Maribelle76

I have a weird trick that works for me. Everyone was eating cake earlier this week for the office birthdays and I was tempted to eat a piece. Then I reminded myself that I have already eaten that piece of cake. That piece of cake is in the fat in my belly. I thoroughly enjoyed it when I ate it a year ago or two years ago or whenever it was. I already had my serving of cake and I opted to take it earlier lol. Like I said it's weird, but it works for me.

2 eggs=4 ounces

I got my surgery date last week. It is September 27th! Barring Delta shutdown of the hospital
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I have read that in the immediate post-op period, regret is really common, but it gets better. Definitely talk to your surgery team and a therapist if possible. My surgery center warned us that we may feel sadness at giving up food as a coping mechanism. Maybe that is part of what is going on for you?
I am sorry you're struggling. I hope it gets better soon!!

I think many of us feel a sense of sadness and loss after surgery. To me, it keeps reminding me of getting out of a bad romantic relationship. There's a period of time after the breakup when I get lonely and a little frantic and I consider going back even if I know the relationship is completely toxic. But when people keep going back into a toxic relationship, they just keep getting sicker and sadder.
I don't want that anymore for me with my relationship with food. When you break up and get out of a bad relationship, you have to mourn the loss of that relationship, even if it sucked. It filled a hole in your life. But just like when you break up with somebody, you have to find new things to validate you or to bring you joy.
You are grieving habits that weren't good for you, but soon you'll start to find new things to help you feel better. Hopefully they will be good healthy things for your life. For me it has been exercising, spending time with friends, and probably spending a little bit too much money on new clothes lol.
I'm not really sure if this is exactly the way you're feeling, but I just thought I would tell you what's been going through my mind the past month in case it is the same. I sure hope you get through the mourning process soon, and you can have peace with your choice.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this post. I too took the lifting route. i do it through crossfit. But it has done wonders for my body!! it has so many benefits when done correctly and will only help us as we get older. Congrats to you on your success!!

Heavy Weightlifting completely changes your body!!! I’m 8 years post-op and I incorporate 5-6 days of weightlifting into my routine. I ONLY do about 10 minutes of cardio (10 minute run) each workout day, which in actuality is my warmup before I stretch and lift. I also incorporate hypertrophy (higher rep, lower weight) training into my workouts to help with muscle growth, but the most empowering part is getting strong and hitting new PR’s (personal records).

When I first started lifting, I could not lift too much weight. The lower weight WAS my heavy weight. I would find a weight that I could rep 8-10 times before failure. My squats literally started with the bar (a standard Olympic bar weighs 45 lbs). Now, after 6.5 years of consistent training, I can squat 245 lbs, deadlift 320 lbs, bench 185 lbs, curl the 40 lbs dumbbells. I really wanted to fill up my arms & legs with muscle to lessen that loose skin (which I still have, but not so noticeable), so I worked hard. I researched, read, incorporated. I was—and still am—constantly learning, correcting, and incorporating. I learned how to diet for optimal muscle growth, which optimally includes 1 gram of Protein per body weight and complex carbs, and good healthy fats. At first I didn’t know what complex carbs were, so I looked it up😂, picked out foods I liked, and incorporated them into my diet. I’m not going to lie, complex carbs are the hardest to consume because of their density (and my sleeve still works when I’m eating the right foods—freak’n sliders!), but I make it work by eating small frequent meals throughout the day (I eat about 6-8 different times, including shakes). I also discovered a supplement drink in powder form called Karbolyn (by EFX Sports) that would help me hit my complex carb macro goal.

Anyway, long story short, when I first lost all my weight, I got down to 140 lbs, and a size 4-6. Now, I weigh between 155-160, and still wear a 6 (the 4’s are too small for my arms because they’ve grown with muscle mass 💪🏼😆💪🏼). I’ve literally shred the fat and have added muscle mass. And since 1 lbs of fat takes up way more space than 1 lbs of muscle, I’ve been able to pack on more muscle in the same amount of space. Weightlifting is where it’s at. Man or woman. I’m just trying to inspire women because women tend to fear lifting heavy and fear that they will look manly. I assure you, I do not look like a man. 😂🤣

48 more days , this seems like it is taking forever. I just want this to be done , so i can get on the right path
not scared , just very anxious. I am very motivated , and cant wait till one year from now. i can see this board could really be a big help , thanks everyone

I think many of us feel a sense of sadness and loss after surgery. To me, it keeps reminding me of getting out of a bad romantic relationship. There's a period of time after the breakup when I get lonely and a little frantic and I consider going back even if I know the relationship is completely toxic. But when people keep going back into a toxic relationship, they just keep getting sicker and sadder.
I don't want that anymore for me with my relationship with food. When you break up and get out of a bad relationship, you have to mourn the loss of that relationship, even if it sucked. It filled a hole in your life. But just like when you break up with somebody, you have to find new things to validate you or to bring you joy.
You are grieving habits that weren't good for you, but soon you'll start to find new things to help you feel better. Hopefully they will be good healthy things for your life. For me it has been exercising, spending time with friends, and probably spending a little bit too much money on new clothes lol.
I'm not really sure if this is exactly the way you're feeling, but I just thought I would tell you what's been going through my mind the past month in case it is the same. I sure hope you get through the mourning process soon, and you can have peace with your choice.

I used to be the most restless sleeper ever. I would wake up and change positions multiple times in my bed. I would get up to go pee. I would have a hard time falling asleep. I've experienced all of these things as far back as I can remember probably from age 7 or 8.
Ever since I've had surgery, I have been sleeping so soundly for 7 and sometimes 8 hours in a row. Previously I was a light sleeper and any small sound would wake me up. The other night a mouse trap went off in the kitchen just across from my bedroom and I didn't even hear it. My Garmin says I'm getting 3 hours plus of deep sleep some nights! I have no idea why this is different. I don't think I had sleep apnea before, so I think it might have to do with the reduced amount of sugar that I eat. Or maybe it's something else. All I know is it's really nice to be a normal sleeper now after so many years of having seriously disordered sleep. I hope it helps you as well!

I am about 3 weeks out from the surgery, and I don't have any regrets so far. It is an emotionally trying time, because I'm having to learn how to control myself in ways I've never controlled myself. I'm not a disciplined person, so it can be a struggle. But I know that this is something that I have to learn how to do or I will not be able to keep up with my children.
I haven't had any complications thankfully. I was feeling good by day four and pretty much able to do most of my daily life by seven days out with the exception of lifting. I was also worried about chugging Water, but I can get a whole cup of water down pretty quickly now. The only time I have problems is if I let my acid reflux flare up (sometimes I forget my omeprazole because the surgery had helped decrease my GERD so far). If I start to have a problem getting down water, I make sure to get some antacids and that fixes it up the next day.
My thought is that if you've come this far in the process, it is most likely the best thing for you and something that you really want in your heart. Otherwise you never would have put in the effort and time to get this far. A life lived in fear is a life half-lived...
When I got a little nervous before surgery, I started looking back through all of the monthly threads. I think I looked at the March, April, May, and June threads. It was a relief to see that all of the surgeries were safe, and the complications were fairly limited and of short duration. Maybe if you go through those threads, too, that will help give you a good feel for the risks vs. the benefits.

We're almost the exact same numbers-wise. I started at 260, was 244 at surgery on July 13, and I'm 223 now. I've been eating 1000 calories a day for about the past week, and I'm fairly active.

We're almost the exact same numbers-wise. I started at 260, was 244 at surgery on July 13, and I'm 223 now. I've been eating 1000 calories a day for about the past week, and I'm fairly active.

Not sure if it would work depending upon where the thinning is happening, but they have so many neat new hair pieces out there. Is it long enough that you could pull it up into a ponytail and put one of the fake hair wraps around it? If so I would be glad to PM you a hair wrap that I get on Amazon made out of real human hair. It's only like 25 bucks and it looks so cute.

I am a sugar addict. I had the same concern as you do, and I told my doctor I would prefer the gastric bypass because I would have dumping syndrome keeping me accountable. He said he thought that the hormonal changes that occur with the sleeve would be enough for me, and I decided to trust him. I am only 7 weeks out but so far I don't have those same sort of cravings for sweets like I did before. They still sound good but I don't have this obsessive drive to go out at 10:00 at night while my children are sleeping to buy a candy bar (I never did it but I was tempted to).
I think if bypass is available, you may want to do that as it will give you an extra level of protection against the sugar cravings, but I can say that the sleeve definitely helps.

That's awesome that you could get it done so soon if you want to! I am usually an upbeat person, but over the past few years I was feeling depressed about my weight, too. Having the surgery helped SOO much. I finally felt like I was doing something productive about it. I hope it helps you, too.

I am a sugar addict. I had the same concern as you do, and I told my doctor I would prefer the gastric bypass because I would have dumping syndrome keeping me accountable. He said he thought that the hormonal changes that occur with the sleeve would be enough for me, and I decided to trust him. I am only 7 weeks out but so far I don't have those same sort of cravings for sweets like I did before. They still sound good but I don't have this obsessive drive to go out at 10:00 at night while my children are sleeping to buy a candy bar (I never did it but I was tempted to).
I think if bypass is available, you may want to do that as it will give you an extra level of protection against the sugar cravings, but I can say that the sleeve definitely helps.

I have a weird trick that works for me. Everyone was eating cake earlier this week for the office birthdays and I was tempted to eat a piece. Then I reminded myself that I have already eaten that piece of cake. That piece of cake is in the fat in my belly. I thoroughly enjoyed it when I ate it a year ago or two years ago or whenever it was. I already had my serving of cake and I opted to take it earlier lol. Like I said it's weird, but it works for me.

I have a weird trick that works for me. Everyone was eating cake earlier this week for the office birthdays and I was tempted to eat a piece. Then I reminded myself that I have already eaten that piece of cake. That piece of cake is in the fat in my belly. I thoroughly enjoyed it when I ate it a year ago or two years ago or whenever it was. I already had my serving of cake and I opted to take it earlier lol. Like I said it's weird, but it works for me.

Thank you guys for the wonderful support and suggestions! I'm going to try all of them. I did survive last night. I ended up eating some cheese and olives. I was feeling guilty about the extra calories, but then I thought about how much worse it could have been (and usually was) in the past. That made me proud. And I lost a pound today. Yay!

I am obsessively monitoring the case rates in my county, which have gone down a little bit, but school started. My VSG is scheduled for 9/14 and I am desperately hoping they don't shut things down. My spies in the ER say things are busy but not panic-inducing. All I can do is light a candle and pray to whoever the patron saint of fat people is.

Thank you guys for the wonderful support and suggestions! I'm going to try all of them. I did survive last night. I ended up eating some cheese and olives. I was feeling guilty about the extra calories, but then I thought about how much worse it could have been (and usually was) in the past. That made me proud. And I lost a pound today. Yay!

Beautiful before and after, but you look so fit and healthy now! Great job.

This is the first period of stress that I faced since I had my sleeve surgery. I'm an English teacher and It is time to grade research papers. Normally in the past, I would turn to sugar and lots of snack to help me get through the many hours of long grading in the next few weeks.
When I had the band, even though I couldn't eat a lot, I could still eat sugar and the other foods that make me feel better and help me focus more.
Now I am struggling to get through this without turning to those old habits. After 6 weeks I have healed up great, and I have very little restriction and no food intolerances so far. Unfortunately in this case, it is making it easy for me to eat foods I shouldn't be eating.
I am just looking for moral support and people to cheer me on to help me get through this hard time. If you are a good cheerleader, I could use your help right now lol!

So a chipotle just opened up near me and I used to love their food (whatever… it’s a personal preference like favorite color) and thought “why not.” Eating off of it two meals a day I got to day four and still had some left. By that point the guac was looking a little scary so I chucked it. Just found it amazing that there was a time not too long ago where I could down that tortilla swaddled baby in one sitting and still have room for chips and a drink. It was less than 200 calories (when divided by 8) but it was really dense so I couldn’t eat much at each “meal.” Makes it pretty reasonable from a price/meal standpoint too. Like I said… the only point I have here is it’s shocking how much food I used to be able to eat… stay on your plan. My plan is “figure it out as I go along.”