BKMama

Unless it is ice ice ice cold it makes me nauseous too, especially having to sip it. Room temperature Water literally makes me gag. So weird.

I hate 'crashing' you guys forum, but I just have to say thanks for sharing and YOU GO BOY!! LOL

What a funny thread (most of it anyway)! I am snickering my butt off at work. "Biscuit to loaf of french bread" made me choke on my damn water! LOL!!!

Hi everyone!
Such a great thread, so much information. I'm still in the pre-approval stage, haven't even sent everything to insurance for approval. I'm ready for this journey to truly begin even though I'm nervous as well. I have SO much to lose and can't wait to meet the new me.
Is anyone in the chicagoland area? I'd love to get some buddies or mentors to get through this journey. :-)

What a funny thread (most of it anyway)! I am snickering my butt off at work. "Biscuit to loaf of french bread" made me choke on my damn water! LOL!!!

This is good info to know. I'll need to tell my trainer he won't see me for a few weeks. I'm going to add it to my list of questions for the surgeon too.

Hey Kayte - I worry about this with my husband but it's funny. As big as I am, I have smaller boobs (barely a D cup) and definitely suffer from noassatall. I'm hoping and praying that slimming down and exercising will give me some curves. Anyway, I know I don't want to get too thin because he just doesn't like really thin girls...everyone has their preferences. I would say, just make the most of whatever you have left. Show him what the thinner body can do that the "thicker" one could. The different clothes you'll be able to wear...things like that.
Reading this board and looking through before/after pics, it seems that most of the women kept their overall body shape. If you start off curvy, you'll likely stay curvy but just with smaller proportions. I'm a square, so I need to make some curves! LOL
And a bit of a tangent, this whole "I'm thick" movement has done us a bit of a disservice if you ask me as far as health. Many of us passed up "thick" many, many pounds ago (myself included!!). LOL It's great to have fabulous self-esteem no matter your size, I admire women like that...but we have to be honest with ourselves that our health is in danger.

during weight loss I ate 1200 minimum a day as soon as I could (maybe around 3 months) and then 1400-1500 around 6 months. Maintaining at 1800-2000 for about a year! I for one probably ate 3000- 4000 per day pre-sleeve. I didn't want to tank my metabolism. I think the chance for regain goes up if you eat 600 cals per day for a year, its so easy to eat a little more and gain weight off of 1000 cals (my friend had gastric bypass and this happened to her) she regained 75 pounds eating 1000 cals a day! Everyone is different-- this is what has worked for me.

I carry a pretty large purse, so I air pop my own popcorn and take it in with me. I also take my water bottle too. Other things you could do is veggies and ranch greek yogurt dip, turkey roll ups (turkey slices and cheese rolled), string cheese, pretzels (these are a slippery slope for me...but others do well with them).
EDIT: Oh crap, I totally missed that you were on soft foods. Sorry!! Most of my list doesn't apply.
I would honestly probably take a Protein Shake with me and call it a day.

The Crockpot is your friend. I can only eat chicken breast out of a crockpot because it's super moist. Otherwise, it has to be pretty much drenched in a sauce of some kind. My favorite crock pot recipe is breasts, some EVOO, and a packet of Italian dressing mix (or just use regular italian dressing). You can also make salsa chicken with salsa and chicken. Lots of things you can do in the crockpot with chicken and it comes out super moist!
That said, I still can only eat 2-3 oz. But I expect that to be my serving and am fine with that.

The Crockpot is your friend. I can only eat chicken breast out of a crockpot because it's super moist. Otherwise, it has to be pretty much drenched in a sauce of some kind. My favorite crock pot recipe is breasts, some EVOO, and a packet of Italian dressing mix (or just use regular italian dressing). You can also make salsa chicken with salsa and chicken. Lots of things you can do in the crockpot with chicken and it comes out super moist!
That said, I still can only eat 2-3 oz. But I expect that to be my serving and am fine with that.

Why not just be honest? Instead of making your co worker feel like they are looked down upon because they happen to like a resturaunt that wasn't good enough for you to eat at, just tell the truth. What's wrong with saying, I really eat very small portions. It would help even more to say it before you even arrive at the resturaunt. You set the expectation before you arrive if you are really concerned about it.
What's the worst that will happen? They might see a big person eating a really small portion. They will think.
1. Maybe you are trying to slim down. BRAVO for you!!
2. How did you get this big eating so little? ( you didn't. You are getting smaller by eating that little.)
3. You don't like the food. (that will change when you say how good the food is, and how you are looking forward to having the leftovers at dinner)
4. They might express concern that you might have a real medical issue, because there is no way you should be big eating that little. That's when you say something like, I got this big by not taking control of my life, that has changed.
This surgery was done so you could have your life back. So take your life back. Be strong! Don't let what you think people might believe rule your life. You be you, don't pretend to be different.

Wow, look at you! You are rocking your sleeve!

I'm 59 and never...
um.... never...
crap, I've done it all. Now what??

Girl BYE! You still have plenty of curves for your hubby to love on. You look great. Would he rather you have a donk and the issues that come with being overweight or a baby donk (LOL) and be healthy?

What keeps me going? Life! I'm too busy to think about stopping!
I never feel deprived or hungry! It's about changing your mindset if you think about food. Instead, think about what food allows you to do.
Willpower is a crap excuse to not do something. Just start doing what you need to do and make it habit.
You didn't become fat through willpower, you won't become healthy through it either.
Form good habits. If you do something enough, it becomes automatic.
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Yep. I helped moderate a board (of all women at that *shudder*) and it just goes with the territory. With this group having no type of no vetting or screening to gain access, that just adds to the wide range of people/opinions/drama. Some people really are just miserable and love the e-courage that talking to people on message boards bring them. Some people aren't trying to be mean but just tend to tell it how it is (it's hard to infer tone in words written on a screen). Some people's lives are all sunshine, ponies, and rainbows.

This hasn't been my experience at all. I can eat maybe 3 bites of a thick cut salmon because it tends to be drier. Tilapia and Swai, I can eat an entire small fillet because it is such a light and flaky fish.
LOL, I try not to waste food but at a wedding recently I just moved the food around so it looked like I had eaten a bit more of it. I was with a group of friends and some know about the surgery so they definitely do watch what and how I eat. It's a little annoying to feel like a science experiment while you're eating.

ha, ha, BKMama...I think I might just change my avatar to a pic of one of those pink precious pony toys

I think you still have a but, and it is nicely proportioned with your body. You look great.

Yep. I helped moderate a board (of all women at that *shudder*) and it just goes with the territory. With this group having no type of no vetting or screening to gain access, that just adds to the wide range of people/opinions/drama. Some people really are just miserable and love the e-courage that talking to people on message boards bring them. Some people aren't trying to be mean but just tend to tell it how it is (it's hard to infer tone in words written on a screen). Some people's lives are all sunshine, ponies, and rainbows.

Your article made me cry! You are such an inspiration!! My goal this year is to walk/jog 2 5K's plus the Dirty Girl Run which is an untimed obstacle course (baby steps LOL). I totally get the moving from one addiction to the other. I would have NEVER in a million years thought I'd be a gym rat. It feels so awesome though!

One of my biggest goals in having a VSG was to be more "present" in my kid's lives. Because of my weight, I was unable to attend many school activities. Well today, at 92 pounds down since pre op on 10/4/12, I went with my son on his field trip. It was a TON of walking and at times I was out of breath, but, I did it!

There is absolutely nothing useful or constructive in this entire thread.
I'm sorry the OP's sister has had a terrible experience, but I also realize this is a post by someone that did not choose to have the sleeve and who has no first hand experience to relate.
I think it's a bit ridiculous to implore strangers on the internet to change their minds entirely about surgery based upon one experience. I think the approach taken was wrong in that respect. Sharing information is one thing. Scare mongering is another. But what's the big deal in the end, really?
Look - I appreciate every single person that comes to VST to report their negative experiences. Because people researching surgery sometimes don't understand what complications can arise, even when they're clearly listed and every surgeon should cover them in detail. Heck, ten minutes of your time on VST could outline every single possible negative experience or side effect you could possibly have if you bother to do the search. Most people don't, but then most people undergoing surgery are so "eyes on the prize" that they completely disregard any risks as things that simply won't happen to them.
So people that are either post op and had a great experience should not take it personally when someone relates their PERSONAL negative experience here. It's not our job to defend the entire surgery. Some surgeons stink and shouldn't operate and sometimes complications happen even with great surgeons. The people doing research have a right to know about the good and the bad.
But much the same way I get peeved when I read an anti-Mexico surgery rant by someone that's never had a surgery in Mexico, I don't weight posts by people that haven't personally undergone surgery as heavily as I would a personal account. Sorry, that's just the way it is.
My sympathies to the OP's family because seeing a family member struggle isn't easy or fun for anyone.
Everyone else should really chill out and stop making this into an argument. There's nothing to argue about. OP says don't have surgery, lots of people love the surgery, whatever. VST is about sharing our vast breadth of experiences and that goes for positive as well as negative. There's nothing to be offended about when someone has a bad experience.
~Cheri

That's right - one year. 150 lbs. still going but even if I didn't lose another pound I would be happy. I have my life back and it is GOOD. Thanks to those here that have been so supportive.
Big HUGE thanks to Dr. Almanza and Dr. Betancourt and their whole crew. Melissa, my coordinator, who even came to see me during my surgery... What a blessing you all are! Can't wait to come visit and have some fun in TJ!
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