ProtaZoey
My journey originally started back in December 2011 with my FIRST visit to Dr. Bass' office to see the nutrionist. My initial consult went well, and I was off and running with getting in my required nutritionist visits (required 3 by my insurance, everyone's insurance can vary on this or may not be required by all), visits to see Dr. Bass himself, and revamping my eating habits and lifestyle choices.
I was slow going on making changes to my diet and eating habits...old habits die hard, ya know? Cutting back on carbs, increasing my activity level for what I could handle at my current weight, these things were not easy for me. What I found to be the MOST difficult things to change were slowing down my speed of eating a meal and not drinking during meals...WOW, you never really realize how fast you scarf down a meal until you sit there with a timer at 15min and count your chews of each bite and see how far you get in that time with those factors.
I don't miss soda AT ALL, not when I think about all the other wonderful foods I enjoy and the weight I've lost with making the right food choices and exercise.
I progressed phenomenally fast after my 4/23/12 vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) surgery. I was on soft solids within a week and a half out! This is NOT typical AT ALL, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do NOT push yourself if your body is NOT ready. LISTEN to your tummy and what it tells you about eating certain things as you progress...it WILL tell you if it's not ready, and that means you wait a little while longer and try again. When I introduced new food levels (liquid to pureed to mushy to soft to 'normal'), I did it with a couple small bites (dime size) and waited about 30 minutes to see how my stomach would react to it and if it stayed down. Vomiting can be common in the first few weeks when you're learning your capacity and taking very small, well chewed bites. I didn't run into this problem, only 2 times when I had that one bite too many, and only what wouldn't fit came back up. If your tummy reacts well with no cramping, gas, vomiting, then you are likely ready to continue progressing into that food stage for about another week until attempting something from the next food stage, and so on.
Good luck to anyone who's ready to start a whole new and wonderful journey in their life with bariatric surgery! No matter if you choose VSG, lapband, gastric bypass, or any other procedure that may be out there on the horizon....always remember YOU are the one that CAN and WILL make your journey a SUCCESS!!
About Me
Before & After
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