mnbsleeve

Hang in there Megan! Lots of us even GAIN in the begining. A lot of that is fluid retention, from the IV from the surgery, your body trying to heal. It is totally normal. I didn't really start loosing till almost 2 weeks out. But I know that I was losing, just the body adjusting. Just focus on your nutrition and fluid intake as per your surgeon's instructions. Also, keep moving. Walk and sip your water. I would suggest to not even look at the scale for now. Believe me, you WILL drop weight!!!! I'm 5 months out and sometimes I still go into disbelief that I will be the only person it does not work for LOL But it does! You will see that others will tell you they "appear" not to loose right away or even gain after surgery. It's part of the healing process. Hang tight, focus on the instructions, and welcome to the loosers bench!!!!! :-)

Congratulations Auntie Candace!!!! And congrats on reaching your goal!!!! Enjoy your beautiful nephew! AND the new you!

LOL! Definitely an NSV. I had a similar experience with my pants coming down in spin class! It freaks me out how this happens but you are so right! When we assume a stall or small loss means it's not working we are so wrong!!! I think it's the opposite: this is working so well, we are changing so quickly, we cannot absorb the changes and we are shocked when our clothes fall off of us LOL!!! Congratulations!!!! Happy shriking! :-)

There are chewable calcium tablets. Also, over the counter antacids like TUMS have calcium and my surgeon said they are okay to take. I use a chewable from Coutnry LIfe called Cal-Snack. They are a bit chalky but they just crumble up in your mouth. Not too unpleasant tasting.The ones I take have a vanilla/orange flavor. BTW, Country Life also makes a chewable vitamine. The only thing is they don't chew up as easily as the calcium. You have to "suck" them for a while rather than chew because they are a bit hard. But still better than a pill. Hope you can get these in the Europe. Hope this helps!

I would also add to check with your surgeon regarding quantities and types of soft foods. For example, I was not allowed any mushies till after week 4! and then it was only foods like yogurt, cottage cheese or a srambled egg. In terms of quantities, only about a tablespoon. I eventually worked my way up to 1 oz of food. It took me a few weeks from there to get to 3 oz or so. Now 5 months out I can eat about 4 to 6 oz, 8 max depending on the food I am eating. So be sure you are not overfilling your pouch on this first phase of mushie foods. Hope you feel better soon and you're able to figure this out!

Wowsa! You look great!!! Congratulations!!!! I'm sure you'll get those last few pounds off. Hang in there. You look amazing!

Wow! You look great!!!!! BTW, love your blog. I'm from the same area and I laughed at the intolerance for "cold" 50 degree weather LOL You also got my attention with the shopping finds at under $5 with an additional 30% off!!! LOL please post more about that :-) Congrats again. You look beautiful!

Congratulations Lissa!!!!!! I know what you mean about "secong day!" I always wait a day or two before changing my ticker LOL It's like I don't know if I should trust I went down LOL This sleeve is so awesome!!!! Congrats again on this great milestone!!!!

Leslieh, you look beautiful! As others have already said,you looked beautiful before and you still look gorgeous and more confident and radiant and super hot. I LOVED your story and would have loved to have seen hubby's face falling out of the truck when he saw you, lol. I'm sure you had a very happy aniversary Congratultions and thank you for posting.

Julie, I'm sorry I did not see this post sooner to wish you a Happy Holloween and tell you that I am sure you were looking HOT in your POCOHOTTI outfit!!!! :-) (love that). Congratulations on this great milestone. I can hardly wait to be "overweight" !!!! It so awesome to reach those goals. For me, it helps to remind me that I am doing it, that it's real and it's going to happen! Otherwise sometimes I fall into disbelief. Enjoy the new you!!!!!

Congratulations Nancy! You have accomplished a lot in just 4 short months!!!! I am confident the sleeve will help us all get through these tough hurddles and reach our goals. Sounds like you are well on your way!!!!!

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y T A T U M ! ! ! ! ! You are beautiful! Congratulations to mom and dad on a beautiful family!!!!! Thank you Tiffykins for posting such precious pics and sharing this special moment with us here on the board. Obviously, it has touched us all.

Great pics Kelly! You look incredible!!! You inspire us all, not just with the pics, but with your dedication. Congratulations!!!!!

WOW!!! Kelly, congratulations!!!! You look awesome!!!!!! From your posts throughout I know you've been so dedicated to this process and it sure has paid off!!! Good job lady!!!!! You look incredible!!!!

SLL, I'm glad you liked the Nelson Mandela Quote. It inspires me all the time to keep moving forward. And you make perfect sense. I agree with you completely about self care and balance. I know I became a better parent, better partner, better friend, worker, etc., when I started taking care of myself and attending to some of my needs. I would joke that finally I was ON my own list! Eventually I made it to the top 10 in priorities. The surgery was the final move to the top! LOL I learned not to think of it as "selfish," In fact, that was the biggest "aha," to realize that taking care of myself is a responsibility. Best of luck on your journey. Sounds like you have your surgery coming up!!!! Woo Hoo!!! Some exciting times ahead!!!!!

Lynda!!! What an awesome post! Congratulations on all these great accomplishments. Your words "read" so happy, I can feel your joy as I read your words. I've read your posts early on when I first came on this board. You are just a bit ahead of me time wise. You always inspire me and this post is no exception! Enjoy the rewards of all this great effort. It is so well deserved!!!! Cheers to you!

Sandy!!!! Good luck tomorrow!!!! Good thoughts for a super speedy recovery. The liquid stage is soooo worth it!!!! KKsinisi, Best of luck to you as well! Fingers crossed that the weather cooperates... at least a few hours till you're sleeved LOL!!!! Good thoughts to the both of you. Looking forward to reading about your journeys!!!

Guys! You all look GREAT! Awesome costumes and you're all looking awesome in them!!! Have a great Holloween!!!! and thanks for posting!

Yipppeeee!!! ONEderland here you come!!!!!!!!

These are all such great responses! I don't really have anything to add but wanted to share that I have already gotten a couple of those "you are so 'skinny'" and "how much more weight are you going to lose?" which is really strange because I haven't even broken the 190's yet and I am NOT even half way to goal!!!! So geez!!! Like Kelly said above, I think some of these folks have only seen us bigger so cannot imagine us anyother way. But it is difficult, as Meg mentioned, to be the center of all that attention! I found that I tend to brace my self everytime I will be attending a particular event / meeting where folks haven't seen me in a while. I truly don't want to talk about me and my weight and my food and, and what I'm doing, and me, me, me.... you know? I guess I'm just venting too! LOL Glad to hear the experiences of others here though! Why I appreciate this board!

Chris, pictures are always so inspirational, but your choice of words really got to me: "the massive human being that I had become" because that's exactly how I was feeling. I had just never put it into words! The pictures are great! You are a good looking guy and now you look even better, younger, stronger and more fit! Congratulations!!!!! Good job!

Amanda!!! WOW!!!! You are looking great!!! I agree with the above post, you look so much younger!!! Congratulations!!! This is a great "during", I can hardly wait for the "after!"

Good Job Bemabound!!!! What a great accomplishment... both you and hubby!!! I'm sure this change is already having a positive effect on your family and your girls. You must be feeling so energized!!!! Congratulations!!!!!

Congratulations Skcunningham!!!! You are looking great! And what a great payoff to have your health back! Looks like you have really taken advantage of this opportunity and made the best of it. Truly to be congratulated! I don't doubt you will finish off these last few pounds... Thanks for posting! Keeps the rest of us inspired!!!

I hate to admit this but I have at least half my hair gone!!!! Maybe more. I started losing right away and still losing it: in the shower, when drying it, when brushing/styling even JUST STANDING THERE! It comes out like crazy! I take Biotin, vitamines, get down repulsive shakes -- even after they come back up. I love what someone posted above: my hair is thin, but at least I am too! LOL At this point I am just hoping I could hold on to a few strands to hang my dang extensions on!!!!