McButterpants

I went thru a few food funerals, then it just got old. I stopped that and started my pre-op diet a day early - I needed to feel like I was working towards something and not looking backwards. In retrospect, I didn't need to mourn food - I'm 18 months out and all that stuff that I mourned has very little appeal to me now.

I traveled to Las Vegas for my surgery with my husband - it was nice to have someone there, not necessarily to dote on me, but to be there for support. I tried not to ask him to do things for me like get me a drink or make a shake - I knew I had to get up and do that stuff for myself. He went for walks with me and was just there when I needed to talk. My doc told me to not lift anything greater than 5 pounds that first week, so keep that in mind. You will need help - you're recovering from major surgery

I hit my breaking point in August, 2013...I was sick of being sick, I didn't like myself, I felt hopeless and helpless. I walked into the living room and told my husband, "I don't know what else to do. I think I want to explore weight loss surgery." For the first time in our 16 years together, I was honest with him. I told him how I felt about my weight and that I hated myself. I was scared about my health and the fact that I had a feeling I would die without the surgery. He was so supportive - he didn't understand, but he supported my decision and never made me feel bad about myself. I had my surgery in November, 2013 and I can whole heartedly say, short of marrying my husband and having my son, this was the best decision of my life. I went into this saying that I hope my only regret would be that I didn't do this sooner - it it so true. I do not regret my decision one bit. I have a fully and happy life now - I'm active (I do hot yoga, hike, bike, run, walk), I have a positive outlook, I received a promotion at work, I am vibrant and happy. I attribute that to the surgery. Only you know if you are ready...my advice would be to not let fear stand in your way. If you are ready, commit and go all in. Best of luck to you!

I would say follow your doctor's orders to a T. Just because your tummy allows you to, doesn't mean you should. You could cause harm to your new tummy. The diet sucks and it's boring...you invested a lot in this surgery, don't let your head hunger get the best of you!

I lost an incredible amount of hair...My stylist estimates about 40% loss. It was horrifying. I started to lose at month 2 and it went thru to month 6 - the worst months were 4 and 5. I can remember styling my hair and crying as I looked on the floor - there was so much hair!!!!! I went to a short, layered cut that I continue to wear today. It's cute and I like it now. My doc said that "anything that you lose due to surgery will grow back" she was right. There's nothing you can do to top the loss, but she approved Biotin and Folic Acid for the regrowth. I used a product called Toppik - this stuff is awesome and it works exactly like the videos on the website. I made sure I get my Protein mins in. I'm 14 months now and the hair loss was traumatic while living thru it, was totally worth it.

I did not address my emotional attachment to food prior to surgery - quite honestly, I didn't think I had a problem. I had to address those issues while recovering from surgery which was hard, add on top of that the fact that I could only eat 2 tablespoons of food, made it more difficult. I think having doubts is perfectly normal - I almost backed out of surgery the night before and the morning of surgery. I was so scared. I wondered if I should give it "one more try on my own". I know now, that I was never going to do it on my own - I had tried for years, one more try was not going to help. Do what your gut tells you to do! Best of luck to you!

Nope - happens to a lot of us. I'm 14 months out and I am still very sensitive to the cold. Some days I cannot get warm - I'll have wool socks, fleece pants, t-shirt sweatshirt and I still can't get warm. But I will say...IT'S TOTALLY WORTH IT! Bundle up!

Decaf green tea! It helped me so much during the pre-op diet. My two week pre-op diet consisted of 3 shakes and a Lean and Green meal (4-5 ounces of Protein and a veggie). Drink lots of Water - it will also help with the hunger. If your doc requires you to be caffeine free prior to surgery, start weening yourself off now. (My doc required me to be caffeine free prior to surgery - I tried cold turkey and got sick...took me 2 weeks to ween myself off.) If your 2 week pre-op consists of shakes - find one you like now and practice making shakes with different (allowable) fruits, temps, textures. My pre-op allowed 1/4 cup of berries in my shakes. Don't overpurchase on the shake mix - your tastes may change post-op, so what tastes good now may not taste so good after. Practice eating like a weight loss surgery patient - eat slowly, eat with appetizer spoons and forks. Chew your food 20-25 times per bite. Best of luck to you!

Look at you! You look great. My surgery was 11/14/13, so I'm a little behind you; our stats are similar, but I'm older than you (I'm 5'4", high weight was 256 and I'm 46 years old).I'm not near my original goal, I'm still 30 pounds from that and 20-25 pounds from the 2nd goal. But, I'm not as hung up on the scale as I was in the beginning. I know I want to lose more, but it just isn't that important. I"m focusing on other things - like fitness, my health, my happiness. My doc told me once...weight you lose the first 6 months are because of the sleeve, anything after that is due to hard work and behavior modification. Best of luck to you! You really do look great - don't define yourself or your success by a number on the scale.

My decision day was 08/22/13 and my surgery date was 11/13/13...I could have done it sooner, but this was the time frame I was comfortable with.

No change in dosage yet and I'm 14 months post-op. Both PCP and surgeon suggested not coming off of them - I have nodules that have stopped growing while on medication and they didn't want to run the risk of them growing again.

You've come a long way - congrats to you. I have documented my weight loss thru pictures...I love referring back to the different stages that started with my "decision day" photo. That was the day I stepped on the scale at the doctor's office, saw the number and cried. I decided at that moment I was going to do something and regain back my life. Looking back, it was a sad day, but it was the day that truly changed my life.

Stand down from panic...Your body needs a break sometimes. Stalls are perfectly normal. Here are few suggestions for you - STOP WEIGHING EVERY DAY - it's counter-productive. There are so many things that affect your weight from day-to-day. My husband took the scale away from me and brought it out once a week; that was a life-saver. Take your measurements - chances are you're losing inches, even if you aren't loosing according to the evil scale. I lost 7 inches during a stall where the scale said I stayed the same. Take pictures - full body pictures. You you will the change in your face and body, even if the scale hasn't changed. Continue following your doc's plan for diet and exercise - control what you can and that's what goes in your mouth and how much you move your body. Your body will release the weight when it's ready and sometimes that is much slower than your brain wants it to. You're going to be just fine...relax.

I just posted this on another thread.... I lost a lot of hair - I mean a lot of hair. I was sure I got all my Protein in and followed my doc's instruction. She said, "If you're going to lose it, you're going to lose it. There's nothing you can do to stop it, but you can take Biotin and Folic Acid for regrowth. What you lose due to the surgery will grow back." I lost from the middle of month 2 thru to month 6. I figure I lost about 35-40% of my hair. It made me sad, it made me angry. Here's what I did... I took my Vitamins as prescribed I got in my protein mins per doctor's orders I got in my Water mins I went to a short cut to try to hide some of the loss and added lots of layers I purchased a product called Toppik - it's an excellent product that works exactly like the website shows I'm just over a year now and am almost back to normal - I've kept my short cut because it looks better on my slim face. I can show off my jawline now. I just got a cut the other day and my stylist said, "I think your hair is thicker than it was before surgery!" So, my advice to you...follow doc's orders. Know that this is a temporary situation. For me, that temporary situation was well worth it!

Immediately after they wheeled me out of recovery. I wandered the halls of the hospital. It felt better than sitting or laying down. When I got bak to our condo, I would walk the length of the unit - I started with 3 times back and forth and built up from there. I was walking 2 miles by the 4th day. I will suggest getting into the best shape as you can prior to surgery - start a walking program if you're able. It will make recovery easier.

Ahhh hair loss! Ugh. I lost a lot of hair - I mean a lot of hair. I was sure I got all my Protein in and followed my doc's instruction. She said, "If you're going to lose it, you're going to lose it. There's nothing you can do to stop it, but you can take Biotin and Folic Acid for regrowth. What you lose due to the surgery will grow back." I lost from the middle of month 2 thru to month 6. I figure I lost about 35-40% of my hair. It made me sad, it made me angry. Here's what I did... I took my Vitamins as prescribed I got in my protein mins per doctor's orders I got in my Water mins I went to a short cut to try to hide some of the loss and added lots of layers I purchased a product called Toppik - it's an excellent product that works exactly like the website shows I'm just over a year now and am almost back to normal - I've kept my short cut because it looks better on my slim face. I can show off my jawline now. I just got a cut the other day and my stylist said, "I think your hair is thicker than it was before surgery!" So, my advice to you...follow doc's orders. Know that this is a temporary situation. For me, that temporary situation was well worth it!

So sorry - that is never easy.

Immediately after surgery I set a timer on my phone to chime every 5 minutes to remind me to sip. Every day it got easier and could get more in. In those first couple of days after surgery I didn't get anywhere near the minimum Water or Protein - I just did the best I could. Once I was getting more water in, I would fill bottles that equaled my daily requirement and my goal was to finish all of them by the end of the day. This was easy for me because I work from home and I put them on counter as an easy reminder. I was able to start treadmill walking after surgery and was able to sip thru my workout. I wasn't doing anything strenuous, but it is important to stay hydrated. I'm a little over a year out and I still can't take in lots of water at one time, but I can take a normal drink like prior to surgery. I can take three drinks in a row now, but any more than that and it's a little painful. I've heard some can go back to "guzzling" water post-op, but I can't. As for tracking - I am horrible at tracking, I always have been! I tracked for the first few months after surgery - I used my FitBit app to track my activity, food intake and water intake. A lot of people use myfitnesspal, I just wanted one app to use, therefore I used my fitbit. I'm one of those people that eats the same thing day after day, so tracking became redundant. Now, I'll track for a few days if I feel I'm getting off track. That gets me back and track and sets me straight. Best of luck to you!

Make good use of this time...April will be here before you know it. I made my decision in August and had my surgery in November - some days it felt like an eternity, other days I panicked because I didn't feel prepared. Take this time to: Learn how to eat like a sleever...chew each bite 20 times use an appetizer fork and spoon for smaller bites Sit down to one meal a day with no distractions - eat in peace and listen to your body, see how quickly you fill up. Experiment with shakes - try different flavors and textures. (Don't over purchase, your tastes may change post-op) Start an exercise program - start walking. Be in the best physical shape you can be in prior to surgery - it will help with recovery. Research on forums like this - you will be a better post-op patient. Get your head straight - start addressing the reasons you got to the point of weight loss surgery. For me, the biggest obstacle in this whole process was the emotional aspect - I wasn't prepared and had to tackle my emotional eating issues/addiction during recovery. That was hard. Best of luck to you!!!!

I had gas and funny gurgling sounds coming from my tummy the first few months, then they went away. Now I get gas when I eat processed foods...

I will add - I feel "normal" with what I eat. It's my new normal. We had a pot luck at work the other day and someone said, "You eat like bird! You need to eat more food." My reply was, "Oh this is my first plate, I'm going back for more!" I didn't, but no one knew. When I eat out, I usually order off the appetizer menu or I split with my husband - usually 70% for him and 30% for me. We've never run across an establishment that said "no". I just returned from a trip to France - I ate wonderful food, just not a lot of it. I ate wonderful French pastry every morning for Breakfast. I was on a Quest to find the best cafe au lait (coffee with milk) that I could. I ate REAL French Toast for dessert and it was wonderful - I savored every bite. I didn't eat it all, but I enjoyed every bit I took. I even managed to lose a couple of pounds because we walked every where - logging 20+ miles in two days. My point with all this is...you're going to feel normal after surgery. Not right after surgery, but you will feel normal again. It took me to about 7 or 8 months to start feeling like something other than a weight loss surgery patient and more like me - a new and improved me.

Agree with @@LipstickLady (she's a smart one!). Don't become a slave to the scale - it's unhealthy. Your body is going to lose at it's own pace - do your part in controlling what you can...what and how much you put in your mouth and how much you move your body. You got this!

Depends on the food...dense Protein like beef, chicken breast or turkey breast, I can't eat much - 2-3 ounces plus a couple of bites of something else. Tortilla chips - I can eat a ton of those...can't keep those in the house. I just ate 3/4 of a cup of chicken pot pie, focusing on the chicken, I'm full, I ate a few bites too many. :-)

I had my surgery on an outpatient basis - in admitting at 6:00 am and out by noon. Got to recover in the comfort of the condo we rented. We had the route to the nearest ER mapped out and I had the personal cell # of the surgeon in case of an emergency. I was a little concerned at first, but made peace with it prior to surgery. My local bariatric doc was concerned, too - she keeps people 3 days. My surgeon's reputation and history helped me make the final decision.

Back to basics...Track your food. Drink an afternoon shake (this really helps me - it really cuts that mid-afternoon craving for snacks). Walk, job, bike, whatever - move your body (my eating gets out of control when I don't work out). Make sure you're getting in your Water. Don't let this derail your progress - be positive, be kind to yourself and get back on track.