VSG coming soon.

Hi everyone, 

Im a newbie here and I was looking for some guidance. My twin sister and I will be getting the VSG in March. We've spoke with the doctors and we have to be supervised for nine months. I guess I'm just wanting to know what to expect and how we could prepare for such a huge change. Thanks for any help

welcome to the forum.  I hope you find it as informative and supportive as I have.

My program asked us to practice "eating like you will post surgery."  This included eating small meals, avoiding grazing, limiting fats and carbs, avoiding drinking liquids near meal times, eating slowly etc.  Practicing was more helpful than I would have guessed pre-surgery.

The other thing I'd suggest is to commit to the program and be compliant.  The surgery is only a tool.  It does not cure obesity.  But it does make it possible to manage the obesity where I could not manage it before surgery.  If you can stick with the plan, you can lose the weight.  But if you don't follow the plan, you can easily defeat yourself and gain the weight back. 

I had a friend/acquaintance who had the surgery about 5 years before I did, and was strongly encouraging me to have it too.  When I finally decided to do it, I called her, thinking she'd be so happy for me.  But instead, I learned that she had gained back most of the weight.  When I asked her why, she told me she didn't follow the rules on food choices, on avoiding liquids with meals, on avoiding grazing, etc.  She lost weight for the first 18 months to 2 years, and then started gaining again. 

Its important to remember that the surgery will only help if you follow the program.  But if you do, it can work amazingly well.  I lost 225 pounds, going from a BMI of 60 to 24 -  from a 5x to a size 14.  I'm now a normal weight, and feeling great. 

You can do this too.  The surgery doesn't make it easy, but it makes it possible. 

best wishes,

Carol

Carol, 

thank you so much for the tips! We are excited for this journey and it's nice to be on a place where others are going through the same journey. I will defiantly try to eating slower and to stop my grazing. I'm determined to keep the weight off so I'm willing to take any advice. Do you know any good protein shakes and bars to look for? We are trying to get a pile of them saved so it's not a huge expense at once. 

I'm not the best source for info on bars and protein shakes.  I found that my tummy would not tolerate anything sweet after surgery, so chicken broth with unflavored protein powder was my staple for the first few months.  I also didn't use protein bars because I did not find them satisfying, preferring to eat meals rather than bars.

I found that I needed to surround myself with healthy, tasty, low carb meals.  That helped me resist the things I shouldn't eat, and kept me satisfied.  I've posted a lot of my recipes on the recipe forum if you are interested.

best of luck,

Carol