Advice for pre-ops

OH is where I learned some really important things. Things I didn't know until after my surgery. Things my surgeon's program didn't cover or that I missed.

The biggest for me: Malabsorption wears off after a couple of years.

I honestly did not know that until I saw a post here. We still have the smaller pouch so we definitely have the edge in keeping weight off or losing re-gain. But the biggest and best part of the magic is past and it becomes all about maximizing calories and increasing satiety. I had to learn to eat a different way.

What do you wish you had known? What advice or info would you give to every single pre-op if you had the chance?

Change your habits early while you can! This one is so so important to me. Like all of said at some point, you can eat ice cream and doritos all day and lose weight at first, but eventually that will stop and you'll see all those doritos and ice creams on the scale the next day and the day after and on and on. Take the time very early on to just change how you eat completely and learn to live on a healthy diet not full of sweets and fast food.

Also, logging what you eat keeps you accountable. Log even the things you shouldn't have had if you had a bad day (it can happen easier than you think). Be honest in your logs, don't be ashamed and hide it. Feeling ashamed should never come with food, even if you eat something not so healthy.

"Feeling ashamed should never come with food, even if you eat something not so healthy."

I love your post Mersh. Especially this. ^^^^ I wish for all of us that we learn to separate shame from food.

The advice I would give, and do give, to every single pre-op is "surgery changes your stomach, not your brain. Therapy, therapy, therapy!"

Definitely set the mind to therapy.

Oooh great question! I don't know how I can limit it from like 100 things, but I will try to keep the list relatively short!

1. WEIGH your food. Buy a food scale on amazon. You are not good at eyeballing portions. If you were, you would not need WLS.
2. Speaking of weighing food, don't look at your 2 oz of turkey on a plate and think "that is not enough food". It is, after surgery. You are used to eating a medium pizza/six donuts/2 Big Mac meals in a sitting, but no longer.
3. Take what your nutritionist says with a grain of salt. Many of them have never struggled with weight and will tell you it's ok to have bread as long as it's whole wheat, or cream of wheat, or mashed potatoes. I chose to listen to the veterans (more than 5 years out from surgery) on OH and steered clear of those high carb options to make sure my body was getting the protein it needed, and made it to my goal weight in less than a year.
4. Hydrate! In the beginning it will feel like your life is sip, sip, sip. Find the beverage that works for you (ho****er, cold water, calorie free flavored water, decaf tea, whatever) and work on getting 100 oz a day. Maybe not the first week, but soon thereafter.
5. But DON'T hydrate during meals or for 30 minutes after. The liquid will push the food out of your pouch and you will be hungry sooner. Just get used to it. I am almost 4.5 years out and NEVER drink with my meal or for 30 minutes after. It's the slow train to regain...
6. Take your vitamins. You can look up the proper vitamin regimen for your chosen surgery but it's up to you to follow it. Don't eat gummy kids vitamins, don't skip vitamins, don't think you will be fine with patch vitamins. Take your vitamins, have blood drawn, and track your levels. Or you will end up like me, needing iron infusions. [do as I say, not as I did!]
7. You will most likely lose weight in a stair step fashion. A bunch one week, less the next. Stay the course, follow your plan, and it will come off.
8. The one final one, the one that I really did not know, did not get, did not understand...losing the weight is the easy part. It really is. You are motivated. Your pouch/stomach is tiny. You fill up on minuscule portions. The weight is falling off. The compliments are coming in. The aches are disappearing. The NSVs (non-scale victories) are coming fast and furious. I can wrap a regular towel around my body! I fit into a booth! My knees don't ache. I'm at my goal!!!!!!!!!!! And then the real work begins. Maintenance is a ***** y'all, so don't waste your honeymoon period of the first 12-24 months after surgery mucking around eating ice cream and drinking beer and allowing yourself treats. It gets harder the more time passes, so try to set good habits in the honeymoon period.

Told you it would be long ;)

Long for sure - but you covered a lot of things that needed to be said. A lot of good information.

Sometimes long is better! =)

Things that I wish I knew, and/or wish OH newbies knew:

You will experience a stall in your third week. We are often spoiled in the first few weeks post-op with rapid loss, but things will quickly grind to a halt. No, the surgery has not failed you.

You will be EXHAUSTED. I felt like I'd been hit by a bus for months after surgery, and was taking daily naps after work for at least 6 weeks.

Hunger is both physical and mental. Reduction of ghrelin is lovely, but not a surefire fix for your "need" to eat.

Eating off-plan early on can cause serious injury. I don't care how much you "need" something crunchy; advancing your food plan while healing can literally kill you.

Being thin(ner) doesn't solve all of your problems. If anything, it can make them harder to deal with, or create new problems entirely.

Love these Julie! I had no idea what to expect when the rubber hit the road post op. The people here on OH educated me. They also picked me up and dusted me off when I fell flat on my face (regain) more than once.

I am glad that I was eventually able to listen and utilize the knowledge they were seeking to pass on. It made things a whole lot easier. It still does.

I'd like to thank all of you for this. I'm going to my consult next week. My year mark is May 17th. I'm very excited about surgery. I'm ready. I'm also aware that I don't and won't know everything. These tips are very helpful. Thanks again.