Surgery this Friday

Good Morning

     I've just found the forum here and decided to join. I stopped chewing tobacco three years ago, cold turkey, with the help of an online support group. I'm hoping to find the same type of support for this. My surgery is this Friday. I'm getting the VSG. I'm extraordinarily excited about the new phase and the chance to have a tool like this in my tool box. 

     I'm 5 foot 3 and 3/4 inches tall and at my heaviest I hit 301lbs. Shocking for me as I'm a former Marine combat infantry veteran. It's hard to wrap my head around what I've done to myself. I'm now 287 from the pre op diet and may drop a few more lbs before Friday 8/12/16 surgery date. 

     I have found I'm addicted to sugar. I have the same endorphin response to eating sugar that I had to chewing tobacco. That scares me. I've cut sugar out of my life completely. To me it's the same as tobacco. It's not something I can have in moderation. I'm an addict. I'm fine without carbs. I also eat too fast. The military teaches you to shovel it in. I'm an expert at it. To combat that I've been eating with baby spoons. 

     I am currently stocking up on the food and clear liquid items I'll need after the operation. I have excellent support via my wife of 24 years and my kids. I'm good at following orders but I have to feel like the order giver is smarter than me or I start thinking I can do it my own way. 

     I've seen a psychologist, a nutritionist and an excercise physiologist.  I'm ready. I'm confident and determined but I've done enough research to realize that the failure rate is 50%. That means a lot of other confident people failed. Beyond the obvious of sticking to the methodology of eating right after this and excercise what other tips do I need to know to succeed?

thank you for your time. 

Tim

Hello, Tim. Welcome! Congratulations on your upcoming surgery, the cessation of smoking and the steps you are taking to become a healthier you. It sounds like you've really done your homework and are prepared to succeed. 

Your journey, so far, sounds much like mine has been. I'm nearly two weeks out from my surgery and did much the same preparations you are doing. I made sure that I had plenty of variety stocked up for my discharge from the hospital. 

I 100% agree with your statement that I follow orders or advice well IF the person giving the orders/advice is smarter than me. I have to have stone-cold medical facts (30+ years as a medical professional here) to show me that I have to do things this way or that way. I am not above having my doctors prove something for me. Opinion is opinion and we all have one, but facts - well, who can argue that? 

My advice to you is to keep hydrated. I can't stress this enough. When they say "sip, sip, sip - walk, walk, walk", DO IT! You will think you can't possibly get one more sip into your tiny stomach, but you can and you will. I had a really tough weekend this past weekend and I think it was because I let my fluid intake slide some. Keep something in your hand or beside you constantly. I am even now drinking when I wake in the middle of the night. I have a yeti filled with Gatorade at my bedside. 

You've got this. God bless!

Thank you Kudzu.  I appreciate the support and the advice. 

Welcome Tim. Sounds like you have done your homework. Your pre surgery program sounds similar to mine and I feel helped to prepare me for surgery and life thereafter. VSG is a tool and it is up to each one of us to make the tool work for us. I recommend following your program to a "T" , do not cheat that first year, learn to say no. You will find that once the sugar is an afterthought, it will remain an afterthought. sip, sip sip and walk, walk walk as quickly as you can in the Hospital. Best of luck to you!

Thank you sir, for the support and the advice. 

Welcome Tim!  More than anything, knowing you are ready will get you through this.  I'm on day 1 of the pre-op liquid diet with surgery scheduled for August 23.  For me, it was getting my mind set on making a healthy choice for me and my family.  Just remember you've got a great support system and YOU CAN DO THIS!  Also, thank you for your service :-)  My son-in-law is a Marine as well.

Keep us updated!  Praying for you!

Penny

Thank you Ladyeagle.  I appreciate the support.  Sometimes that's what can be the difference and get you through a rough patch. 

First of all, thank you for your service.

Sounds like you're well prepared and well informed about VSG, so I don't have much to add.  Reading previous posts on this forum was incredibly helpful for me, especially post-op when questions seem to pop up all the time about what's normal and how did people handle various things, so read as much as you can stand.  Search for a post by Frisco called "pyloric valve 101" - it should be required reading.

The sugar addiction is a huge problem for many of us, so I'm glad you're well aware of your situation and doing OK without it for now.  Be aware that although you may have it under control for a while, it can sneak back in and bite you at any time, so you will have to vigilant about this forever.  We call it the "carb monster" around here. :) 

There are many of us who have lost pretty much all of our excess weight, so it is possible if you stick with your program.  It's not easy to keep it off, but definitely doable. Just remember that it's a lifelong challenge, so don't ever let your guard down even after the initial weight loss.  You sound like a pretty disciplined guy, so I'll bet you'll do great!  Good luck on Friday - check back in and let us know how you're doing! (remember to sip-sip-sip, walk-walk-walk)

Thank you so much for the advice.  I will look up that link.  I'm a sponge for any information I can use to tackle this monster. 

Welcome! This site has been invaluable in helping me reach my goal, and it can help you, too.

I've lost a lot -- more in all than you currently weigh.  And I've kept it off for over three years now. 

If you haven't already, get a good 15 dollar food scale and a free account at MyFitnessPal. Start weighibg everythibg you eat, and log it all. Tge good, the bad, and the ugly. Be honest about everythibg you eat. Having that information is crucial.

I also got a Fitbit. I don't exercise, but I aim to maximize my activity every day, and the Fitbit helps me do that.

If you do these things, you'll be ready to start. But remember we always, always need to be ready to adjust. What works your first year probably won't work the second. 

Good luck, and I hope you stick around.