New To The Forum

My first post here (I've posted on other forums). I was sleeved on August 31, 2017. On the day of my surgery I weighed in at 211 pounds. When I started the process I was at 221 pounds. At this time I am down to 166 pounds for a net loss of 55 pounds. My reason for getting WLS was to reduce the medications I was taking.

Diabetes: 4 Meds, Cholesterol: 2 Meds, Blood Pressure: 2 Meds, Gerd: 1 Med, Gout: 1 Med plus an 81mg aspirin a day. The day I left the hospital I was taken off my diabetes meds which was a win right off the bat. Subsequently all my meds were removed except for one cholesterol med and the aspirin.

I don't feel ecstatic about my weight loss due to the feeling of fullness that I always have. Food and I had a great relationship but truth be told I can't stand to look at it now. I used to eat out 3-4 times a week. Nowadays I would rather be home and eat by myself because I don't feel comfortable eating in public anymore. I find it a chore to socialize in eateries. Paradoxically, I constantly think about weight gain. I have met people who had WLS and the overwhelming majority of them have regained their original weight and then some. I look into various venues to get the advice of others and the experts on how to minimize the weight gain. ( It will happen as I have learned).

I planned my surgery around my vacation. I took two weeks off mainly because I felt fatigued after the first week. My weight loss wasn't dramatic since I wasn't too overweight. I just told everyone that me and four other friends put $1,000 each into a pot and the person who loses the most weight by new years gets it. I tell everyone that I am a distant second. This seemed to satisfy everyone who observed my weight loss. When people see you lose the weight the first comment is "are you loing on purpose?" My reply"Why?, you think I'm on deaths doorstep." I told a total of eight people about my surgery because I don't like to broadcast my medical conditions to the world.

I base my success on my health and how it has improved. My a1c is down, cholesterol is down, BP is down and, well you get the picture. I hope to contribute in a positive way to this forum and mahalo for reading my post. As I write to my fellow WLS friends, trust the process and trust yourself.

Welcome!

Are you seeing a therapist? It sounds like one would be super helpful for you to help you with your relationship with food and also your worries about regain. The surgery only fixes our stomachs, not our brains and our brains are what will get us through maintenance.

Looks like you've done awesome! You should be ecstatic!

I absolutely agree with Gwen's suggestion of finding a therapist. Our relationship with food changes drastically after surgery, and it can be very useful to get some professional help navigating our new relationship.

Congrats on making such great progress on your health goals!

Thanks for the comments but I think a therapist at this time would be a little premature. I'm only four months out and basking in the rapid weight loss. I'm sure there will be a day when I might need to seek professional help but I don't think it's today.

It's never too soon to start sorting out your brain. If you wait until your weight loss stops, you'll have lost precious time.

I started well before surgery. It's never too early! Welcome!

You need to readjust your attitude. When you are with others, eat slowly and deliberately (which you should be doing anyway). If it truly embarrasses you, don't ask for a child's meal or a doggy bag. Instead of worrying about what others think of you, concentrate on enjoying the company and fellowship with friends. I may need nourishment when I eat out but it's more about spending time with friends than what I'm eating. And besides, eating out 3 or 4 times a week isn't healthy.

BTW, if you were approved for surgery, your relationship with food could not have been that great. Be happy with full for as long as it lasts. It will not last forever, I promise. As far as weight regain goes, no, it is not inevitable. It's a choice. By a year's time, yes, you will no longer have the metabolic changes from the surgery but unless you were badly over-eating past your pouch's capability, you will still have restriction and hopefully, you will have worked on your "fat brain" and developed new, healthier habits. Whether you gain or don't gain will be your choice. Will you continue to feed your new body healthy food or are you now going to feed it garbage. You need to remember, this surgery should change your life forever. It's not a diet, it's a (corny as it sounds) lifestyle change and if you do want to maintain your weight loss, you might better change how you think about food. If you don't change the way you think about food, then you should have just gone to Weigh****chers or gone on the cabbage soup diet. That would have been a lot cheaper. That does not mean you can't have a "favorite not so healthy food" now and again but it should be the exception, not the rule!

I don't mean to sound ugly or critical but I really think you might want to reconsider your feelings. You don't have to fail. Neither does anyone else, and those that did fail, failed because they made poor choices.

That is my reasoning also I am not that over weight so people can't see why, but I have GERD and sleep apnea. I wanted to save my health because I am only 30 and want to be there for my son. I feel like surgery will give me my confidence back I know it comes from within but it will help.