southernsoul

The psychologist who did my eval told me that they expect most of the people who want to have this surgery have had some degree of emotional struggles related to weight. They're not looking for a total absence of depression or anxiety history, but rather that the depression or anxiety is not so crippling that we wouldn't be able to cope with the adjustments we must make postop. Also, they want to see that we have realistic expectations about our postop lives & that we don't think surgery is a magic bullet that will fix every problem we have. They also want to see that we have some support around us (and if we don't have it in person, that we have sought it out via support groups or online). Good luck to you!

Congrats! I never found a premade Protein shake I liked. I make one every morning in a Blender Bottle with instant espresso powder, plain nonfat greek yogurt, skim milk & either chocolate or vanilla Protein Powder. It's yummy! Also, there's a great list here: http://bariatricfoodie.blogspot.com/p/protein-shake-recipes.html Get a little creative & you will probably enjoy them more.

If you have been with this man for 3 years, chances are that he already knows you have some insecurities. You may not be nearly as good at covering that up as you think you are. Be honest with him & give him a chance to see ALL of you, not just the parts you are comfortable with him seeing. Trust him to love you in spite of your flaws. Good luck!

Maybe once the shock and surprise of finding out about the surgery wears off, he will be able to think it through better. Maybe he just doesn't know a lot about it & needs to be educated about the surgery & the benefits. Listen to what scares him & why he thinks this is a bad idea & try to address his concerns. Show him facts & maybe even take him to the doctor with you. Being obese compromises our health and eventually our very lives. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually the day will come when it catches up with us. Any man who would prefer you to take that risk rather than to take a risk to be healthier & live longer is probably not really the man of your dreams. I warned my husband that my body would probably not look very good at the end of this journey & his response was: "But you'll be here and you'll feel better & that's what matters" And he's right!

Breakups are rough no matter how old we are. Hang in there & treat yourself extra well right now. Go do something special just for you, or treat yourself to something new. You will get through it in time. ((hugs))

You look wonderful, Butter...congratulations! And thanks for the generous support you give to all the rest of us & for the reminders that you have to work for it. You make "workin' it" look great!!

Maybe one of the ballet/barre DVDs? They're supposed to be pretty good and also low impact.

My high weight was 320, right before I started my preop diet. My tentative goal is in the range of 170-180, although honestly anything under 200 would be fine with me. I don't know for sure if I will be successful in losing 140-150 lbs, but I certainly am giving it my best shot. For me, willpower has been easier postop. It takes so much less to fill me up that it has been easier to either pass up the temptations altogether or at the most I'm satisfied with 2-3 bites. Also, I'm highly motivated by the weight I've lost & the changes I see already, so that helps to keep me on the right track. I can't speak about the diabetes, but I know see others post about being able to come off insulin, so I would assume it's at least possible for that to happen with you. The sleeve is a tool, and just like any other tool the way it performs is largely up to the user. Good luck to you!

My surgeon used skim milk as my primary source of Protein for the first 2 weeks. He's not a fan of Protein shakes in general. I was allowed to use NesQuik No Sugar Added chocolate mix-in to make chocolate milk. It's not a huge difference from a chocolate Protein shake, but maybe enough suffice? Are you allowed to drink milk? For weeks 3 & 4 I was on full liquids & able to put the unjury chicken in some cream of chicken Soup, which was much better to me than having it mixed with Water. Good luck!

Hello, ladies. Just a quick update on Kate, aka SassySenior, who started this group. Her surgery was 11/1. The surgery itself went well, but she had some postop complications. She is currently recovering in a rehab facility & will hopefully be back on her feet & back home very soon. Please keep her in your thoughts. As you can see from posts a page or so back on this thread, right before her surgery Kate had announced her intention to shut down this group. I don't know if she will change her mind about that, but we can all be reached via private message also. I haven't checked in here as much lately, so I'm sorry I missed your earlier posts. Thanks, Faye

I will be at 5 months next week. You look wonderful!!

My stepsister had VSG over 2 years ago & she has done very well. Last fall, my orthopedic surgeon told me that there was nothing else he could do to hold off on having to replace both of my knees. He said we needed to plan surgery for this year. I knew that having my knees replaced while I was still in my 40's would mean I'd be facing at least one more replacement in 15 or so years & also I knew that carrying the extra weight would make the life of my new knees much shorter. On the way home, I decided to email my stepsister (who's also a nurse) for details about VSG. It took me about a month to do enough research that I was convinced. I scheduled my first appt with my surgeon in January & was sleeved in June. I'm down just about 80 lbs so far & the difference in my knees is incredible. Now I'm hoping to be able to hold off on knee replacement surgery for another decade, but even if I don't make it 10 more years with my OEM knees, every year I gain will be a big bonus.

I can't believe how much I'm getting into the plank challenge! 13 days ago when I started, I could barely hold it for 20-25 seconds. Today I managed 90 seconds!!!! The continual & rapid improvement I can see over just a couple of days is very motivating to me. The other day I saw a 16 year old girl I know & I mentioned planking to her. She immediately challenged me to a plank-off....and I beat her!! I ain't even gonna pretend to feel bad about it, either!

OMG, this is hilarious! I wish I could think of a clever one to add, but I'm drawing a blank.

You both look damn good!! I don't see tummy rolls at all....and why are we always so hard on ourselves?? You look gorgeous & so does he, for that matter. You should look at this picture & feel nothing but pride because you've done a great job, girl!

Here's mine: (79/150)*100 = 52.67% of my excess weight lost in 4.5 months. Yay!! Man, I hope I did that right!

Congratulations!! You look great, even in the grinch footies!! :tongue2:

When I went to my 3 month postop appt, my surgeon also told me I probably don't "need" my breakfast shake anymore, as I am getting enough Protein without it. When I told him that I enjoyed it & wanted to keep drinking it, he said OK as long as it's taking the place of the whole meal (which it is) & not being consumed along with other food. He actually said I may be getting too much protein, which surprised me. I get between 80-100g a day, usually closer to 80 than 100. He said 60ish grams was his goal for me, but I don't really get why that is...he just said that's the amount we need to get by. His issue didn't seem to be that I was drinking some of my calories, though, just that I might be getting too much protein. My weight is coming off at a good pace & I'm happy with my routine, so I'm keeping on doing what I'm doing. I think if your morning smoothie works for you and you're happy with your weight loss, then this might be one of those things where you stick with what is working for you.

Hahaha...back over the summer, my husband was painting our house. When I had lost somewhere around 40 lbs, I helped him paint the final side he had to do. My knees are really bad, so previously I would not have been able to stand long enough to really help him. But with 40 lbs gone, I could actually provide some real assistance & I was proud of that. Of course, since we were painting, I was wearing my nasty painting clothes & a bandana on my head. We posted some pix on FB to show us finally getting finished with the painting & me being able to help. Suddenly there were all these crazy comments about how great I look. WTH??? Seriously, people....I'm looking as rough as it gets...I'm covered in paint, sweat, and dirty, ginormously baggy, paint-encrusted clothes. NOBODY looks good like that! It was like suddenly everyone I know had gone blind or crazy...or both!

OMG, y'all...I planked for 65 whole seconds today!!!! Today was actually a "rest day" on the 30 day plank challenge I'm doing, but I went to the gym for my regular workout. When I was done my trainer offered to time my plank & check my form. The most I had managed before was 45 seconds. My trainer started counting down every second past 50 & yelling "You can do it!"....and I'll be damned if I didn't actually do it! At 1:05, I collapsed on the floor & started laughing & tearing up at the same time. I might not be able to see the difference in myself in the mirror, but I sure as hell can see it in other ways.

I use the Nectar Sweets every day in a shake I make with milk, nonfat Greek yogurt, & instant espresso. I have that as my breakfast, though, not just as a supplement. I've never checked out the Matrix, but I've also started working out regularly so now you have me interested, too. Hopefully someone who knows more than either of us will answer!

I get that question a lot, too, and I just figure it's their way of trying to be encouraging and supportive. I would definitely rather deal with people trying to be supportive & slightly missing the mark than with people being negative.

Nope, not one single person. I'm totally open about having surgery, including posting about it on FB. I have received a ton of encouragement from people in all areas of my life. Sure, there may be some folks who think that I'm vain or that this is the easy way out, but that doesn't really bother me. What somebody else thinks about me is really none of my business. If someone were to say that to me I think my response would just be to say "OK" and then keep on doing my thing.