To Be Thin 2011

Hi Marie! This is great advise... and do not feel guilty, just get back on track! My husband "thought" he was being nice and at Easter he bought me a bg of the Russel Stover sugar free carmel pecan turtles. I had learned in nutrition class just because something says sugar free, READ THE LABEL... because offten the SF stuff has more calories than regular (especially SF cookies)... I couldnt resist and ate one, quickly ate a second..... and in about a 1/2 hour I became natuous, I had the cold sweats, the room was spinning,,, I actually had to lay down on the bathroom floor I was so ill... as it turned out, I had a reaction to this one incrediant in the sugar free candies... I cant think of the name of it right now, but trust me, I was so sick from it I will never eat sugar free candy again! It is odd because I eat SF popcycles or SF fudgecylcles almost every night, but no, no, no to SF candy! Take care!!!

I know you said no laughing but...hehehhheee! Cant help it!!!

I agree, hang in there and get yourself to another doc, get past that evaluation and on the road to being a sleever! This is the best decsion I have ever made, and I did it for me... for me to be healthy and for me to be more active with my family rather than sitting around watching on the sidelines! Good Luck!!

Hi, I am at 7 months out and am dealing with food issues - "head hunger" ... I feel like I am in a rut with my food choices and would like input or advise from others. I keep my calories between 1000 - 1200 and carbs under 45.... My meals are all pretty much the same, my tummy cant handle much in the morning so I do an EAS low carb premix shake, mid morning snack Atkins peanut butter protien bar. Lunch: 1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese and 1/4 cup of either chunk chicken or imitation seafood. afternoon snack - beef jerkey or protien bar evening dinner is either a salad or 1/2 cup of chicken/turkey/seafood. SF popcycles & SF fudgecycles are a staple at night! I rely heavily on crystal light and flavored water.. some days I get more than 64 oz and some days if I am super busy at work I struggle to get my water intake in.... I know I need to work on making sure I have my 64+ fluid a day. Any advise from others that could help me along more? I cant do yogart...just cant get past any of the tastes and cheese has a bad effect on me! Thanks for any advise you can offer...

Good Luck Brook, keep us posted........ surgery is the first step, following plan is up to us

Wow, glad to hear you found out what was causing your illness. Odd how different medicines react on us.

WOW --- That is awesome! Congratulations!!!

Congratulations!!!! Please...if you only remember one thing, remember this.. your body is in healing phase, listen to your body....sleep when you need to, eat only when you are hungry....dont push yourself, you are in the healing phase. Too many people try to eat, eat, eat - worried about getting protien in, etc.. and your tummy just isnt ready, your mind has to adjust to what your tummy just went through. Drink liquids and rest that is my best advise... Good Luck

Hang in there,,, it will get better! I had my worse troubles in the puree stage, yuck.. nothing tasted good, I was naucious all the time..... I could not do puree at all.. I stayed with liquids a bit longer than most, and slowly switched over to like fat free small curd cottage cheese, yogarts, and Soups....did that group of food pretty much for a week or better... my tummy did not do well with meat, fish, chicken at all for quite some time. I remember trying to eat roast beef at almost 3 months out and it did not set well in my tummy. Its a learning curve, we all are different and you just have to test it a bit. Good Luck...

I am noticing more wrinkles in my face each month as I am losing weight, a friend recommended Oil of Olay for wrinkles, it was at Wal-Mart around $15.00 for a little jar, I use it every night and in the last 2 weeks I had a lady comment that my face looks so smooth, and asked how come I dont have wrinkles!!! I told her Oil of Olay!

My doc advised me between 1000 and 1200 calories a day, and to keep carbs under 45 a day. I count both calories and carbs and have no complaints...I am happy with my loss so far. I do notice a difference in weight loss if I am not getting my Fluid intake daily like I should. And just "FYI" -- I tried the bit of lowering my calories to 800 a day and I increased my activity... wrong... I did it 2 weeks in a row and both weeks I was under a 1 pound loss..not even a pound.. I shocked my body too much by starving myself.....of course, keep in mind I started my journey at a much, much higher weight than most people... Good Luck in finding what works for you!!!

I told some prior to surgery and while the words were still coming out of my mouth I was met with negativity. Siince surgery, I have told maybe 3-4 people that ask and you know what, I regret even telling them... because they feel the need to tell others and then more, and it is no ones business but mine and in hind sight now I WISH I HAD KEPT MY BIG FAT MOUTH SHOUT!... it has taken me 7 months now, but I will tell no one, it is my own business. Good Luck on your surgery, everything will be fine!

GREAT REMINDER for all of us, Thank you Beth!!!! I experienced this in May....for 2 weeks did not post a lost but boy did the tape measure reflect loss in inches!!!

I think most of us can testify you usually only hear the negative from people who know very little about WLS. I knew up front my choice in having surgery has risks, however, so did my diabetes,, being extremely overweight, my inactivetly and my overall life style. I remember telling one person that I was having WLS and she proceeded to tell me how this one person died, like 4 years ago of pneumonia but because she had WLS she had health problems ever since and then she got pneumonia and died.... I could not believe my friend even bothered to tell me that story! She works at our local hospital which I went out of town to a larger hospital... but get real, think about even a little local hospital and they have to site one person 4 years ago that had pneumonia.... OMG....incredible some peoples logic. Above are some great suggestions, going in with a positive attitude can help so much! Mind over matter, choose a good doctor, a good hospital, read, read, read up on the sleeve, precautions, what to expect, etc... and you will be just fine!

Wow.... Dehydration can cause the symptoms you are describing, smart thinkin to stop and hydrate yourself!

I feel the same way.... it is frustrating - I want to see big numbers!!!! LOL! I am determined to do better for the month of August.. I only weigh myself once a month cause I dont want to get frustrated... I can tell in my clothes if I am losing or not! But come 9/3/2011 my next weigh in... If I dont see a better weight loss I am doing the 5 day pouch test... that will get me back on track! Good luck!!

Hold on....dont throw in the towel, it will get better! Very frustrating to not have the energy you feel you should have, but please trust little by little it will come back. Listen to your body, eat when you are hungry, rest when you are tired.... you went through a major surgery and you lost a good friend (food).... your body needs to catch up and it will. It will all be worth it, just hang in there!!!

It will come around,,, not saying it isnt frustrating because it is... ugh..... but take that frustration and turn it into determination... YOU can do it!

I was rocking along and then the month of July hit me.. LOUSY.... Hopefully I can get back into gear in August and see some big numbers!

Hi, I totally was one of those that did have nausousness and wow, when it hit me, it hit! Never did I vomit, I just felt so bad I had to lay down (usally on the bathroom floor)... I was fortunate to not have to return to work for 6 weeks after my surgery. I was getting nervous because I still had the bouts at 4 weeks post op... my doc kept telling me to hang in there and it will pass and sure enough it did... he had no explaination why some can be fine and others get the nausousness. I expressed concerns to him about "what if's" when I return to work and if I at an attack like that at work, he told me he could prescribe a pill that helps move your food more through your stomach and calms your tummy down. I never had to get that prescription, but is something you could talk to your doc about...

Hi, It can be frustrating huh..... hang in there, keep trying - only you can find what works for you body. I know this may sound hokey and it is easier said then done...but your o.k....you will get back on track and once you see more weight coming off it is just such a rush!!! So look at my stats below... I started off big...and I am still big, but little by little I am pecking away at it. For my size, my doc has me keeping calories around 1000 - my bigger focus is on carbs. I try to keep my carbs around 35 - but always under 50. In May I thought I was not losing very well so I decided to up my excersize and lower my calories... I had calories around 800 - 700 a day... I did this for a week and I only weigh myself once a week. So I was really looking forward to the weigh in that week and I about cried, I did my best ever on eating and exercise and I only lost .8 of a pound.. .8 - tried it a 2nd week and lost .5 --- not even a full pound loss in 2 weeks.. I bounced back up to the 1000 calories and lost 4 pounds the next week.... just weird how something works for one person but not another. On the exercise part... because I started so big... I had to go easy. I started walking on the treadmill 15 minutes a day. Every 5-6 days I kept upping it by 15 minutes and increasing the speed of the treadmill. I can now do 3 miles in 50 minutes... for me, that kicks butt! Only point to my rambeling is to keep trying different things to find your spot... change your diet, start counting carbs, see what may work differently for you to put you back in the losing record...you can do, you have already taken the biggest step by getting sleeved...now the daily battle is up to you... good luck..hang tight..

Interesting replies for sure! I am almost 7 months out... my diet has been the same since March... I am totally focused on counting protien and carbs.. I drink an EAS Carb Control Protein shake every single day and would be lost without it... 110 calories, 17 grams of protien and 6 carbs.. I would not know how to start my day without one! You can purchase this brand at any Wal-Mart, or Wal-Greens...even Sams Club sells them. Mid Morning snack - Atkins brand Protien bar, you have to really read the box on each as there are different levels of Protein Bars in the Atkins plan.... I buy the choc chip granola that are 17 grams and the Peanut Butter ones that are 17 or 19 grams. For me,,, in the morning all I can do is the EAS shake,, then hour - two hours later a protien bar... it is like my tummy has to wake up. I eat Fat Free Cottage cheese everyday, and I only eat chicken, turkey, fish or lean beef... will not waste any effort on uping my carbs...no potato, Pasta, breads, etc.... In the last 7 months I have taken 3 bites of a bun from Red Lobster cause I just could not resisit! It takes so much will power! I found beef jerkey that has 22 grms of protien in only 1.5 oz packet! It is only 120 Calories - so between my shake, protien bar, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and 1 bag of beef jerkey I can hit my protien goal very easily and with just this I have my calories under 600, carbs around 30 --for the day! I will eat 4 0z of quality meat for dinner, usually chicken breast or a couple slices of deli turkey breast... I drink a ton of crystal light and Water and am good to go!!! It works for me, no complaints!

Hi Danielle, It will be o.k.....you went through major surgery and your body is trying to recover. At one month out I was still feeling as you describe above. It is hard not to compare ourselves with others on this forumn... I remember being so extremely tired, having terrible bouts of naustousness at 1 month, and I was reading where others were back to work at 3 weeks out... OMG... I felt something was terribly wrong with me... there wasnt, we just all heal differently and our bodies react differently. At my 4 week doc visit I told my doc I get exhausted just waking up, drinking my protien shake and taking a shower, then I would go back to bed.... little by little it turned around, slowly improving each day... It will for you too... Listen to your body, rest when you need it, make sure you are doing your fluids - several things go on when you are dehydrated...including dizzyness, weak, headaches, etc... Good Luck & it will get better

Thank you!!! I have very, very thick legs! 2 years ago I had to have female surgery and the nurse in the pre-op room was asking me a bunch of questions, she got to how much do I weigh and I told her 310 lbs.. which was weight at that time, and she was shocked... it was embarrasing, but she told me how she see's 25-40 people a day for surgeries and never would she have guessed me to weight that much, etc... gheeze.... my husband was sitting with me and after the nurse left even he said he did not realize I weighed so much... It really made me feel low... but all that is going to go away!!! I never thought it would be possible for me to lose this much weight....but now, I am a believer! It can be done!!!

Hi, this may sound odd, but I felt I was a slow loser compared to so many posts on here! My choice in having the surgery and choosing the sleeve has been one of the best choices I have ever made. Like many have said, I only regret not doing it sooner...like my daughters wedding was 2 years ago, gosh how I wished I would have done this b/4 her wedding.. oh well! My surgery was very much "non-eventful" --- Everything went fine, I spent one night in hospital, stopped taking pain meds by 3 or 4th day... no problem with protien shakes or liquids. I did experience bouts of nausau and wow.... when it hit my whole body felt "sea sick"..... it was odd, but it left by week 4....I totally had mood swings cause of the racing hormones, and that has all calmed down now. My diet is pretty much Protein shake in the morning (even though some do not agree) I cant eat food in the morning, the shake is great on my tummy... I eat fat free cottage cheese everyday, and then chicken, turkey or seafood. I buy Atkins bars from WalMart and eat one almost every day. I love beef jerkey and have it quite often. My calories stay around the 1000 - 1200 range and my carbs around 35 -40. I do not have 3 meals a day, I have the 5-6 small meals.. I know there are others that do not agree with that either, but again, it works for me and we are all diferent! I have learned so much through this forum and I read a great deal about the surgery prior to having it... I felt I was very prepared mentally for what was ahead of me. I am determined and hope my determination stays in high gear.... it is a rush to go down a size in clothing... I am thankful every single day for making this choice and I want to be a healthier person, I want to live my life normal and not be the bigger than life person all the time... Good Luck, you wont be sorry!!!