Tomorrow is my final pre-op appointment. Surgery is on Nov 5th. So many thoughts going through my head. Yes, I want to be healthy. Yes, I want to be thin. But I enjoy my husbands cooking. Or going out to dinner. I love beer with my friends. What will my social life be in the future? No tequila shots on New Years. Celebrate with sugar free popsicles?? I got this but have to get myself ready for a changing lifestyle [emoji13] [emoji30] [emoji15]

Keep in mind that there are plenty of things you enjoy that you'll still be able to eat. You might just have to modify how it's prepared or swap out lower calorie/fat/sugar/etc. ingredients for the full versions. I recommend google searching various recipes to kind of get an idea of how easy it is to prepare foods that are perfectly fine for you to eat but can also be enjoyed in larger portion sizes by other people. That way you and your husband aren't having to prepare different meals.

Two books I recommend are: The Gastric Sleeve Bariatric Cookbook and The Bariatric Foodie Holiday Survival Guide. Especially with your surgery being so close to the holidays you wanna make sure you have a plan to get yourself through a time period that is so food-centric.

Alcohol is never a complete no-no. You could always do A shot or have A beer (although I wouldn't recommend the latter due to the carbonation), but maybe not so close to your surgery. A lot of people I've spoken to recommend waiting a year after surgery before reintroducing alcohol and only having 1-2 drinks a month because of how it affects you. It is not at all uncommon for WLS patients to become alcoholics as they replace their food addiction with alcohol, so be wary.

I'm 1 week post-op as of tomorrow and the only issue I'm having is boredom with the limited options of clear liquids. I start full liquids tomorrow so that will open up a few more choices for me and pureed foods start on Halloween (so that'll be my little treat). It's definitely gonna be a life changer for you so don't stress too much. Get it done and take each day as it comes as a new learning experience.

On 10/23/2018 at 17:05, Red Alicia said:

Tomorrow is my final pre-op appointment. Surgery is on Nov 5th. So many thoughts going through my head. Yes, I want to be healthy. Yes, I want to be thin. But I enjoy my husbands cooking. Or going out to dinner. I love beer with my friends. What will my social life be in the future? No tequila shots on New Years. Celebrate with sugar free popsicles?? I got this but have to get myself ready for a changing lifestyle [emoji13] [emoji30] [emoji15]

Everyone gets cold feet right before surgery. It is normal. You will be fine. The restriction only last about 12 months so make the most of it and retrain your brain. I am 15 months and have started to gain due to falling back into old habits. I don’t drink so I don’t know how that will affect you. But I have heard others say they get drunk of like one drink after VSG.

10 hours ago, Red Alicia said:

Tomorrow is my final pre-op appointment. Surgery is on Nov 5th. So many thoughts going through my head. Yes, I want to be healthy. Yes, I want to be thin. But I enjoy my husbands cooking. Or going out to dinner. I love beer with my friends. What will my social life be in the future? No tequila shots on New Years. Celebrate with sugar free popsicles?? I got this but have to get myself ready for a changing lifestyle

The first 6 months are the big change... once you are fully healed and cleared for all foods, then you get to experiment and find out what works, what doesn't and what causes issues. I'm pretty much able to tolerate anything at this point. Beer included. I avoid shots because of how quickly they hit my system with the bypass. But I still enjoy beer, I just have to take my time. You just really want to focus on what you need to be doing now to lose weight and heal before you start worrying about all the things you may or may not be able to do down the road, odds are, what you think you can and can't do... won't be what actually happens. I expected dumping with lots of foods, yet, that's not quite the case now that I'm healed up. I actually wish I had more dumping so I would be less tempted to eat the foods / items (candy) that I can, but really shouldn't be eating.

Don't worry about the future, focus on the now. The future will be here soon enough.

Well, surgery is right around the corner. Here are three last words of advice.

1. Take a good before photograph of yourself, so that you have something to compare to after surgery. Many times we are blind to our obesity. We do not see ourselves. Therefore when the weight begins to drop off rather dramatically, we question if this is really happening. Photographs are a good visualization of our success. Many people carry a before and after photo with them, just to remind themselves of their success.

2. Walk 30 minutes each day, every day until surgery (or equivalent exercise). Walking helps the recovery process go smoothly and minimized the pain levels (gas pains) from surgery.

3. Wean yourself from caffeine and carbonated beverages now. After I gave up my 6 diet coke a day habit, I suffered from a week of severe withdrawal syndrome consisting of severe headaches and body aches. I was miserable. You don't want to combine the effects of caffeine withdrawal with the effects of surgery.

And one I wish James had reminded me of, maybe because he's. not a female and vain, take pictures of yourself on Surgery Day, maybe going in , certainly when you're in your gown, surgery hat, before they take you to the OR. Kind of a "Victory.I made it HERE "shots. Jakesoldlady posted hers here the other day and I started. crying, my son was with me there, wouldn't take any of me, my surgeon, the staff,he brought in to meet me, SON said it wasn't important. I do have a couple back in my post surgery room with my gown pulled up to show my incisions but none of my face. I never will have a picture of how,happy,after 3 years of trying, I was that I finally,was going to have it, that my last try was my best try, that my surgeon Bradley J Needleman MD believed in me & believed I could make it a success.
Even my PCP at the last, tried to throw cold water on my plans. "You're old, you won't have much success, maybe you had better call it off, you already have a history of depression". This from someone who started me on the road by telling me I wouldn't live to 75 without it? Out of my way. *Junior* I have come this far & I am not stopping now.
So I have pictures from July when I met with my surgeon, A couple from August when I was on my liver shrinking diet, but Nothing from My Day of Days, my REBIRTHDAY when my life so changed. I know my face was fatter, my cheekbones are more prominent now, I have lost my double chin, Oh I wasn't going to post them here, just for me. Like a tattoo, it would have meant something to me and me alone.
So you can never go back, you never can recapture, like a brand-new baby, there is only one time things will be like THAT!
I have to have a repeat EGJ this Friday, I have a stoma stricture that needs repaired, don't worry , it Does Not happen That Often! but I will have pictures now by all that is Holy! Oh I will survive, I have faced worse, but the Days of Your life, live them while you can , to the best of your ability!!!
IT ONLY COMES ONCE????

Tomorrow is my final pre-op appointment. Surgery is on Nov 5th. So many thoughts going through my head. Yes, I want to be healthy. Yes, I want to be thin. But I enjoy my husbands cooking. Or going out to dinner. I love beer with my friends. What will my social life be in the future? No tequila shots on New Years. Celebrate with sugar free popsicles?? I got this but have to get myself ready for a changing lifestyle [emoji13] [emoji30] [emoji15]

I thought about these things over and over. I enjoy a drink and shots here and there especially while Football is playing...but I can wait 6months or more to introduce those things back to my life. But just knowing that I'm doing this surgery in order to Live a Healthier Life; made these little thoughts go away. I call them little because the bigger scope is getting healthy and not worrying about food....especially because this is what got me here in the first place. You will be fine, I am literally 1week post op and excited about introducing shakes back to my life and etc. So believe me once surgery is over, you won't feel those cravings right away. Thank God and ask him for strength within everything![emoji18]

Live...Love...Laugh [emoji3]

I found future tripping about food was rough. I travel all over the world and if I got in my head all the food I thought I'd be missing it gets rough. Now I make my plan just for today and I know I can stick to my food plan just these next 24 hours and it worked. Before I knew it days turned into weeks and weeks into years and I never focused beyond my plan just for today. Mentally the stresses went away and I enjoyed what I could eat. I have always had a lot of restriction and I still do though. I think I have a very small sleeve, but it works for me. Cheers. Enjoy the journey, it's worth it!

Edited October 25, 20187 yr by Swimmer

Maybe cheap fast food will become like the ex-husband I barely mention because he is way back in the past? Been pretty righteous recently, haven't been to the Golden Arches or their ilk, then I passed a Wendy's, we have a high per-capita because Wendy's started in Dublin Ohio. Oh Frustr8 , old girl, maybe SOMEDAY you can have a quarter of a Single Cheeseburger, hold the bun, hold most of the veggies, maybe tomato and onion? Will My Day ever Cone????

Keep in mind that there are plenty of things you enjoy that you'll still be able to eat. You might just have to modify how it's prepared or swap out lower calorie/fat/sugar/etc. ingredients for the full versions. I recommend google searching various recipes to kind of get an idea of how easy it is to prepare foods that are perfectly fine for you to eat but can also be enjoyed in larger portion sizes by other people. That way you and your husband aren't having to prepare different meals.
Two books I recommend are: The Gastric Sleeve Bariatric Cookbook and The Bariatric Foodie Holiday Survival Guide. Especially with your surgery being so close to the holidays you wanna make sure you have a plan to get yourself through a time period that is so food-centric.
Alcohol is never a complete no-no. You could always do A shot or have A beer (although I wouldn't recommend the latter due to the carbonation), but maybe not so close to your surgery. A lot of people I've spoken to recommend waiting a year after surgery before reintroducing alcohol and only having 1-2 drinks a month because of how it affects you. It is not at all uncommon for WLS patients to become alcoholics as they replace their food addiction with alcohol, so be wary.
I'm 1 week post-op as of tomorrow and the only issue I'm having is boredom with the limited options of clear liquids. I start full liquids tomorrow so that will open up a few more choices for me and pureed foods start on Halloween (so that'll be my little treat). It's definitely gonna be a life changer for you so don't stress too much. Get it done and take each day as it comes as a new learning experience.

I have that first cookbook will look for the second tomorrow. I am scheduled for the 8th and on final countdown

SW 306.6 CW 284.8 GW 135