Spinoza

Fantastic to see such a big loss so soon. Congratulations! And your surgeon was only 6lbs out (am I right?) so - also nice that you were prepared!

I just picked a weight (kinda random/outta nowhere, LOL) that I had reached by dieting strictly from a much lighter starting weight about 10 years ago and I felt suited me. It was in the middle of my 'normal' BMI and totally aspirational. I never dreamed that I would actually reach it. My surgeon and dietician prepared me to lose 60-70% of my excess weight, which would have left me with a BMI of 27/28 or so (which I would also have been thrilled with)!! I ended up losing more. I would have been equally happy had I ending up losing less - HONESTLY. My body seems to have picked its own new set weight. It's so weird - like I had little (almost no) input other than sticking to my programme. Suffice to say - trust the surgery, trust your body. Don't mess about with the rules. You'll end up where you were supposed to. xxx

So so fab to hear this gmast. Living your best life and not worrying about a few pounds or a few carbs here or there sounds absolutely the dream. We're doing this!

The pre-op diet is really difficult for all of us OP. A full 2 weeks of liquids before surgery is one of the stricter regimes I've seen but if that's what your surgeon is telling you to do then you'll need to do it. Hope it gets easier every day. I wish you the best of luck.

Hi all November 2021 people! I want to do a little update because this thread is the only 'diary' I ever actually made - it's fascinating to look back at some of the posts we all made as we went along. I hope you are all doing really well. There aren't many of us posting regularly here any more so I hope that's because you are all too busy enjoying your new life. I am but I just like it here too, LOL. So, my current weight is 139 lbs - it's gone up and down by 2 or 3 pounds within the range 137 - 140 for the last 3 or 4 months but so far no further than that, and I don't take any particular action when those couple of pounds go on. Calorie intake is still about 1300 on weekdays and probably more like 1800-2000 at weekends now (alcohol and limited snacks). I still track everything. I walk A LOT for exercise. I stopped running after a few attempts because even though I enjoyed it it was causing me pain afterwards that lasted for days and then I couldn't do my usual walks so ended up costing me exercise time! I really want to get into some weights but I have such a busy life (excuse alert!) that I am short of time after I fit in all my walks. I am thankful every day that I had this surgery. Honestly, even if I regained every pound tomorrow it would have been worth it just to have this time feeling normal and being able to do normal things. We have a family vacation starting next week that I would have dreaded before, and now I can't wait and am signing up for every single activity along with my children. I would love to hear from anyone in the original gang who still reads but doesn't post much.

Welcome Kay. This site has been a complete life-saver to me. There are lots of lovely folks with much knowledge and experience to share. And because of that if you use the search function you can usually find the answers to all your questions without even needing to ask! Best of luck with your surgery and beyond.

I'm not long term but I just wanted to sympathise. I'm sure you thought after 8 years that you had this all sorted. I'm really sorry to hear you're having a hard time. I think from about 2 years after the sleeve lots of people probably can eat much more 'normal' quantities of food, and that's when your approach to eating really matters - clearly you did it well for years and years. The people I've seen here pulling things back seem to go back to their way of eating in the immediate post op period. Track everything, make sure you get plenty of fluids. When you eat it's protein first, veg second, carbs last (or not at all). Wait at least half an hour after eating before you drink anything. However this isn't personal experience. I'm sure someone who has lived this will drop by soon to give proper advice. It's so good that you've pulled yourself up before it got too far away from you. I wish you the best of luck.

I've never heard of this but I'm making it, thank you for sharing!! My partner eats a keto diet and it'll be perfect for him too. I love things like this. 😍

So happy for you STB!!!! I know you've had a super complicated and difficult journey - hope it's plain sailing from here on x

Hi OP - best of luck with your plastics! I think you have gotta be real in the runup to this surgery. If you have to crash diet to get to a certain *acceptable* (for you - in your head) weight beforehand then you might need to accept the fact that you'll have to diet to maintain it. Forever. People who have WLS seem to bottom out 18-24 months after, and then regain 10-20lbs and THAT'S actually their new set weight - not the lowest weight they reached. I am bracing myself for that very experience right now. Might be better to embrace your current weight, even it it isn't what or wanted or imagined you would end up at. If the surgeon gets rid of some more then that's a win.

Yep yep yep - agree with the others - whatever you order just eat the meat and whatever green veg accompanies that OP. Welcome to your new life!

Oh wow this is one of those things on which different programmes are so very different! I was cleared to have a glass or two of wine 7 weeks post op (xmas though so that might have accelerated my request). And I have had *some* alcohol on one or two days pretty much every week since then. Honestly I don't think it has held me back at all. I know this might be very different for others though. Can't see that one or two drinks on a holiday will impede your progress. Hope you have a lovely holiday OP!

I feel you OP. People who aren't obese cannot know what those of us who have been have gone through. Honestly some of them DO think exactly what you have described but it's on them that they haven't done some research about obesity and causes and cures before shooting their mouths off. It's kind of equivalent to saying to a cancer sufferer - gosh, didn't you ever think of giving up smoking? Totally redundant commentary on your life. Why would you say that? Agree - you should deffo just brush/laugh it off. Hopefully they will catch up eventually.

You'll not miss being obese OP I promise you that. I totally understand your doubts pre-surgery - we all experience those and they're totally natural. If you miss wearing specific items of clothing that you love now I promise you that you'll replace them with smaller ones and never look back. I wish you all the best tomorrow. Please let us know how it goes xx

Yes phone charger, Kindle or equivalent, LIP BALM, spare pyjamas in case you need to stay an extra night and that's pretty much all I needed. I did stay a night after my surgery but if I'd had a longer stay I would have missed more.

What stage are you at now OP? Have you had your surgery and, if so, what surgery did you have? Hard agree with catwoman7 - until I reached my goal it was protein first, veggies second, and carbs waaaaay down the line. Even now 20 months after my sleeve and at goal I approach with caution Carbs are what made me obese in the first place, I am NOT looking for ways to welcome them back with open arms. Honestly I would rather have another few mouthfuls of protein or veg now, which have nutrition built right in. Best of luck!!!

Oh it so can. Do follow the plan you've been given. Best of luck!!!

I think the time for the last hurrah is before your pre-op diet OP. Eating off plan so close to your surgery might actually jeopardise the procedure because the whole point is to shrink your liver so they can get in to perform it. I totally understand the cravings - we all do. But you will have this lots in the next few months and if you can get past them then you will see amazing weight loss. I wish you the best of luck.

Thank you for sharing OP! You've done so amazingly well. Hope you reach your goal asap.

My trigger (on top of years of unhappiness with my weight, as for all of us) was not being able to fit into a booth in a restaurant to eat with my family. Having to ask to be moved was humiliating. Probably for the umpteenth time but that was the (last) last straw. Never looked back.

You have a plan and it sounds really good OP. I wish you the best of luck with your weight loss and your knee replacements. Hope you're back to being as fit and active as nature intended really soon.

Honestly OP at all stages of your weight loss journey I would recommend avoiding any exercise that causes you significant pain. It will only hold you back. As everyone else has said, the surgery will let you lose lots of weight whether or not you do ANY exercise on top. The benefit of waiting for some initial loss is that exercise should then be much less painful and much more productive as time goes on.

If you or someone else in your household cooks meals for everyone then honestly I would advise just swooping some of that into a blender (protein, veg, tiny portion of carbs) with some gravy or other liquid OP. If the texture is acceptable to you then the flavours will be amazing after the all liquid diet. Honestly, I still have fond memories of the tiny lamb dinner I first pureed for myself after cooking it for my family. Even if it's just you at home it would be worth preparing a small normal dinner and then pureeing that and refrigerating/freezing tiny individual portions to get you through this (most tricky!) stage.

Yes yes yes. I am 20 months post sleeve and I am still feeling the cold really badly. And this is summer. I need at least one more layer than normal weight people and probably 2 more than when I was obese. Hoping it stabilises as my body acclimatises and hoping yours does too!

Stalls are the absolute pits. We've been through hell and high water even to decide to have this big procedure, and we take the leap of faith and actually do it, and and and all of a sudden...a big fat no loss. And next day...nothing. The only way not to see the stalls is not to weigh yourself very often, and I think most of us here are too invested for that! Just come here and complain every single time you hit a stall and we will listen and sympathise. Everyone here has said it - they're normal and most of us experience them - repeatedly. If you stick to your plan you will lose loads, it just doesn't follow a straight line with a loss every day - your body doesn't do things that way. I wish you the very best of luck.