Jnfinney

I’m not a mental health specialist, but I don’t think it would hurt to seek out mental health services. I’m so sorry you experienced such things, but now is the time to take control of your life and take care of yourself. Remember your WHY for doing this. I hope things get better.

Is it at all possible to get rid of these foods from your house? Or at least not have them in sight and not eaten in front of you? Maybe if you can’t see or smell them, you won’t crave them. But I did comment on another post of yours and I’m wondering if this is more than a psychological issue.

Oh wow. I never thought about that. Thank you for sharing.

I have not had my gastric sleeve yet, but I have had my gallbladder removed. It is very important that every body is different and results will vary. As far as pain, I felt discomfort after my gallbladder removal, but never pain. My surgeon prescribed me oxycodone, but I only needed ibuprofen to deal with the discomfort. I would say I felt pretty much 100% better 4-5 days after surgery. I also did not lose weight after having my gallbladder out. If anything, I was more inclined to eat whatever I wanted because it no longer caused any attacks. Lastly, I have absolutely no sensitivities to any foods. Many people I know have issues with specific foods (lettuce being one of them) but I guess I’m one of the lucky ones and still tolerate all foods as usual.

It sounds like this might be more than about the food itself. Have you considered seeing a psychiatrist or therapist? I’ve heard so many times that this process is more mental than anything.

I am in the same situation. Only immediate family, my significant other, and a couple close friends know I’m having surgery. I was extremely disheartened when I tried to tell my best friend about it and she responded negatively. She told me that she wasn’t going to let me mutilate my body over a surgery that wasn’t necessary. I was shocked by her response as she is overweight as well. Luckily she lives 2 hours away from me, but I’m still bummed that I can’t share my excitement with her.

I went about this in a much different way. My doctors office and the hospital are all one big organization. I had talked to my doctor about my weight before, but he never seemed too concerned because I’m “not that big.” (Well I’m big enough to be uncomfortable doing day to day activities.) Anyway, I was looking into the weight loss program the hospital I go through offers. I noticed they had a questionnaire that could be printed, filled out, and sent back. The questionnaire was used to determine if you qualified to be part of the program. I though, well what do I have to lose? So, I filled it out and sent it in. Now 8 months later I’ve been approved for surgery and have a date set. I’m not sure if other places have a system like this, but I’m really glad I began looking out of curiosity.

This is really insightful, thank you for sharing! I am 2 weeks away from my pre-op liquid diet and am graduating myself to that point, so I also started replacing breakfast with a shake and this coming week I’ll be replacing breakfast and lunch. I like the idea of hitting your protein goal before you eat anything!

I love your fitness pictures! What is your routine for getting toned? That is my biggest goal after surgery.

I am from Iowa and my BCBS approval took about 2 weeks.

I am scheduled for March 15th. My sister works for a COVID clinic near where I live and they are expecting another spike in cases around here. I hope they are wrong and my surgery can go as planned! I just found out I’m only allowed to have 1 visitor the whole time I’m in the hospital, and it has to be the same person the whole time, so I feel bad that some people can’t be there to support me who wanted to be there. I will be on a liquid diet 2 weeks prior to surgery. I can have popsicles, jello, fruit and vegetable juice, milk, protein drinks, broth, etc.

If you don't mind me asking, what was your starting weight and how much did you lose on the pre-op? Also - general question, did anyone continue a regular workout routine during the pre-op diet?

Awesome, thank you!

It looks like you and I have similar stats (height, weight, and age). So thank you for sharing. I am still pre-op but your information makes me hopeful

I am afraid of getting tired of the basic protein powder flavors as well as the ready to drink shakes, so I'm looking for some unique flavors. Normally I will blend fruit in and make a smoothie, but I'm not allowed to do that pre-op or post-op. I like to keep vanilla, chocolate, and cake batter flavors on hand because they go well with a lot of different things. However, I'm afraid that not being able to make smoothies will make me get bored and struggle with staying on the diet, mainly pre-op. Some of the powders that I currently like are Dymatize ISO 100, Quest, Yoli, and Optimum Nutrition. I've tried the Dymatize in the fruity pebbles flavor and it tastes just like drinking the milk from a bowl of fruity pebbles. I also ordered a sample pack from IdealFit with the mint chocolate, chocolate coconut, and caramel mocha flavors. I hope they are good! What are some brands and flavors that you have really enjoyed?

Yes, I have also used Genepro and vital proteins collagen peptides. Both mix into liquids with no problems and don’t change the flavor or consistency.

@JMJames92 I am a big texture person when it comes to food, so I know I’ll struggle with purées. However, I’ve seen lots of recipes for a ricotta bake, which I imagine would give a similar flavor, so that is one recipe I plan to try out.

I was craving pizza and had some necessary ingredients in the kitchen. This is by no means “healthy” but it did satisfy the craving with much fewer calories. 1 low carb tortilla, 3 tbsp pizza sauce, a handful of shredded mozzarella (I like the tumaros tortillas)

I currently work out 5-6 days a week and I do cardio as well as strength training. I will do a 30-45 minute jog and 30-45 minutes of strength training with weights. One of my biggest goals for myself when I started this journey was to get a more “fit” look and be able to see my toned muscles. I do not want to be a bodybuilder or completely ripped by any means, just toned. Has anyone else out there achieved this? If so, how did you do it? What exercises did you find toned your muscles the most? How long did it take? sorry for all the questions!

I am lucky enough that my insurance will do the surgery on me as long as my highest recorded weight puts me at a BMI over 40 and I am still overweight. However, I agree with catwoman7 and JMJames92 about how these should be gradual lifestyle changes. I get up at 4 am everyday to work out and people often look at me like I’m crazy or ask me why - my answer is always simple, though. Establishing a routine has kept me accountable for exercise. When I know it is part of what I do everyday, there isn’t any thinking about it, I just do it and it sets the routine for my whole day. If I think about skipping my workout for some extra sleep, I remind myself how my day will be off all day from missing my workout! It has also given me a sliver of normalcy amidst this pandemic!

I saw on the paperwork I received for the vitamins that I will be taking post op, I will be taking calcium citrate 3 or 4 times a day. I am also on levothyroxine which I take on an empty stomach 2 hours before I eat or drink anything other than water in the morning. I thought I had heard one time that calcium interferes with the way levothyroxine is absorbed. Can anyone share their thoughts and experiences on this? How the heck am I going to take my levothyroxine without the calcium interfering? I do plan on asking my surgeon about this, but I don’t see him for another 4 weeks ?

I asked my dietician about this. She said the sleeve does tend to help patients who have a diagnosis of hypothyroidism.

I ended up being really thankful for my psych eval. She went through my medical and personal history. Some of it was painful to bring up, but it is also necessary to understand how some of my habits came to be. Additionally, I had previously only seen my PCP for my anxiety and depression, but I felt like the psychiatrist was better able to understand my underlying mental health conditions and I have been seeing her ever since! I had some of the same thoughts/questions/worries, but I quickly came to realize that the psychiatrist genuinely wants people to be successful, so I hope you will also have a positive experience.

Good luck!!!! I think it will be easier for me to switch to complete liquids if I’ve been having liquids for breakfast and lunch for a while first.

My surgeon had never talked about a goal weight, either. When I asked him about goals, he discussed making lifestyle changes and habits that stay with you for life as a goal. Additionally, my dietician also told me “you are more than just a number” on several occasions and commended me on my adjustments toward a healthier lifestyle, regardless of what the scale said. The dietician did eventually give me a goal weight that fell within the healthy BMI range.