Mattymatt

Keep your chin up! :-) Every person's body is a little different and reacts differently to surgery. All you have to do is stick to the plan and the losing will eventually begin. It is easy to get discouraged when we read all these stories about dramatic weight loss. It is also easy to lose patience with the process and expect instant gratification. Believe you me, I am one of those instant gratification types. Trust the process and let things happen.

The entire process leading up to what is going to happen on March 12th has showed me all of the resentment and anger that I've harbored towards the world. There is nothing like confronting a major change to life to make me realize just how human I really am. I am only alive but for the complex chemical processes that happen underneath a frighteningly thin layer of protection. I now know just how fragile and human I am and I really don't want to spend the rest of my life the way I've lived my 40 years until now. I've lived life with a chip on my shoulder and generally expecting to fight for every yard that I needed to gain. No more ... it just is not worth it. No matter how frustrating life can be, it is no longer worthwhile taking it out on someone else or seeking to blame others. It's not even worth blaming myself anymore. For the first time in my life, I don't want to find fault in anyone, including myself, for life's circumstances. The surgery is going to leave the old me in the dust: mentally and physically. I resolve to be a better person when I wake from anesthesia.

I am captivated by the fundamental difference in cat and dog ownership. We cat people always talk about getting owned by a cat whereas people own dogs. I would honestly rather be owned by a cat. Cats are not as independent as many people often perceive. They just have different ways of expressing life in a group or pack. If you take time to understand the nuances, bonds between cats and people become just as strong.

Yeah the waiting game isn't a whole lot of fun. But I've grown patient because I've spent 6 months in the process so what's another week or two at this point?

It sounds like you have a great attitude about the stalls. You work through them .... which is the best attitude to have. Keep up the hard work.

You're wise to stay away from dating until you get to goal weight. The last thing you want is something to derail you. I am choosing the same path. I think once you get to goal weight, you'll have a much broader range to date from. I am 40 and there isn't a huge market for overweight, disabled, and unemployed guys right now. LOL! But work on one thing at a time. That's all you can do.

Sweet! You've got this!

Your getting closer!!!

Then I think you'd like me. I'm not a dog person. I like other people's dogs but I would never own one. Cats rule!

Day one of the 2 week pre-op OptiFast diet is off to a bang start. Since my BMI is between 40 and 44, I get to have 4 shakes, 1 soup, and 1 bar for the next 11 days. Then the final 3 days 1 shake gets added and no bars. I woke up already not feeling that great so it remains to be seen how the rest of the day will go. I decided to also reinstall LoseIt on my phone. There is no time like the present to get back to tracking.

Before y'all groan and say, "Not another second thoughts posting!" hear me out a second. I am having second thoughts about going to surgery because my problem is not that I am unable to lose weight; it is that once I lose weight I have troubles in maintenance. I finally understand this but the problems are significant. I don't tell many people this but I am disabled - I have high functioning autism. While my "autieness" does not really show itself in social situations, I have trouble with some basic chores like cooking. I tend to over or undercook meals, have difficulty following recipes, and measuring ingredients properly. Skills like these are known as executive functioning and I have struggled with this all of my life. I have had success in losing weight on meal replacements because of the ease of making it happen. Instead of the frustrating (and ultimately wasted) experience of cooking, I could channel my energies towards getting the weight off. Instead of the profound frustration with meal preparation, I have it planned out for me and I can pretty much coast through to some degree. I was inspired to post this because I am on my second day of Optifast and loving every bit of its ease of use, so to speak. So part of me is wondering, when the root of the problem is executive functioning, why I should even undergo surgery to begin with? If I am able to follow a strict diet (which I can), wouldn't it make more sense for me to see Optifast through to goal weight and while working with a therapist and maybe finding some cooking classes? I think the executive functioning challenges might be much worse in maintenance with the severe changes in metabolism.

@blizair09 I am in my 40s too. I turn 41 on March 3rd. Gosh it would be great to be able to recapture a part of my life that I've essentially missed out. Your avatar pegs you for someone quite a bit younger than 40s.

I'd like to thank everyone for their responses. It really helped put things in perspective for me and chase those second thoughts away. @Creekimp13, you're correct, the research does not lie. It really points out that when surgery is used as a tool, the chances for long term success are an order of magnitude better. @FluffyChix That is a fantastic idea! I am going to look into an occupational therapy program. @blizair09 I am a champion of the yo-yo diet. I lost over a 100 pounds two times only to regain. Your words struck a note with me. Surgery it is going to be! When looking at it soberly, this is the best option for the rest of my life.

If there is magic pixie dust, then please share, don't hog it all! :-D

You've kind of hit on something that seems to be a part of a lot of people who are overweight and I include myself. We make excuses and sometimes live in some forms of denial or mired in our own behaviors. My own situation is fairly complicated but each time I want to complain about not losing weight or whatever, I can ultimately trace the root of the problem to personal denial or crazy behavior. I am so awoke to this that I no longer whine when I don't lose weight - I don't lie to myself anymore ... the reason is that I fell off of the wagon and stopped tracking.

Yeah, you really cannot agonize over the scale. I don't own a scale now so I'll have to buy one. But I probably won't weigh every week. Honestly, the scale doesn't give you accountability. If you want accountability, use an an app like LoseIt to track your food and exercise. If you're honest with your food and exercise, the results should eventually show.

Well, you've caught yourself before the fall. Yes, see a therapist. Meanwhile go back to the basics of the program ... protein first, drink liquids 30 minutes after eating, and track-track-track!

You're under good care and your medical team will get to the bottom of this. In the mean time, it is important for you to stay as positive as possible.

First day down and it is really not so bad. I guess that the hunger pangs are vastly better than dealing with the side effects of Victoza and insulin. At least I don't feel nauseous which is a HUGE relief. Hunger pangs are really welcome when compared to having to put up with Victoza. Dare I say I got this!?

It sounds far more ghastly than it is - at first I did not like the idea of my insides being rerouted. The kicker for me was having both GERD and Type 2 Diabetes. The sleeve does not seem to have as profound an effect on diabetes as RNY does. They say RNY either cures T2 or sends it into remission. I absolutely hate having to take 3 medicines to control blood sugar. At least I've been pulled off of 2 of them now that I am on Day 1 of the OptiFast pre-op diet. I am just relieved to be off of Victoza. I got the rare side effect of worsening depression while on Victoza. Just not taking it today makes me feel better already. I'd get like ready to cry at a moment's notice - some real ugly stuff.

I am no expert but my surgeon says that GERD makes sleeve almost a no go. Why are you trying to avoid a bypass? It's the gold standard. Research shows that bypass patients have the best outcome.

As @FluffyChix mentioned, you really want to consider RNY if you have GERD because sometimes GERD is exacerbated by just the sleeve alone. I am sure you don't want to go through a revision surgery.

I just want to get through this first week of OptiFast! Hell, I am not even looking that far ahead right now. I am just looking hour to hour.

At some point you have to say f**k these people! I don't really care about people's responses and if they ask, I am going to tell them the truth because I am not ashamed to admit that I am one of the 90% for whom diet and exercise alone did not work. It's also a great way to screen people. If they're going to judge you based on that, you don't want them in your life .... period.

Stalls are normal. I am surprised that no one in your program has discussed this with you. It's common to have a 3rd week stall or so I am told. I am still pre-op until March 12th.