Hi I just had my first dr appt. yesterday I am going to have sleeve surgery in January...boy there is a lot of prep work! I am scared I will go thru with this surgery and I will not be able to lose weight. My biggest fear is the food addiction I have and the lack of motivation to exercise. Any support or suggestions will be appreciated.

I had the same fears, and issues with food. I am about a month and a half from having been sleeved. Trust me, for this long out, it has not been an issue. Yes, I do find myself wishing I could have a few things I see in the store when grocery shopping. I have to remind myself that I can have them, but I DONT NEED THEM. If you stay focused on getting your liquid and Protein goals...you will stay too full to want anything else! At least, this is all my experience.

You will go through different feeling as you get closer to your date. I was fine until two days out and then I was freaking with panic. Just put your thoughts into perspective. Talk to us, your friends and fellow sleevers. we are here to help! Now, that does not mean you can go eat BBQ right after surgery and think you will get sympathy from anyone here. There are times when we do something stupid and the group will let you know!

I guess my point is, start getting yourself in the right mind frame to do this. Start now. If you continually tell yourself you are afraid to fail, odds are you will. CHANGE YOUR THINKING. Be positive and strong about it. See the Pooh Bear quote in my signature. Read it. Post it on your mirror or fridge or where ever you will see it LOTS. I did that, and it has helped in so many ways.

Best of luck!

You are not alone. I think almost everyone worries about the things that worry you. Here are some suggestions. 1. Take the "prep work" one step at a time. It seems like a lot, but you have a lot of time in which to do it. Just make sure that if you have to have six months of supervision by a pcp, you start that as soon as possible. 2. We all have or had food addiction. If you have nutrition counseling in the months before the surgery, pay attention and follow the rules. In addition to the required counseling, I went to Weight Watchers and lost a lot of weight before surgery. There is nothing to give you confidence like success! 3. I committed to a personal trainer two times a week in addition to classes at my local recreation center. I need scheduled times for exercise to get me to do it.

When I first started and got the list of all the things I had to do to prepare I sat down and cried and almost gave up. Then I took a step back and just did things one step at a time and it was much easier than I thought. I am 3 1/2 weeks out now and feel like this is the best decision I ever made. I have lost 30 pounds and feel amazing. I have so much more energy and for the first time actually WANT to exercise, although I can't do anything except walking at this point. I do have cravings for little things like toast with peanut butter but can't eat solids yet. At this point eating more than a couple of tablespoons is uncomfortable so I have no desire to binge or eat things I shouldn't.

Take some deep breaths and try to relax and just go one step at a time. Good luck!

Take it easy and relax. You have a lot to worry about but things will start to fall into place. Talking about food addiction, I am 7weeks out today and my eyes get bigger than my stomach at times but I do pay for it with the stomach cramps for about an hour or so before I can recover. You sometimes want to eat everything but your stomach is so tiny that you can't at least not at this stage. I can only walk now, tried running but gets tired easily so I'm just going to stick to walking until I loose more weight and get more energy. I love dancing and do a lot of it. Sleeved-6/5/13

Highest weight-300

Current weight-270 as of 7/5/13.

I weigh myself once a month now when I see my doctor.

Thank You for the quick advice. BROWNREK...I did that exact thing yesterday, started crying in the dr. office and by the time I got home I wasn't sure I was going to go thru with it. NOTIME....I also saw a personal trainer yesterday cause I feel I may have to have someone like that to encourage me to exercise, but I just don't know how I am going to afford it.

Take this time to really tackle the internal issues with food. The surgery fixes your stomach, but the head issues remain the same. Therapy is a great tool to get to the bottom of food issues and help prepare you to be successful after surgery. Use this time to your advantage. January will be here before you know it.