kittenkate

When I started this journey I needed to lose about 215 pounds. The idea of that seemed daunting and depressing. I didn't think I would EVER lose that much. As of today, I am less than 100 pounds away from that goal. I know that's still a lot of weight and I'm not done yet, but it feels like a light at the end of the tunnel. I love my sleeve!!!

I'm jealous of your all boobie all the time. I feel like that was the first thing to go. At 100 pounds lost I rewarded myself with a beautiful opal and pink sapphire ring. At the next (and final) 100 pounds lost I think I'll reward myself with a boob job. Ha!

Oh honey, you WILL be hungry again. I'm 6 months out and up until about a week ago I would eat 3 or 4 bites and be full to the point where the thought of eating more made me sick. I have recently noticed that I can eat a whole lot more. I still chew everything up as much as possible and it takes me awhile to eat it but I am eating 7 or 8 bites now. That may not seem like much but compared to 3 or 4 it's significant. Power through, it will all feel normal again soon.

Congratulations!!!! 60 pounds is a lot! I feel your pain with the clothes, I have people tell me all the time that I need to buy new clothes but they will just get too big again. Haha. You are doing a GREAT job, keep it up!!

Ha! Amazing!!!! Well done!

I was told from the beginning to take fish oil to prevent hair loss. I haven't had any hair loss but I'm not taking any chances so I take at least one mini capsule of fish oil per day.

I stay low carb so I eat a lot of hard-boiled eggs, soups, meats, cheeses, and veggies. Breakfast is usually a hard boiled egg or greek yogurt. Lunch is a salad or soup. Dinner is soup or something easy like chicken or turkey with cucumbers. Throughout the day I may snack on beef jerky or dry almonds and then I drink AT LEAST half a bottle of IsoPure. I try to drink the whole thing but I usually can't get through it.

I am right there with all of you. The first 6 weeks or so was hard. My family loves food and, while they felt somewhat bad about it, their eating habits didn't change so I was constantly surrounded by their fast food, garlic bread, Pasta, steak, all the things I loved that I couldn't eat. Once I got to the solid foods stage I would try to incorporate some of my old favorites and I quickly realized that my taste buds had changed. I don't know if it was the sleeve or the fact that I went so long without it but food that I used to LOVE and overeat daily I no longer found appealing. So, I started giving in to my cravings with the underlined understanding that I probably wouldn't like it, and it worked. I craved a McChicken sandwich from McDonalds. Pre-sleeve I could have easily eaten three of them (PLUS a large fries) so I went and got one, took one bite, and was done. It tasted HORRIBLE. I haven't craved McDonalds since. Same thing with Taco Bell, french fries, and fried fish. I used to eat all of those things ALL the time, and I haven't touched them since. Not because I'm forcing myself not to but because I no longer find them appealing. They tasted bad, I don't want to eat them. Every so often someone will eat something that I want, especially at baseball games. I'm a huge Texas Rangers fan and I go to a lot of games. I smell garlic french fries, nachos, cheese fries, etc. Same thing. If I REALLY want it, I'll try it. I tried cheese fries. Blech. Huge waste of $8. I try foods that I used to love and I haven't hurt my sleeve (I did another barium swallow recently, my sleeve is perfect) and I've lost 100 pounds in 4 months. It may work for you, it may not, but its a constant learning process. You'll find foods you love that you can eat. Egg drop Soup is my new best friend. I loved it pre-sleeve, I love it post-sleeve. It's easy to eat, it's delicious, and it's full of Protein. Don't get discouraged. This is the best thing we could have done for ourselves and as that weight starts to fall off, all of those NSVs will start rolling in and you'll never look back. Good luck!

Welcome to both of you and congrats on your surgery date!! You don't know it yet but your life has just changed for the better!

I decided early on to be very open about it. I realized that I had a real mental issue with lying to myself and others around me when it came to my weight issues. I used to eat out at fast food places every night of the week. I would drive thru, order WAY more food than one person should eat, and then go park in a secluded spot where no one could see me. Then when I got home I would tell my family I had worked late or hit extra traffic. Once I hit that rock bottom point I decided that I needed to be open and honest if for no other reason than to help myself. I regretted it at first because a lot of people (outside my family and close friends) tried to play doctor and tell me all the reasons why I shouldn't do this. After awhile though those people got used to the idea. I post a weekly update on my blog and post that to Facebook. A few people comment but I've realized that there are a LOT of people reading and following my journey. I'm honest about the surgery to anyone who asks. It keeps ME honest and on track. You have to do what you think is right though, there is absolutely no right or wrong answer.

Hey, we have the same surgery date! I'm 4 months out today as well!

You are certainly among friends here. I imagine the majority of us chose this option because we all were unsuccessful with other "diet plans". This works! I started my journey at 387 and as of today I am 289. After 4 months. If you commit to this you can be extremely successful. I still have a ways to go to get to my goal of 175 but I get more motivated every day. Congrats on your surgery and keep us all posted!

I'm checking in! Only 6 weeks late.......lol. FIrst off, even though my picture has changed, my family has always called me Kitten Katie but I'm very much a dog lover. Haha. Anyway, I will be 4 months post-op tomorrow and I am 6 pounds away from having lost 100 pounds. UNREAL! No severe issues, got some weird numbness in my legs and by my own fault I'm a little dehydrated and low on Protein but I'm working on that. The loss has been incredible but I still have a ways to go. I'm super happy for everyone here! Are we rock stars or what?!

I will be stopping at GNC on my way home from work. Grape is the only flavor I can tolerate but I think I will take your idea and add some Grape Mio to it. Hopefully this deal is going on here! Thanks for the tip!

I'm not real familiar with the symptoms of dehydration but I have been having some weird stuff lately. I can't focus my eyes, which makes driving near impossible. It feels as if the room is spinning when I'm sitting down and I have to keep looking away when I'm talking to someone because they become so blurry it's painful. Even typing this out I have to look away every so often to regain focus. I also am having this weird numbing in my legs. If I pinch my legs I feel that. The sensation reminds me of when they inject your gum with novacane and then the whole side of your face goes numb. If you touch or pinch it you can feel that but otherwise it just feels....different. I don't know, it's really weird. The numbness travels too, it's mostly in my legs but sometimes in my stomach, sometimes my breasts, etc. I don't know. Between that and the vision thing I'm thinking of making an appointment with a neurologist but I wanted to see if you all had an idea first. For all I know this is all completely unrelated to the surgery but seeing as how I was abnormally healthy all my life given my weight I'm assuming it's somehow related. It very well could be me not eating or drinking enough of the right things but I don't know what those would be. Any ideas would be really appreciated!

Protein is such an issue for me, I just can't stand the taste of any of it. IsoPure works best for me right now. Grape flavor is my favorite, Apple Melon is ok, and I'm trying the blue one tomorrow. Is it really too much to ask for a completely tasteless protein?

Congrats!!! It's the best thing I ever did, I'm super happy for you!

I still get that "pulling" sensation from time to time. It's normal. I was in pain for about a month after surgery. The left side hurts the most, the longest, because that's where they remove your stomach. No small thing. My doc gave me a prescription for hydracodone for pain and I think I took only one. It goes away, just be sure to keep walking and get in all your fluids and protein. That's the most important thing right now.

My story is exactly like Benisa's. There are even days where just the smell or thought of food either makes me full or feel kind of nauseated. It can be kind of annoying, honestly, because I have difficulty remembering to eat. I used to eat because I enjoyed it, now I eat just because I have to to stay alive. This won't last forever, and I've lost 90 pounds in less than 4 months, so you won't find me complaining.

Also, walk as much as you can! I stayed off work for a week and spent the majority of the time on the couch but made sure to get up and walk around the coffee table at every commercial break. Walking helps work that gas out of your body. It goes away and like Katie713 said, pain meds! They're a wonderful thing!

Congratulations!!! Doesn't matter how fast that weight comes off THESE are the rewards that make it all worth it! That's wonderful!

I'm getting close to my 100lb mark as well!! Go us!! I hadn't thought about any kind of reward, but I definitely think thats a great idea. I don't know that I'll do this for this 100lb goal but one of my BIG rewards is going to be to go to Six Flags....not because it's super exciting (I go to DisneyWorld about 6 times a year, Six Flags doesn't really compare lol) BUT it's the first place where my weight actually started affecting my life. I couldn't fit on the Batman The Ride ride (this is at Six Flags Over Texas). My first truly humiliating weight related experience and I was only about 17 years old. Fitting into that ride will be the absolute best accomplishment for me. As for a reward, I like the jewelry idea even though you said you aren't a jewelry fan. What about a spa day or a mani/pedi? Maybe not a whole wardrobe of clothes but a nice new dress or something? I think I'm going to start looking into my 100lb jewelry reward! Congrats again!!

$5 per drink is a lot, yes, but since my surgery in January I have EASILY spent $300 on powders, syrups, pre-made shakes, pills, etc trying DESPERATELY to find some sort of protein that I could tolerate. They sell cases of the IsoPure as well but it's only one flavor. So far I just stick with grape. 12 drinks for $40 and they do coupons all the time at Vitamin Shoppe. I'm thrilled with that because I get my protein and I don't have to worry about it making me sick. I still need to try the green flavor and the blue one. I didn't like Pineapple Orange Banana AT ALL and Alpine Punch was just ok but not great.

I had that same issue, I could never get in all my protein. I still don't get in as much as I'm supposed to and I'm starting to be able to tell it in my strength...BUT....I have started drinking IsoPure drinks. The grape flavor is actually pretty good. If you go to The Vitamin Shoppe you can buy individual bottles. That has, so far, been the only way to get in any kind of liquid protein for me. The powders make me sick, just smelling it makes me nauseous. I do want to try Smoothie King as well, maybe I'll do that on my lunch break today!

Thank you! That was in front of Leed's Castle in Kent, England. I took a trip to London last week, it was amazing.