David_L

Inspiring words and a great story. I will not be able to relate to you service (thank you by the way) although my dad and brother both served. The "blah ness" seems very relatable. My Dr. actually prescribed something for that but is meant for temporary "issues". That blah feeling has passed for me and now I'm just dealing with the normal every day ups and downs. My appetite has come back and luckily (3 months post surgery) i still get full quickly. The hard work for me started about 6 weeks after surgery. The behaviors and relationships we have with food simply have to change. I feel like a broken record but these are the things I keep telling myself. I appreciate your openness and honesty... this is good stuff.

As i'm aware of my own OCD and psychosis, if i weigh in once or twice a week it feels more manageable and more sane. "Oh, i'm up a lb this week, i'll take a closer look at my intake and exercise". I actually went up by 2lbs on a Wednesday then when I weighed back in on Saturday, i was down 5. I may even go back to Saturday morning weigh ins only. Anything more will make me even nuttier than I already am. 😁

I know the feeling. My Dr. asked if I was crazy in a joking but not really way. Myself... I step on the scale on Wednesday and Saturday.

The "addiction transfer" is a term that is very new to me but something I think about quite a bit. Guess I never really put a name to it. One thing i've read up on quite a bit lately and something I firmly believe in.... we will NEVER get rid of our demons (insert addiction de jour here or mental baggage/whatever) so we're really only left with one choice. Change our relationship with the things that plague us. This is the hard work I keep harping on about.

As I near my 3 month / 90 day surgiversary, I'm reflecting more and more on how we got here on the first place. I feel like a broken record and I'm pretty sure I'm over thinking to avoid facing my true feelings. I have also reached out to a member here and I need to do a better job of keeping us accountable. My first couple months of loss were astronomical and now I've slowed down quite a bit. I find old hungers coming back but I'm also exercising 6 days a week. I'm trying to keep my water and protein intake high and my carb intake low. I figure if I keep my goals simple and work on making newer and healthier habits automatic, I'll be better off in the long run. If i'm going to be honest.... I've always known that the hard work was NOW and that surgery does NOT fix the head. Looking forward to any other words of wisdom out there when it comes to squashing the old sh1tty habits that all got us here in the first place.

I'm doing the same exercise routine basically. I waited until 6 weeks but maybe that depends on your procedure and/or the surgeon. If you've been cleared, I'd keep at it as long as you dont feel like poo poo

I'm off the meds as well. This is such a big step. Awesome for you.

No.... i lost some on the liquid pre diet. Always remember this; YMMV (your mileage may vary)

Mine was December 3 2020

Oh... I missed the "sleeve" only as well. I had the sleeve plus the DS/SIPS. I suspect that plays a different role.

My goal is not set in stone... I'm thinking somewhere between 200 and 220 should be good. I don't know when I will hit my first goal of 220 ish.... Per the surgeon, after the first initial chunk of weight comes off, we start to slow down. I'm sort of hoping to be closer to the lower 200's by end of summer but at this point i'm just happy to be feeling as good as I do right now.

I lost 20 in my 2 week pre-op liquid. Had surgery on December 3rd and I'm down an additional 74 as of today. Personally, I think i'm losing too much too fast but the surgeon doesn't seem to be too concerned.

If you're anything like me, you are self deprecating at this point. Then you go into "screw it" mode and start to question everything. I just passed a 2 week stall and then suddenly lost 5lbs. A small suggestion is to weigh in only one day a week. Another thing is to step up exercise and also mix up your meals. Example... for one week I had oatmeal with protein powder for breakfast, then this week Im eating frittatas. The scale is not the only measure of success. If you are stuck at a weight for "months" then that might be worth re-evaluating and using a tracking app to count EVERY calorie/macro. I'm using Lose It and it's been super helpful for me.

I've been using the Calcium Citrate D3 caramel ones and they're pretty good. I also do the chewable multi's from them too. I have 2 of the multi's in the morning and 2 of the D's later in the afternoon (per my dietician). I had the sleeve and DS w/SIPS so I'm a bit more likely to have the vitamin deficiencies.

2 things my surgeon said "the only way you fail is by ignorance and non-compliance". Yes.. it's weird I didn't get my appetite back for about 6 weeks post surgery. I felt like I was "starving" after one of my first good work outs.. i had 2 eggs and I was stuffed. But the hunger and the "mindset" are the challenges. I was telling another guy and I'll share here.... there are reasons why we got to this size and it's up to us to figure out why and learn to change our relationship with food and other behaviors. I feel like I'm rambling but I'm pretty sure we all share some degree of this "work".

Keep that mind set. As I told another member in a private chat, i'm at 2.5 months post surgery and it really feels like the hardest work is starting now. Let's not only "do this" but let's "keep this train rolling"

Hope not. I just had my surgery on December 3rd and although I'm doing great, I can already "foresee" some challenges and struggles. I look forward to bouncing ideas and thoughts with others who are going through similar issues. I think mental is the big one.

tying my shoes without going to the side..... the little things do matter

Excellent thoughts on this. Thanks to everyone. As I'm still only 2 months out of surgery, I just now started a "pile" I had purchased a 4XL pair of shorts and a shirt about 2 months prior to surgery as I needed something to hold me over. Those are definitely in the pile of stuff to donate. A neat little milestone happened... I have a pair of jeans from 8 years ago, size 40 waste. I was comfortably able to get into those this week. Glad I hung on to those. As I stated before, the biggest fight/struggle/challenge to me (as i'm sure it is for all of us) is the mental. Luckily, most of us are seasoned battle veterans with regards to our weight. We are smarter, more compassionate and more resilient. I sincerely wish nothing but the best for all of you.

I'm a guy also so this is a weird question. If i'm going to be completely honest with myself.... I also seriously "downplayed" that question when I had lost weight via other means in the past knowing full well a lot of folks put it back on. Seriously think about that for a minute. This procedure is really no different. I respect all answers and responses on this thread though... either proudly state what you've lost or just make the comment "a lot less than before". I personally am neutral and I seriously want this to be "more than temporary" if that makes sense.

Tiny. Because of my particular issue, I've been extra extra cautious of what I put down there. I just made 2 scrambled eggs, and I finished maybe 1/2 of it. So.. one egg That and i'm still relying heavily on Premier Protein shakes for the extra protein. I had a bowl of cream of wheat this morning and managed to get it all down.

Post surgical pain was minimal. I've lost too much weight too fast. I'm always hesitant posting pics (or anything) online really. I was 345 at the end of October. I went on my liquid diet around Thanksgiving and dropped 20lbs right before surgery. As of yesterday, I'm down to 272.

I had this done on 12/3/2020. First 3 weeks were great. Then came the pain. Let me preface this by saying my surgeon has done hundreds, if not thousands of these procedures. 2 days ago I had an office follow up with him. He had mentioned that he had never seen anything like my situation before. Christmas eve, I was hanging out with my family and I had taken a small sip of some liquid, then doubled over in pain. I ended up in the hospital from 12/24 - 12/26. I was getting better, then suddenly on 1/1/2021, it happened again. I was released the second time on 1/6.2021. Basically they found 2 pockets of fluid collection near some of the surgical sites and they were infected. At this time, I still have a tube coming out of my abdomen to allow the fluid to come out. Even after several days of IV antibiotics, and now on pill forms of these as well as an anti-fungal, I still have traces of infection. I guess I'm just special that way. [insert sarcasm here] The first trip to the hospital, I 100% stood by my decision on having this procedure done. The second trip, I'd be lying if I didn't start wondering if in fact I had made the right choice. Deep down I know that dropping the excess weight (and more importantly keeping it off) is much better long term. I'm just traveling down a bumpy road at the moment. Again, I want to emphasize that my situation is VERY unique and also VERY uncommon. I'm excited for you and wish the best. I just thought I would share my personal story.

This is such an important topic and thank you for bringing it up. Some of you may relate to this or part of one of my experiences. About 10 years ago I joined "Medifast", I think they're known as another company now but i gave them about $1500 to go in once a week and weigh in, and chat. This did NOT include the cost of their food. I recall getting on their forums and watching people mention gaining it all back. I was fresh into the program and actively losing weight. I got on my high horse and started (wrongly) judging folks. How could you spend all that money then screw it up? Of course I know better now... but here I am 10 years later and I'm thinking.... "why go through 6 months of appointments, then 2 weeks pre-op liquid diet... then a major procedure only to gain it all back?" This is a VERY VERY valid concern. As many pioneers before us surgery n00bs have already stated.... surgery is a TOOL and that's it. It doesn't fix "stupid" or it does not fix "mental issues". I'm hoping by reminding myself this and working heavily on why I'm carrying around a "fat shield" or "fat security blanket" or [insert your addiction de jour here] in the first place, will keep me in check. I truly wish us all the best of luck. I'm a very big believer in working on the mental/emotional aspect first, and having the surgery is just a very nice tool to assist in the physical part.

Walk. Sounds simple, but I swear by it.