WanderingHeart

@rklingsmithjr I bought iconic Protein Shakes and pirq Protein shakes from their siteS (20% off each when you join their mailing lists). I also got some collagen powder & Miralax from Amazon even though it pains me to support them. I’m cooking some homemade broth now! Picking up fresh veggies and eggs tomorrow, starting pre-op diet on Saturday

I have my surgery 4/6. It is important in my life to make decisions driven by inner knowing. I do not feel fear when I check in with my body and that’s how I know it’s right. Sometimes I get in my head and read a bunch of negative stories, but my body does not feel fear. It feels a sense of calm and resolve. It was essential that my body could validate my decision so I do a lot of practices to check in. I’ve honed these skills over time.
The easiest thing is called muscle testing. It is the act of asking your body a question and seeing how your muscles respond. You can google this, but I’ll briefly describe one technique. Stand with your knees slightly bent (not locked) and close your eyes. Ask yourself a fairly easy yes/no question that you know the answer to, like- “do I love my dog?” Most likely, you’ll lean forward. Most people lean forward for their yes, backward for their no. Some people might lean to the right side for yes, left side for no. Once you’ve tested your yes/no muscle responses, ask yourself questions about the surgery - “is the surgery right for me? Will I become healthier? Is the surgery safe for me?” Etc. Focus on the question, not the answer. Your body will naturally answer.

Another practice is to sit still in a quiet place. I’ll say a statement in my head, and visualize the statement sort of moving down my body. If it easily settles in my waist/hips, then it’s true for me. If it gets stuck at chest/shoulders, then it’s not true for me.

The last thing is a bit wild but very effective. It’s a practice from mama Gena (look her up!) where I literally ask my p***y a question. If I feel a sense of turn on as a response, it’s a yes.

This is not to convince you in any way that because you’re scared, it’s not right. I just wanted to share tools that might help look past the fear, that might give you reassurance.

good luck! 🍀

I have my surgery 4/6. It is important in my life to make decisions driven by inner knowing. I do not feel fear when I check in with my body and that’s how I know it’s right. Sometimes I get in my head and read a bunch of negative stories, but my body does not feel fear. It feels a sense of calm and resolve. It was essential that my body could validate my decision so I do a lot of practices to check in. I’ve honed these skills over time.
The easiest thing is called muscle testing. It is the act of asking your body a question and seeing how your muscles respond. You can google this, but I’ll briefly describe one technique. Stand with your knees slightly bent (not locked) and close your eyes. Ask yourself a fairly easy yes/no question that you know the answer to, like- “do I love my dog?” Most likely, you’ll lean forward. Most people lean forward for their yes, backward for their no. Some people might lean to the right side for yes, left side for no. Once you’ve tested your yes/no muscle responses, ask yourself questions about the surgery - “is the surgery right for me? Will I become healthier? Is the surgery safe for me?” Etc. Focus on the question, not the answer. Your body will naturally answer.

Another practice is to sit still in a quiet place. I’ll say a statement in my head, and visualize the statement sort of moving down my body. If it easily settles in my waist/hips, then it’s true for me. If it gets stuck at chest/shoulders, then it’s not true for me.

The last thing is a bit wild but very effective. It’s a practice from mama Gena (look her up!) where I literally ask my p***y a question. If I feel a sense of turn on as a response, it’s a yes.

This is not to convince you in any way that because you’re scared, it’s not right. I just wanted to share tools that might help look past the fear, that might give you reassurance.

good luck! 🍀

I am 8 months out and up until the last month or so, I usually needed Protein Powder to reach my goal of 60 grams of Protein per day. It varies from one person to the next (and your surgeon may recommend a different protein goal than mine), but it could be a while before you can eat enough to get all of your protein from food. That doesn't necessarily mean you need to drink Protein Shakes every day (I know we all get sick of those); you can mix protein powder into other foods or beverages (a lot of people like to use caramel Protein Shake as a coffee creamer).
My go-to Breakfast for a long time was half a scoop of protein powder mixed with half a container of triple zero Greek yogurt, for a total of 19 grams of protein (my favorite combo is birthday cake protein powder plus vanilla yogurt, topped with raspberries). Another good one is protein oatmeal. The BariatricPal Store sells some with 15 grams of protein per serving, and you can add some more protein powder to that. There are a lot of protein pancake mixes on the market (and you can even buy frozen protein pancakes and waffles). eggs, chicken sausage, and turkey bacon are always good high-protein options for breakfast.
For lunch and dinner, I usually have about 2 ounces of meat and 2 ounces of veggies, like a salad with chicken, or BBQ chicken (with sugar-free BBQ sauce) and air-fried veggies (green Beans, asparagus, carrots, or broccoli), or lettuce wraps (like PF Chang's). Another favorite is Mexican-seasoned chicken with cauliflower rice, salsa, black beans, cheese, and nonfat Greek yogurt. And taco bites, with Quest chili lime protein chips topped with Mexican-seasoned chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and nonfat Greek yogurt.
You can't eat much at this point, so you have to keep it simple and focus on protein. I love my air fryer and Instant Pot and I make a lot of recipes with them, but if you don't have those, you can find similar recipes that use other cooking methods. Here are some great recipes that I've made recently:
Chicken Divan with cauliflower cream sauce (the cauliflower cream sauce is fantastic and can be used as a white sauce in a lot of recipes) Instant Pot Carnitas Instant Pot Mexican Chicken Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken Garlic Parmesan Carrot Fries Buffalo Cauliflower (I make it in the air fryer) Turkey Ragu (excellent with Shelly's Ricotta Bake, roasted spaghetti squash, or shirataki noodles) Instant Pot Egg Bites Instant Pot BBQ chicken White Chicken Chili I have a freezer full of bariatric portioned meals and Pinterest boards full of more recipes that I'm dying to try! If you don't already use Pinterest, you definitely should -- it's a gold mine.

Mine is 4/6. Starting pre-op diet on March 27. Not on fb or insta so looking to connect here!

@Lizp5
same surgery date!

Anyone else have a reverse body image before WLS? I look in the mirror and didn't see the 232lb person. I saw "normal".... It wasn't until I didn't recognize myself in a picture that I really saw what I looked like.... I was shocked and disgusted. Then as the years went by, looking in the mirror, it's become the other where I don't see the thin size 0 person.... The mind is a crazy thing for sure. I hold up jeans in a size 0 and think.... OMG there is no way, but they do. I have a hard time parting with things that are too big. Just yesterday I brought 5 shirts and 2 skirts to the tailor.
I'm obsessed with my boobs now. After years and years of being an H cup, they look so small as a FF-G.... I know that they are still bigger than most, but to me they look tiny...... ugh..
Drinking has become a 1 drink a day thing. I just challenged myself to see how long I could go if I really tried..... 23 days. Had one Sunday night and it knocked my D!ck in the dirt.....
Thank the dear Lord in Heaven I don't really like shopping. I hate going into a shop and picking things out.... I'm terrible at it. I also hate getting undressed and dressed over and over.

I moved to another state where no one knew the size 20 me. No one knew my past, I knew no one and it was so liberating...... This is also how I managed to have revision SX without telling anyone... that in itself has been awesome.
Especially this time around..... (raises a hand and admits) it wasn't hard work at all.

@Lizp5
same surgery date!

Jealousy is one word to describe your friends’ reactions. But they are likely also uneducated.
i was not going to tell anyone pre-op except my parents and only cuz they are going to be helping care for my daughter ( and me) post op. But I ended up telling a friend because we got into the topic of how discouraging weight loss has been for so long- she is probably in the low 200’s vs me who went from 245 to 300 in 5 years. Her initial reaction was as I had feared. Too drastic, not always successful, dangerous, and it’s just “calories in, calories out “...exactly my feelings too just 6 months ago. But explaining the reset you get with wls and biochemical change that happens, she appreciated both that I had done my research and that maybe she didn’t fully understand wls- and I am doing what is best for me even if she still doesn’t agree.
For sure your friends feel they are losing a comrade- I know I have felt that divide when a friend has lost weight and I felt left behind cuz I couldn’t hike, ride bikes, go to the beach like she was doing. And don’t get me started about her dating life.
Maybe having a heart to heart to air out your feelings and the medical basis for why this is not a decision for vanity’s sake, they will reassess their behavior and try to be supportive.
if not, they will probably be too toxic to be with while you are doing probably the best thing for yourself...I find therapists invaluable when I feel I can’t talk to friends.
good luck and hope you find support from them or others. But find that support wherever you can.

I wanna play! I have a long way to go but I’m more than halfway there.
Beginning photo was me at my highest weight of 255 a week before surgery. Second photo is me last week at 187. My goal weight is 130lbs. I’ll be 5 months postop on Saturday.

I haven't posted in a while. Here's my before and after. RNY: 4/11/17, HW: 334, CW: 179. I'm 155lbs lighter and feeling great.

Oh fun! I’m one year out as of 2/25/21-
5’6”
SW: 330
W@S: 235
CW: 155
GW: 145

I’m still trying to lose just a tad and continue to tone up

I'm a guy but hope this helps. This came up as one of those "memories" timeline photos - MAY 2019 vs MAY 2020 on the same day. Surgery is a helpful tool, but you have to put in work as well! (VSG not bypass - but same concept)

Mine is 4/6. Starting pre-op diet on March 27. Not on fb or insta so looking to connect here!

My diet is not plant based but I do eat a variety of foods and happy to eat vegetarian or vegan when I visit my sisters (one vegan, the other vegetarian) or go to their preferred restaurants.
As much as possible I will buy free range and locally/grass fed and the local farmers market is excellent. Fortunately where I live is a food bowl.