hope4momof4

I’m going to begin by posting my stats so hopefully once I have my procedure I can look back and see how much weight I’ve lost.
Current weight: 198 lbs. (ouch🤭)
height: 5’5”, Age: 43, female
Biggest thing I accomplished this past week: I finally made an appointment for a consultation on 12/7 (which I will definitely update about on a different thread, lol)
My biggest challenge: having the courage to tell my husband I want to do this (he’s the only one who will know besides my mom) and trying to wean myself off of phentermine which at this point is really not helping me with my appetite at all. I am too afraid to stop taking it because I will probably gain a lot of weight if I do.
My biggest victory (even if it’s a very small one): realizing that I don’t need a sweet snack at night and reached for a piece of fruit instead.
I hope at least some of you join me in this thread. Once I have my procedure, God willing, this will keep me accountable.
Thanks for allowing me to share. 🤗🤗

Good evening all! I was thinking that we should start a thread on this forum where we post an update on our progress, challenges, frustrations, or just a place for us to unload about anything we want to while on this unique journey. There aren’t many esg people out there compared to the other WLS so I thought that this particular thread could help us bond together. To be honest I feel so close to so many of you that I really want to keep that relationship for as long as possible. So even if you are preop I want us each to post an update on how their week has progressed. Please write whatever you felt was important about your week pre or post esg. It could be a that you’ve moved on to solids or you’ve lost a nice amount of weight for that week or you really struggled or perhaps you are starting to revert back to the old habits that got us here in the first place. Let’s try and update every Monday starting on December 4, 2017. My hope is we will become more accountable for our food choices and possibly stop any member from falling off track. Let us all make a commitment to one another and post our week’s successes and failures. If we had a successful week then we can guide others to do the same. If we’ve had a bad week then perhaps posting it will get us back on track. I know by now most of you are hating my long posts, lol, 🤣🤣 but I think if we stick to posting our progress or lack of at least once a week we can minimize failure and encourage one another. Come on gang I hope you are all with me 😬😬🤞🏻🤞🏻
I’ll post Monday although I’m in the preop stage. I’ll post about whatever things I’m worried about leading to my esg or something I discovered about it for the week. Looking forward to reading all of the updates every Monday on this thread. We can do this!!!!

Love this idea.

The past week has been a challenge for me [emoji853].
I have spent much of the past week at the hospital with a unwell relative. Way to many meals at the hospital cafeteria that included ALL the carbs [emoji51].

I realise that my little routine has been so important in my success so far. It's really hard to control what you eat when you don't prepare the food and haven't planned ahead.

On the upside, I have not "fallen off the wagon" so to speak. I haven't had junk food or desperately sort out unhealthy food to console myself and that certainly feels like progress. Just happy to grab a small size Pasta or sandwich rather than lean meat and veg. So a "carb kg" gained for me that I plan to shove this week [emoji4].

Haven't exercised for the past week and am looking forward to getting back into moving again.

Thankfully, I am now back home and today is day 1 getting back to it.

So for me, just over 13kg down since esg and 16kg down from this time last year.

On a positive note... It's so nice to weigh less than a year ago. It's the first time I can say that in quite some time. I would really like to drop 2 kg before Xmas so wish me luck!

Mel x

I have developed a technique for dealing with people I don't want to tell about bariatric surgery and it works so well.
Here's how it goes... There is a particular pattern to most conversations about weight loss that goes like this.
Observer: Wow! You've really lost a ton of weight.
Person who lost weight: THANKS! [explains how they lost weight, how much they lost]
All I do is when people I don't know/like enough ask me about my weight loss, I just politely say "Thanks." That's it. I don't give details on how much I lost, how I lost it... nothing. I then either smile and move on to something/someone else or I flat out change the subject.
You would be amazed how well this works. People don't know what to do when you won't play the game. When they give you the opening to tell them about your weight loss and you don't take it, they just freeze.
It works like a charm.

I found unbelievable support when I started telling family and friends. Initially I didn’t want anyone to know but, it really turned out to be a huge help psychologically and emotionally. It also helped me follow the rules.

You are already providing support and an encouraging word. The fact that I know someone else is going through the same issues as me makes me not feel alone. Yeah I can definitely relate to your mom’s reaction to you bringing up some issues and her breaking down in tears. My mom’s reaction was to yell at us and shut us out completely, in other words she doesn’t want to hear it. (My mom hardly cries, I’ve seen her cry only twice in my lifetime, not even when my father passed away). My siblings decided they’d had enough and completely walked out on her while I was left to bear the brunt of her outbursts. 😔😔It’s something I know I have to just deal with. I don’t try to change her because it is pointless so I deal with it. The best we can do love is not become our mothers. I am trying to learn from her mistakes. I don’t want to end up alone and unhealthy. Weight loss surgery is part of the remedy for us physically but mentally or emotionally we have to learn to cope as no amount of surgery will help us with that.

So happy for you Tex! Thanks for keeping us posted. Sending you my best.

Hello again! I am almost 3 weeks out from my surgery (on 11/15). I hit my highest weight on 10/30 at 207.8 lbs and am down to 188.7, so almost 20 pounds lost in November. I was 202 before surgery, so 13.3 pounds since 11/15....not bad, but I feel like I am in a stall. I haven't felt any discomfort from the surgery at all. Nothing. Nada. The only way to tell that I have had the surgery is that I can eat much less. For two days prior to surgery and then the week following surgery, I was on only liquids. That was hard, but doable. Thanksgiving was 1 week post op and I was able to eat some butternut squash Soup with a little crabcake mixed in. I also had home made cranberry sauce mixed with a little ricotta cheese. I do not believe in low fat diets at all (I follow Bulletproof and Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple), so all my dairy is full fat - yogurt, milk, ricotta. Cutting out sugar is really no problem. Getting in enough Protein is the biggest challenge since dense food doesn't feel good. I have diced chicken really small and mixed with broth or thinned out with yogurt or the butternut squash soup. I did eat some refried Beans thinned with salsa. I am talking very small quantities - table spoons of things. Although I haven't had any pain, I am full with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food at a sitting. This is both weird and wonderful. Since I was not all that hungry (I am assuming that is the effect of the surgery plus the ADD meds that I take) I have had a hard time getting in enough calories. I was averaging about 350 calories a day for the two weeks post surgery and then I hit a huge stall in my weightloss. In the past week, I have only lost 2 pounds. The nutritionist said I was in starvation mode, so I had to try and get in more quality calories, which I have been able to do. My sister had the same situation happen, so she just added in shakes. As I mentioned in my previous post, she had more trouble than I. She has been uncomfortable (apparently she bled more in the actual surgery and has more swelling. She and I have always healed differently, so this is just par for the course for her.) She has been able to puree some Atkins meals and is satisfied with that. She has had a much harder time wrapping her head around the smaller meals and dietary changes. I have given up sugar and carbs completely many times and can live quite happily that way, she is a carb addict and a bad dieter (her own words!) LOL. She laughed and said that she has never lasted this long on a diet. It is hard, but we are both happy with the decision. They keep saying " This is a tool for weight loss, just a tool. You still need to do the work." and I am looking at it that way. The diet still needs to change. I had to walk away from all the Desserts on Thanksgiving. (Did I mention that I served an extraordinary sit-down dinner for 20 on that day? I cooked everything, including home made bread!) I was happy to be able to eat less and not be driven back to the kitchen all day long. I think that using Contrave, belviq or Vyvanse is still helpful post surgery to help get the brain wrapped around all of thie

Hot damn...you are kicking ass! LOVE IT!!!

Thank you Melesg, I woke up feeling down, I logged on to BP and received your message. It warms my heart, I really needed to hear that at this moment. Thank you for your kindness and encouragement.

mea

Hi BubblesCT, I hope your pre procedure preparations continue to go well. We are all here to support you, every step of the way. I love your honesty and willingness to share. None of us get to the point of needing an esg unless we have some sort of issue with food so I wouldn't worry about this preventing you moving forward. Knowing what support you will need to make this work is really important to your success. It's the willingness to change that makes the difference. Stay positive and enjoy the beginning of your new life xo

Well done Tex Slim 66. That right there is how we get our health back. The health benefits of a reducing waist size is huge. You are killing it Tex, we are so happy for you. Keep up the great work

Same here [emoji31], make sure when you better to do a thread about how it went for you. Hope your pain is minimal. [emoji1374]


“There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, there are no limits.” —Michael Phelps

How are you feeling!?

wishing you a speedy recovery!!!

Sent from my SM-G930VL using BariatricPal mobile app

Absolutely! 🤞🏾

Woo hoo! Congrats Tex!

Happy Day!
Won one of those little battles today and went down one size in pants from 44 to 42! Yi Ha!!!
It's working, keep the faith, there is hope for a new you! TGIF!

AWESOME! Yay...it must feel so good! Super happy for you.

You are my ray of light! Feeling reassured, thanks:)

Thanks so much Tex Slim. I do feel ready for this. This forum and in particular, all of us in the esg group, have made me feel ready. In all honesty I’m hoping that I don’t overdo it with the questions next Thursday or the other extreme which is get cold feet and forget to ask anything, lol. But I won’t do that and I’m taking Mel’s advice that no question is too silly. I’m paying good $ for this and I’m entitled.
Thanks Tex Slim. I’m adding those questions to my list. I’m such a nerd. 🤓🤓

I really am proud of myself! However, i lost over 100lbs before and sadly put it back on; which was my reason for having surgery. This time is going to be different ...there’s no going back!!!

You go girl! You realize that since your highest weight, you are 86 pounds down. You should be proud. Love hearing about success. 🎉🎉🎉🎊🎊

Absolutely my dear. That’s what we are here for. Great to hear from you. Please let us know how you’re doing with your weight loss. You don’t have to tell us your starting weight or anything if that’s too personal. We’re here to cheer you on girl every step of the way. 😍😍

Hi there,
i haven’t heard from you in a while and was hoping that you’re doing well after surgery. How’s it been going? Are you still “big gurl”?🤣🤣Hopefully you have started losing weight and are well on your way to a new you. Please update us on your progress especially now that you have your family’s support.