Lose to Cruise

Oops. I meant to include my tipping point - COVID! I work at a hospital and experiencing covid here was beyond difficult. Depression was overwhelming and every day I went home and crashed. On weekends, I binged on pizza and lots of junk food. Now that my family and I are vaccinated, I want to live life again. I want to be able to do things and not cry about being in pain constantly. 😊

Wow! I'm so excited to find you all! I've been struggling and yo-yoing for years. Almost every time I meet a new doctor, one of the first things they ask is if I want to consider WLS. I've always said NO. I really thought I could do it on my own, and I have, several times, but always gain it back and more. Now my knees are bone-on-bone and I am in constant pain. My quality of life stinks and I hate not being able to do even the most "normal" things, like clean my apartment, walk up stairs, etc. I now work at a hospital and have good benefits and noticed on our website that they are offering a virtual info session on their weight loss surgery options. So, I signed up! I found this website by searching about alcohol after WLS! lol . I have a goal for 2023, to do a Mediterranean cruise. I went on one in 2016 when I was about 30 pounds lighter. I was able to walk and get around, but I know it would have been so much better if I wasn't so heavy/morbidly obese. I want to go back and see the places we missed (I travel with my daughters) and I know if I don't get this weight off, I won't be able to do it.

Wow! I'm so excited to find you all! I've been struggling and yo-yoing for years. Almost every time I meet a new doctor, one of the first things they ask is if I want to consider WLS. I've always said NO. I really thought I could do it on my own, and I have, several times, but always gain it back and more. Now my knees are bone-on-bone and I am in constant pain. My quality of life stinks and I hate not being able to do even the most "normal" things, like clean my apartment, walk up stairs, etc. I now work at a hospital and have good benefits and noticed on our website that they are offering a virtual info session on their weight loss surgery options. So, I signed up! I found this website by searching about alcohol after WLS! lol . I have a goal for 2023, to do a Mediterranean cruise. I went on one in 2016 when I was about 30 pounds lighter. I was able to walk and get around, but I know it would have been so much better if I wasn't so heavy/morbidly obese. I want to go back and see the places we missed (I travel with my daughters) and I know if I don't get this weight off, I won't be able to do it.

Oops. I meant to include my tipping point - COVID! I work at a hospital and experiencing covid here was beyond difficult. Depression was overwhelming and every day I went home and crashed. On weekends, I binged on pizza and lots of junk food. Now that my family and I are vaccinated, I want to live life again. I want to be able to do things and not cry about being in pain constantly. 😊

Surgery was the best medical decision I ever made! I just wish I had done it 5 years sooner!!
It's embarrassing to admit how much I was obsessed with food prior to surgery. I was at a fast food drive thru at least once a day, if not twice a day. Parties were more about the food than they were about the people. Vacations were planned around what restaurants we would we go to.
Not only do I have a brand new body, but I have a brand new mind! Now that I'm not thinking about food all of the time, I have this mental clarity that allows me to think about things that truly matter. I'm a better mother, better wife, and better friend.
I truly love myself -- both inside and out!!!

My GP believes all it takes is sheer willpower -as in “Just start eating healthy and exercising”. Looks like I’ll need to find a more supportive doctor. As for red meat, the woman giving her testimony at the info meeting said she had a lot of trouble digesting it and it seemed to stay in her stomach for a long time.
I’m so glad to read all the positive comments and honest answers. Thank-you.

Not for a second. And these Quest Peanut Butter Cups are delicious!

I have never regretted my Lapband, even with some of the bad issues that went with it and I don't regret my recent revision to a sleeve. To be unburdened from a fixation with food, surrendering the concept of food as a comfort, and finally loving my body has been an amazing thing for me.

First, there are people that have regretted having surgery. Generally they aren't on sites like this.
Second, all those bad things that you've read about in the past are still out there. Put them in perspective right next to all the negative effects of not doing anything. Choose wisely.
Third, saying goodbye to your favorite foods forever largely depends on your surgery type. Even then, none of the foods you mention are goodbye forever foods in reality.
In the last month I've eaten McD's. Red meat is in my normal rotation, you can pry my hamburger out of my greasy, dead hands. I've had Peanut Butter cups, though not much and not often as I've had RNY and I dump on sugar. In point of fact there is no food or drink that I cannot eat if I choose. I generally stick to my plan, so the worse the food/drink is health-wise the less often I eat/drink a little of it. All things in moderation, including moderation.
Your Doctors work for you. If your Doc is not doing what you need, then you need a new Doc.
You can succeed at this with the proper mind set. It is a big change for most of us. For the better, generally.
Good luck,
Tek

Oops. I meant to include my tipping point - COVID! I work at a hospital and experiencing covid here was beyond difficult. Depression was overwhelming and every day I went home and crashed. On weekends, I binged on pizza and lots of junk food. Now that my family and I are vaccinated, I want to live life again. I want to be able to do things and not cry about being in pain constantly. 😊

Wow! I'm so excited to find you all! I've been struggling and yo-yoing for years. Almost every time I meet a new doctor, one of the first things they ask is if I want to consider WLS. I've always said NO. I really thought I could do it on my own, and I have, several times, but always gain it back and more. Now my knees are bone-on-bone and I am in constant pain. My quality of life stinks and I hate not being able to do even the most "normal" things, like clean my apartment, walk up stairs, etc. I now work at a hospital and have good benefits and noticed on our website that they are offering a virtual info session on their weight loss surgery options. So, I signed up! I found this website by searching about alcohol after WLS! lol . I have a goal for 2023, to do a Mediterranean cruise. I went on one in 2016 when I was about 30 pounds lighter. I was able to walk and get around, but I know it would have been so much better if I wasn't so heavy/morbidly obese. I want to go back and see the places we missed (I travel with my daughters) and I know if I don't get this weight off, I won't be able to do it.

I do not regret having the surgery at all. I'm 10 months post op and o feel better than I've felt in years. I was 100lbs overweight and I've lost 85 of that so far. Doing without cokes didn't affect me any but I do eat red meat.

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I am 6 weeks post op and have no regrets. I’m actually relieved that I was forced to change my relationship with food because now I can look at things and think “I’m not even hungry” or “that doesn’t even sound good” and I move on.

Wow! I'm so excited to find you all! I've been struggling and yo-yoing for years. Almost every time I meet a new doctor, one of the first things they ask is if I want to consider WLS. I've always said NO. I really thought I could do it on my own, and I have, several times, but always gain it back and more. Now my knees are bone-on-bone and I am in constant pain. My quality of life stinks and I hate not being able to do even the most "normal" things, like clean my apartment, walk up stairs, etc. I now work at a hospital and have good benefits and noticed on our website that they are offering a virtual info session on their weight loss surgery options. So, I signed up! I found this website by searching about alcohol after WLS! lol . I have a goal for 2023, to do a Mediterranean cruise. I went on one in 2016 when I was about 30 pounds lighter. I was able to walk and get around, but I know it would have been so much better if I wasn't so heavy/morbidly obese. I want to go back and see the places we missed (I travel with my daughters) and I know if I don't get this weight off, I won't be able to do it.

There is something very powerful about talking about your fears. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

I had two major concerns:
1. Complications from the surgery, including dying on the table. I was so freaked out that I burst into tears as I was being wheeled into surgery. As it turns out, I did have a complication: my pouch leaked and I had to stay in the hospital a couple of extra days. However, it was easily fixed and did not affect my later success at all.
2. Never being able to eat "normally" again. I was afraid that I would never again be able to enjoy food or eat the things I loved. 18 months out, that's not an issue at all. I'm certainly not eating like I used to, but I eat a variety of foods and don't feel at all deprived. In retrospect, I'm eating normally now--and I wasn't before.

Wow! I'm so excited to find you all! I've been struggling and yo-yoing for years. Almost every time I meet a new doctor, one of the first things they ask is if I want to consider WLS. I've always said NO. I really thought I could do it on my own, and I have, several times, but always gain it back and more. Now my knees are bone-on-bone and I am in constant pain. My quality of life stinks and I hate not being able to do even the most "normal" things, like clean my apartment, walk up stairs, etc. I now work at a hospital and have good benefits and noticed on our website that they are offering a virtual info session on their weight loss surgery options. So, I signed up! I found this website by searching about alcohol after WLS! lol . I have a goal for 2023, to do a Mediterranean cruise. I went on one in 2016 when I was about 30 pounds lighter. I was able to walk and get around, but I know it would have been so much better if I wasn't so heavy/morbidly obese. I want to go back and see the places we missed (I travel with my daughters) and I know if I don't get this weight off, I won't be able to do it.

I had two major fears:
1. I would have some sort of serious complication. For some reason, people delight in telling you horror stories once they know you are having bariatric surgery and all that gave me anxiety.
2. I was afraid it wouldn't work. I don't know why, I just wasn't confident that the surgery would be effective for me.
As it turned out, both fears were unnecessary. I had no major issues with surgery and I'm happy with my results so far. 🙂 And now I get to be a counter-example for all those horror stories, LOL.

That's a great NSV! You look amazing!!
I could barely buckle my driver's seatbelt before and my surgery and my stomach touched the steering wheel. Driving is so much better now.

Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using BariatricPal mobile app

I know just what you mean. I’m 60 and the older I get the more pills I get. All because of weight. I short my frame can’t take this weight. The weight has to come off and the pills gotta go. Period.

I had multiple food allergies as an infant and toddler and became a chubby kid with a mom that restricted my eating. At age 7 my mother committed suicide and I began stealing candy from the local drug store. I hated vegetables, loved carbs, cheese and fried foods. I was alternatively rewarded and cajoled for my eating.
I managed my weight in early adulthood by doing 500 calorie a day diets and staying active. I gained 80lbs with each of my pregnancies, and stopped nursing my second child early so I could do a calorie restrictive diet. I got down to almost normal weight, then started gaining, weighing 280 lbs in my mid thirties. I divorced my husband, lost some weight, started working out. Decided I'd just get comfortable being 50-60lbs overweight and was for fifteen years. By the time I hit my 50's I was steadily gaining, then losing (no carb diets, doctor supervised diets, calorie restricted diets, personal growth programs - because certainly there was something wrong about me that I could fix!) I was depressed, borderline diabetic and took meds for blood pressure, thyroid disease, fibromyalgia, PPI for reflux and used a CPAP.
I gained an additional 40lbs during the pandemic because I literally decided I would eat anything I wanted - and I did. Shortly after the first of this year, I realized I was constantly thinking about dying. The only future I saw was of my continual decline. I could see no way to interrupt the path of my life. Then, I saw a post of an acquaintance on Facebook who had VSG four years ago. She looked fabulous and seemed so happy. I contacted her and we met for lunch. I began to consider surgery and started doing my homework on it. When my insurance turned me down, I again reached out to my friend who had gone to Mexico to have hers. She offered to accompany me if I decided to do it. I discussed it with my kids. I met with my doctors and told them what I was thinking. They all supported the surgery, although one was concerned about me traveling for it. I researched the surgeon, found Bariatricpal.com and read some of your stories. I journaled and wrote about my big why, and I began to have hope for my future. I started to imagine my life without the shame and fear around eating and food. I called everyone I knew who'd had bariatric surgery and asked them about their experiences. Finally, I called my Facebook friend back and told her I was committed. I paid my deposit, scheduled the surgery and I haven't looked back once.

My tipping point was concerns about blood sugar, and being pre-diabetes. Some photos of me looking bigger than ever, I didn't even recognise myself and was in disbelief for ages, sealed the deal.

Wow! I'm so excited to find you all! I've been struggling and yo-yoing for years. Almost every time I meet a new doctor, one of the first things they ask is if I want to consider WLS. I've always said NO. I really thought I could do it on my own, and I have, several times, but always gain it back and more. Now my knees are bone-on-bone and I am in constant pain. My quality of life stinks and I hate not being able to do even the most "normal" things, like clean my apartment, walk up stairs, etc. I now work at a hospital and have good benefits and noticed on our website that they are offering a virtual info session on their weight loss surgery options. So, I signed up! I found this website by searching about alcohol after WLS! lol . I have a goal for 2023, to do a Mediterranean cruise. I went on one in 2016 when I was about 30 pounds lighter. I was able to walk and get around, but I know it would have been so much better if I wasn't so heavy/morbidly obese. I want to go back and see the places we missed (I travel with my daughters) and I know if I don't get this weight off, I won't be able to do it.

Wow! I'm so excited to find you all! I've been struggling and yo-yoing for years. Almost every time I meet a new doctor, one of the first things they ask is if I want to consider WLS. I've always said NO. I really thought I could do it on my own, and I have, several times, but always gain it back and more. Now my knees are bone-on-bone and I am in constant pain. My quality of life stinks and I hate not being able to do even the most "normal" things, like clean my apartment, walk up stairs, etc. I now work at a hospital and have good benefits and noticed on our website that they are offering a virtual info session on their weight loss surgery options. So, I signed up! I found this website by searching about alcohol after WLS! lol . I have a goal for 2023, to do a Mediterranean cruise. I went on one in 2016 when I was about 30 pounds lighter. I was able to walk and get around, but I know it would have been so much better if I wasn't so heavy/morbidly obese. I want to go back and see the places we missed (I travel with my daughters) and I know if I don't get this weight off, I won't be able to do it.