LouiseC

From what I have seen, it is really different person to person. I am no where near 5 years out, I am only 15 months out, however I know I feel more restriction than others I know who have had the sleeve. I can rarely eat more than a cupful of food at any meal. Bread, Pasta and rice are only tolerated in very small amounts. I still don't go near bulky vegetables, preferring to Soup them for the nutrients than waste what little space i have eating them unblended. Raw fruit and veges still don't work for me, i throw them up. In my annual check up with my surgeon she advised that the restriction I feel now is likely to be my new normal. I also do not feel hunger, which, believe it or not, can be problematic. A mixed blessing really.

Do I think it is alright? No. I don't think it is. Seeking approval to cheat is doing yourself a massive disservice. Either cheat and own the fact you cheated, or don't cheat. To cheat and seek validation is really not taking responsibility for your own choices. If you are going to have the best possible outcomes post surgery then you need to be able to be responsible for your own choices, even when those choices are poor. 'I had a dill pickle even though i am meant to only be on shakes but it was just a pickle so its okay' is no different to post op 'I had a chocolate shake but it is still a full liquid so its okay because I was really tired and needed energy'. Sure, the calories and fat between a dill pickle and a shake are different and one is clearly better than the other but that's not the point. This surgery is a tool and for you to use that tool effectively you need to learn to take responsibility for your decisions, actions, and choices over what you put in your mouth. So own the fact you had a dill pickle, you broke your diet, you learnt from it, and you won't have another dill pickle and instead choose to ride this hard part of the pre OP diet out as it will all be worth it in time. If you seek validation for your bad choices, you won't learn to take that responsibility. I know this seems really harsh in response to a dill pickle, but for me, personal responsibility and honesty have been what has led to my own success.

Congratulations! You have sat upright at 1pm and realised your choices are not the best for you or your health and decided to finish the day differently. I would guess that in pre surgery diets, a bad morning could lead to a bad afternoon, which could lead to a bad week.......... I know. I have been there. I still have days where I make f'd up choices. The trick for me is to not let it de rail me. Recognise I had a choice, I made a poor one, and then move forward carrying the learning. I no longer beat myself up over it. I will often then calculate the calories and actively burn them off, making a connection in my head of 'well, it is okay to have that second (or third, or fourth) glass of wine if you are prepared to keep this elliptical machine rocking for another twenty minutes'. It has been a powerful learning process for me and I no longer allow self sabotage. When I screw up, I own my poor choice(just like you have done with this thread!) and then I try and recover it or fix it. I use the disappointment in my actions as a reminder to remain present in the moment and in control of what I put in my body. I also know I am going to continue to make poor choices. Why? Because I am human and as a human I am imperfect and will do dumb things sometimes. Making mistakes, failure, is all part of being a human being. Know this, be okay with this, and I have found success actually comes closer to me, not further away. Just because I make a poor choice, just because I failed at lunch, does not make me a failure in my life. It was just a poor choice. I can make a good choice to recover from it through working out, and I can carry on with my day being more conscious, more present and making better choices for my health. Good luck.

Just because you are tired of following 'the rules' doesn't make the 'rule' BS. Water is essential. If you wait to drink until you feel thirst then you are already suffering from dehydration. This has an impact on way more than your weight loss. I drink a minimum of 2 litres a day which I think is about 64 ounces. Eight glasses minimum. I add sugar free Vitamin sachets to adjust the ph level as I can not tolerate hard water the way I could pre surgery. On days where I exercise, I add another half litre, at least 2 glasses, though often more. On days where I complete hot yoga then I add another litre at least plus then I follow up with an electrolyte replacement, usually coconut water. When I slack off on the water intake, it impacts noticeably on my weight loss, on my bowel health, on my skin moisture, on my hair and scalp. This has made me wonder if this is what I can actually notice, what is going on under the skin, what impacts are occurring that I can't see? Water poisoning is so rare and it is nonsensical to suggest this as a consideration in the decision whether or not to drink the recommended minimum intake of H2O! I note in a later post that you say maybe you are just tired. Know what will help you sleep better and feel less tired during the day? Hydration!

I was just about to post this very same recommendation! I love Brene Brown, her books and TED talks are wonderful. To the OP, letting others see you were not able to control this and that you needed help is more likely to reflect positively in how they think of you than negatively. We view our own vulnerability as a weakness and yet in others we view it as courage. When you are not afraid to seek help, not afraid to say you can't do something 'on your own' people respond positively. Yet somehow, we imagine the people who we care about will view us as somehow less than. They don't. They are more likely to view us as courageous. Your husband is right, you have found what is potentially a solution to a problem you have had difficulty resolving. This is pretty much the approach I took and it has worked well for me. Really well. Let go of the shame, and watch that TED talk :-D

Body attack is my favourite group fitness, I wear a heart monitor and easily burn over 700 calories in one hour sessions. Amazing stuff, lots of jumping which I never, ever thought I could do! I recently did an acroyoga workshop. Amazing! It was a mind bender and while I was still the biggest person there I know I never. Ever could have even imagined doing this pre surgery. You probably have to youtube acroyoga to understand it, but let's just say it was a surreal experience and I did things I would not have thought myself capable of! That has been the trick for me with exercise, a bit of a mantra I recite in my head " the mind will quit well before the body". So I remember this, when I want to quit or think I can't, it is my mind. I am learning to trust my body and ignore my mind and ego when finding my physical capabilities and limits.

I am 14 months out and just 7 kilos from goal. I travel a lot for work so it can be a struggle to maintain a regime however I strive each week to have: 3 hot yoga 90 minute sessions (usually mukti but sometimes bikram, yin, or vinyasa) 3 group fitness classes at the gym mix (body attack, body combat and pump) Cardio as and when I can get it, usually just a mix of elliptical and treadmill, and fitting in and around group fitness classes, so if I miss a class I do a cardio session

I wanted to go back to work after mine so I choose nothing more than a simple throat spray to lube/numb the throat. It was pretty disgusting and the nurse had to hold me down initially to stop the automatic reflex reaction to want to pull the tube out but once I got through that it was over quickly and forgotten. Then I could just head straight back to work with no need for additional drama.

I have been technically "allowed" to eat salad for 9 months however I am 13 months post surgery and I can still barely tolerate raw vegetables, especially lettuce. We are all different and it is not easy to predict how our sleeve is going to settle downer what we will be able to tolerate or not. Through summer here I missed salads terribly. Now it is winter so I am able to get into my Soups and feel pretty good. I am hoping by the time summer rolls around again my sleeve will decide to try and digest a bit of salad without problems! Good luck to you.

I started bikram when I was at my heaviest so I could bend like a pretzel when I was fat b***h as well as now when I am a skinny b***h :-D Bikram is awesome.

Ahh, sweet irony. 'Don't be hatin' on my hate thread', too funny. Thank you very much for the giggles.

That is insane! You have done amazing!

Skinny is not equal to happiness. I have a friend who struggles, really struggles, to gain any weight. She got sick and her weight dropped dangerously low. She is a type one insulin dependant diabetic so it isn't as simple as just eating some pies for her. Gaining weight is hard work, losing any is frightening, and I have learnt to have some compassion for her rather than being envious of her pants size. Sometimes we can be so focused on our own troubles and struggles that we forget that skinny on its own is not a sole indicator of good health or happiness.

I use H2Coco and absolutely love it. So far, it is the only brand I have enjoyed and is easier to access than the real thing! I drink 250mls of coconut Water after hot yoga as I believe it is better than sports drinks for replenishing some of what I have lost with the intense sweating hot yoga produces. It is 80 calories but worth every one of them in my eyes.

I didn't worry about this at all. I was more concerned with dying from obesity related issues than from surgery, after all, the risks were way higher if I had continued without the surgery.

DeeJack08, Your weight loss is great and you look fantastic, but OMG I want to reach into the computer and hug that adorable baby! Too cute.

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My surgeon had me on shakes and puréed food from day 3 when I left the hospital. That said, I would not recommend that you deviate from the plan that is in place for you. All our plans are different, and we all get different advice from our surgeons and NUTs, but we are all different too! There is no cookie cutter plan for this. So best to stick with the plan they give you.

I always answer these threads the same. Either tell people the truth or tell them nothing at all. If you lie, it could come back to you and you may well regret it. If you lie and people realise you are lying (which can happen especially if you lose a lot of weight) then your reputation is negatively affected in the eyes of your managers, peers, and colleagues. I always recommend that people chose to act with integrity. Either tell the truth or say nothing at all.

Thank you. The package I got was around $21K I don't attend any support groups, I didn't know there were any here. Though I don't think I have had the need to either. I know a couple of others who have had the sleev and a few who have had the bypass so that has been really good.

Hi there I am just about at 13 months post surgery and have past the 50 kilo loss point. It is pretty damn awesome. I am another Aucklander and had my sleeve done privately in Epsom with Stephanie Ulmer. She was amazing. Always happy to share anything about my journey to date :-)