What is some advice you would give someone who is just starting their journey? I am about 4 months out and Wanting to be very successful. I have started making changes with the way I eat (protein first, water spread out through the day) but what do you wish someone would have told you before you had the sleeve.

First of all, good for you making changes now! It will make post-op life easier.

My suggestions:

Start an exercise program now. Especially if it's something that strengthens the core, but really any movement will help. I think regular exercise is what helped me rebound fairly quickly with no assistance from pain meds.

When choosing a program ask about post-op care. How often will you be followed up? Will you see the surgeon post op, the nutritionist or the nurse practitioner? What sort of emotional support does the program provide? What procedures are in place if there is a question or an emergency post-op. Is there an on-call system? An email system? How long is the response time?

Best piece of advice I EVER got was from a nutritionalist. She said the formula for long term success:

1)is to keep portions SMALL - eat to absence of hunger, do not try to find "full". This helps keep a better feeling of restriction over time

2) don't graze - you would be amazed how the calories and carbs can add up one itty bitty bite at a time

When you are first sleeved you will have no idea what I am talking about, but when you get 6-12-18 months post op you will be very glad you developed those two habits early on.

Everytime somebody talks about how much the "can" eat or all the they don't like the response which is just because you "can" eat something (or quantity) doesn't really mean you should aim to. In other words, the choice is still in your hands.