CashmereAndBones

Wow!! The immense amount of feedback, advice, encouragement and similar thoughts I've received from all of you is amazing. Thank you to EVERYONE for posting, I really truly appreciate all of your posts and while a bit overwhelming it gave me a lot to think about and a lot more questions and reading to do! You all are amazing human beings and I'm so glad to have found such an amazing support system with such positivity. Eventually I will respond to all of your posts directly but for now a general one since I have some homework I need to get to and I don't want to rush my responses! Thank you all once again, truly heartwarming comments <3 Best to everyone!

Just now, 1Mila said:

Mentally and emotionally I don’t think you’re ready @cashmeresndbones sounds like you don’t wanna feel ‘left out’ while you’re bettering your health. I’ve gone through all those questions myself 5 years ago and decided to try and do it myself.. I did manage to lose weight (50 lbs) gained it all back and some.. fast forward five years later and here I am going through the whole process again.
..but to each there own

You're absolutely right. Right now I am not ready for the procedure. But the good thing is I still have 4 months to keep doing research and asking questions and watching Youtube videos and hearing other peoples experiences to get my mind, body and soul ready for this journey! I am going to see a dietitian July 31st (not through the VSG doctor, I see their nutritionist mid August). As of now I'm not emotionally there but I think that's why we have to go through the 6 month process to make sure this life changing surgery is the right fit for us! Thank you for your feedback and if you have any other advice I'd love to hear you out! Best.

This post made me feel so much better, we're all human, we do human things like eat things we're not supposed to and slip past that fine line of good and bad! But it goes to show that you can still lead a "normal" life with little to no repercussions as long as its not a constant reoccurring thing! Thank you so much Matt!

47 minutes ago, journeyofcurves said:

I definitely hear you in this post. I just started my process with my consult yesterday, and I thought I’d have 6 months to think about it, but it’s only a 3 month wait for me so my mind is now racing thinking about my options. I’ve lost 75 lbs on my own (what I’d like to lose at minimum now) but I gained it back and then some. I have PCOS which causes horrible insulin resistance and is preventing me from being successful on my own. I have to remind myself of the science, because I keep thinking “if I can do this with surgery, why can’t I without??” But... I can’t. My worry about surgery is more of complications. I work in a hospital with the most critical patients on a daily basis so my view of the horrid stuff that can happen is skewed and it makes me a bit skiddish of a “elective” procedure even though logically I know this is for my health and happiness and truly what I need. So... I’m just processing and trying to get myself mentally ready for taking a leap that could have negative health consequences by reminding myself constantly those negative possibilities are such slim ones. Good luck with your process!

You as well I hope your journey is a good one, I'm always here if you need a friend to vent or just converse with (: just keep doing your research and some Youtube videos I found very helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJGHPqGhf1TOLpJ4hUVF08w

I love this girl she's awesome, not sure if the link posted but on Youtube her name is Clusie L, check her out!

1 hour ago, AshAsh1 said:

Just remember that nothing is forever. I'd always recommend to get past the "honey moon" stage before you start experimenting with tempting foods. Make the most of those precious few months. Some people's last 3 months of rapid loss, and others longer. For me, a big slow down past 5 months. I lost 100 lbs by the time I hit 4 months. Now its taken me 2 months to lose 23lbs. So it does slow, and the further out we get, the more we feel normal and "normal" habits creep back in.

Yes the honeymoon phase is crucial to succeeding I just don't want to feel like I'm constantly counting calories and not living a flourishing life when I move to Los Angeles. I remember flashbacks of when I was anorexic and would literally count EVERYTHING, from lettuce to carrots, fruit, coffee (black), etc. I just hope I don't fall into those tendencies again, also thanks for the follow up post of cheats and everything (: all the best Ash!! <3.

1 hour ago, Sosewsue61 said:

At first I mourned volume eating, but not so much anymore. food becomes less important as a destination - I am going out to dinner tonight - an annual thing with a group of girlfriends - it is now just to enjoy being with them as a stree-free evening. We always go to a high end place, have wine, appetizers, entrée and dessert. I will not order all that, I will order some though. I looked at the menu yesterday - and I will get an appetizer as my entrée, skip wine - have ice tea or maybe even a diet coke, and have three bites of dessert and bring the rest home for my husband. What I WILL do though is get ALL dressed up, made up, and soak up the compliments, catch up on everyone's happinesses and sorrows - it's not really the food.

Thats great to hear that you can still enjoy a "normal" life and eat with friends but have Portion Control (: made me feel at ease.

8 minutes ago, Sosewsue61 said:

Stay in therapy to explore all these issues and more. Some bariatric patients develop ED after surgery, or have a reappearance of one, it does happen.

Anyone can lose weight, most of us have had great success at losing weight, me included - this surgery helps KEEP the weight off, it changes the metabolism and the hormones. I am still on the journey to my goal - I will get there.

I wish you all the best. I am not dissuading you from a modeling career but just cautioning you that that path is rife with extreme body criticisms, chasing perfection, and prime for ED dysfunction. Have a plan B in place and stay in therapy.

I'm scared my ED will come back ): modeling is something I've always wanted to do, I literally have dreamed about it since I was little. It can be a horrific industry at times but there are perks too. I'll play it by ear. Thank you for your feedback, best!

5 minutes ago, AshAsh1 said:

I've def had some FOMO in the beginning stages. Oh, I remember going on a shopping trip that required a road trip with friends. On the way home, I had to find something from the gas station to eat.... They came back with Subway. I came back with a stick of cheese. It was saddening, at the time. When we have a couple party and I serve dessert, it sucks to be the only one not partaking. However, I could make it easier on myself and eat something with them, that is allowed on my plan. I'm getting better at ways to have yummy things that go along with my plan. I think I have FOMO the worst though when other people point things out, sometimes I don't even think about it, until my bestie says "Come over, I've got a bottle of wine with our names on it". While she knows that I'm not regularly partaking in alcohol, it just slips her mind.

I haven't slipped on anything pastry or cake-wise because I am afraid to dump. I think the fear alone is keeping me on track. I do eat SF ice cream and ice cream bars, but you can't find those things at restaurants while out with friends (which is when I think about it). Do I think that this will change overtime, and I'll be able to have a bite of cake at a birthday party, maybe? I'm good without it at the moment. I actually don't crave sweets much anymore. My weakness is chips... oh boy, I salivate over some chips. LOL And I eat some from time to time. I buy the little snack size baggies (like the size for kids lunch boxes) and I splurge. But I feel VERY guilty, every single time. I haven't gained from any splurges, but I can tell when my diet isn't fine tuned enough, and I stall out. The first thing to go for me is fruit.

Thank you AshAsh1, great insight and the way you feel about chips is how I feel about pastries and lattes. FOMO and dumping is my biggest fear. So much to think about! Best.

17 minutes ago, nourishing heather said:

Have you looked at any of the numerous studies on outcomes, both short and long term, for surgical weight loss versus diet/lifestyle changes? Overall, less than 10% of people who set out to lose 60-80% of their body weight will succeed with diet/lifestyle changes. With surgery 80% of people lose 60-80% of their bodyweight.

5 years later only 20% of the LESS THAN 10% who succeeded with diet/lifestyle changes are maintaining. With surgery, it's about 80% of the 80%.

Gastric sleeve does a lot more than reduce stomach by 80-85%. The portion of the stomach that produces the hunger hormone gherlin is removed. As people suffering from obesity, our bodies because immune to leptin, a hormone our body makes that aides in appetite suppresion and signals satiety. After surgery, this immunity is no longer present. Gastric sleeve surgery is a reset for your body is so many ways. I think you need to better under the complexity of the surgery and how it truly affects bodies. There are many studies showing how the neuromapping in our brains actually changes following bariatric surgery. Obesity is a disease process and willpower alone is rarely the cure. Best wishes to you!

My Blog: www.nourishingheather.com

HW: 325

CW: 314

Surgery Date: 8/1/18

GW: 160

PS: Just finished reading your article. You are gorgeous and I love those floral leggings! Keep on smiling (:

13 minutes ago, nourishing heather said:

Have you looked at any of the numerous studies on outcomes, both short and long term, for surgical weight loss versus diet/lifestyle changes? Overall, less than 10% of people who set out to lose 60-80% of their body weight will succeed with diet/lifestyle changes. With surgery 80% of people lose 60-80% of their bodyweight.

5 years later only 20% of the LESS THAN 10% who succeeded with diet/lifestyle changes are maintaining. With surgery, it's about 80% of the 80%.

Gastric sleeve does a lot more than reduce stomach by 80-85%. The portion of the stomach that produces the hunger hormone gherlin is removed. As people suffering from obesity, our bodies because immune to leptin, a hormone our body makes that aides in appetite suppresion and signals satiety. After surgery, this immunity is no longer present. Gastric sleeve surgery is a reset for your body is so many ways. I think you need to better under the complexity of the surgery and how it truly affects bodies. There are many studies showing how the neuromapping in our brains actually changes following bariatric surgery. Obesity is a disease process and willpower alone is rarely the cure. Best wishes to you!

My Blog: www.nourishingheather.com

HW: 325

CW: 314

Surgery Date: 8/1/18

GW: 160

Thank you for the response, I actually am reading your blog now! And thank you for all the statistics. Lots to think about. I hope your surgery is a well and good one for you and I wish you so much luck as you are about to start a new lifestyle journey! Best of luck!

1 minute ago, AshAsh1 said:

I'm not negative, I'm experienced to say that I can see the warning signs of someone who may not be ready. I hope you do gain as much knowledge and info as possible to make the right decision. But as other poster's have pointed out, its a life long commitment. You have to be willing to make the most of it. It's 80% mind and 20% body. You can easily cheat yourself out of being successful, its not fool proof. I'd rather see you make this decision, when you are ready, and will make the most of this journey. I recommend surgery to nearly everyone who is sure they are ready to make a change. I'm not saying you won't get there, but your concerns are concerning.

Hello! Thank you for a follow up. I do realize it is a life long commitment which is why I want to absorb everything I can before making a decision. Like I said I still have four months before I'm even allowed to set a date (if I choose to do so). I understand it's not fool proof and the questions I ask might be concerning but these are just things I want to know because I like to see how people at all different stages of post-op are doing and what they have and haven't incorporated back into their lives. Everyone does their journey differently so I'm trying to see all different prospectives and outcomes. I'm not asking these because I'm planning on getting the surgery and immediately going back to simple Syrup lattes, fast food chains, pastries, etc. but I'm asking because I want to know if people dabble in them and what their outcomes have been. One person said they had snacked on some sweets and it was on a vacation and they hadn't lost as much that week as others but it's good to know I'm not going to have to be a robot after surgery with absolutely no leeway on anything. I've also had not only BED but anorexia at one point when I was at my skinniest and I was afraid that going on suck restrictions for the rest of my life might bring back those tendencies. But I see there are mixed reviews, some people stick hard core to the post-op lifestyle and others are a little more free with it. Thank you again for another insightful post AshAsh1 (: I hope you are doing well! If you have any other advice, have you gone on vacation and wanted something and took a few bites of like a cake? Have you experienced FOMO? How did you deal with all of this? And anything else you'd like to add would be great! All the best.

4 hours ago, AshAsh1 said:

First of all... I've already responded to all to your concerns on your first post about your fears.

In your case, I wouldn't recommend surgery. You aren't ready, nor near ready for the commitment to change. I'd try the Portion Control route first. I do wish you luck. When you hit your rock bottom, like most people on here do, you won't be worried about giving up the things you've listed in your post. And I mean this with the upmost respect, because you have to be *ready* to take this journey. I don't believe you are.

Hi AshAsh1, yes I saw you posted to my first post and I did make a little apology on there as to why I hadn't responded. You're a bit negative to just flat out say you wouldn't recommend surgery. Like I said I still have four months before I even have to set a date and make a decision so I'm very new to this and there are a lot of questions, fears and things I want to ask and have to come to terms with but that shouldn't be your determining factor for me as I'm still quite a ways away from making a decision so I'm exploring all my options and getting every bit of information I can from everyone on here. Maybe I'm not ready right now but that why I signed up on this website, to interact with users and get vital information so they can help guide me and give me the resources I need to make a big life changing decision and who knows. Maybe in time I will come to terms that what I want vs what I need will out weigh itself and I'll make that decision to get the surgery, maybe not, who knows but what I do know is like Missouri-Lee said on my other post is I need to "read, read, read and ask, ask, ask". Best to you and good luck with the rest of your journey (:

4 hours ago, Tealael said:

I hear that yo yo dieting is straining on the heart and other major organs (can someone confirm, I've never done it). I'd would rather succeed the first time than fail five times just to end up back at the same conclusion two years later that I need surgical help, if you take a look at my post, you can absolutely have a life, everything in moderation. I don't go off the rails and eat whatever. I work everything into my plan with my NUT especially vacation and special occasion foods. I don't eat sugars that are not naturally occurring in foods and those I use sparingly, I use stevia if I must have added sweetness the other sugar alcohols if nothing else is available. You are going to still have to practice Portion Control and restraint after the procedure. Restriction provided through it does not last forever. What this procedure will do is give you a running start so you can exercise, you can learn to eat less, you can make better choices. Not everyone does and that's why not everyone has the success they hope. In the end it is still all on you.

VSG2017 HW 249 SW 238 CW 169

I will definitely check out your posts, thank you for all of your advice (: very sweet of you to take your time to reply. Lots of things to consider but for now I'm still going to proceed with the pre-op work and in four months I can make my decision from there. Best of luck to you!

4 hours ago, looly said:

I've lost 63lbs in the past by using diet and exercise...and put it all back on again...several times.

My own body stymied me every time. I used to feel guilty and weak-willed about this, until my surgeon explained to me that my body thought I was in a famine, so my metabolism dropped and I produced more hunger hormones. If you think you can beat a mechanism like that - go ahead and try.

I took the plunge and had a VSG, because I reckoned that if I did what I'd always done, I'd get what I'd always got.

And I'd had enough of that.

I'm going to try for the next 4 months, well see where that takes me and from there I can make a decision. Thank you for your response and best on the rest of your journey!

6 hours ago, Matt Z said:

@CashmereAndBones
The first thing I noticed is your goal... From your starting weight, that goal isn't very realistic with the Sleeve. Check this site, it has calculators to show you what you can realistically expect for weight loss for each surgery type.
For your starting weight of 325, for a Female that's 6 foot tall, it's reported that 80% of patients will reach 249 in 18 months, 50% reach 226 and only 20% reach 203.

https://www.obesitycoverage.com/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-sleeve/gastric-sleeves-how-much-weight-will-i-lose

The Bypass has perspective losses listed for your weight/height as 80% reach 231 in 18 months, 50% reach 210, 20% reach 189.
https://www.obesitycoverage.com/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-bypass/how-much-can-i-expect-to-lose

These are averages and generalizations, can you lose 200 lbs with the Sleeve, maybe, but it's going to be a lot of very hard work and some serious dedication and commitment.

Can you lose the weight on your own? You totally can! Search for "Obese to Beast" on YouTube. This kid is great, he dropped from 370 down to like 180 with nothing but diet and exercise. It is possible, but you are going to have to really fight the hunger sensation to do so.

I initially got the band back in 2011, having hit 370 lbs at 5 foot 9, things were just on the cusp of getting out of control. People get the surgery because, there is a point where just reducing your intake and exercising isn't quite enough to make the changes needed to stop the snowball effect. I didn't want the bypass back then because I didn't want any permanent changes to be made. In hindsight that's the stupidest thing I've ever thought. I didn't want to make a change that would cause permanent changes. Well, that's exactly what happened. I dropped 70ish with the band, and then it started to come back. Because, I didn't make permanent changes.

This past March I finally had my band removed and converted over to the bypass. I'm kicking myself for not doing the bypass in 2011. I've lost 7 years that would have been so much better if I only wasn't afraid of those changes.

Whatever you do decide to do, don't lose sight of the fact that these changes *NEED* to be permanent, otherwise you'll find yourself right back at the start wondering what you did wrong. If you don't make life long habit changes... then nothing will actually change.

I LOVE Obese to Beast, he's so sweet and funny! I watch him along with a few other people who lost the weight on their own. Thank you for putting all the projected weight loss expectancies and for your advice and time. I liked reading a little of your own backstory you put in the response as well! Best of luck with everything and I hope all is going well for you (:

8 hours ago, Biddy zz said:

Hey Cashmere&bones

A few things spring to mind. You have had all your life to moderate your own portion sizes. How is that going for ya?! Of course you could start this tomorrow. Book in for the surgery, but go it alone and if in 6 months you are smashing it, then don’t have the surgery... Is that a plan that might work?

It sounds easy, but for so many of us, the surgery provides that critical extra tool that means we CAN do Portion Control. By the way, I think we have all thought ‘I reckon I can just do it by myself’ at some point - but mostly we can’t or don’t.

Half an apple doesn’t keep me full - it is starting meals with Protein that makes all the difference. I drink sparkling Water every day. I don’t have to do the ‘no drinking near eating’ rule. We all vary quite a bit! And you will find out exactly how you work post surgery - and make it all your own. I NEVER feel like I am missing out, now. I have worked out how to eat that works. I eat out in groups, in cafes, at parties. But I eat an entirely new set of foods! And I am happy with it!! Many of us have occasional treats. Some have a plan allowing 75 calories of treats a day, and you can ‘save them up’ for an event. I do a bit of this. Really, the eating I do now, at goal and maintaining, doesn’t look at all odd compared to my friends...

One more thing. In your stats under your username, you say you are 6 foot tall, and your goal weight is 125lbs. This is really really low - bmi of 17 and out of the healthy range - is that really your goal??

Hey!

Yes welp I've never stuck to a healthy, portion-controlled lifestyle because of many difficulties I've had in life. It's another excuse and I'm so sick of making excuses for myself. Your advice seems to not be the norm as most people said not to drink sparkling Water and at least wait 30 mins post eating to drink something, how has this effected your weight loss by doing the opposite? And yes I want to be 125-130, I want to get into modeling. Everyone tells me how gorgeous I am and that if I just lost the weight I could model (NOT BRAGGING) but I remember one time a woman in a nail salon came up to me and told me how gorgeous I was and another time I was waiting for my friend's dad to pick him up from a diner and we were taking selfies outside and this woman told me what a beautiful face I had. So yeah 125 has always been my goal. I've actually been there before but I gained so much weight from undisclosed reasons, life sometimes just hits you hard! Thank you again for the advice (:

39 minutes ago, FancyChristine15 said:

1. 1. So yes, we all get the point of the surgery is to lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle BUT that doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves sometimes. My favorite food chain is in LA, In-N-Out Burger. Will I be able to eat a cheeseburger and small fry with like a milkshake? Clearly I won't be opting for this on the daily but we all still need to indulge in our favorites once in a while and I'm not sure how much of it I'll be able to eat I'm assuming maybe like 1/3 or maybe 1/2 of the entire meal. But does anyone have experience with eating cheeseburgers, fries and a milkshake on like a vacation or for just a little "cheat meal"? (Again, I get the point is to NOT eat these types of food but sometimes you have urges especially on vacations). I don't think there is anything wrong with a little indulgence every now and then. I went on vacation at 3 months post op, and I ate a few things I don't normally eat, and it all went fine. I had a couple bites of ice cream, a small pancake with butter, a piece of a cookie, etc... (not all at the same time), but it all went fine for me. Now, I did have a smaller weight loss that week, but I only did it while on the vacation.

2. I absolutely LOVE sparkling Water like La Croix and San Pellegrino, does anyone drink sparkling Water on occasion? I haven't had anything sparkling or carbonated yet, and don't really plan to. It can aid in stretching out your new tummy, so I wouldn't recommend it.

3. Cocktails and Wine, I'm not sure about you but being 24 I like to have myself an occasional couple of social beverages, how was your experience with alcohol both mixed drinks (hard liquor) and wine? (Don't worry about beer I don't like it). My doctor's advice on this topic was to wait until 6 months post-op, so I still haven't had a drink since my operation.

4. Not to generalize but I think a lot of people have a sweet tooth, I love the occasional scone, croissant, cookie, French macaron, etc. how has your experience with these types of baked pastries been? I've only had a piece of a cookie, the ice cream I mentioned before, and a little dark chocolate. That is not something that I would recommend that you regularly do, as you'll end up wanting more and more, that's how I would be anyways. I would stick to the sugar free popsicles and sugar free Jello. Those help with the sweet cravings with no added sugar.

5. coffee. I'm ADDICTED to coffee and espresso beverages; lattes, macchiatos, cappuccinos, matcha lattes. How have these affected you and do you sweeten them at all or keep it plain? Can you sweeten them with like flavored syrups like a pump of lavender simple Syrup or matcha powder? I've had some coffee post op. I drank it every day before the surgery, and now I have it like once a week or so. I usually go to Dunkin and get an iced coffee with sugar free Syrup and a little almond milk, then I add equal to it. Just go for the sugar free options, if you have to have coffee.

6. Now I know the clear answer and feedback I'm going to get on this question but for those who aren't going to just simply says "QUIT!!!" then I'd appreciate an answer, don't answer this is you're going to lecture me on how bad this is in general regardless of VSG, I know it's bad, I'm not stupid but it's an addictive habit I'm trying to quit. Smoking. How have cigarettes or e-cigs like Juul's affected you? Does it bother your stomach or can you smoke without issue? If so how many cigarettes or Juul pods do you go through a day? I know this is the answer you don't want, but you HAVE to quit smoking before the surgery. It could kill you if you continue to smoke. The only near death experience my doctor's office had was with a post op patient who didn't heed the doctor's advice, and they kept smoking. It could kill you.

7. This is hopefully not going to be a struggle but when I eat I like to sip on Water or unsweetened iced tea, coffee, etc. I know in the beginning you're supposed to drink like 30 minutes BEFORE consuming food. How soon after can you drink something? Also will there be a time when eventually I can have a beverage while eating a snack or meal? Or will I forever not be able to consume liquidsand solids at the same time? I always liked to drink with my meals too. It's a bit inconvenient, but you'll eventually get used to not drinking while you eat. You should wait, at least, 30 minutes after you eat before you drink anything. It's a forever thing, but, like I said, you'll get used to it.

Thank you for all of your information! Yes the doctor's told me I would have to stop smoking or do 0mg nicotine from a vape pen weeks before the surgery and like 3 months(?) after which isn't a problem. It's nice to see someone who's had nibbles and bites of those foods we crave and see that you're still doing very well. Thank you for all of the other advice to each question they were EXTREMELY helpful and I wish you all the best of luck with the rest of your journey (:

5 hours ago, Missouri-Lee's Summit said:

@CashmereAndBones No hard feelings. It's nice of you to acknowledge the effort others have invested in your initial post. Please understand that, though harsh, our advice came from heartfelt concern. You're a valuable person and you deserve straight talk from people who are traveling the road you're thinking about taking. We were all where you are now. Once you come to terms with the reality of your weight and how it impacts your health, you may choose the courageous decision to explore the world of weight-loss surgery. It's not an easy choice because it involves drastic lifestyle changes. Only you can determine your priorities.

I hope that you will return to this forum often and read, read, read and ask, ask, ask. The very best to you.

Thank you very much Missouri-Lee! You've been a wonderful help and put me at ease. I will take your advice as to "read, read, read and ask, ask, ask" because the more information I can obtain the better I will have with my final decision (: you are a wonderful person! Thank you again.

So this is my second post (and yes I am back from traveling now so I will promptly reply to each person (: ). I've been doing so much research and watching so many Youtube videos on VSG and I keep going back and forth on whether I should proceed with the surgery or not. I still have 4 more weigh-in's before I'm done with the 6 month insurance coverage thing so basically 4 months until I can proceed to make a date. Sometimes I feel like yes this is exactly what I need, something to restrict my stomach and make me full quickly so if I eat like a half of an apple I'll be full for hours and can survive off of that and then a small salad with Protein for dinner and that's it (plus Water, tea, coffee). Making healthy choices but extremely small "meals" (obviously after the first few post-op required stages). But then I think well I do want that BUT I am not 100% convinced. Why can't I just make healthier, smarter, portion controlled choices now with the help of a dietitian and personal trainer so I don't have to undergo VSG? Technically you're not getting fat removed but shrinking your stomach to make it so you can't eat a lot but you're still following an extremely restricted diet, why not just do the same diet without the surgery? Is Portion Control too hard? Can anyone tell me why they got the surgery rather than just eating what they would have with the VSG but not actually getting it surgically done? I keep going back and forth because part of me like I previously said definitely can benefit from a difficult, but doable lifestyle change but another part of me thinks why can't I just do this on my own? What's stopping me from eating now what I would if I were post-op? I'm glad I still have time to decide but I'm just so confused right now.

Now the second part I just want to say (STOP READING IF YOU GET TRIGGERED EASILY) there is your disclaimer. I want to better myself, make changes and eat healthy. I just don't want a lot of scars, loose skin scars (if I need body contouring) and I want to be able to have that once in a blue moon treat myself if it's a girls night out or birthday or vacation, etc. I don't want to fall into a depression because of fomo (fear of missing out), I'm not sure if I'm ready to give up sparkling water, sugar (in strict moderation, but I hate sugar free since it's just "sugar" but chemically made so it's not real sugar) and especially the whole drinking and eating rule.

If you have any feedback or thoughts that would be much appreciated, thank you everyone and I'm happy to be back (:

xo,

CashmereAndBones

Hey guys!

Sorry I haven't replied to anyone, I don't get email notifications I turned them all off and I've actually been away doing some traveling and taking time away from the internet. I didn't realize I'd get so many replies so quickly! I apologize if I have offended anyone for not responding. After reading all of the replies I want to thank each and every one of you for your time and feedback for my post! You've all given me some insight as to what I need to rethink and change in my life in order to succeed.

Best,

CashmereAndBones

Hello everyone,

So I haven't had my surgery yet. Still seeing the nutritionist and getting all the pre-op work finished. Haven't set a date yet but they said 6 months after my consultation so around end of October early November. That being said I'm going to Los Angeles with my mom on May 1 and I'm scared I won't be able to enjoy everything I have planned so I'm hoping to get some incite from others who are 5/6 months post-op and/or have tried the questions I'm going to ask below.

Questions: Please be respectful and honest if responding (: I'm very new to this and these are just some wondering questions I had floating around

1. So yes, we all get the point of the surgery is to lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle BUT that doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves sometimes. My favorite food chain is in LA, In-N-Out Burger. Will I be able to eat a cheeseburger and small fry with like a milkshake? Clearly I won't be opting for this on the daily but we all still need to indulge in our favorites once in a while and I'm not sure how much of it I'll be able to eat I'm assuming maybe like 1/3 or maybe 1/2 of the entire meal. But does anyone have experience with eating cheeseburgers, fries and a milkshake on like a vacation or for just a little "cheat meal"? (Again, I get the point is to NOT eat these types of food but sometimes you have urges especially on vacations).

2. I absolutely LOVE sparkling Water like La Croix and San Pellegrino, does anyone drink sparkling water on occasion?

3. Cocktails and Wine, I'm not sure about you but being 24 I like to have myself an occasional couple of social beverages, how was your experience with alcohol both mixed drinks (hard liquor) and wine? (Don't worry about beer I don't like it).

4. Not to generalize but I think a lot of people have a sweet tooth, I love the occasional scone, croissant, cookie, French macaron, etc. how has your experience with these types of baked pastries been?

5. coffee. I'm ADDICTED to coffee and espresso beverages; lattes, macchiatos, cappuccinos, matcha lattes. How have these affected you and do you sweeten them at all or keep it plain? Can you sweeten them with like flavored syrups like a pump of lavender simple Syrup or matcha powder?

6. Now I know the clear answer and feedback I'm going to get on this question but for those who aren't going to just simply says "QUIT!!!" then I'd appreciate an answer, don't answer this is you're going to lecture me on how bad this is in general regardless of VSG, I know it's bad, I'm not stupid but it's an addictive habit I'm trying to quit. Smoking. How have cigarettes or e-cigs like Juul's affected you? Does it bother your stomach or can you smoke without issue? If so how many cigarettes or Juul pods do you go through a day?

7. This is hopefully not going to be a struggle but when I eat I like to sip on water or unsweetened iced tea, coffee, etc. I know in the beginning you're supposed to drink like 30 minutes BEFORE consuming food. How soon after can you drink something? Also will there be a time when eventually I can have a beverage while eating a snack or meal? Or will I forever not be able to consume liquids and solids at the same time?

Thank you guys so much for the support and I appreciate all of the insightful comments to come! Best of luck on your journey.

xo,

CashmereAndBones