VSGAnn2014

@@lisacaron ... that was fun to read . Thanks.

Lexie, break a leg! Ladies in your sixties, I'm 68 and was sleeved 5 weeks ago. I can't tell that my recovery has been any different or harder than for younger WLS patients. So chances are there's no age disadvantage to this dealio.

Sheez .... Some people get their kicks in the strangest ways. Onward and upward, Cowgirl.

Lipstick ... I love how much she hates you, too.

Uh, Cowgirl ... uh, yeah!

Hypoglycemics, diabetics, and folks with other metabolic conditions could not follow this program. I'm sure your group makes accommodations for those. You can advocate for yourself. Good luck.

Good answer, @jessiquoi. I did not know that you are already in therapy. Very best to you.

Some basic nutrition facts: food is how we sustain our bodies and maintain our health. Food is not just for the pleasure it gives our taste buds or to medicate our feelings with. Every calorie is not equal to other calories. Protein calories are the most important ones we take in. Protein is the form of food that rebuilds our bodies when they're injured (like the injuries you will sustain during the surgery you're about to go through!) and that get exhausted and "used up" in daily exercise and activity. And if your body doesn't get that much protein a day, it will literally eat your muscles. At your body weight, you need at least 80 grams of protein a day (maybe even more) to sustain your body's muscles--including the muscle tissue of your heart, lungs, intestines and other body organs. The last thing you need to do to your body just before major surgery is to weaken your vital body organs by having your body devour its muscle tissue. So that's why you need protein now. And that's why you will always have to eat protein for the rest of your life, post-op.

@@jessiquoi ... I think you're in for a world of disappointment post-op. Cutting your tummy off isn't going to solve this problem for you. Identifying what's "making" you behave in this way and learning how to not let it "make" you do this is how you're going to succeed long-term. Your cravings won't end after surgery. Really. They won't. You're a smart girl. I've read your posts. So ... ?

Nope, don't have that problem. But I do think it means something. And I do think it's a little weird. So now you have an opportunity to explore what is going on. Good luck.

Did not know that low B12 will cause dry lips. Hmmm ... mine are awful!

Here's what I would say (responding to what I can "read" about your personality in your OP): Stop trying to be perfect before you've even started. Don't even try to be perfect. You won't be. If you have WLS, you won't get graded. There is no "final test" or "final course grade." The class is never over. I see on WLS forums so many people (ahem, including me) who have an all or nothing / must be perfect / one mistake equals failure mentality. To take this journey, you can (and may and even should) study, study, study. But you will also have to submit to the reality that you really don't know what challenges you'll have and how you'll solve them until you are on the journey. I do think that a positive attitude and an ability not to sweat all the small stuff seem to be gifts that those who do very well all seem to have. By "do very well," I don't mean that they lose weight the fastest or the most. I mean that they come to a peace early on that this journey is not about perfection and that it is never going to end. This comment may not be responsive to what you were asking, but it's what your OP made me think of.

Here's a big protip for my August 2014 peeps: One week ago, I had gallbladder surgery, which was four weeks VSG post-op. And here's my helpful advice: NEVER, EVER have surgery when you're already constipated. The additional anesthesia and post-op pain meds will bind you up even worse. I'm just now (a week later) getting this all sorted out. Looking back, it all seems so obvious -- but I sure wasn't paying enough attention. Oh, well ... live and learn.

Oh, yeah. My tummy is bigger than it's ever been at this weight. I should clarify that on Day 28 post-op I had to have gallbladder. So I now have 10 holes in my abdomen. But I have no doubt things will eventually settle down. Onward and downward.

Sleeve2bFree ... that's tough dealing with family members who are idiots. That's precisely why I didn't tell any of my family. I didn't want to EVER have to have any of those conversations.

I feel your happiness. And I will feel it for myself when I'm there. :happydance:

Dropdeadweightdiva ... love the post, love your name, love the picture. I'm all ears for anything you have to say. It's so cool when vets stick around. Mostly, it's so helpful. Thank you for caring. Ann

Someone told me (a bazillion years ago) that worrying was like meditating to achieve a bad result. Instead, you could gather up all your worry energy and spend it differently -- by thinking about how GOOD the future might turn out to be? It might actually work.

I don't even ....

Holy moly! If that's true, then the duodenal switch is the WLS choice for bingers.

I don't yet have any room for "junk food." I'm still having to use up all my new tummy capacity just trying to get in all my Protein. New problems.

Three week stall ... it's not an urban myth . Google it.

FYI, I was deadset against the bypass myself. I'd literally never even heard of the gastric sleeve / VSG until the introductory lecture. Once I understood how it differed (significantly from the bypass surgery and lifestyle) I instantly had hope. I was sleeved 34 days ago. I'm doing great so far. With pre-op diets and post-op recovery, I've lost 33 pounds. Yea, me! Only 52 more to go. And then a lifetime of maintenance to learn and work.

Doesn't that feel good?!

Odd. I wish them well.