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Hi guys.

Guess I'll start by introducing myself. I'm a norwegian male, 39 years old, married, father of two kids, and are working as a Engineering manager in the oil industry here on the west coast of Norway.

I'm one and a half week away from undergoing gastric bypass, and are in the final pre op diet. So far I have lost 13 kg since i started the diet, and needed to loose 7,5 kg so are in good shape.

So how did I end up here?.

I have always been heavy set, and spent my teens and early 20 playing ice hockey, power lifting and martial art. I went to serve in the Norwegian army, and served for three years, before I went to college studying engineering. I was used to eat large portions , but kept the kilos away, due to the simple fact that worked my ass of as a soldier. That kinda changed when i started studying for twelve hours a day. Then the kilos crept on, and they haven't left me since. I steadily gained weight.

I tried everything to loose the weight. Low carb diet, calorie counting, nutrition shakes, you name it, I've tried it. Lost weight but it came back, plus interest.

So a couple of years ago, I got diabetes 2. That was the last drop. I realised that i needed, help, and went to my primary physician. He agreed that Gastric bypass would be the best solution for me, and referred me to the hospital for evaluation. The whole process took about a year, and I'm as I said one and a half week away from my surgery. 21 of oct is the date.

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Good luck and please keep us updated! Fellow European here ;)

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Hi @aircooled. My wake up call was pre-diabetes. Once my blood sugar level passed that magical barrier into pre-diabetes and the: it's only a matter of time until you get Type 2 diabetes. A switch went off inside my head. I went on a diet immediately. Even taped a picture of a syringe by my bathroom scale to remind me of what I was up against. I kew for sure this was it, I was going to get healthy - no more denial, I have a serious problem. Well I did lose 20 lbs but life got stressful, I did great during the day but by dinner time I was exhausted and hungry - well weight loss became slow weight gain. I then realized I was NEVER going to be able to do this on my own. If even diabetes didn't provide motivation. Nothing would. My bypass is OCT 28.

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Welcome! I love world wide support! Maybe if all the countries needed WLS and had such friends and support as you will find here we would have world peace and look damn good!!!

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Good luck on your surgery. This is what the surgery did for me.

http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Operation.jpg

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Great job James Marusek. You lost a lot of tummy and many not so welcome co-morbs. How long did it take to lose the sleep apnea?

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Great job James Marusek. You lost a lot of tummy and many not so welcome co-morbs. How long did it take to lose the sleep apnea?

A couple weeks. My wife use to complain that my snoring kept her awake all night long. After the operation in the middle of the night, she would get up and stand over me and see if I was still breathing. My sleeping was so quiet, she thought I was dead.

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That's funny.

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Thanks for the welcome and replies. There is norwegian forums for bariatric surgery also, but its to close for comfort, if you know what i mean.

Spent some time here yesterday afternoon, and this is a great forum :)

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Hi guys.

Guess I'll start by introducing myself. I'm a norwegian male, 39 years old, married, father of two kids, and are working as a Engineering manager in the oil industry here on the west coast of Norway.

I'm one and a half week away from undergoing gastric bypass, and are in the final pre op diet. So far I have lost 13 kg since i started the diet, and needed to loose 7,5 kg so are in good shape.

So how did I end up here?.

I have always been heavy set, and spent my teens and early 20 playing ice hockey, power lifting and martial art. I went to serve in the Norwegian army, and served for three years, before I went to college studying engineering. I was used to eat large portions , but kept the kilos away, due to the simple fact that worked my ass of as a soldier. That kinda changed when i started studying for twelve hours a day. Then the kilos crept on, and they haven't left me since. I steadily gained weight.

I tried everything to loose the weight. Low carb diet, calorie counting, nutrition shakes, you name it, I've tried it. Lost weight but it came back, plus interest.

So a couple of years ago, I got diabetes 2. That was the last drop. I realised that i needed, help, and went to my primary physician. He agreed that Gastric bypass would be the best solution for me, and referred me to the hospital for evaluation. The whole process took about a year, and I'm as I said one and a half week away from my surgery. 21 of oct is the date.

mi Hello from Ireland! I was sleeved on the 8th of July and lost 26kg so far..best decision ever. I wish you all the best! You won't regret it!

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No doubt about it, this is a fantastic support network. you will learn so much and let's face it nobody knows what you are going through but others like you.

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@@Beni I know. I'm not worried about the surgery. They know what they are doing, and everything will work out fine. What I'm most worried about is not "making" it. Not being able to keep the weight of after the two years "honeymoon"

But I'm a stubborn son of a gun, so I make it

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Great, you have already worked through one of the big worries - surgery. Now you can focus on the next big one, fear of failure. I think knowing your enemy is half the battle. Knowing what you are up against and how you react to things is needed in other to develop strategies to deal with WLS. The good news is, in the short term your surgery will be doing it for you. Hopefully you'll develop some good habits in the first year that will hold you through. But we also have to recognize this is not likely to be easy.

I think, a little bit of fear is a good motivator and a healthy reaction to have, don't you?

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@@Beni This process has taken a year (give or take) since I talked to my primary physician. I decided quite early, that if i should turn my life in a new direction, I should do it for real. So I stopped used smokeless tobacco ( like Skoal), a widely used product here in Norway. I've been using it since I was 18, so that was a battle. But I won. Have not used it since. I also started to change my eating habits. From eating large portions three or maybe four times a day, I eat small quantities every three hours. I have done that for half a year, and I slowly decreased the portion size. The weeks prior to my pre-op diet of 1000 kcal, I was down to 1800-2000 kcal a day, so the transition was not that hard. I feel motivated, ready, prepared and good to go, but still I worry about failing.But as you say, fear is a good motivator

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Wow, you have accomplished so much already. I started this process on the first week of July but didn't make my decision until September. I have not even had a month to wrap my mind around the concept that this is happening. I have lost 9 lbs (4.5 KG) which isn't a lot but a victory for me. But I am a fast student!

I think you are going to do amazing, and so will I and I am not one of those always look on the bright side kind of people. I honestly think if you do your homework, educate yourself and know what you are getting into with a good plan ahead there is no reason NOT to be successful. There is no other way to achieve success, besides dumb luck. But really how often does that happen? Like never!

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    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

      2. Doughgurl

        Thank you so much for your well wishes. I am hoping that everything goes easy for me as well. We don't eat out much as it is, so it wont be too bad in that department. Thankfully. Also, I hear you regarding your back and feet!! I'd like to add knees to the list. Killing me as we speak! I'm only 5' so the weight has to go. Too short to carry all this weight. Menopause really did a doosey on me. (😶lol) My daughter also lives in Houston. with her Husband and my 5 grand-littles. I grew up in Beaumont, so I know Houston well, I will be sure to keep in touch and update you on my journey. I may need some advice in the future, or just motivation. Thank You so much for reaching out, I was hoping to connect with someone in the community. I really appreciate it. 💜

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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