gustavo52974

1. Not worrying that I have roughly 30 seconds to tie my shoes before I pass out. 2. Not being a B cup. 3. Not having the fear that the buttons on my clothes might pop off. 4. Not wanting to finish the food on other people's plates. 5. Not being able to see my feet (or other assorted body parts) while standing.

Swimming is amazing exercise! It will get you shredded. They don't call it a "swimmer's build" for nothing! And if reading were cardio activity maybe this country would be more literate.

I flipped out because there were two days during my second week where the scale didn't move. Now I look back and laugh at myself! I know it's difficult, but be patient. Follow your post-op diet; it WILL start to come off.

Fun fact: honey is the only food that won't go bad. And I might be completely talking through my hat here, but I think I remember reading somewhere that the acidity in lemons doesn't affect the stomach/body the way other acidulous foods do. It has something to do with the way the body converts the nutrients or something. I could be wrong though. My post-op memory isn't quite as good these days.

Yeah, I agree...childbirth was worse. Wait...I think I wandered into the wrong forum...again!...ugh. Damn, I'm so addicted to VST that I'll post on any thread...I'll leave this forum now. That is all.

You know what they say, "Knitting is the new yoga!" I don't knit myself, but having a hobby does help.

My sister is now 40 and she has had her stuffed animal since she was 3. It's pretty worn down, but she still has it. If any one of us in my family even THOUGHT of throwing it away, we'd receive the wrath of hell.

Before certain people jump on here and start with the "you have to change the way you look at food" speeches, I should make it clear that my post about the Pasta was my experience with pasta and that it should in no way be taken as an endorsement, recommendation, advocacy, affirmation, approval, or countersignature of similar behavior. My relationship with food was apparently a lot different than some others on here. I was a "volume eater" becuase of other medical problems I had been having that were making me extraordinarily hungry all the time. But I know now, through counseling, that I really wasn't trying to fill a void in my life with food. I thought that might be the case, but it's not. I've only been obese for the last couple years when my other medical problems started. They were eventually corrected, but the weight stayed on. No, I wasn't always "thin" before my weight gain, but I had never put on that much weight. So the "void" wasn't my problem after all. However, if you think the "void" problem might be part of why you are overweight, then I'd rethink why you might be craving pasta.

My weight loss is way beyond noticeable now (50 pounds in 6 weeks) And, ironically, most of the people in my office who have commented on my weight loss (in a good way) are the straight guys! Everyone knows I'm gay, so imagine my surprise. The women just gnash their teeth and look at me somewhat suspiciously. The other gay guys in the office are mostly of the "poisonous hissing queens" species, so I knew I'd get nothing from them except bitchy gossip behind my back. Go figure!

I tried 8 pieces of Dreamfield's low-carb (low glycemic) penne pasta. That was all I could eat in one sitting. And it felt decadent to even be eating that! But I was cleared for "soft-cooked" pasta and I thought I'd go for it. Felt a little guilty afterwards because we're supposed to be changing our eating habits for the better and all that. But I agree with the above comments that if you do eat pasta, limit it as much as you can.

Yes, I've noticed that when I sit on a hard surface I can feel the bones in my butt (must be my pelvis). Normally I have extra padding down there, but I suppose I don't anymore.

Yes, the "one year" thing is arbitrary and meaningless if they're talking about strictly a 365-day period of time. My surgeon laughed when I asked him about this.

Define "normally".

Wait....You put a bookcase together? Wow. You sound like quite a formidable woman.

If it makes you feel less alone, I actually broke two stools at my favorite Indian restaurant. Two! It's a small restaurant so they only have a counter and stools. It was just like that diner scene in the movie "There's Something About Mary". I was surprised they didn't ban me from the restaurant. And what's worse is that the last time I went there, I noticed they had replaced the old stools with ones that were super-reinforced industrial strength designs. I don't know if they were trying to accommodate me or give me a hint.

I'd be concerned if you weren't at least a little nervous or scared. I consider myself a very brave person, almost to a fault. But I had my internal freak-out moments, especially when being wheeled into surgery. This is normal for those of us who are carbon-based life forms.

Kimberly82: my post-op diet is the same as yours. My surgeon and NUT urged that this was the proper way for your stomach to heal. I have been able to follow it so far, though it's been tough.

I agree BKMama. Yes, food is a means to an end. But I don't see anything wrong with enjoying food either. In the words of our dearly departed Julia Child, who obviously enjoyed food, "If you want to loose weight, eat less!"

Fear is normal. It means you're not a reptile.

Yay! I'll do it then! I rather enjoy writing and I don't get a chance to do it much in my job. I'm 38 and I still say things like, "Yay!" That's gotta be worth a page in someone's book!

Thank you! I should also mention here though that I was also surprised I even wanted a bite of the cake in the first place. Since surgery, I've become very intolerant to sugar and the taste of anything truly sweet (I don't know if this is normal, but it's been my experience). As a result, I've more or less broken my "addiction" to things like chocolate, pastries, etc. And though I'm way past my liquid phase, the other day I had an Ensure Plus Protein shake for lunch that was leftover in the fridge because I had no time to go and get something. The 22 grams of sugar in that thing turned me inside out. I can't imagine what a piece of chocolate cake would do to me.

You know, it's funny that as I'm reading this thread, I'm watching a commercial for Outback Steakhouse. They're shoving huge plates of shiny food at the camera and I'm thinking two things: 1. Is food supposed to shine like that? I've never seen food that looks shiny, except for Chinese food and that's because they dump tons of MSG on it. That can't be good. and 2. I absolutely cannot believe now that I was ever able to eat that much food! Not only would I eat everything on that plate, but I probably would have finished whatever anyone else at my table couldn't eat as well. I was a "volume eater" and I truly mourned the fact that I couldn't eat as much as I used to. But as time went on, I began to realize that I was vaguely disgusted by the amount of food others can eat. I'll sit across someone eating and look at their food and be stunned that they could possibly finish what they're eating. Case in point: Our beloved receptionist at work had a birthday and we all threw her a party. Of course there was a huge cake--Valrhona chocolate, which is one of my favorites (yes, I know my chocolate!). I didn't have any, but I thought to myself, "Wow, I'd love to have a bite of that." A bite? What?! Now, I was surprised by this because somehow my mind can only imagine taking just "a bite" of something. Before surgery, my default would have been, "Wow, I'd love to have a couple large slices of that." Flabbergasting to me is that a pre-surgery convicted "volume eater" like myself could ever default to being happy with just a bite of something. But yes, now just a bite of something can make me fully satisfied. This is what VSG can do for you! A few bites of my meal and I have that wonderful feeling of fullness that I call "the food high" which I used to only obtain by eating everyone else under the table. My point is that your mind will adjust. You will eventually look at 8 pieces of low-carb penne Pasta with a little marinara sauce and think, "Now I get to pig out!"