pintsizedmallrat

Never. Get used to it, it's your new reality. It gets easier.

I think a sort of "debunking" themed episode would be good....answer questions like "Is this the easy way out?" "Will I gain all the weight back?" (I mean honestly this forum is a gold-mine for myths and misconceptions if you go looking for them).
Something along the lines of "Why am I not allowed to eat xyz yet but my friend who used a different surgeon is?" That seems to come up a lot; the question of can I eat this yet and why/why not?
My biggest piece of advice for YouTube is watch your analytics to see what your audience responds to, try to take a little extra time to make your videos look polished and produced -- especially for a medical topic, you don't want them to appear amateurish. Don't use copyrighted music if you're planning to monetize later. Tutorials are your friend (YouTube taught me everything I know about video editing and cameras!)

Agreed, your starting weight is actually fairly slim in comparison with a lot of people you see on here; less to lose means it may come off more slowly.

I ditched MFP when they started dropping features (things like being able to scan barcodes) from the free version to try to entice people to pay $20/mo

It has all that but it is more expensive than Lose It by a country mile

Right?! Plus I like the features in Lose It to keep notes, take progress pictures, easily track my Protein. I guess maybe the paid version of MFP might include those things, but I didn't want to pay to find out!

I previously used MFP, but switched to Lose It, and I really like it. I use the the paid version.

I don't believe "Veteran's" in this context is about military service, rather it is about having had WLS a number of months, years, or decades in the past.
Good luck,
Tek

I would suggest something about the infamous three-week stall. It seems like there's a post almost every day from someone who's about three weeks out, frantic because they haven't lost any weight in several days. I really wish more clinics would tell patients about this early stall, because it happens to the majority of us, and most people don't know about it ahead of time so they freak out when it happens.
also, something about how the rate of weight loss is dependent on many factors, some of which you have little to no control over, like genetics, how muscular you are, starting BMI, age, gender. And also not to expect to lose 30+ lbs the first month, because that's not common with people unless they're the size of the people on "My 600 lb Life". Just let them know that if they stick to their clinic's plan, the weight WILL come off. Their ultimate success is dependent on how compliant they are, not their rate of weight loss.

I went through this thought process before my procedure and came to the conclusion that my history said I could probably lose 30-40 pounds on my own with a ton of difficulty...but would probably NOT be able to keep it off, because I never have been able to before. This surgery is far from the easy way out but it's like having a diet coach living right in your own body to keep you on track. I may have only been able to lose 30-40 pounds without help, but I have lost 130 with help.
The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over expecting different results. If you have not been able to lose the weight "on your own" this is probably the way to go.

At 5 days post-op, your feeling of fullness is going to be hampered by the fact you just had a lot of the nerves in your stomach cut 5 days ago and they're going to take a lot longer than that to grow back. You need to be measuring what you eat for the first week or two because you may eat more than you can handle otherwise.
The feeling of being full can take a lot of different forms and some people report things like their nose running or their saliva production increasing (I'm one of those runny nose people; I swear I'm spending everything I used to on food on boxes of tissues now).

That's kind of why surgery works: you don't really get a day off. You can't get lazy and eat too much.

At the 3-month mark I was down about 55 pounds. At the year mark I was down 121. So...yeah I lost a little less than half my weight. I would caution you against comparing your progress to others though; everyone's situation is different and there are a lot of factors that could affect that.

Update: I had a really stubborn case of pneumonia and the pressure of my swollen lung was pressing on my stomach AND heart (it was in the lower left lobe of one lung). I've been on heavy-duty antibiotics for a week and I'm slooooowly starting to be able to eat again and have actually gained back 4 of the pounds I lost (that I DID NOT want to nor was I trying to lose).

Update: I had a really stubborn case of pneumonia and the pressure of my swollen lung was pressing on my stomach AND heart (it was in the lower left lobe of one lung). I've been on heavy-duty antibiotics for a week and I'm slooooowly starting to be able to eat again and have actually gained back 4 of the pounds I lost (that I DID NOT want to nor was I trying to lose).

I went through this thought process before my procedure and came to the conclusion that my history said I could probably lose 30-40 pounds on my own with a ton of difficulty...but would probably NOT be able to keep it off, because I never have been able to before. This surgery is far from the easy way out but it's like having a diet coach living right in your own body to keep you on track. I may have only been able to lose 30-40 pounds without help, but I have lost 130 with help.
The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over expecting different results. If you have not been able to lose the weight "on your own" this is probably the way to go.

I went through this thought process before my procedure and came to the conclusion that my history said I could probably lose 30-40 pounds on my own with a ton of difficulty...but would probably NOT be able to keep it off, because I never have been able to before. This surgery is far from the easy way out but it's like having a diet coach living right in your own body to keep you on track. I may have only been able to lose 30-40 pounds without help, but I have lost 130 with help.
The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over expecting different results. If you have not been able to lose the weight "on your own" this is probably the way to go.

This happened to me too; I had diarrhea for like a month

Update: I had a really stubborn case of pneumonia and the pressure of my swollen lung was pressing on my stomach AND heart (it was in the lower left lobe of one lung). I've been on heavy-duty antibiotics for a week and I'm slooooowly starting to be able to eat again and have actually gained back 4 of the pounds I lost (that I DID NOT want to nor was I trying to lose).

Me too...this has been so horrible, i've missed almost two weeks of work because of this and am only just now starting to be able to actually eat again (I've felt like I'm starving to death, no joke. I've been eating spoonfuls of Peanut Butter because my capacity is so small it was about the only way to get any nutrition in me!).

No, I just weigh it before I pack it and/or bring portion controlled, single-serving items (I am very guilty of eating Lunchables and leaving the crackers behind in a pinch LOL). I actually pack both my Breakfast AND lunch AND Snacks when I go into the office, a 10 hr day that starts at 6:30 AM once a week.
The way I figure it I need to take care of Future Me's needs so I don't feel tempted to go poking around in the vending machine.
My lunch usually looks like this (I am 18m post op and am in maintenance, but my calories are low because I am a small person):
Breakfast:
Zero sugar Chobani, 1/4 oz of chopped walnuts or pecans, Super coffee Protein Shake as a mid morning snack. (all in, about 200 calories and 25g of protein)
Lunch:
Veggies, some kind of dip (if you aren't making dips with greek yogurt what are you doing with your life?), usually a couple of "lunchmeat roll ups" that are each one slice of deli meat and half a slice of cheese, another 1/4 oz of nuts (usually pistachios this time), a couple pickle slices (usually somewhere around 250-ish calories and another 25g of protein)
Snacks:
Options include Babybel light and a couple triscuits, Campbell's Well Yes sippable Soups, Protein Shakes, or half a Protein Bar (I usually end up with leftovers)(any of these would give another 10g or so of protein).
I eat dinner at home with my husband on these days and it's usually something protein-heavy

Update: I had a really stubborn case of pneumonia and the pressure of my swollen lung was pressing on my stomach AND heart (it was in the lower left lobe of one lung). I've been on heavy-duty antibiotics for a week and I'm slooooowly starting to be able to eat again and have actually gained back 4 of the pounds I lost (that I DID NOT want to nor was I trying to lose).

Man, that's a hard thing to predict....if you would have asked me a year ago what size I thought I would be by now I would have been WAY off!
I would probably err on the side of too big because it's going to be easier to take in a dress that's too large than to let out a too-small dress (if it's even possible, because it often isn't.)
I would wait until much closer to the time of the event to get it altered, maybe even reserve a spot with a tailor in advance and explain the situation as to why you can't get it done sooner. They may make you pay in advance but at least you know you'll have your chance to get it altered in time.

My pre-surgical diet consisted entirely of packaged items like bars, shakes, Soup mixes, etc. and we were told to only eat One Bar a day because in comparison with the other items they had more carbs and calories. I wasn't told I had to break them in half though. Just only one a day,

This is what I always try to tell myself; while less attractive than I'd like, the loose skin is not going to harm me. Those extra 130 pounds may have killed me.