PorkChopExpress

My wife's in the same boat you are. She has had to wait to get hers until the summer (she's a teacher) and she has a break with enough time for recovery...she's very jealous of me. But she gained enough to meet the 40 BMI requirement and she's been maintaining at that weight so that when she weighs in at the doctor's office, she has a history of being at 40 BMI. It sucks to have to do, but in this case you have to game the system to get what you need. Insurance companies are the worst.

Also, the reason the doctor wouldn't give meds for gas is, the gas isn't in your digestive tract or stomach...it's in your abdominal cavity. So meds won't do anything for it. The surgical CO2 passes through into your organs via osmosis, and that's how it escapes...but if you don't move, the gas will just sit there like a giant bubble in your abdomen. That's why walking and moving is so important.

Great job...this is the component that a lot of people miss. You can't just have the surgery and not change, yourself. It's all got to come from within. Changing all of those bad habits and that old, unhealthy mindset. I'm committed to this now, getting to the gym every day since I was 1 week post-op and working to make some real serious changes, and create a "new normal" for myself. I'm using this surgery as a reset button. That looks like exactly what you did, and the proof is in the result! Congratulations on your success, you've worked hard for it and deserve it

Not thinking about my weight and size.

I'm not sure how you'd define "too much" because I'm only able to eat 1/4 cup before I feel full. I can't define 1/4 cup as too much, no matter how you slice it

This one, you did for you...and it's your journey. Embrace it...even the ups and downs. This is something that you're doing totally for yourself, so keep your chin up and your eyes on the prize. I am two weeks post-op now...I went through the emotional swings, mourning food, and now I'm finally starting to get used to the new normal. It'll come, just give it time and go through your process, and really do some soul-searching about what you're thinking, and what you've done, and how you're going to attack this in the months to come. Your life has just changed, massively...but for the better. Now, just follow the rules, discipline yourself to stick with your program, and think about what you're going to be able to do and how you're going to feel, six months and a year or two from now. You're on your way. Nobody can take this from you.

You are mistaking the grumbling happening in your stomach for hunger. That's not what's going on. If you feel any pain/ache in there, it's because you just had 80% of your stomach cut away and it's still healing, while you put stuff in it But the gurgling is some combination of gas, acid and just your stomach "complaining" about its situation, more or less. But when you combine that with the "mourning" process of letting go of eating the way you used to, it can definitely be mistaken for hunger...but it's not. Give it a couple weeks and you'll get used to it, and your stomach will calm down a bit.

It's a great decision. Make sure you have them show you proper form, even if you're just doing machines. The thing with weights is, you need to be very focused on increasing the weight you can lift...so you'll want to look online for some programs that will have gradually incrementing your weight every session. If your gym has free weights, and I STRONGLY suggest you do free weights (you get more complete range of motion and recruit more muscle in other areas with free weights) and do a beginner program like Stronglifts 5x5. If you search that online, you'll see that Medhi (the guy who runs it) posts instructional videos that show you exactly how your form needs to be on each lift. There's also an iPhone/Android companion app that will help you track progress. You'll get really, really good results with Stronglifts...and as you get more knowledgeable, you'll be able to move into other programs to lift heavier and get even better gains. The other good program I recommend is Starting Strength, but it requires you to learn an powerlift called the power clean, which is a little more advanced than a beginner should really attempt. Before long, you're going to see that the weight training causes pretty massive changes in your body composition and shape, as well as burning calories like crazy. A lot of serious weight trainers almost never hit the treadmill except to warm up...the calorie burn all comes from the muscle. Plus, I just think it's fun to hit new milestones of weight that I can lift

It's a grueling diet, but stay disciplined...there's a time limit on it. In a couple weeks, you won't feel hunger anymore and you'll be just fine! Just remember that now is the time where you start re-training your brain. It's going to take time.

Make sure you're walking! Do laps around the ward, increasing in number if you can...or frequency, if you can't. That walking is the ONLY THING that will get the gas to work its way out of your body. Otherwise, it's just going to sit there, causing you pain. If you sit in your bed the whole time, it won't leave. So walk walk walk! As for Fluid intake, do the best you can. You're probably still on IV fluids, which helps with hydration. I wasn't able to do anywhere near what they said I "should" be able to do, with fluid intake, while I was in the hospital...I had to work up to it, by sipping at home. It took a couple days, but eventually I was getting 90g Protein from shakes and 64oz of Water. But my biggest recommendation is to walk. It may only result in belching right now, but in a few days you're going to be ripping enormous farts and feeling a LOT better.

I was just where you are and let me just tell you that it will pass...you're just going through the mourning period. As long as you're aware of this, and you know WHY your brain is doing this, you can come to terms with it. Just realize that you WILL be able to eat things again, eventually...and your focus will then start to be on the quality of the food, not the quantity. It's funny because my brain looks at small portions and says, "That's laughable!" And then I'm full on 1/4 cup of food and feel this giant disconnect between my expectations of how much will satisfy me, and how much actually does. It just goes to show you how psychologically trained we've all become, our expectations are set and our idea of what is "enough" is REALLY skewed.

I went through over a year of education and various hoops, and then just waiting for a window of opportunity to get the thing scheduled, and a TON of issues with the California insurance exchange screwing up my Blue Shield policy, over and over again. By the time I was on the pre-op diet and all signs were go, I was just totally ready to have it over with. I'm two weeks post-op now and feeling good, and just so glad to have the entire thing behind me, with the journey of weight loss ahead of me. Persevere, you are almost there and the next month is going to pass quickly, with all the pre-op appointments and various things they make you do.

They'll wheel you in, get you on the operating table, they'll start getting you situated...and then you'll wake up in the recovery room with people saying your name, asking you to wake up. It's over before you even know what happened. And then you'll have drugs that ensure you don't feel much (if any) pain. Use 'em! It won't be fun, but once you're not groggy anymore and you're clear-headed, start walking. Take it slow, but just take a lap around your ward, then lay back down. Take sips of Water as they instruct. An hour or so later, get back up and take another lap. Keep up the walking, and keep adding to your laps each time out. It's CRUCIAL to working all the surgical gas out of your system and you will heal much more quickly. You're not going to want to. Do it anyway. And when you're tired, sleep. Sleep is when your body rebuilds itself, it's important. But when you're awake, sip water and WALK. By the time they discharge you, you should be getting around without much trouble and ready to start adjusting to the "new normal." And when you're out, KEEP WALKING. It may take 4-5 days to get all that gas out. But the adjustment behaviorally and mentally is the REAL battle...the physical recovery is the easy part This is my third abdominal surgery and it pales in comparison to the gauntlet I had to run through with my gall bladder, several years ago. I had some pretty bad complications on that one. VSG was a cakewalk, by comparison.

The thing you have to keep in mind throughout this whole process is that while you had the physical issue addressed, you haven't addressed the mental issues...and the two things go together, with obesity. The weight is a byproduct that ends up becoming part of the problem, but the vast majority of the issue is psychological. That's what got you to the point where surgery was needed. So evaluate what you're feeling, in light of that decision. Right now, you aren't feeling hunger. Your body isn't aching for food, your stomach right now, frankly, doesn't care if you put NOTHING in it. What you're going through is 100% psychological in nature. You are mourning food, mourning your old lifestyle, and your brain is desperate to hang onto the "old you." But you need to really dedicate yourself mentally to the idea that this change is good for you, it will be for the rest of your life, and better to get through this mourning period and find peace with it, than have your brain struggling against it for the months to come. I just had the sleeve two weeks ago and for the first 6-8 days, I found I was preoccupied with food. What I wanted to eat, what I would be able to eat in X number of weeks, etc... Part of it was the mourning process, part of it was having had nothing but liquids for like 3-4 weeks. But I really did some self-analysis and realized that it was just my mind coming to the sad realization that everything it knew before September 23rd had been thrown out, and it was never coming back...and my mind may have wanted things to stay the same, but they couldn't. It's a little like breaking up with someone. Sometimes, some part of you misses the familiarity and comfort of being with them, even if things were super unhealthy. But eventually, over time, all of that fades and you start to realize that it was very good that you broke up, and you're way better off now. That's what you gotta go through, with food. So don't screw up on this. Follow your surgeon's instructions. Enjoy the little food that you do get to eat and make sure that you're eating stuff that you like...don't make it torture. But also don't break the rules. Re-train your stomach and re-train your brain, it's REALLY important...because it IS possible to screw this up and not lose weight, and after all that you've been through, is that really where you want to be in six months? A cautionary tale?

Halfway through my 40s, I had the surgery two weeks ago. Very happy to have it all behind me, and be on the road toward getting this problem sorted out, once and for all. Should be interesting to see what I look like at 46, in July of next year!

Don't mistake the rumbling for hunger, I've read that pretty much everybody gets that...it's not hunger. It can be a combination of acid in your stomach and gas. I actually get a lot of rumbling after I eat. The stomach is being retrained, since it's radically changed now. And also, you are probably going to have food on your mind for a little while, I know I did...it's a "mourning" process for your old lifestyle and eating habits, I think. About 4-5 days out, I was kind of obsessing about what I would like to eat. I also credit being on a liquid-only diet for so long with some of that But now that I can have some soft foods and I can actually chew again, those thoughts don't plague me so much anymore. I really don't feel anything like the traditional symptoms of "hunger" anymore. Hope it lasts a long time, it's super helpful with this low-calorie diet.

Well, nine days may be just a hair premature for your healing rate...listen to your body. Not everybody heals at the same speed. Have you been meeting your Protein goals? If not, that would contribute to slower healing of the wound on the stomach, and cause it to ache/hurt more when you fill it. So I think I might just cool it on the solids for 3-4 more days and then try again. I'm 14 days post-op myself and I'm tolerating mushy foods pretty well now, I can eat 1/4 cup at meals with no real ill effects (except that the sensation of fullness comes on faster and is harder for me to feel coming, still). Also, when you try again, make sure you are chewing it until it's basically almost a liquid in your mouth before you swallow it. Will make it MUCH easier on your stomach, to work on it.

So I just hit two weeks post-op and I was advanced to soft/mushy foods. When I was happily shopping for items I would be allowed to eat, I discovered that Ziploc makes these nifty little 1/2 cup containers with a 1/4 cup line on them. If I put my meat and veggie in there to that line, it seems to be a perfect amount that gets me to "just full." Just thought I'd share the tip, it's working perfectly for me taking meals to work. It's just that I feel a little ridiculous when people come through the lunchroom and that's what I'm working on for half an hour Still so mind-blowing to me...THAT is all it takes to get me full. It's hard to reconcile with my brain.

Well this one went off the rails quickly lol

The reason men burn fat faster is purely due to muscle mass and TDEE. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn. Most women believe that if they lift they'll get "bulky" so they just do cardio, which creates a very negligible amount of muscle. In the process of losing weight due to extreme calorie deficits like we're all doing, your body also loses muscle as it attempts to find energy. Consequently, over time your body's ability to burn calories slows down (hence why weight loss slows as your calorie intake gradually goes up, but your body's ability to burn it goes down). The only answer, really, is to do everything you can to maintain as much of your muscle mass as you can...and that means weight training and a lot of protein!

Thanks guys, I'm going to try it sometime this week, I think!

One thing that I think a lot of people skip when they lose a lot of weight is, they don't ever hit the weights. They just do cardio. What burns calories all day long is your muscle mass, and you lose a ton of it due to the extreme calorie restriction of WLS. The good news is, if you were obese, at one point your body carried a LOT of muscle...and the muscle has a memory of being that size, so it's easier to build it back up. I'd suggest to anyone who hasn't, and wants help maintaining their fat burning ability, to get involved with weight training and building muscle. Ladies, you aren't going to get "bulky" - trust me. But if you put on some lean muscle, you are going to find that you tone up, and you lose fat as your body composition changes. The muscle burns the fat. I would especially suggest working on compound lifts like squats and deadlifts. Check out Stronglifts 5x5 which is a great beginner strength training routine, with a cell phone app. Remember...it's not all about the number on the scale, it's also about your body composition.

There's never going to be a convenient time, most likely. This is the kind of thing you just have to find a window of time that will work for it, and do it. You need to do it at a time where you can take off several weeks from work, just in case you have any complications. I was back at work after one work week, but everything was super smooth with my recovery and I had no real issues (and I have a desk job, so I could come back with no strain on my healing abdomen/stomach). My wife said, "Just get it done." There was just never going to be a convenient time...but ultimately, I was fortunate not to need a ton of recovery time and I worked out nicely. As for not being able to help out around the house...it's temporary, and given that you're a father I suspect you can point out that there were MANY months when she was pregnant (and after giving birth) that you picked up the slack for her, to some degree. If all goes well, this really won't put you out of action for THAT long. I can get up and down and around no problem, do all my normal stuff after two weeks of healing. I am just not supposed to lift anything heavy, but I carried grocery bags no sweat. Give me a couple more weeks and I'll be pretty much back to normal. Just feeling a little weaker nowadays because of lack of nutrition, but it's not terrible. Anyway, I think if your work schedule will allow it, set it up and follow through. Then just be very diligent and on top of your plan with the surgeon and nutritionist, so you can get the maximum out of your recovery and minimize any risk of complications.