SleeverSk

In the early pre op and post op stages you will feel like their are many things you wont be able to eat or drink again. Let me tell you I was one of those people I honestly believe my life would never be the same again but I can happily tell you I am 12 months post op and there isn't anything I can't eat or drink.

It's worth keeping in mind that the pre-op diet isn't a sustainable diet - it's a medically approved short term starvation diet designed to shrink the liver for a safer surgery. A lot of nervous folks after losing some decent weight in the pre-op phase then question whether they need the surgery. Do you think you can sustain the lifestyle change without the surgery tool to continue losing? This is something only you can honestly answer.
Why is your relative vehemently against it? What are the reasons? I'm yet to hear of a partner or relative with reservations who isn't simply misinformed or flat-out wrong and/or driven by other emotional reasons. The surgery these days is very safe. This isn't to sway you either way, only you can make that call, but have all the facts and honest truths before you before you make the choice.

I had someone I hadn't seen for 17 years comment, you still look hot in jeans. I thought to myself you wouldn't have said that a year ago, in fact a year ago I would have been to ashamed to have met up with him

It has been soooo long since I posted here, probably not since I was a few months post op back in 2016.
I am now 6 years post-op (July 26) and have found myself really really struggling. I have gained 15 lbs. I know that may not seem like a lot to some people but I feel like I have made it so far and damn, why is this starting. I mean I know why. I'm eating poorly, I am relying on my sleeve to trigger my full feelings but I am def eating whatever I want, dumping, and doing it again. I am going through a rough time emotionally and I have restarted therapy but man I am finding it hard to not to eat my feelings. And what I eat is what I call punishment or self hate food: anything fried, fettuccine Alfredo, pizza...etc. I'm just so in it right now and the weight gain is compounding it. I stopped working out because of the pandemic, my studio shut down...sorry feeling so sorry for myself but I am scared I will end up looking like I did 6 years ago and hating myself even more.

Agreed,my surgeon also said temporary higher cholesterol levels can be normal mine is 7.2 I am not taking statins yet going to give it a bit longer. Having said that I have the genetic type of high cholesterol so I am going to get the scan they do to check for Calcium build up in your heart and arteries to see if I do need medication

Today is my 2-year surgiversary. I've lost 200 pounds from my highest weight -- a staggering amount when you think about it. I'm literally (less than) half the person I used to be. I should be on top of the world, right?! I don't want to dismiss the many scale and non-scale victories I've had, but it's not all rainbows and butterflies.
When I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror, I'm taken aback by two things: how small I am, and how freaking ugly. I was certainly never beautiful -- not even "pretty for a fat chick" or "would be cute if I lost some weight" -- but now, I look downright scary. I probably look 10 years older than when I was fat. My hair was already fine and flat before surgery, and now I've lost a lot of it and it hasn't grown back and it's a mess no matter what I do. Ironically, people often tell me I look great, which is obviously code for "not fat anymore." Sometimes, before saying I look great, they ask me if I'm sick or if I lost weight on purpose. I don't know what the point of that is; if I said I lost weight because I'm sick, would they instead say, "You look like $h!t"?
When I imagined my life after surgery, I thought I would be the same person, but smaller. The same person, but able to wear non-plus sized clothes, fit into an airplane seat without a seatbelt extender, not have to check the weight limit on furniture and ladders. The same person, but without hypertension and diabetes.
I guess, deep down, I knew that wouldn't be the case, because that's a big part of what held me back from having the surgery for so many years. I didn't want my life to revolve around my pouch. I didn't want to give up my favorite foods and think so hard about everything I eat. I definitely didn't want to turn into one of those boring a-holes who never shut up about their diet and exercise regimen.
But here I am, and I feel like weight loss has taken over my life. I spend so much time and energy preparing and eating healthy foods, working out, keeping up with my supplements, that I don't have room for anything else. There was a period of time after my surgery when I felt great and full of energy, but now I'm tired all the time, and despite being in the best shape of my life, I feel weak because I no longer have 300+ pounds to throw around. People used to be surprised by my strength, but now I struggle to open pickle jars and heavy doors. (Yes, I've had my bloodwork checked and everything is great; the working theory is that the bradycardia due to rapid, massive weight loss is what's causing these problems.)
I used to be incredibly devoted to my job, and most people would describe me as the hardest worker they knew (maybe a workaholic), and now I just don't have the same drive that I used to because I'm so focused on my weight. I feel like I'm letting everyone down because I'm no longer up for spending all my free time working. I think I was a better human being when I was fat.
If I -- with the benefit of the hindsight I have now -- could go back in time to two years ago, when my morbidly obese self arrived at the hospital, and still had time to change my mind, would I still go through with having the surgery? 100% yes, without hesitation.

Hi there liz!While I know everyone is different, for me at 35 I was not comfortable with a permanent surgical option. Perhaps if I still need help in 10-20 years time I would opt for surgery, but for where I am in my life currently, the balloon is most suitable.
Alongside that, the cost for surgery was well and truly out of my budget (Just doing quick conversions, around 20-22k US for surgery here in New Zealand, not including initial appointment costs or extra and hidden costs, compared to about 7500 US for the 2 balloons back to back that I have). To do something now it has to be this otherwise it would probably take me a decade to save up for surgery, and as I don't even own my own home... well. Money definitely was a huge consideration for me.
While I do hope to lose more in the long term, getting below 100kg is my goal for the year while I am using the orbera balloon and it is a milestone that I feel I will be comfortable with if I am unable to lose any further weight.
I say a year because I opted for the orbera b2b - back to back. One balloon for 6-8 months, then a second balloon immediately after which can have more liquid in it if you have reached a plateau with your weightloss at that point.
I was a very active person when I was younger so I feel that for me the balloon is a way to kick start my health journey and regain control of my health and my life - I am excited to feel physically able to get moving again, perhaps return to martial arts which I loved as a teenager. I've lost almost 20 pounds now in just over two weeks (about 9kg. Constipation has been a recent problem and my usual bloating during my period, but I am glad to still have lost weight despite those things!). This means if I lose 1 pound per week over the next year I will be on track to reach my goal!
Getting below 100kg is, I feel, a realistic goal for me, and it's also one that will allow me to shop in regular clothing store sizes again. If I am able to continue my journey beyond that, I will certainly try to, but I will reevaluate after the balloon phase of my journey is complete
Thanks for your questions!
Sent from my SM-G965F using BariatricPal mobile app

You need to every careful you stomach is still healing.There is a reason for the post op food guidelines and I have to wonder if you are willing to eat this type of food so early how are you going to go In the long run

Ok, you ate something you probably shouldn’t at this stage but you realise this & that’s the positive. And yes, some people do slip at any time as they’re progressing so you’re not alone.
The real question is what are you going to do next time? This is a great learning opportunity. Why couldn’t you resist the nachos? Was it something you wanted? Was it out of habit? Was it because others were eating? Did you need to eat? Was it your lunch or dinner time? Etc. Once you’ve worked out why you can start thinking about how you can manage this or similar situations in the future. Like, next time I go to the movies I’ll drink Water or tea or I’ll sneak in a shake, some Jerky or string cheese, etc.
Eating nachos now while you’re losing isn’t a great idea but in the future sure you may be able to have some but you’ll work that out.
PS - Actually you didn’t skip dinner. A shake is a Meal Replacement so you still had a meal. Just something to watch if you are on a three meal a day plan but plans are different.

You need to every careful you stomach is still healing.There is a reason for the post op food guidelines and I have to wonder if you are willing to eat this type of food so early how are you going to go In the long run

Agreed,my surgeon also said temporary higher cholesterol levels can be normal mine is 7.2 I am not taking statins yet going to give it a bit longer. Having said that I have the genetic type of high cholesterol so I am going to get the scan they do to check for Calcium build up in your heart and arteries to see if I do need medication

You need to every careful you stomach is still healing.There is a reason for the post op food guidelines and I have to wonder if you are willing to eat this type of food so early how are you going to go In the long run

You need to every careful you stomach is still healing.There is a reason for the post op food guidelines and I have to wonder if you are willing to eat this type of food so early how are you going to go In the long run

As @Sleeve me alone! said elevated cholesterol levels is common post surgery. Mine went up too. It’s all the cholesterol being released into your body as you lose fat & the high Protein diet (especially animal proteins) & lower vegetable diet add to it. My surgeon & doctor monitored it but it started to go down when my weight loss finally slowed & I was eating a more balanced diet in maintenance. It was always about 5/5.1 before surgery (not bad but not good), went up to 5.8 (danger, danger) & is 4.1 now (gold star 😉).
Try swapping in some plant Proteins & rolled oats into your diet & see if that helps while you are still losing.

Congratulations that's awesome 🏆

Depends what you call a stall, most surgeons dieticians don't class it as a stall until it's 6 weeks of no movement on the scales or tape measure. But lots of people here think a day or 3 with no movement is a stall and there are lots who gauge it somewhere in between.

Depends what you call a stall, most surgeons dieticians don't class it as a stall until it's 6 weeks of no movement on the scales or tape measure. But lots of people here think a day or 3 with no movement is a stall and there are lots who gauge it somewhere in between.

I didn't tell anyone apart from 2 people before surgery because I didn't want the judgement or anyone to put their 2 cents in and talk me out of it or put scarey thoughts in my head God knows I did that just fine on my own. I also didn't want anyone at my work to know but that didn't work out either because I had to take extra time off work and turns out my boss is a blabber mouth.
Tell who ,what and when you are comfortable. It's up to you but sometimes that control is taken from us in the end my whole town and extended friend circle knew . I even had people who would barely look at me before come up to me in the street to ask about it. So it's a hard one

Depends what you call a stall, most surgeons dieticians don't class it as a stall until it's 6 weeks of no movement on the scales or tape measure. But lots of people here think a day or 3 with no movement is a stall and there are lots who gauge it somewhere in between.

I felt like I had a few minor stalls, but looking back at my charts it was really a pretty steady decline. I weighed myself every day & only added it to my tracker if it went down. A few Lbs up or down is not usually weight gain, its usually just normal fluctuations based on the time of day, fluids, etc. I would keep tracking, focus on whole foods & add walking to your routine- that always helped me.

I didn't tell anyone apart from 2 people before surgery because I didn't want the judgement or anyone to put their 2 cents in and talk me out of it or put scarey thoughts in my head God knows I did that just fine on my own. I also didn't want anyone at my work to know but that didn't work out either because I had to take extra time off work and turns out my boss is a blabber mouth.
Tell who ,what and when you are comfortable. It's up to you but sometimes that control is taken from us in the end my whole town and extended friend circle knew . I even had people who would barely look at me before come up to me in the street to ask about it. So it's a hard one

I wonder how the OP is doing these days?

Since my revision I've picked up a strange new habit. I still think about food quite a bit, although I still average 970 to 1000 a day. I'm upping it slowly for maintenance. I'm going on my one year revision surgiversary in August. I love shopping online and get all kinds of food but I literally have a room full of food in sealed containers. If there is any emergency, I would have about 3 months of food or more haha. My poor husband has to eat the overfull freezer and fridge food that I buy. I used to have an empty fridge and freezer and eat out all the time (pre WLS srugeries) but not in the last year. Maybe because I've been cooking a lot at home and I want all the ingredients at my fingertips. I was wondering if there is anyone like this out there? Although it makes sense given my long history with my love for food, It's still so bizarre to me.

I didn't tell anyone apart from 2 people before surgery because I didn't want the judgement or anyone to put their 2 cents in and talk me out of it or put scarey thoughts in my head God knows I did that just fine on my own. I also didn't want anyone at my work to know but that didn't work out either because I had to take extra time off work and turns out my boss is a blabber mouth.
Tell who ,what and when you are comfortable. It's up to you but sometimes that control is taken from us in the end my whole town and extended friend circle knew . I even had people who would barely look at me before come up to me in the street to ask about it. So it's a hard one

Try the chewable ones ? don't stress over what you can and cant eat/drink just do the best you can. Try putting a dash of juice in your Water it will help it go down easier and ditto on what catwoman7 said.