Lila21

Well, personally, I lost 130 lbs doing that, but I couldn't keep to such a strict regime, and I gained it back. I think that's beauty of the sleeve. Finally something to help us KEEP IT OFF!!!

I'm all about the workout, too! I have an awesome series of classes that I go to. Also, now that I've lost almost one hundred pounds, I find myself shopping a bit too much. Since I am still 40 lbs away from goal, I really try to spend more money on jewelry and less on clothing. I get a lot of stuff from Old Navy since it's pretty affordable, and I'll save the real fashionista stuff for when I hit goal!

My tip is protein first! At about the 6 month mark, you'll be able to eat more carbs than you think, and at that point the "protein first" rule becomes very important. Also, expect that you may have stalls or plateaus, and be prepared for things to slow down the closer you get to your goal weight. Finally, my tip is to really enjoy and appreciate the weight you have lost. I am not to my goal yet (with 25 lbs to go), but I fully appreciate how much better I feel, and I take advantage of my far greater health. I think that if I focused on the "25 lbs to go" rather than the 125 lbs lost, I'd feel discouraged right now. As it is, I feel pretty great and I just ran my first half-marathon!

I think it really depends heavily on genetics, sorry to say! I will probably want some kind of lift or tummy tuck, but I have skin that just doesn't stretch back that well. However, if you have more resilient skin, you might be fine. It might also have to do with how sensitive you are to the extra skin. I think some people wear spanx and get on with their lives, while others feel that it really bothers them. For me, I feel like it might be worth it to get surgery, but I am still on the fence!

I think it really depends heavily on genetics, sorry to say! I will probably want some kind of lift or tummy tuck, but I have skin that just doesn't stretch back that well. However, if you have more resilient skin, you might be fine. It might also have to do with how sensitive you are to the extra skin. I think some people wear spanx and get on with their lives, while others feel that it really bothers them. For me, I feel like it might be worth it to get surgery, but I am still on the fence!

I think it really depends heavily on genetics, sorry to say! I will probably want some kind of lift or tummy tuck, but I have skin that just doesn't stretch back that well. However, if you have more resilient skin, you might be fine. It might also have to do with how sensitive you are to the extra skin. I think some people wear spanx and get on with their lives, while others feel that it really bothers them. For me, I feel like it might be worth it to get surgery, but I am still on the fence!

I tried this recipe today and it was sooo delicious:
recipes on this site worth checking out!
chicken POT PIE IN CREPES
So beautiful! Homey-old-fashioned gets updated and elegant in this dish.
I’ve taken my family-favorite casserole and removed the carby crust – kept the gorgeous filling and simply rolled it in my higher-protein-lower-carb crepes.
You can’t go wrong with this. Even if you didn’t tackle the crepe making and just ate the filling – it’s still great!
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Crepes:
4 eggs
1/2 cup ricotta
4 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons milk
.
In a medium bowl beat the Ricotta with the eggs. Beat in the flour, salt, and milk. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.
Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Coat with vegetable cooking spray when hot. Pour in 2 tablespoons of batter and swirl the pan to coat the entire surface in a thin layer. Allow to cook, without turning, until completely done. The top should be no longer shiny and when you touch it it’s not wet. The bottom will be have a very slight golden color. If it’s too dark, lower the heat.
(These can be impossible to flip and they don’t need to be, so don’t try if you don’t want to. I do sometimes to get the same color on each side, but they are done when it’s dry on the top.) Gently loosen the edges with a spatula and slide out of the pan onto a plate. Very lightly spray the top with vegetable spray – this way you can stack them on top of each other.
Lightly coat the pan with cooking spray before each crepe. Proceed with above directions until batter is gone. Allow the crepes to cool to room temperature and then wrap the plate tightly with plastic wrap. These keep well in the fridge – unfilled – for several days.
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Filling:
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup finely diced, or shredded carrots
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon Splenda/sugar (brings out the flavors, yes it does!)
Dash grated fresh nutmeg
3/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup ff half & half
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 cups diced or shredded, cooked chicken
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Melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, and slowly cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for one minute. Add salt, pepper, sage, thyme, Splenda, and nutmeg. Whisk in chicken broth and cream. Cook until bubbly and boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in peas and chicken. Cook for one minute to heat through. Makes twelve 1-crepe servings.
Per Weight loss surgery-size serving: 150 Cal; 13 g Protein; 7 g Tot Fat; 8 g Carb; 1 g Fiber; 1 g Sugar; 290 mg Sodium

Coops and iegal, you both said it so well! I often found myself feeling like I was stuck in inertia, and if I could just get started... tomorrow... things would be better. :-)
One thing that I thought but didn't say was how free I would feel to be rid of all my fat, and even though I have a ways to go, that seems to be sooooo true. I feel so much better and so much more free!!! I <3 my sleeve!

Thanks for starting this thread, Diva, sometimes I forget how far I've come!
My surgery was 12/14/10 and I am roughly 7 months out and 93 lbs down!! I'm soooooo close to Onederland, and I'm soooo happy with my results so far! I am so much more able to work out and just live! Thank you, sleeve!

I'm so excited for your teeny tiny waist, too!! It's funny because when you said that, I was thinking OMG, I totally want to get liposuction on my waist now, too! Because it's usually where I get smallest, and it would be so cool for it to be super tiny! AND.... Since you are already tiny there, and you are getting the girls done, you are gonna be like a pinup model when all is said and done!!!

Well said. P.S. Weren't people CRAZY to get Michelle Obama's arms? I seem to remember this being a "hot news item" right after the election :-)

So glad you are feeling better, Lisa!! Don't hesitate to come to us anytime for support! That's what we're here for!

I honestly think this is something that people who have never been overweight CANNOT understand. It's something they've never experienced, so the lifelong struggle, the difficulty of being overweight, the constant uphill battle is something that they just don't know. Also, because it's a surgery, she's probably frightened something will go wrong. I think maybe if you share what you've gone through, maybe your sister will understand. I was shocked when my surgeon had me list all the diets I've been on over the years. It was a list of something like 20 diets!!! I also think if you get her to check out this site, she might see the number of very healthy and happy people who have had this surgery. Regardless, I'm sure they will come around eventually. Sometimes it takes people time to adjust.

Thanks for this post! I have the same fears, and I bet a lot of us do! I have never, ever lost weight this fast, but every time I hit a stall I think this is it. This is all the weight I'm going to lose. I think it's just the result of bad experiences with diets haunting us! But, I fully believe if we support each other, we can help keep each other from fearing failure so much!

Yes, you are definitely NOT ALONE!!! It even has a name, "the dreaded week 3 stall" Just consider it part of your rite of passage :-).
I just through it myself, so I feel you!!!

Happy, happy Birthday to an inspiration!!!

There are days I'm REALLY embarrassed at our country's obesity rate. Then there is that Michelle Obamma person who herself doesn't look that great in a bathing suit. . did anyone see her and her daughter at the beach wherever they were?? . . at least she should have wore a 1 piecer. Want to talk about an EMBARRASSMENT!! . .Sarah Palin may be foolish in some of her ways but at least she is in shape and doesn't preach "do as I say and not as I do" philosphopy. . .

I've been thinking a lot about this as I am due to be sleeved in less than two weeks (yipes!). I have only told my best friend, my boss, and few other people (I'm single, so I don't have have a partner to share it with). But, the more I think about it, the more I feel like this isn't anyone else's business. People don't tell me when they have their gallbladders taken out, they don't tell me when they have a stomach ulcer, or problems with their bowels, or backs. Why is it anyone's right to know the intimate details about my personal health choices. If I meet someone who is obese and wants heip, I might share it with them, but I really don't feel like this is anyone's business but mine. It kind of offends me that other people feel like it's their business to know all the inner details of my health decisions. I don't ask about the intimate parts of their lives, and I feel like I am due the same courtesy.

I love pinto Beans, they are a low fat meal and have a decent amount of Protein. Plus they taste great on a winter day!
I like to make them the day before I plan on eating them, the tastes just seem to marry overnight.
4 cans of pinto beans (I like to buy sun vista or any other mexican food brand)
1/4 of a small white onion diced
1 small clove of garlic minced
garlic salt to taste
Take your diced onion and garlic and pour a tiny bit of juice from one of the cans of pinto beans into your cooking pan. Sweat them on low for two or three minutes getting them nice and soft. Pour in all the beans and juice from the cans. Cover pan with lid and cook low and slow for 45 minutes. I add garlic salt while cooking usually about two teaspoons. When in a hurry i have cooked a smaller batch on a bit higher of heat for 20 minutes or so and it worked fine for a meal.
After the cook I will have a small bowl and put the rest in the fridge and reheat the next day. They taste even better then.
Lightly brown a couple corn tortillas in a grease free cast Iron skillet and serve up on the side.

Tuna Mousse
2 6-oz cans tuna packed in water; drained
2 tablespoons low-fat mayo
2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
2 tablespoons fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1/2 tsp. celery seed
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
1. In a food processor, combine all ingredients except parsley and pulse until smooth.
2. Add parsley and pulse just until combined.
3. Transfer mousee to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Makes 4 servings (1/4 - 1/2 cup equals a serving)
Calories: 154.15 Protein: 23.37g Fat: 4.25g Carbs: 8.79g Cholesterol: 5mg Fiber: 0.21g Sodium: 485.65mg

I am so proud of you Diva! You are so dedicated and an inspiration to everyone!

Your original question was "BUT really why?"
Anatomically, the stomach is partially hidden by the liver, which must be retracted (pulled aside to get it out of the way) to access the stomach. The liver is a VERY dense, highly vascular organ. This means that if it is fatty, it is even more dense and difficult to retract. This increases the chance of rupturing or lacerating it interoperatively, which can be very serious, leading to hemorrhage and peritonitis. At the very least, as mentioned, it lengthens the surgery (adding more chance of complications related to anesthesia, clots, stroke, etc...). At the very very least, it's a pain in the ass to the whole surgical team, who are there trying to give you the best possible surgery. Stick to the pre-op diet that THEY give you (not us- i posted mine for those who were never given one). It will make your liver smaller, floppier, and easier to deal with in the OR. This is not a root canal. It's major abdominal surgery.
If you have questions, ASK them of your doctor. If you don't understand the answer, ASK again, and ask her to EXPLAIN them until you understand them. Don't let them rush you or discourage you from asking. This is YOUR body and YOUR life. There is a reason that you sign an "informed" consent. Your doc is legally, professionally, and ethically obligated to make sure you are fully informed, but only you can determine if you understand everything. Speak up, and good luck!

By depleting the free blood sugar (which eating a low-carb diet does), you force the body to burn glycogen from your liver to keep you going.
Glycogen is stored bound to a lot of water; going low-carb causes your liver to shrink and become less "slippery" through, essentially, dehydrating it. This is very, very important before your surgery, so you must follow your doctor's advice to the letter. It may be hard, but it's only for two weeks, right?
You really do NOT want surgical complications (or, god forbid, liver damage) due to not following instructions.
If you're unwilling to follow the pre-op diet, you might want to reconsider the surgery. It might be difficult for you to live with how restricted your diet will be post-op.

But I will say this, tomorrow is a brand new day and full of brand new mercy, brand new start yayyyy!

Okay, you asked for it, I say this from love .....
Well Mini, keep eating like that and you're going to have to change your name. You must have enjoyed being fat, you long to return to the good old days? Then keep stuffing candy in your mouth. Self-sabotage much? Go make a chocolate and Peanut Butter Protein shake, or protein ice cream. Chocolate peanut butter combo is my achilles heel too, so do you see me eating anything with that flavor? NO, because I didn't go through the expense of this surgery so I could stay f***ing fat. Put the candy down and get your a$$ to an overeater's anonymous meeting, or get thee to a shrink, our issues with food are multi-faceted and now that you are at goal you are in a dangerous zone of getting complacent or transferring addiction. Or, continue to shovel candy into your mouth and gain weight.