SHOCKER!!!

Will do, thank you.  I didn't realize I put the profile to private...thanks for the heads up.  It may have been because I was not active at the time and shut it down...no clue.  Just happy to have a clear path going forward!! :)

I love the water.  Just our local gym has a very old pool, and then the new pool which is a lap pool and the lap people totally hog it, lol. So I did a trial membership where they said I could use the lap pool but I could FEEL the attitude from people who thought I was taking up a lane that could have been put to better use....  So, who knows maybe I will give it a shot again.

Pool People are territorial I have found. BUT you are entitled to use the pool too!  Give it another shot and to hell with those people with attitudes.  I have also felt the same way at times but realized it was my issues and insecurities that was causing me to feel that way.  The pool is a WONDERFUL way to safely start moving your body!  At my gym a lot of seniors walk laps in the lap lanes and sometimes they are moving faster than I can swim!

The most important thing is that you start moving your body and the pool is the perfect way to do that!  So I think you should set a goal to go do some laps! Take a friend with you if you are feeling out of place.

Great idea with the buddy system, I like that!! :)  TY for the encouragement! :)

It's also helpful if you are able to swim during "off hours". My pool is much less crowded from 1PM-4PM when most people work. Ask what times are less congested.

Congratulations!  

I really didn't need very much after surgery.  But, the things I use everyday since surgery are 

1. a digital food scale
2. an accurate body scale
3. My Fitness Pal -- to log everything
4. a blender bottle
5. small plates/bowls (I use appetizer plates)
6. the timer on my iPhone -- to time 30 min after eating/and vitamin reminders

Many people's tastes change after surgery, so shakes you like before aren't preferred after surgery.  Be careful not to over buy.  For ready-made shakes, I like Premier Protein.  For mixable shakes, I like Syntax Nectar.  Protein shake preferences vary by person.

Good luck!  Surgery was the best thing I ever did for myself and my family.

ive used the fitness pal and totally loved it for its encouragement. "If you eat like this in five weeks you will have lost X amount. " 

Small plates is a great idea, so you don't have a big plate with almost nothing on it...so mind over matter type deal.  I could totally buy myself some adorable plates...great idea!! And I am looking at the sleeve so not sure how many vitamins I will have to add but it seems I am always vitamin D deficient but who wants to be fat and sitting in the sun??

So glad to be having this surgery soon...another incident where I was looked upon as a circus freak at the grocery store didn't make the night too pleasant.  Onward and upward, right?? :)

One bad thing about myfitnesspal is that you will lose that encouragement after surgery.  I have 576 days logged, and every night I get this message:  

Based on your total calories consumed today, you are likely not eating enough For safe weight loss, the National Institutes of Health recommends no less than 1000-1200 calories for women and 1200-1500 calories for men. Even during weight loss, it's important to meet your body's basic nutrient and energy needs. Over time, not eating enough can lead to nutrient deficiencies, unpleasant side effects & other serious health problems.

It's annoying, but the site isn't made for people like us who are massively overweight and have had WLS.  Still, i really miss seeing the estimates of how much I'd lose and the estimated time frame.  It was usually pretty accurate, too!

I had a RNY, so vitamins are necessary for the rest of my life.  I believe supplementation is for VSG too -- I use the American Bariatric Surgery Society's recommendations -- ASMBS        

I don't know what happened to you at the grocery store, but I have been there my friend.  Hugs to you.  People can be real asshats.

Your comment made me LOL!!! I said to my husband in line... people here are being such asshats today we need to go home!!

It was a little boy who had his mouth open in the biggest O you have ever seen tugging on his dads shirt and trying to tell him the shock of seeing someone my size when he realized I was witnessing the whole thing and stopped momentarily to say hi.  Then continued to try to tell his dad.  UGH  I don't get mad at the child because of course I know I might be the biggest person he has ever seen 513 pounds and in a wheelchair but I get upset at the parents who didn't tell him to LOVE everyone and not to be disrespectful when you see someone who is different.

I was homebound for years because of the community I live in.  Every single time I went out I would have to deal with someone.  I have had people take pictures of me, I have had people yell out of their cars when I was crossing to go to the gym with my son, and people yell from their cars when I was driving.  It became overwhelming to the point that I wasn't even attending family functions.  I would have total panic attacks.  Thankfully I took my life back and those people can stick it!

I am so sorry that you've experience those things. I remember having some really painful experiences, too.  I agree with you about the little boy -- that would have been a perfect opportunity for the parent to say, "It's never polite to comment on someone else's body" -- My son has gotten that since he was 2 or 3 -- it's not hard to teach a child to be kind.

Hugs to you.  Screw all those people.  You've every right to be at the store, crossing the street, swimming in a pool  --- they are just showing their incredible ugliness.  I know that doesn't really help when it's happening -- but I hope knowing that others of us have been there lets you know you aren't alone.

I second the "warning" about buying too much protein powder before surgery.  MANY people find that things they found palatable before surgery absolutely turned their stomach afterward.

I work part time for a bariatric surgery office (doing Psych evals), and for their sleeve patients they recommend two multivitamins per day unless lab work shows a deficiency.  For most that seems to be plenty.  (Lots of people in the U.S. are Vit D deficient, BTW. We no longer have to toil in the sun much of the day hunting or farming to feed ourselves, and just occasionally being outside just isn't enough.)

Lora

p.s. I also wanted to mention that, at 8 years out in August, I still use nothing but salad and/or dessert plates. During the first year, I used saucers instead of plates of any kind.