Initial Visit-Mixed Emotions

[Jessie203 1]

Hi everyone!!

okay so I’ve always been “heavier” haven’t met the BMI standards since jr high maybe a year in high school. My hips & thighs were always me in size 9 jeans. Well I had health issues that required surgeries. Which left me disabled. And my weight was stuck at 180 due to it, my weight jumped some to 210.

I am currently on Rybelsus 7mg and my current weight is 189. So im almost to the weight that I’ve been stuck at for years.

Yesterday I had a consultation, intake to the Bariatric program. I was told that I would be receiving a Gastric Sleeve with robotics, which would give me one night hospital stay and a weight loss of 60-80 pounds. I’ll be having the testing done soon as well as meet with the psychiatrist and dietitian. I see him again 9-11-24

So I can home a nervous wreck! I am afraid of having general anesthesia again. I have had it a few times without and with complications. Honestly being a mom IS the only real reason so my anxiety. The what if I pass. I researched ALOT and seen the procedure is a safe one. That calmed me nerves and I was in a good space, until an hour ago.

I started thinking about how I absolutely LOVE food and how only being able to eat maybe half a happy meal. I read gum, soda etc are not allowed after surgery as well. According to my P.C.P. I am healthy just obese.
Years ago I struggled with hypertension, diabetes and gallstones. Those issues were resolved but I have a consult about my fatty liver in Nov.

anyways. I was wondering has anyone else gone through this? I don’t care if I get down to my healthy bmi weight or not. I am fine if I can get to 160. What I am saying is am I having the “regret” even though I haven’t even had surgery yet.

A little FYI.. I am Intermittent Fasting & My disability makes me unable to jump, run or go one long walks. I can’t do some exercises so modifications help but are not as effective I believe. So I AM excepting, eating healthier already.

[Jessie203 1]

I APOLOGIZE!! It got long but I wanted to add some background.

and the regret comes from nervousness that I won’t enjoy food. And no desire to be really thin

but being disabled mean getting/ keeping weight off will be difficult according to the bariatric surgeon

I am 5’2. Majority of my weight is my thighs. I do have a belly, apron belly.

[NickelChip 804]

So, I'm almost 3 months out from having my RNY gastric bypass. The surgery itself is very safe, but the first few months after can be rough. You don't eat a lot, and you may feel sick and probably exhausted, too. But by 3 months, your tummy is pretty well healed and you've learned to chew thoroughly, slow down, and take small bites. You may have identified a few trigger foods that you really have no desire to eat again (hello, scrambled eggs).

At my appointment last week I was cleared to basically eat any type of food I wanted. I was warned a very tough steak or woody/fibrous vegetable and fruit (asparagus stems, pineapple), could still cause issues, but as long as you're reasonable about choices, it's fine. I'm thrilled to be allowed to have raw veg again. And I enjoy food. I just enjoy it on plates the size of a saucer instead of a big dinner plate, and I find I don't want more than a bite or two of unhealthy stuff. Except ice cream, which is why I don't keep that in the house!

At restaurants, I either take home enough for 2-3 more meals, or I order an appetizer. And I skip the bread, Pasta, and other fillers. It'll be a long time before I feel like I can handle a slice of pizza, for sure. But that's okay. My family ordered a pizza the other day and it smelled delicious, but I literally did not want it. Not even a taste. I never thought that would happen to me because I adore pizza, and it made me glad because saying no to it was no big deal.

I can tell you that as a slow loser, I will probably never end up "thin" from this surgery. But it's made a huge difference for me already. The day I left the hospital, I was already off blood pressure meds, which I had been taking for a decade. My joints don't hurt anymore. My inflammation is down. I can walk longer and faster. I feel better. And I like the way I look more now too. I'm already able to buy some clothing that isn't specifically from the "plus" department, and I look forward to that being the norm. I'm 50 and I haven't been this low in weight since I was 29.

But, it is an adjustment. It's a challenge. And if you love food, you will probably have to do a lot of mental work about that. Like, why are you eating? Are you hungry, or is it a self-soothing mechanism. And if the latter, is there a better way to deal with your emotions when you physically can't reach for food? I ask myself this a lot.

My brother had VSG 15 years ago. If you didn't know him back then, you would think today he's an average weight guy (not skinny) with a slightly smaller than average appetite. We were at a wedding when I was still pre-surgery and he out ate me at dinner. So the "half a happy meal" thing is short term. Only you probably won't want to eat those after surgery because they might not sound appetizing anymore.

[Jessie203 1]

11 minutes ago, NickelChip said:

So, I'm almost 3 months out from having my RNY gastric bypass. The surgery itself is very safe, but the first few months after can be rough. You don't eat a lot, and you may feel sick and probably exhausted, too. But by 3 months, your tummy is pretty well healed and you've learned to chew thoroughly, slow down, and take small bites. You may have identified a few trigger foods that you really have no desire to eat again (hello, scrambled eggs).

At my appointment last week I was cleared to basically eat any type of food I wanted. I was warned a very tough steak or woody/fibrous vegetable and fruit (asparagus stems, pineapple), could still cause issues, but as long as you're reasonable about choices, it's fine. I'm thrilled to be allowed to have raw veg again. And I enjoy food. I just enjoy it on plates the size of a saucer instead of a big dinner plate, and I find I don't want more than a bite or two of unhealthy stuff. Except ice cream, which is why I don't keep that in the house!

At restaurants, I either take home enough for 2-3 more meals, or I order an appetizer. And I skip the bread, Pasta, and other fillers. It'll be a long time before I feel like I can handle a slice of pizza, for sure. But that's okay. My family ordered a pizza the other day and it smelled delicious, but I literally did not want it. Not even a taste. I never thought that would happen to me because I adore pizza, and it made me glad because saying no to it was no big deal.

I can tell you that as a slow loser, I will probably never end up "thin" from this surgery. But it's made a huge difference for me already. The day I left the hospital, I was already off blood pressure meds, which I had been taking for a decade. My joints don't hurt anymore. My inflammation is down. I can walk longer and faster. I feel better. And I like the way I look more now too. I'm already able to buy some clothing that isn't specifically from the "plus" department, and I look forward to that being the norm. I'm 50 and I haven't been this low in weight since I was 29.

But, it is an adjustment. It's a challenge. And if you love food, you will probably have to do a lot of mental work about that. Like, why are you eating? Are you hungry, or is it a self-soothing mechanism. And if the latter, is there a better way to deal with your emotions when you physically can't reach for food? I ask myself this a lot.

My brother had VSG 15 years ago. If you didn't know him back then, you would think today he's an average weight guy (not skinny) with a slightly smaller than average appetite. We were at a wedding when I was still pre-surgery and he out ate me at dinner. So the "half a happy meal" thing is short term. Only you probably won't want to eat those after surgery because they might not sound appetizing anymore.

I just realized that I sounded like I was rambling and not making sense but I can’t figure out how to edit it.

Your reply actually calmed me down some!! I am on GLP-1 pills and have been on getting on a healthy self journey for a few months now. I am surprisingly not wanting any fast food at all besides the pepperoni on cheese sauce pretzel crust pizza from little Cesars 😂

i started a “you don’t need that or only eat very little” thing with my almost immediately after starting that journey. Mind over matter. So far it has helped me because mannnnn lol Not doing that has made dieting fail.

A part of me knows that this surgery will help me be thinner which would make me healthier. Losing the weight will solve some issues but I feel undeserving since others have a higher SW. and being 160 felt okay (that’s only 30 lbs down from CW) even if I was still overweight/obese

[Arabesque 6,565]

If you’re on a GLP-1 drug wondering why you’re also considering surgery? Yes, some do combine the two but why not wait & see how effective the medication is & how you feel & then decide about the surgery. Don’t feel undeserving of the surgery if you decide to go down that path. For your health you are deserving & that is hugely more important than a number on the scales. Do you feel undeserving being on the medication? It’s helping you lose weight too.

I’m 5 years out, tomorrow actually, with my sleeve. I enjoyed food before and I still do. I eat with family & friends at their homes, restaurants, events, etc. I just look at food differently & make more careful & better choices. You said since being on the GLP-1 med you don’t really want fast food any more. For a lot of us, the surgery does that too. And it gives us the time to examine our relationship with food - this is the most important benefit. There’s food I don’t even think about eating now. Just the thought of eating some foods makes me feel ill. Some foods simply don’t appeal. And yes, there are some foods I choose not to eat. Would never have believed it was possible before surgery but here I am. I don’t even crave any foods now. Mind blown!

Keep us updated on your progress & what you decide to do in regards to surgery. Will say, if you are having doubts about the surgery, don’t do it. You have to be mentally & emotionally ready before embarking on it. It may be that you’re just not ready now & that’s okay. All the best.

PS - I didn’t exercise at all when I was losing & do very little now (some at home stretching & resistance band things). Wouldn’t burn 30 calories LOL! Lost all my weight & more & have maintained that weight.

[catwoman7 10,922]

the first few months can be a challenge (although fortunately, most of us lose our sense of hunger for the first few months, which makes it easier), but after that, not really. At least not food-wise. By six months out I was cleared to eat anything my stomach could tolerate, which for me is pretty much everything. I eat a lot less than I used to (obviously), but no one would guess I had bariatric surgery at this point. They'd probably assume I'm just a light eater, like lots of my women friends who've never been obese. When I go out, I'll sometimes order just an appetizer or a salad, or if I get an entree, I'll eat half of it and take the rest home to have for lunch the following day. A lot of my friends do the same. I worried about this too since I'm a food lover as well, but other than cutting my portion size and just enjoying things like Desserts occasionally, I really don't notice a huge difference. I do try to prioritize Protein and vegetables since I need the nutrients (we all do) and my stomach is small, but I don't deny myself anything. Although there are some things like rice and Pasta that tend to sit in my stomach like a brick. I still eat those occasionally, but not a lot of them at one sitting.

P.S. your comment about being afraid you won't enjoy food. I enjoy it a lot - too much! (I've been in maintenance for years and it can be a struggle to keep from gaining weight). For the first few months after surgery, though, most of us lose our sense of hunger for up to a year (my hunger came back at five months out). Many of us also do lose some interest in food, too (and that comes back too!). But even though it's weird at first, enjoy it while it lasts and take full advantage of it. To be honest, I found it very liberating. It was so easy to lose weight when I was never hungry and didn't give a flip about food for the first time in my life! once I got over the weirdness of it, I LOVED it and wished I was one of the very lucky few whose hunger never came back (but again, it does come back for the vast majority of us)

[ms.sss 14,782]

i love food and still do.

there where a couple months in the beginning when i hated food, but it didn't bother me because, well i hated it, lol.

then for another couple months eating food was more like, meh. but i did like looking at it and cooking it...(thats a whole other story lol)

i eat basically whatever i want (except too much sugar at once), whenever i want. just in much, much smaller quantities at a time. dont get me wrong, im 5'2", 118 lbs and i can pack in over 2200 calories a day these days (im on an exercise kick), it's just spread out.

but in the end, you are ready when u ate ready.

i will leave u with this small tip: book your surgery if you can. if u do end up not wanting to go through with it when the time comes, you can ask to postpone to a later date. then see is you are ready then. if not, rinse and repeat. this way you may not have to "restart" the clock for qualifying purposes. this is what i did (not on purpose, just accidentally lol). i backed out of surgery dates twice...then finally went through with the third)

but not going through with it that first time is my single solitary regret of the entire WLS experience.

good luck! ❤️