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well I started this journey with spinal stenosis, at 341 pounds, my back hurt so much, i thought i was going to have to retire, i could only walk about one hundred yards, then i hurt so bad, i would need to sit down, my feet were swelling, i was taking all kinds of medicine, now, I only take flowmax, older male guy drugs, and that's it, My arthritis is almost gone, I can walk two miles no problem, blood pressure good, feet don't hurt. now I'm down to 255, my weight loss has slowed, but now wearing XL shirts not 3 and 4 Xl, pants size 48 to size 40. if My skin was removed, I would be a 38 waist here is me now, I am full of life again

Good Afternoon, I am a 41yr old male at 165kg at the very beginning of my journey, looking for reputable clinics in Sydney NSW to get consultations. I have researched and decided I want to get Gastric Sleeve with a minimizer ring. Does anyone have any advice for me or perhaps questions you wish you has asked your doctor before you went ahead with the surgery in the consultation phase? Also, I am curious what happens if you happen to swallow something that won't fit through the minimizer ring? If anyone has experiences they would like to share with us all (good or bad) please share. Those who have had the surgery years ago, how is it going? did you keep the weight off? Thank you

I was told I would have to stop taking vitamins a few weeks before surgery. But, why would you want to take them? The only reason to take bariatric vitamins is because you can't absorb vitamins due to a malabsorptive procedure or you can't eat enough of a variety of foods due to a restrictive procedure. otherwise, mostly vitamins just aren't necessary

First I want to say thank you to so many of the veteran posters on here. I hope you gals and guys know how much your experiences and feedback have helped me and I suspect many others. There's just such a fantastic mix of people and experiences - It's great knowing you aren't alone in this journey. The first few months after surgery were easy. The weight was simply falling off, there wasn't anything I couldn't eat or drink - And better yet, I couldn't overeat because of the restriction. I felt fantastic most of the time, had all sorts of NSV's and loved my new life. From August until January I lost almost 50lbs - I was so close to Wonderland I could taste it. THEN reality struck - Suddenly I was one of those "slow losers" - It took almost 2 months to lose 13lbs. UGH, I WAS going to be one of those slow losers. OK, fine, I'm 52 and it is what it is, right? From January until May, I "only" lost 33lbs. Again, every week/month I told myself that I would lose the weight, I was just in some sort of a stall and things would magically pick up. Well, they didn't, I would lose 2-3 lbs and then I would gain 2-3 lbs. Again, "it's normal" I told myself. Fast forward to a week ago - I jumped on here for some motivation (reading stories, etc.) and I took a hard look at what I was doing. Basically, I was being lazy - I was eating whatever I wanted and justifying it by saying "I only eat small portions" - Well, yeah, that was true...BUT I was grazing, I was drinking too much alcohol, and I wasn't tracking. I honetly have no idea how many calories I was consuming (especially on weekends with family and friends). I played mind games with myself and said "As long as I'm not gaining, I'm doing things right." - Well, that was a giant load of (@*$. This past Tuesday (after a weekend of Mimosa's, Crown Royal, and some really great BBQ), I woke up to a 5lb gain (BTW, yes I realize some of that was water retention). WAKE UP CALL. 5lbs? Seriously - Time to go back to basics before that's a 10lb gain. For the first time in MONTHS, I tracked every thing I tracked everything that went into my mouth (water, food, etc) - I did 3 days of liquid - In two days, those 5lbs were off. Rather than what I've done in the past, I didn't stop there - I continued tracking, I continued being cognizant of what and when I was eating. I said "no" to many things that I thought I wanted. I lost 6.8lbs from Tuesday to Sunday. What? I'm NOT a slow loser - I'm a LAZY loser. Folks, for many of us, it's EASY in the first few months, it's EASY to convince ourselves that we're doing OK, it's EASY to compare ourselves to others, it's EASY to ignore signs that you're falling into bad habits, and it's EASY to get lazy. In reality, it's HARD to stick to your plan when you're feeling fantastic and patting yourself on the back for losing so much weight. I'm choosing to be thankful that this happened now rather than 2-3 years into it. I'm glad that reality smacked me in the face and forced me to face the fact that i wasn't doing what I needed to do. Right now it was EASY to get back on track before I let it get out of control. For those of you experiencing the same - Buckle up buttercup, start tracking, weigh yourself often if you need to, and take a good look and when and why you're losing weight and when and why you aren't. Again, a very special thank you to you old timers for always keeping things real and giving out such fantastic advice.

I am unable to comment on the binge eating, others can help you there. Prior to my surgery, I did stay home. I was so embarrassed to go out because of my size and how it disgusted me. I had made myself disabled, it was so hard to do anything and doing the smallest home chores would leave me panting. I didn't want to be in the spotlight and have people talking about me being fat, so I remained at home. I was happier that way or so I thought. Now I know I was depressed. I have always been thrifty and seek out clothes on Ebay. I will go into a store [ or order online and return the item ] try on their range and then stalk the same clothes on Ebay. Now that I am loosing weight I am selling. I dont buy much because I will hopefully need a size smaller very soon. If you have to buy some more clothes - tell yourself they will be the last fat suits ever. Keep a set to remind yourself in your near future. Try them on occasionally and laugh and cry at how far you have come since you bought them. As River Moon said, Hang in there, not long now.

I haven't had experience with the sleeping issue, but I can definitely relate to the binge-eating. I will forever consider myself in recovery for binge-eating disorder, 'cause I know I'm not cured. I will always have to be mindful. I agree with Arabesque that a therapist can help you a great deal. I was already seeing a therapist due to other reasons, so she was able to help me address my eating habits and reasons for binging. I also got a referral to a Nutritional therapist who I started seeing about 2 months prior to my surgery. It's part of the requirements for approval for most plans (all plans are different though), but I am so thankful I started seeing her prior to the surgery. I still see her after the surgery (almost 1 year out now). She helped to prepare me for the changes that were going to come with the surgery. It is a huge mental change that takes place, but being prepared for what to expect made such a difference for me. She taught me to be mindful of my eating, when I eat, what I feel when I eat, and recognize the differences between head-hunger and true hunger. After my surgery it was still a struggle, but I know it would have been so much more difficult without that preparation. So, if you are able to see a therapist and/or a nutritional therapist, I highly recommend it. As for the clothing issue, I can relate to that for sure. Prior to surgery I just always wore stretchy stuff so it would allow me some give. But I also held out on buying many new clothes. Since my surgery, I've found I've had to change clothes sizes much more often and so I found this cool site called swap dot com (not sure if I'm allowed to link it). They have very nice options for very low and affordable prices. They're essentially an online thrift shop. They have been such a great help for me 'cause it's expensive constantly buying new clothing. So when I have absolutely needed a new piece of clothing that is expensive (like jeans, winter coat) I went there and save a great deal of money. I got some new jeans for $11 even. Then, when I'm done with them, I just donate them to a local donation center for someone else to be able to use. Hang in there, Thinblueline. It will be so worth it in the end! You got this!

Wishing you all all the best! My RNY was 4-5-22. Every day just gets better. My energy is still a lil low on purée 2 tbs plus liquids and shakes so not a ton of calories. All of my surgical incisions have healed. My surgery was on Tue and I was driving on Saturday for a pedicure and store run. My only advice is to toss the Food Bucket List! Start focusing on your goals of better health and go into your surgery as healthy as possible. It will help you heal and it sets the foundation mind and body for a healthy YOU. This surgery is only a tool, if you can’t wrap your head around what it means to have a different relationship with food you will risk regain and misery on the other side. My procedure was a revision after 23 yr. Pls know I would hate anyone to have my experience of regain, shame, and fear. I wish I knew back then what I know now! Tina 2.0

Rude comments are unnecessary. She asked a question in a forum made for ASKING QUESTIONS. If you don’t have anything helpful to contribute to the post then move along. I personally don’t see the issue with having a drink. I would suggest starting with 1 drink and seeing how you feel. Remember to sip slowly as it will hit a lot harder than what you are used to and worse case scenario if you do dump you’ll be able to feel it coming sooner if you’re sipping versus drinking faster. I hope you enjoy the wedding and spending time with your friends! ❤️

This has happened to others. Part of the human condition is that we often fail. You should not feel shame that you haven't lost more weight. Shame related to weight is counter productive. The pouch reset, of course, is nonsense. It want's people to think that the draconian diet they put you on for weeks or months has a purpose. You don't consume calories and lose weight? Amazing stuff there. So they try to reframe it as breaking & building new habits. You can do that without the draconian measures, probably better if you're not lying to yourself about what you're doing. Now down to the important issue: How do you get back on track? Get back on track. Think of this as a marathon. You've run a few miles then fall. What do you do? Do you get up and go back to the beginning, and start again? Do you go through your pre-race rituals? No. You get back up run. You don't warm up again, you don't strip down and redress? No. You just get up and get going. One foot in front of the other. So, you figured out you fell. Get up and get going again. Good Luck, Tek

I just wanted to share since this is a safe place.