JerseyJules

Im going through the pre op process right now, for the 2nd time BTW. I backed out last time, didnt research it enough at the time and simply wast ready. Seeing comments like this are very encouraging to say the least. I hope to be sleeved by my birthday in March.

My nutritionist had muscle milk on the list of shakes I was allowed, I did fine with them pre-op, but post-op I can't tolerate them, they are just too sweet for me Does it cause dumping syndrome?

Do any of the doctors have an issue with Muscle Milk brand Proteins?

That looks sooooooo appetizing...lol What do you mean you tolerated 1 oz of turkey? No appetite or just wasnt good pureed?

Does anyone eat Baby food during the Puree phase?

A big part of being overweight is eating with your head to compensate for emotional issues. If you already had clinical depression already, you really need to be careful with what you do. You will replace one harmful outlet for another harmful outlet, IE. drinking with friends or eating... You really need a hobby or a positive outlet to refocus yourself on something other than eating and being bored. I always turned to the gym for an outlet for stress and depression. Working out literally does make you feel better inside. But you have to find a workout you enjoy, may I suggest martial arts or boxing as a huge stress relief, or perhaps mountain biking to get out en enjoy nature? But you really need to divert your energy from harmful behaviors like overeating, to positive behaviors to be successful. Find a hobby, surely you have something you enjoy to do. But you can not be a prisoner in your own head, you need to mentally win this game also.. Im personally still struggling with the mental decisions leading up to my surgery and even backed out once already but i have to come to terms that I need to eliminate my destructive behaviors sooner rather than latter. I wish you the utmost luck on your journey.

It took me some deep soul searching to realize I absolutely need this. Do i wish I did it 2 years ago? Yes and no... Yes cause I would be well on my new life journey by now. No because I just wasnt fully ready at the time mentally. I had to know for myself this was my only and last resort. I have tried to drop the weight at least 3 more times since that day and my body just will not let me.. Drastic results require drastic changes, and I now know Im not capable on my own of making those drastic changes. The turning point was when I went to Great Adventure this fall with my kids and almost could not fit in one of the roller coasters. Another turning point was I was making love to my wife and happened to look at myself in the mirror and saw how big by belly actually is...Im finally at terms with what I NEED to do...When I asked my wife to give me an honest opinion of she would say Im just a big guy with some meat on my bones or if she would say Im a fat guy, she gave me the most honest and brutal answer I have ever heard... She supports me doing it so Im around for my kids in the years to come, and to make a change before I get sick. I want to be around for her, I want want to be healthy for her and my kids. Im going to go through with it this time and simply gonna tell my doctor "hold my beer and watch this" and git r done!!! Im tired of being the FAT GUY!!! f**k this ****!!! Im taking control of my life for once in 43 years!

Well I saw the surgeon today and Im leaning more towards the VSG rather than the band due to my level of activity and profession. I need to go through the whole process all over again prior to surgery including a sleep study. They remembered me and said to date Im the only one to back out that late in the game..lol They said if they have to hold me down this time they will get me through it this time..Im sure part of my stress was waiting there for like 4 hours in pre-op just thinking... 2 years have gone by, I have not changed for the better, and need to take control of my life NOW. I need to do this this time around and need to lose weight for my future.

Just got back from my doctor appointment and I have to schedule all the pre-op appointments all over again. Going through the check list now and hopefully I can knock them all out by the end of January and be under the knife by mid February. The funny thing is all of the staff remembered me and knew my story, they said to date Im the only patient that has backed out that far along into the process, literally last minute... The said they will hold me down if they have to this time.. Hahahahahah!!!

When I see pictures of my self sitting, It is where it is more obvious that I need this or something in my life..

2 years in between the backing out have made me realize several things. 1) having battled with my weight my whole life and having bad genes, Im never gonna lose the weight on my own. 2) adding 50 to 75 lbs is not that for off in my future as I age and become less active. This next one took me a while to come to terms with 3) Im fat...No, Obese.. I have been lying to myself for years thinking Im just a big guy. no Im a fat guy...I asked my wife honestly would you say Im carrying some extra weight or would you classify me as FAT...She said FAT.. Coming to terms with the truth sucks. 4) I want to live life longer and better 5) I want to be able to do things in life without being uncomfortable most of the time... 6) Im shaving years off my life being 290+lbs...Have you ever seen a 300lb 80 year old...Nope...Neither have I... I see my doctor tomorrow and Im telling him "hold my beer and watch this" lets do it!!!!! This time...

I'm a woman and I love lifting heavy. I am doing it now to build more muscle before my surgery. Intermittent fasting also helps. Not sure it works with WLS, but I think I read someone doing IF and weights too. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App The only way to build muscle requires the intake of carbohydrates with the Protein. And also try carb cycling. One day higher one day lower. it plays with the insulin levels on your blood and helps promote muscle growth.

Lift heavier weights and right after your work out you want to eat a meal of protein and a simple carbohydrate to help transfer the amino acids in the protein into the muscle cells. this is the most critical meal of an active person, directly after work outs as this is when your body is in its anabolic state.( within 30 mins)

Im just curious if there are any long term studies and results on these WLS procedures. Long term like 20 to 30 years? Anyone know how people in their old age fair with these procedures down the road?

Well, now you got me thinking again....grrrr.....lol

Well, Im back.....I tried it on my own for the past 2 years and good news is I have not put on any additional weight, but I also have not lost any weight. Im going in on Thursday for my consult to do the Lap Band. I feel it is a better tool for my particular situation. I'm very active, but I only slightly overeat to maintain my current level of fat, without allowing my body to lose it. I feel the band would be a very effective tool for me physically as well as mentally. Ill kep you guys posted!!!

Nervous, anxious, excited,stressed, sad,depressed,happy...I am every single one of those emotions right now and my stomach is in knots. I go in the hospital tomorrow at 12:30 pm for my Sleeve procedure, and I didnt think this day would ever come. Nervous- Im nervous cause i hate medical facilities and surgeries, I have had quite a few and i always get butterflies the day before and the day of the procedure. Anxious- cause I just cant wait to just get this over with already, all the preparation and tests and reasoning with myself as to why I need to do it, I just want to be done with it already and move on. Excited- I was looking at pictures from when I was down to a 34" waist and was 215lbs of pure sexiness, Im excited to get down there again cause I remember how good it felt and how confident and in control of my life I felt. Stressed- the back and forth reasoning in my head, combined with the unknown and the permanency of the decision I had to make has stressed me beyond belief these past several months. Sad- cause I know the party is over for me..The time has arrived for me to face my worst enemy and my best friend and part ways with it forever. food...Im sad to see you go for now, but perhaps we will have a healthy relationship after this, not the abusive one sided relation ship we have had for the past 40 years.. Depressed- Im depressed at the fact that I have lost control of my life and my body to the point it has had to come to this. I am ashamed of myself that my motivation to do the right thing has gone away in the past few years and I have given in to food and let myself fail once again in my life. Happy- Im happy that there is a way out for me and I have chosen to do it finally. I have always told myself "Im not fat enough to do that surgery" when I saw friends do it and loose a ton of weight. I always did not understand and called it the easy way out and thought of them as weak minded cowards...Until I realized this one thing No matter how hard you try,you can not solve a permanent problem with a temporary solution.

Well almost 2 years to date and Im back here revisiting WLS. I havent gained any weight since my last post but I also have not lost any weight since it either. I tried a few things over the past 2 years and realize I do need the help that the WLS will give me. I am leaning heavily towards the Lap Band and have my consult this Thursday. I think the Lap Band will give me the little boost I need to get me going and reach my WLG of about 50lbs. I feel once Im there and beat the mental side of it, I will be ok. Im physically active and work out regularly, I only slightly overeat not allowing me to reduce my body fat. I like the idea of the adjust ability of the Lap Band and the ability to reverse it if I'm miserable. Wish me luck people!!

I have decided to do a gastric sleeve surgery to assist me in getting to a healthy weight. I am a 40 year old male and I currently weight about 295 at 5-10. However I have zero weight related health issues right now, as I am a very athletic 290. I exercise a good amount, lift weights,cardio,martial arts,boxing mountain biking, ect ect.. But I carry an excessive amount of body fat, some where in the 33-35% range. I have has an issue with my weight all my life and work out just to maintain what I am now, I simply can not control the addiction to food that I know I have. I know HOW to eat, and I know WHAT Im supposed to be eating, I just dont do it. I will get on health kicks and eat right for several weeks at a time and see zero change in the scale and get frustrated and go right back to bad habits that have been developed over 40 years. My mothers side is extremely obese, in fact her brother was 680lbs when he died of stage 4 stomach cancer at 53 years old. My fathers side is normal, so I have been teetering on the fence all my life. Most of my childhood I was EXTREMELY obese. I graduated grammar school at 13 years of age at 250lbs. I graduated high school at 218 lbs after discovering exercise and eating better. I maintained 225-245 lbs most of my adult life until my kids came along at 33 years of age where I ballooned up to 320lbs and stopped working out due to back injuries. Several years ago I went on a no carb diet with excessive amounts of Protein and dropped to 270lbs and looked and felt pretty good, but it was an impossible diet to maintain and triggers like my uncle passing away and my father passing away set me back into a downward spiral of bad eating. I decided after seeing many friends do the surgery and have weight loss of 100+lbs, that I need to do this for myself and my kids...My reasoning is this, YOU SIMPLY DO NOT SEE ANY 300 LB 80 YEAR OLDS. I met with 2 doctors and chose Dr. Bertha out of New Brunswick. I really like his personality, and approach and something he said in the seminar really sold me on it. He said " I feel as if I have the cure for cancer and no one will listen to me".. This really hit me on so many levels, cause for a long time I did believe obesity was not a disease and I simply had bad habits, but now I know with my genetics combined with my upbringing and lack of healthy choices in the kitchen I didnt stand a chance. This is why I praise my wife on a daily basis for keeping our kids fit and healthy with their foods and exercise. I really wish my mother pushed me to participate in a healthy lifestyle from a young age. Recently my workouts have gotten less aggressive due to an injury that ultimately was gonna require surgery and I notice my weight creeping from 280's-290's, so I planned to have both surgeries within a 6 week period so as to minimize my down time form work and inactivity. I just underwent shoulder surgery on Nov13 th and was scheduled for the gastric sleeve surgery on Dec 8th, but a post operative blood clot caused me to postpone until Jan 12th. My big fears of doing this are the unknown of how my body will react to it. Im a big solid guy with a lot of muscle and strength and fear I might get too thin where I look malnourished or sickly. I have been to the seminars and asked questions of the Doctors, I just want some real world perspective and stories of what to REALLY expect after this procedure? I dont want to feel as if I ruined myself for life,yet I also dont want to fail at this. Im convinced that if I shed my excess weight I can and will maintain it, I just need a drastic jump start to help me get in the right mindset. My ideal weight is around 215-225lbs long term, as I said I have a muscular frame.

Glad to hear your doing great!!

Just wanted to update everyone, so far without surgery I have gone from 307 lbs a week before New Years Eve to 277 lbs this morning..Prior to NYE I was 42%BMI, and I am now around 39% BMI. I have been getting Vitamin B12-MIC injections and eating 1200-1600 calories a day with all Protein and very low carbs. I usually do 3 meals and 2 high protein Snacks. All I have been doing is walking my dog twice a day for a total of about 3-3.5 miles... I also got this test where you breath into a tube for 10 minutes and it tells you your resting metabolic rate. Its supposed to be very accurate and specific to your body, and the results said just getting up out of bed and sitting around all day my body burns 2650 calories a day. With intense exercise I will burn 3790 calories a day.. (they did not specify what intense exercise was..) I have been going to behavioral counseling and trying to figure out my feelings when I would over eat and the triggers to avoid. In fact I had my first cheat meal Superbowl Sunday, I consumed 3 slices of pizza and about a 6" Italian sub and a few beers over the course of the day from 4pm till about 12 AM. I felt like crap the next day and really have no urge to eat like that anymore for some reason... Cheat meals once and a while actually assist in releasing hormones in your body that assist in speeding your metabolism up. When you diet your body gets used to it and slows down thinking it is being starved, the occasional cheat meal, tricks your metabolism and helps you keep on track with your dieting!! When my shoulder heals enough for me to lift weights in the Gym I will add about 400-500 calories the days I work out.. I sincerely want to thank everyone who replied to my thread and wished me well, I too wish you all well in whatever your choices and journey takes you!!!

Thank you..I do honestly know that my decision was the right one "for now" as it gives me time to explore myself and see what really makes me tick. I have gained confidence in myself and feel as if I am beginning to take back control of my life all by myself. Im sure there will be hurdles and obstacles, but that would be there with surgery also. For me the timing was just not right and the mentality was just not there yet.. Maybe in the future it will be my only option, but as of now I honestly know having come so close to it, that WLS is not the answer for me at this time..

I hope your not doing the surgery for anyone else but YOU. Dont give a shit what others think of you, dont fall victim to society and how it fat shames us into thinking we all need to be super thin. Dont do it for acceptance and dont do it to look good...Fuck what people think of you or how you look...Who cares... Do it for YOU and only YOU..If your doing it, do it to feel better physically and be healthier down the road. Do it because you want to and have exhausted all options first. believe in yourself first, let yourself fail a few times to be sure its the right thing for you...Im telling you, its a really hard decision to make and go through with mentally, at least for me it was. I dont know if you read all the way through the thread, but I backed out of the surgery literally the last minute cause I was not 100% sure I was ready...Make sure you are 100% ready and don't feel you HAVE to do this for anyone other than yourself. Good luck in your journey whatever path you take.

This is exactly what I would do. I would be full in my gut, but my head would tell me to eat because it's what Im supposed to be doing, or what I was used to doing. As human beings we are creatures of habit it's just the way we are. I sat back back and looked at my routine/ritual of brewing a cup of coffee after dinner every night and sitting back with a sugar laden double portion of my favorite garbage, because "hey, there's always room for dessert right"?? And then looked at the fact that about 2 hours later I was eating a huge bowl of my favorite Cereal, frosted mini shredded wheats, with a big handful of raisins while watching TV, I realized 2 things... First- this right here is adding about 1000-1500 sugar laden calories to my day at the absolute worst possible time of the day to eat and Second- I was not even hungry when I was doing this, hell 90% of the time I was full and just eating to eat out of habit. I know now that my issue is 100% in my head and not a physical issue and until I conquer the mental aspect of it, no amount of surgery in the world will prevent me from attempting bad habits all over again down the road. I am in therapy trying to discover why I eat that way and what it means to me... There may have been a partial addiction caused by the added sugars I was eating, but the beginning of it all was 100% mental and the sugar just caused a physical reaction to my mental eating. I applaud everyone and anyone who has had the courage to do WLS and succeed, its a big choice to make and definitely a life altering experience. I will never use the term "the easy way out" cause having sat there ready to do it, it is the exact opposite of the easy way out. It actually was the hardest decision I have ever had to make and I am 100% happy that i backed out and didnt do it right now, because if and when I do decide to do it down the road, I will have at least explored ALL my options for sure and realized that it is definitely the only choice and the right choice for me at that time. Bottom line is, I wasnt ready and to tell you the truth, I dont know if I ever will be ready.

This was my attitude going into the process, this is where I failed myself. Since not getting the surgery I have realized it was not and is not the restriction that will help me in my particular situation. It was the AMOUNT of and TYPES of calories I was consuming, not the volume like most. No amount of restriction in the world will stop me from eating sugar laden foods and getting right back in trouble. I have realized my stomach may want food in it, and my mind may be telling me to eat, but here is the the thing I realized. My stomach is stupid, it want to be filled with food but doesn't know the difference in the types of foods I have been filling it with. I have been eating Protein and veggies, salads, all clean non processed foods and have eliminated all caffeine, sugars and starches..I have been eating 1200-1500 calories day of pure goodness and have been dropping weight at a pretty good rate. Since eliminating sugar and caffeine, I found my cravings have gone almost totally away.. Im eating good and feel totally nourished, have energy and my inflammation has gone away, I feel great... I was not doing any of this for a long time leading up to my surgery date, and sitting there waiting on the surgeon I realized I was not complying and probably would have a really hard transition after the surgery. So for me the point of having a permanent surgery when I had not changed my lifestyle permanently or at least made an attempt to.. Lifestyle change is the key, all the surgery in the world wont fix your mind and that is where it all starts. may I revisit the idea of surgery down the road, possibly. But at that point I will be ready for the change.