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Hi, I had weight loss surgery when I was 63 and I am now 65 . I have been sleeved of 2 1/2 years. I lost 105 pounds on my journey. So I do know a little about what I am going to say. I have done what you want to do or have already done. So I have been thinking about this. WHY do so many of our friends not say Yay! or I am happy for you? 1. They know NOTHING about weight loss surgery let alone when we say we are have the "sleeve" done? 2. They have not heard of any positive things about WLS. 3. They are scared for us because we are having some kind of surgery they no nothing about. 4. They think we are having gastric bypass (we know it isn't but they don't) and they have heard nothing but bad thing when it comes to this surgery. Dumping, malnutrition, people gaining weight back again, because they have stretched out their pouch. 5. The are sure we are going to die during the surgery.:thumbs_down: 6. They have never had a weight problem in their life.:censored: 7. They view this as the easy way out--it take more courage to have this surgery than to do nothing at all, but they beleive it is the easy way out. 8. How will you stop losing weight. 9. Is this healthy--they are sure it isn't.:hurt: 10. It cost too much money and you will never keep the weight off and WHY if you are over 60 would you want to do this to yourself? So those are the top ten reason I can think of that the people are thinking all these things. I think if we are willing to talk more about it to them "AFTER" we have had the surgery and explain things to them--I say educate the uneducated friends that we have, they may be more willing to listen. There are so many people that just can't image that we would have surgery to lose weight, so they really have to see with their own eyes that you are OK and healthy and this is working for you. I know you want their support, but honestly sometimes it is just not going to happen. This isn't something that we just woke up one morning and said hey I think I will have someone remove 80% of my stomach and then I will solve all my weight issues. We thought about this for a long time, we did some research, we checked with other people and joined web sites to educated ourselves. So, don't let the uneducated people in your life stop you from doing what you know is right for you. If you had a tooth ache you would go see a dentist to get it fixed--and they would think that is the right thing to do. We have an addiction to food and an emotional connection to food. What is wrong with going and getting the help we need to stop our addiction. This is our tool that we are going to use to accomplish the weight loss with. It isn't a magical cure by any means. It takes time, work and effort on our part to become successful. A little support along the way also helps a heap! Finding the right doctor to trust our life with and one who is highly skilled in the field of WLS is the next step. For me that was Dr. Aceves, and I can't say enough kind words about him and his skills and he GREAT staff and wonderful hospital. I knew at 63 if I was going to take this giant step, it had to be with someone that I trusted and that had done a lot of these with no complications and was a skilled surgeon. So when the next person you talk to rolls their eyes around because you are over 60 and going to have weight loss surgery, please just have some patients with them. The are very UNEDUCATED. We will work at educating them and letting them know that this really isn't about them at all. It is ALL about you and you have earned and deserved the right to have this surgery. You will be making a lifestyle change and not be on a diet any more. You are going to put yourself first, for the first time in a long time. I want you to feel good about what you are doing because it is going to be a life changing event that is going to be so fabulous. Someone is going to call your "skinny" for the first time and you are going to smile and say "yes" I did it. I am here every step of the way to assist, you and help you. I will answer your million questions you may have and help you deal with the emotions that you are feeling. I want you to know that you are doing the right thing by wanting to become healthy and add years to your life. Hugs to you and you go for what you want in life. If not now then WHEN???? Suzanne

Did you have bypass or sleeve? GB leads me to believe you had bypass but this is in the sleeve forum so wanted to be sure. Do you have a nutritionist? If so I would be really surprised if they said breads & rice were okay to eat this early out. For most people those things are big no-nos. Mainly because they are carbs, they're pretty much devoid of nutritional value, and they typically do not sit well in the stomach so close to surgery. Everybody is different in their weight loss, and while you may not be able to prove that the carbs you are eating are directly related to that I would get rid of them pronto.

First off, during the first two months post surgery, your stonach is still healing. Please be sure to follow the prescribed diet. Secondly, never weigh yourself the first month. Your body is in chaos and weight is a non-issue. Thirdly, many of those with 30lb losses in any month are either very high bmi, or had complications. The average first month loss is 15lbs, and 10lbs thereafter. Normal for you might be higher or lower. Stick to your plan, and you'll do well!

You've got this! Surgery day is tomorrow for me!

This entire time I've been beating myself up because I feel like I either haven't lost as much as I feel as though I should have...or I'm not seeing enough changes. And then I compare pictures like this! Slowly but surely I'm getting there!!! About 10lbs more until I get to my short term goal! HW: 274 SW: 262 CW: 232 VGS: 11/17/16

Your sleeve when you first start holds roughly 4 oz. Over the first year, the swelling goes down and it will settle somewhere between 6-8 oz. The stretchy part called the fundus was cut out. The part your left with isn't really stretchy.

I suck on sugar free candies and also ginger candy from the pharmacy section for nausea. And yes, the sleeve can be stretched unfortunately Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hello! I have been wanting to hear from others who were sleeves about the same time I started at 212 and am not at 156. I am def losing slow but I have not really exercised much at all [emoji15][emoji15] I know that's terrible and am getting on it soon.

I hate that there are people like this all around us! We all made a positive and healthy decision and for once truly took control over our lives! Some people just can't rally behind you...whether it be jealousy, strong opinions etc. Mostly, they have low self esteem and instead of focusing on themselves, they attack you. I am very sad for those people. Just trust in yourself and your journey! If they were meant to be in your life, it will work itself out. If not, rid yourself of the negativity! Good luck and congrats on your progress...you are a rock star!! Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

I was sleeved in August 2015. My weight the day of surgery was 349 and I currently weight 217 I'm 5'9. My goal weight is 165/170 depending on my clothing size. I always wanted to be a medium sized women's 10/12 and I'm a 16 now. I fell off the program a little bit and carbs have slowed my weightloss. I'm getting back on track with clean eating meal prepping and exercising moderately for 6 days a week with HITT cardio and strength training. I have 50 pounds to lose before I get to goal. Let's do this together and hold each other accountable.