Is it what you expected??????

Before WLS what were you expecting life post op to be like? Is the reality what you anticipated/expected? For me, I expected my eating to be severly affected and that I would nto be able to eat normally for the rest of my life. I expected to 'eat like a freak', which was one of my fears - being different from others when i went out to eat. I had no expectations of what it would be like to be thinner as I could not even imagine it, it was such a large insurmountable mountain to get over. I expected WLS to work much easier at the weight loss, rather than me having to put in ALOT of work and will power! The reality - well, I eat far more normally than I ever imagined (or even want actually)! The weight does not melt off, the malabsorption part does not work nearly as much as I'd like it to (at times it feels like it doesn't work at all at helping my weight loss, and that it's down to good old fashioned calories in verses calories out). The reality is that post op life is far less scary than I ever imagined it would be. Yes, it's been life changing, but I imagined and prepared for it being life changing in the way I ate, socialise, etc, etc. Instead it's been life changing in that I weigh so much less, and can do so much more. I have completely regained my health and fitness. So in short, no life post op is nothing like I expected. BUT, even with the few minor points that are negative, life IS GREAT!

Ruth, I have to ditto everything you said regarding eating! I feel exactly the same way! I guess the other thing I expected was to magically be happy. For the most part, I'm happy now. But I find myself getting irritable WAY more easily now! And my husband and I argue about my weight a lot and how much I go to the gym, which I didn't expect. But overall, I'm thrilled with how far I've come in a year! I wouldn't change it for the world! Deanna

That's really interesting Deanna. I too get way more irritable more easily now. That is one of the main things I thought would change about me, and that it was all due to me being tired and not liking myself and the size I was. But I seem to have got worse!! I'm trying to deal with it, but I've got a lot of work to do.

Ruth, I'm with you on that one! In reality,I ,too eat way too much than I thought I would! The weight DOES not melt off,like go to bed and wake up skinny!! I have been having a really bad weight issue,I think I have been on this stall since Christmas! I am disappointed with myself for only gettin this far. talked to other people before I had my surgery that had it done and had only lost 90-100 pounds and they still looked heavy! I thought to myself,that I would want to lose more than that, and really thought I would!! Last night I took a really hard look at myself,gaining weight,saying why did I go through all that pain?? Just to lose 82 pounds and still feel fat!!?? Don't get me wrong,I am happy with what I lost,but I want to lose more,allot more!! So today I am trying to kill myself by not eating!! I have been just putting things in my mouth for no reason at all!! I am going to live on water and protein or something,no more snacks and walk walk walk!!! I really need to do this for myself, and I should have been off my lazy behind along time ago! I even ordered some vitamins that are supposed to give you energy!! Have even thought about getting some diet pills or something!! I need to march on with this and make my fat go away and see the scales go down!!!!

I've been thinking of the diet pills as well, hoodia or what not! I'm going to speak with the surgeon and see if i'm unrealistic or what. I too feel that I should be further along in this journey then I am! I'm right there with you Karen so please don't feel that you are alone! Hugs, ANDI

I thought it would be easier and that the fat would just come off. but nope its a long term diet or rather a permanent change to healthy eating... and in terms of the way I look I would say better than expected... (except the skin... yuck)

I never expected to be this thin myself. I figured if I got to 150 I would be happy. Now at 131 I still want to loose more and I am more critical of myself and the way I look. I never expected to loose as much as I did. I didnt know what to expect about eating, but I think I am doing ok in that area. I still eat to fast.. I still over do it if i don****ch and life after is pretty much what I thought it would be like.. I dump on a lot of things and worry about what I eat so I dont dump. Things I loved like ribs and corn dont work.. i get sick every time. There are things I have had to give up, but its ok.. because I am much happier, healthier, and living my life the way I want to now. The food issues.. I will get use to.. and in time it wont be a big deal. I look at it like this.. if I was allergic to flour or fruit I wouldnt be able to eat them.. shell fish same thing.. diabetic same thing... there are millions of ppl out there that cant eat certain foods and they survive just fine everyday. If I commit to not eating the things that got me where I was... I will only be successful in this journey. I dont say.. sorry I cant have this.. i say sorry I wont have this.. its my choice.. it was my choice to have the surgery.. it was my choice to change my plumbing and rework the rest of my life and now its my choice to follow the rules to be successful in this process. I think I got exactly what i expected from wls, but I also made the commitment, set the goal and followed through.

A year ago I would never have believed how far I've come...I didn't picture in my head what being thin or thinner felt like. My imaginination would never have taken me down to my current size. The most amazing things to me is that food is not that imortant to me anymore. I don't think about it constantly. Also, there are some foods that I enjoy very much that I would never have eaten on a regular basis prior to surgery....like COTTAGE CHEESE...I eat it almost everyday- I never ate it before! And diet coke which I use to LOVE, I haven't had one since 5/11/2006 and I probbly wil never have one again. I thank God that I had the guts to have WLS, it certainly bulids character!

Hey Lynn I've got a terrible memory, so please dont' be offended, but I don't think we've 'met' before have we? If we have then I'm really sorry But if we haven't, then hello, great to meet you and I'm looking forward to getting to know you better I used to live on diet pepsi and would glug it down in vast quantities. I don't have any now. If I have a sip of hubbies I get pain. I used to miss it like crazy but am happy with water now - good grief, I never thought I'd hear myself saying that hee hee. And I absolutely agree with you, WLS does build character - if you let it. We are given so many opportunities if we take them on this journey, not just for weight loss

I have made this journey what I want it to be. I know the surgery is not a cure all and I knew that it would not change my whole life. BUT I made a choice to CHANGE my life on my own. I made a promise to myself that since I would no longer have the extra weight to BLAME for anything, I would be the one that must CHANGE my own life. I make a choice each day to see the positive and live life to the fullest. I know many people that had surgery thinking they would just automatically become happy as the weight fell off. Once they realized this is not true, they started searching for other reasons to be unhappy. Now that they have lost the weight, they won't be happy until their bodies look like that of a teenager that has never had an issue with their weight. I know that I will never be able to afford plastics and no, my insurance won't cover any of it. I also know that if I didn't abuse my body for years and put on the extra weight, I wouldn't have to worry about looking like a Shar-pei puppy. But I am happy with the weight loss and I will learn to live with (and cover up) the extra skin. But I will be happy regardless because I am HEALTHY.