PdxMan

I'm guessing you misunderstood him. If you are really concerned about this, give his office a call to clarify. I have had 5 surgeries in the past few years and have not been awake once for the breathing tube.

I should qualify my statement of returning the clothes ... I meant to say I donated the clothes back and kept the donation receipts for tax purposes. Otherwise, that just wouldn't be honest and truthful, IMO. My Goodwill has great dress clothes for men and women. Just go back when you have more time and do a more exhaustive search. The dress clothes are there.

If you do a low, low carb diet, you can do it. I'm talking anorexic Atkins kind of low, low carb. This will completely deplete your glycogen stores in your body. Glycogen stored in your muscle tissue bonds with Water with a 4 to 1 ratio which means for every pound of glycogen you lose, you will also lose 4 pounds of water for a net total of 5 pounds. 2 pounds of glycogen lost, you have your 10 pounds. Carbs are easily converted to Glycogen. This is why those of us who did Atkins always dropped 10 pounds the first week or so, but then couldn't budge.

Nope ... have you talked to your surgeon about this? If you search the site or go over to the fitness area forum here, I think the concensus is 6 weeks out. Your body needs time to heal. Don't forget, you are having 85% of your stomach removed. How well do you want your stomach and incisions to heal? Are you really in that big of a hurry to get the weight off? Perhaps start 3 weeks prior to surgery, take 6 weeks off, and then go full steam ahead.

All through my weightloss I was at Goodwill about once a month, returning clothes I bought the previous month and buying new ones. Just keep your receipts! BTW, they have colored tags and each day a different one is 50% off. I would go there before ebay.

I would ask what has been your history of dieting? Have you ever been successful at a diet? Have you ever been able to lose weight and keep it off? Would you say you have issues with your relationship with food? I'm just guessing there are more stories out there in the world from people who have been overweight, have lost, through some type of program and kept it off or kept it at what they deem a reasonable level than there are stories of people who have had successful WLS. It really depends on you and your story. Not our perception of your story. I know my story ... more than a half dozen diets over a couple dozen years where I lost weight, but my poor relationship with food allowed my weight to go higher than it was before. I needed a permanent solution to my problem and a tool to help me manage my weight. The sleeve provided that for me. But know that with the sleeve, your fundamental relationship with food changes. And not for a couple weeks or months ... it's a permanent, non-reversable change.

There's lots of thoughts out there in the GoogleVerse: http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/weight-loss/question227.htm http://www.livestrong.com/article/402138-how-much-weight-do-you-lose-during-sleep/

I was at 7 months out when mine started falling out. I had been so careful getting in all and more of my protein, taking biotin and all my vitamin supplements. For me, there was just no preventing it. It lasted about 3 months and is back and beautiful now.

I have not had this experience, yet, but at almost 17 months post-op, my body is still changing. I always said I was going to wait until 2 years post op before looking at these options. I didn't really want to investigate it early on as I knew there would be a lot of changes in the field in 2 years and everything I learned would be irrelevant and my thinking may be skewed.

I am a year and a half out and I pop in occassionally. I need to take breaks from the site, though. It is tough. There is a lot of baggage we bring into the forums with our personal struggles with food, relationships and all that. There are a lot of people who ask for advice, and then when I give it to them, if it isn't what they want to hear, I get flammed. I'm an insensitive know-it-all and I should be supporting everyone on the board. Sorry, that is just not how I operate. If you ask what you can eat at Dairy Queen 3 days post op, you're going to get an earful from me. Don't ask to validate doing things you KNOW are not within the guidelines. I'm not perfect, but I am at goal, feel and look great, according to my wife and friends, though I do think I look a lot better than I did pre-op. So, I know what worked for me and I try to share that experience. But, I do get tired of getting flammed for being honest when reading posts like, (summary) "I'm 6 months post op, not exercising, not eating the best foods and not losing weight. WTH?" I know a lot of the other veterans get the same thing so they drop off. Those with thicker skin are able to stay on and I find them admirable. They are better people than I.

I was almost 45 when I had my sleeve done on July 8th, 2011. Let me start off by saying I did have regrets the first month, as I think most of us do. I, probably like you, didn't have the healthiest relationship with food and that all changes (whether you want it to or not) after you're sleeved. At least, it did for me. Early out, it is difficult while you are learning how to eat anew. Taking smaller bites ... chewing thoroughly ... making healthier choices ... in other words, eating like non-obese people eat. This is a change and it takes a bit to adjust and there is some mourning that takes place as food no longer comforts the way it used to. So, now I'm going on a year and a half out and like your friend, I always feel satiated with my meals and do not have the cravings like I did prior to surgery. Sure, I'll still think, "Oh, a Peanut Butter chocolate chunk cookie sounds good", but there is a difference now. Before, that would be all I could think about until I got some. And not just one, for sure. Now, the thought ends at that. If I do find one, I eat it and am happy eating just the one. I don't have to make it the day's mission to find that cookie, which I would do before. I can eat anything and everything now, just like your friend, but just in smaller quantities. Far smaller. Check out my profile and take a look at the pictures in my gallery to see where I came from and where I am now. I would highly recommend the surgery to anyone who has struggled with their weight and health and need a long-term, more permanent solution. But do know that this is not a magic bullet. It is a tool that you must work in order to make it work. You can still sit down to a tub of ice cream and polish it off. If your issues with food run deep, counselling may also be helpful.

Nice. Just keep listening to your body, take breaks between bites and take small bites.

It did great. I do use ground turkey, though, so I'm guessing that is going to break down easier. I didn't go near red meat until about 6 months in. Gotta remember the stomach is the mechanical part of digestion. You just had 85% of it removed. Don't throw it any curveballs ... know what I mean?

Soups were my ticket. Any and everything, just pureed real well. My favorites were smoked ham with lentils, chicken veggie and turkey chili. Family had them in their whole form and I put mine in the bullet for a 10 second spin.

Milk of Magnesia was my friend early out. Took it twice a day, even when things started moving, just to keep things moving.

I know you did not say anything about it being good, that is why I asked specifically what WAS the meaning of your post. Congrats on using your tool fantastically. Keep it up!

Yeah, I saw that picture of him the other day. Wow We all know what he looked like before ... so, do you think he lost fat or muscle? He has the luxury of being able to easily put that muscle back on after the movie shoots. It is a little more difficult for common folks and even more so for us sleevers.

Yes, you can. But what is your point? It's good to be in starvation mode? I think it is an unavoidable consequence of having 85% of your stomach removed. The trick is how you manage it. I went from consuming at least 4,000 calories a day to 500. Of course my body is going to go into starvation mode ... several times. Yes, I lost a lot of muscle mass, too. But I would like to think I mitigated the situation by consuming a lot of protein and doing a lot of core exercises which included some weight lifting. I follow my workouts by consuming protein, as recommended. So, yes, you are going to go into starvation mode. Expect it. Now, how are you going to manage it? Lose as much muscle as fat? Damage your internal organs along the way? It's up to you. This is not a magic bullet but a tool. How are you going to use yours?

Just know that the body will utilize whatever resources it needs to maintain energy reserves, i.e. fat. So, the body will begin to canabalize itself. Muscle tissue being one of the first to be used. Remember, Protein, just like fat, has 9 calories per gram. You will lose muscle tissue (protein) in starvation mode. One of the reasons we need to maintain the recommended protein intake. So, the bottom line is, what are your goals? To lose weight or to lose fat?

I have gone from wide to normal width, but if you search the site, you will find a few threads on this topic saying people have gotten smaller.

Just want to echo the same thoughts. I wish I would have done this sooner. I think waiting until Christmas break is a good idea. There is recovery time, but there is also some time needed to find your new "groove", too. Your relationship with food is going to change and its not like flipping a switch. But, you are doing the right thing by coming on here and posting questions and reading. Keep it up and best of luck.

Everyone symptoms are going to be different to some degree. I assume at this point you have done the obvious and Googled it, so it is time to call your Dr. You don't want to mess with this, do just call them and go in.

For the most part, I told people that I got rid of my dinner plates and bought a nice set of slightly larger salad plates (true). This has helped my family with portion control, so, we all eat less, but I, especially, concentrate on smaller portions. (True). I also have started an exercise regimen where I run and do high impact interval aerobics (true). I felt no responsibility to tell them about my surgery, just like I felt no responsibility to tell them about my LASIK surgery to help me see, my vasectomy to help me enjoy sex more without worrying about pregnancy nor telling them about my hemorrhoidectomy to help me ... well ... you know. Now, I did make exceptions for those who directly inquired whether I had WLS or those who I knew struggled with their weight. I wasn't going to directly lie and I do feel we need to help others who struggle. I have never lied and those who need to know, know.

Why, thank you very much. I'll tell you what, I hate to sound vain, but I never get tired of hearing that. Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.

Slimes is the over salivation that occurs when you have eaten too fast, taken too large of a bite, or not chewed well enough. You oversalivate like you have never done before. I mean ever. It happened once to mean and it was streaming out of my mouth. Crazy. It happened only once to me because you learn your lesson. You don't want that one repeating.