weightloss extravaganza!
 

hey so. yeah. i'm having bariatric surgery next week. i weigh a lot. probably more than the number that just came into your mind.

today i start the pre-op diet. i get to have 3 protein shakes and clear liquids (i got broth and sugar free popsicles). so far i'm ok. this until tuesday, where it's just clear liquids. and then surgery wednesday.

i got final clearance today from my doctor.

i would enjoy if other people posted also but i really just want a place to bitch when i get hungry

Go for it, reprise! It's gonna be tough, but you are tough, so I'm sure you'll make to the other side.

How serious is the surgery? Will you have general anesthesia?

yes, it's general anesthesia. it is probably going to be laproscopic, but if they are unable to do it they will do it uh, non-laproscopically. it's serious in that it's major surgery, but you leave after one night and i can go back to work in 2 weeks. some people feel like they can go back in just a few days, even. but i mean i'm going to take off of course.

basically they cut out 75-85% of your stomach. this makes it where you can't eat as much but also removes most of the cells that make hunger causing hormones, so you're not hungry either. not for a while, anyway.

i'm probably going to lose 75-100lbs in 6 months. and about 120-150+ within a year.

we believe in you!!

Wait, you mean that you've got to eat nothing but the meal-replacement shakes and clear liquids for that time period?

I would die, haha

ugh i hate coming out of general anesthesia. it's the worst. :(

i had a friend who underwent a similar procedure. at first he had a rough time. he kept eating way more than he could handle and that would make him get sick. but eventually he adjusted, and yeah, lost a TON of weight super fast.

good luck!

I have two friends who went through this. One has lost 200lbs since October and he is a very tall man so it kinda makes sense he lost that much, but he wasn't prepared for how quick it would be.. he looks so different it's insane.

Good luck. They're both so much happier now that they're healthier. And even anyone gives you shit for it, fuck em!

Me too. Why can't I stay under anesthesia forever?

my cousin had this done recently cause she was pushing 500 pounds. before the surgery i saw her at my parents' and she couldn't even sit down. she was standing behind the couch with her stomach resting over the back of it.

she's lost 150 pounds but lots of loose skin. she's gonna go back to mexico to have it removed (mexico is where she went for the procedure cause it's much cheaper and just as safe)

i overdosed once (total accident) and apparently they had to use defibrillators on me on the side of the road and again at the hospital. this happened to be the only time in my life i spent big bucks on a bra at 40 smackers and the medics cut the damn thing off of me. same goes for my pants. i think everything i was wearing got taken off in an expedient fashion.

after i woke up, remembered how shitty my life was, and then saw the bill, i was soooooo upset i didn't just die. /snap

never paid that bill either since i never asked to be saved. ah youth!

GOOD LUCK, ERRCA.

I'm happy for you, everyone I know who's undergone weight loss surgery has found it pretty life changing. :) Good luck

good luck indeed! :) you'll be fine though!

Are they going to teach you better eating habits or put you on a diet plan post-surgery??

Learning how to eat is a huuuuge factor in staying healthy. I believe in you!:)

You're the other half of me.
Soothe and heal.

post/av ^

yep, that's it. and for a week after surgery also. so far i'm alright.

i'd consider going to mexico for sure if i didn't have decent insurance. i know i'll have a lot of loose skin but i'll live with it if i have to. i'm not quite as big as your cousin but yeah life's getting fucking rough, my body hurts all the time, i've developed nerve pain and stuff recently. and arthritis or something on the top of my foot. hurts like hell after i work.

yes, for a long time you only basically eat protein since you can barely eat anything (so you don't lose too much muscle mass)

eventually you can eat sorta-normally but never like i could now. at that point i'll be on a diet plan of some sort (prob low calorie/lowish carb, but they don't make everyone have the same one) and hopefully i'll be exercising and all that.

thanks for all the believing in me :) just now starting to get hungry... had like 10 popsicles today and i have one more shake i can have. might have some broth. i havent eaten in about 24 hours at this point, not too bad

damn, since october. that's insane. that's pretty much what i want to lose overall, maybe like 230. i think by the end of the year i'll be in the 200s somewhere at least (total weight not weight lost)

i had a hungry few hour last night but mostly i'm fine. i do have a headache but otherwise ok. day 2.

on what day is the surgery? do you have to go in to work now, while you are fasting before surgery?

its april 3, next wednesday. and yes i work at the store from fri-sun

are you worried at all about being dizzy and stuff? or will the protein shakes be sufficient to keep you on your feet?

seeing progress, no matter how small, is one of the best feelings; you see it and you crave more. i am beyond super excited for you. you are obviously going to have access to experts but if you have any random question or whatever, or you're feeling overwhelmed by all the misinformation out there, i am here for ya. (but i don't know anything that research couldn't tell you; i just like talking about health/exercise related stuff.)

Good luck with the surgery. A family member of mine had this done and it had a dramatic impact on her weight, health, and happiness. I wish you the same outcome.

yes i am worried a little. all i've had to do is sit on my ass so far. we'll see i guess.

it's funny just how much FOOD is bombarded at us everywhere. fucking emails, ads, wherever i drive there's restaurants, all kinds of shit just food food food

Even though we currently only seem to use medical interventions for more serious cases in which weight loss is necessary, I wonder if in the future, we'll start looking at these procedures as appropriate for even more moderate cases.

It just seems like despite the whole motivation/self help industry that tells us how we can just "change our lives" if we do XYZ, actual research into psychology reveals just how difficult it is to do that. Most people who try to diet and exercise fail to lose weight or gain it back. All the internet articles about how people did it, so we can do it to, are probably an example of survivor bias: they were all written by the minority of people who were successful.

So many things affect our willpower and motivation, from pre-frontal cortex metabolism, to hormones, to upbringing. There's even some research that says that your gut flora and intestinal microbiome has effects on your behaviour and appetite. It's really a gargantuan effort to act against those things. But physical interventions, like altering the hormones that affect hunger, or decreasing the maximum size of the stomach, can give people a fighting chance. Maybe in the future, medical interventions along these lines will be suggested even for people who only need to lose twenty pounds.

People are much more likely to be successful when we put them in circumstances that facilitate that success. Even something like getting people to recycle, that behavioural change doesn't happen just through PSAs telling people how important it is to do so. It happens when we make recycling easy and convenient for them to do, so that doing it expends little cognitive and physical energy.

Maybe we gotta work on some Skinner-esque Walden world where we manipulate the environment so that the chances of individual human success are maximized.

I wish there were more medical options for moderate weight loss, the yo-yo life gets old af. I have probably every clothing size by now.