CdnExpat

Way to go! I am excited about that aspect of this whole business as well. All things being equal, this is the LAST time I'll have to lose this weight. I've lost about three whole people over my lifetime trying to stay slim. This is it. Congratulations on getting to this point.
CE

Sounds familiar. It was my husband who suggested that since I couldn't diet my way to a slimmer me, maybe I should ask for help? He's been absolutely awesome. We're Culture Vultures & Foodies, and I was really worried about how being sleeved would change our lifestyle, but we've worked together to adjust to my new needs AND still do the things we love. DH has also dropped everything I can't eat from his diet (except cheeseburgers) and he's lost the 20 pounds he's gained since I met him in 1980. (He also adjusted a lot of things when I spent a year in a wheelchair because of my MS) Now when we go out (96 days post op and we're going out again!) he orders what he wants and I nibble off his plate. We still get our beloved Foodie experience, our regular dates, and the treasure of shared enjoyment.
We were married 30 years last month, and I don't regret staying through the tough times when I wondered what I was thinking in marrying him (we were both 18). I'm so thankful I stayed and did the hard work that's paying such big dividends now.
Having said all that, I can say if we weren't BOTH committed to our relationship and to the need/space for personal growth, we wouldn't have made it. If the relationship had been one-sided in any way - emotionally, physically, mentally, or psychologically, it would have collapsed. A satisfying and fulfilling relationship is only possible with reciprocal investment by both partners. (This is partly what I do professionally... ;p)
Just want to say my husband, friend, lover, coach, handyman is a jewel, too.
CE

Who is Lisa Lampanelli?

Some people will lose no more than the regular amount of hair (normal growth/regrowth cycles) and some will lose a lot of hair. It depends on how the individual's body handles the "insult" of surgery and the wls. Keeping up the Protein helps with the regrowth cycle, but does not prevent hair loss. For those of you who didn't lose much hair, say a small 'hallelujah' and observe a moment of silence for those of us who have.
There's great suggestions in one of the other forums on Hair loss, and some will work and some won't. Again, depends on the individual. Fortunately, research so far supports that nobody goes bald (with the VSG) and the loss is temporary. I decided I don't care, I'd rather be skinny. So I'll either shave my head a la Demi Moore, or wear a wig a la Dolly Parton if it gets too bad. In the meantime, I've gone and gotten a pixie cut (veeerrrry chic for a 49 year old I can tell you) and I'm reveling in the no muss no fuss hair days after years of long (and sometimes very long) hair.
The thing that seems to be helping me is the silicon supplement. As a side effect, my fingernails are looking pretty amazing too. Just in case, I'm eyeing up the long blonde wig in the window at the mall. HWHN* says it looks way more like Rod Stewart than Dolly Parton. But what would he know? He thinks Dolly is a test-tube sheep.
CE
*HWHN = "He Who Hates to be Named" aka my quiet, introverted husband.

It's best to eat every 2 or 3 hours. I have a Greek Yogurt in between each meal as a snack to fill me up and give me extra Protein. The yogurts with my fluids, are keeping me feeling full and getting me through the day.
Good luck.

Agreed! In reality, there's all sorts of reasons why someone would need help with "only" 70 pounds to lose. While I can speak to my own decision to have surgery, I have no insight, and therefore no right to speak about someone else's choice. If I wish to be allowed to make independent and adult decisions for my life, crafting my own happiness, then I sure as heck better extend that same permission to others!
I, for one, am very thankful that the option was available, and now, 55 pounds later, the fatigue due to my MS is way better, and I'm completely off all medications for HBP.
And I'm happy. lol

I sure am! Can't have thin hair AND grey roots, lol!
Sent from my iPad using VST

The wild card is always the client. No matter what the professionals do, or the skills they may have, or the techniques they may employ, if the client isn't invested enough in making the changes required to be different, then no matter what magic wand is brought to the table, it's not going to work.
I understand from the doctor and nutritionist that the more weight to be lost, the more dramatic the loss ...in the beginning. As the body adjusts to the new regime, it begins to be more efficient in using the calories that are consumed. So this can backfire big time. If there are no changes made to eating habits, the lower calorie intake will cause an initial wls, but if the foods chosen are sabotaging, then the more efficient your body gets at using those calories, the slower, and slower the loss. When the high calorie foods are the only source of nutrition, wls is negligible. (Living in the Middle East, the doctor and nutritionist had many examples of bariatric surgery that "didn't work" as a weight loss procedure fro these exact reasons) It is typically very difficult for people here to make the lifestyle changes necessary to sustain the new weight.
After lurking on VST for months before joining, I can definitively say that the one consistent tip, hint, trick, or suggestion is that in order to take advantage of the "tool" of bariatric surgery, one has to be prepared for a whole and complete, permanent lifestyle change. If that one piece is missing, everything else is a crap shoot with the chances of success dropping to about equal with winning the lottery.
"Winning" the lottery... through hard work,
CE

Oh yes. Handfuls of it. Sleeved April 4, hair started falling out at the end of June. I don't have long hair, so I've gone with a really short pixie cut which has gotten lots of compliments (not many 50 year olds with pixie cuts. lol) I did some extensive research and learned that the hair fall is due to the surgery and the wls and it's a temporary problem with VSG. For some of the other bariatric surgeries, it can be permanent due to long term/chronic malabsorption which doesn't have to be a problem for sleevers. Ensuring you have enough Protein helps with the regrowth but does NOT stop the fact of Hair loss. The amount happens on a continuum, from a little bit more than normal to a LOT. I'm clearly going to fall on the LOT end of the spectrum.
I have decided I don't care. I would rather be slim than anything else, so if the hair loss gets too bad, I'll be shaving my head a la Demi Moore or wearing wigs a la Dolly Parton. In the meantime, I'm doing all the things the nut says to do, and am expecting the hair loss to last about 2-3 months.

My husband is so supportive. He has been more positive than I am many days. I'm only 3 weeks. I'll be 4 on Wednesday. I don't think I would be doing as good without the support from my husband.
Meka

I had surgery on a Thursday morning, and could have gone back to work on Monday. I had planned for the whole week off, but truly didn't need it. It really depends on how you feel. If there's lots of up & down, bending and straightening, I'd take the time allotted, but spend the last few days conditioning yourself to do those activities.
It's a good place to begin listening more carefully to your body.

Two books that could help a lot are: "Emotional Incest" by Dr. Patricia Love (about what happens to the siblings in a family with a 'golden child') and "Healing Rejection and Emotional Abuse" by Jonas Clark. Both are available as Kindle books (or Kindle app for iPad). There's also "Severing the Connection: An Instruction Manual of Escaping Emotional Abuse" by Melanie Mayer.
Here in the Middle East, your situation is common, but there are ways to learn to deal with your mother's emotional & psychological abuse that do not include going against cultural expectations.
Lastly, remember that the abuse is not about you - mom targets you as the scapegoat, but the issues are hers, and hers, alone.
Hang in there. Maybe take some strategy tips from Dad... =)
CE

The aliens are more afraid of you than vice versa. Maybe it would help to re-watch Monsters, Inc. I know it seems like an animated cartoon, but the truth comes in the strangest forms.

You're losing. That's the important thing, right? How much and when are less important than the fact that you're losing. Try some of these things for the obsessing:
1. Write down the ruminating thought(s). Those repetitious phrases that echo round & round in your head, write them down.
2. On a scale of 1 to 100, rate how much you believe the thought to be true. (1 not at all, 100, totally)
3. Under that thought, write down anything - anything at all - that contradicts the thought.
4. Now write down as a percentage how much you struggled with these kind of thoughts before surgery & wls.
5. Carefully re-read everything you've written, and come to a conclusion about the repetitious thoughts.
6. Re-rate their accuracy based on the objective information you've gathered.
7. Visualize yourself shrinking the thought(s) into their proper perspective in relation to the truth of your life.
It takes mindfulness, but it works.
Lastly, I'd suggest you see a nutritionist if you're not already to discuss the "Always having a Gatorade in my hand" thing. Maybe this could maybe be translated into something more helpful (and healthful). You could also change up your exercise routine a bit (there's great suggestions in that forum) and you could try SuperBetter (as an app if you've got an iPhone or iPad, or online at www.superbetter.com if not) for encouragement and support.
Keep at it... setbacks and stalls are not failure. Giving up is.
CE

Just as an aside... why so much Gatorade or Powerade? I've learned to be cynical thanks to a very eventful (former) career as a patient advocate. If the surgeon can't a) medically justify recommending those particular drinks, or offer an acceptable alternative, I'd be asking when he last went on a cruise or vacation on PepsiCo's dime?
But that's just me.

We used a dehydrator that my husband built, for years. (HWHN* is a handy kinda guy) He took an old lingerie cabinet, took out the drawers, used the drawer size as a guide and made frames with stiff mesh screening. (The screen door mesh is too flimsy, and the steel grid is too heavy... something in between). He put an in-car heater in the bottom of the cabinet, ran the cord through a hole he drilled, and voile. We dried everything. Some things weren't as successful as others, but we perfected cherries, grapes, plums, apricots, apples, bananas, peaches, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, homemade fruit leather, homemade Jerky, and many different kinds of herbs. At a time when our daughter could not eat anything with chemicals in it, we figured out how to eat well all year round.
The fruit and veggies don't look the same as the ones you buy in the store because we didn't spray them with a preservative to make them look "nice" but after the first taste, you don't care what the fruit looks like. It's awesome. My girls grew up thinking dried apple rings were the best snack in the whole world.
CE
*HWHN = He Who Hates to be Named, my very quiet and introvert husband.

The actual formula for deciding ideal weight (for women) is 100 pounds for the first 5', and 3 pounds for every inch more. To fine tune this number, follow the directions below for measuring your elbow width. (This is more accurate than your wrist, especially if you're overweight). After you've determined frame size, adjust the ideal weight by adding (to the above formula) 1.5 pounds per inch for a medium frame, and 2 pounds per inch for a large frame.
Directions: Place arm parallel to the floor, straight out from shoulder, palm up. Bend arm up 90 degrees. Using calipers (or help from someone) measure the distance between the centers of the two prominent bones behind the point of your elbow. Be sure to center on the bones. Using that measurement, compare to the chart below. If your measurement falls within the guidelines listed for your height, you have a medium frame. If it is less, you are small-framed, and if more, you are large framed.
Sorry. The chart got all gibbled when I posted it. Here's the link instead... http://www.am-i-fat.com/body_frame_size.html
Having said that, like Cheri points out, our bodies sometimes have a "happy weight" that pays no attention whatsoever to our wish for an ideal weight.
I've just learned I have a small frame. Something I didn't know.
CE

i looked on my chart printout they give me and the goal weight they have for me is 130...i think my left leg weighs about that much on its own. that number is just way too low for me to get my head around.

7 months post open. Came off the insulin pump 4 days post op. Dr. Appt on last Fri w/ labs. Dr. Called all numbers looked great, my new A1C was 5.0 haven't seen anything under 8 in 7 years. So happy about my Choice, 90 lbs down. Its life altering. Vitamin D low, lve always had that issue. Just happy right now, so many asks how skinny do I want to be, I say its not an image thing for, I just wanted to be more healthier, for the first time in 12 yes, I am not taking 9 different pills and hooked up to an insulin pump and sensor, but to keep me on track I keep them in plain view as a motivator. My journey is not always easy, that's reality. But I am enjoying the trip and learning something new all the time. Pre open was 260, now 170. Thanks for support from all

Don't you blush! The top rep people get on here everyday or nearly, and really try to help.

They are "reputation points. " the number tells you how many times people have hit the "like " button on your posts. On the main home page down on the right you'll see the top 5 "reputation point leaders" (blush).