of two off other plates if they have something I really only want one bite of (usually some decadent carb that one bite is plenty.) The whole tossing food has been hard. If can I’ll freeze some of it but I find even then I’m underwhelmed and reach my I’m done.

I went to our fancy grocery store and bought a few of their in house soups that I then puréed. I would add some protein powder to up the protein. That and cottage cheese, refried beans basically anything I could mush with a fork.

So I just hit my 4 month and other than my emergency gallbladder removal I am totally able to engage in “normal” activities. Yes I eat way less and don’t drink but being active is worlds better. At 12 weeks I went on a trip to Eastern Europe for 2 weeks and other than I was still very much trying to figure out how to eat to get my needs I had no problems. My energy levels were amazing and I could walk all day. Stairs still got me. Start saving for a new wardrobe as you’ll likely be down enough you won’t fit into your current clothes. (Unless you have a closet of different sizes).

Local close friends and very close coworkers I told leading up to the surgery. Then once it became noticeable my local friends checked if I was okay and that they could see a change I’d tell. Similar to at work. Family found out when they see me not by social media or even a call. Although now that at 4 months my mom knows the whole family will know in a few days. I’ve posted nothing on social media other than pics of me and plan to keep it that way.

First off good for you for saying what you need to your mom and brother. That is huge and really hard. Honestly I’m still figuring out how to deal with those time bombs that are lying in wait for me to to trip in them. Right now I make sure I don’t turn to food as that comfort. It’s a mental game. Sometimes it’s just taking a moment to concentrate on my breathing. Basically shutting my eyes and my brain off and hearing off to just listen to my breathing. I’ll then work towards asking myself gently why I was triggered and work from there. Sometimes I just need a hug so I’ll get that from my Mr or a snuggle from my kitties or pup. Sometimes I’ll just go for a quick walk even just around the block. Sometimes I’ll vent text my best girl friend. Sometimes I’ll just take a really long drink of water to let my brain catch up. Basically I have a list of things I try to do instead of turning to eating.

So I’m 4 months out (knocking on 90 down) and haven’t told my mother. Yet. She’s a mix of passive aggressive cutting remarks and narcissism that honestly I just didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with her issues & anxiety around my decision/ surgery. You do not have to tell anyone you don’t want too nor do you have to give anyone your reason either. I know way easier said than done. I’m fortunate that I have distance (200 mi) so I was able to not have to deal with her and just sidestepped/flat out didn’t talk and things. I’ll see her this weekend so that’s going to be fun. What I’ve told people is after 20+ years of trying and doing different things I recognized I needed more help. If this was just a will power thing I could do it. I’ve done plenty with just sheer will and determination so something else was needed. This was a decision I made for myself with medical guidance. Most of the time this shuts people up. I do plan on if needed saying “ mom I love you and my weight and the decisions around it are not up for discussion.” Rinse repeat as many times as needed. After the second time I will add “ if you continue bringing this up I am leaving/hanging up” and then will. Setting and sticking to my boundaries with her is so hard but I did some work with a therapist on this 10 plus years that I used and still use.

Love it! I think any who shaves their head is brave badass !

While I haven’t had food rejection out right some foods just don’t sound good anymore. Which is freaking weird. I’d never thought I’d say that about bread, pasta or sweets but here I am 5 months out and those foods just don’t sound good to me. I’ve tried them and I didn’t get the same “omg tasty want more” feeling which I’d never thought I’d ever say.

Well done! Seriously awesome.

No worries. I’m not surprised you had to put your foot too. I’m pretty sure the first ER doc saw my blood work was normal and I went in with pain under 5 unless poked at he wrote me off. Being just obese and a women I hope didn’t influence his decision making but I’m second guessing that train of thought. Being persistent helps and by night #2 even my MR who usually follows my lead was about to go all upset husband on them.

Holy hell lady! Amazing!

Yep - I had the dreaded 3 week stall. Stayed on plan and it worked itself out. That’s seems to be a pattern, I stall, stay in plan and evaluate am I really on plan and continue on / tweak as needed. Still in a stall/slight gain but was starting to see movement but now between the weather impacting my main exercise of walking (stupid unhealthy smoke from NW fires) and now an emergency gallbladder removal surgery it may last a little longer. You’ve got this!!!

So coming up on my 4 month post sleeve I needed going back in to have my gallbladder removed. Yep I’m that lucky 25% ish of WLS patients who need it removed. I had asymptotic stones prior to surgery but the loss of almost 80lbs in 4-5 months likely is what tipped it to angry and needing the gallbladder out. Surgery and recovery are less painful than the sleeve so far. However the pain leading up to needing it removed was no joke. Leading up to needing it out had me at urgent care who sent me to ER who ended up passing me off with a if it pain gets worse or additional symptoms to come back. The Mr and I weren’t happy. Went to my sleeve’s surgeons office the next day who took one look at me and my lab work up then said if she had the surgery slot that day would have done it. She didn’t have a slot so back to the ER I go but she called ahead. This time they gave me pain meds pretty much once I got back to an ER room (2-3 hours after I walked in). Got my 2nd ultrasound (same tech from night before and was floored they didn’t take it out the night before). 2nd ultrasound showed my gallbladder was even more angry. Got scheduled for surgery the next am and was checked in to the hospital overnight. My sleeve surgeon was doing rounds that morning and came in and checked in on me. She wasn’t the one doing my surgery but it was totally surprising to see her check in on me. So now I have 9 scars on my belly from laparoscopic surgery. 5 from the sleeve and 4 from the gallbladder. At some point I’m going to connect all the dots to see what fun shapes they form;) Surgeon’s comment once I was back in my room was oh it was super angry and needing to come out. Moral of the story: pain in upper right quadrant is something not to mess with. I’m hoping to getting back to my walking and eating schedule in the next few days. Hard part is I can’t lift anything over a gallon of milk for at least 2-4 weeks. So that means the dog can’t got with me nor can I start back up with yoga or some of the other cardio type classes I was looking at. Nor can I really work in my yard which I love doing. Does mean my Mr gets to pick up most of the chores until I can again.

Honestly if you want to try these back in your diet do it very slowly and one at a time. Listen to how your body responds. For me I was so happy to be able to have the crunch of a potato chip at like month 3 only to realize I will still just keep eating absentmindedly. Potatoes are something I know for me are going to be one of those things I’m going to have to be very careful about. Does it mean I’ll never have any ever again? Nope but I really need to be intentional about it. Like any food. Pasta/ flour tortillas and bread are turning into the same thing for me. I just mentally want more. Corn chips/tortillas and crackers I’m able for some reason to limit myself and be okay mentally (and physically) with it. At four months post op I’m figuring what works for me. You will too.

41. Sleeved on 4/25/18. Knocking on 80lbs loss total but in a brutal 2 week stall/ small gain. I’d been thinking of going down this path for at least 3-5 years. Wish I’d done it earlier but know I wasn’t ready mentally for the changes. So very glad I did it. Even if I stop here I’d be happy.

For me the sleeve appears to the the right decision. Granted I’m 4.5 months out and I’m way ahead of the avg loss numbers. I was already lactose intolerant so that wasn’t t a concern. I rarely got heartburn prior to my sleeve and think I’ve had maybe 4 flair ups (too many spicy foods). It came down to how much the malabsorption scares the crap out of me and rerouting my insides when I know I’m an ugly scarrer was enough to tip me to sleeve. Going in based on what I needed to loose the avg lbs difference between the options wasn’t significant enough to deal with malabsorption. I also have 4 friends at different points in post sleeve surgery. One is extremely successful. One is still loosing but doing really well. Another was a band to sleeve revision and is the least successful. Lastly is someone who is fighting regain 2 years out. This gave me a realistic view of what is possible and what is needed to meet goal. Can I self sabotage? Sure I could and maybe someday I might but I have different tools I didn’t have before. Will they work? Time will tell.

Congrats and well done!!!

I actually don’t on a regular basis. Water I keep track of by the vessels I use: the one at work I need to drink two of a day or one plus my tea, then a one of the one at home at night or 2-3 on weekend. Food wise I do weight/ check in on the logs when I’m adding something new or plateauing but since I eat a lot of the same things I usually do pretty well. I also weight myself daily and can usually correlate what’s working what’s not. Have I met my exercise goals? Have I been getting my hydration/protein/calories? I tend to be overly honest with myself and if I see gains or no loss for too long I’ll become much more diligent about logging

I’m in the daily camp, after I shower, and before I eat/ drink anything, unless I wash my hair and then nope. I do plan to back off on the weigh ins as I get more secure in what I’m doing. For me it’s been good to catch the stalls and see the fluctuations in real time. Did I eat not so healthy - I’ll see it, did I go on a long walk, I’ll see the connections. For me it’s a quick way for me to be accountable (and honest) to myself as I’m horrible at food logging. While traveling for two weeks where I had no access to a scale and because I was so busy/active it didn’t bother me. But I did loose that connection on what I ate/activity.

If you can swing it don’t wait a year. I had a surprise international work trip at week 11 post op. I was able to add some vacation to it too. Holy Moley did it help to have a whole bunch of NSV around traveling. I’m now planning more trips as I finally feel good.

At one point a few years ago I was above 320 but by the time I decided to do the surgery I was floating between 304-310. Surgery day down to 285 and now coming up on 6 weeks at 265. I’m floored at where I’m at and still getting my head around how fast and yet slow this is happening (if that makes sense) I’m so glad I did this and waiting until I was in the right headspace to do this.