Longview Lady

I'm new here and unsure how to reply/respond to people. Guess I'll figure it out, or maybe you can help me a lil. lol.  A lil direction would be nice.

I'm still wrapping my head around having this surgery to lose weight. I have completed all requirements, in 2022, and now it's a waiting game.  I missed a call in Aug. to have the surgery. 1st call I have missed in years and it had to be THAT one!   I was so upset at myself and then fell back back that weekend to my ol' comfort food; ice cream.  I fall from time to time but then get backup on my Johnny Wayne Saddle and do better. 

I have been waiting so long I forgot what the specific surgery is called. 🤔.  It's the one where my stomach will look like a banana.  I just want this done so I can be on my way to a healthier and more active person, and hopefully feel physically and mentally better and better sleep too. We'll see. 

Wishing everyone a safe and successful surgery. 

Shawna 😁

I'm new here and unsure how to reply/respond to people. Guess I'll figure it out, or maybe you can help me a lil. lol.  A lil direction would be nice.

I'm still wrapping my head around having this surgery to lose weight. I have completed all requirements, in 2022, and now it's a waiting game.  I missed a call in Aug. to have the surgery. 1st call I have missed in years and it had to be THAT one!   I was so upset at myself and then fell back back that weekend to my ol' comfort food; ice cream.  I fall from time to time but then get backup on my Johnny Wayne Saddle and do better. 

I have been waiting so long I forgot what the specific surgery is called. 🤔.  It's the one where my stomach will look like a banana.  I just want this done so I can be on my way to a healthier and more active person, and hopefully feel physically and mentally better and better sleep too. We'll see. 

Wishing everyone a safe and successful surgery. 

Shawna 😁

I wish that I had done some measurements with a tape for my arms, legs, waist, hip, and chest before I started this journey. It would have been a cool metric to keep up with.

In one week, I go for my 3 month post-op followup. That's when I will start my forever way of eating.

It was hard the other day at work... Someone was having an event where they had ordered a LOT of pizzas. Holy smokes, those things smelled so good! I've been able to resist most temptations. I will confess that last week I had two very small pinches of sourdough bread, 20 M&Ms over the course of a few days, and 1 small piece of Dove dark chocolate on a different day. I didn't feel any horrible effects from eating those things, and I hope that I am not setting myself up for failure. My true Achilles Heel is salty-crunchy things, like all varieties of corn chips, crackers, popcorn, puffs, etc. These are the "slider" foods that I have been warned about, and I am working on ways to shift my focus to other activities while I'm still in a good space mentally. Speaking of activity pivots, I am heading to my gym right now to lift some weights before too much more of this day passes.

Today was my 1 month followup, 5 weeks post surgery. My dietician gave me a gold star review for my post op diet, and I graduated to Stage 4 of my program. Stage 5 should be approved in November, and that is the forever way of eating.

I had to go to a post op nutrition class as part of my appointment today. There was a young lady in there that had been eating WAY off diet, and she was not doing well... She had been eating fast food, but peeling the buns off, eating vegetables that were not well-cooked, and eating all kinds of foods that were not part of the detailed instruction that everyone in this program receives. We had SO many caveats from Day One to not try to jump ahead on the schedule for the foods that we eat. I was baffled that someone would decide to eat off program, especially so soon after surgery. She became tired of the liquids & soft foods, so she chose to eat ahead.

The result of her skipping ahead was that she had experienced a lot of vomiting & foamies, a lot of pain, and was unable to drink any fluids. She started feeling flushed and faint in class and had to be sent to the hospital to get some IV fluids.

The discipline that one needs for bariatric surgery cannot be overstated. We have to dig deep mentally and physically to get through surgery itself, learn new things, manage medications, and really lean into that crucial change of mindset and behavior. I hope that this young lady is able to get herself together to make the most of her surgery.