Matt Z

Yes, the whole myth that you'll never feel hunger again, is just that, a myth. Sure some folks get lucky, however most do not. You'll get more of a "full" sensation once you start moving to real foods.

My Pre-op was 3-4 shakes, I was allowed broth, but I didn't drink any because I don't like it, tastes like hot sweat... I was also allowed SF Jello, watermelon and the life saver, celery!

Whereas I cannot stand the taste of eggs, I can fully understand this sentiment! I was on puree's before I left the hospital, and for my first "meal" they gave me cream of wheat, which I hate. But I ate some and was so thankful for something that wasn't liquid!

What's your daily intake look like, are you tracking? If so, how many calories are you consuming a day? How much water are you consuming? How much protein? How much are you exercising? Everyone is going to lose at different rates, but if you are hitting your intake goals, and are exercising, and are following your doctors orders, then you are doing fine. Don't compare yourself to anyone else, unless you happen to be a multiple (twin, triplet, etc)... you are unique and no one else is going to lose (or gain) exactly the same way.

It gets better... MUCH better. The trick is to really take your time and be patient. Foods more than likely will treat you differently than before. You might like stuff you used to hate and you could run into situations where things you loved... you can no longer tolerate. When you do start, just take it very slow. Nothing worse than diving into something only to realize your stomach no longer can handle it and then you end up in tons of pain for hours. Give yourself time to react to the foods while you are testing out your new stomach.

ride the recumbent bikes. easier on the back and knees overall. And really push the water intake, it's so very important to get in more water than your body typically needs and to avoid things that are diuretics right now, like soda, coffee, tea, caffeine... you'll get back to them later on, but if you REALLY want to make sure you stick this surgery... you've got to pretty much give up everything, for now.

If you haven't check into the "Weight gainer" proteins, high calorie options for building muscle, these are going to be key with limited room for consumption, not like we can pound a few steaks right!

I went with the band back in 2011, because I didn't want a permanent changes to be made to my body, and I got exactly what I asked for, nothing permanent.

Congrats and good lucky today!

I'm curious, were you *really* following the diet they gave you to the letter without cheating? If you really did, and you didn't lose any weight, I personally would call out the nutritionist for providing you with a diet that wouldn't meet your needs. But, 6 months to lose 10 lbs, isn't hard to do. Simply cutting most to all carbs, soda and sugars will net you a 10 lb drop fairly quickly.

That's a major myth that needs to go away, the whole "get the surgery and never feel hungry"... some folks are lucky, and it doesn't go away, but most... either never lose it, or it comes back within a year. But, Yes when you start getting into the thicker foods, they'll hang around longer making you feel full longer.

If you left all "what ifs" dictate your life, where would you be right now? Would you ever drive because "what if" you get into an accident? "what if" someone is drunk driving right now? Would you eat, I mean, "what if" you get food poising? "what if" you aren't good enough? "what if" a plane crashes on your head? Fear is normal. It's natural. Letting it consume you however is not. So, what if. What if you don't get the surgery? Where along the lines will your knees give out or your heart fail or your cholesterol get too high and you end up with a clogged artery or you have a stroke due or aneurysm due to high blood pressure? Focus on the reasons why you want the surgery. Yes there is a risk, but it's no where near as great as it used to be, and the statistics are slightly skewed because of the older types of surgery tainting the numbers. Just remember your reasons for wanting the surgery.

Talk with your surgeon/nutrition and ask if there is anything you can add to help you out. Everyone's pre-op diet is so drastically different that it's hard to find a true reason for any one of them. I was allowed celery, SF jello and watermelon on my pre-op. See if your surgeon/nutritionist will approve the celery, it's a "negative calorie food" so it's not going to add anything calorie wise, but the fiber will help keep you feeling full longer.

I'm sorry but he's not exactly correct. Similar sure, but the bypass and ds both have higher weight loss amounts and longer weight loss retention than the sleeve does. Look around for sleeve revisions, there are quite a few. Did your doctor tell you about the increased acid reflux issues that are super common with the sleeve?

I'm going to have to refute this, I've never bought plus sized clothing that didn't have extra charges on them for being plus sized. If anything, it's unfair that there are far less plus sized men's clothing than women's. When was the last time you saw a whole plus sized section for men in a clothing store? You see plus sized women's all over the place. Me and a female friend of a similar size could walk into any store and odds are she'd find what she wanted and I wouldn't find anything, or a greatly reduced selection.

Pain is so completely subjective that it's pretty impossible for anyone else to tell you want you are going to feel. It's a different needle than would typically be inserted into you, it's got the opening on the side of the needle and not the tip, this is so that the needle doesn't cut a whole in your port. You'll lay down, they might have you flex your abs, they might have you do a bit of a crunch to push the port closer to the skin. They insert the needle then have to move it around a bit to get it into the port, sometimes they have to remove the needle and try again. I've had situations where it took them 4 or 5 sticks to get it right. It's going to feel like getting stuck with a needle... whatever pain you experience when giving blood, it's a little bit of an increase from that sensation, and potentially several of those. Not horrible, but not always super easy.

That's not tape. Those are tattoos. And it's like a car crash or a train wreck... it's just tough to look away. Long story short, I **HATED** my nipples, so I crossed them off.

Thanks Matt! My friend (she had the sleeve done in December 2018) was saying to find a group of individuals who had it done right around the time I am going to get it done. That way we can have someone on the same path you know? I understand that... but with how often people tend to "fall of the face of the Earth" with WLS stuff, those pages get unused really quickly. I've been in several over the 8 years or so I've been dealing with WLS's and it's always the same... a short period of activity followed by a very steady decline in participation. The open, non-specific groups have better, more consistent usage.

104 lbs difference between the 2 sets 138 lbs dropped total for both WLS's 78 lbs dropped since March 2nd 2018 I've had setbacks that lasted years. I've had times where I felt like a failure. I've have times where I'd given up. But I didn't accept any of that BS. It's not how we fall, it's how we get back that matters. Even if you've given up right now... unless you are dead, you can still get up, dust off and get back on track.

Just remember this^^. Because there are going to be more times ahead where you stumble and feel like it's never going to get better. But, as you've seen yourself, it does. Congrats on "getting" one of the most important things with WLS... that mental game is a beeotch!

This is only a phase. Soon enough you'll be able to eat out. Just with some minor adjustments. You'll back to feeling normal in no time. I 100% fully understand what you are feeling, I had plenty of the same thoughts and emotions thinking about how I'll never be able to do this or that. But you know what. It all worked out just fine. For the items I really can't keep eating because of the bypass, I've found alternatives that satiate those feelings. And some things I thought I never could have again... I have no issues with. I just don't consume them nearly as much as I have before. Just remember all the reasons you wanted the surgery, remember that those "normal" things you used to love to do / eat... might not have been healthy at all. Change sucks. But oh boy is this change worth it! Stay strong, this too will pass.

Baby food is a pureed food, so it is ok to use. Just have to watch the sugar and sodium. But it's fine to use. We were advised we could use them if we wanted to.

There really isn't much of an average. It's a very wide variation. I was on 3 weeks. Some folks 2, some 4, some people are on them for months.

My first car, a 1983 Toyota Celica GT, was nicknamed "Spud" Because it was a 2 tone brown paint job with a different color brown pin striping and it was rusted up. The interior was also several different shades of brown.