VSGAnn2014

I had the tuna salad scraped out of a 6-inch Subway l Last week. It was pretty gross. Very bitter tasting. No Jamba juice yet. Not my thing though. Now, Wendy's chili is more my speed. Also really like Ruby Tuesday's Smoky Mountain Chicken; Hickory Bourbon Salmon; chicken Bella -- stuff like that off their Fit and Trim menu, although I can have only about 1/3 of each entree at a single meal. I also LOVE their spaghetti squash, although a bite or two is all I can handle right now.

At only 48 days post-op, I sincerely wish people who have grabbed the brass ring (reached goal) would be more transparent (and more specific) about the challenges and slippery slopes of "real life" (Year 2, Year 3). Having lost and gained weight more times than I could accurately count (at least 40 times), I imagine that this time, with WLS, I'll have: Year 1 - the year of losing weight Year 2 - the year of maintaining weight los Year 3 - the year of boring real life. I think Year 1 will be by far the easiest one.

Lazy or no energy. It's a GREAT question. BTW, 60 to 80 grams of Protein a day is what we need. Just sayin'. All I'm doing thus far is walking the dog 30 minutes a day. But I swear I feel AWFUL when I don't do it. If you could figure out a way to do a couple of 10-15 minute walks, I promise it'd reward you a lot.

Not me. I'm 48 days post-op, and the biggest reason I think about food planning is so I can record it all in My Fitness Pal so I consume enough Protein. Not saying there aren't some things that taste good (had Wendy's chili today - 1/2 cup with 1/2 ounce of sharp cheddar). But the short supply post-op of ghrelin / hunger hormone in my system means I am so much less interested in it. Besides, I'm not a big cook. So Greek yogurt often suffices for lunch or Breakfast.

Do what they said -- don't put bits in your Soup, and take your (small) pills. It's OK.

mlm, thanks for your answer. I sincerely think you need to go see your surgeon. Or see another bariatric surgeon -- perhaps get some blood work done, and certainly get an examination of your "innards." As I said, this doesn't seem normal this far out. Have you had an examination to make sure you don't have a stricture (twist) in your new tummy? Or something else unusual that might be happening in and around your tummy? Finally, it's certainly understandable that we would worry post-op that our problems are related to WLS. But it could also be something else -- so many things. Is there a gastroenterologist near you you could see about these things? Not trying to be alarmist, but just thinking there's no reason to worry about everything before finding out what's actually happening. I'd think the "mystery of it all" would worry me a lot more.

Sure, you can do it. As you have already done, you have to say, "Stop!" Then reset. And get in the groove. I look forward to hearing about your progress here. I hope you post about it on this thread.

Oh, Lord! Knee issues. Had 'em all my life due to "weak knees" that just "slipped" when I was a teenager (would fall right over). Then basketball and skiing injuries (and little attention paid to them). And, of course, a lifetime of up-and-down overweight, thousands of miles of hiking, trekking and backpacking (with 60 pound packs), lots of up and down. It's amazing I can still get around. The knees are currently much less painful since I've lost 37 pounds. But I'm VERY curious to see what they feel like with 48 fewer pounds on them. Of course, I expect at some point I'll get to have at least one (maybe both) knees replaced. Anticipating this, I already bought a "NuStep" two years ago to prep for and rehab afterwards. Am enjoying using it now, too. Really look forward to hearing others' experiences with their knees here.

I don't think so. I've lost and gained weight so many times before in my life that I could charge you to ride me like a rollercoaster. Plus, I'm a slow WLS loser. However, the real shock is going to come a year and a half from now when I don't regain all the weight I've lost. LOL!

^^^^ MY FAVORITE ANSWER EVER! Thank you for the creativity and fun.

Your sensitivities to food are much stronger than mine (I can tell that from your post), so I don't know how much my experience will be useful. But here's what works for me at almost 7 weeks post-op: * Of all the meats, my tummy still likes chicken the best. However, it doesn't like DRY chicken at all. I eat grilled chicken with a small amount of sour cream, and that helps a lot. I also grind up canned chicken with Lite Miracle Whip and pickle relish for very delish chicken salad. And other recipes. * eggs (poached, omelette with cheeses) are tolerated pretty well. * Milk (especially warm milk) is tolerated very well. It's good you're seeing your surgeon this week. I am betting you'll do much better when you figure out how to take in enough Protein. Finally, I've never been a juicer, so I don't come from a place of enthusiasm about that way of eating. But it seems to me like that's the wrong way to go post-WLS. Yes, sugars make us feel good temporarily. But they also feed our carb-addiction monsters. And they don't repair our still-healing bodies like protein does. Mostly, I want to say I hope you feel much better very soon.

mlm ... wow, that's so not normal. Really sorry to hear about this. What does your surgeon say could be causing your ongoing problems?

Wonderful! I assume you know that you look 20 years younger! What a great accomplishment.

Very normal. Commonly done. Your emotional reaction is one I've seen here a lot. And in five days you'll have surgery. And then you'll recover. And then your life will get much, much better. And that's normal, too. I just read on another thread that the chances of dying from WLS are smaller than dying from knee replacement surgery, which is also "elective" surgery. One final thought: I wouldn't give those "goodbye" letters to the kids before surgery. They don't need you to scare them to death. Keep doing what all parents have done since the dawn of time: Fake it.

When we change things up significantly (like with a new job), we would all surely have to make some other adjustments to keep the rest of our lives on an even keel. You're likely focusing on all the new job-related things and lost some focus on your health / eating / exercise. Just figure out what you need to do now and start doing it. Five pounds is a small challenge. Make the changes you need to make (you will figure those out) and reverse the trend. You already KNOW you can do it. Look what you've already achieved.

Glad to hear you're doing so much better, Huggies.

There are two kinds of people (well, there are about 40 billion sets of two kinds of people), but .... ... there's two kinds of people: (1) those people who have so little appreciation for the variety of human beings that they assume everyone else is exactly like them, with the same values, careers, families, personalities, bosses, coworkers, upsides, downsides, cultures, etc. and that their own kneejerk solution is a perfect fit for everyone else's problems and (2) those people who aren't stupid.

Nope. Not true. See https://asmbs.org/patients/bariatric-surgery-misconceptions

To the OP: Like you, I had a perfect surgery and an easy recovery. And I wondered why (and was thrilled that) I was luckier than some others. However, I have come to believe and trust that the vast majority of those who complain bitterly online about the pain, discomfort and discouragement they feel immediately post-op are not dramatizing anything. You know why I think that now? Because I've watched a lot of people who complained loudly for weeks post-op just suddenly one day go, "OMG! I'm not in pain anymore. I feel good. I can eat and swallow. What in the world just happened? I'm heading to the gym!" If they're not dramatizing about suddenly turning a corner and feeling great, then chances are they weren't dramatizing about feeling like crap right after surgery. And I haven't seen any patterns with regard to age / weight / general health and early response to surgery. (FTR, I'm 68.) Just sayin'.

Oh, no ... it's very easy to snack after the sleeve -- you just have to give the foods you've eaten long enough to leave the stomach. And if you're eating "slider" foods (chips, sweets, crackers, breads, Cookies, ice cream) those foods slide right down out of the stomach quickly into the intestine because they're so highly processed and easily mushed by the stomach. And within 15-20 minutes, you can fill it up again with "slider" foods. All day and all night long. That's how some folks don't lose weight, regain their weight and more after WLS. They learn to game the sleeve. Or the lapband. Or other forms of WLS. If you're committed to overeat, you will figure out how to do so. It's not that hard. The restriction you feel a few weeks post-op is not the restriction you will feel a year or more out. I think people buy the idea that restriction and ghrelin reduction is a permanent change But if you read these boards, you will hear that it surely doesn't work that way for many patients.

I'm laying my $5 on the table now and betting: If you tell any of them, all of them will find out.

If you could go back in time, would you tell your coworkers?

Just saw another post about someone who got pressured into telling 13 opinionated co-workers about her WLS. And now she's fielding all their opinions, not all of which are favorable to WLS. And she's feeling not great about the situation she's created. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/320953-getting-annoyed-and-being-sensitive/ All we really have to do is keep our mouths shut. This is going to come out all wrong, but it is very clear to me that many (most?) of us overweight/obese people are under tremendous pressure to explain to those who are critical of our overweight about our enormous efforts to become healthier. I think we should stop spilling our guts to everyone and just stonewall.

When I see posts online about weight regain -- and when posters describe what has happened -- they use language that describes some of these behaviors and emotions: * snacking * grazing * no longer tracking their intake * "falling into old habits" * their exercise programs got sidetracked * "not paying attention" * feeling much less restriction from their sleeve after, typically, a year post-op * experiencing life stress and soothing themselves with food * feeling disappointed that weight loss didn't make them sufficiently happy or resolve their problems * being angry with themselves * depression * lack of support from family members * overt antagonism from family members about their weight loss * deaths of close family members * social isolation * inability to manage successfully psychiatric drugs * WLS complications they've not fully recovered from or resolved * medical problems unrelated to WLS, e.g., cancer * alcoholism or drinking too much It's a jungle out there. That's why I'm now in therapy (for the first time in my life) and will remain in therapy throughout my first year post-op and probably for the two years thereafter. I think the easy part of WLS is losing the weight. I've done that at least 40 times. This time, I hope / plan to keep it off.

Every time I read a story like this (thank you for this one, Alfie) it validates my decision not to tell my closest friends about my WLS and recommits me to keeping them in the dark. They are all fit and fab with ZERO comprehension about the metabolic, psychological, medical, or any other aspects of what it's like to overcome having been overweight / obese since childhood. "Just eat less and exercise more!" is all they understand. They are lifelong string Beans and runners who wear sizes 2-6. They know what works for them and assume that everyone else's body and mind operates the same ways theirs do. Yes, on this topic I would enjoy sharing with them the transparency and intimacy we have on other topics about which we DO share common knowledge. But recently I've observed that their ignorance and insensitivity on this subject is vaster than I'd ever fathomed. No way am I going there with them.