BlessedBeyondMeasure2012

I had surgery on 3/25. I had my first moment of being sad over food this weekend since surgery. I got to eat crawfish for the first time since surgery and they were so good and I was sad that I couldn't eat more. I did this to myself, I had to get over it. The thing about doubt after VSG is that it is pointless. This surgery is permanent so doubt doesn't do anything but get you down. The "what ifs", what if I never get out of the 200's? What if I can't do this? Well guess what, you will and you can! I know that it is tough right now but you can do it. The weight will come off and you will be successful IF you do what you are supposed to. Don't get me wrong, you will have stalls and they will make you feel like you are failing, but you aren't! You don't fail until you quit trying!! I just got to start on baked fish, tuna/chicken/egg salad as of Friday and I'll tell you, I was beginning to wonder when I would feel some restriction. I could eat and still feel hungry. I thought the point of this was to not eat as much, to not feel hungry, to feel full after only a few bites!?! That wasn't me, at least not before this weekend. Now that I have started eating things that are a little more dense protein I am feeling restriction. I had been eating 4-4.5 oz of scrambled eggs at a time and still felt like I could eat more. I had about 2-3 oz of tuna salad yesterday and had to stop. I had a 3 oz piece of baked salmon last night and felt full. And I stayed full, for hours! When I tried to drink water after waiting an hour, it still felt like my tummy was full. This will get better. Keep your chins up and keep working your sleeve. It gets easier when you get to eat a little more. I can't say that I had any feelings of regret but there have been times that I wasn't so sure of the decision I made. Like I said earilier, the decision is made and this is permanent. There is no point in getting down or doubting. Keep a positive attitude and keep confident! This is unlike any diet we've ever done before and the results are going to be different too! WE CAN DO THIS!

Hey y'all! I had surgery 3/25 HW: 342 SW: 297 CW: 279 Clothes are getting loser and I've even had to drop a size in a few things. Feeling great! Finally broke a 2.5 week stall which feels AMAZING!

Im just 4 weeks out but docusate sodium (Colace I think) works well. It is only a stool softener and not a stimulant. You want to stay away from stimulants to avoid dependance on them.

March 25. 4 weeks as of tomorrow

This sounds so good! I love some chinese food! Did you make it with the rice or without? I just put the recipe in MFP and it looks like the nutrition is based on the recipe without the rice. I think it would be yummy without it but then I guess that kind of doesn't make it fried rice anymore does it? LOL

How much of this is one serving?

I haven't had any trouble getting my protein in. I couldn't have protein really until two weeks ago today and since then, on most days I get in 100+ grams. I do 3 Protein shakes a day with at least 20 gms of protein in each of them plus I have been eating refried Beans with cottage cheese and low fat cheese for lunch and scrambled egg whites scrambled with cottage cheese and low fat cheese for supper. One egg white has 4 gm protein (a whole egg has six, I trade the yolk with all its fat and cholesterol for other egg whites and just chunk the yolks) and I usually can do 3 or close to 3 egg whites plus the protein from the cheese and cottage cheese. Refried beans don't have as much protein but with the cheese and cottage cheese it helps. I also eat Snacks like cheese sticks or boiled eggs (usually just the whites). I have hit a stall on the scales but I had been getting in more carbs (50-70 gms a day) and as of two days ago I have cut back to less than 30 a day which is actually harder for me than getting the protein in. I'm gonna break this stall! As of today I can add baked fish, tuna, tuna/chicken/egg salad. I had canned salmon for lunch and am going to have some grilled salmon for supper. I also had some egg salad for a snack, 1 boiled egg white and one reduced fat cheese stick. (so for the day I'll have had 120 gm protein, 28 gm carbs, 4 gm fiber) You just have to get creative. I've even figured out how to put vanilla Protein powder in my morning coffee which I am loving.

Not much?? What ever! That is lots much! There is a big difference already! Keep up the good work! You are looking great!

Thanks y'all!

First picture is from Feb 9, second is from April 15. I still can't see changes when I look in the mirror but when I compare these pictures I can see it! Changes are happening, slowly and surely...

Do you see the man sitting next to me in my profile picture? That catch is my husband, and in case you couldn't tell, he is HOT! I'm in the same boat with you and Laura, I could have said the same thing (again, minus the hot cheerleader). I was at a point that I didn't love me and I didn't know how he could love me either with the way I looked. I would even take my frustrations out on him because I wasn't happy, just like you. BUT he loves me for me, all of me. Every ounce of me no matter how many ounces are there and your husband does too. I know mine could find someone way better looking than me, maybe yours too but what makes me feel better is that he chooses to be with me. He doesn't care what my shell is but everything on the inside is what he cares about and obviously so does your husband. My husband is one of my biggest fans, supporters and encouragers. I bet yours is too. Keep your chin up, find something to smile about (like your hot husband!) and know that this is only temporary. This too shall pass

Same to you!! Thanks It's nice to know that I'm not alone, I know that everyone has stalls like this. I sure do hate it for everyone though, it sucks to have to go through it. God is apparently teaching me patience which I have never had much of.

... getting on the stupid scales everyday. I get up each morning and it's the same routine. Go pee and get on the scales right before getting in the shower. For the past two weeks now I've been looking at the same 3 pounds go up and down, up and down. It puts me in such a bad mood to start the day and I'm not doing it any more. I was three weeks out this past Monday and I've lost 17 pounds since surgery. I know that is still a great loss in three weeks, never before have I been able to do that, BUT that loss was in a week and a half and now NOTHING for two weeks! It is just so frustrating. I have read the article about why stalls happen when you first start losing and it totally makes sense to me. I was even encouraged by it, but now I'm just irritated. I know I'm doing it to myself because I'm the one who keeps getting on the scale every day. I had surgery on 3/25 which was a Monday. For now I'm going to weigh only on Mondays and we will see how that goes. I'm praying that this stall will break soon. I know it will eventually...

One other thing, I felt like I had more weight that I wanted to lose than what I felt like I would be able to with the lap band. You are going to get pretty one sided opinions on the VSG website (as you should, we are the sleeve!) but you should also check the band websites and ask them too. Then make the best decision with the info you get. Good luck!

Laura-ven took the words right out of my mouth. When I started researching WLS I was locked in on the lap band but the more research I did the more I started questioning my choice. I talked with my doc and watched some videos that he had prepared about the lap band, sleeve, and bypass. He does all three surgeries but I decided that the sleeve was the best for me. The lap band is also really high maintenance and with the hours I work I don't have time to make a follow up appointment every six weeks for adjustments/fills. Also my insurance covers one WLS per lifetime, after the research I did and finding all the people that had revisions from band to sleeve, I decided to go with the one lots of people end up with and just bypass the band all together. Good luck with your decision. I am only three weeks out, I'm in a stall right now and have been for two week so I'm a little bummed BUT I still feel like this is one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself. I have not had any problems and would do it again tomorrow if I needed to.

Welcome to the Loser's Bench!!!

Toradol is a great drug. It can burn when given IV if not pushed slow enough or if not diluted enough. Given IM it feels like a baseball some how got injected into your butt and left there. It works great for pain. It worked better for me than the Demerol and Morphine did and didn't make me nauseated like the other two did. You can take it by mouth for no longer than 5 days at a time and it can be given IV for 3-5 days as long as your kidney functions are monitored after 24 hours or so of every 6 hour dosing. Taken by mouth you do have to be careful of the effects it can have on your stomach but as long as it is not taken for a prolonged period of time you should be fine. (Sorry, I am in the medical field and have ordered it for lots of my patients. I have a new respect for it as well after getting it after surgery.)

I used Dr. Merriman in Shreveport. He is good at what he does that's for sure! He doesn't have the best bedside manner in the world but it isn't the worst either. His NP Celia is wonderful though!

They didn't say why just no more sipping. I was totally okay with it! LOL! Sometimes after I get in 4-5 big gulps I get a little tightness but it goes away really quick and I can do that every couple of minutes.

I'm 3 weeks out today and actually my Dr and NUT want me to drink large quantities at a time. No more sipping as of last week. I am a water guzzler so I was happy about it. Just follow what your Dr says and if you have any questions as to which you should be doing give them a call. Each doc is different unfortunately.

Make sure you are getting in your water and protein. Those are the most important things right now and will do the most to help you lose. I'm getting in at least 64 oz a day and between 80-110 gm of protein. I'm telling you, the weight loss will pick back up!

I'm not saying that this is going to help any but I am going to say that you aren't alone. I was sleeved a week before you and I have not lost any weight since Wednesday a week ago. Infact I have gained about 3 pounds. I am following my diet, I haven't cheated even once (though it has been tempting because of the frustration). I stopped losing about the same time that I added soft foods and I got to do it a little before my two weeks out just like you. The weight will start coming off again for me and for you it will pick back up. I don't know when and I don't know that we even need to do anything different at this point. Our bodies have to catch up. We both were in starvation mode and now that we are actually feeding our bodies they want to hold on to everything that we are giving them because they don't know when the next meal may come. Once your body figures out that it is getting food again regularly and nutrients too it will start losing again. Keep your head up. Trust me, I know just how hard it is. You are doing great and you will continue to do great. Follow your plan and you will be successful!

I'm only almost three weeks out but I've lost about 60 pounds and so far all my tattoos look the same. I have one on the back of my neck, one in the middle of my back, one on my hip, one on my foot and one on my ankle. I got them intentionally in places so that I could gain or lose weight and hopefully they wound't change much. I would guess that location of the tattoo would have a lot to do with how much it would change. I don't have a clue why they did no preop diet other than the day before. I was not so lucky and got to do a two week preop diet. Maybe they didn't figure you needed it?

How much protein are you getting in a day? My NUT recommends 60 gms a day to prevent hair loss and I am shooting for 100 a day to try and make sure mine doesn't. I have long hair and I don't want to feel like I have to chop it off if it gets super thin. I'm only about two and a half weeks out but so far I seem to be "shedding" less now than I was before surgery. From the things I have read it is more a protein issue than a vitamin issue. I hope it gets better!!

Jordyn you were beautiful before but at the wedding you were absolutely stunning! You are such an inspiration to me, I hope I can be that to someone else one day. I am having a tough week (in my first stall) and seeing you tells me I can do this. Other's have done it, what the heck is stopping me?? I just have to keep with the program! Thanks for posting and for being an inspiration to me