FarfelDiego

Greetings!
I just had my first surgical consult and am working my way toward an October 2022 surgery. I want this to truly be a success, so before a knife touches me I want to get in a better place in my own head and face some of the things which got me to this state of super morbid obesity.
Over the past few months I have worked hard to work on my issues with food. I have issues with emotional and binge eating, eating too much fast food, too much processed food and too much sugar.
I have used a lot of techniques. Always shifting to try to beat take care of me. Some things I have done include mental health journaling, making no foods “bad” or off limits, practicing mindfulness and self forgiveness, using pre-packaged/portioned grab and go foods (nuts and cheese snack packs, lunchables, apples and Peanut Butter etc), slowly reducing my fast food dependence.

it has been rewarding so far to tackle those issues. I have lost 50 lbs so far. Sept 2021 I was 452 lbs, in pain and miserable in my own body. I now am 398, in and less discomfort. I am looking forward to being in the right mindset for surgery so that I can ultimately achieve all of my goals and change my life.
What is your experiences with dealing with food issues both before and after surgery??

i bought new clothes about a month and a half ago for my new job. they fit perfect. (pants, belt) Last night i noticed my pants where falling below the waist line which is not good because i carry a firearm for my job and it was sagging quite a bit and my belt was on its last hole and i could not keep it secured on my waist the way i like it. So time for new pants and a new belt. YAY lmao. lets keep this train going.

I was an ancient, disabled 62 year old and in 7 months I have lost 100+ lbs and got off my BP meds, am not diabetic anymore and can walk briskly without a stick and have my independence back. Every day is a new sunny day for me, even when its raining! I only wish that I could have afforded this surgery 20 years ago.

I had gastric bypass at age 56. I started at 373 lbs and got down to a low of 138. Have since put on a few lbs (which is very common after you hit your lowest weight - most people have a 10-20 lb rebound), but then my weight stabilized. Have been pretty stable ever since.

I was 48 when I had my surgery 2 years ago (July 23rd), and my BMI was 69.9. I have lost 205 pounds, and I'm still losing VERY slowly. My BMI is 33 now. Of course I'd like to get to a normal BMI, but I am pretty comfortable and happy where I am now. I am hoping to lose about 20 more, but since it's going so slow now I am not sure if I will.
Anyway, I turn 51 next month and I couldn't be happier with my weight loss. I feel like a teenager again!

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Had my final weigh-in today, lost 10 pounds in the last 6 weeks. (My only requirement was to not gain weight from the initial weigh in). That brings me to 50 pounds down since June 2021. I’m happy about that (and eager for that progress to continue).

Appointment went well, however I had a slight disappointment. I was told if I had everything done by this appointment I would schedule with the surgeon, for their consult, when I check out. When I checked out I was told the coordinator hadn’t reviewed my final test from July 1st yet. Once she does that - THEN they will call to schedule with me.

I’m trying to take a deep breath and be patient, but it’s hard.

This is a big difference from last year when I was going through another program and I canceled my surgery two weeks before it was scheduled (I was not confident in the team or program I was dealing with). It’s a little frustrating that if I had stayed with that original program - I’d be 5 months post op by now… but then again, both my husband and I were not confident I would have the support and guidance needed to be successful in the other program.

So for now I’ll try to be patient for that next phone call to come in.

People talk about stalls, the famous week 3 stall, then the 3 week stall. I actually am one of the few people that never saw a stall.
My secret was being too large to weigh on home scales. For about the first year I could only weigh at my surgeon's office at monthly follow-ups. So, when your weigh-ins are a month apart, you don't see stalls. I can't express what a joy this was. I was never tempted to change anything in response to a stall. I just stayed with my program.
My surgeon was never overly concerned with my weight loss. He asked how I was doing on the plan, how I felt, did I have any concerns. Weight never came up unless I brought it up. He was a cool Doc.
Once I was able to weigh at home, I did it for a couple weeks, several times a day. Then I abandoned the whole concept and went back to just weighing at follow-ups. Who needs the angst? Even now, all these years later, I don't weigh at home, but only at my annual physicals at the Doctor's.
One does not need a scale for success at WLS. Just trust your plan.
My plan was also pretty straightforward. I didn't count calories, nor much of anything else. I counted meals of which there were 3 per day. I counted Protein of where there were 3-4 oz each meal. That was basically my plan. That is still basically my plan.
Good luck,
Tek

I'm not a huge fan of spray on tans. Maybe it's the way my skin cells shed, or maybe i don't exfoliate enough, or just have weird dry skin? I don't know. But when I get a spray on tan, I look Orange for a little while...then my skin sheds a little and I look weirdly speckled. I don't care for it. I also don't like the smell of the spray tan, particularly after a shower or swimming.
However...since I'm a white vampire, sometimes it's nice to have a little color.
I use Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs Makeup (in Medium)
It's just makeup for your legs (arms, bust, whatever you need)....but it looks much more like a real tan to me. It sets up well and doesn't get on your clothes. (If I wear white, I do dust it with a little translucent powder, but i'm not sure it's necessary) You can swim in it for an hour or two.
It scubs off with warm Water, soap and a washcloth...but you do have to scrub a little.
I actually like wearing sleeveless again cause of this stuff. It really does look nice on legs.
Another cool thing about Leg makeup...it reduces the look of scars, freckles, stretchmarks, veins
Being opaque, I bet it's a decent sunscreen, too.

It does take time for your brain to catch up. I had a couple of funny/freaky experience because I simply didn’t recognise myself. I was admiring someone’s legs in a busy shoe shop & then realised they were mine in a mirror. Also noticed a woman wearing jeans & the same top as me & thinking I wish I looked as good as she did. Then looked up at her face & again it was my reflection.
I was regularly kicking my toes against my kitchen cupboard base boards because I didn’t have a tummy that reached the cupboard first to warn me. Used to have bruises on my thighs from squeezing past & banging into furniture. Then I went through a stage of still having bruises because I was misjudging how much space I actually needed now & was still trying to ‘squeeze’ past.

Automatically heading for the disabled stall in restrooms, before remembering that I fit in a regular stall now.

I'm just amused at how my own perception of the space I take up hasn't caught up with how much slimmer I am. I still inwardly flinch at the sight of close-packed tables and chairs at a cafe or restaurant before I realise I can slip through no problem now! I still get out of people's way when there's plenty of room and I no longer need to - it's still a reflex. My brain is so used to being spatially aware for a morbidly obese body that it's taking a surprising amount of time for it to catch up to a much smaller me. I'm constantly amazed I can slip between cafe chairs and tables now without a) other folks doing the shuffle so I can fit past, or b) risking my arse moving inches from someone's face as I knock tables on the way through with a chorus of "sorry!"s.
What are some things that have snuck up on you that your mind hasn't caught up with yet?

Before when swimming laps my breast stroke kick was painful and today NO PAIN! My knees and joints are so happy!

Thanks for sharing your finds. Is the Soup sold in single pouches? I’d like a Protein patch I could slap on my arm and that would be my day right there.

Firstly congrats on getting into the 3's. You are doing amazing. My husband gave up smoking 12 years ago. He regularly smokes in his dreams, he says he enjoys every cigarette. sleep eating and smoking have to be super healthy .

I use the mini peppers when eating salsa or guacamole. If you eat chips, be honest with yourself and log them so they fit into your daily calorie budget (assuming you log). Just remember the surgery isn’t the fix, it’s a tool to help you make changes for the long term.

I am a year and a half post op and basically went from 363 to 180. Have I been perfect, heck no! Am I more aware and have overall better habits, absolutely! What I’ve learned since my VSG is:

1. Give yourself some grace- we’re human after all
2. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good
3. One bad decision isn’t going to derail you- consistent bad decisions will!
4. Know that every day you have an opportunity to do better than the day before

Good luck in your journey.

I will be at 8 years in November. I never made it to goal but that was ok. Had over a 100lb loss. It started to creep slowly back on- about 10 pounds a year or so. I started to watch more last year and am back to the lowest post-surgical weight so I am very happy with that. I may try for another 25 pounds or so. I haven't decided yet :).

Going on 5 yrs this August. Stayed pretty much on track with my weight loss. Gain a pound or two then panic sets in and lose it. I tell people that I'm a mere mortal now when it comes to weight loss. My weight loss super powers have left me. For me, weight losses are in ounces not pounds. It's a daily struggle but one that I'll continue to make for my good health. My best to everyone.

Before when swimming laps my breast stroke kick was painful and today NO PAIN! My knees and joints are so happy!

Before when swimming laps my breast stroke kick was painful and today NO PAIN! My knees and joints are so happy!

Before when swimming laps my breast stroke kick was painful and today NO PAIN! My knees and joints are so happy!

Before when swimming laps my breast stroke kick was painful and today NO PAIN! My knees and joints are so happy!

Before when swimming laps my breast stroke kick was painful and today NO PAIN! My knees and joints are so happy!

So I'm actually enjoying working out!!! Who knew?? lol I work out twice a day. I do 20 minutes on the treadmill on speed 3.5 (running is 4.0 and I'm not there yet lol ) then I do 15 minutes on the bike at speed 12 (most resistance is 15, but again, not there yet) and 10 minutes doing sit-ups and stomach crunches. Those are the hardest, so I only do 5 minutes of each, but it's a decent start, anyway. I just finished my work out and even though I'm tired, I feel GOOD. Really accomplished and actually have energy. And even though the scale is moving slowly, I see a real difference. My size 26 clothes are too big now and I almost fit into size 24!!!! I haven't been in a size 24 since I did Keto a few years ago. The lowest size I got to was 22. I can't wait to hit size 20 and know I did it!!! I beat my keto size and weight and this time it'll stick. This has been the hardest, greatest, most frustrating, wonderful journey I've ever been on lol

I just tried on new shoes yesterday. I’m two sizes smaller and didn’t need wide width. Is that common? I’m back to the size 7.5 I was my whole life until I gave birth; from then until now I was a 8.5 wide. Remembered your above post when I was shopping last night. Glad you mentioned it or I would have thought I was nuts.

1derland is under 200 pounds. I cannot remember the last time I lived there but someday I will again