Is there anyone out there that blindly went into this surgery, not really knowing quite what they were getting theirselves into? I think I am very imformed but I do not know if I realize what actually is the "forevers" with this surgery. After a year of so you life sounds quite normal and functional , from the long time sleevers I have heard from. As long as you work the sleeve and do not abuse yourself , like returning to old behaviors of overeating and unhealthy food choices. The hardest thing for me is the social aspect, food sure does center around a lot of my relationships. Change is good though. Most of these situations are unhealthy to say the least.

Am I being niave?

I feel just as you do. I thought I did all the research, asked all the questions, follow the rules and then realized that I used food for a crutch, but didn't relize this pre-surgery. I found this out 2 weeks after. I now know why I was overweight, Alot of my life revolved around food. Every meal, every hard day at work or play, every social event, every time I sat at the puter, TV, etc etc It's been almost 6 weeks post-surgery now and still learning every day about what I did with food in my life now that it isn't their. And making changes to eliminate those bad behavior patterns.

Seems that now I have so much time on my hands that food made pass so much easier. it sure is a trip that life throws you. Good Luck on your journey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ive been reading about it for a few years and I am constantly learning new things or realizing something I never even thought about.

When it's all said and done its a whole nother thing though isn't it?!

I hope all my prep work helps!

I don't think you're being naive at all. Looks like you're looking the demon square in the face. Some of us have been raised with food being woven into the very fabric of our lives. (outside of eating to live). If you can identify these situations and attitudes ahead of time, all the better. I think the permanence of this surgery will help us see these situations with new eyes: "Is diving into the comfort of this bag of Cookies worth ruining my new stomach?" "Is a 'requisite' box of candy while watching a movie worth wiping out all my hard work?" I think...I hope...our answers will be a resounding HELL NO!!! There will be far too much at stake. It's easy to indulge right now, because I'm at my highest weight. I get the "what have a got to lose" attitude. Well, pretty soon...there will be a LOT to lose. (hehe..no, It wasn't a pun.)

Post Op people.....Am I close to the mark here?

You can't be prepared 100%.You will learn new things and struggle with others. How I handled the social eating thing was/is:

I tell myself over and over again..

"I am here for the company, not the food." It just makes things a lot easier. I usually do eat, find something I can have... I am a vegetarian, so there are usually not that many things that really make up a protein first meal for me at most restaurants.. so I have protein ahead of time, or after, and just have a little bit of something I want and enjoy the company.

I don't think you're being naive at all. Looks like you're looking the demon square in the face. Some of us have been raised with food being woven into the very fabric of our lives. (outside of eating to live). If you can identify these situations and attitudes ahead of time, all the better. I think the permanence of this surgery will help us see these situations with new eyes: "Is diving into the comfort of this bag of Cookies worth ruining my new stomach?" "Is a 'requisite' box of candy while watching a movie worth wiping out all my hard work?" I think...I hope...our answers will be a resounding HELL NO!!! There will be far too much at stake. It's easy to indulge right now, because I'm at my highest weight. I get the "what have a got to lose" attitude. Well, pretty soon...there will be a LOT to lose. (hehe..no, It wasn't a pun.)

Post Op people.....Am I close to the mark here?

I had surgery 12/13/11- I agree with you that you are forced to adress why you are eating.You literally can't overeat just because you are mad, sat or happy. If you try to overeat, you will feel pain in the middle of your chest, and will be uncomfortable. I have gone out to eat in restaurants, now I notice that I am more interested in conversation than food,since I can't eat much. I do appreciate what I do eat- I am much more careful with my choices. I can not "mindlessly" eat or eat on "the run"- I have to eat slowly and chew thoroughly,so the surgery has forced me to slow down. Right now I think I will have to live like this forver- which is NOT a bad thing. I have already worked hard to get to this point, so I think I will be careful so I do not "Undo" my hard work. I plan on joining the Century Club by by next Xmas, buying a new wardrobe and then maintaining my weight, so I can enjoy my new clothes- until they wear out (not only until I grow out of them!)

I feel like I too really did my research, have learned tons from RYN friends and here on VST, I even changed my breakfast to a protein drink many months ago and often most lunches toward the end. Yet, I don't think you can be prepared 100%. I will have to learn a whole new way of cooking. I love to cook nice meals for my hubby, it is just the two of use. I have already learned that I don't want to eat haddock for 4 meals in a row. I think the biggest challenge for me, is revising my cooking skills. My hubby is a hard worker, not overweight and doesn't want me to change what I feed him. Big challenge there without having people over. :-) So far and of course I'm only 2.5 weeks out, everything is exactly as I suspected. No surprises, in fact, it's going scarily well.

I agree that there will be surprises. For me, I expected to be a perky, 100% in a week. Not so much in reality. It was between 4-5 months before I really felt like my strength was totally back.

I have worked on head hunger in the past and it took awhile for my appetite to come back so I'm still dealing with this one. It is much easier with the sleeve, but it's not automagic. I have to refuse the extra treats and choose the healthier options. Yes, I would like that bagel with friends. In my head at least. But the non-fat soy latte makes me much happier in the long run.

Lynda

I am just a few days post-op, but it takes me so long to drink I'm thinking that I will be eating slow too. Who says we have to miss out. Since I'm a carnivore anyway, I will just eat 4 oz of steak very slowly and not miss out on a thing.

Funny though. You know what I'm craving? Sweet potato. Head hunger of course because I've been trying to make my way through 28 oz of Isopure and I'm full.

I too am going to stick with Protein drinks for breakfast. Probably never lunch because I like them right out of the blender. The shaker bottles don't do it for me.

Hi,

I just got mine 1/11. I was sure I knew it all and then it was after the first night I freaked out. I don't think anyone can appreciate or absorb the gravity of the situation until you are IN IT. There is a huge element of loss for me right now about food and also feeling a bit like a freak because I am here drinking 40cc/hr of Fluid...and it is hard.

We have to see the brighter side that will come, stick with me and we will be fine. I am afraid too but we did this for a reason and that reason was fat. FAT. FATTTTT. We did not want it any more.

I read my paperwork to see the future diet when we are out of the initial three weeks of liquids and we will be fine. Just think how good broth tastes now..it will always now be a thing of how good it tastes, and how much we treasure our food in a different way...I used to slug it back so fast and never taste it.

I can totally relate to you and I am hoping we can get through this together because all I kept saying POD 1 was "I was duped"...LOL... we weren't. We just had no clue what it really meant because we were so used to doing that type of diet for a few days here and there at a time.

PEACE

Ann Marie

I don't think your naive. I think you are being realistic. The hardest thing I am dealing with right now is not be able to guzzle water. I feel so dry. I have to sip sip sip all day just to feel hydrated. That part of this I do not like, but I understand things will go back to normal, right now healing is priority.

Hi,

I just got mine 1/11. I was sure I knew it all and then it was after the first night I freaked out. I don't think anyone can appreciate or absorb the gravity of the situation until you are IN IT. There is a huge element of loss for me right now about food and also feeling a bit like a freak because I am here drinking 40cc/hr of fluid...and it is hard.

We have to see the brighter side that will come, stick with me and we will be fine. I am afraid too but we did this for a reason and that reason was fat. FAT. FATTTTT. We did not want it any more.

I read my paperwork to see the future diet when we are out of the initial three weeks of liquids and we will be fine. Just think how good broth tastes now..it will always now be a thing of how good it tastes, and how much we treasure our food in a different way...I used to slug it back so fast and never taste it.

I can totally relate to you and I am hoping we can get through this together because all I kept saying POD 1 was "I was duped"...LOL... we weren't. We just had no clue what it really meant because we were so used to doing that type of diet for a few days here and there at a time.

PEACE

Ann Marie

Thank you for posting, Hope you are doing well. I have wanted to be sleeved so bad now the reality is setting in. I am not nervous about the surgery but the after life. I know I will do fine.

royboy said it for me- I have so much time on my hands now that I can't eat!

I think I was pretty informed. My mom had GBS when I was young and my aunt and cousin have more recently had GBS so I feel like I knew what I was getting myself into.

I'm a pretty recent surgery and have just begun to feel hungry. I'll be happy to add some more foods next week - even pureed things! They have greek yogurt popsicles at Costco... need to check that out! Hopefully they aren't full of sugar!

Hello all ~ I agree with others who've stated that it is impossible to be completely 100% prepared for this major life changer. It took me 13 months from the time of my 1st NUT appointment to surgery and I literally read everything that I could get my hands on. The short answer, NO, I was not completely prepared. Did I experience buyers' remorse? Yes, a bit. Was it short lived? Yes. Do I regret having surgery? H** NO, I would do it again in a minute.

Even though the experience has had some ups and downs so far, overall, my health has improved and I feel so much better. I know that if I had not had the surgery, I would be on a rapid descent into major health issues, thus cutting my life short. This is literally the best thing that I've ever done for myself and my family.

No, I can't eat the way I used to, but really why would I want to; it was the primary cause leading to my unhealthiness. Do I miss certain foods, sometimes, overall no. Do I still experience cravings and head hunger - definiately. I think that I always will, the key is to find strategies to cope with those feelings. For true cravings, have a bit of whatever you're craving and then move on. Head hunger strategies are bit more complicated and different for each individual, hence I am still working on that one.

As long as we follow the program and incorporate new strategies of mindful eating, working out and learning to love ourselves we will be successful.

Continue to look forward to a new healthy lifestyle.

Cheers!

I am 6 weeks in, and I still don't think it's set in that this is for life! Sometimes I need to check myself, as I can catch myself being in the "diet mind frame", rather than the "this is it for life" mind frame. I will get there, but it might be when I am not so restricted with what I can eat. I'm sure it will all hit me when I try to eat normal foods and the amount is so restricted!

I think I was pretty well-informed, but there have been surprises along the way. I thought I had my "head hunger" under control, but I'm fighting it now, again. It's a long battle, but one I'm determined to win. I thought I'd lose more slowly than I have lost weight. THAT is a pleasant surprise! I also thought it would be easier, but I've battled a couple of really big issues in the last 4 months that are not WLS related. I'm surprised at how much I want to comfort myself/bury the problem with food.

On the good side, I'm much more energetic than I thought I'd be at this stage, and I'm doing more exercise than I thought I'd be able to accomplish.

I think everyone's journey is different, but we all learn from one another.

Good luck with your journey!!