MINI-Me

Search these boards ... especially look for the ones where people are just a few days or weeks out ... it will help you be mentally prepared. And, best of luck!

That is so awesome ... I just want to reach out and give you a hug. You are doing very well ... and the positive attitude is just flowing out of you. Keep on smiling! (And ... I am willing to bet that while the scale hasn't moved as much as you want, the inches are coming off. Are you tracking your inches?)

The stomach size is dependent on so many variables ... bougie size, how close the surgeon cuts/sutures to the bougie guide, how long your stomach is, etc. One concern of going too small is causing strictures which you don't want. My surgeon used a 36 and cut/sutured close. Some use 32 and leave room. Ask your surgeon how "close" he goes ... of course, you won't have control of your stomach length. However, no matter what size, it is going to be SOOOOOOOOOO much smaller than what you have now.

I am so proud of you ... YOU ARE DOING AWESOME!!!!!!!

So glad to hear that you are finding some peace on this ... maybe there really is a reason for the mix-up. No matter what, you have to do what you feel comfortable with. We are here to cheer you on and support your decision. Best of luck!!!

I soooooooooooo wish I could get in this frame of mind. I simply can't ... I hate thinking about it, doing it, and once I'm done, I hate thinking I have to do it again. Maybe I should try hyponosis???

Best wishes ... we are saving you a spot on the Loser's Bench. Write us when you are feeling up to it.

Welcome ... glad you found us.

Right now, the most important thing is liquid. If it has Protein, great. If not, don't overly worry about it. Are you allowed milk? If so, you might want to try that - it will give you liquids, protein, and some nurishment. I also could not tolerate Protein shakes. I gagged and decided I would just rather die than have another. I did find that I could tolerate

Y O U A R E R O C K I N ' Y O U R S L E E V E ! ! !

Dumb question ... But if you didn't measure before you ate it, how do you know how much you ate?

Congratulations ... Yep! I think most of us hit that panic moment once (or twice or three times) once it became "real". Keep coming out here, learn as much as you can and try to breathe!

Don't panic ... I'm in the business & this happens all the time. I'm sure your claim was submitted and was auto-denied by the system because not everything matched up. The surgeon's office should be able to contact your insurance company and square things up. For the assistant surgeon, was it a total denial or did they reduce payment? The surgeon's office may be able to help on that as well. the deductible part should be easier to fix. do you have an EOB showing what you should owe the hospital? If so, take it and your hospital payment receipt to the billing office. They should be able to cut you a refund check right there. If they refuse, then it does become an insurance issue because the hospital is not meeting their contractual obligations with the insurance company to only bill for amount due AFTER insurance pays. For a while, it's going to be a bit of a mess with all the moving parts, but it will be ok. Just keep good records, copy everything and make sure insurance EOB's match all doctor/hospital bills before paying anyone anything.

Welcome ... Glad you found us. Sounds like you are well on your way.

DITTO! And, I want to emphasize the importance of the fluids right now. That is much more important that anything else in those first few weeks. You Go Girl!

I tend to agree it's a combination of just having surgery with excess fluids and your body wanting to hold on right now. Your body has gone through a MAJOR change - it needs time to cope and re-assess. As for the Water, that is the MOST IMPORTANT step at this time. You have to keep yourself hydrated. Last month, I had an unexplained 6 pound gain. It must have been water, because within 2 weeks, I had a 7 pound loss. Just keep what you are doing, it will come off. I know it is discouraging in the meantime, but it will come off - PROMISE!

Dawn ... good for you! You made a sensible choice for "being bad". How did it taste? Did you at least enjoy it? I refuse to eat anything I don't like. There is simply not enough room in there to eat things that I don't enjoy. Sliming can be a little different for everyone. Some call is foamies. It's like your body trying to get rid of excess food. Your stomach/esphogus produce a hgh amount of "slime" and you either sorta puke up the excess or produce a lot of mucas (think of that plemn you get when you cough up stuff when you have a cold). It is disgusting and a bit scary. It can sometimes last for a while, but is soon ends on its own.

I didn't watch carb counts as close as others ... I say if you are losing, don't change anything. If you are stalling or have stopped losing, dropping carbs could we a way to get things moving again.

Thanks Coops ... I appreciate the perspective. I think I'm at that major pivot point - I no longer need to focus on losing, but I've never figured out maintenance. It's a little scary - I keep worrying that I will wake up one day & all the fat will be back. I know it's crazy, but the fear is there. With the support of you guys, we will figure this out! (I don't think I've ever told you, but I love your screen name. As you can tell, I love Mini-Coopers - in fact, we own 3; 2 new and the classic one in my avatar. We even named our miniature dachshund Cooper and I call him Coops a lot. Yes, I'm a little over the top when it comes to MINI's. )

Sounds yummy. I added your reply to this thread: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/12406-fruits-and-veggies/page__gopid__106602#entry106602

Both sound very delicious. I'm going to try the panini idea this weekend!

LOL - I am a scale addict too ... your body is going to fluxuate and you will have ups and downs that you can't explain. (As for the downs, I just Celebrate & grin really big.) Just let it roll. In December, I didn't do a good job of letting it roll. For some reason I went up 6 pounds. I completely freaked, but within 2 weeks, I was down 7 & I didn't change a thing during that whole month. Go figure.

On another thread, we started talking about fruits and vegetables. How do you incorporate them in your diet? I know for me, I never eat salads because they are just too much volume & stop me from getting in my Protein. I do have a few tricks, but would love to hear your ideas as well ... Starwberry Overload Smoothie: 1 CarbMaster strawberry Yogurt (Kroger, FredMeyer) 1/2 Cup Frozen Strawberries 2T Torani SF Rasberry Syrup 0.5 Scoop of On's 100% Any whey Protein powder = 140 calories, 12 carbs, 3 g Fiber, 22 g protein, 2 g fat, and 40% daily Calcium Green Beans - Side dish with protein meal Celery with Peanut Butter - snack Cucumber Slices (pretend it's potato chips) and maybe a little bit of Ranch Dressing Del Monte No Sugar Added Diced Peaches = 25 calories & 6 g carbs as a side dish with protein meal So, what other ideas do you have for incorporating more fruits and veggies in your daily diets?

You guys are so awesome ... thanks for the reminders to be good to myself & the hard talks when I need it. Diva - A great way to get some fruit in & not feel too guilty about it is the Del Monte No Sugar Added Peaches. 25 calories for a serving and 7 carbs. I also add 1/2 cup of frozen strawberry to 1 container of Carbmaster Strawberry Yogurt for a Strawberry Overload smoothie. Very low carb, good Protein and very YUMMY!!!! (You can also add a splash of sugar free Raspberry Syrup for even more flavor) Veggies are harder for me - just seem like a lot of volume with very little payout on nutrition. I NEVER eat salads anymore, but try to have celery (with Peanut Butter for protein) or cucumber slices or green Beans. Adds a little variety. Do others have suggestions for veggies/fruit ideas? In fact, I think I'll make this into another thread to see if we can find more of an audience. Keep an eye out.

Woot Woot!!!!! Congratulations - you should be very proud of the work you've done to this point. Now, get some pictures out there!