Chimera

Beautiful! Your post has made me weepy - so good to know that yet another one of us who has long struggled has gotten to their goal. Best of luck with going in to maintenance, I know that this can be one of the most challenging parts, and thank you for sharing you great news

haha! I knew this had to be true - the part about just looking at images causes the production of ghrelin is fascinating. It's like how one tiny cookie or potato chip can set me up for ravenous cravings for carbs and anything and everything else - even after surgery. When I stay far away from them - not a problem.

gotta keep remembering food is fuel - not entertainment

Interesting article from Fitbie today:

http://fitbie.msn.com/food-porn-problem

Another study in the journal Obesity found that simply seeing food increases levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin, even after eating a regular meal. And maybe worst of all, the part of your brain that governs self-control fails to kick in with food porn the way it does with actual food. In a recent study, Belgian researchers found that women who looked at images of chocolate were more likely than women who sat in front of a plate of chocolate to overeat hours later. Fascinating! Not to mention troubling.

I dont have Starbucks often these days - maybe once every 2 weeks. I like to order a grande Vanilla latte - but with 2 pumps of vanilla rather than the normal 4 they use, I dont like too sweet.

250 cals, 12g Protein, 37 carbs, 6 fat. if i have one of these, which I consider a meal and a snack I would most likely have extra lean turkey for the rest of the day as the carbs are pretty high for me during my losing phase.

I used to do the whole fat free, artificial sweetner thing in coffee - no longer. I do drink Crystal Lite, as does my husband and that is some eye opening information about artificial sweetners!

It depends on the surgeon. One of my best friends is at a very high BMI - 76 right now I beleive, and the doctors in Mexico have told her that she needs to lose a bit of weight before they feel it is safe to operate on her. I was considered high risk at my BMI of 56 when I started - I think my surgeon considers anything over 50 risky, so i think it varies.

Everyone has a different experience - but I had a similar experience. I would concentrate on trying to get as much liquid in as possible right now, Vitamins if you can, Protein drinks a sip at a time (ice in everything helped me) - I got a bit dehydrated and was like a wilted plant the first month - I had my husband picked up some regular gatorade - not the sugar free, had a couple ounces of that and it was like the clouds parted and the sunshine came out. I perked up A LOT after that bottle of Gatorade - it did take a bit before my nausea subsided, About 6-8 weeks.

As Protein shakes were disgusting to me at that point I drank a lot of Protein chicken Soup - the Advanced health systems brand - which is a generic that lots of offices have - the powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury chicken I was excited about but has a taste and smell that was/is utterley repulsive to me.

Mine sure did - at around 8 weeks out for me.

Well done - you look fantastic thank you for posting your experience and pictures - what an inspiration!

Woohoo Happy birthday/surgiversay to you I cant wait to go shopping!

I hear ya - I was lactose intolerant for about 3 weeks and then it subsided and I am tolerant once again - milk seemed to be the one thing that really got me, hard cheeses seemed to be okay.

Indeed you do look great Bean!

Surgery: May 21, 2012

Since surgery I have lost 56 lbs - with 44 lbs lost during pre-op - which puts me in the century club this morning - 100 lbs down Husband who had his vsg two weeks prior to my own has now lost 115.

Great job everyone!

I'm gonna go find something that weighs 100 lbs and look at it - dont think I could lift it lol.

Woo - I never thought I would say I have now lost 100 lbs, but this morning I can All my numbers are in my sig and profile - had my surgery May 21, 2012 and have lost 56 lbs. since my surgery, with the other 44 being pre-op waiting for surgery losses. This is the most I have ever lost in one shot. I am a big fan of before and afters but I have decided that I will post pics when I reach my ultimate goal - the difference even now is ridiculous and quite shocking actually lol.

Only 19 lbs to go for Onederland, and 88 for my personal goal - yipee My husband is down 115 lbs and it virtually unrecognizable - one afternoon I was driving home with our daighter and saw a man walking towards our house and wondered "who the heck is that walking up to our home" - it was my dear husband, even I didnt recognize him lol.

Thank you to everyone here for all of your kindness and support - this is a wonderful community and it feels great to be getting healthy with so many that are and will be going through the same process and finally succeeding. May we all get to where we are going and maintain successfully no matter how long it takes!

I agree - great advice. For myself, and knowing my tendency to say "oh it is okay if I just have a little taste, sip, what have you" - that got me to 318 lbs...so I am going the abstinence route for the most part.

Certain foods that are very sliderish I tend to like a little bit too much after surgery, and now that the taste buds are back I try to be very careful - because I am definetely addicted to a whole host of food and drink I should not have right now

I dont even want to read it because I know what it says Havent we all endured poor treatment by folks who do not, nor have not ever walked in our shoes? Like sure i am going to submit to a major surgery on a whim - until you or someone you know goes through this process and have seen how intense and long the preparation is - how we really have to make changes in our lives post op (or else).

I wish the folks who make those sorts of small, unenlightened comments the gift of compassion for thier fellow humans - we all have not-so-pretty stuff that we struggle with. Ours just happens to be very visible and is one of the last bastions of discrimination that is accepted in 'civilized' society. I would rather struggle with this and then conquer it than be small and mean minded any day of the week.

I am not sure about Aetna - but my insurance BCBS of Illinois used my starting weight and BMI.

Walk girlfriend walk Glad to hear you are doing well - welcome to the wonderful land of the sleeved!

It gets better - I was a train wreck for weeks. The not being able to get more than a tiny sip of liquid down at a time was terrible - but that improves a lot within the first few weeks.

You are already breaking it - it takes time but eventually the craving WILL subside. Take it from one who quit a 28 year 2 pack a day smoking habit, and a serious diet coke and coffee addiction prior to my own surgery. I just keep telling myself it is something i used to do. I never want to go through having to quit any of these things again - that idea alone helps me when I get cravings for the stuff i should not have.

My NUT says that drinking carbonated beverages is one of the most detrimental things you can do post WLS - I have even heard that some docs recommend it to stretch out your sleeve when you want to eat more (i.e. stop losing).

I can go 10-15 days unless I am on top of things with fiber supplements, Mirilax, Colase, Milk of magnesia (blech) when needed. My husband and I joke about when it is "poop day" lol - he has the same issues after his own vsg as well.

costco - Premier Protein RTD, 160 cal, 30g Protein, 3-5 carb (depending on flavor) fat 3 g. A case of 18 is around $24 - less if there is a coupon Usually for pre-op you want carbs as low as you can get them - I did 20g and under and did Atkins 72 - which strives for zero carbs in the induction phase - My doc only had is do Clear Liquids the day prior.

My surgeon doesnt do them - he says they can cause leaks - go figure.

The bladder changes are awesome - I used to call myself "princess bunny bladder" because i had to pee like every 20 minutes - even when i wasnt drinking oceans of Water. Now i can go hours upon hours and not have to go - fabulous

Statically for all sleeve patients? One can expect to lose 50% of one's excess body weight in the first 6 months post surgery, another 25% in the next 6 months, and the final 25% over the 12 months following that.

Now mind you your mileage may vary - there are folks on this board who started with very high BMI's who lost all of the weight in 6-9 months - others who lose much more slowly - it is all over the map. Age, genetics, starting weight, compliance with surgeon's and nutritionists guidleines, how much you move your body are all factors that contribute.

Personally, I hit 50% down around my 3 month mark - thanks to pre-op losses.

Folks are usually cleared to bathe, swim, and lift objects at 6 to 8 weeks - your incisions must have no scabs. For the insides, it is three months, sans complications, to be considered healed - least that is what the staff at my surgeon's office states. And the reasons they have us on PPI's is to help with reflux, insure that we dont form ulcers, and help that staple line heal.

My first meal was a one egg omelette with sharp cheese - think I made it through about 1/4th of it and was stuffed to the gils and in heaven lol. Ate lots of eggs, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, refried Beans, chicken, tuna, and eggs salad - chopped very fine. chicken in the crock pot is nice as it stays very moist. another favorite is a slice of avocado wrapped in a bit of deli turkey - delish!

Sometimes when I get tired of eating the same old thing I will pick up some lean cuisines or Smart ones frozen dinners (only the ones with meat and vegetables - i dont do rice, Pasta, or much in the way of potatoes during this phase of my life - maybe when i get to goal) One of those dinners can last me 3-4 meals dpeneding on what it is. Same thing with a can of refired beans - 4-5 meals.

I loooove Soup but it can be a bit sliderish for me - as can the beans once I got onto dense solids. The three turkey meatball dinner (add salsa or condiment of your choice) leaves me packed to the gills. I still do Protein Soups, shakes - love string cheese and bonbels - we go through a lot of those around our house, and canadian bacon.