Forensikchic

You look great!

Good luck! You will do great!

I keep forgetting about this forum! I am down 82 pounds since my surgery on 8/8. I am in a size 8 now. I still have 18 pounds to go and its slow but I am getting there. How is everyone else from August?

I puzzled over this too until my surgeon said stop worrying about it and just eat what i comfortably could. I ate three 2 oz meals and it took me an hour too. I also ate a few snacks just like you. It worked for me. I was staying around 400-500 calories a day for about 6 months. I did not go into starvation mode but I did have a plateau here and there and thats normal. I am almost 9 months out now and i still only eat about 800 calories a day. It is working for me just fine. I am down to a size 6-8 and have lost 82 pounds. Its slower now but still working. Dont worry, just eat what you can and try to make most of it protein and drink your fluids!

I never realized until I had the surgery my behaviors and what really made me run to food. When I am stressed at work, I am at my computer and I can type a post or read some other posts. It seems to help me because I cant eat and type at the same time. lol. Keeps me from getting up and going to the fridge. I also go for walks at lunch etc to reduce stress and it works.. you have time to think things through when you are walking. On days I really dont feel like it, I walk slow. I just tell myself I am going to take it easy today and I start out that way but then speed up as I fall into my routine. chatting on here reallly helps with boredom and stress! You can vent your stress and there is always someone willing to listen!

I like unjury unflavored mixed in OJ. you have to drink it with a straw from the bottom because it separates but you cant taste it. I have kids cup from Chili's that I use. I shake it up in a shaker cup and poor it into the kids cup that has a little straw and I sip it on the way to work. There is another unflavored I like better and its by Jarrow. It stays mixed and does not separate. I still use a straw because I am 8 months out. It doesnt bother me to sip with a straw now but I did avoid this for the first few months because I didnt want to have extra gas. You might try these ideas. hth

I just got the cutest message from VST saying I had posted 500 times since I joined and how they appreciate my active participation! I feel great about that! I love this site and it has helped me immensely during this journey. My husband lost his job last week and with all that added stress, instead of eating, I come here to see if I might be able to help someone or see if there is any new interesting ideas that will help me. I am a stress eater and a boredom eater and this really helps me get through some hard times. I appreciate the fact that we have this community that cares about everyone and we all understand what it is to be fat and all the repercussions that come with that. I have shed many tears of joy during this journey along with the tears of frustration. Its so good to have people understand and empathize, Celebrate with you and cheer you on! THANKS VST FAMILY!!!!!! You guys mean the world to me. :wub:

So awesome Sharon! Yay!

Welcome to you both! I thought about the surgery for several years before I committed to it. I was scared too. I am so glad I did though! I feel so much better now. My back hurt all the time and my feet too. I was even having trouble wiping myself because it twisted my back (sorry if that is TMI but it was becoming a real problem for me). I knew then that it was affecting my quality of life! I did not want to live like this anymore. It was the best decision I have ever made and there is no way I would have ever made it this far without the sleeve! Love my sleeve!

so close! You will be leaving as we are arriving. We will just miss each other. bummer. Good luck on your surgery!

I have noticed my deoderant is not working as well as it used to. I use Secret but not clinical strenth. I will be trying that next!

I fly tomorrow for the first time since surgery 8.75 months ago. I cant wait to see where the seatbelt is. I will take a picture too! I have lost 82 pounds and the last time I was on a plane was last spring for 8 hours to Brazil. The seat belt barely fastened and dug into my hips and I couldnt put the arm rest down because it mashed by hips and hurt! I hope it is greatly improved this time! Congrats to you!!!!

SW 155.2 CW 152.6 GW 144.2 Pounds to lose by Memorial Day-- 8.4 I am stalled this week. Its TOM and I am bloated! lol. I expected to stall since I lost 2 pounds last week. I am hoping as AF leaves she will take a couple pounds with her! Good luck everyone!

Im sorry you are hurting... I didnt have much pain. I didnt have to take any pain meds once I was home. Maybe you should call your doctor if you are in intense pain.

I understand. I had a kidney stone complication and was hospitalized two weeks after my surgery and had another surgery on my kidney. It took me a minute to bounce back from that but I did and you can too! I am down 82 pounds and only 18 from goal!

A lot of that might be head hunger too. Be sure you think about why you are wanting to eat because it might be boredom, stress, etc.. emotional rather than real hunger.

What day? My sister and I are going to Dr. Alvarez June 1. We are looking for people that might be there at that time. She is having the surgery and I am just going to comfort her. I had mine 8.5 months ago.

There was another lady on here a few months back who had a bazoar. It was from eating raw celery. Its stringy like hair and it didnt digest and made a ball. Maybe you could find her post by searching bazoar. She might give you some insight. Tammi

The yellow sounds like bile and it could be your gall bladder is not functioning properly. Call the doc about it.

SW 155.2 CW 152.6 GW 144.2 Pounds to lose by Memorial Day-- 8.4 I lost 2 pounds this week! Yay! I am happy about that. I would like to continue this losing streak and I am hoping to ride it a little longer. Im just 2.6 pounds from being in the 140's. Maybe I can reach that soon. Good luck to everyone!

I had diahrea the first few weeks too. Like the other posters said, liquids in, liquids out. I went back and forth in week 4 and onward, from diahrea to constipation. The constipation became a real problem later on but I was eating a lot of dense protein and hardly anything else. This happened at around 5-6 months. I now have that fixed by taking three stool softeners (colase) a day, all at once and drinking a muscle milk. Works great. I dont do it every day though. At week three, I was back in the hospital having surgery on my kidney for a stone (unrelated really to the sleeve but just happened at that time due to me not drinking enough and taking calcium citrate), and didnt make it to the bathroom in time. I was heavily sedated and it was possibly the most embarassing thing to ever happen to me! I had great nurses that helped me and I was okay after that. I had loose stools for about the first month and then it started alternating between the two extremes. This is probably waaaaaay too much info but I like to be thorough. teehee.

All I can tell you is this was not my experience. My surgeon said vomiting is never normal. It is a problem and if it happened a lot, see him. I havent vomited at all, not even once and I am 8.5 months out. I had pressure in my chest when I ate the first few weeks and it was my full signal, It didnt hurt but it could be a little uncomfortable at times. It was not enough to even bat an eye at, let alone send me to the emergency room. I think you need an endoscopy to see what is going on in there. I realize you didnt say you vomited but I think if you have serious pain when eating, its not a normal symptom of vsg, it should be checked out. Also, wishes, I might shy away from spicy or hot things for your mom since she has ulcers. that might agrivate them.

Very well put PDXMAN. I am just coming out of a stall myself and though I am happy to be losing even if its just a half pound, I understand that my body is going to take little breaks and revamp. I usually stall every two to three weeks for a couple of weeks at a time now that I am 8 months out.

That sounds like a plan I could easily do. How many calories were you to have a day back in the losing phase? I eat about 850 a day now. I was eating about 600 and very comfortable with that but now i can hold slightly more and it has crept up to 850, which I still think is ok. I just dont want to go over that because I know I have a slooooowwww metabolism and would not lose if i did.

I have no doubt that you will. Thanks so much for the very insightful information. I am 8 months post op and some days find myself snacking a little too much on slider foods. I know that can be dangerous since I have not quite made it to goal and I certainly dont want to gain! I am going to omit these slider foods and stick to three meals a day, and only the occasional snack. I dont want to gain any of my weight back and your experience really helps me realize I still have head work to do. Thanks again. Tammi