RossJL

I LOVE almonds.. Thanks for the reply! I might start working them into my diet, I'm trying to get protein without the shakes lol :-)

I'm 6 weeks post op. and I was wondering how many people ate nuts like almonds and mixed nuts and how soon. I know people recommend using the surgeons guidelines but it's not on there.. So I was just wondering what the majority says!

I'm 5 weeks post op and I still have incision pain.. I just wear a surgical binder over my stomach and it keeps it from hurting.. No pain while breathing here though..

It's been a couple years since I spent time outside! I spent the WHOLE day outside with my kids and family and bbq'd on the grill.. Fished, 4 wheeled and had enough energy to go all day for the first time in a long time! I'm 5 weeks post op and I'm already starting to enjoy life more! 1/2 piece of BBQ chicken was great too...

Crazines... I'm just over a month post op and I get full on 1/4 of a cup or so and if I do any more than that I just about get sick! I see your concern, I was told that the surgeon measures what to *remove* not what stays! I don't know how true that it because I know that didn't come directly from my surgeon! It was in passing on here somewhere I think or something I read somewhere. But I thought to myself that it makes sense seeing as how everyone tolerates different amounts after surgery.

Mr worm... I love the picture :-) I was just thinking I might be sending the wrong message with m&m picture lol

My surgeon told me that being able to eat more has something to do with the swelling going down in your stomach and then the nerves, tissues and that kinda stuff fully recover from the surgery about 12-18 months post op and your sensitivity to the full feeling is not as strong because the nerves and other stuff in their are not as sensitive so you are able to eat more without the full feeling! If all this makes sense to you lol, this is the best of what I can remember him saying in my own words! Also, he said simply that drinking while you eat with the sleeve washes the food through your stomach much faster than it needs to in order to absorb all the nutrients from the food, that you are basically robbing yourself of important nutrients when you wash it down with liquid!

My surgeon said that you can't permenantly stretch your stomach after surgery, he says it's a popular misconception!

I got a slap on the hand for my low protein intake lol

I have a NUT and physical trainer appt today! I was officially 1 month post op yesterday and I'm just so happy with how good I am feeling these days :-) I'm down 24 lbs and I'm enjoying getting to eat a little something here and there :-) my weight keeps stalling for a couple days then drops a lb and then stalling a couple more then dropping another lb. however I think I'm gonna put the scale in the closet because honestly, I don't care what it says as long as I'm following the guidelines and I feel great!

Kate... YOU GO GIRL! Amazing results this far :-) you're beautiful in your pic just as you are so I can only imagine the beauty that lies ahead when you add more self esteem, happiness and accomplishment to that! Way to go! Great job! Lilee... Totally agree with you! And I understand your feelings all too well even though he already knows about it lol.. MrSmith... I see where you're coming from!

Woah! I cannot believe he had the nerve to speak to you that way! Sounds like he thinks being perfect is being like "him" and it sounds to me like in between workout he needs to learn how to accept, understand and support those that are on him team! Thanks for sharing that!

Thank you everyone for all these great responses! I think it's GREAT that people can come here and see that a lot of other people share their feelings, concerns and struggles! Tons of people can relate to each of these responses and I'm really getting an insight to how everyone sees this through their eyes! I want to be a support not a judge.. Each of these responses will help me to understand it even better when others ask how this surgery can change your life! VSG is new to my town and tons of people are considering it and come to support groups! The best way to support is to understand! Not to mention that a big portion of my friends are overweight and I've had people call and ask me about the surgery that I haven't heard from in quite some time and I'm happy to be the go to person for an "example" of life after surgery!

Lol not a pity "sad". I guess that I just never realized that other people had so many troubles with acceptance for their decision! That's why I posted the thread, I really wanted to understand the journey from those eyes because I only see it from mine and mine has always been nothing but positive you know! I don't think people should necessarily strive for acceptance so I don't mean it to sound like that but I feel like people need support in situations like these but I agree with what you're saying.. It doesn't matter whether it's 2 people or 200 people, as long as you have the support you "need" then you have everything you need to be successful :-)

WOW! It's kinda sad to hear about some of these feelings. I guess I truly am blessed that I am surrounded everyday by such wonderful people that don't judge me and would never dare think of a thing like saying it was the easy way out! I do know how blessed I am with my friends and family and colleagues but this is making me appreciate them so much more. I hope that each and every one of you are supported and commended on such a wonderful thing you are doing by those that you do choose to tell! You are all amazing people that are making big sacrafises for all different reasons such as health, energy, self respect and so many other reasons! I know one big factor for a lot of people is relations with others like being able to keep up with kids/grand kids or having energy to interact with others without the embarrassment of so many of the overweight issues we face which usually makes us the negative center of attention! I Commend each and every one of you for the choice you made and I hope that you all can find people that accept you and your choice and will always be there to cheer you on every step of this long journey! The reason I had surgery was to be a good mom who taught healthy eating habits to my children and to have the energy to run and play with them like they deserve from me! Surgery was hands down one of the best choices I've ever made :-) good luck to each of you on your journey!

I think you lady's should be So proud! Undergoing surgery and making a huge commitment to change the rest of your life is Not the easy way out! In my opinion if someone said that it was the easy way out I would assume that it was a case of jealousy. Be proud! Be so proud! Be proud that you mean enough to yourself that you were willing to go under the knife voluntarily to make yourself a better future :-) I have been very open with my friends/family/colleagues about my surgery and I have had way more people support me than not.. I think it was really important to me for them to know why I was having such a drastic change and I for sure wanted them to know that it wasn't something illegal lol :-)

I See a lot of comments about people not wanting others to know about their surgery like its shameful! I want to understand why you feel this way, why are you not proud of yourself for making the decision to change your life??

I noticed that my (almost 3 week) stall happened when I started incorporating food back into my diet! Just before 3 weeks I started having yogurt, refried Beans and scrambled eggs... Then BOOM... The weight loss stopped! I figured the body went into give me give me mode after not eating for almost 3 weeks and was trying to keep all those nutrients which caused a weight stall! Guess what I did yesterday?? I ate MORE! 3 meals! A full yogurt for Breakfast, as much refried beans as would fill my tummy without being over full (2 full spoons maybe a tad more) an iced coffee at Hastings and then about 15 beans out of a cup of Wendy's chili (beans and liquid only) then I weighed and tada.... 2.5 lb loss!!! Yep! I think I noticed the most inches lost was during the stall too! I have not yet freaked out about the sleeve, I just keep listening to my body and adjusting to what she is saying!