Hi guys,

While I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to get the sleeve (talking to surgeon tomorrow to see if he thinks I should switch from band surgery to sleeve surgery... I certainly want to), I know it'll be at least mid-June or later until my surgery date.

It makes me all nervous and excited just thinking about it, but I feel like the time is passing so slowly. I've got at least 45+ days to kill!

What kinds of things would you recommend doing now to prepare mentally/physically for surgery, or to get out of the way or enjoy because post-op it might not be possible for a while?

The only 2 things I have really been working on are good habits like walking each day and journaling my food.

I feel like I did when I was a kid and it was the night before going to a theme park!

I think that you are right on track. I was going to say the the thing that I wish I had started with sooner was an exercise routine. I also think if you have any addictions that could affect your surgical outcome, like smoking, caffeine, I would try to get those in check or possible get rid of them all together. Easier said than done, I know!

I got really gung ho and any product I heard anyone say helped them pre or post op and I hopped online and bought em. Don't do that! I ended up with crap that I hated or just don't need. Don't buy tons of giant different tubs of Protein. Most places will send you samples. I bought a ridiculous amount of Proteins that I ended up hating. Thankfully, my best friend is also getting the surgery and she liked the ones I thought were NASTY!

Great idea to try and kick some of those habits before...I'm trying that too.... with surgery booked for June 10th I feel like time is dragging. But I have been productive by clearing out all 'bad' foods from the kitchen cupboards.

Hubby has started his annual summer diet, so its pretty easy for me to be really good at the moment, so I am focusing on trying to lower my weight for the surgery, and to ensure I'm as fit as I possibly can be I have started a fitness regime today- I have aWii Fit, and have dug out my sports bra to hold me in place as I jog round the lounge (with the dog in tow!!).

I got really gung ho and any product I heard anyone say helped them pre or post op and I hopped online and bought em. Don't do that! I ended up with crap that I hated or just don't need. Don't buy tons of giant different tubs of Protein. Most places will send you samples. I bought a ridiculous amount of Proteins that I ended up hating. Thankfully, my best friend is also getting the surgery and she liked the ones I thought were NASTY!

I'll second that - I have a small sample of one chocolate one which was 'ok', but not great..and the guy in the shop was trying to convince me to buy a 1kg tub!

I've also got a small tub (630g) of Lean Dessert coming thru, and I've just bought a 200g tub of a soya protein one... which is ok, but i would prefer it if I wasn't one that turns out to be lactose intolerant after surgery!!

Good luck with your waiting....I'm sure nearer the time there will be more with surgery around that date, so it'll be good to be impatient together!!

Kathy

I've got a Wii Fit too (which is great, since it is the only way to weigh myself until I get back under 300 and my regular scale doesn't barf at me!), so I've been using that as well! I really want to get the "Walk It Out" game for Wii that is all about walking around and building a neat little town, exploring and playing mini-games -- it looks like the Wii Fit running game on steroids! I think I'll save it for post-op though so I have some extra novelty/motivation to walk walk walk. One thing I am REALLY looking forward to is being able to actually do the strength training and yoga activities on Wii Fit... right now I am just tooooooo heavy/bulgy to do any of them without my body screaming "oh HELL no!"

I'm also working on cleaning out all the "bad" foods. Our freezer was overflowing with stuff anyway, and I'd love to be able to come home from surgery and not worry about having tempting stuff all accessible. I want my cupboards to be bare! It is kind of a fun challenge to figure out how to use up what's at hand!

I'm trying very hard to avoid ordering too much stuff in advance. I do plan on buying a sampler kit each from powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury and the nectar people and then using them post-op and order more based off what I like. I've seen so many people say how their tastes change post-op that I'm definitely going to try a variety of things before I commit to one of those big jugs of stuff. I have been mixing up Protein shakes every so often since attending my surgeon's seminar (to get used to drinking them in place of meals and to replace for bad Snacks like ice cream!) so I'm already sitting here with 2 big jugs of powder that I'm trying to use up after like 6 months... oy! :thumbup:

Caffeine is definitely in check. I've been on my husband to give it up for over a year, so I've gradually switched us to decaf almost-everything. I get craaaazy migraines sometimes, so I'm super vigilant to stay away from getting a caffeine habit. I don't need yet another migraine trigger!

Even given up soda, which was hard since we were already doing diet caffeine-free and giving up the fizz entirely made me a little sad. Oh well, maybe a few months post-op I'll be able to tolerate it. It's probably for the best, I usually get soda cravings while eating some horrible greasy, salty, junky food.

Oh, and I did just get back from seeing my surgeon. He's all for me doing sleeve over band and thinks it's a much better option for me. So they are going to be calling my insurance to switch the approval. I shouldn't have to move my surgery date, but I won't know for sure until they hear back from insurance. But yay, it's good to know I'm good to go!

Awesome to hear. I hear lots of I wish I had gotten the sleeve instead of <insert other wls here> I have not heard much about a sleever wishing that had gone with another option yet. In my opinion the sleeve is the best proceedure out there for acomplishing your goals and doing it safely.

Start practicing eating without your water or liquids, and then waiting 30 minutes to drink again. Practice chewing each bite 25 times before swallowing. It makes it easier if you get into these habits right away.

Start practicing eating without your Water or liquids, and then waiting 30 minutes to drink again. Practice chewing each bite 25 times before swallowing. It makes it easier if you get into these habits right away.

This is a good one!!!! It will save you a lot of discomfort post op I promise!

Start practicing eating without your Water or liquids, and then waiting 30 minutes to drink again. Practice chewing each bite 25 times before swallowing. It makes it easier if you get into these habits right away.

This! Ugh, I am trying so hard to work on this, but I love my drinkies and chewing feels so tedious. I start out well but then a few bites into it, my mind is whispering "you should enjoy yourself now, before the surgery, while you can still do this!" :thumbup: A definite work in progress.

Has anyone carried a timer around or something to remind them when to drink and not to drink? I am thinking I'm going to need to get one of those kitchen timers you can wear around your neck for at least the first few weeks to remind me to sip sip sip and to remind me not to drink! My memory is pretty friggin shot lately (anemia, not to on the ball to begin with, etc. :biggrin0:) so I use calendars, reminders, alarms for just about everything.

Yup. I have an egg timer that I take w/ me more to remember to drink often enough. I am still not totally great at the 2 minute bites between meals, but I'm getting better!