Would you do it again?

[char3672 292]

YES in a NY minute!

For ME, VSG has been a miracle. I literally feel like I found Aladdin's Lamp and was granted a single wish (to have a healthy metabolism like all those "normal" people I knew who enjoyed food, but never over ate, never gained weight, and were never on a diet).

That said, not everyone has enjoyed the same experience -- my advice would be:

1. Do your homework and find the best surgeon at the best hospital possible. All surgeries are NOT the same. I drove an hour (past many great W:S centers) in order to go the the #1 WLS Center in New England. There were 9 surgeons doing my operation and I was in and out in less than 40 minutes.

2. Go on a diet immediately and lose as much weight as possible BEFORE your surgery. The sooner you start, the sooner you get that normal dream life. Perhaps even more importantly, if you lose a lot of weight in a short period of time leading up to your surgery, your surgeons will have lots of room to operate in, which will minimize complications.I lost 1/3 of my excess weight in the 60 days before surgery.

3. Plan on dropping out of any and all social activities that involve food -- particularly extended family events (especially if you come from a family that eats for fun). It sounds bad, but I am so glad that I did it,

4. During your pre and post opt diet, develop an arsenal of 100 calories Snacks, 200 calorie light meals, and 400 calorie dinners that you enjoy. These will be you primary diet starting 6 weeks post opt and for the REST OF YOUR LIFE. I am in month 11 post opt and basically stick to these meals for all but a couple of meals a week and I am having zero stress maintaining my goal weight eating anything I want on the other 2-3 meals a week.

Oh yeah, all calories are NOT equal. Stick to Protein rich meals and Snacks as long as possible during the day. Be very careful with simple carbs. Not only do they make you fat, but they will also trigger head hunger and you don't want that.

5. Think long and hard about "who to tell". You have three choices; tell no one but your significant other, tell everyone, or tell your close friends and family. I picked "just tell your family" and I totally regretted it for months (now it's no longer an issue). If you follow my 4 tips above, you will lose weight like crazy very quickly. This means EVERYONE will ask you HOW DID YOU DO IT until your head explodes. If you don't tell everyone you had WLS, this means you can look forward to having to LIE TO YOUR FRIENDS for months (like I did). If I had it to do over, I would have only told my wife.

I'm sure I'll think of other things, but these are the top ones to ME!

Good Luck...

Hi Cape Crooner - great post. One question - when you say drop out of any or all social events - do you mean forever or just in the losing phase? I'm a very social person, especially love hanging out with my girlfriends, so not sure what to think of that advice! As for who to tell - if I can pull it off, only my husband will know I've had WLS.

Only my doctors, husband, and my parents who were my support team the week of surgery (he was working then) know that I've had WLS, and I don't have any plans to disclose it to anyone else. It's had no adverse impact on my social life. At most social events people are so focused on socializing they're not as attentive to what you're eating. I like in LA and a lot of people are weight conscious, so it's normal to see light eaters. Even at dinner parties people have rarely commented. Once I was into the solid food phase there wasn't much I couldn't eat, so I just was mindful about what I chose and portion size.

I've never felt like I was lying to friends and others who've asked me about how I've lost weight. I tell the truth - I track my calories, I bought a bike that I use as much as possible rather than driving, and I've changed some of the medicine I was taking for my thyroid issues. No one else is entitled to know the full details of my personal medical history. That answer has been totally sufficient for everyone.

I've only told my immediate family and 2 closest friends that I will be having surgery. I don't feel that it's anyone's business. My family keeps,saying that it's nothing to be ashamed of, and I agree. I just don't want people that I'm not close to to know my business.

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[Cape Crooner 589]

YES in a NY minute!

For ME, VSG has been a miracle. I literally feel like I found Aladdin's Lamp and was granted a single wish (to have a healthy metabolism like all those "normal" people I knew who enjoyed food, but never over ate, never gained weight, and were never on a diet).

That said, not everyone has enjoyed the same experience -- my advice would be:

1. Do your homework and find the best surgeon at the best hospital possible. All surgeries are NOT the same. I drove an hour (past many great W:S centers) in order to go the the #1 WLS Center in New England. There were 9 surgeons doing my operation and I was in and out in less than 40 minutes.

2. Go on a diet immediately and lose as much weight as possible BEFORE your surgery. The sooner you start, the sooner you get that normal dream life. Perhaps even more importantly, if you lose a lot of weight in a short period of time leading up to your surgery, your surgeons will have lots of room to operate in, which will minimize complications.I lost 1/3 of my excess weight in the 60 days before surgery.

3. Plan on dropping out of any and all social activities that involve food -- particularly extended family events (especially if you come from a family that eats for fun). It sounds bad, but I am so glad that I did it,

4. During your pre and post opt diet, develop an arsenal of 100 calories Snacks, 200 calorie light meals, and 400 calorie dinners that you enjoy. These will be you primary diet starting 6 weeks post opt and for the REST OF YOUR LIFE. I am in month 11 post opt and basically stick to these meals for all but a couple of meals a week and I am having zero stress maintaining my goal weight eating anything I want on the other 2-3 meals a week.

Oh yeah, all calories are NOT equal. Stick to Protein rich meals and Snacks as long as possible during the day. Be very careful with simple carbs. Not only do they make you fat, but they will also trigger head hunger and you don't want that.

5. Think long and hard about "who to tell". You have three choices; tell no one but your significant other, tell everyone, or tell your close friends and family. I picked "just tell your family" and I totally regretted it for months (now it's no longer an issue). If you follow my 4 tips above, you will lose weight like crazy very quickly. This means EVERYONE will ask you HOW DID YOU DO IT until your head explodes. If you don't tell everyone you had WLS, this means you can look forward to having to LIE TO YOUR FRIENDS for months (like I did). If I had it to do over, I would have only told my wife.

I'm sure I'll think of other things, but these are the top ones to ME!

Good Luck...

Hi Cape Crooner - great post. One question - when you say drop out of any or all social events - do you mean forever or just in the losing phase? I'm a very social person, especially love hanging out with my girlfriends, so not sure what to think of that advice! As for who to tell - if I can pull it off, only my husband will know I've had WLS.

Only my doctors, husband, and my parents who were my support team the week of surgery (he was working then) know that I've had WLS, and I don't have any plans to disclose it to anyone else. It's had no adverse impact on my social life. At most social events people are so focused on socializing they're not as attentive to what you're eating. I like in LA and a lot of people are weight conscious, so it's normal to see light eaters. Even at dinner parties people have rarely commented. Once I was into the solid food phase there wasn't much I couldn't eat, so I just was mindful about what I chose and portion size.

I've never felt like I was lying to friends and others who've asked me about how I've lost weight. I tell the truth - I track my calories, I bought a bike that I use as much as possible rather than driving, and I've changed some of the medicine I was taking for my thyroid issues. No one else is entitled to know the full details of my personal medical history. That answer has been totally sufficient for everyone.

I would agree about California people. I have actually run into a number of folks who's normal meal is always 6-8 ounces of food. Not so in Massachusetts. Here people eat 1-2 pounds of salad, Pasta, meat, and dessert. I have had people (who didn't know) actually scream out as I pushed my plate away 'THAT'S ALL YOU'RE EATING!"

As I said, I've gotten past the lying issue in my head. At the end, I just started telling people "I gave up on all the fad diets, none worked for me. I finally started doing EXACTLY what my diet told me to do." I also tell people that I gave up drinking and socializing for 6 months and they pretty much shut up!

[char3672 292]

Yes I would definitely do it again! I was lucky and didn't throw up, felt queasy a few times but didn't throw up. Recovery is different for everyone. My mom and I had it together and I was released the same day whereas she was released the next. Had my surgery 8/2 and was back at work full time 8/8. My mom is still off recovering but she goes back 8/22. Any kind of surgery is scary but like another lady said in an earlier post you have to take the pros with the cons and trust me the pros totally outweigh the cons.

I can't wait!!!! I have not heard 1 person say they wouldn't do it again. And not many people threw up. Maybe I'll be lucky too! Congratulations!

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[Babbs 14,681]

In a heartbeat!

[Sara Crowley 10]

I know what you are saying about being a social person. I am planning on staying away from restaurants as much as possible until I am comfortable with knowing what I can and can't eat/tolerate. I think my friends and family will be supportive and understanding enough that they will be willing to do things for us to get together that wouldn't involve food. (Shopping, bowling, game night etc)

@ Sara Crowley - Actually, restaurants with my wife were easier because I was in control and no one bugged me to either "try something" or asking me why I wasn't eating. The challenge came in events with friends and/or family -- those I avoided as long as possible...

I didn't post the social post. But I do understand what you are saying

[char3672 292]

In a heartbeat!

Wow! You look AWESOME! How much did you lose? How long did it take??

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[char3672 292]

I know what you are saying about being a social person. I am planning on staying away from restaurants as much as possible until I am comfortable with knowing what I can and can't eat/tolerate. I think my friends and family will be supportive and understanding enough that they will be willing to do things for us to get together that wouldn't involve food. (Shopping, bowling, game night etc)

@ Sara Crowley - Actually, restaurants with my wife were easier because I was in control and no one bugged me to either "try something" or asking me why I wasn't eating. The challenge came in events with friends and/or family -- those I avoided as long as possible...

I didn't post the social post. But I do understand what you are saying

Lol i still dont know how to respond to peoples posts! I've only been on here for a couple of days.

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[Valentina 2,642]

No

[Babbs 14,681]

@@char3672

Thanks. I started at 235 with a goal of 150. That took me about a year, (a bit on the slow side) and then lost around 7 more pounds in about 4 months. I've been maintaining within 5 pounds for a year. Hard work, but worth it!

[char3672 292]

@@char3672

Thanks. I started at 235 with a goal of 150. That took me about a year, (a bit on the slow side) and then lost around 7 more pounds in about 4 months. I've been maintaining within 5 pounds for a year. Hard work, but worth it!

I have to lose around 130lbs (I think. I'm not sure what the dr will say) I hope I look as good as you do! Did you have any problem with excess skin? I'm mostly worried about my belly and bat wings. I lost 108lbs before, and i really didn't notice my upper arms looking much different, and my legs got very muscular. I HATE my upper arms!

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[Babbs 14,681]

@@char3672

Thanks. I started at 235 with a goal of 150. That took me about a year, (a bit on the slow side) and then lost around 7 more pounds in about 4 months. I've been maintaining within 5 pounds for a year. Hard work, but worth it!

I have to lose around 130lbs (I think. I'm not sure what the dr will say) I hope I look as good as you do! Did you have any problem with excess skin? I'm mostly worried about my belly and bat wings. I lost 108lbs before, and i really didn't notice my upper arms looking much different, and my legs got very muscular. I HATE my upper arms!

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I've been exercising regularly since practically day 1 trying to tighten up what I can. Arms are pretty good, legs okay except inner thigh area, but my stomach is a mess and needs surgery, lol. Some things no amount of exercise can fix!

[Pup 217]

I had RNY four days after 2016 school ended and we just started back yesterday....It was pretty amazing to have the summer away from 300 Co-workers and come back with a new body!!!!

I would defiantly do it again. I bought a size 8 pair of Levis yesterday....I haven't wore a size 8 for 30 years....I'm 52....started at 225, currently 165...my goal is 140 but I'm thinking 150 would be better for me.

Good luck...it's been such a fun adventure.

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[Pup 217]

In a heartbeat!

You look great! I'm envious of you young ones...your skin has a much better chance to bounce back

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[LipstickLady 25,682]

@@WLSResources/ClothingExch

Scroll up and back a page to see @@Babbs ' rack!

You're welcome.

[Babbs 14,681]

@@Pup

Ha! I'm far from young! I turned 49 in June.