The New Kel

@@Didjit, I enjoyed reading your thoughtful post and questions. I can really relate to where you are. Like you, I am in my late 40s, and I have a very similar weight history as yours. I'm only 5'3" but I weighed 240 at my highest, which I think was a BMI of 43. Like you, I have a history of exercising extensively, only to justify eating terribly later. I have a memory being 23 years old, in the USAF, living in a dorm room, lonely, 2200 miles away from family. On my days off, I would run a couple miles, then bike ride several miles, then lift weights. My "reward" was to go to Burger King or Arby's and order huge amounts of food, and stuff myself. So dysfunctional. To give you a bit of insight as to how I have reacted to the sleeve so far: (I am just over a month post op).. I was addicted to food, especially high calorie fast foods. The withdrawal from those foods for about 2-3 weeks post op wasn't easy ( I even had dreams of eating burgers, lol). But, I came to grips with the addiction and looked it in the eye and admitted that I had been choosing a terrible lifestyle. Around week 3 post op those foods lost their hold on me and I no longer want them. My appetite is fair now, and I only get hungry when my body requires fuel. And then, the hunger is satisfied with a couple ounces of good Protein. My new stomach knows that bad foods, carbs, sugars and fillers will make it feel bad, and so that feeling overrides any mental head hungers. That's the beauty of the surgery. You simply don't have room for the bad stuff. At least this is my experience so far. I think you are going to do great. You are already asking the right questions and you are already facing your demons by inquiring and admitting your weaknesses. This is a great big huge part of WLS success, tackling (and admitting) the mental issues we have with our relationship with food. Sounds like you're truly ready, and have the insight be very successful with WLS. Kel

@@Meggiesmom, I think that's probably the greatest benefit so far for me, that the sleeve has physically altered my cravings. I really don't have cravings anymore, for anything. I get hungry, but not at all like I used to. Now I get hungry when my body genuinely needs fuel. And I naturally want to eat body pleasing Proteins and things that make me feel good. I was really worried the first couple weeks post op, craving fast food burgers and crap. Then, at week three, those cravings vanished. It's. a great feeling, very liberating!!!

@@frananp03 said: "We have a choice...it may not be an easy choice but its still a choice. We have an opportunity to change after WLS and we should seize it to make better choices. Not ruin it by continuing with the same bad behavior." Well said. Pretty much sums up this whole discussion. I might just use this as my tagline!!

@@NikkiRT ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ your girl is adorbs!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I love these doggie pics!! My dog is 103 lbs so I waited two weeks before I walked him myself. He's a puller Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I don't like them, and had high hopes for them. I bought 4 flavors to try. The red one was ok but medicine aftertaste. The green apple was awful. The other two flavors are sitting in the back of my fridge untouched, lol! Here's the good news: after experiencing isopure drinks, my premier Protein chocolate shakes suddenly taste better . Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I think accountability is key to not only weight loss success but all addictions. As they say, You can make excuses or you can make progress, your choice. Two weeks after surgery I wrote myself a letter admitting my terrible relationship with food. If you don't admit what gets you into bad situations, you are bound to repeat. I think the only way to get rid of demons is to admit they are there, and confront them. When I read here about people who just ate candy or fried food, etc, I think that they have not yet faced the hardest part of this journey.. mental changes. Like Blizair said "Bless their Hearts".

That's messed up. I would have left the restaurant and gone elsewhere. Then I would have yelped them poorly (evil me).

Also agreed - I would never leave a 50 cent tip. Even at buffets or order at the counter places, etc I always leave $1 per person and $1 for the table. Minimum. And that's at places you aren't even expected to tip.My first experience going out to eat post surgery was a week ago, to my favorite little restaurant here in town. I ordered the boiled chicken potstickers and my husband ordered a regular meal and some beer. The waitress was so incredible sweet. She came back to check on us and saw I had only eaten one and a half of the 6 potstickers. And noticed that I had pretty much dissected the things trying to get to the meat inside. the waitress asked me if the potstickers were OK. I said yea they were great (even though my sleeve was not tolerating the seasoning..not her fault). She looked a bit concerned but wasn't nosey or over questioning.When the bill came she smiled and gave us a coupon for 20 percent off, saying that next time she hopes I find something that pleases me more. It was actually a really nice gesture. Unrelated, but I love potstickers. I pull the excess dough off and eat mainly the insides. Yummy. I used to love them, but my new tummy has turned against them!

Hang in there @@Ki.B I know how hard the waiting is and going through the months of procedures. But it will pay off, and you will have your surgery date! My journey to get a date took forever. I went to one surgeon and was on a waiting list to see him for 3 months. THE DAY OF the consult, I showed up, and the receptionist told me my consult was cancelled and the surgeon was taking 4 months off!! And he might not return!! I went home devastated. My husband encouraged me to look up another surgeon and I found Dr Lara, thank God. When I was through with all my nutritionist appointments and all the tests, (about 6 months into my Quest for surgery), Dr Lara called and said I had to have my gallbladder removed FIRST, then wait 6 weeks for Sleeve surgery. I was again deflated. But I went along with it. Finally, I got my date, October 3. It took 9 months to get to surgery date. But as my husband reminded me, 9 months really isn't a big deal considering how long I have been overweight and that I have my whole life ahead of me to enjoy the new me. He was right, and now the 9 months seems more trivial. Hang in there and know that you are really close!! It will happen, stAy positive!

Also agreed - I would never leave a 50 cent tip. Even at buffets or order at the counter places, etc I always leave $1 per person and $1 for the table. Minimum. And that's at places you aren't even expected to tip. My first experience going out to eat post surgery was a week ago, to my favorite little restaurant here in town. I ordered the boiled chicken potstickers and my husband ordered a regular meal and some beer. The waitress was so incredible sweet. She came back to check on us and saw I had only eaten one and a half of the 6 potstickers. And noticed that I had pretty much dissected the things trying to get to the meat inside. the waitress asked me if the potstickers were OK. I said yea they were great (even though my sleeve was not tolerating the seasoning..not her fault). She looked a bit concerned but wasn't nosey or over questioning. When the bill came she smiled and gave us a coupon for 20 percent off, saying that next time she hopes I find something that pleases me more. It was actually a really nice gesture.

This brings back my only truly awkward/shocked/speechless moment. I had just been cleared for soft foods and I went to the market's salad bar to get my teeny tiny lunch. At that time, I was especially fond of their chicken salad and their seafood salad. I got MAYBE two tablespoons of each in the salad bar container (knowing I would take half home) and went to the register. The cashier, a big girl herself, looked at me (remember, I was just about 6 weeks post op and still quite the fatty) and said, "Girl! You know you eat more than that! Who you trying to fool??" in the loudest voice. And yes, everyone in line turned to look at me and my pathetic salad. I was hormonal, stressed at the idea that any food I ate still came back up because of my stricture, and absolutely floored that anyone would say something like that. I barely held my **** together, told her I had stomach cancer and moved on through. She's not looked at me in the eye since. OMG!!!

You look stunning! Congratulations!

Love the idea of using it foe salad dressing. I love "creamy" dressings but I won't them anymore due to calories/fat. I'm going to try the greek yogurt with lemon and maybe some herbs as soon as I can eat salads. thanks for the idea!

Awesome. thank you for the suggestions. I've been only semi-capable of tolerating regular Protein Shakes so I am trying out the plant based one. I'll look into your suggestions and try. thanks!

I posted earlier that I was never really into candy. I just thought of one exception: high quality chocolates in a box. Has anyone ever had See's Candy??? Pre-surgery I could have eaten a whole box. And the smell.....heaven!! But that cheap @ss stuff you give away at halloween? No thanks!

This weekend my husband's aunt and uncle are coming. I am not telling them about my surgery. They really love to eat out. I plan on telling them I am on a diet plan and following doctors orders. I think that will suffice. I will probably order Soup and maybe an appetizer.

Some soft foods I have had: Rotisserie chicken Sashimi Greek no fat yogurt Lean deli slices Low fat cheese Slow cook crock pot Turkey chili (yummmmm) Cottage cheese Artichoke cooked soft. These and Premier Protein shakes are pretty much all I eat now while on soft foods. This week I am going to try and implement some soft fruit and more veggies.

Hang in there, @@afriendnwv ! Right after surgery it's a weird balance to try and get fluids and Protein in. Sometimes you feel hungry, sometimes you're nauseas. Sometimes you're fatigued. Then once you are on a roll getting all those Protein shakes in, you start to hate them, lol! Then, you are allowed purees. Around weeks 3 and 4, you start figuring out how to get the protein in without feeling ill. And it becomes habit and so much easier. Good luck to you!

Welcome @@Meg.Griffin83 ! Congratulations on getting your surgery date! It is a great feeling, isn't it? After all your hard work, going through tests and hoops. Mid December seems like a fine time...a good time to take a few weeks to recoup! Looking forward to hearing all of your stories and updates! Kel

My hunger lasted about 3 weeks. Since then I only feel hunger when I haven't had anything to eat for maybe 3 or 4 hours, and then an ounce of Protein satisfies me. You stop thinking about food obsessively after a few weeks. One really great thing about WLS is that you start thinking about food as a way to fuel yourself rather than to satisfy addictions and cravings. Hang in there, the kind of hunger you're experiencing goes away.

Im trying to add some variety. I don't like the Protein shakes either. But Premier Protein Shakes are about the closest I've come to tolerable shakes. Today I had: 8am: coffee, small 9am: Oikos Zero yogurt, 5 oz, eaten over an hour 11:30 half of a Quest bar 12:30 Half of a Premier Protein shake. (If you drink them really cold, they are ok-ish). 2:00 Tuna salad, 2 oz 3:00 cardio workout 4:00 1/4 cup cottage cheese 5:00 1 oz of rotisserie chicken (I keep fresh rotisserie chicken in the fridge when I want a quick fix) 7pm 2 oz of ground turkey with tomato sauce 10pm 2 or 3 oz of oikos yogurt (eating as I type this :-) 60 oz of Water drank throughout the day According to my fitness pal I consumed 75grams of protein and 28g carbs for the day.

Pinterest recipes that are bariatric/low carb friendly. I can search that site for hours!

I made chicken tender strips with panko coating and oven bakes them. (I also made sugar free dips to go with them). The kids loved them more than I did. They were OK, but I didn't care for the coating of crumbs. Ended up scraping off the crumbs. I was 3 weeks out when I tried them!