When do you stop feeling like a wls Patient

[chynadoll619 247]

When do you feel like yourself? When do you stop feeling like a patient and feel normal like you never even had the surgery ? When does the constant reminders in your head stop about how to eat, what to eat, how fast, drink, Protein, Vitamins etc .. When does it just become apart of you.

Are does it never happen?

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[Hammer_Down 631]

I'm pretty much there at only 6 weeks post op, I'm back on solid foods, I have no pain or issues sleeping, etc. I have yet to regurgitate anything I've eaten. I'm eating very small portions (3 bites of salad or meat and I'm stuffed). I'm reminding myself to make every bite count.

I can't really tolerate Vitamins at this stage. The few times I've taken them, I feel kind of uneasy and nauseaous. So i'm giving myself some time before I start trying again.

In a few days I'll be clear for excercise. I DO notice that I fatigue pretty easily. Honestly, I haven't been active at all for the past few years (hence gaining 100lbs) so I can't be sure if I would be fatigued anyway, or it's the super low calories or both.

I don't think about the surgery often, enjoying the lack of hunger and mending up nicely.

[Djmohr 6,965]

Sorry to say, never for me. I always have to be thinking about what I am eating, how fast i am eating it, how often i am eating.

In maintenance for me it has become even more critical because I am always concerned about regain. It is easy to do, 1 lb becomes 2, and before you know it you have gained 5....and so on.

Also, I might add that it always has to be discussed when going to the doctor and you need to be well educated. Most general doctors dont know enough about how those of us with different digestive systems need to be treated.

When I changed insurance companies my bariatric team is no longer covered so my general doctor had to take over completely and I have had to get information from my old team just to educate her enough to order the right tests and monitor my nutrition which is absolutely critical for a bypass patient.

You do get used to it, for me it is a whole new way of life and took hold almost before my surgery.

It just becomes the way that it is.

[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,444]

When do you feel like yourself? When do you stop feeling like a patient

It came for me when losing weight felt like just one of the things I was doing, just another component in any ordinary day. Most definitely I was aware of losing -- and I would never not want to be aware of that little detail while in the process -- but somehow it was simultaneously as significant and insignificant as brushing my hair and locking or unlocking the door. If your surgery was recent, give it time. It probably will take time, but the feeling of not being consumed by the whole thing will sneak up on you. Something will remind you that there is more in your life than losing weight.

***********

P.S. @@Djmohr just got in there. Her post reminds me that I omitted a detail. I do spend time every day planning meals, keeping track and all that, but, again, it's just a detail among countless others. Like breathing, I suppose.

Edited December 4, 2016 by WLSResources/ClothingExch

[Babbs 14,680]

Never. I have to be vigilant for the rest of my life or I will become obese again. Not worrying about what to eat, how to eat, how much to eat got me to 235 pounds.

Like what was said above, it becomes kind of second nature after a while. It is very overwhelming at first, that's for sure. But if someone truly wants to change, they learn to adapt. I feel completely normal now at over two years out otherwise. I think it took about 6 months to get into a groove.

[Julie norton 2,850]

I think I'm still aware and don't eat "normal" compared to American diets.

After a couple of years at maintenance, I could relax a bit, but never did it turn into days and weeks....that is new behavior I did not have before ... the old way was what got me to 272 lbs.

I still mostly adhere to the holy trinity of Protein Water and exercise.

( don't mistake this for someone who is perfect and "gets it")

fat head is still there somewhere.... just tamed for now

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

Hmm, this is a complicated and good question.

I have been low carbing off and on for like 15 years. I eat Keto now. It is kind of second nature to me. Most WLS don't eat keto, so this isn't really a WLS patient diet. Since I ate like this before, it doesn't feel like a diet and it doesn't feel related to WLS it just feels like I am finally successful at it. It is easy for me and doesn't feel like a diet, it is just a way of life.

I took Vitamins before surgery and I take the same Vitamins I took before just with the addition of B-12. So that doesn't seem different to me.

I think at one year I felt pretty normal. I say one year because I had enough capacity and the ability to eat wide enough variety of things that I can eat out with people and eat normally. I can eat a normal dinner salad because salad greens are a slider basically for me, so I can eat a whole salad and the sorry little 2 to 3 ounces of meat they give you, no issue. I can eat a normal fish portion. I can do decent damage to a 6 oz steak etc. I can chug Water, not at pre-op levels but I can drink 16 ounces of Water in about 3 minutes if I am standing. Before surgery I could drink 16 ounces of water without taking a breath.

I really didn't want to feel like I was on a diet or a weirdo for the rest of my life and I don't feel like that. Most of my friends low carb, keto, or paleo. It is pretty common so my friends understand that I don't eat xyz because they don't either. Even if they aren't currently, they have in the past. Having a wide variety of college educated urban friends, almost everyone is doing some kind of special eating, no one cares.

I think it is important to feel normal, because it helps with acceptance. If I felt like I was on a diet and had to watch everything I ate all the time, I would probably relapse. That doesn't mean I eat junk food or fast food. My attitude towards food and what I eat is completely different. My guilty pleasures are grilled nuggets from ChickFilA or an Oh Yeah One Bar. Those are my off plan eats. I try to just eat clean food I cook at home, so anything processed or out is an off plan meal to me, even if it still probably eating cleaner than most people. This is normal to me.

[KristenVSG2014 1,872]

My post weight loss surgery life became my new normal. I laugh because even 2+ years post op my husband still says, "You didn't eat very much." And I always respond, "That's what I paid for!" My mom still asks, "What do you want to drink with dinner?" And I'll smile at her and she will say, "Oh yeah. I still forget you don't drink with meals!" I love my sleeve. It has given me what I feel is a normal way of eating. I used to need to eat so much to get full (think an entire sub and 3-4 chicken tenders in one sitting). So my little "differences" like eating small portions and not drinking with my meals are still there and will always be there but that is "normal" to me now.

HW 290+/SW 261/GW 160/CW 159

[Dairymary 533]

You can never stop thinking of yourself as a WLS patient, IMHO. But as for when it becomes "second nature", that's kind if hard to pinpoint. I was diligent about measuring and tracking everything for 3 years. Took my Vitamins, met my Protein and Water goals, watched my carbs, etc. Then my kitchen scale broke and instead of replacing it, I came to realize I didn't need it anymore. I had been eating like a WLS patient for so long, at some point the training wheels had come off and I didn't even know it. it had all just become normal.

You will be a WLS patient for the rest of your life, which hopefully is several decades. Find a happy medium you can live with and embrace the lifestyle. Eventually it will become your new normal.

[Aggiemae 739]

I feel like myself but my NEW self will have to be aware of everything she eats and drinks, keep taking her Vitamins and exercising for the rest of her life.

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[mark74 3]

I feel like a new me 6 weeks post op. I made the decision to get sleeve done so I could be the healthy me I always wanted to be.

[Seevan 32]

Remember u had surgery. It takes time to heal.Some days I have no appetite. Sometimes in my mind I tell myself to eat everything. But I don't. Some foods don't taste the same anymore. I work through the process.

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[LipstickLady 25,682]

When do you feel like yourself? When do you stop feeling like a patient and feel normal like you never even had the surgery ? When does the constant reminders in your head stop about how to eat, what to eat, how fast, drink, Protein, Vitamins etc .. When does it just become apart of you.

Are does it never happen?

Sent from my Z981 using the BariatricPal App

I'll happily say never! I never want to be obese again so my constant vigilance and need to stick to plan will forever by MY normal.

I'm thrilled that my sleeve gives me constant reminders that it is in control because clearly, I couldn't be.

[Mountaingal 322]

Hopefully you never feel like you didn't have the surgery since you will eat less and your body will feel very differently for the rest of your life. That said in time you won't be think of yourself as a patient forever. You will get used to a new way of life. I was on the boards every day for a least a year after surgery. The support I found there was integral to my adjusting to this new way of life. Now I only come here every 2-3 days and am back spending more time doing other things in life . Some of those things I could no longer do before the surgery. So it stays in the back of your mind. Hoping you soon feel exactly the way you want to and love your new body.

[summerset 5,261]

When do you feel like yourself? When do you stop feeling like a patient and feel normal like you never even had the surgery ? When does the constant reminders in your head stop about how to eat, what to eat, how fast, drink, Protein, Vitamins etc .. When does it just become apart of you.

I think a lot of it goes down to habit. Some habits form easier, some form harder. After some time (can be weeks/months/years) the new way of eating becomes habit, the supplements become habit, maybe the exercise if you didn't exercise before and the people in your immediate environment are used to your new habits, too, e. g. colleagues.

Are does it never happen?

For some that might never happen. Some don't want it to happen. It's the same with other chronic conditions like diabetes. Some people make their condition into a second job or identify very strongly with the condition, e. g. becoming the leaders of self-help groups etc.