K33

Check with your surgeon. In the case of Ambien, no. One of the side effects of Ambien is night eating, sleep walking, etc. , with amnesia the next morning.

Although I am still pre-op, I wrote Dr. Im about my progress to reach goal weight. He sent back a quick and supportive e-mail. I'm very happy with how accessible he is.

I was disappointed L-Glutamine didn't work for me. I think it's 'cuz I have candida. Those nasty little buggers want to be fed every other day. So, I can go 47 hours without sugar/carbs. When the craving hits, it hits fast and if you get in my way, I could rip off your head! Keep fighting the noble fight all!

Dear Chaya, I hope you get some answers here. I was vegetarian for 10 years. When asked why I stopped, I paused, then answered "Because I am HUNGRY! " Thanks for the explanation as to why. PS Greek yogurt often has 20+ gms of protein. I

I weigh 230# and wear a size 22/24 pant and 2x/3x top and am 5-3.

If cheating is eating small, balanced portions, restricting carbs, fats, soda and alcohol , staying hydrated, & exercising FOR LIFE, then I guess I am a cheater. If my friends think they could lose 100# honestly eating carrots and celery sticks, they are saints. If losing weight were easy requiring NO SACRIFICES then the whole world would never struggle with their weight. Honestly, I hope the few friends I DO tell will feel a level of compassion for me that I had to go to such extreme measures to be normal

As I understand it, there is a certain amount of bounce back to be expected. Maybe it was 10 percent. I certainly don't want to fall back into self hatred because I lost 90 percent instead of 100 percent. I guess I am saying that for me personally I will set my goal at 100 percent but relax if I only eat meet 90 percent. Also there is a therapy called Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT. "Skinny Jeans" is a program designed by a woman who struggled with weight and who uses the technique of tapping (EFT) to help eliminate cravings. Anyone can learn it and it is a body mind awareness training that goes beyond mental understanding and heals beyond conversation, when the time is right for you. Google it to find out more,and there are videos about it on You Tube, or e-mail me off forum.

When did this come into fashion? 80's, 90's, or 2000? (I've been out of circulation a bit!)

I have been exploring vsg since march 2012. I only had 10 pounds to lose to qualify for surgery. The process of losing weight dragged on and on and on. When I finally met my goal weight last week, I canceled my weigh in appointment. Since then I have been out in the land of cards. Please don't diagnose me as I do feel crazy and afraid. What surprised me was when canceled my my weigh in, I feel a huge let down and depressed. I m in the uncomfortable feeling of wanting to lose weight but being unsure I am willing to sacrifice and discipline myself. Have I turned my back on a solution to my obesity? Now I feel like there is no way out of this dilemma. I am embarrassed to appear confused on this forum. At first I did not want to eat so much protein everyday. Then I became afraid of being a failure and only losing 50 percent of my e w l, and some of the studies report. I will struggle with not being able to drink liquids at mealtime. And yet when I visualize the scale dropping to 215, 205, 195, 185, 175, 165 I feel happy and giddy. But from what I have read on the maintenance boards, maintaining a low weight is just as difficult as trying to lose weight without w l s. Now you can see how I have talked myself into a corner at least for the time being.

Thank you. I continue to move in a direction towards W LS. My doctor who went to the National bariatric Convention Center and said the chances are extremely low that I would be able to lose a substantial amount of weight and keep it off because my set point has been high for so long.

Although I do not have a surgery date yet, I am looking forward to the chance to practice my good habits in the mean time. I can practice without major consequence unlike after being sleeved.

I don't plan on telling very many people until after my surgery. I told 1 friend who was very happy for me because another friend of hers lost a lot of weight and was thrilled with the results. However, my friend said she would not have surgery. That is the kind of answer and kind of friend that I I want in my life. I have a second friend who is an acupuncturist and a healer who is always reminding me how much fat is in the food I eat. I know she loves me. But I won't tell her until after the surgery. I plan to use my primary care physician as my shield against criticism. When I asked my doctor about the surgery, she said she had just gone to the National bariatric convention. She said there is a 1 percent chance I would be able to lose enough weight to matter since my set point has been very high for so very long. Basically she said there is very little chance I could accomplish my goal of major weight loss and keeping it off using any other method. She even wishes her own husband would have the surgery.

Vitacost.com used to carry it.

Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14

When I get a craving I use cocoa powder sweetener low fat whipped cream cheese enough for a taste. Note: I. pre op :=(

I once lost 50 pounds and was sad no 1 made any comments. Until I realized that my weight loss was just that. My weight loss. It mattered much more to me than to anyone else. I also have been in the other position. A friend of mine said," don't I look great?" and I said you always look great. And I truly meant it. But she was hurt because she has lost so much weight and I "didn't notice" I loved my friend before she lost weight and because she was my friend I still loved her even tho she lost weight. hmm

I love this thread. We teens of the 1960's are still behaving radically and shaking up the status quo by having WLS "at our age." And as one kind member reminded me, we still have 30 years to go!

I am kinda still waiting for my HS sweetheart :-D. and also to reach preop goal wt. I am 61.

I am back on track towards surgery. I found a leader facilitated support group where I feel safe and cared about. Most of my caution probably has to do with being a "good" student in school and always doing my HW.

Nix the gum. If you accidentally swallow it, you'll find a need to go to the ER.

Feel less pressure on my chest when I try to go to sleep at night Eliminate some of the extra aches and pains I get in the morning when I first wake up Buy a smaller car and save on gas Not be ashamed to go to church and have people see me Stop wondering if everybody has noticed that I'm fat Stop getting lectures from family that if I only exercisedI would feel better Being able to wear shoes that are not double wide Not Having to buy clothes online Being able to move to my life make more grace and ease Taking pride in who I am

Be aggressive in finding a gastric MD if there is one there. I feel for you, yet know you have lots of support here.

I don't know if anyone is still interested in my back and forth mental chatter about whether or not to have WSL, but thought I would check in anyway. Three weeks ago I got to my pre-surgery goal weight and promptly decided against surgery -- for the time being. I felt like I was suffocating and locked in to so many rules and restrictions but of course without any of the dramatic weight loss either! On this side of surgery, I can only imagine the protocols but not the weight loss. I am sure it makes a big difference, yet cannot imagine it. Yesterday I was in a discount store looking for clothing in size 2x or 3x. There were/was about 3 feet of clothing on the rack that was my size. It made me sad to see how restricted I am in my clothing selections. Even size 16 and 18 had more clothing available. I got tired of seeing the rolls of fat show through the dresses I tried on. I spoke to my shrink who was frank when I asked him about WLS. He tries to discourage people because it is a surgery! I felt an odd sense of relief. I had someone's permission not to proceed -- at least for now. It surprised the heck out of me that I felt very depressed after I made the decision. I guess the thought of having a regular body size was providing me with some hope and putting a bit of lift in my step After changing my mind 2 weeks ago, I still try to stick to the pre-op food plan in hopes to continuing to make progress. When I could cheat, I did. I gained back 2# of the hard fought pounds I had lost. I have given myself a new deadline by which to decide. Originally, I wanted to hurry up and get it done this summer, but I am certainly not mentally prepared! I decided I would do a low carb (not a no carb) food plan in the meantime. I decided that I would give it a go. My new goal: 1500 calories a day so that I can achieve a 12 pound weight loss by November 1st. Come November I will re-evaluate things. I would still like to weight 150 in a year. I will be 62 in February so I cannot dilly dally indefinitely because surgery risk will increase. The good news is that, unlike 20 year olds getting surgery, I won't have to eat this way for the next 40 - 60 years! Twisted, yes.

Simple method to figure percent of weight loss: Weight loss in pounds divided by your starting weight in pounds. Drop the decimal point and add a percent sign.

High fructose corn syrup is MUCH sweeter than sugar and that is no accident. It also creates more craving for more corn syrup. Of the 2 poisons, sugar is the lesser of evils. Read your ingredient labels before you feel weak. At least you will have a slight head start. The american public did not request that food manufacturers add large quantities of high fructose corn syrup to so many of our foods. And when I think of it this way I get angry enough to avoid corn syrup just on the principle of the thing. Remember back to when the tobacco industry conspired against the public saying cigarettes were not ADDICTING? I hope one day corn syrup will exposed as a way the public has been manipulated for food industry profit. Sorry for the soap box. I too am a sugar addict. A private theory of mine is that if someone suffers from a candida yeast overgrowth, the yeast cry out to be fed sugar. And every other day I find myself back slipping back to sugar and feel temporary relief. On other boards, I notice some people's cravings are lessened by taking L-Glutamine and Selenium.