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Thanks for the comments, stories and words of encouragement. As far as age goes, I'm only sorry I didn't do it much sooner (younger), but better late than never. I think for myself, there has always been this "fear" or mindset that surgery is/was the last option and if I had done it 10 years earlier and things didn't go well, I'd have to live the rest of my life dealing with the regret, frustration and failure. After the fact, I feel I have total control and have learned the life skills required to maintain this "new me" until I don't exist anymore. And as far as people-pleasing, I still aim to please, but I'm starting with myself!😜

Can we pretend this is an Overeaters Anonymous meeting and it's my turn to stand up front and bare my soul?...especially since I never had the balls to set foot in a live meeting during my 35 years of having a BMI score higher than my IQ. There's donuts in the back...JOKE😁 It's been almost a year since my sleeve surgery and I couldn't be happier with the physical results. I was 60 years old, 5'4" and weighed close to 210 when I finally made an appointment with a bariatric surgeon. I'm now 61 and 134 pounds...I'm still 5'4" though. The past few days I've been in deep thought mode and was just hoping to use this forum to vent and hopefully get some feedback, positive or negative. Dining out: It's going to happen. It was probably part of your life pre-surgery, so it's naive of you to think it won't be a part of your life post-surgery. So maybe it's just me and my family (obese mother) and significant other (F, normal weight), but the minute the menu appears, I get a barrage of "Oh..they have plenty of appetizers and small portions you can order. Be careful, etc. Did you see the vegetable plate?" OK, so I know my significant other and my mom love me and are probably just concerned about my health and eating habits post-op, and if I'm being overly sensitive, just tell me and I'll shut up, but when they say things like that, it's not helping! If anything, something deep in my primordial starving "fat" brain wants to order the biggest thing on the menu and attempt to eat it. When it happened yesterday at lunch, I calmly and nicely asked both of them if they could refrain from offering me ordering advice, as I assured them, thinking about the ordering process and the actual eating of said meal in a healthy manner was the number one priority on my mind pretty much 24/7. They didn't seem to take it too well. Which leads me to my next thought... I might be stereotyping, but I'm willing to bet that a lot of us here were never/are not selfish people. I'm sure there are pages of psychological data written about the personality traits of the chronically obese and the myriad reasons we ended up as we did. My point is, after bariatric surgery, you might have to become a little selfish. You may need to put yourself first, sometimes to the detriment of others. Obviously, it helps if you can do this in a nice manner, but with certain people and situations in your life post-surgery, you might just have to be a selfish a*****e. If your new lifestyle (diet, whatever you want to call it), exercise regimen, food habits, etc don't quite mesh with those around you, too bad. This is your last chance at success and you need to make YOU the priority. I walk a lot now...and it takes a lot of time. Some of that is time I used to spend with other people...now it's not always like that. Some have mentioned it. I don't care. I always invite them to walk with me but I'm not going to not walk because they want to do something else or don't feel like walking. When I think about some of the healthiest people I have known in my life, they were/are quite selfish when it comes to exercise. One of my friends has been to the gym every morning from 5:30-7:30 for 35 years. He never misses. It's not an option. That's amazing to me because despite the genetics of obesity, there's no question that having some type of exercise regimen helps at some level. Did I ever have that level of commitment? Only to stopping at Whataburger several times a week. So as much as I read pre-surgery and even with the psychological profiling the doctor did, I never read much or heard anyone talk about some of the changes I needed to make mentally to make this work. It seems like most of the pre-surgery discussion is about how to eat before and after the surgery and most of the psychological discussion is about not letting one addiction (food) be supplanted by another (drugs, alcohol, etc). The crux of this dissertation, if you're still reading, is that there couldn't be more truth to the phrase bantered around here...."They operated on your stomach, not your brain". Prepare yourself for some mental challenges that being thinner does not make any easier. I must look a lot better because everyone tells me so...but I don't always feel better. Some of the same issues I've dealt with all my life, totally unrelated to weight, are still around. It's not that I expected them to disappear, but I think at some level, deep down, many of us think/thought, "Oh, if only I weren't so fat, I wouldn't have to deal with this problem [insert the problem/issue of your choosing]". Maybe I was just being naive or stupid, or both, but even being "thin" comes with plenty of challenges. I know these are "first world" problems and I'm not trying to sound like a complaining, spoiled brat. I just wanted to let off some steam here in the hopes that I'm not alone. Thanks for listening.

My surgery was May 1. I'm down 88 lbs and I feel great! 14 more to go until I hit my goal.

same happened to me. i had to buy my supply of protein shakes from my surgeon's office. i was green and eager and didn't even question it. but yeah, looking back i realize they probably (at best) just wanted everyone doing the same thing, and (at worst) just wanted my money. i didnt end up buying more after surgery (because thier shakes were just too sweet for me post op) and also i smartened up a bit and read the label. i bought my own preferred brand after surgery (Isopure) and turned out just fine.

My hunger is back (started around week 8), not as bad as it was before...but so has the head hunger. If I crave certain things I know it is head hunger so I ignore it. Glad you got it done!!

I had surgery on Monday October 2nd. I can't tell you how free I felt. I just felt satisfied and no need to eat. It was such a relief. Not thinking of what I could eat. I know what my selections are so I feel content. I had wonderful care in the hospital. I'm so glad I found this forum. I battle alone throughout my pre-op journey. So thank you everyone.

There are definitely other brands of 100% whey protein isolate available. I mean, it does sound like they want you to buy from them, but I would compare the price to make sure they aren't marking it up. My doctor's office just gave us a list of brands to consider, plus a few requirements for fat and sugar content. They were more concerned with us finding flavors we liked, which you can't always do with a single brand option. Then again, my doctor also doesn't require more than 48 hours of a liquid diet and doesn't do the puree stage, just soft, well-cooked foods you can chew down to mush. So they're all different. Which leads me to believe many of the "rules" are more like "preferences."

@Libra3636 Thanks for joining. My surgery is not until the 27th,but I know you are not alone there is a ton of info on this site, including rants and raves page. I hope you get to feeling better tomorrow.

Studies show that the likelihood of losing this much and maintaining without surgery is basically 0%. So, the real choice was staying where you were (and likely gaining more) or WLS. I'm sorry that you're struggling. Your outcome seems to be quite extreme, both physically and emotionally. Are you working with your WLS team to address? Engaged in therapy? This constellation of challenges seems to be beyond what you can address without help from medical professionals.

If you're done having children, ask for an endometrial ablation. I had absolutely horrible periods (way before WLS), and after my procedure, I haven't had one since. Even after the WLS and the estrogen surge. If you're not done having kids, seek a second opinion from a GYN.