ESG Progress Updates For Accountability

[hope4momof4 162]

36 minutes ago, AmyAlexis said:

If you're not getting the procedure til March, it's too early to wean off- give yourself a couple of weeks before. I didn't have any prob with headaches or anything like that, just love my coffee and it's a morning routine/habit.

My procedure is actually scheduled for February 6 if there isn’t some sort of delay. I mentioned March because that would be one month out for me and most who have had the procedure complain about weight loss slowing down around that time, lol. Your tips are very valuable and it’s good to know there shouldn’t be too much suffering from caffeine withdrawal. 🤞🏻🤞🏻Thanks Amy!!

[Melesg 112]

Thanks for the encouragement hope4momof4.

If it helps, my dr was happy if I had 1 coffee a day from early on. I am a massive coffee addict but really didn't feel like I could stomach it for over a week after my esg. I also couldn't drink more than about 150mls at a time so it was a little cup. My advice was to ensure I had 1.5litres of Water a day and that my coffee was to be in addition to that to ensure I was hydrated.

I double checked with the dietician about having occasional carbonated drinks and was given the ok. In small volumes, stretching doesn't seem to be a concern. I used to love Diet Coke but now have maybe 200mls every few weeks as a treat rather than food. I.e at the movies. They sell the mini cans and I get very excited to sit back and enjoy my mini Diet Coke. I also have had a mini can of mineral water When I was feeling quite head hungry twice as this again feels like a no calorie treat. I completely understand if others have been advised to avoid them all together as I know it can be a slippery slope but just giving my experience 😊

Also just need to share - I can run for 10 minutes without stopping now plus do another 40 minutes of cardio and weights. Honestly feeling so energised from the running - my house has never been cleaner!

Mel x

[hope4momof4 162]

Well Mel, thanks for the hope you’ve given me that I can actually still drink coffee. 😘 Carbonated drinks not a real problem for me since I don’t buy any for my home. It is very unhealthy and my 4 boys would chug down the entire amount I’d bring no matter how much I bring. 😂😂So I stopped bringing any home or drinking soda of any kind about 10 years ago. I’ll ask my doc just in case because I plan to go back for another appointment before the procedure to ask any questions I didn’t ask at our consult and honestly to pay him because I’d prefer not to mail in the check and possibly it getting lost which would definitely delay the procedure.

Wow Mel you sound like you are just bursting with energy. I would love to get that energy back like when I first took phentermine over 10 years ago, (Bubbles can relate to this), and I felt so energetic. Of course that was artificial energy and only lasted till my next dose and of course I had to keep increasing it to get the same effect. Well you see where I’m going with this. That would be awesome to actually have a clean house with 5 other men/ boys living in it. 🤭🤭You’ve just given me another thing to look forward to Mel🤗🤗 Right now I barely have enough energy to finish my basic cleaning, laundry, cooking dinner, helping with HW, driving back and forth between my boys’ wrestling matches, 😫😥😓. My life right now just feels so overwhelming and draining If this procedure gives me the energy to finally stop feeling overwhelmed and handle my everyday life then that alone would make it worth it to me. (Oh yeah weight loss is a very close second for sure).

You are doing so great Mel! Running 10 minutes straight? And then 40 minutes cardio and weights? Good for you my love!! Keep inspiring the rest of us pre esg people. We or at least I am living off of your accomplishments. I can’t wait to be with you on the other side. 💝💝

[Melesg 112]

Your going to love the otherside!!

When I think about my motivation to have the esg it really was all about health. Being healthy so that I could really LIVE this incredible life I have with my family. I have probably lost site of that during the first few months post esg as I really was judging my progress by weightloss alone. But I'm changing that thinking now as it really isn't the measure that's most important.

I told my kids that when we go on vacation in march that we are going to a waterpark and I am going on all the rides too. They thought it was the best thing ever and keep talking about who is going to come on each slide with me. My son said he has never seen me swim, or wear shorts in summertime lol 😂. That's about the change!! It's about time I jump into photos with my kiddos and be fit and active in their lives. And it's awesome to have the energy to know I mean it this time 😊

[BubblesCT 83]

Hi there. I Just wanted to touch base with all my friends here. Reading your successes brings me joy. Congratulations. I"m eating well and trying to stay the course to the best of my ability! I've discovered Premier Protein shakes which I love, so using those to help decrease calories and increase Protein per day. Unfortunately my lab from my Dr. S came back indicating possible hyperparathyroid. Why can't I get a skinny disease? Ugh..I need to follow up with an endocrinologist. In addition, a dear friend of mine son died two days ago. Life is heavy at the moment so just trying to get through one moment at a time. I'm not sure how frequent I will be checking in, but I will when I get some downtime. I have 11 guest coming from out of town to stay with me, so I'm busy, busy. busy... Wishing you all a happy holiday and praying for your continued success.

[hope4momof4 162]

To Mel— I’m glad that you are measuring your success in other ways which in all honesty is the most important thing you can do. Your children will absolutely cherish those memories of you participating with them in their fun activities. I have the same issues as you did before—I’ve taken them to Water parks and never gone on with them. They used to beg me to go on and now they don’t bother even asking. Maybe this summer I’ll surprise them. I used to love to swim and we belong to a swim club in our neighborhood now for over five years. Can you believe that I’ve never gone into the pool with them! That will be another one of my goals. Thanks for reminding me. My children are growing up so fast. Soon they won’t want me to swim or get on rides with them so I have to make the most of the time I have with them. I’m so happy Mel that you did this for yourself and your children. Their memories you’ll have with them will be priceless!!😍😍

To Bubbles— My sincerest condolences for your friend’s loss. That is certainly heartbreaking. You are doing what a true friend should and standing by her and just being there for her. Situations in life will put our plans on hold but you have to help her through this. Besides as you said you need to work out your thyroid condition before you can proceed anyway. This is only a minor setback and once you’ve worked through your personal and physiological issues you can get back up and move forward. Please post on this forum whenever you can to let us know how you’re doing . We don’t want to lose touch with you Bubbles. Even a small post simply telling us that your life is still “heavy” at the moment is enough. I know you’ll be back as soon as life eases up.

I wish you both a happier and healthier new year. I hope 2018 brings everyone here and around the world more peace, love, health, and happiness!!

[Tex Slim 66 94]

Bubbles, so sorry to hear of your friend's tragedy, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your friend in these difficult times. Something none of us as a parent should ever experience. I hope you find spiritual comfort and a way to continue the positive progress in your life. Sometimes (often) we take for granted how finite our lives are and that there may not be a tomorrow. This makes the steps you are taking all the more important. Take care, survive the busy holidays and find your routine to continue to move in such a positive direction. Tex

[Tex Slim 66 94]

Melesg and hope4momof4, wow, I have never been so touched as reading your most recent posts about motivations other than weight or clothes size to get our lives in a much healthier state. Very deep and so important to many of us, maybe we're a bit hesitant to be so clear. You were both so eloquent and strong in how you want to experience life to the fullest with your children, it really meant a lot to me.

There's something about us as parents wanting to show our children how they can grow up to be people we admire and respect. We have to model in our behavior and I believe for many of us who struggle (and feel like we're losing the battle with our weight) that this same issue is present. So cool that you both are so open to help us all share in this motivation and realize it applies to many of us, even if we haven't openly acknowledged it.

Thanks for this blessing during the holidays! It makes me even more determined to be successful this time in changing my life to a much healthier and active one and becoming the parent I have aspired to be for a long time.

PS. I stopped coffee three days before my ESG (Nov 21) and haven't had any since. After the first week I was over the headaches and really haven't missed it!

[Melesg 112]

Thank you Tex, bubbles and hope4momof4.

Bubbles - so very sorry for your loss at this difficult time. My thoughts are with you.

Christmas Day is done and dusted in Australia and it was not a dieting disaster. I certainly ate some treat foods but in small amounts.

To round off the day I even, wait for it... went for a bike ride in the evening with my daughter. My head told me to lay down on the sofa but my heart told me to strap on the helmet and go for a half hour bike ride. I've never been on a bike with my kids (not for 30 years probably) and whilst it was wobbly and I looked like a complete dork, I rode none the less. At the end of our ride, I got a squishy hug from my baby who declared it "the best day ever".

mel x

[hope4momof4 162]

Melesg— That is such a sweet Christmas story. This procedure has not only improved your weight and health but it has given you a closer relationship with your children. They probably don’t understand what has brought about this change in mommy but I’m sure they don’t care either. Their mom has just become the coolest mom ever!! That dork remark was completely uncalled for. You are getting the most out of this procedure. Truly inspirational!

Enjoy the rest of your holidays!

[smith.99 8]

Thank you all for your posts. I haven't been online for a while and have gotten a little discouraged after my surgery. This all helps me to get into a better place after the holidays so I can get back on track. I had ESG on Nov. 15 and my weight loss seems to have stopped. I have been getting hungry and have been eating larger portions. I can eat anything at this point, although in smaller quantities. Some of you posted about coffee, but I find that I am not interested in it anymore, although I was a big coffee drinker. Maybe part of that has to do with the fact that eating and drinking need to be done somewhat separately after the procedure. The nutritionist explained that the satiety parts of the stomach are at the top and if you drink a lot before or during a meal, it causes your food to push through and empty faster making you feel a bit hungrier. For me, coffee always accompanied Breakfast, so I don't feel like drinking it 30 minutes after I have eaten.

Another topic that I saw here related to preparing for the surgery. I have to admit, I was nervous. I ate crazy stuff all through October, but 2 weeks before my surgery, I tried to pull myself together and started watching what I ate again. As others have said, that head hunger is a real thing, so those weeks were difficult. The doctor's office said that the most important part was to stick to the clear liquid diet in the 48 hours before the surgery, so I was sure to do that.

I had absolutely no pain or nausea post-op. I was eating very soft foods about 2-3 weeks out and have been able to eat a nice variety of food. Nothing has really caused me any issue. The only thing that I haven't been good about is taking my PPI (Nexium or equivalent). I am not a fan of these medications and I have been in denial about needing them. When I miss a dose, I don't have a burning acid reflux, but my stomach feels achy. I have found that taking the nexium helps. I have been eating out of small dishes to help keep the quantities down and I make sure to really chew my food. Chunky food doesn't feel great, although it isn't painful, just uncomfortable.

As for positives, my weight has only fluctuated within 1 pound over the holidays, so I wouldn't consider that a gain or a loss. I am going to list this as a positive. All three of my sons have been working out like crazy (90min/day, every day) have each gained 7-9 pounds since they arrived around mid December. I am the only one in the house who has maintained. I had foot surgery 2 days ago, so I am looking forward to getting active again. Maybe this will spur on my weight loss again.

Also, I fit into my size 12's, which opened up a lot of choices for outfits for holiday parties. I am sure with all the yoyo dieting, many of you can relate to having a wardrobe in many different sizes. I was thrilled to be able to wear some of my older clothes.

TBH, I have moments when I question whether this was worth the expense or if I should have done the more invasive surgery. I thought that the weight would come off faster. The nutritionist assures me that the weight loss will continue and stay off. I am just trying to remain hopeful that this is true. Like many of you, I have failed at losing weight so many times that it is hard to think that this will work. For now, I am trying to stay positive and get back on track after my foot surgery.

Thank you for all the support here. It is good to have a place to write these things and put all of this into perspective. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you.

[hope4momof4 162]

Thank you so much Smith.99. This is exactly why this particular forum was started. We really appreciate you coming back and sharing your experiences with us honestly. There have been many on this forum and others who have been trying to decide which weight loss procedure or surgery would be best for them. I am sure you researched as much as everyone else did before deciding and people in these forums were probably the best source of information because they have been through it and can give you a real life account. Your honesty is so valuable to all of us in the planning stages. Please continue to update us on your ups and downs for your own accountability and to help us get through our stalls and setbacks.

As for your discouragement I think you need to look at it in a different way. Think of where you would be at this time of year without your esg procedure. After Thanksgiving and Christmas is when the most weight gain occurs usually. If you have only seen a 1 pound fluctuation without exercise then I would honestly call this a victory. This seems to be a common theme among esgers throughout the various forums— the weight loss is slow and steady not as rapid as the more invasive methods. Please continue to focus on the positives and don’t give up hope that this procedure will finally help you maintain a healthier weight. You’ve already taken the first step in committing to a your health. You just need to continue to post and not be discouraged.

Best of luck in 2018!!

[Melesg 112]

Hi smith.99,

I can very much relate to how you are feeling. I am also guilty of having some thoughts that make me wonder if i should have had a vsg over esg as I feel the esg requires you to still fully participate in your weightloss journey and make very good choices rather than being physically unable to over eat. I too feel I can eat more than I expected, I thought that the weight would really fall off by itself over time and that it was just a matter of months until I would be at my goal weight. But heading into month 4 post esg, I am needing to set the goals and work towards them myself, with support but ultimately bne my own catalyst to achieve my goals.

So this is what I tell myself - I'm not going to fail at this. I'm just not. Yes I can also graze most days pretty freely and can eat bigger portions than the mini plates and bowls I was sure was my new forever meal size. I can still eat every bit of glorious junk food I ever have and look to food as my solution to every emotion I have.

But from what I see, so can people who have had bypasses and surgical sleeves if they really want to. Slider foods slide on down and meals can be whatever we want them to be. This tool that we have has to be just a part of our solution. We have to stick with this until proper nutrition is our new habit and be totally honest with what we are eating.

I saw the first 10kg drop off really fast and thought OMG, this is a piece of cake! But then I had stalls and slight gains and some losses. I know I am eating about half of what I used to but that I can unrail my day by just having a big serve of nuts or too many healthy Snacks. So I have to be brutally honest with myself about how I may be sabotaging quicker "success".

i think that what I have been eating is more a "maintenance" diet. But I think it's a really doable maintainence diet for the rest of my life. As I am not ready to maintain my current weight, I need to get cracking on more exercise and less food. I need to recommit to getting back into ketosis to start burning up these fat stores.

i absolutely feel so much better for having lost half my weightloss goal. I am eating cleaner, exercising heaps more and participating more in my life.

I really think that right now, this is a mental challenge for me and I sense right now it is for you too. I am really too hard on myself at this point and have been forgetting to see my successes rather than my overnight quick fix I secretly hoped for.

The gorgeous hope4momof4 is right, you may be looking at your success over this difficult holiday period in a way that is not helpful and is not recognising the success of NOT gaining over Christmas. When is the last time you could say that?

You can tell me to bugger off but perhaps use the new year to plan your way forward and recommit to portion sizes etc. You must feel much better with your initial weightloss and since you have been in a stall, another good loss may not be far away.

Yes It is a lot of money this procedure, so do everything you can right now to make positive changes. You can do this, you really can.

Find that determination that you had when you decided to get this done and go from there. And remember, a meal or day that hasn't been diet perfect is no issue, its what you do the next day that counts.

We are all behind you, good luck 😊.

Mel

[Melesg 112]

It's been very quiet here - I will break the ice by saying that I gained over over the Christmas week but have lost that plus another .5kg. I have been following a Keto diet since Jan 1st to get into ketosis ASAP to start getting some weight off again. I am now in ketosis thankfully and while it's Water weight that has been lost, knowing I am running on fat now is a great feeling. I loved the ketosis zone during pre and post esg - I think it has made the biggest difference in my weight loss. It's to thank for the quick weight loss at the start.

I will add a piece of fruit a day down the track but will try stay on very low carb for as long as possible. The dietician has worded me up in the past regarding how fibre cancels out carbs and has a more moderate approach to carbs. I am looking forward to checking in with her again next week.

Ok - now it's time for your accountability update. Remember, we are all friends here and will offer nothing but support if you have gained over the past few weeks.

Mel

[hope4momof4 162]

Dear ESG family,

My post will have to be short. I lost my mother on January 1, 2018. She was the light of my life and my children’s life. I miss her so much that it hurts. We were together almost everyday and now she’s gone. If your moms are still with you please take the best care of them you possibly can because you never know when you won’t have them around anymore. I’m sorry but it’s too painful to talk about now. I will try to update in a few days.