mi75

I am 7 wks out post sleeve. heaviest weight: 233 surgery day weight: 218 current weight: 195. i eat EVERYTHING i want to including the good carbs. my bariatric program is very big and very successful and they strive to teach you to eat normal portions of all healthy macronutrients. I have had whole grain toast, wheat thin crackers, thin crust pizza and whole wheat tortillas. all fruits, all meats except for roast beef, and most veg at this point. I hit a stall 3 wks out also and didn't budge for about 12 days but moving good since. exercise is key for me, if i don't do it, the scale doesn't move the next day. cravings for me have been very minimal. right now i'm craving steak so i'm betting my Iron is a bit low. going to grill up a nice little fillet for dinner with sweet potato and i'll be good. my sleeve is a TOOL to help me learn to eat right, choose healthy options and normal portions. i feel awesome, am off all meds, am down 2 pants sizes and have enough energy to go go go all day long!

I'm curious how much on average, everyone had lost around their 6 wk point? i KNOW i'm losing, and doing pretty good. I just want to get an idea of where i fall compared to others. Total so far I have lost 35, but that includes 15 pre-op so really only 20 lbs in 6 wks. Honestly, though it's WAY MORE than i could ever lose on my own without surgery. I may be the tortoise in this race, but i'll be a winner in the end!

i did Centrum childrens chewables, 2 a day then switched to the Bariatric chewable from Twinlab. not a fan of either one. i hate chewables. hopeful i can switch back to just a regular adult multi eventually...

just standard testing for pre-op. if you are a certain age, it's an automatic thing. it's also required of some surgeons regardless of age. good luck, i'm sure it will be A-ok!

i also just did one thing at a time. i started with cream soup and found one or two that were very tolerable. i ate them for like 3-4 days then found something else new to try. worked good.

I use Barilla plus or Dreamfields now. Both taste pretty good to me. Barilla Plus is actually made from lentils. My surgeon runs a pretty huge and successful program and it's one where ALL macronutrients are encouraged, including healthy carb options, because they are essential to body functions. All my meals start with Protein first, but all also include a veg, and a small amount of starch or carb like rice, Pasta, or fruit. like all things bariatric, every doctor is different and every program is different but this is my program. yes i eat pasta.

i CAN eat there! i can tolerate bread but i don't like to have a LOT of it. so instead of that HUGE loaf they serve my sub on, i will pull out ALL the innerds (squishy white part) of the top and bottom bread and just have the very crusty outer parts left. i have found that post op i can tolerate just about any foods. bread used to be one of my very favorite things. now i prefer toast or crusty options instead!

almost ALL of the Curves around my area have shut down in the past year or so. i think the closest one would be about 20 minutes away! i agree with the no wiping down thing. gross.

another thing that i see people in my workplace do (all post surgery at least 1 year) is they buy the bottles of diet cola and diet sprite flavoring for that Soda Stream machine, and just mix the flavoring syrup with water- no carbonation or machine involved...i MAY try this down the road but i'm trying to just avoid ALL of my trigger foods including pop for as absolutely long as i can...

i had some this past weekend, will be 7wks out tomorrow. appears to be a slider for sure! going to have to be disciplined about going to the movies and portioning at home! tasted awesome though, and saw the surgeon last week and i specifically asked him about a few foods including popcorn. he said no problems, no restrictions, just try to watch portions...

i am excited to try all the new things, however i have not exercised, danced, etc in front of other people in about 20 years. literally. it will all be new, and that part is intimidating also, but i gotta start somewhere!

thanks everyone! i think my family has decided as a collective that the local "Y" is the best option for us. not so much a traditional 'gym' but still LOTS of workout options there, including weights, nautilus, classes, pool, etc. also options for my kiddos (swim lessons, swim club, volleyball for my tween, computer lab, etc). it's a bit more pricey than a typical gym but i feel like it has a lot more options there for ALL of us. we will be taking an 'official' tour later this week and having a trainer set up a little program for me. getting excited!

plant based proteins are an awesome option for after surgery! i like their chicken sandwich also

best of luck to you! i'm a sleever but one of my dearest friends had a mini about 13 years ago when it was brand new and has successfully kept off about 140 pounds since her surgery.

I'm 7 wks out and down 35 lbs total including pre-op. I had a major stall at week 3 and didn't lost anything for about 12 days and then took off again nicely. Saw my surgeon early last week for follow up and he was thrilled with my progress. Since i'm all cleared now for activity, he encouraged me to join a gym... I will likely lose a little slower but i'm super happy with results so far and feeling INCREDIBLE. i have more energy than i have in over a decade!

i had a TON of food funerals and in the process gained about 8 unneeded pounds. now 7 wks out from surgery i'm on a 'regular' diet and eating all foods. chinese is actually a GREAT option of you focus on lean meats and veg. My bariatric program also encourages ALL healthy foods in specific quantities, so the other day i had chinese green Beans with chicken and about 1 tbsp of brown rice. it was awesome!!

thanks everyone, all great suggestions. I am also looking at the Planet Fitness in my town and my 11 yr old asked why we couldn't consider the "Y"...so we are going to tour all three this coming week and decide.

my entire thing was uneventful also! surgery was textbook, pretty easy recovery and so far so good, 6 wks later. have not had one episode of nausea or vomiting, ever. i too mostly took pain meds just to sleep. honestly i had put off having surgery last year because i chickened out. if i had known it would be this easy, i would have done it then, hands down. i did a TON of research prior to my surgery, read thousands of threads on here. read 5 different books on sleeve that i downloaded to my Nook. talked to all sorts of patients. i feel like i went in VERY educated and prepared and nothing so far has been a surprise. i feel AWESOME and like a new woman and wouldn't change it for anything! good luck

i was off BCP for 5 wks prior to surgery and also for 5 wks post surgery and have been restarted on it for almost 2 full weeks and no issues. still losing steadily even after restarting it.

i have a total gym. it's a pretty good system BUT it uses your body weight for the resistance, and unfortunately, i cannot move 200 lbs...i had to do NO incline and few reps and i didn't see much difference... i too prefer the gym. i know that going to one is not an option for everyone. if i had to workout at home, i would definitely use one of the Beachbody programs. they are all VERY sound and really good for the money.

my final straw was a culmination of MANY factors. First off, i realized at 38 years old i was taking around 15 pills a day, all for ailments that were directly related to me being obese. no other reason, other than i was fat. enough. Next, i got to a point where i could not to anything i needed to at work or at home. i was doing enough at work to be productive, but not even close to the level i had when i was in shape. at home, i could only sit in a chair and watch my kids play. couldn't do anything with them, just watch. Next, i realized that i had a serious food addiction. i was eating more portions than my husband, i would wait until he went outdoors in the evenings to Water flowers and such, and then eat even more! Next, several doctors told me that i was killing myself and if i didn't take it seriously, i would not be here in 10 years. i had developed this cough that i just assumed was like an asthma type thing (self-diagnosing nurse). post op i found out it was a serious issue with my heart that would have eventually caused heart failure...it's totally gone now! Next, I realized that i wanted to LIVE, not just exist, but really enjoy my life. there are so many things my family and i want to do together and there wasn't a chance of ANY of it before surgery. Lastly, I realized one day that i needed to do this for ME. i had been so busy taking care of my kids, family, work, etc for so long I had completely lost sight of ME. now i make ME a priority every day with exercise, planning my eating, etc. I feel incredible. i'm only 6 wks out but have lost 35 lbs already.

had some honey nut cheerios and it was awesome. cereal NEVER filled me before surgery, now just a few spoons and i was great! LOVING this sleeve and the control it has given me.

i have had no problems with any food that i've tried. the only things i haven't had yet are tough meats (steak, roast) and 'raw' breads (untoasted, non-crunchy bread things) and no raw cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower,etc). everything sits great and no issues at all. i'm really watching my portions of everything i try. doing good, at 6 wks out down almost 40#...

YUM, that apple with blue cheese and walnut looks AWESOME!!! yesterday my snack was a Cookies and Cream Quest bar. i'm super pathetic this week and have yet to get to the grocery store so i've stood in the kitchen and 'snacked' on a cold slice of deli meat, a few peanuts, and a hunk of meatloaf straight from the fridge.... gotta get to the store tonight for baby bel, some laughing cow garlic/herbs, grapes, then to the farm stand for a honey rock melon, some green Beans, yellow beans, tomatoes, etc. can't wait!

i as told by my plastic surgeon that exercise WILL help with two factors: 1. you have a good amount of callogen in your skin which provides the elasticity (this is a genetic thing, can't alter it) 2. you haven't been too big for too long. exercising will stimulate the good callogen stores to retract and pull back. makes sense. good luck!