Cape Crooner

Gina - This is all the proof you need that the time is NOW for a VSG. You went farther that most of us to "do it on your own" and you proved what ALL the experts know (as opposed to you lost in space daughter), severely obese people cannot do it on there own PERIOD. I will also tell you that this journey will make you stronger and more self confident than you can imagine. It may not happen for a while, but one day your daughter will know she was wrong (even if she doesn't say it to you)!

I'm 8 months out and I've been maintaining for 3 months. I just returned to my summer home where most friends last saw me about 100 lbs heavier. My friends are fine and then there are the "so-called friends", who may or may not be so sincere. Anyway, I thought it might be nice to have a thread of great one-liners we use to (politely) shut down unwanted comments and questions. I'll start with: Q: How did you loose the weight (I'm keeping my WLS private)? A: I did exactly what my doctor told me to do... Q: Seriously, did you excercise, cut out carbs, count calories? A: Yes, have you had a serious discussion with YOUR DOCTOR about losing weight? A: Have you ever tried doing exactly what they told you to do? Q: Is that on your diet? (From a so-called friend peering over my plate as I try to eat my meal) A: Well actually, my doctor thinks I've lost too much weight and wants me to add on a few pounds A: What are you having to eat? Q: You must have spent a fortune on new clothes? A: Not so much, now that I'm a normal size, I can take advantage of sales. A: I did enjoy donating my old clothes to charity... Anyone else?

I didn't care for Premier Protein's taste. I liked Pure Protein and Atkins. Keep in mind this is ALL part of the journey. The self imposed food denial that happens for the first 2-4 months is an important learning stage that will help you succeed in maintenance. You must slay all of your old food demons. Living for a month on food that you can't stomach will help you kill those demons. Time is important - savor the journey...

Why does your daughter want you to stay obese and die decades early? That's the real question... Is your daughter obese too?

I tend to agree with Ann in general, but without knowing you, I can't be sure. What was your arch nemesis that led you to obesity? Your success will depend on slaying that dragon. In my case, I OD'd on the low carb lifestyle. I'd go months without eating as much as a cracker, but order macadamia nuts in 4 lb bags from Hawaii. Now I eat limited carbs and avoid high calorie foods - it works for me. What I'm getting at is, what role did cake or sweets play in your demise. If they were your downfall, avoid them like the plague until you hit your goal and go into maintenance. You'll need that 6-18 month period to develop new habits. Of course if your downfall was nuts, eat some cake!

Okay, two new ones... Q: How much did spend on the new wardrobe - it must have been a fortune. A: Not really, I just had my old clothes taken in (with a screw you smile). Q: What did you lose 25-30 pounds (I lost almost 100). Old A: No, more than that ( which always led to - How much? New A: Yeah, something like that (with another screw you smile). I'm growing very irritated with the same people who won't leave it alone and are totally obsessed with making stupid comments!

After 4 months on maintenance, I'm actually starting to believe that I may have a normal weight for the rest of my life. I have 4 friends who all lost a lot of weight - 40 to 90 pounds in the last 2 years without WLS and I'm seeing all of them put it all back on. I think to myself "how sad and thank God that I discovered the WLS Journey"...

I do think that Carbonic Acid should be avoided while the skin in your stomach is growing around the staples. Acid and metal don't mix well. That said, our daily antacid should protect us from harm after 6 weeks... http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1998-10/909181221.Ch.r.html

It's at rest in my mind. I will drink less than a can of seltzer or sugar free soda occasionally and stop when I feel the restriction - like everything else that goes in my mouth!

I don't believe these photos are real...

Decaf is also a good bridge strategy

I have no idea, but at 8 months out, I'm hitting restriction after 6-8 ounces of solid food. This is exactly what I wanted.

I prepared a document and gave the WLS team both soft and hard copies. I wrote it in the third person, so it read like a doctor or dietician had written it. I had a written report from my PCP going back 7 years that diagnosed me as obese and prescribed a low fat diet. I documented all the various diets I had been on. I had a 9 month prescription for Qysima and 4 months of testosterone injections. I also included 4 months of reports from my Fitbit demonstrating that I had exercised regularly. I had no medically supervised diet and got approved in 5 days. I also went on the pre opt diet immediately after the weigh in and impressed the WLS team with my weight loss discipline. Good luck, it's difficult, but not impossible. Once you get rolling it's like a snowball going down hill and it's over before you know it!

There is a lot of differing prescriptions for pre opt dieting. Once I mentally committed to the process, I went "all in" and started at 1500 calories a day the morning after my orientation and weigh-in. I also stopped coffee, soda, and booze. I did that for 6 weeks and dropped to 1000 calories for the week before surgery with more liquids (but not all). I drank a lot of Water and crystal lite. I took Tylenol if I got a headache, but I didn't have a lot. The results were great. I was down 30 lbs before surgery (1/3rd of my goal) and my surgery was a total breeze (pain free, in and out in less than 55 minutes, driving without pain killers in 3 days). I'm speculating, but I think the more abdominal weight we lose pre opt, the more space the surgeons have to work with. This means less trauma and firmer tissue to stitch up. By the way, all that pre opt dieting made my post opt quite easy. I was back to normal foods in 6 weeks and hit my weight loss goal 5 months after surgery. I'd look at it as a marathon and the more miles you cover early, the sooner the race will be over and you'll be the "new you". Good luck!

Second Crystal Lite. Most are too sweet, but they have one that as Watermelon, Strawberry, and Orange that is quite good!

I've said a few times on this forum, to me the best plan is to tell no one or tell everyone. Unfortunately, one of the 6 people I told was my 93 year old mother who I later discovered has gotten too old (senile) to keep a secret. Unfortunately, by the time I discovered she was babbling about my most guarded secret to anyone who'd listen, I had already lied to most of closest friends. Needless to say, I wish I had never told her!

Please share a few of those "tons of studies" on soda and sleeve stretching - I'd love to read them.!??? maybe this comment was for someone else??? this was not mentioned in my post Yes, I must have had a brain fart from drinking too much soda!

Please share a few of those "tons of studies" on soda and sleeve stretching - I'd love to read them.!

As @@Dub says, it's all about moderation during drinking and remediation in the days after. I only drink sugar free drinks that are all around 100 calories. If I'm in a situation where I'm drinking for a long period of time (all day on a boat, followed by dinner with friends), I might get to 500 calories of alcohol on such a day. This might get me up to 2,000 total that day, which is more than normal, but will not break my diet. When I see it show up on the scale, I go back to my post opt diet and get back under goal in a day or two (remediation). That said, if you think you've been a food addict or may have alcoholic tendencies, I'd steer clear. Btw, unlike most of the women here, I don't find it hits me any harder than it did when I was on a low carb diet back in the day. If all you have in your stomach is Protein and veggies, you will feel the booze faster.

On the contrary if someone said that orange juice made my feet smell better I would look for any evidence that corroborated that statement either falsely or truthfully. What I would like is actual evidence on the long term effects of diet soda consumption in any quantities on the sleeve. In the absence of that my alternative is to either soak my feet in orange juice as failure to do so could result in stinky feet while doing so could result in sticky but better smelling feet. LOL indeed this line of think i.e. weighing the upside vs the downside of a behavior has led to some very strange things. Think of the all the strange detox drinks that people drink on the basis it may make the younger, healthy, anti aging etc. Large parts of the beauty industry and indeed the diet industry are predicated on the fact they can make a dubious claim back by nothing more than observational study and the suckers start lining up with their cash. It harkens back to the days of snake oil merchants just tell folks what they want to hear and they will do the believing all on their own. Forget the soda question, how about evidence that sleeves can be stretched (more easily than a normal stomach). I've looked and I can't find any. I ask my surgeon and she said no. The former paramedic who hung about the operating room selling staples isn't that credible (to me anyways). Everything I've read or heard about failure is attributed to easily digested high calorie food or beverage. Regular soda, candy, Cookies, alcohol, chips, etc. I have never heard of someone stretching their sleeve and getting fat eating an entire pizza a one sitting! Has anyone?

Carbs, particularly cookies and sugar will sabotage your Weightloss. It's not just the calories, they'll absolutely make you crave more sugar and cookies. Find some high protein/low carb foods that you enjoy and eat them first.

I'm 7 months out and lost all my weight in record time. I ate exactly what they told me to eat and logged every single morsel from the orientation through solid foods (at which point I had lost the majority of my weight loss goal. Once they gave me "the green light" to eat normally, I very slowly added in new foods. I'm now in maintenance and I weigh in on most mornings. If I go over goal weight, I go back to my 1,000 calorie/day diet. In terms of food, I defer carbs as long as possible each day. I eat a lot of Atkins type meals (17 of my 21 meals a week). I allow myself 2-4 meals a week of whatever I want. My major taboo is fries, but I only eat 5-8 and share the rest. You'll learn a lot about eating right during your pre opt and post opt diets. Don't forget it when you get the green light, just tweak it. You'll do great!

I have a lengthy thread on this "Oh, the lying". I think it's a "tell everyone" or "tell no one" proposition. I told 6 people and that was 5 too many. After losing 95 lbs in 5 months, it's all everyone wants to talk about and I'm so sick of it. In terms of your situation, I'd steer clear of any events that involve dinning. If someone you trust/respect asks, I'd tell them something like "I decided to make some major lifestyle changes and lose a lot of weight. I'm doing exactly what my doctor and nutritionalist tell me to do, and they suggest I avoid social dining situations." In 2 months, when you're down 30 - 50 lbs. , they'll all want to know "your secret". Tell them your doing exactly what your doctor tells you to do. If they persist, suggest that they go ask THEIR DOCTOR!

I think we just need to develop thicker skin and better "one liners". I live in one part of the country from November to April and I just got back "home". I have lots of friends who are seeing me for the first time down 95 lbs. They say the dumbest things: 1. One couple has now told me 5 times EACH that they don't recognize me (they need new material). 2. A lot of marginal acquaintances come up to me WHILE I'M EATING in a restaurant and look at my plate and say "I want to see what you're eating" or "is that on your diet?" 3. My wife doesn't want me to lose another pound. 4. And of course everyone says "you must feel much better". I've just started telling them that I lost most of my weight in 2015 and while it's new news to them, it's old news to me. Hopefully they'll leave me alone. Of course, there are dozens of good friends who are just happy for me. I love them dearly!

60, you're doing great. It's a fact that it's much harder for women and those of us over 55. Just watch those pesky carbs and drink plenty of water. Oh yeah, walking is great, but I think it's more for your general health than actual weight loss.