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  1. #1
    Gastric Sleeve Member amycontest's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Surgery date
    12/12/2014
    Surgeon
    Dr Nguyen
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Last Activity
    01-04-2015 02:53 AM
    Posts
    47
    Said "Thanks" 7 Times
    Was Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts
    Said "Welcome to Gastric Sleeve" 39 Times

    Default Ready, Set, Sleeve!

    Just a little bit about my journey....
    I've been overweight my whole life. The daughter of a thin mom and an overweight man, I was placed on my first diet at age 8. Kids teased me incessantly, and therefore, I've always been insecure about my body. My mom sent me to fat camp when I was 10 - kids dropped 20,30, 40 pounds over the 6 weeks....me, I lost 10. I've felt like my body battles me a lot.

    I sometimes read posts from people who say, "I ate whole pizzas" or "Ben and Jerry's was my friend" or "I ate fast food several times a week." I am so jealous - I'm fat, but I don't have those habits. The good news is that means I don't have to break them, but I occasionally feel unexpectedly bitter that I don't get to binge but yet am the size I am. That feels so perverse!

    Like many of you, I also really struggled with the idea of weight loss surgery. I know the common wisdom of how to lose weight. But years of tracking both my exercise and my caloric intake show that I almost never eat the intake that would be expected to maintain my weight, and am usually frequently below it. If I can stay under 1,200 calories, I can lose weight, but I'm freakin' hungry all the time. I have told no one except for my husband and my mom (who told my dad)...I just feel like I don't want people to judge me for not being able to do it "myself" even though I know that 30 years shows me I CAN NOT DO IT BY MYSELF. People who can just don't understand.

    My surgery is coming up soon and I'm on my 2 week pre-op diet of 3 low-cal shakes and a Lean Cuisine. The nutritionist warned me this would be hard, but I'm finding that, closing out day 2, it's not. Yes, I'm hungry. But I'm really excited and motivated to get through this, and I can do anything for 2 weeks.

    I need to up my exercise, and that's my Achilles heel. I have a desk job and I don't get out of the building a lot, as my work load is heavy. So while I get between 5-8k steps, it's not enough and it's not aerobic, and I don't do weight bearing exercises any more. I have a young son who is a terrible sleeper and who is hard to get down to bed, so I'm tired a LOT of the time and that has been my excuse. I've got to figure out a way to move past that for my health and my weight.

    My doc actually recommended that I do the gastric bypass due to the amount of weight I'd need to lose to hit my goal weight, but I just wasn't comfortable being in a state of malnutrition for the rest of my life. I worry that I'm making the wrong decision, or that I'm making this weight loss journey harder by not doing that.

    I'm also getting super nervous for the surgery. I tend to get really nauseated (and vomit) when I am under anesthesia, so I have concern about that. I am trying to get all my affairs in order just in case something happens to me so that my husband and son are taken care of (and know where everything is). I've been going through things like crazy, taking stuff to Goodwill, the dump, or a reseller - it almost feels like pregnancy nesting.

    Anyway, enough for today and thanks for reading!



  2. Gastric Sleeve Surgery With Weight Loss Agents
  3. #2
    Gastric Sleeve Member Ann2's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Name
    Ann2
    Surgery date
    08/18/2014
    Surgeon
    n.a.
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Missouri
    Posts
    6,630
    Said "Thanks" 5,839 Times
    Was Thanked 5,052 Times in 2,720 Posts
    Said "Welcome to Gastric Sleeve" 3,616 Times
    Blog Entries
    3

    Default Re: Ready, Set, Sleeve!

    Welcome to the forum. I hope your surgery is perfect and your recovery easy.




    Consult: 235 lbs
    My and doc's preop diet: 216 -19 lbs
    M1 postop 205 -30
    M2 193 -42
    M3 184 -51
    M4 174 -61
    M5 167 -68
    M6 162 -73
    M7 156 -79
    M8 151 -84
    M9 148 -87
    M10 146 -89
    M11 144 -91
    M12 143 -92
    M13 142 -93
    M14 140 -95
    M15 139 -96
    M16 137 -98
    M17 135 -100

    First Surgiversary post

    Second Surgiversary post

    Third Surgiversary post

  4. #3
    Gastric Sleeve Member Wayne2's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Surgery date
    11/21/2014
    Surgeon
    Dr. Paul Macik
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Last Activity
    03-16-2016 04:02 PM
    Location
    Atlanta
    Posts
    274
    Said "Thanks" 38 Times
    Was Thanked 40 Times in 38 Posts
    Said "Welcome to Gastric Sleeve" 1 Times

    Default Re: Ready, Set, Sleeve!

    Glad you are here. I read your story and think you will be happy with the sleeve. Looking forward to hearing about your surgery and recovery!



  5. #4
    Gastric Sleeve Member Dewonda8's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Name
    Dewonda
    Surgery date
    01/20/2015
    Surgeon
    Dr. Gerald Cahill
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Indiana
    Posts
    45
    Said "Thanks" 3 Times
    Was Thanked 10 Times in 9 Posts
    Said "Welcome to Gastric Sleeve" 5 Times
    Blog Entries
    6

    Default Re: Ready, Set, Sleeve!

    Welcome! Good luck to you. I'm sure you will be fine.



  6. #5
    Gastric Sleeve Member
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Surgery date
    11/17/2014
    Surgeon
    James B Wooldridge Jr
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    395
    Said "Thanks" 3 Times
    Was Thanked 73 Times in 72 Posts
    Said "Welcome to Gastric Sleeve" 131 Times
    Blog Entries
    18

    Default Re: Ready, Set, Sleeve!

    I can relate to your story. I never was a binger or a "bad food" fanatic like some, my problem was my portion sizes. Sometimes they would be normal, sometimes I'd get really hungry and eat more and that was usually when there wasn't a whole lot of protein in the meal. I probably should've had bypass too but the surgeon let me make my own decision, said nothing against it, and things were scheduled for the sleeve. I felt bypass was too drastic and there were too many problems associated with it.

    That being said, I hope your surgery goes well and you have minimal to no complications because hey, everyone deserves an easy time with this. I'm glad you're being thoughtful and getting your affairs in order, that shows how well you can plan. As for the exercise, what about something you could do at home? They have tons of workout DVDs you could do or if you have or can afford a Wii or similar system they have games designed for it that are meant to get you moving without it making it feel like work.

    Best of luck to you and please keep us all updated!

  7. Gastric Sleeve Surgery With Weight Loss Agents
  8. #6
    Gastric Sleeve Member amycontest's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Surgery date
    12/12/2014
    Surgeon
    Dr Nguyen
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Last Activity
    01-04-2015 02:53 AM
    Posts
    47
    Said "Thanks" 7 Times
    Was Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts
    Said "Welcome to Gastric Sleeve" 39 Times

    Default Re: Ready, Set, Sleeve!

    Full confession time: I have videos, a wii, and an xbox with the Zumba and Dance Central. I need to develop some accountability for myself. I also have some free weights. I used to be better at it, but as we all know, when we weigh so much, it's really hard to keep moving sometimes because things hurt! Plus, by the time I get my son down, I'm tired and having difficulty finding the motivation to go do a video. But I'm also committing to the concept that there are times I need to put myself first - I'm not good at doing that, but this is something I need to prioritize and have some consequences around not doing it.

    Thanks, all, for the welcome!



  9. #7
    Gastric Sleeve Member BillyJ's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Surgery date
    07/15/2014
    Surgeon
    Ramiro Sonny Cavazos
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Last Activity
    02-12-2018 10:32 PM
    Posts
    646
    Said "Thanks" 44 Times
    Was Thanked 128 Times in 127 Posts
    Said "Welcome to Gastric Sleeve" 93 Times
    Blog Entries
    3

    Default Re: Ready, Set, Sleeve!

    I have a gym in my house and it just collected dust until I had the surgery. My energy level is up and I am so excited to see my weight go down that I look forward to going in that room and working out. I too did the get my stuff in order before surgery. My last surgery my Dr said he was so glad I woke up which told me there was complications but I took a chance on this one and I am 59 lbs down. Good luck and keep us posted. Don't stress over this. You are making the right decision and you will thank yourself in about 6 months.



  10. #8
    sraebaer
    Guest   Change Avatar!

    Default Re: Ready, Set, Sleeve!

    I never had horrible eating habits either. I never ate a carton of ice cream or bag of chips or half gallon of ice cream or a whole pizza. I think I just ate the wrong stuff, carbs rather than protein. Good luck, you will be thrilled with this surgery. Amazing!

  11. #9
    Gastric Sleeve Member jessiejess's Avatar
    I have had a gastric sleeve.
    Name
    Jessie
    Surgery date
    11/13/2013
    Surgeon
    Dr. Mehta
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Last Activity
    03-25-2020 07:44 PM
    Location
    Houston
    Posts
    1,070
    Said "Thanks" 560 Times
    Was Thanked 365 Times in 229 Posts
    Said "Welcome to Gastric Sleeve" 0 Times
    Blog Entries
    8

    Default Re: Ready, Set, Sleeve!

    I didn't have any energy either pre-op. I have twins, am a student part time, and work full time. I just had no energy left at the end of the night for anything but tv and sleep. Then I had my surgery, but I still was always tired. Gradually my energy levels increased as I lost weight. I didn't start working out until 4 months post-op. I kept feeling guilty about it and kept seeing people's tickers speed up because they'd started working out. I didn't see how I could, but one day I forced myself to get on my dusty recumbent bike for about 20 minutes and I did it. So, I said to myself, "Self, you are going to start working out. You can do this and it's time. You have more energy now so put on your big girl panties and get to work!". I set a goal that I'd work out Monday - Friday of that week. I rode my bike and exercised that whole week. After each workout, I felt so good about myself! I had gotten up off my ass and done it!! I worked out Monday - Friday of that week just like I said I would. And Saturday and Sunday. And every day after that until about a month ago. It was an amazing sense of accomplishment as I watched the weight melt off, built muscles, saw my muscle definition change, my energy levels go up, and my endurance and strength increase. After I felt comfortable at home, I started going to a gym and got even better results. I'd try to outdo my previous workout each time; run longer, farther, lift more weight, more reps, burn more calories, etc. If I couldn't best myself, I'd try to at least do the same as the day before and it would gradually increase. And if I had an "off day", I'd still at least get in there for a few minutes.

    Now, I can honestly say I'm one of those people who LOVES to workout. It has boosted my self esteem and I feel like a totally different person in so many ways.

    Having said all that - if I can do it (and I was CHRONICALLY LAZY!!), I KNOW you can do it. Just give yourself some time and when you're ready, you'll do it. If you want me to, I can send you the at home, full body workout I started on. It really helped me get to where I was comfortable enough to start working out in public. Lol. Just PM me and I'll send it your way.

    Good luck to you!! You're going to do a great job. One day at a time.



    You don’t have to be perfect. You just need to be better.

    Revision stats:
    3/2/20 Pre-op: 197.5

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