LindaS

They don't actually firm things up, but they can make things look firmer. WARNING: You may need help taking the things off. My husband had to rescue me a time or two. Personally, I prefer not to wear them.

I can eat bread now, but I prefer not to. I don't like how it makes me feel. Once in a while, I will make an exception. Toasted bread or crackers works better. I'm 19 months out.

I struggled drinking too, and I remember worrying that if I fell off a boat or a tube, I wouldn't be able to handle all of the Water going in my mouth. Within a few months, I was able to drink normally. I am 19 months out, and I wouldn't have a problem falling off a boat (and I have done it and ended up drinking a bunch of lake water).

I use Photoshop, but there is a web site where you can do it for free: http://www.picisto.com/ Linda

I never had nausea -- not even when I was in the hospital. I am 19 months out, and my sleeve has never caused me to throw up or feel nauseous. If I eat too much, it feels stuck/painful in my chest. Walking helps with this.

I remember thinking, "I don't need surgery. I can do this on my own." It was when I was being pushed back into my room AFTER my surgery. Obviously, the drugs were messing with my mind. :-) I tried to lose weight on my own, and I couldn't. I was slowly gaining MORE weight despite my efforts, and I was starting to have side effects of my weight that I didn't even realize until I lost weight. For instance, before I lost weight, I would see something under the kitchen table and ask my kids to pick it up. After I lost weight, I picked it up. The effort to pick it up before losing weight made it so it wasn't even an option for me, and I didn't realize that. There were hundreds of little things like this before I lost weight. The surgery went well for me. I haven't had any issues. I am happy with my body, and I have been pretty much from the time I went under 200 pounds (I am 5'7.5" tall). Still, I don't ever want to be 180 pounds again even though my all-time high was 255. I was nervous before the surgery, but I was also excited. I wanted to be skinny NOW. It changed my mind. I had my surgery in August. A month later, I was at the beach, and I wasn't hiding my body. I had only lost 25 pounds or so, but I knew I would never be that big again, and it made me so confident with where I was at, and I was happy with that.

I am drinking coffee -- at least a cup a day and sometimes up to three. Two is probably my normal amount. I don't usually have a problem with it as long as I don't drink too much without eating.

It does get better, but once in a while I will still have a noisy stomach. It doesn't happen often, and I rarely notice it. I am about 19 months out.

I put the insides of a taco in a bowl and add a couple of tortilla chips broken up. I can eat about 3 to 4 ounces of this. It is mostly protein. If I don't have a couple of chips, I will break up part of a hard taco shell that is about the same amount.

I'm 5'7.5". My highest weight was 255. My current weight is 172. A normal BMI (25) is 162 for my height. This puts my excess weight at 93 pounds. I've lost 83 pounds. Doing the math: I have lost 89 percent of my excess weight. My surgery was August 8, 2011. I am still losing, but I'm not sure if I will maintain at 162. I am pretty happy at 172. I am thinking about going lower and then deciding. I don't want issues with loose skin, and I don't want to lose weight and gain loose skin.

I can eat anything, but some things don't feel good after I eat them. For instance, I tend to avoid eating breads and potatoes because I don't like the way I feel after I eat them (bloated and full and uncomfortable). I can eat a couple of fries or a couple of spoonfuls of potatoes, but I don't eat more than that. Usually, I don't even want that. Some foods cause me to have diarrhea, but I usually get it if I drink too much coffee without eating. I can eat sweet stuff, but I usually only have a bite or two. I've been able to have a bite of cheesecake, for instance. If I eat foods high in Protein, I don't have as much room for other things.

When I started this journey, I thought I wanted the band. I didn't know anything about the sleeve, but I did know I didn't want a bypass. I liked the idea that the band could be adjusted, but I didn't like the idea of having something foreign inside of me. When I heard about the sleeve, I stopped researching the band. I didn't want something that might fail or might have to be removed. One of the pros that I had thought was for the band was actually a con when I realized that I'd need adjustments and sometimes that would require numerous visits to a doctor's office. I live more than an hour away from my surgeon's office, and I didn't want to have to deal with that.

Yes, I feel it faster. I can have a drink or two over several hours and be OK, but if I drink more than 3, I have had too much. Linda

Alcohol hits me much faster, and I can go from what feels like "OK" to being "plastered" in a half a drink. If I have two drinks over several hours, I am OK. A third drink is too much for me. The line between OK and too much happens very quickly. If you are going to a bar, talk to the bartender and request that you don't get drinks brought to you if someone buys a round. Most bars have free-drink chips you can get instead. I found that I would drink 1 drink for every 3 drinks others with me would have. Most of the time, my first drink will get warm before I can finish it. If I was with a group that buys rounds, I would have a stack of unfinished drinks quickly if I didn't say something to the bartender. I also mixed up my drinks. I really like getting a glass of Water with a shot of cranberry juice in it (no alcohol). It looks like a mixed drink, so I don't get harassed for being a stick in the mud, and it helps me control what I'm drinking. Another option is tomato juice, which most bars have or a virgin bloody mary. I started with a low-calorie beer. I had Bud Select 55. I couldn't drink more than two my first time I tried. I think I actually had 3 beers, but I didn't finish the first two before they became warm. Most of the people with me probably had 8 to 10 beers in the time it took me to drink two. I've found mixed drinks hit me harder in part because I can't control how much a "shot" is, and it varies between bartenders. I don't drink shots.

The initial informational meeting was free for me. There are other appointments you will need. I had to meet with a nutritionist (cost $175), get surgery clearance from my regular doctor as well as letter from my doctor, have a sleep study, psychiatric evaluation and an endoscopy. Some of this was covered by my insurance, and some was required by my insurance. Other things (like the clearance for surgery) was necessary regardless of insurance requirements. The endoscopy and sleep study were also things I had to do to prove I was cleared for surgery as well as some blood work. These weren't required by my insurance, so they weren't something someone who is self-paying could avoid. For a while, it felt like a full-time job to get in all of my appointments and clearances before I had surgery. I had insurance, and my insurance did not require pre-approval. For now, you might need to have an initial doctor's appointment with your surgeon to discuss what types of prerequisites you will need to get done. Do you have any insurance? It should cover these pre-op appointments even if the insurance doesn't cover bariatric surgery.

At this early stage, the hunger you are feeling could be irritation. Are you on any medications for gas (prevacid)? It can help with the hunger-type feelings. Your body is healing, and you are going to get exhausted. For me, I didn't really feel tired until week 3 when I went back to work. At that point, I was falling asleep watching the 6 o'clock news and going to bed at 8 p.m. Normally, I'd be up until midnight or later. It did get better. Try not to compare yourself to your sister or anyone else. What you are feeling is normal.

Just sitting on the ball improves core muscles. You can replace your desk chair with an exercise ball. The constant movement that you have to do while sitting on one helps strengthen your core muscles. I sit on the ball when doing my arm exercises. It requires my core muscles to work out while I do my arm exercises. There are also video tapes and YouTube videos showing various exercises to do while on an exercise ball.

I've found that 3500 calories does not equal a pound for me. A deficit of 3500 calories doesn't mean a loss of a pound, and an increase of 3500 calories does not equal the gain of a pound. Personally, I've found that in order to lose a pound, I need a deficit of more than 3500. To gain a pound, unfortunately, I just need to increase my intake by about 700 calories. Some of this discrepancy is that tracking calories is flawed -- especially exercise calories. Although I track food, I suspect I actually take in more calories than I record. Calorie counts on portions can be off by 10 percent, so something you think is 100 calories can actually be 110. I read an article noting this in relation to 100 calorie Snacks, but I don't remember where I read the article. I think it was posted here. Possibly the New York Times.... I may record that I ate only 600 calories in a day, but my actually intake might be higher. There are just so many variables. Still, don't let this get you down. If you do what you are supposed to do and stay on track, it will happen.

Before surgery, I bought a wedding band set from Avon that I could wear when my wedding band was resized. I haven't had my rings sized yet (they need it, but I hate giving them up to do it), and I don't like the idea of not wearing something on my finger. The temporary band set was only about $20.

Just one addition -- I did arm workouts while sitting on an exercise ball, which helps tone your core as well. I started lifting 3 pound weights and worked up to 5 pound. I don't lift a lot, but I lift.It made a difference. I started doing 15 lifts 2 times (total 30). I did about 6 different arm moves and rotated through each of them 2 times. So that would be 30 times for each of the six moves. I know Lissa keeps/kept weights readily available, and she would do something like 100 lifts a day. I did seated bicep curls, tricep press, kickbacks, sidearm raise, shoulder press and front arm raise. All of these were done sitting. It has been a while since I've done these. I should probably do it again. Lately, I've been using 3-pound weights while doing Zumba toning.

I was sleeved in August 2011, and from May 2012 to September 2012, I didn't lose any weight. In September, I had a day where I drank a LOT of Water, and the weight came off. During that time that I wasn't losing, I was eating well and exercising regularly. Water made the difference for me. It really is important that you get that water in. It made a difference for me. I lose weight when I drink at least 64 ounces of water. If I don't drink water, I don't lose no matter what I do. Carbs also makes a difference for me. I try to keep my diet low. So my advice: Drink water. Exercise more. Cut carbs. The first one will probably help make the difference.

I'd contact your doctor's office now. They often schedule several months in advance. I had my surgery less than 6 weeks after my initial meeting but part of that was because I was able to get into all of my presurgery appointments very quickly, which is unusual. I was trying to get my surgery before a certain date, and my doctor's office was very accommodating to that. Even if you see them now, they will work with you to schedule the time that works best for you.

Take pictures and take measurements. The scale doesn't always reflect what you are losing. Pictures and measurements will help you get a more accurate idea of your loss. This is why people can see a loss that your scale isn't showing -- your weight is redistributing itself.

I'm 18 months out, and I can eat fairly decent size portions especially if the food is low in Protein. I don't like to eat bread because it expands in my belly and is uncomfortable. This isn't noticeable right away, but it starts bothering me within 10 minutes or so.Because of this, I tend to stop eating for a minute or so several times throughout my meal, so I can wait to see how I feel. If the food is high in protein, I can't eat a lot. If the food isn't high in protein, I can eat much more. I could eat a 6-inch sub, but I wouldn't eat all of the bread. I would usually remove the top bun and only eat part of the bottom bun. If the bread is toasted, it is easier for me to eat. I second the suggestion to talk to your uncle. It may be that he learned not to eat so much because of the way that much food made him feel. The weight gain may also be temporary. I went on vacation last summer and ate well throughout, but I still ended up gaining 6 pounds. I was shocked, but it turned out to be Water weight, and I lost it again.

Weight lifting -- even low weights (3 and 5 pounds) -- helped my arms. It didn't take long to start seeing some muscle definition, and the muscle helped with some of the loose skin in the arms. Check with your doctor about when you can start exercising. I had a hiatial hernia repaired along with my surgery, so I couldn't do anything besides walking until 6 weeks had passed.