VSGAnn2014

I'm so happily married it's boring to anyone else who isn't in the same boat. But I must admit I miss the good old bar-hopping days. It's fun! Go play! The advice to go with friends is spot on. Don't go expecting to hook up. Just go expecting to meet fun people, enjoy yourself, and maybe make some new friends. Relax.

It does seem like you're irritated by a lot of people's issues on here lately... It happens. Coincidentally, I just got pissed off by an ignorant poster on another thread.

What a dick comment. The second time you went there. Ever been to Alabama? Or Mississippi? Do you seriously think healthy-weight and slim people are anomalies in the Deep South? Seriously?! If so, you are flat-out wrong.

Pre-op, I didn't cook -- had long fallen out of the habit. Now, a year and a half post-op, I cook dinner probably 4 nights a week. We wind up with leftovers that get stored, labeled and put into the freezer. Makes future lunches and dinners a lot easier. I'm still figuring out ways to cook ahead. My 2016 goal is to cook a variety of main dishes only 3 nights a week that builds up in the freezer a two-week rotation of different dinner meals. This is taking a little organization.

Jeez! Even though your brain didn't notice 8-10 drinks, your liver didn't fail to notice.

Lipstick, here's MY two cents' worth -- not saying it'll translate to any currency you can use. They're some of my current issues, about which I'm a little reticent to talk about, since so many people here are struggling with weight loss. Recently, a week after getting home after a 17-day cruise and weighing the same I weighed before the cruise, I hit my all-time low: 134.4 pounds. And it freaked me out. I got that low for several reasons: * My sleeve's restriction still really kicks in sometimes, and I just can't eat as much as I need to eat to maintain my weight. * Sometimes nothing sounds all that good -- the boredom factor. * I've been eating so much cleaner for months (a year and a half, actually) that I am very leery of eating "regular" foods -- and pot pies certainly are on that list, along with potatoes and gravy and dozens and dozens of other foods that most people eat exclusively. * (This one's hard to admit) I still get a thrill when I see a number on the scale that's lower than the last number I saw on the scale. And I feel a frisson of fear when the number's a little higher. Obviously, that's not a combination of emotions that will lead me to a happy place. I now know how to lose weight. Really well. And I've been doing that very well for the last year and a half. Frankly, losing weight has become a habit, like eating a little too much (and gaining weight) was a habit before WLS. I offer these thoughts, not to say any of my issues are yours, but just to say them out loud so I'll deal more effectively with them. P.S. You will notice my weight ticker says I weigh 137 pounds. I was embarrassed to change my ticker. (Shame of being too thin?) Anyway, this morning I weighed 135.2 pounds. My goal weight is now 137. Sheesh, this is a little messed up.

Pre-op, I floated the WLS concept enough with friends and family to learn I didn't have the energy or interest in educating them and remediating all their many misunderstandings. However, a year and a half post-op (and 100 pounds lighter, now maintaining), I agree: The healthy weight folks are far more supportive of my weight, health and lifestyle improvements than are my overweight friends and family. The majority (although not all) of my overweight friends and family have pretty much faded into the background. And I understand how that works. I think in their shoes (pre-WLS) I'd have done exactly the same thing. Pre-op I was so embarrassed and uncomfortable being so overweight. I was also in a generally bad mood time -- not necessarily bitchy, but just not happy, not to mention physically uncomfortable or in pain. It really, really sucks in so many ways to be morbidly obese, and one of those ways is that it really seems to be harder to feel happiness for others. I really hate admitting that. Sheesh! That's awful.

What a shame! I agree that you haven't handled WLS nearly as well as you could have. Simple question: Do you still want to turn things around?

LOL! First, have a great trip, Kindle. And enjoy the rays / warmer temps. I think your anticipation of this trip is so healthy. I say that if I'm not surprising myself, I'm not having much personal growth. How boring it would be to feel or think or react exactly the same ways all the time, eh? Bon voyage!

Brilliant observation! I've been meditating on the same revelations lately. Life is full of a number of things, not all of which are about weight loss. Thank God.

@MRB4PHOTO ... that's exactly what it sounds like.

Just returned from a seventeen day cruise. Did not gain a single pound. Do what Dub said. Just do YOUR thing.

Aside from the fact that I've lost 100 pounds and look 20 years younger, than my age (70 years old) read this to see what other benefits of WLS I have found to be so "worth it": http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/359250-what-other-changes-have-you-made/?p=4054323

This will be redundant, but expressed a bit differently: * I am SO much more responsible for my self-care now. And that includes everything from brushing my teeth twice a day to planning meals and shopping for groceries to finding creative ways to moving more and being more active. * Our home is SO much cleaner, neater, and uncluttered than it was two years ago. * My husband's stress levels are much lower, since he doesn't worry about my health anymore. That is HUGE -- for both of us! * My ability to address other difficult areas of my life has also strengthened, including managing household expenses, financial investments, tax preparation, retirement planning, etc. * I'm incredibly more relaxed, less stressed and less irritable than I was two years ago, due in part to some recent changes in our lives, but largely due to my recovered health and control of my weight and renewed confidence in my ability to control aspects of life I have long wanted to control. * I'm sleeping so much better than I did two years ago. And my husband and I go to bed at the same time and sleep together every night -- I no longer stay up late watching TV and sleep in the recliner or on the living room couch. That's so important to both of us.

So sorry. And so glad this does not happen to me. Drinking a homemade latte right now.

The majority of human beings make decisions based on tremendously little data. It's a dominant human trait. We feel compelled to decide quickly -- so we can then take action and "get things going." But weirdly, humans use a very small, redundant data set to make decisions that are vastly divergent, like: Whom to have sex with, whom to buy life insurance from, which surgeon to choose, which Presidential candidate to vote for, which religious leaders and instruction to follow. This is why con artists thrive. They know the most powerful buttons (selection criteria) to push. This is also called "marketing."

Keep researching. Read all the threads here you can get through. There are so many angles to this. Remember -- there aren't many (any?) people here who opted to lose weight without WLS. Pretty much everyone here has been a WLS patient. My own story is I had VSG surgery at age 68. I've lost 100 pounds and am maintaining astonishingly well (at 17 months post-op). Lost from 235 pounds to 135 pounds. No complications at all, and I feel great and look great. I had GERD pre-op and took Ranitidine for it. For the 4 months post-op my surgeon had me on a PPI (Protonix). Then I went back to Ranitidine and have been doing well on it. Of course, I follow the usual GERD eating instructions -- don't eat for 2 hours before bedtime, minimize the GERD-causing foods at night (tomato sauces, especially), etc. But I can't predict for anyone else what their GERD reaction to VSG will be. Good luck to you in your decision and your actions thereafter. P.S. I guess you know that if you don't have WLS and lose weight "conventionally," your long-term odds of keeping off most of the weight you lose are only 2%. Those are some tough numbers. Ugh. But WLS's long-term success odds are much better than that -- about 50% long-term success odds. That's pretty much why most of us decided to go the WLS route.

Well, the avocados are delicious right now. I also bought a couple and today simply sliced half of one up and added it to my turkey / cheese / whole wheat sandwich. Boy, was it good! Thanks to @@Inner Surfer Girl for starting this thread.

Well, for the record, I don't look gaunt. Or gray. I'm gorgeous and blonde.

"H2 receptor antagonists" (another class of antacids that used to be Rx only, but are now over the counter meds) don't have any negative effects on kidneys. Ranitidine is one of those. There are others. Just sayin'.

@@Babbs -- I didn't know that about your genetic heritage. I'm so happy you're feeling well these days. I haven't suffered from chronic depression, but certainly felt depressed by the situation I was in when I was obese and barely moving. Anyone who isn't healthy or living the kind of life they think is possible may feel depressed. These days, I also feel so much better than I did a couple of years ago!

Have you seen your bariatric surgeon about all this?

And you know this how? (Not saying it's not true -- but I haven't seen anything about this online elsewhere.)

First of all - what complications?! I've had ZERO complications. Most people have ZERO complications. Second, you're worried it's permanent!? Congratulations -- it's permanent. However, what you won't learn from reading posts by people who have been newly sleeved is how easy and comfortable your "new normal" will be a year or so down the road. You will be able to eat a lot more and a complete variety of foods, compared to what is possible immediately post-op when your smaller stomach will be quite swollen after its surgical trauma. If you've done what you needed to do during the weight loss phases, you'll have built wonderful new habits and discipline that will sustain you in the maintenance phases. Third, afraid to be thinner? It's possible you will need to work through some mental / emotional issues around your identity and self-image. It seems that for many (most?) people who've been overweight or obese much or all of their lives, we have a lot of baggage that needs unpacking and jettisoned. This usually goes better with the help of a therapist / counselor / shrink. I'm speaking from experience here -- and I'm not even "crazy." Finally, almost everyone gets nervous just prior to surgery. And post-op, many people have a few hours to several days or even weeks of "What the hell have I done!?" And then that phase ends, and you move on to the phase called: "My God! Why didn't I do this earlier?!" Very best to you.

@@Miss Mac 's advice is great. I'm betting that measuring your food accurately every time you eat something is going to be very educational. Let us know what you find out.