Derp

I hit major stalls at pretty much every "10 lb lost" mark. The longest stall was 2 months, and it made me so mad! My doctor helped me through it though - he told me to stop worrying about the numbers on the scale, and to use it to just make sure I'm not gaining in a significant way. And that's how I use the scale to this day. NSVs are way more fun anyway! OMG, I remember one week I went up 5 lbs, and it P'd me off so bad - I wasn't even eating solid foods yet. Granted, it was the week before the start of my menstrual cycle, but still. For the first year, the numbers on the scale didn't move to match the changes I saw in the mirror, and it was so frustrating. I had a lot of anxiety over my 2 month stall (at 214 lbs, I'll never forget it). I kept saying to myself, "IS THIS IT??" Long story short: don't worry!

My stomach didn't like pills of any kind for the first 3 months, so I did liquid, gummy, or crunched up tablets. I was a bit more sensitive than the norm in most ways until I was fully recovered at the 6 month mark. Now I can take my supplements in pill or capsule form, no problem. Although, when taking a handful of my herbal supplements, even 3 years later, I have to do it over the course of 30 minutes to an hour, just because of the large amount of Water it takes to get 10-20 caps down.

You can do it. Just try as hard as you can. It's been 3 years since my sleeve and I remember the misery of the pre-surgery diet more so than the post-op recovery, to be completely honest.

What amazing inspiration. Thank you for your post.

AWESOME song, Chuck, thank you for sharing, and contributing. <3

Some more non-scale victories: - Being able to run for longer than 30 seconds without thinking i'm going to die. - I can sleep so much better than before - my ankles are starting to look good in cute shoes - I treated myself to a thigh tattoo, because I finally like the way my thighs are looking

Vford70, you are an inspiration to me. Way to go! <3

ToDream, don't worry - the exact same thing happened to me when I first dipped into the 100s. I treated myself (indulged), then it took 5 days to get back down to the 100s. Like everyone says, Water. You got this! <3

When people judge WLS patients and say that it's the easy way out, it makes me want to scream. Because there's been no part of my weight loss journey that's been easy. Every meal is a struggle. Every decision is a struggle. Every night on the town is a struggle. And they all have dire consequences if you make a mistake, in the form of ALL types of inner digestive system pain, or the mental trauma that goes with doing the wrong thing. The decision to have WLS to force my hand is the only part of this journey that has been easy. I'm glad that I can say that after 2.5 months, i'm finally forming good habits - habits that will stick with me long term, instead of the stupid short term mental compulsions that come with crash dieting. It's kinda doing it on it's own, because of this mental conditioning and physical limitation I have placed on myself. I scour the forums and see that most people who have been sleeved for this long (and longer) feel the same way, and I remember when I was a newbie thinking, "man, i hope that happens to me". So to the newbs out there - It works, and it's worth it. But damn, it's a struggle. Peace and Love!

So my surgery went down on March 7, so I'm about 2.5 months post-op at this point. It has been hard (for sure) learning how to eat again, but it's working. I just passed the 50 lb mark. My weight loss has tapered, and even stalled a few times, but I'm still seeing downward movement on the scale. My blood pressure has returned to normal, and I'm finally getting the hang of knowing my portion size. I eat about 5 tiny meals every day, and just got to the point to where I can get steak down without any irritation. Some of my favorite non-scale victories so far: 1) realizing that I can cross my legs like a lady 2) donating 30 pairs of pants to goodwill, after even tailoring them to fit didn't last 3) wearing a dress to work for the first time in my life 4) boys are paying attention to me again I've treated myself by setting up an appointment with a personal shopper at Nordstrom to shop with me and help teach me some tips about how to dress my new body. I've been so used to wearing the same slacks and shirts for the last few years, that I realized that I don't know how to dress myself It's still the best decision I ever made, in spite of the overwhelming challenges the surgery has presented. There have been days where I've been so discouraged because simply going out for a meal is a difficult task. <3

Agreed - it happened to me for the first 2 weeks, in varying degrees.

awesome, looking good too! <3

Omg, after reading the OP, I tried it out myself, and realized I can cross my legs now too! Awesome!

I took 4 weeks off work and needed all of it. I am on week 6 and i still get tired pretty easily and stay close to home, in case I need to get there quick to lay down.

I've been keeping my WLS under wraps too, and I just tell people I'm on a strict diet, and that's how I've dropped the weight I've dropped recently. My people aren't too nosy though. That vague explanation is typically enough for them. Going out to eat is so hard - the waitstaff always asks if i hated my meal... and it makes me feel a little bad, until I realize that with my doggie bag, I have more meals in my hand than I'll ever eat.

I figured I'd post an update here - I'm 40 lbs down, but I have hit a stall. I believe it to be nutrition-based though, because I slacked off on my Vitamin intake and exercise for the last week while I was on vacation, and that's about the length of my stall too. As far as the surgery recovery itself - I feel like I'm back to normal for the most part, i just don't like eating any more. When I do go out on the town, it's much less frequent than I did pre-surgery, and I don't drink the same things either. My stomach will not tolerate wine anymore (someone on these boards described their insides as a vat of boiling acid, and that's what wine does to me now), and I've sworn off beer, since I"m sure that's where a lot of my extra weight came from to begin with. I usually order a vodka soda w/ a splash of pineapple. I've noticed I also consume a lot less too - just a couple of cocktails instead of the several i'm used to. This isn't even really a conscious choice, it's just what happens naturally with me now. It's satisfying, and doesn't seem to be a hindrance. I'm sure that without the calories of those couple of cocktails on those nights, I would be losing weight faster, but right now, i feel like i'm on pace, and I'm not missing out on this aspect of my social life.

Man, I have 6 incisions. 2 were really tiny though

Smof4, I just added both of those recipes to my developing cookbook... Thank you so much <3

I'll admit that I cheated a little on my pre-op diet, but it is important to do it for the reasons everyone stated above as well as one more my doctor pointed out: It prepares you for the extremely strict regimen that comes after surgery. You do NOT want to cheat after surgery, so consider this practice time. You can do it! Good luck! <3

We'll be thinking about you! <3 Good luck

Was the pneumonia because of the anesthesia? How long have you been on IV fluids? My friend had something like this happen when he had WLS (he had gastric bypass, but the same kind of issue). He said it was most important for him to be hydrated, and then nutrients (specifically protein) came second. What are you able to keep down? I'm sorry you're having problems.. you'll pull through though! Lots of love <3

hahaha I love how your having WLS isn't *fair* to other people. In what universe does THAT make sense? Thank you for adding another reason to my arsenal of "Why I'm keeping my WLS private": Old judgmental people. Even though I am having a relatively easy time with my recovery and weight loss so far, this has been one of the most difficult things I've done - and one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. I'm not sure how you were able to let that slide. That in itself is an inspiration. <3<3<3

I think your feelings are totally normal - and you're pretty much at par on the recovery timeline. I started getting better on days 6 and 7, and I can attribute it to finally being able to start getting my Protein and other calories in. Don't worry - you got this. <3, *hugs*, &

What wonderful inspiration; thank you so much for posting. Your starting weight and body type at that size is very close to mine. You look absolutely FANTASTIC, and just gave me so much to look forward to. <3

Lisa, My mom is a nurse too, and was the one who took care of me throughout my entire surgery and recovery and she said the same thing you did about nurses being bad patients, so I got a chuckle out of that. The success rate of the surgery itself (not even including the long term outcome) is so high - In my research before deciding to go with surgery, I read every single article I could get my hands on. I was happily relieved to see such low numbers of complications both in the OR and during the immediate recovery stages. Provided you pass all of your pre-op tests, you really should be just fine. I'll be thinking about you tomorrow, and looking out for an update. Get some sleep and good luck tomorrow <3