lsereno

After almost a year at goal, I am still surprised to see my reflection at a distance. Up close, I'm used to the new me, but put 12-15 feet or more between me and the reflection and I'm still like: who's that? My clothes also still look too small when I look at them. Lynda

Congrats! You look great! For me, I'm glad the fanfare has died down. I didn't enjoy being the center of attention. I found it vaguely brassiness when people didn't recognize me. Comments about how great I looked, how I must love shopping now, how my husband must love the "new, skinny" me all were a bit much for my taste. Love the comment by Escape Pod. I'm learning to enjoy the wonders of cross-country skiing. Lynda Edit: I meant I found it vaguely embarrassing, not vaguely brassiness.

Yeah! Madame Tussards at Las Vegas. So proud to be skinnier than Clooney :-)

I had three methods for dealing with negative feedback: Love them a lot (Mom for example): Start with "My Dr. and I have decided this is the best option for my health." spend a lot of time helping them to understand the operation, what it will be like right after, one year after, what I am doing to get ready, and the very real risks I face everyday without the operation. Remind them of how long I have tried to lose the weight unsuccessfully and the truly abysmal regain rates for people who do manage to lose large amounts of weight without surgery. I took my Mom to a surgeon appt and to my face-to-face support group. Like them and feel they are basically well-intentioned. Start with the "My Dr. and I" comment and spend a little time explaining how this surgery is better than older alternatives, etc. Don't really care about them for whatever reason: Say the "My Dr. and I" comment and move on. If they try to continue discussing, I say I have made my decision and would rather talk about something else. If they keep up after that, end the discussion away from them if at all possible. Usually it is.

I stayed in bed the first couple of days, getting up to walk every hour. But I didn't have kids at home. Can you get some help with the kids? Trade babysitting or playdates with neighbors maybe? And stock up on activities for them, such as new games, books, and movies and special easy-to-prepare treat foods and drinks. I'm not sure how young they are, but you will have lifting restrictions post-op too. Set up the house so you don't have to lift them to change diapers, get them dressed, etc. Lynda

I can chug down about a cup of Water now if I'm really thirsty and I haven't eaten lately. Love slurping down a few gulps. But don't rush it - tender tummies take time to heal. Lynda

I'm planning dinner at PF Changs. I was nearly at goal last year, so I'll be celebrating a year at this size too! Hubby and I will share their Sea Bass. It's delicious. I will try one of their new mini-desserts too. Probably the chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Sweet Treat. And I will have one or two drinks. Yeah! I love life at goal. I will wear something sexy. Maybe my black sheathe dress that I got at Target for $20. I can't believe how cheap cute clothes are when you don't have to shop in the plus department! And I will wear heels because now that I'm thinner I can wear them for a couple of hours without killing my feet. Did I mention I love life with the sleeve? Lynda

I do have a gallery. It's been awhile since I added to it, but I'm about the same size. I still haven't added a goal weight pic. In my last picture I am less than 5 lb.s from goal though. You can click my pic to see my profile and then click the Gallery link to see the pics. This link may work: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/user/5461-lsereno/ As for negative nells, I deal with them based on how I feel about them: Really love them: I spend time working with them to help them understand why this is the best option for me. Like them: I spend a little time explaining why this is the best option for me. If they harp after that, I shut them down with "My Dr. and I have decided this is the best option for me:. Don't like them: go straight to the "My Dr. and I.." comment. As far as portion control, I can now eat a small meal. That's what naturally skinny people do. I don't feel deprived. It does take a while, but that is part of the healing process. Lynda

I'm 56 and was 54 when I had surgery. No complications and got to goal in 9 months. Been maintaining almost a full year now. Lynda

Hello you May babies! You are near and dear to my heart because I'm a May Sleever too. This May it will be 2 years. I will be celebrating one year at goal weight this March. I love my sleeve and will be thinking of each of you in May as you begin your post-op journey to goal. Lynda

I didn't eat Peanut Butter till I was at goal. It's very calorie-dense and doesn't offer much in nutritional value, in my opinion. Now that I am at goal, it's a treat food. I like it on graham crackers. Sometimes I put cut up banana on top. Lynda

Greek Yogurt or cottage cheese are both great. Also pork that has been cooked with moist heat. Different sauces will help it seem more of a variety too. BBQ, Asian, Mexican. It is very limiting at first because you can eat so little. I even got sick of Dungeness Crab Cocktail! But it's such a brief time before you can eat a little more and get back more variety through veggies and starches. Lynda

If you want something different, Anderson Split Pea soup has 9-10 grams of protein per cup. Lynda

I took my Mom with me to a surgeon pre-op appt and to a support group meeting. She was a lot more onboard after that, but still scared for me. Lynda

I was cleared for most exercise at 6 weeks, but the Dr. said to hold off on exercise that focused on the abdomen (no specific exercises were mentioned) for a few more weeks. I didn't do abdominal work till about three months out. Lynda

I am coming up on 2 years and I'm still colder than I was pre-op, but it is a lot better than it was at first. My fav warm-up is to toss my blanket in the heater for a few minutes and then set under it till it cools. If I'm still cold, I give it another go-round in the dryer. I wear a lot of clothes. I wear a t-shrt under my top, which really helps. When I'm out, I wear boots and a hat if it's a cold day and at home I have fuzzy slippers. I often wear my robe over my clothes when I'm in the house. I also drink Hot drinks all day. Sometimes just plain Water, or water with lemon, herb tea, decaf coffee, and instant sugar free cider. Lynda

Not sure how soft your soft food should be, but I enjoyed cheese and lunchmeat, which I brought in my purse. And a decaf soy latte if they had coffee drinks. Lynda

I eat a lot of what is on everyone else's lists plus: Frozen berries: easy to thaw just a few and mix with greek yogurt Frozen veggies, all kinds: easy to take out just a handful or less. I add them to canned soups to up the vegetables and flavor, or just steam or microwave them to get a little veggies with meals. Lately my favs are whole green beans, butternut squash, and red and green pepper strips Canned tomatoes: I add them to lowfat chili to up my veggies and to canned soups Turkey little smokies Lowfat Gallo Salami (I think it's 55% less fat, NOT the 95% less fat - it's nasty!) Special K whole grain crackers 100% whole wheat bread Jarlsberg Light Swiss Cheese ( I buy at Costco - 50 calories and 7 grams of protein) Canned soups that are high in veggies and low in calories - I add some chopped chicken or turkey for protein Soy Milk (lactose intolerant post-op) Starbucks Via Italian Roast Decaf instant coffee Sleepytime Tea Sugarfree Instant Cider Mix Splenda

I still can't eat 4 oz. of dense Protein. Try sticking with 3. Also, at 7 months, I often ate 2 oz. of dense protein so I could fit in some veggies when I craved them. I didn't really have room for more than a bite or two of veggies till further out. At 7 months, I still occasionally used protein powders to get enough protein in a day, esp. when traveling. I've always tried to get 65 grams of protein per day, so around 7 months, my protein looked like : So, sample day: Soy Latte: 7 grams 2 slices turkey lunchmeat: 10 grams --------------- 2 oz. tuna: 14 grams ------------------------ 2 oz. chicken breast: 14 grams --------------- 1/2 C. of Greek Yogurt: 12 grams

I got a normal sized bracelet, which I could never wear before. I also bought a pair of boots a few months later which I call my goal boots. They are skinny through the calves and fit me great. Plus, if I say so myself, I look HOT wearing them :-) Lynda

Sorry! Most surgeons use a tool called a bougie to size the stomach. It's basically tube shaped. They pass it down to your stomach then cut and staple around it. Average size is anywhere from 32 to 40. Lynda

I believe part of the issue with bypass is that they make an artifical opening at the bottom of the pouch and this is what stretches, allowing you to eat more because food passes more quickly to small intestine. I believe the bougie size is much less important than the surgeon's technique. My surgeon used a 40 bougie and I am happy with my restriction. I can eat a small, normal meal. Probably the same amount a naturally thin person would eat. I am nearly two years out. I could easily regain weight now by grazing or choosing high-calorie foods, such as potato chips, sweet Desserts, fatty sauces, etc Lynda

yep - I cleaned, shopped, drug out the boxes of too-small clothes in case I couldn't lift for a while and I needed them, paid the bills, got dentist, nail, and hair appts out of the way, stocked up on movies and books, and trolled this forum non-stop! Lynda

I thought that bone felt bigger than it did when I was younger! I attributed it to age, but now I know! I also have a knot on my right collarbone where it ends at the middle of my neck . I swear that wasn't there when I was younger either, but the Dr. looked at it and just said it was normal bone. Also finally got a diagnosis for Rheumatoid Arthritis when I lost weight and the Dr. could see how swollen my joints were. Sheesh! Lynda

Cheri, Thanks so much for a fabulous post that really tells it like it is for the long haul. Wish I knew how to pin this so it was required reading for everyone considering this surgery. Lynda