Another new loser here

[LittleBill 2,231]

Hello everyone

As I write this I am one month and three days post op. I've been doing some reading here on and off before surgery and since, and decided to join up and say hello.

It took me years to get here. I have been overweight most of my life. I would have done this sooner, but we (my wife and I) had two friends who died from this surgery. It took us a while to get past that, but we did, and I started the process back in June. I lost about 65 lbs on the pre op diet, and struggled with the notion of going through with the surgery or just doing it the old fashioned way. But as the doc reminded me, it isn't the losing that is hard for a lot of us, it is the keeping it off. So I went ahead with it.

Everything has gone exceedingly well for me so far. I am usually the person who is told "this never happens to ANYONE!" when it comes to complications or freak happenings. But so far no complications, no side effects, nothing but getting smaller as the days go by. To date I am 100 lbs down from where I started. I have about 80 lbs to go to get to my initial goal. I will revise that goal as I get closer and determine whether to push further or ease up. I do not want to lose muscle mass, of which I have lots.

Tomorrow I get to start in on soft food. I have been eagerly anticipating the day. So far everything has gone down without a hitch, but with each changeover, I experience a little trepidation. Anyway, hello to all of you, and I am sure I will have some questions after I do some more reading.

[47NHeaven 21]

Very professional and helpful

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[47NHeaven 21]

Sorry about that I thought I was texting a survey. Your story is Awesome! Congratulations to you

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[LittleBill 2,231]

Sorry about that I thought I was texting a survey. Your story is Awesome! Congratulations to you

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Haha, no worries. I write for recreation, so I thought you were just complimenting my writing. Thanks!

[kblanc 53]

Hello everyone

As I write this I am one month and three days post op. I've been doing some reading here on and off before surgery and since, and decided to join up and say hello.

It took me years to get here. I have been overweight most of my life. I would have done this sooner, but we (my wife and I) had two friends who died from this surgery. It took us a while to get past that, but we did, and I started the process back in June. I lost about 65 lbs on the pre op diet, and struggled with the notion of going through with the surgery or just doing it the old fashioned way. But as the doc reminded me, it isn't the losing that is hard for a lot of us, it is the keeping it off. So I went ahead with it.

Everything has gone exceedingly well for me so far. I am usually the person who is told "this never happens to ANYONE!" when it comes to complications or freak happenings. But so far no complications, no side effects, nothing but getting smaller as the days go by. To date I am 100 lbs down from where I started. I have about 80 lbs to go to get to my initial goal. I will revise that goal as I get closer and determine whether to push further or ease up. I do not want to lose muscle mass, of which I have lots.

Tomorrow I get to start in on soft food. I have been eagerly anticipating the day. So far everything has gone down without a hitch, but with each changeover, I experience a little trepidation. Anyway, hello to all of you, and I am sure I will have some questions after I do some more reading.

Which surgery did your friends have and what happened to them if you don't mind me asking? Did they pass while in surgery or after

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[LittleBill 2,231]

Which surgery did your friends have and what happened to them if you don't mind me asking? Did they pass while in surgery or after

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I am not sure about the one. She was my wife's maid of honor, and we sort of lost contact with her. She had some serious problems with drug abuse though, and we think that may have contributed to it. My other friend had gastric bypass, and died in the hospital from peritonitis following the surgery a few days after his operation. He had just about everything wrong with him you can imagine, and this was his last chance at surviving. When the infection hit him, he did not have the resources to fight it off.

Both of these incidents were a little over 10 years ago, but they stuck with us for a long time. Things seem to have improved quite a bit since then. At any rate, I was in decent shape going in - except for being fat of course.

[Recycled 2,182]

Little Bill. First....Congrats. Really good results so far.

A couple of heads-up pointers along the way. Don't fret the stages. They will come and go and you'll progress right along with them. The sleeve's biggest benefit is the honeymoon stage. Yep, you're married to that mini-stomach now.......and it's great (at the beginning, just like marriage. just like the honeymoon) But you gotta change dude. You gotta capitalize on the honeymoon time to get your affairs in order. Your affairs being......

1. Eating the CORRECT foods in the correct nutritional proportions.

2. Exercise. ---- forever

That's it. That's the mantra.!!! But there is a catch. You have to get those two things ingrained in you brain and in your routine like your body's need for blood. They need to become irrevocable habits.

Why......you ask. The Doc told me the sleeve will keep the weight off..........Ehhh.....wrong.

Once the honeymoon is over, the cravings will return, your ability to eat everything will return and if you eat everything at all times in all the wrong proportions and amounts.....you WILL regain, sleeve or no sleeve.

So make the best of this time. Stick like glue to your routines. Make them the new you. Make them serve you forever. Give yourself the tools to ward off the return to our old ugly unhealthy ways.

OK sermon over. Again great job. Keep up the fantastic work. And remember.....the sleeve didn't do it...you did.

[LittleBill 2,231]

Little Bill. First....Congrats. Really good results so far.

A couple of heads-up pointers along the way. Don't fret the stages. They will come and go and you'll progress right along with them. The sleeve's biggest benefit is the honeymoon stage. Yep, you're married to that mini-stomach now.......and it's great (at the beginning, just like marriage. just like the honeymoon) But you gotta change dude. You gotta capitalize on the honeymoon time to get your affairs in order. Your affairs being......

1. Eating the CORRECT foods in the correct nutritional proportions.

2. Exercise. ---- forever

That's it. That's the mantra.!!! But there is a catch. You have to get those two things ingrained in you brain and in your routine like your body's need for blood. They need to become irrevocable habits.

Why......you ask. The Doc told me the sleeve will keep the weight off..........Ehhh.....wrong.

Once the honeymoon is over, the cravings will return, your ability to eat everything will return and if you eat everything at all times in all the wrong proportions and amounts.....you WILL regain, sleeve or no sleeve.

So make the best of this time. Stick like glue to your routines. Make them the new you. Make them serve you forever. Give yourself the tools to ward off the return to our old ugly unhealthy ways.

OK sermon over. Again great job. Keep up the fantastic work. And remember.....the sleeve didn't do it...you did.

Thank you. The doc didn't portray the sleeve as a magic bullet, so my apologies if it came across that way. He was very clear about it being a tool, and one of several to use. He was also clear about changing habits. As for the habit changing part, I am doing fairly well with that so far. Most of my loss so far has been pre-op, and the things that were real bad for me before haven't been a huge problem, at least not yet. For example, I loved me a huge glass of chocolate milk, or even better a shake, whenever the opportunity presented itself. Switching over to Gold Standard extreme milk chocolate shakes was easy, and now I can have my cake and eat it too, to mix metaphors here.

I am very blessed in that my wife of almost 33 years has been changing her diet along with me. But I do appreciate the encouragement.