kwikwits

Regardless of the weather, there is always sunshine when one has a dog in their life!!! I can't wait to get back into the show ring and be able to keep up with my Standard Poodles!!!! WWWOOOO HHHHHOOOOO!!!!!! :clap2: :first: "The Jewels Of June" are heading into YOUR town!!!!:car: Valentina :grouphug: Hey Valentina!!!! This June Jewel is down 7 lbs from the first week of this damn liquid pre op diet!!! Woo woo... June 1st is so damn close....YIKES! I'll be waiting for you to join me...and bring the dogs! One can never have too many companion animals!

Hang in there Snacks... GreenEyedMama makes an important point -- don't just rely on the scale to know if you are burning fat. How are your clothes fitting you? Feeling looser? In my checkered weight loss history I learned that my weight can stay absolutely the same for a two week period when I'm eating sensibly and working out regularly -- typically cardio and strength training, alternating upper & lower body every other day. At the end of two weeks when I measured my self I had lost a total of 9 inches -- including 4 inches off my waist and I'm an apple -- I don't have a waist -- my waist is wherever the elastic on my panties settles! One other thing -- are you drinking Water? Water can really make a difference and get stuff moving. Oh yeah -- try to only weigh yourself once a week. I think the daily or many times a day hopping on the scale is just going to make you crazy! Keep on doing what you know to do. Don't doubt yourself, your eating plan or your sleeve -- you are going to lose more weight. A good Protein snack is pistachio nuts -- they have the lowest calorie content for all tree nuts, lots of Fiber, good fats and a 1oz serving is about 49 kernels. Almonds are great too...lots of healthy fats and lots of fiber (most of the carbs in almonds are from fiber so the net carbs are low).

Melissa, I understand and I'm scared too. Change is very scary. VSG is a very big deal! Hey, even my PCP just kept saying to me -- "A gastrectomy?" Very drastic measure of course. But I asked myself this question -- "realistically what are my chances of losing 100 lbs plus if I don't do this?" At this age (56!!!) I'm faced with the reality that my obesity is ruining my quality of life. Yes, I have hypertension, high cholesterol and borderline diabetes...but for me the clincher is fear I won't be mobile! My joints are NOT HAPPY! I never thought I would get so heavy that I have to avoid visiting people and places because there a physical obstacles I can't navigate anymore. And maybe it takes doing something this drastic -- permanently altering my stomach to commit to change. I know VSG is a tool...I will have to work hard to learn new eating behaviors and because so much is at stake -- my health, my longevity, my life -- I will be successful. I want it to register in my brain when my crazy emotional & recreational eating urges are gnawing at me -- "Hey this isn't about "being on a diet" -- and remember how "desperately" I chose to save my life. So -- yes, I am scared (of surgery, pain, complications and mostly of FAILURE) but I'm going to feel the fear and do this anyway.

Hooray!!! An amazing accomplishment! Here's to you & your hard work!

Welcome Flawed! Love the song! I just purged my frig and pantry to make it bariatric friendly! It was hard getting rid of stuff. Gave some to neighbors, brought some snacks into work. I did manage to bake some chicken thighs and fed then to the dog and the cat!! I understand your dog's point of view -- "hey, why do we have to suffer -- no scraps, no take out, no pizza!" I'm thinking I better hide the take out menus and my credit cards...I know my cat, Norman, is very clever! And at 18 lbs he could lose a few pounds! My surgery is one week away and I just started week 2 of my pre op shrink the liver liquid diet...I won't be eating solid food until 6 weeks after I get sleeved. I'm finding drinking shakes (and eating 2 cups of low carb veggies 1x daily) very insightful...I really haven't been physically hungry -- but boy do I have head & mouth hunger! Tonight Norman wanted to taste a protein shake...I think he's getting desperate!

Welcome sister Jewel juzmejnee! I made it through week 1 of my liquid pre op diet. On to week 2. Who would have thought sugar free Jello could be the high point of my day??? June 1st is only a week away -- Yikes! I am excited and apprehensive at the same time. The Jewels of June march on!

I had to do a 2 week liquid diet pre op. Not to lose weight but to de - fat and shrink my liver. 50 grams of protein, no more than 35 grams of fat. Just completed week 1 and week 2 is starting. First few days were rough -- the shakes upset my stomach -- I am supposed to drink 5 shakes daily (Slim Fast Low Carb is my preferred shake) -- it is very hard for me to get shake number 5 down -- it isn't the taste it is these shakes fill you with AIR -- not gas but my stomach gurgles loudly -- they have also "cleaned out my digestive system" too. I have learned a lot about my "need for food" during this liquid diet. I feel the hungriest (HEAD HUNGER not real hunger) at work -- a stressful morning in Court and I want to go back to my office and eat! I don't think I would have noticed that if I wasn't on liquids. At home it is easier to have diet jello or an ice pop if my mouth wants a taste of something. My urge to eat is a HABIT -- just like biting my nails. It has very little to do with real hunger. The urge is in my mouth and my brain. That is going to be my challenge -- re-programming my brain to think before putting food into my mouth. Yes, the sleeve will be a tool -- but I will still have to be very conscious about what goes in my mouth and why! My doctor requires 3 weeks on thin liquids post surgery followed by 3 weeks on mushy & pureed foods. With the 2 week pre op diet -- it will be a total of 8 weeks before I eat solid food. I wonder if they give out a trophy? Let me tell you nothing like being on all liquid to make me appreciate sugar free jello! I don't keep a scale at home -- but I saw my PCP last Thursday and was weighed there - down 15 pounds from my second highest weight. I hope to hop on the scale before surgery just so I know if this liquid diet did more than de fat my liver!

Hi Nan! I just watched your first vlog! Great job! Nice to meet you! I totally can relate to being worried that even something as drastic as VSG won't be successful. If I had a dollar for every pound I've lost and then two dollars for every pound I regained -- I would be a rich woman! I have never been ever to maintain a significant weight loss (50 lbs or more) for more than 18 months. I am doing everything I can to change my relationship with food -- and that is going to be the hardest part for me. I'm on day 5 of my pre-op diet and I am miserable. It has given me great insight to how much I "need" food. Not for nourishment, sustainance -- but for company, recreation, comfort and out of sheer boredom. My sleeve isn't going to stop my head hunger, mouth hunger and compulsive need to eat -- I'm going to have to deal with those issues and find some other more productive way of soothing myself. Plus I am hoping when my joints don't hurt all the time and my ankles don't swell up and I'm not huffing and puffing -- I will learn to exercise or do something active every day for at least 30 minutes. Tall order -- I know but when I have been active in the past it really does feel good. Activity reduces stress, lets me sleep better and gives me more energy. If I want this to work I got to pull out all the stops! I got lots of samples of shakes and I think that is a good idea. So far I like Slim Fast Low Carb (it is ready to drink) -- it isn't overly sweet and doesn't have a chemical taste. I haven't tried Unjury yet -- I hear the chicken soup flavor is good. I look forward to watching your videos. You are smart and brave to record your journey. I can't thank you enough for sharing with me -- and with this VSG community. Be well, EJ

YES!!! I am sick of the pre-op diet!!! And it is only day 5!!!! The shakes aren't bad tasting (except for Muscle Milk Light which tastes like lighter Fluid or gasoline) but they are giving me a loud gurgling stomach, diarrhea, excess stomach acid and today -- nausea! This is BEFORE surgery -- damn am I in for a rough time. I'm used to having an Iron constitution and being able to ingest anything -- but today I am keeping my tummy empty -- because it finally feels better that way. I am thinking sugar free ice pop and Jello for dinner -- maybe I will start with some broth! Woo hoo -- a banquet! I had pre admission tests this morning and didn't even hop on a scale to see if I've lost a few pounds for all this trouble. I don't have a scale at home. I can tell my weight fluctuations in my clothes and in how my joints feel pushing my fat butt up and down stairs! Historically, I haven't used a scale in a constructive, helpful way. So it is best I weigh myself in a neutral location -- weekly. May I lose 100s of pounds with you all --- can we be quadruplets, quintuplets, sextuplets, septuplets?

Great update meggie! You are really getting in that Protein. I'm going to strive for your kind of numbers after surgery. I'm encouraged by your progress because you had some bumps right after surgery. Good to know things get better and better. I have been on my pre surgery liquid diet for 5 days and I want to chew anything! The dogs rawhide chew is starting to look good! I agree with you that post surgery you need the calories to get your energy level back to something nearly normal -- how else are you going to walk and be more active??? Your posts help me understand what to expect after surgery so keep us all posted!

Welcome Tamz! You are one of the Jewels of June! My surgery is June 1st. I am having my pre op tests tomorrow. My PCP did the EKG and it was normal so I'm not sure what else is in store for me. I am also a surgery virgin! I am nervous about IVs and anesthesia. I have really bad veins and blood tests are an ordeal (unless they use a butterfly and tap my only good vein on the back of my left hand!). All I can tell you is I've read the journeys of my fellow sleevers on this board and I realize everyone's experience is a little difference but everyone makes it through to the loser's bench. I never dreamed I'd be having WLS but I want my life back. I'm tired of feeling pain in my knees, ankles and feet when I walk a short distance. I'm tired of huffing and puffing all the time because I'm dragging around the weight of an extra person. I am looking forward to having normal sugar levels, lower blood pressure and even lower cholesterol levels. I am really looking forward to being a vivacious 56 year old and not feeling like I'm 56 going on 100 ! The surgery is the easy part. All we have to do is show up! I know you can do this -- I don't think any of us signs up for this procedure without recognizing its life changing which also means it is very scary! Your surgery is 8 days after mine...I'm going to save you a seat on that loser's bench! EJ

Thanks for the great story Griselda! I admire your persistence. You made a decision and did whatever you needed to do to accomplish your goal. That makes you one gutsy broad! Great to know "Hello Kitty" is popular in TJ! That is great your surgery went so well and you are feeling good.

Happy Surgiversary swizzly! Nothing wrong with having an easy time after 3 days of throwing up! My surgery is in 10 days and I'm so nervous. I am prepared for that moment in the first days post op where I'm wondering why in the world would anyone want to have 85% of their stomach removed! Actually when I read that first sentence of your post I was shocked -- and then I realized "Hey, you are going to do the same exact thing!" I'm very happy you are adjusting to your sleeve and are able to eat a small quantity of a variety of foods. Thanks for sharing! Keep us all posted and save me a spot on the loser's bench!

Lastly: the sleeve will not cure emotional eating, but you won't be hungry, which will be a huge help. Get some good therapy for your emotional eating. Lots of folks on the WLS forums have strategies & told stories about how they handle theirs, because emotional eating is really common! Don't let fear lock you into the life you don't like forever. Get the facts, and then sit down and look at what they're telling you. All that said... trust me, I'm afraid, too. It's surgery! Of course we're afraid. That doesn't mean it's not a good idea. Ahoy -- I couldn't have said it better myself. My worries are about after the surgery -- dealing with emotional and recreational eating. I have been shopping for a therapist to help me learn ways of handling head hunger. Even the pre op liquid diet is driving me nuts! I don't think its hunger -- it is mouth hunger -- I want something solid that I can bite into.

I am hoping for at least one cup of REAL caffeinated coffee in the morning...one cup won't dehydrate me but no cups of coffee could be ugly and dangerous! I may have to bring my T-shirt to the hospital, it says ...."I DRINK COFFEE FOR YOUR PROTECTION!"

Amazing! Congratulations!

Woo woo!! Valentina -- you scored big with "Jewels of June"!!! I love it!!! I'm off this board for one day (getting an EKG & blood work from the PCP) and this is what I've missed! Okay -- as a "Jewel of June" I'm sticking with what I know...a deep, deep purple Amethyst! Its my birth stone & comes in a color that this 56 yr old hippie still finds very "groovy'! Just finished Day Two of pre-op diet -- Slim Fast Low Carb RTD shakes vanilla & chocolate are drinkable...mixed with a little coffee -- not too shabby. My soon to be sleeved stomach isn't thrilled -- rumbling with gas and diarrhea. The big D is my arch nemesis -- I have it pretty often -- one of the many reasons I would never have bypass -- my intestines work too efficiently -- there are days I worry I won't ever leave the bathroom. Okay -- I know TMI! Does anyone know if you can take Imodium after surgery???

Vegas thanks for all the detailed information! Very helpful...and much appreciated! I am finishing Day 2 of my pre-op diet (so far so good but I already have a serious case of the runs!). I bought a sample (one vile) of New Whey 42g Liquid Protein in Grape -- 3.8 oz for post op. I haven't tasted it yet since I someone posted their son tasted it and suggested to their Mom that dog poop may have just as much protein and taste better! I also got one bottle of "Carnivor" 50 grams of Beef protein isolate 4oz in Orange Blast...maybe it is best to just hold my nose and take a swig?

Congrats I the weight loss Redcobra! I am hoping to be in your shoes when I get to the losers bench and beyond the liquids & purees & mushies! Can I ask you a question? Were you a volume eater or an emotional eater? I keep hearing folks on the other side talking about not "feeling hungry" - I don't eat from hunger most of the time -- I eat because it tastes good or because I'm filling an empty space. I'm hoping with the sleeve I lose some of my "interest" in food. While I'm at work (job is very demanding) I can go all day without eating (very bad habit) but at night when I'm not so busy I can eat like a starved locust! I am going back into counseling to learn more non-eating self soothing behaviors. I'm just wondering if I will be able to recognize what "not hungry" feels like.

Another diet soda addict here in NYC! Diet Cream soda is my favorite -- at least no caffeine -- but I do think diet soda stimulates my desire for sweet tasting things. I'm also a big fan of Diet Pepsi -- but Diet Cream is my mainstay. My detox plain was first to go to plain seltzer with some lemon or lime squeezed into the glass. I believe I need flavor in my drinks -- which isn't true -- but you know how the brain is about these things. Then I moved to Water with lemon or lime...if I'm really feeling flavor deprived I use Crystal Light -- iced tea or lemonade flavors -- very diluted because I find most "diet" drinks way toooooo sweet for me. I am also not a big fan of Splenda -- it just tastes too sweet for me...I take the single water sticks of Crystal Light and add it to a 24 oz bottle of water instead of a 16oz bottle and it tastes just right to me. As for caffeine headaches -- been there. I typically drink two cups of caffeinated coffee daily. If I don't I get such a throbbing headache -- I feel my head could burst! It is day 2 of my pre-op diet -- I'm spreading out my coffee and adding it to my Protein shakes. It gets me my caffeine and it adds flavor to my vanilla or chocolate shakes.

Three weeks until surgery. All I want to know right this very minute is how much protein does a double dirty martini have??????? Valentina another dirty martini drinker!!! I bet the olives have a little protein!! My surgery is 5 days before yours -- I will report back from the losers bench! NYU Medical Center has support groups for the band & bypass -- sleeves are such a small percentage of WLS even in NYC.

Becca -- tell 'em to go FTS! Not only do you have to lose weight ignorant people want to dictate how you go about losing the weight...do people without weight issues assume fat people don't have common sense??? I never thought about having WLS -- despite losing lots of weight only to gain back a lot more weight. I yo-yo dieted to this weight. Between fat kid camps starting at 11 years old; Optifast in my 30s; I have lost & gained hundreds of pounds. My decision to get sleeved isn't about vanity -- it is about being able to walk a few blocks without huffing & puffing; it is about dealing with my health issues (borderline diabetes; high blood pressure; high cholesterol; knees that ache!) before they get any worse. Until doctors find something else; surgery is the best thing the medical profession has to offer me as a morbidly obese person. No one decides to remove 3/4 of their stomach on a whim! At least I hope not... I have told my family & closest friends. I only told a few of my close friends this weekend- now that surgery is 2 weeks away. I don't want to hear most people's opinions on WLS -- especially people who have never struggled with obesity. My family & close friends love me unconditionally -- they know I'm not impulsive & I research everything thoroughly. One of my dearest friends has been reading this forum and watching VSG journey videos on YouTube -- what a truly generous friend!

125 lbs gone, gone, gone! That is an amazing accomplishment! Woop! Woop!

Happy 7 day surgeversary meggie! I wanted to thank you for your candid posts & videos! Good to hear you are doing better and getting in 64oz for two days! I think you are right about your surgeon wanting to be extra kind to your liver. My surgeon already said 3 weeks of thin liquids followed by 3 weeks of purees. Today I realized I won't be eating any solid food until after July 4th!!! (My surgery is on June 1st). If it wasn't for everyone on VST I think I would get my head examined for going through all of this...

Congrats on starting your pre-op -- I will be joining you on Wednesday. I bought the New Whey 42 gram protein shots too -- I had a feeling they would taste like crap!!! You have a great attitude -- so you are going to breeze through the pre-op diet!