bigoverthinker

"I had the sleeve surgery 12/30/2022. Feels like a different lifetime before."

PS. I am 65 and 73 inches and weighed 404 at my heaviest. I dropped 40 lbs in the year before my surgery and another 60 lbs since. Before surgery I had weekly therapy exploring how I use food to cope with stresses of life and my relationship with myself.

My next step is regular exercise. I am starting out 2 minutes of exercise on my step machine in the morning and again at night. Doesn't sound like much but it's enough to get me out of breath and make my legs and arms tired. Enough exercise to tire my muscles twice a day is a good beginning. I am trying to be gentle with myself.

I hope this helps someone.

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There are other kinds of goals than just weight loss or smaller size. Certainly I wanted to be less heavy and be able to fit in a booth. But I also wanted to stop insulin, blood pressure meds, and be able to get up from the floor without help.

I had the sleeve surgery 12/30/2022. Feels like a different lifetime before.

I expected much more of a struggle, a continued war over control of my compulsive eating. I thought that would be my most likely post surgery downfall. Stopping that war became my goal. I made up my mind to befriend and protect my surgery and the signals that my smaller stomach is sending me like a precious possession. So far it's working. I am down 60 lbs since my sleeve surgery and still progressing.

A little more than once in a while I am tempted and I will have something I shouldn't but I will either leave or limit myself to a taste. I noticed that if I leave I don't miss it. If I taste it it isn't as delicious or satisfying as I expected. I am respecting and protecting my stomach's ability to help me have a nicer life where I can play with my grandchildren and climb a flight of stairs and not have to plan how to get up before I sit on the floor with my grandkids.

Last week I was at costco and I really missed having a hotdog with mustard. I bought one and I ate until I felt full. I threw away 2/3 of the hotdog. I did the same thing with a slice of pizza the week before only took two bites and realized it wasn't tasting as good as I expected. I threw that away too.

Something that helped me was that before the surgery I made up my mind that if I was miserable post surgery I have permission to stretch out my stomach and go back to my old ways of coping and keeping life worth living. So far I have been more at peace and happier on the trajectory I am on. I am down 60 lbs since my surgery and still progressing.

Lately I am realizing that the enemy of my progress is my sense of failure when I have a bite of something unapproved. Permission to throw away the rest once I taste it or have hit "full" is freeing. I am enjoying the sense power when I throw away the remainder and move on.

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Hair loss is super common after bariatric surgery (actually, it can be a side effect of ANY major surgery because of trauma to the body - but I think we see it more after bariatric surgery because in addition to surgery trauma, we're also taking in very few calories those first few months)

I had it from months 5-9, but fortunately, I didn't lose very much. I doubt anyone noticed besides me.

about the only thing you can do is keep on top of your Vitamins and Protein to keep it from getting any worse that it would otherwise. Some people swear by things like Biotin, but others say it did nothing for them, so....

I have saw a few posts that said the same thing. I have visited a few boards and the general consensus says to do atleast a 7 day liquid diet and clears 24 hours leading up to surgery. Why? It shrinks the fatty tissue in the liver plus no solids in your stomach make it easier for the stomach to heal, less gas after from residual decomposition, and it allows your stomach to focus on healing rather than multitasking.
Thats pretty much the just of it all.
Good luck
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I can see what you might trigger on to think not much has changed. But I can also see the signs that the changes are real.

See if you can can go back and forth in focus. Maybe you can realize when you are down how your focus is stealing the pleasure of your progress! Congratulations!

Focusing on the aspects of my progress and what I want to do next is helping me minimize my down periods. [emoji4]

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I second getting with your team.

Having said that, I have the constriction issue too. I have come to see it as a blessing. When I drink or eat something I take a tiny bite then I wait for it to hit the constriction/spasm. I just wait for it to relax a bit and drain through. 2 or 3 seconds. I literally feel liquids swirl like a drain. Then I wait for it to hit my stomach pouch. 2 or 3 seconds more. Then I wait for a feeling like satiation which is usually about 5 or so seconds after it hits my stomach.

I don't know your situation but maybe you can experiment with something hot or cold and see if you can be in touch with your body.

Would love to hear how it turns out. Good luck!

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FYI, I am 65 and my surgery was 12/30/2022. Not that long ago but I dropped 40 lbs in the year before surgery and constantly struggled with the feeling that nothing worthwhile was happening.

Noticing my negative focus on what hadn't changed and then deliberately looking for evidence that my progress was real helped me not give up.

Since surgery 21 days ago I have dropped an additional 20 lbs. I look in the mirror but I don't see it. But I have more energy, feel better physically, and have fewer weight related pain. The progress is real. I just have to remind myself what to look at when I am tempted to be discouraged. [emoji4]

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I am 65 and had my sleeve surgery 12/30/2022. I had to go back on Ozempic the second week simply because the cravings were driving me crazy. Worked nearly immediately.

Do you what you must to make it work. The obesity is more dangerous, more debilitating, and more life enjoyment stealing than weight loss meds. Help your surgery work for you! [emoji4]

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I second getting with your team.

Having said that, I have the constriction issue too. I have come to see it as a blessing. When I drink or eat something I take a tiny bite then I wait for it to hit the constriction/spasm. I just wait for it to relax a bit and drain through. 2 or 3 seconds. I literally feel liquids swirl like a drain. Then I wait for it to hit my stomach pouch. 2 or 3 seconds more. Then I wait for a feeling like satiation which is usually about 5 or so seconds after it hits my stomach.

I don't know your situation but maybe you can experiment with something hot or cold and see if you can be in touch with your body.

Would love to hear how it turns out. Good luck!

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I second the person who said pre measure before you put it in your mouth. I carry one of these 1 cup glass prep bowls. Before I eat it I put it in the bowl first then eat from the bowl. If I want seconds it goes in the bowl first. Now I know 1 extra bowl will make me feel ill. I have a clear volume related cutoff. On the other side of that cutoff is discomfort.

I would add 1 thing to the pre measure mantra: Don't eat distracted. So don't eat in front of the TV. TV or eat but not both.

This is helping me. [emoji4]

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Hugs!
Perhaps eating a measured amount of food would work better than just eating until you're full..? Take your 1/2 cup of food (or whatever your measurement is) and sit there and slowly eat that. Wait 30 seconds after you've swallowed, before you take the next bite - use a timer. If you feel full before you've finished your measured amount, then stop eating. If you don't feel full after you're done, stop eating.
Are you tracking your food? Tracking can help, because you can see where you might be eating some unnecessary calories. Remember, we still have to diet and exercise. The surgery helps us, but it's not the cure.
A therapist might also be helpful, if your issues are mental/behavioral.

I had a VSG 12 years ago. I was 54 years old. I can make the math easier. I am 66 - quickly approaching 67, this spring. I was miserable, recently divorced, single parenting a teenager, working.... and my weight had hit 320. I was, at that time 5'3", and morbidly obese. I went on my own diet, and lost just over 20 pounds, went to the Doctor and requested weight loss surgery. I did their 12 week mandatory pre diet and classes. I was approved, and got my surgery.
Fast Forward.... I lost weight to about 175 pounds. I went from a women plus 28 to a 14/16 petite.... depending on the clothing. I also Lost my younger brother, mother and then my father during those last 12 years. And I gained back weight. I weighed 220..... So Just before the pandemic, I decided to try to lose 10 pounds in a year. Thank goodness for my VSG. My body remembered how to do this. I lost the ten pounds in the matter of a couple months. I decided that since I had issues with regain, I would pause and maintain the weight loss for at least a month or more, before starting to lose weight again. I wanted to LEARN how to maintain the loss. Each 5 or ten pounds, I would stop losing ON PURPOSE - and maintain the weight I was at. I lost back to 173 pounds. I weighed that is graduate school. 1983. I maintained my weight for the past year between 172 to 175.
A couple months ago, I decided to try to lose a bit more. The scale was reading 175 more often then I wanted. So.... I did it again. Even more slowly. Right now, I am doing my " lets maintain this for a while" thing.... and weigh 164 I think I might have weighed that in college... like maybe 1978.....before going back for the Masters Degree in 1981. My old Navy size 16 petite that I bought two years ago are too big. I just bought TARGET jeans in a size 14. Age does weird to a woman's body, as does loose skin.... But I can tell you this.... my VSG is still there. I won't ever be 'skinny' - but I am basically barely overweight (you get a few extra pounds on the SMARTBMI scale adjusted for age !) and I am more than thrilled. Do I eat perfectly ? Nope. I have a treat every darned day. A couple Cookies or a small dish of ice cream.... or a bit more carbs than are necessary... But I am so flipping "normal" - I am not the heaviest human at work. Someone asked me to "slide" in to sit at a table that was close to the wall because I could "fit". I stood there staring at them..... If we have take out delivered to the office, I participate. I order something that I can eat for another two meals after having lunch.
Challenges ? Plenty. Did I manage to raise a great kid, who is doing well ? Yes. Have I figured out how I need to eat to "DO ME" ? Finally. At 66 years young !!! 2004 pic.eml 2022pic.eml
I tried to put in pics 2004 and 2022 320 pounds and now 164 pounds

Just maintaining has become it’s own reward for me. After years of seeing the scale go back up every single time I lost weight, actually keeping a fairly stable weight makes me feel great & keeps me motivated.
While it’s really nice to have people comment on your weight loss & how great you look now, it’s true they don’t happen as often as the years pass. It”s why the little things that happen & remind me of what I can do now which I wouldn’t or couldn’t before are more important to me. (Though I can’t say someone telling me I’m slim, need a smaller size or similar doesn’t make me glow with happiness I am a vain human.) Most recently, jumping on a trampoline with my young nieces & nephew at Christmas was a reminder of what I’ve achieved & why I did it. It might be things like realising or reminding yourself you’re more confident in how you hold yourself, dress, makeup or hair styles or in how you interact with others. It could be a physical achievement like how far you can run or cycle. Or life changes you’ve made - gone back to school, changed careers, dating, etc. These are the sort of things that remind me that the surgery & subsequent changes i’ve made have been so worth it.
Personally I don’t want to forget where I was because it helps me appreciate where I am now more. And yes, I continue to be careful about what & how much I eat & weigh myself several times a week. It keeps me on track & honest. The main battle may be over but I need to remain vigilant of possible stealth attacks from my own head: old habits, complacency, etc.

I think the victories continue but in different areas. You may now have the mental space to focus on other things besides weight loss and that itself can be liberating.
I’ve seen some amazing posts where people are climbing literal mountains, changing careers, running marathons, having children, traveling, beginning or finishing school, becoming novice mechanics (me), starting to date, ending suboptimal marriages, buying homes, etc. The new victories are countless.
Congratulations and Good luck ❤️