BenisaMartim4

The point of us having this surgery was to live like normal healthy skinny people, not to stay on a diet the rest of our lives. I eat whatever I want and always have, but in very tiny quantities. I am almost 15 months out. I have lost 165#. I have pretty much been in maintenance for 3 months. Not really on purpose; the nut told me that my calories were too low and that is why I stopped. I upped my calories and carbs and lost 5# in 5 days. I am 10# below goal. You will find that the majority of people that will all four you are pre-surgery or newbie sleevers. That is why you will find very few veterans here. We have learned to live life like normal people with tiny stomaches and we try to steer clear of pettiness. You have to find your own way in this journey. If you were living on nothing but cokes and Cookies I would tell you to get a hold of yourself. If you have a cupcake now and then or a cookie with your milk sometimes, I say enjoy. You are going to have a sleeve the rest of your life. You have not been sentenced to food prison. You have been given the liberating to enjoy life and food and have control of it instead of it controlling you. Best wishes!
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There once was a boy, a huge ginormous boy who never really fit in. He would walk around slowly and breathlessly. Many would stare, kids would giggle and point. This boy was super content with his life but he knew something needed to change. So he became a women.... Wait no that's not right. He decided to have wls surgery, yes much better. So one night on Halloween a tummy fairy came along and tore out his stomach. And it was painful. He had to learn how to reeat. He followed the Fairys instructions to the T. He also found a site with people who had the same thing occur. Some of them who are nice, others who aren't. Six months later this boy loses 117 lbs and walks at a brisker pace. No one stares, his clothing is looser and he's much much healthier/happier. He doesn't regret his choice though it was the hardest thing to do in the world. He made the best choice and so will you.

The point of us having this surgery was to live like normal healthy skinny people, not to stay on a diet the rest of our lives. I eat whatever I want and always have, but in very tiny quantities. I am almost 15 months out. I have lost 165#. I have pretty much been in maintenance for 3 months. Not really on purpose; the nut told me that my calories were too low and that is why I stopped. I upped my calories and carbs and lost 5# in 5 days. I am 10# below goal. You will find that the majority of people that will all four you are pre-surgery or newbie sleevers. That is why you will find very few veterans here. We have learned to live life like normal people with tiny stomaches and we try to steer clear of pettiness. You have to find your own way in this journey. If you were living on nothing but cokes and Cookies I would tell you to get a hold of yourself. If you have a cupcake now and then or a cookie with your milk sometimes, I say enjoy. You are going to have a sleeve the rest of your life. You have not been sentenced to food prison. You have been given the liberating to enjoy life and food and have control of it instead of it controlling you. Best wishes!
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Oh Honey! You just made me laugh! There are a lot of food nazis on this site! I too eat some fat and carbs in small portions and even occasionally a (gasp) sugary treat! We do need some carbs and especially the Omega three fats in order for our metabolism to run. I try to concentrate on getting enough Protein though because if I don't that's when I feel hungry and I tend to start grazing, which is dangerous behavior. My other observation is that while I am able to eat sugar it tends to make me feel crappy. I try not to give in to my sugar cravings because it is an addiction for me. My brain still desires that sugary, mellow high, although my resistance to sugar's siren-song is much stronger since being sleeved! It is important to be self-aware of one's potential to F things up despite having had the surgery.
pre-surgery weight 325; surgery date 2/28/2013; surgery weight 307; 8 weeks past-op weight 281.4

I've noticed that people on here can be very judgmental and mean!! So I've been skeptical about posting this....but anyways
I was sleeved 3/13 I'm down 50lbs and to be honest I eat what I want (not a whole lot i have restriction duh!)..nooo I'm not saying I eat fat greasy foods...but yes I eat bread ...yes I buy low fat crackers and pretzels....I do watch my sugar intake but maybe one day out the week I'll have a frozen Cappuccino or a few cookies...my point is I've done my research and your body needs carbs and fat without it you will definitely "STALL" judge me if you like I just wanted to share that...for all you people that wants to judge me keep your comments to yourself please and thank you..

Hi everyone. It's been a long time since I've dropped by, but I just want to give an up date and a word of encouragement. I had my one year post-op yesterday. It was a bit late (2/14/12 surgery), but anywho. I was down #160 (335-175), twenty dress sizes (28-8) and over 252 inches. If I can do this, anyone can. I had my toes in the grave. I was on 21 meds and the doc told me I would die that way...whether I lost weight or not. Because of my problems he (my PCP) didn't think I would lost a huge amount (50-60#), but he encouraged me to have it do so I could 'feel a little better about myself.' Well, I'm glad to say I proved him wrong. I did lose weight and a lot of it. I also lost all of the meds and the cane/walker/wheelchair. I am a WALKING miracle. I give praise to God for my healing. Now because I was instantly miraculously healed, but because he allowed me to find the path and the means (insurance) to get what I needed to be healed. I do believe God instantly heals somethings in some people, but I also believe he uses the hand of good physicians to administer healing. This is the way he chose to give me mine. I encourage anyone that has had a long, unyielding struggle with obesity to talk to a doctor about WLS... Sleeve in particular. If you are on the edge trying to make up your mind, take my advice. Do it! You are sick? In pain? Lonely? Depressed? What are you holding on to! You have nothing to lose, but all of that. Are there risks? Yes. Is it hard? Yes. But come on. We all know the fat has a 100% chance of causing complication/death. Is it really that much of a gamble to take a 1% chance with a surgery. You're more likely to get killed in a car wreck on the way to get your next fast food burger. Do yourself and your family/friends a favor and choose life. I did and I would do it again and again.

Before surgery (28, 335#) and on my 1 year Surgiversary (8/10, 178#)

At my 1 year post op (8, 175#) holding my old size 28 skirt.

Side view. Now a size 8.
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After seeing all my test results and them saying it was degenerative and the only way to alleviate some of the pain and a faster deterioration was to build muscles, he told me that I could go to the gym if I wanted to. We are going to see if they will let me do a trial to see if I can hold up prior to PT. I was standing and looking at myself in the mirror this morning. I have the tiniest little bird legs with piles of loose flesh over the top. I hope building up muscle under there will help their appearance too. My main reason for doing it is my spinal and joint condition, but I'm just as vain as the next girl and want to feel pretty when I look in the mirror too.
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There are so many things that factor into this. Your sleeve is not a failure. All of us function differently and have had different things going on with our health when we were sleeved. I am in a support group with ladies that all were sleeved within a month of each other. We are all 14 months+ -. Our weight loss ranges from 66# to 170#. I have lost 165#. My start weight was 335#. What was your start weight. Pounds lost is not the best way to look at it. You need to know % of body weight lost. This is how they figure it on the biggest loser. It's not fair to compare the weight loss of a person weighing 350-400# to that of a person weighing 200-250#. The bigger person is pretty much always going to drop big numbers faster. You also may have the opposite problem than what you think. You may not be eating enough. You will lower your BMR if your body presumes starvation. I was doing this to myself. I would ask my doctor to assess my routine. If he/she thinks you are doing everything right (keep up with it on my fitness pal so you can be POSITIVE of your intake) then I would consider going to an endocrinologist to have my BMR tested. If it shows that your metabolism is damaged, then they can tell you ways to help boost it. You did not make the wrong decision choosing the sleeve over the by-pass. It is much better to lose >60# and be healthy than to lose >100# and be malnourished and Vitamin deficient.
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Red marks. If something is too tight it will leave impressions on your skin. Because of my weight distribution I have been tempted to buy those pregnancy jeans with the regular sized legs and stretchy waistband, with my chubby lower belly and extra skin, my legs get lost in pants that fit my waist.

Lol.. Just asked my daughter your question. She said, it's too tight if you can't breathe, have to lie down to get it on, or if when you're sitting and you have body in places it shouldn't be, ie: muffin top, back boobs etc

You may have lost some muscle, but even if you didn't you'd feel weaker by losing all the weight...it's simple physics. You can't use your weight to throw other weight around anymore. You can't "put your weight behind it" like you once could. And the padding....heck yeah. Who knew toilet seats were so friggin firm? I can't even enjoy a good magazine anymore.
And let's not even talk about how cold I've been all winter. It's getting ridiculous. It's May and I'm still wanting to light the fireplace....in Texas.

Does anyone else get this feeling? It's quite irritating to be very honest!
Before I lost weight, I felt really strong and "hearty".. I could lift things and push heavy boxes around. Now, I feel like those silly girls at the grocery store that ask for help to lift a box of Water bottles. I AM that silly girl.
I've been studying for exams these days, and often find my bum hurting from sitting on it too long, and certain positions are no longer comfortable, because I've lost the padding!
I also have this constant irritation around my elbow, where the nerve keeps getting pinched, because I rest it on the table, just so.
It's getting ridiculous! While I like that my boyfriend can lift me, I don't like that a really strong wind can also throw me off balance. I'm wondering if this is because I've lost muscle, and really need to work out more... or if my center of gravity is off, and I need to work on my core strength.. or if this is what normal petite women deal with on a daily basis?

I have become an attention *****. I soak up praise and admiration like a sponge. I guess it's because I was invisible for so many years. Go ahead and laugh (300#+ and invisible!), but I know y'all know what I mean.
And to make me sound even more debase (coffee addiction..pfft), I'm addicted to sex. Thank God only with my husband, but still! I wasn't that way before. As a matter of fact, I detested it. I could gag thinking about it. Now I'm like RAWR all the time. I never get tired of it. *hangs head in shame* my poor husband wishes I liked coffee...
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^^^like she said! Get on my fitness pal and do it now. It's the best partner your sleeve will ever have.
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This will not work for you with Celiacs , but when i really want a waffle, I use Bobs Red Mill Low Carb mix and make it myself. I can even freeze a second, and eat later when the urge calls.
http://www.netrition.com/bobs_lc_bake_mix_page.html
1/4 cup=
120 cals,
8 usable carbs and
12 grams Protein

The second poster talked about the sleeve causing cancer. The sleeve has been known to cause hotness, at least my wife thinks so.

In all of my researching I have never found an instance of bariatric surgery or any other kind causing cancer. I have had prostate cancer and it had nothing to do with surgery. Some people think biopsies release cancer but no definitive answers there.
If cuts cause cancer why wouldn't we get skin cancer from all the gashes we get stitches for? All surgery is is sewn up cuts.
I've had dreams about gigantic cartoon characters trying to run me down and stomp me. Sponge Bob is not as nice as people think he is.

I have lost 161# and mine are pretty big. My kids love them. They are all the time squeezing my arms. One asked me the other day:
Kid- are those your wings?
Me- yep
Kid- can you fly with them?
Me- nope, I prefer to use a broom.
Kid- ahhhhh *screams for other kids* mama's an alien!!!
Lol...kids????
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Hi everyone. It's been a long time since I've dropped by, but I just want to give an up date and a word of encouragement. I had my one year post-op yesterday. It was a bit late (2/14/12 surgery), but anywho. I was down #160 (335-175), twenty dress sizes (28-8) and over 252 inches. If I can do this, anyone can. I had my toes in the grave. I was on 21 meds and the doc told me I would die that way...whether I lost weight or not. Because of my problems he (my PCP) didn't think I would lost a huge amount (50-60#), but he encouraged me to have it do so I could 'feel a little better about myself.' Well, I'm glad to say I proved him wrong. I did lose weight and a lot of it. I also lost all of the meds and the cane/walker/wheelchair. I am a WALKING miracle. I give praise to God for my healing. Now because I was instantly miraculously healed, but because he allowed me to find the path and the means (insurance) to get what I needed to be healed. I do believe God instantly heals somethings in some people, but I also believe he uses the hand of good physicians to administer healing. This is the way he chose to give me mine. I encourage anyone that has had a long, unyielding struggle with obesity to talk to a doctor about WLS... Sleeve in particular. If you are on the edge trying to make up your mind, take my advice. Do it! You are sick? In pain? Lonely? Depressed? What are you holding on to! You have nothing to lose, but all of that. Are there risks? Yes. Is it hard? Yes. But come on. We all know the fat has a 100% chance of causing complication/death. Is it really that much of a gamble to take a 1% chance with a surgery. You're more likely to get killed in a car wreck on the way to get your next fast food burger. Do yourself and your family/friends a favor and choose life. I did and I would do it again and again.

Before surgery (28, 335#) and on my 1 year Surgiversary (8/10, 178#)

At my 1 year post op (8, 175#) holding my old size 28 skirt.

Side view. Now a size 8.
Sent from my iPhone using VST

Hi everyone. It's been a long time since I've dropped by, but I just want to give an up date and a word of encouragement. I had my one year post-op yesterday. It was a bit late (2/14/12 surgery), but anywho. I was down #160 (335-175), twenty dress sizes (28-8) and over 252 inches. If I can do this, anyone can. I had my toes in the grave. I was on 21 meds and the doc told me I would die that way...whether I lost weight or not. Because of my problems he (my PCP) didn't think I would lost a huge amount (50-60#), but he encouraged me to have it do so I could 'feel a little better about myself.' Well, I'm glad to say I proved him wrong. I did lose weight and a lot of it. I also lost all of the meds and the cane/walker/wheelchair. I am a WALKING miracle. I give praise to God for my healing. Now because I was instantly miraculously healed, but because he allowed me to find the path and the means (insurance) to get what I needed to be healed. I do believe God instantly heals somethings in some people, but I also believe he uses the hand of good physicians to administer healing. This is the way he chose to give me mine. I encourage anyone that has had a long, unyielding struggle with obesity to talk to a doctor about WLS... Sleeve in particular. If you are on the edge trying to make up your mind, take my advice. Do it! You are sick? In pain? Lonely? Depressed? What are you holding on to! You have nothing to lose, but all of that. Are there risks? Yes. Is it hard? Yes. But come on. We all know the fat has a 100% chance of causing complication/death. Is it really that much of a gamble to take a 1% chance with a surgery. You're more likely to get killed in a car wreck on the way to get your next fast food burger. Do yourself and your family/friends a favor and choose life. I did and I would do it again and again.

Before surgery (28, 335#) and on my 1 year Surgiversary (8/10, 178#)

At my 1 year post op (8, 175#) holding my old size 28 skirt.

Side view. Now a size 8.
Sent from my iPhone using VST

Hi everyone. It's been a long time since I've dropped by, but I just want to give an up date and a word of encouragement. I had my one year post-op yesterday. It was a bit late (2/14/12 surgery), but anywho. I was down #160 (335-175), twenty dress sizes (28-8) and over 252 inches. If I can do this, anyone can. I had my toes in the grave. I was on 21 meds and the doc told me I would die that way...whether I lost weight or not. Because of my problems he (my PCP) didn't think I would lost a huge amount (50-60#), but he encouraged me to have it do so I could 'feel a little better about myself.' Well, I'm glad to say I proved him wrong. I did lose weight and a lot of it. I also lost all of the meds and the cane/walker/wheelchair. I am a WALKING miracle. I give praise to God for my healing. Now because I was instantly miraculously healed, but because he allowed me to find the path and the means (insurance) to get what I needed to be healed. I do believe God instantly heals somethings in some people, but I also believe he uses the hand of good physicians to administer healing. This is the way he chose to give me mine. I encourage anyone that has had a long, unyielding struggle with obesity to talk to a doctor about WLS... Sleeve in particular. If you are on the edge trying to make up your mind, take my advice. Do it! You are sick? In pain? Lonely? Depressed? What are you holding on to! You have nothing to lose, but all of that. Are there risks? Yes. Is it hard? Yes. But come on. We all know the fat has a 100% chance of causing complication/death. Is it really that much of a gamble to take a 1% chance with a surgery. You're more likely to get killed in a car wreck on the way to get your next fast food burger. Do yourself and your family/friends a favor and choose life. I did and I would do it again and again.

Before surgery (28, 335#) and on my 1 year Surgiversary (8/10, 178#)

At my 1 year post op (8, 175#) holding my old size 28 skirt.

Side view. Now a size 8.
Sent from my iPhone using VST

The best advise I can give is track your food and have a calorie goal ( I use My Fitness Pal) and stay away from the junk. Don't be drinking regular sodas/ kook aide and don't eat a bunch of sweets. These things take up very little room, but pack a big calorie punch. I don't say anything is off limits, because that is just setting yourself up for failure. This is a lifestyle, not a diet. Have a cookie now and then, but don't keep them in the house all the time. If you can do some sort of physical activity, please do. It will help you stay strong and maintain muscle mass. I have done very, very little exercise because of various injuries I have. I wish I could do more so I could be firm and strong. Always remember that tomorrow is a new day. Didn't do so good today... Get up brush yourself off and start again. None of us are perfect. We are only human and we need help. That's why you are here. Get a support system, even if its just one person; but make sure it is a truthful one, one that will keep you accountable. One that will tell you you rock when you do and kick your butt when you don't.
Hope this helps you out. I don't have any sage wisdom, but just a little common sense. It's what got me here. Best wishes on your journey ????
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I have lost 161# and mine are pretty big. My kids love them. They are all the time squeezing my arms. One asked me the other day:
Kid- are those your wings?
Me- yep
Kid- can you fly with them?
Me- nope, I prefer to use a broom.
Kid- ahhhhh *screams for other kids* mama's an alien!!!
Lol...kids????
Sent from my iPhone using VST