Was VSG the best thing you did for yourself? Any problems?

Just gathering information for reading while I'm recuperating from surgery a few more days!

I am a little over 6 years out and it was like being reborn. I had minor complications right after the surgery so my hospital stay was extended by a few days but not even during the first 24 hrs of pure misery did I regret it for a second. I still thank God every day for giving me a second chance.

My advice to you would be:

Start on a fitness plan as soon as you are able. Make it a part of your day, no excuses.

Do not snack. At all. I started off with a "sensible" snack (tangerine, etc) mid-morning and it slowly devolved into permission to eat randomly. If I could undo that, I would. Stopping that habit has been an unbelievable challenge.

Get in the best physical shape possible. I'm 60 and I still start my day with 250 sit-ups and do push-ups until I basically collapse. Having a six-pack (and all the other muscles I built up too) under all that loose skin helped me sail right through all the cosmetic surgeries I had later. I bounced back from each surgery like I was a rubber ball. Feeling fit and strong is like no other feeling you will ever have. You will never regret being fit. I hear excuse after excuse from so many people (my knees, my ankle, my back ...), well I have arthritis, scoliosis, degenerated discs, blah blah blah blah and if I can do it, so can you. Even Steven Hawking managed to blow into a straw so please do not ever list your excuses on why you "can't" exercise in front of me, lol. Go to a professional and get on a plan that works with whatever limitations you have.

Weigh yourself every day. It will keep you in check. A lot of people have criticized me for that but while their weight slowly creeps back up, I keep mine in check. Scales are not a bad thing. They are an instrument of measure, like the gas gauge on your car. Of course some days you will be up or down a couple of pounds but what you need to look out for is a trajectory; not OMG I weigh 5 more ounces than I did yesterday! If you weight 5 more ounces than you did the day before day after day, then you need to make adjustments in your eating.

Veggies are your new best friend. Bread is no longer your friend.

Find a hobby to do instead of food when you are bored or stressed. I decided to plant a garden, put up a ton of bird feeders and started identifying birds and taking photos of them It sounds dull, but it's turned into a lot of fun. Don't let a hobby choose you because if you were addicted to food, you can easily become addicted to something else in its place. Shopping, gambling, alcohol, bad relationships ... Choose something constructive and go have fun with it.

Don't stress how quickly you are or aren't losing weight. Just do what you are supposed to and it will happen. I was a slow loser while other people were basically melting like snowmen in July in front of me. Sometimes I felt bad and even a little envious, but I got where I needed to go just the same. Stay in your lane and work on you.

Some people are going to treat you differently and not in a good way. I'm female and have a female boss. The new and improved me set her off. I was getting loads of positive and encouraging attention. She became enraged at me constantly and her jealousy knew no bounds. One day at lunch (years ago) I bought a pair of size 10 jeans and was so proud of myself I wanted to cry. I was showing a coworker, was obviously elated and my boss walked by and said "Those are the biggest size 10 jeans I have ever seen" and scoffed. FU. The tide has really turned now, I'm a 0/2, she's a 20 and getting bigger by the day.

99% of people are going to be happy for you and want you to succeed, even if they voice concern about how little you eat, how much you have lost, whatever. You are looking and behaving radically different from what they are used to. Don't read malice into every comment. The people *****ally want to sabotage you will be evident enough and you will probably have to leave some relationships behind. That's ok. You'll form new ones.

Be a positive example. You never know if, how or when you are going to be the encouragement someone else needs to see in order to make a radical change. I show people photos of how big I was and they think I'm lying. That can't be you! Well, it was. If I did it, so can you.

Save one outfit from when you were your heaviest. It will be a reminder of how far you have come and tangible proof of what you accomplished. Every year on my surgiversary I take out my outfit and realize how blessed I am. I'd be dead by now if I didn't have the surgery. I buried my older sister, who did not have the surgery, almost 3 years ago.

While you are losing, buy yourself a cute top every 2 or 3 weeks. You don't need to spend a lot. It lifts your spirits to have something that fits, is colorful and looks pretty. It will make you feel a whole lot better. Swimming in all your old clothes does nothing for your self-esteem and it will be a while before you get to your goal and have to replace everything.

I could go on and on so if you have any specific questions, just ask.

Wow JerseyCityGal, this is a ton of good information for someone like me, and so positive and real, thank you. I'm going to log this in my positives file so I can reference it if I'm feeling I need some encouragement. It's too early to tell if I'm a slow or fast loser, but this will help me remember that we're all different and if I follow a good meal plan and exercise plan and don't waver from it, I can succeed. I do have some clothes to get rid of, but I'll get to those in a few weeks.

I think I'll set a goal of saving a new outfit for the holidays and plan for that to be my first of many smaller clothes!

You have really helped and it's a kind thing to do, thank you!

What an awesome post! I'm saving this for future reference :-)

I'm scheduled for vsg in two weeks. I was very glad to see a few responses from my age group. I turn 56 before my surgery, and have been a bit concerned I won't bounce back as quickly as those a few decades younger.

In a word...

Cathy H. I can feel your enthusiasm, thank you!

Absolutely the BEST thing I ever did for myself!!! It gave me a new lease on life. I am 4 years 7 months out and have been within a few pounds of goal for almost the entire time other than for about 9 months last year while DH was failing (he died at the end of the year). I am back down around goal and I had NEVER in my adult life stayed at goal more than a few months at best. I am 65 btw and in fantastic health (now vs. when I was 100 pounds heavier). I still marvel at how much work my body had to do to carry all that weight around. I have been told I look perhaps 10 years younger than I am and am dating again.

Liz, you're such a picture of health and so cute, I'm not surprised you're dating again. Good for you to get so healthy for yourself! Sorry to hear about your husband passing. It's inspiring to see by your example that people can pick themselves up and be healthier and happy again. I'm going to hang onto your successful vibe if you don't mind!