Brian B

I remember my last trip to casual male .. the woman said this will probably be the last time we see you... it was such a strangely happy moment.

I personally found losing weight to be the easy part... I think it will take years to overcome the mental aspect. I'm 17 months post-op and still feel weird getting into elevators.. basically anything in a social setting... constantly thinking... everyone is looking looking at me... the elephant in the room.. I lost 183 lbs and I think it just takes time to visualize and be comfortable in your new body. Believe me it will all be worth it. You don't even realize the depth of your depression until it's gone. Happiness is in your future my friend.

I wish I did this 10 years ago... good for you bud.

I started at 413 made it to 232. Both options will work if you're willing to work!

I would recommend sleeve. Bypass is for life. The weight will come off either way. The lifestyle changes will be the same and no dumping with the sleeve. Good luck!

14 months ago .. I wish we all could crave more veggies!

You should have tons of energy... unless its just your body healing.

There will be several moments .. I look back and think the surgery .. I dont even remember . I dont remember the liquid stage .. or the puree stage .. the pain from drinking to fast .. from eating to fast .. to losing 25 .. 50.. 100 .. etc. Last year was such a blur with many happy moments. You feel really good about doing something positive for yourself .. it really is all worth it. It also is the easy part lol. Your journey has just begun .. I wish you all the happiness and luck!

After my surgery my sweet tooth turned into a salt tooth. I used to eat a lot of sugar.. like a lot. Since my surgery I could care less about anything sweet. Now I crave salty stuff like fritos .. chips. I never put salt on anything besides turkey before my surgery and now I put it on everything.

Depending on where you are time wise there are different restrictions based on your Dr. or Nutritionist. At some point you will be able to eat everything again... given there are some tolerance issues that some people have after surgery. Take this time to evaluate what got you here and make changes ... its not the food .. its the amount. All food has nutritional value so stop blaming the food. Fired chicken didn't make you overweight .. its the amount of fried chicken and a everything else that maxed out your normal daily calories. Its simple math .. your body need X amount of energy everyday based on your activity. You get energy from calories .. and when you consume more calories than you need your body stores the excess. After surgery in the back of my head, I keep saying to myself .. I can't wait to eat normal again, not bad .. just normal. Guess what .. normal is exactly what your eating 6 months post surgery. 4-5oz of meat/protein, cup of veggies and water. That's your life from now on if you want to maintain. This is what normal people need to survive. Break the cycle of food being a source of happiness .. food doesn't make you happy.. food fuels your body and gives you energy. I sure seem like mr gloom and doom but this is the reality check everyone needs.

Chicago...da Bears! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N915A using BariatricPal mobile app

When I was 20, after my first year of collage I weighed 230lbs (gained about 40lb). That summer I worked out 3-4 hours a day and only ate one massive meal a day. I was able to get down to 186 lbs... and then .. I gained it all back and for the next 27 years I packed on another 200+. I think when your younger people think you can work at it and you have time to make things right. That's the way adults think. When I was 20 I just wanted to know how I was getting beer and if I would ever find a girlfriend lol. My weight was not important to me and eating and drinking was fun. I only wished that instead of doing that ridiculous diet, that one of my parents sat me down and discussed options like having surgery. I think the surgery makes your health become the issue because your weight is just a symptom, which as a kid might be hard to understand. When your younger you mind isn't thinking about health.. its about having fun and looking good. Women are defiantly more mature then men (lol) so as others have posted, make the decision that's best for you. Don't think of this as a diet because it's really just a process to fix a symptom, which you will still need to address. Your body didn't make you over weight, you did.

I think there is something to this .. . I know if I watch Skin Tight I always listen to the back story to find out if they had surgery or not. I can honestly say when they say they did it without, I am very impressed. That's not to discount those who had surgery because I know either way its hard... but just a little harder without surgery. Actually I think its a lot harder. My wife has been trying to lose weight "naturally" and we often get into discussions about the process. I try to tell her what I do but I know in the back of my head that she doesn't have the luxury of not feeling hunger and not filling up quickly. Not to discount what we are doing at all, but I think the hardest part will be transitioning to a positive healthy lifestyle that will last the rest of my life.

They have everything .. but the only problem is that the first couple of vapes taste amazing but then your like .. omg I'm sick of captain crunch!.

re-think your food....portion size .. weight everything .. therapy ... losing weight is taking care of a symptom of something else .. have out figured out why yet? pre-op diet ... use your pre-op diet for a week or 2 to get back into the post op plan .. remember back when you ate what you needed and not more food? Your surgery can't lose weight for you.. its not a magic pill. If you eat 2000 calories and you burn 2000 calories you won't lose weight. You also can't use exercise to lose weight.. you have to realize its all about what you eat and how much you eat. When you stall and you don't see those number falling you will feel depressed but you have to realize you will stop losing at some point. This needs to be addressed. I stalled out around 8-9 months and haven't lost any but I was happy with where I was at. I missed getting on the scale and seeing a smaller number. This also coincides with when my plan allowed us to start eating carbs as a portion. Carbs are the root of all evil. Have you increased your carbs? Maybe to much? I did my pre-op diet this week and have lost 6 lbs... its not hard to lose weight when you strictly follow your plan.. I think the problem for most when they hit 7+ months out is that we are allowed to add things off the menu and we have proved that we suck at eating correctly Really think like you did back in Month 1, 2 3 .. and realize where you are going wrong. Its not the surgery's fault. Don't get discouraged .. make better choices.

Cookie Chips (https://hannahmax.com/) and Good Thins (http://www.goodthins.com/) .. so yummy BUT pay attention to the serving sizes! Its all about portion control =D **Sorry didnt see the no nuts/crackers ... but keep these in mind**

I decided to look it up ... http://www.drpancholi.com/e-cigarettes-safe-surgery/ So that is a more detailed answer to your question.. take it or leave it. I didn't quit and I have had 3 surgeries in the last few years .. no problems. I think they are just covering their butts.

Yes 12ml ... All Dr.'s will tell you to quit smoking before a surgery because it affects your circulation. It will also improve your recovery. How much .. I have no idea. They would never not do the surgery because if this. Lets just put it this way .. its better not to smoke .. but its not going stop anything .. just will get a dirty look from your Dr.

lol I was vaping up until I was admitted and vaped as soon as I got in the car to go home. I dont think you should be concerned and your craving for nicotine is probably just stress about the surgery. Chill! Good luck!

LOL .. exactly. I have had the same "trouble" and people just don't get it.

Everyone above has given you excellent answers ... just keep at it and don't get discouraged.

Maybe the food we used to eat was loaded with salt and we didn't know it ... everyday I read about some new aspect of food and our bodies. Its all so confusing lol. I think for me sugar was a pleasure food and I was mildly depressed .. getting little or lots of pleasure was my way of coping. So maybe I am happier now and don't need the sugar. I just remembered how much crap I used to eat.. sitting in the line at the store I would grab candy thinking to myself .. oh I bet that will taste good. And when I would eat it .. I wouldn't even taste it .. just stuffing it down. So pathetic *shrugs*. Now everything I eat, I look at and chew 20-30 times.. actually savoring and enjoying. When I look at candy now I just shake my head and say so not worth it. Yah me .. lol

My trigger is salt .. put a bag of Fritos on my desk and watch it disappear. Before my surgery I was a carb/sugar addict, so weird and happy that has changed.

The pre-op diet is working .. losing about 2 lbs a day, but I am not sure if I can keep it up. I don't have physical hunger pains .. they are all mental. Its like I look forward to eating which is really turning out to be my biggest problem. I also have the biggest cravings for salty food which of course all junk food lol. I guess eating a bad of fritos is better then a bag of jolly ranchers. I never craved salt or even put it on anything before my surgery, so that is new. At this stage I have come to realize that my eating plan is really my life plan, I seemed to be suppressing this. I think in the back of my head I was saying to myself .. just get through this and you will be better! Over the last week it is becoming clear that restricting what I eat is a good thing and just because they make Fritos, doesn't mean you have to eat them =D What ever happened to finding normal...

I also want to drop my last 20-30lbs so I can get my BMI under 30. I decided to go back to my pre-op diet for a week or 2 in hopes that it kicks everything back in gear. Lost 2 lbs since yesterday so thats cool. I think adding carbs back into the mix really was the beginning of my stall. I really think it kicks off maintenance mode. I think the NUT's and Dr. realize that we have to get back to a normal diet and they hold off carbs because they know they just mess everything up. In all honesty we dont need carbs.. they just add variety to our limited food pool. Plus they are yummy, lol. I think this is the part of the journey that is the hardest because its really up to us to figure out how change. We have been given the gift of a surgery and a plan, which has built in controls but now were kind of left to discover the rest. I think this is when a little personal or group therapy might be really helpful because mentally were still that little fat kid with keys to the candy store.