Foxbins

This is interesting but not really applicable to sleeve patients re: enlarging the stoma. Bypass patients have stomas and a contributor to regain is enlargement of it. However, sleeve patients still have their pyloric valve and that won't be affected by carbonation. None of us are advised to drink while eating and soda is a trigger food for some. I have had sips of a carbonated diet soda and like Coops, it just feels uncomfortable, and I used to drink 3 or 4 diet Cokes a day. I don't really miss them.

I am 8 months post-op and still losing, though slowly. I haven't gained and I'm 8 lbs from my goal of 150 and a 22 BMI. I'd say to be patient and if you still want to lose, keep doing what you're doing. It may be that your body is adjusting and adding muscle due to your workouts which will cause you to hold onto water. Have you been taking measurements?

My doc required a month of liquids--At week 2, I could have protein shakes (any kind), milk, cream soups, yogurt, pretty much anything I could get through a strainer. Week 3--I added cottage cheese, pureed beans, soft-boiled eggs. Week 4--Anything except raw veggies I could stick in a blender and turn into a puree. I'd stick to you doc's plan overall, maybe get a different protein. GNC will let you return them if you don't like them after you get them home.

I drink coffee. I drank decaff the first month and then went back to regular and I have had no problems. I don't drink soda because it makes me burp to the point of annoyance and I don't really like the taste anymore.

I'm with SKCUNNINGHAM--I use a pen and a small notebook. I use Sparkpeople.com to look up nutrition info.

If you aren't having any problems with 1 oz every 15 minutes, I think you're okay to sip all day long. But if it starts to come up or gets foamy, slow down.

You can get sublingual B-12 at Walmart for like, 3 bucks. The cheapest calcium citrate is Citracal, but they are huge pills (even the Petites are pretty big). The cheapest chewable calciim citrate I have found comes from Vitacost.com and doesn't taste too bad, though all of the chewables are pretty grainy.

You look great! You must be thrilled!

You can find Oh Yeah! wafer bars at GNC. They cost 99 cents at my store in CA. You can also order them on Amazon.com. I have a Ship and Save order for a box to be delivered every three months.

Try Oh Yeah! wafer bars. The WAFER bars, not the ones like flavored cement. The wafer bars are kind of like a Kit-Kat, sweet and crunchy and have 7 grams of protein and 105 calories in each stick (2 sticks to a package). One stick is plenty and satisfies my sweet tooth. They come in Chocolate, Vanilla, and Peanut Butter flavor.

I am 56 and it's working for me. I know that's not what you want to hear, but there it is. Have you consulted with your surgeon and NUT? Have you had your thyroid levels tested? Sometimes it does feel like I'm spending a lot of time counting and measuring but I tell myself that it's temporary until I'm at goal. By then, I should have learned new habits and I should be able to eat small portions like a skinny person. I, too, have been battling the same 1.5 lbs for the past two weeks, but I am sticking to my plan and eventually the number on the scale will change downward. Don't give up!

The information in the article is old. VSG was initially done as part of a two-step procedure and she's right, it did help morbidly obese people lose enough weight to undergo another procedure. However, most of the rest of the information is wrong. For one, we don't have a "pouch", that's what bypass patients have, and you can't do a traditional Roux-en-Y bypass on a VSG stomach because there is not enough stomach to make a "pouch." It would be kind of a hybrid surgery, with a sleeve and a connection to the small intestine...kind of like...a Duodenal Switch!! which is the second half of the 2-part procedure that includes a VSG. She is wrong about the volume of the stomach (not 1 oz) and the amount a mature VSG stomach can hold. There are updated statistics about weight loss with the VSG that are better than what she relates. Someone should update the entry or add a comment that the information is outdated and erroneous. Is About.com like Wiki, where anyone can add info?

Don't worry. Your idea of "awake" and the anesthesiologist's idea of "awake" are probably really different. I think he means that you will be very sedated but not unconscious. Ask them! They know it's a scary prospect and will work with you to make it easy.

Surgery to normal BMI was no big effort--but I want to lose another 10-20 lbs and so far in Sept I have lost 1.5 TOTAL for the month. I know it will come off eventually as I have not changed my diet/exercise, but it's way slow this month. Hope you do it quicker!

You are going to hear a lot of goofy stuff from people who don't know what they are talking about and you should probably just ignore them. If it is something that concerns you, ask at your surgeon's office. They hear the common questions all the time and can give you good answers.

If you want to date a hot guy, go for it. Who knows what attracts two people? Granted, looks initially, but even there tastes vary. Maybe you will find a hot guy who adores you, maybe not, but don't turn anybody down because you think they are too good looking for you or because you think you don't deserve someone good-looking.

How about white beans and pesto sauce? Meatballs in marinara sauce? Shrimp salad (maybe chopped won't hurt?) Flavored cream cheese rolled up in turkey slices? Cottage cheese and chives, or bananas, or tomato sauce? A yogurt smoothie with bananas?

I did exactly the same thing and I was fine. I didn't have anything you could call pain, the incision that was under my bra band was a little uncomfortable but the seat belts all fastened below any incision sites. Mostly I was tired but since I sat most of the day i was otherwise fine. Do walk around the airport every half hour while you wait for your flight and get up on the plane once or twice. You'll do great.

My surgery was eight months ago and I don't have a protein shake unless I'm running out the door, and that's because I want one, not because I have to have one. I take sublingual B-12 twice a week, no shots for me. I can eat anything I want but stick to protein first, green veggies, fruit. Granted, the pre-op diet stinks, and the immediate post-op diet does, too, but it's a few months out of your life and then you start losing and life is great!

I have no sense of style and never have. I once bought an outfit off a mannequin--I just walked up to a salesgirl and said, "I'll take all that"--dress, belt, scarf, necklace, shoes. As my gift to myself after reaching goal I am hiring a personal stylist and buying a new wardrobe. Some people have plastic surgery, I'm having a closet full of well-fitting, attractive clothes that I'll feel great in.

Taking in clothes is a great problem to have! Did you ask David's about altering the 10 to be an 8 if need be? I would think it's easier to make it smaller than larger, just in case you aren't an 8 in two months or parts of you are and parts of you aren't, but maybe the seam allowances are larger in bridal than everyday. Is it a form-fitting dress or more ball gown?

I'm eating about 800 a day, sometimes a little less. My labs done last week were perfect except for Iron (taking supplements). I don't know what extra calories would do for me except slow my weight loss and I'm not ready to do that just yet. I also low-carb and believe me, I cannot stuff anything healthy in me to reach 180 carbs a day plus my Protein goals. If I were eating starches, sugars, and a boatload of dairy, maybe I could reach 180. I take what my NUT says with a grain of salt--there is not a lot of science done in bariatric nutrition so mostly what is taught is cobbled from "normal" requirements and adapted to what they think bariatric patients need. If someday a nutritionist who has had VSG surgery and lost 100% of their EW tells me what I'm doing is wrong, then I'll pay more attention.

Boniva is fine in your small tummy, I asked my surgeon and my PCP both. Just take it with a lot of water and stay upright for an hour or more afterwards. Esophagus problems with Boniva and Fosamax occur in people with regular-sized stomachs, too, usually those who don't take it with enough water to get it in the stomach or who lie down after taking it. I take it and have no problems at all.

Yay! Feels great, doesn't it?

I had my hernia fixed with my sleeve surgery and when I had the flu, I vomited just like before. Did your surgeon tell you this??