VSGAnn2014

Like "they" say: Not making a decision is a decision made.

I'm sorry -- but that made me laugh out loud. Thank you.

Your HIPAA rights were violated. And other privacy rights of yours were also violated by this egregious email mishandling. In your situation I'd consult an attorney. What a f**k-up!

Love to you too, Kindle. I'm glad you're giving yourself some "grief therapy" after the loss of your friend. Onward and, well, onward to all. Peace out.

(blink) I didn't say anything that was "downing" you. I merely said I felt my comment above was relevant to this thread. Didn't mean in any way to "down" you. Perhaps you've confused me with someone else who "downed" you? (Perhaps I should feel "downed" for still posting on a WLS board after longer than a year post-op?)

Great thread! Thanks to all for your transparency on this topic. I wasn't a great over-eater -- just enough of an over-eater to gradually gain more and more weight. And, believe me, when you move less and less (as you get older) and you keep eating just a little more than you need you can pile on the pounds plenty fast enough. But back to the OP topic .... I travel a lot on business, and my work is very stressful (fun, but stressful). I loved nights alone in hotel rooms -- eating comfort food AND dessert. Burgers AND chocolate cake. Salmon, potatoes AND carrot cake. Steak AND ice cream. There's a real common thread here I recognize about eating alone and unobserved. Breaking rules. Behaving as though there are no consequences. It could have been worse, I suppose. No drugs. No alcohol to excess. No unsafe sex. Just chocolate cake and carrot cake.

I'll chime in here on this -- to add my own experience thus far. I started at 235 pounds. I'm almost 15 months post-op. My goal was 150 pounds -- an old weight I remembered feeling comfy at and a pound above "normal" BMI. It was also at least 10 pounds lighter than I'd weighed in over 35 years. I reached my goal at 8.5 pounds post-op. And then ... ... 6.5 months later I now weigh 138 pounds. Even while eating 1700 calories (on average) as a maintenance calorie budget, I've lost another 12 pounds. Those 12 pounds have been lost slowly enough that I am comfortable at this weight -- don't feel weird, don't look weird -- actually feel pretty great and feel I look pretty great. I think I probably ought to be eating closer to 2000 calories/day to stop losing. But honestly -- I just don't want to eat that much right now. It's a weird thing to say and a weird way to feel. I eat very nutritiously now, drink wine, eat a few treats -- but mostly am eating lean Protein, veggies, fruits, and whole grains. I think I'll go have a Godiva truffle before I go to bed. Am not kidding. (I think I won the WLS lottery. I wonder if / how all of this will change.)

Welcome to the message board concept. Here at BP we get to comment like we wish on all topics. Happy Thanksgiving to us all.

A question like the OP posed will garner a wild range of answers -- most legitimate -- because we're in different phases. Some are recovering from surgery, some are trying to maximize their weight loss honeymoon period, and others are two years or longer post-op and maintaining by eating what "normal" people eat. My honest answer to the question is: I don't know yet. I don't know what will be served. Not even sure where we're going. And here's the big yahoo!: I don't care. In fact, I worry so much less about food now than I used to pre-WLS when I was overweight / obese and so worried about gaining weight or ruining my diet or just feeling self-conscious about being in a high-calorie environment. These days, it's just Thanksgiving. Now it doesn't mean I'm going to pig out. It doesn't mean I'm "giving myself permission" to "cheat" or eat things that are "bad for me." It's just food. And the next day I'll eat again. Hopefully, it'll all nourish my body, give me energy, and not give me a food hangover. What a frickin' relief.

^^^ You narcissistic, clothes horse you!

Just wait ... we'll piss you off soon enough Seriously, you can do this. Folks here are working their patooties off and, for the most part, making WLS work for them.

Oh, you guize!

Boy, your state senator is certainly in charge of more stuff than mine is!

Now she's NOT EVEN HUNGRY BUT EVERYTHING LOOKS SO GOOD http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/355489-im-not-even-hungry-but-everything-looks-so-good/page-3#entry4009213 I guess we can stop praying.

Good for you! I told only my husband and two friends. Frankly, 16 months later, I think that telling the friends was pretty unnecessary, too. My family / friends are all pretty fit / normal / healthy, and a few of them had even made critical comments in previous years about WLS. I thought, who needs the bother. I have to say that the support I've had from my husbad, my surgeon's office, my shrink, and online WLS boards and friends has been much more than sufficient. I feel completely supported in this journey. Social media works!

In the last month my ancient Adidas literally fell apart. And I bought some Sacony Hurricane running shoes. LOVE THEM! http://www.saucony.com/en/hurricane-iso-wide/15036W.html?dwvar_15036W_color=S10260-1&ref=Hurricane#q=Hurricane&start=1

Well, there's quite a bit of debate about that -- about whether ghrelin comes back (ghrelin is the hunger hormone that's produced almost solely by the fundus portion of the stomach, which is removed during VSG surgery), how fast it comes back, where else it gets manufactured -- or whether it really doesn't come back and we just get used to eating more because we can and imagine that it's because we feel "hungry." But your point is taken -- most people immediately after VSG surgery don't feel hungry anymore and imagine that they will never feel hungry again. To which I also say, Ha! It's how we respond to that hunger that will make us a long-term WLS success -- or not. I have to say one other thing: I am developing a big old respect for everyday HEALTHY HABITS. I am learning to be less impulsive, more scheduled, a better planner, and (ahem) more disciplined than I used to be. The more I practice healthy habits, the stronger my habits become. At 70 years old, I'm still bending my twig in the way it should grow. We are never, ever too old to get better.

I need to calm down. These posts really piss me off. Jeez -- I know that surgical teams and pre- and post-surgery nurses see a lot of f**ked up people in f**ked up situations. But jeez, it seems there's a real pattern of verbal abuse going on here. I have my own story: Four weeks after VSG surgery I had to have my gall bladder out. My attending anesthesiologist said, "Why in the world did you have WLS -- you're not big enough for that." Of course, he didn't see me before I lost 11 pounds pre-op and 10 pounds post-op, when I weighed "only 236 pounds" at age 68, could barely walk and was agoraphobic and miserable. Who the f**k are these so-called medical professionals who make such uninformed, snarky judgments -- and then f**king share them with you just before surgery?! (gotta calm down)

Thanks -- I can understand all that. In my experience, so much of my success after WLS has been "a mind thing." You had the courage to have WLS. You'll gradually find the courage to eat more nutritious foods. Start small. You don't have to eat a cup of veggies -- start with one small bite. Chew it really well. Eventually, you'll expand your horizons. Mom was right -- veggies are good for us. So are walking, Water, and window-shopping.

Actually, I think he's serious. And maybe for good reason. Someone as young as you (25) who still thinks they're bulletproof may not appreciate how bad nutrition and no supplements could screw up your young body. Hard as it is to believe now, you won't always be 25 and bulletproof. Everything we do (or don't do) can affect our future health.

@@magicalwoman ... am late to this thread, but sending you wishes for great strength and resilience as you recover from these blows. Yes, you do have our support. As a friend says, "Life is full of a number of things ...."

@@shellyd88 ... your "nurse practitioner" needs to get reported to her supervisor / doctor(s). That is appalling behavior.

Jeez ... dramatic much?

Just throwing this out there (happened to me) ... any chance you're taking B12 supplements? I started taking them about 9 months out and suddenly had an acne outbreak. Researched it and found B12 could be the culprit. I stopped taking the B12 every day and the acne ended.

Congrats! Will definitely remember the tip. Thank you.