Tony B - NJ

The referral is the start of a process where you have time to figure out if it is the right thing for you. You will have to have a psychological evaluation, medical screenings etc. You will do a lot of soul searching during this time. Your seem convinced that you have done all your can with conventional methods and they have not worked for you. This is the point where most of us have had the same thoughts and have pursued the surgical route. You have to be ready to make sacrifices and to give up some of the habits you have fallen into previously. If you don't make those changes, you will not sustain the weight loss. The surgery gives you a tool in the short term to give you physical restrictions to over eating. During this time where your restriction is working for you, you need to develop good eating habits. If you do this, you will be successful. Some continue to have restrictions to eating others do not get the same restriction which again, the surgery is a tool to get you in the right mindset to make permanent changes to your habits and eating problem.

Good luck to you!

I have tried it and use it occasionally. The problem with adding it to things is the temperature. YOu cannot cook well with it because it clumps above 140 degree f. Adding to a drink would be kind of weird, but possible. I have added small amounts to yogurt, but no the full amount because it would dry it up pretty badly.

Assume you are right and it is the easy way out. Have you been successful with the other methods available to you like diet and exercise? If not then you would not be considering the surgery. It is clearly not an easy process because if it was, then people would not struggle with it or even fail at it even though they have had surgery. The surgery is the first step, or the first tool in your toolbox. If you are not mentally and physically committed to achieve success, you will not be successful. The mental part is probably the most difficult part of it all. You have to commit yourself to thinking differently about eating and food. You have to be willing to eat small portions and be able to go slow and know when enough it enough. You have to be able to recognize when you are full and STOP. You have to be committed to measuring and tracking your food regardless of whether you have had the surgery or not. It is a very detailed process that you have to be willing to go through. You have to be able to understand that you cannot sit and eat a whole pizza or slam down a bag of chips or eat at parties like you once did. You can do it but then you will get sick or end up expanding your stomach again which defeats the purpose. Easy way out? No....it is hard work and you have to understand it is hard work or you will not be a success.

Thanks all.....gave me a little comfort that it is most likely not a huge issue.

I feel very good....but just get worried because at 58 years old, everything I read says that is low. I guess I am just in much better shape now. Maybe I will make an appointment with a cardiologist just to be on the safe side.

For those needing protein ideas, I recently tried Oikos Yogurt. It has 140 calories and 20g of protein. Very good source of protein. I have been having that for breakfast along with a little oatmeal. For my protein boost if my food does not measure up for the day, I use Unjury powder. It is 100 calories and comes in a variety of flavors. I prefer the chicken broth flavor and the french onion soup flavor. I just could not do the protein shakes any longer. This is working for me. If I meet my protein goal with other meal items, I skip the protein powder for the day. I try to get 80g of protein.

I am still after 9 months counting my calories and logging my exercise. I am too afraid to stop because I do not want to end up eating more than I think I am eating.

August 31 sleeve

I am having the same experience. I am 9 months post op and lost 108 pounds. I seems to be getting smaller yet the scale is very slowly moving or not at all. I think my exercise is moving things around or converting fat to muscle. I am around 1200 calories as well. I started riding my bike for 30 minutes after dinner to try a different exercise. I walk 4 times a day for 15-20 minutes then the bike ride. It seems to be speeding up the weight loss but nowhere near what it was a few months ago.

I have problems with burping from time to time, usually when I eat too quickly. It is a fact of life sometimes....

I agree with this 100%. I kick myself for toying with it for so many years and not just taking the plunge and getting it done. I am down 106 pounds and my health is 1000% better now than just 8 months ago. I am off all my meds and am feeling better than any time in my memory.

No allergies but some foods I just cannot tolerate at all. I just cannot eat lettuce or salad for some reason. It does not sit well and comes up shortly after. Same with Broccoli...and I am a lover of broccoli.

I just realized reading this thread that I have still not had fast food since my surgery. I just do not have a craving for it and everything I eat, I eat for a purpose. For example, if it gives me protein, it is needed. But...low or no fat. If it gives me vitamins like vegetables, I eat it. I rarely eat anything sweet and never candy. The closest I get to junk food is a 130 calorie Built Bar which is 20g of protein if I am out through lunch, it holds me off and gives me protein. That said, I miss chick fil a now that it came up in conversation

I think most of us have had doubts and concerns prior to having the surgery. I see questions like this all the time on this forum. There are a few that are adamantly against having the surgery and regret having it. From their comments I feel that it was more due to their commitment to the process than the surgery itself. If you think the surgery is going to solve all your weight problems then it is not for you. If you want to be healthier and are willing to use the tool to lose weight and become more healthy, then it is for you. You have to be willing to put in the work though. You have to be willing to mentally invest in the process and realize that you cannot simply rely on a physical restriction to control your weight. You have to be willing to track foods, calories etc. You have to be willing to get some exercise and you have to be willing to resist the cravings that put you in your current situation. With all these things, you will be successful, but if you are not committed it is not going to work. This is not a magic pill that makes you skinny. It takes a lot of work.

I don't much mind not having a butt any more but the pain in sitting has pissed me off a lot. I cannot get comfortable without a cushion designed for sciatica. I have one in the car, work chair etc.

I think part of the problem as I see it is that you should deliberately regulate yourself as well as relying on a restriction. There is no way a second piece of chicken ends up on my plate. The one piece of chicken provides the protein needs you need to have and any room left in your stomach should be used for vegetables which we don't get enough of. Remember....first protein then vegetables. You should be using a very small plate that would only allow a piece of protein on 1/3 of the plate and the rest should be vegetables or maybe a small amount of starch.

I am almost 9 months post surgery. I do not see an issue with having dinner as far as social interaction goes. I usually do not order an appetizer and may just pick off my wife’s if anything at all. I usually order a piece of fish or chicken, ask to hold off any carbs or starches and get a veggie substitute. I eat slowly and have never been asked anything regarding my eating habit changes. I enjoy eating out STILL.

After about 6 months you are going to be pretty much normal except for the volume of food you eat. I eat 3 meals a day, just smaller. As far as drinking, you will not have to keep drinking small amounts throughout the day because you will be able to drink more at a given time so as long as you get in enough water for the day, you do not have to keep drinking. I drink a 24 ounce of bottle of water in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening for a total of 72 oz. Then throughout the day I may have some tea, protein drink or additional liquids to add to the 72. It is really not hard at all.

I was back to work in just over a week. I was not full strength but I work a desk job so it was fine.

You will not have a problem flying 2 months after the surgery. I think I was restricted for 2-3 weeks. I flew about 6 weeks later and had no issues whatsoever.

All this stuff is true. I would however like to give a male point of view. Men who are obese are not "given a pass" as some like to say. I too thought it was more accepted until I lost 100 pounds and it is amazing how differently people treat me since I am now skinny. I am asked if I need help more quickly in department stores, I am addressed more quickly in car dealerships or whatever environment I show up to. I am treated more politely at the doctor/dentist office and the list goes on. The weight discrimination is there for men too.

I am not sure if it is true or not, but I had the same thought about men's clothing and really wonder if the clothing manufacturers have not screwed around with the sizing to make people feel like they fit into smaller clothing. There are people out there who will not buy clothing just because they do not like the number of the size they fit in. It may be some of that psychological BS going around where a 10 years ago may be an 8 now based on the obsession with sizing and being smaller.

I did not have a long weight with Tricare Prime. I was 3-4 months from first consultation to surgery. The thing that takes the time is getting appointments for all the preliminary stuff from other doctors. If you stay on top of it and are flexible for appointment times and which doctors you use, you can get it done pretty quickly. Tricare Prime picked up all but 153 dollars of my surgery. It is worth the extra leg work to get it done.

If you are impatient and want to do more then my advice would be to walk, walk, walk. That is pretty much all I do is walk and ride bike. I am not big on the exercise bike, I find I get more out of actual road cycling and road walking than on the machines. As you lose weight, you are pulling around less weight with you so you either have to exercise a little more to get the same benefit or....as silly as it sounds, weigh yourself down while you are walking to get the same calorie burn as before. I have heard of people putting weights in backpacks and walking to achieve this. I just walk an extra half hour or so in the evening to get the additional calories.