Izuri

I have never been a healthy weight as an adult. I am scared about what it is going to be like when I reach there, but I am also incredibly excited. I have felt very out of control of my life for a number of years and this is really a good step forward for me. I was letting my fat control my life. I really relate to Rootman's post, everything is through a 'fat me' filter right now. I'm not sure what else I will think about than food, but I already am starting to see changes. It definitely forces me to confront some issues that I was coping with through food. When I was anxious, I'd eat. When I was bored, I'd eat. I've taken steps to try and fill these holes in my life with things I enjoy. I've started working with stained glass, walking, spending more time with family. I know once school starts back up it will be easier to stay busy. As I continue to lose weight I hope I also continue to find new areas of life that I've never explored that will open up to me. I look forward to vacations that I'll be able to have (I will actually feel like I can ride on a plane!), learning how to climb one of those rock walls, going hiking, riding roller coasters, there are so many possibilities! Many I will spend all my time thinking about those instead! Anyway, I think the attitude in your post is contagious - and I love it! I completely agree and I think you're gonna do amazing =)

I bought more than I actually ended up using, so I'll just post what I used (and what I think would have been useful). Hospital: Gas-X strips Biotene mouth spray (They let me have ice chips so it wasn't a big problem - but I know others swear by it and I tried it a couple of times and it worked ok) Comfy slippers w/grips Loose pants to wear home Tank top Loose underwear Flip flops to wear home Cell phone charger Medications they didn't supply (mood stabilizer) Glasses/Glasses case I brought a ton more. Magazines, my iPod, etc. I was passed out almost all day when I wasn't up walking. I didn't use any of that stuff. I over packed, no doubt about it. First week: sugar free Jello broth (Except vegetable which tastes like old boiled carrots to me) Protein powder - a few varieties but I have almost 100% stuck with Eas whey Protein Powder in vanilla since it mixes well with everything and goes down easy Isopure zero carb (15g protein in 8oz) Creamy Soups (to strain) Sugar free popsicles Silk Skim Milk Fage 0% Yogurt That was most of my diet the first week. Second week I added to the above: (was allowed to move to puree) Cottage cheese Refried Beans - Didn't enjoy these so much, tried adding cheese, still didn't like them Fruit to make smoothies Stuff to make chili - was REALLY good pureed, used ground turkey Boneless skinless chicken breast - made some good pureed chicken salad and probably would have enjoyed tuna too Cream of Wheat - healthy grain I would advise making stuff ahead of time and pureeing and freezing it. I did not feel up to cooking much. I often ate the same stuff over and over. As far as things around the house go I used: Gas-X strips again Vitamins (Multivitamin - Centrum chewables and Vitamin B12 Sublingual) Make sure you have enough pillows - I often need extra to kind of lay under my stomach when I'm sleeping on my side Moved cups down to a lower shelf so I could easily reach them Made sure the dog food containers were light enough that I could move them easily Children's Tylenol liquid Children's Benadryl liquid Those are all that I really used. I had a huge list with more stuff, but a lot of things I didn't use at all.

You deserve to brag!! You are looking incredible and feeling good - Now that's one thing I don't mind someone bragging about. Hard work and well deserved! You should put up some up to date pics. Congratulations on your awesome success =)

It's a very personal decision. No matter what there will always be people who do not agree with whatever decision you make. Some will be gung ho about the surgery and very supportive, others may not want to talk/be around you as much. It happens. What's important is that whatever you choice you make you're making for yourself. It is not their body, not their life, not their choice, and for a lot of them - not their business. Do not let anyone's opinion hold you back from what you deem necessary for your body. You can make other friends/acquaintances, you're stuck with yourself no matter what. I know that before surgery it was really helpful for me to make a list of pros and cons. This really helped me sort out my feelings and where my real concerns were. I found that not only did my pros outweigh my cons, but many of the cons were things that I had an active hand in. For example, I was very scared of pain/recovery. But when I looked over posts and literature I found that patients that are active in their care and follow post-op instructions well are very successful. After surgery I stuck to my breathing exercises, did my best to walk as much as I could, and have been pretty strict on my diet. I think it's been instrumental in decreasing my risk of some post-op complications (Blood clots, pneumonia, excessive gas). I couldn't decrease every con, but there were enough that I was able to see that my pros far outweighed them. I do wish that I had dealt a little bit more with my food issues pre-op. It would have been nice to have someone begin to help me sort out a few things ahead of time. Even though I didn't, I handle most things pretty well. A lot of this process is dealing with the mental readjustment. There is definitely a period (probably quite a few) where you go through food mourning. Right now, I don't enjoy seeing other people eat. It's something that I'm working on, but the differences between portion size really gets to me sometimes. When this happens I try and sort through why it bothers me. Most times I realize that I'm also anxious about something else. Where I would usually use food to fill that gap, I now am having to confront the issue head-on. It's a learning process. I would not trade this surgery for the world. All the ups and downs have taught me so much about myself and I feel better than I did pre-op. My mood is better, my health is better, and I know if I hadn't gotten it that I would be 20+ pounds up instead of 20+ pounds down today.

Things will go great! Good luck =D

I have six incisions, but I also had a hiatal hernia repair, so I assumed that there was probably an additional one related to that.

What a mix of emotions you must be having right now. Congratulations! Sometimes the best things in life are unexpected (I know, cliche but true!). And the surgery for the sleeve will be still here waiting for you if you are ready further on down the road. You are young, and six months of dieting seems like a long time to go through all the process again someday, but you never know what will happen in the future. Besides, in the mean time you will be enjoying and loving your beautiful new baby =) I wish you all the best!

My eyes still think my stomach is still pre-op size. Every time I go to get food I'm like well of course I could handle this much! It's like nothing. And then halfway through I'm like ohhh....can't eat the rest. It's really pretty goofy.

I have this problem too. I switched to Centrum chewable and it really helped. I have also heard of people having better luck with flintstone's chewables, but I never ended up trying those since Centrum worked for me. I think it was just the super high values of Vitamins all at once kinda overloaded my system.

I think if your doctor says you should keep increasing that you should probably follow his advice, as long as you're not eating a super large amount. Maybe you need to eat small amounts more often? I can only get in about 2oz of soft food per serving right now, but my NUT wants me eating six small meals a day. It's hard to get in, but when I do, I feel much better. There is a really awesome thread about stretching here: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/48540-worried-about-stretching-is-it-easy-or-hard-to-do/page__hl__stretching which kinda calmed some of my nerves - I was pretty worried about it too before reading that pretty much everyone is eating similar to me and that everyone is worried about it. As far as your stall - just tough it out. I know it's so much easier said than done, but it happens to just about everyone. Measure! Maybe you are losing inches. If you are really that worried about it, switch some things up. Try new exercise, try new foods, up your Protein, down your carbs, up your Water, up or down your exercise, get more sleep. There are an incredible number of factors that influence our weight loss. In the end though the biggest factor is really just time for our body to adjust. It will start up again soon! =)

When I was 17 (about 210lbs) and a senior we were going to Cedar Point for our senior trip and I couldn't fit on the seat for the millenium force..Neither could a friend, so at least we got to sit out together. They made us try the test seat (Which is better than waiting in line and finding out that you don't fit I guess) in front of all our friends, it was mortifying. I cannot wait to go back someday and prove to myself that I beat that ride. I haven't had a lot of restaurant embarrassments thankfully. This is probably because I avoid them a lot of the time. I do worry often whether or not I will fit in a booth. I dread going to Outback because I have to squeeze so much into the booths that I feel super uncomfortable.

I would call Cigna, they have records of where they are in the process. I know I had a little trouble getting people to get back to me. It's very frustrating, but I'm sure they're incredibly busy too. If you have been calling for more than a week or two, I would think about seeing if there is another person in the office that you can contact. It will eventually go through, hang in there!

You look fantastic! And only 27 pounds from goal? That's incredible =)

Mid-September - That will be here before you know it ! I didn't have PCP monthly meetings, but once the ball got rolling on getting stuff done, it didn't stop, it was a crazy rush of medical appointments and emotions. Before you know it you will be on the other side watching the pounds drop off =) Hang in there - and if you're the type that likes to journal and then eventually look back, keep a log of how you're feeling. I'm only 3 weeks out and it's already interesting to look back and see how things have changed already. I can't imagine what it will be like to read back through what I've written once I'm a year out and see how truly far I've come. Plus, I'm hoping reading through all my excitement will jump start my enthusiasm if I get down during stall weeks.

I agree with UTGal - You never know what your body will be at tomorrow. Plus, some surgeons are less strict than others, and I think that if he sees you have been complying with his instructions that you will be fine. I think usually pre-op weight loss is half about decreasing medical risks and half about making sure that you are willing/able to be compliant with the directions, and less about an exact number (Heck, I fluctuate like 3-4 pounds over the day because of Water sometimes). If you are really stressing about it, you could always call their office and speak to a medical assistant and let them know. They will probably give you the ok to come in anyway, but maybe it will give you a little peace of mind.

I just wanted to say thank you for that picture. I had been contemplating this for a bit and just hadn't gotten around to looking up any pictures/literature on it. It is really neat to be able to see the different sizes and I probably would have forgotten to look on my own =)

1. I don't have any kind of feeling like that I'm approaching full. I do sometimes (especially when I'm eating soft food) get a little burp/gas that happens about a bite and a half before I get pain. The pain is under my sternum and a little to the left if I eat too much. It usually takes a few minutes to go away. I have been trying to weigh everything before I eat so that I can avoid this. 2oz or less is what I can get in soft foods. I don't seem to have much of any problems with full liquids. 2. I feel like garbage sometimes too. I do think this is just our bodies adjusting. I try and remind myself that my body is used to like 3000 calories and I'm putting in 500-700 on a good day. We are constantly in a deficit and it's taxing. I do find that when I get in all my Protein and extra Water that I tend to feel better. 3. I am not gonna lie, sometimes I resent the people on food commercials, lol. It drives me nuts to watch them even though I'm not actually hungry. I try and flip the channel/turn down the sound/etc. I am still having problems adjusting to what I eat vs seeing what everyone else eats. Sometimes my mind feels frustrated that I can only do a couple oz, but I always end up glad when the scale comes down =) 4. The heavier you are, the faster your initial loss will be. Plus, early on we are losing a lot of water weight that has been built up. When you are in surgery/post-op they pump a ton of fluids into you, plus you are retaining fluids to begin with. You may not lose 20lbs in 11 days again, but it will keep coming off! 5. Are you giving yourself enough time to eat? I find that when I eat too fast I can get a little bit of nausea. Are you getting in all your water? Maybe a different flavor of Protein shake would help cut down on the nausea, or smaller amounts but less time between them 6. I don't have a lot of idea how much of sweets we can eat as I have hardly ventured into that territory yet. I tried a small amount of carbsmart breyers vanilla ice cream the other day and my stomach threw a hissyfit. I will be staying away from sweets for a while longer...lol. But we're all human! I'm sure we'll have some here and there. 7. I'm also on the no exercise until 6 weeks out so I've got about 3 weeks to go. I have been walking at least once a day and on good days I'll go out twice a day. I walk 30 min - 1 hour depending on how I feel. Some days I get no exercise in. I asked my doctor if I could do the elliptical since it was close to walking (at least it was in my mind) but he said that you use your abdominal muscles to stabilize yourself on it and he'd like me to avoid that. Pretty much he said walking was my only option for now. 8. Are you allowed to make smoothies yet? I know they were allowed on my full liquid diet. I made one with fage 0% greek yogurt vanilla flavor, bananas, strawberries, one scoop of vanilla Protein powder, and a bit of skim milk. It went down good and tasted pretty good. Plus the protein in it was fantastic! I think it's one of the only days I went over protein goal, I couldn't believe it. It sounds like you are doing awesome - hang in there!!

Highest - 325 Surgery day - 321 Today - 298 =)

I got the bullet a few weeks ago and have used it several times. If you're just using for one person or smoothie/shakes, it's awesome. I debated the other two blenders mentioned on here too because they looked pretty nice also.

I confess: - I have a hard time eating every 2 hours like my NUT wants me to - I miss being able to gulp down a glass of Water when I'm thirsty, I never feel like I'm catching up to my dehydration when I am sipping - I haven't slept well since surgery, pre-op I never had sleep trouble - Sometimes I feel like I cheated myself because I never really had an 'official last meal' from my favorite restaurant - I have avoided social situations so far because I am not sure how to handle eating in front of people outside of my family - I am not one to talk much and hate awkward silences - I have never been a healthy weight as an adult, and am a bit afraid of it I wanted to add a couple good ones, obviously I was feeling a little blah this morning and I'm feeling much peppier this afternoon =) - My mood is in general far better/more stable than pre-op - If I could go back and do it again, I totally would - I love being able to walk and am looking forward to keeping up with friends this fall!

I could never get the tickers on this website to show the right date counting down to my surgery so I gave up on them and am using an html one from another site. I think if you click it it will take you to the page. I was very frustrated when every time I set the date on the ticker I made here it'd reset it to another date.

How many days of liquid diet did you have to do? No pre-op liquid diet required except 1 day of Clear Liquids the day before surgery. Nothing by mouth the morning before surgery. How much weight did you lose during it? 4 pounds How many days (if any) did you have to stay at the hospital? 1 night, left the next afternoon Did you have any complications? None so far (Knock on wood) How long after surgery did you try to eat normal food? (non-puréed, etc) At two weeks out I was allowed to start soft foods and I will be on those for the next 3 months. How soon after surgery did you feel mostly or fully back to normal? Most days I'm feeling about 80% (I'm 2.5 weeks out). Here and there I have a day where I feel beat. Please share any extra comments about things you weren't expecting or tips: Gas-X strips have been a lifesaver. Heating pads and walking also help break up the gas you have post-op. I guess I also didn't expect with having no hunger it kinda makes it a chore to eat. I hate eating every 2 hours and I have to set an alarm to make myself. I wish I'd gotten myself into a better schedule of that pre-surgery so it was a habit. I am a little worried when I go back to school that I will have trouble making myself fit in Snacks that I need to get through the day.

I wasn't given the okay to drive until after my 2 week appointment - I think in case I was still using pain meds. I did a short drive to the store about 4 or 5 days post-op and did fine. I don't think I would have been fine to drive home on my own because I was still on quite a bit of pain meds and had been on morphine in the early morning a few hours before I left. Not to mention the pain would definitely have restricted my driving. Some people have said that after a day or so they have little or no pain, so I suppose it could be possible - especially if you made sure you were off the pain meds long enough for them to wear off a bit.

Only 3 weeks? That's a big difference =) You're very pretty! Keep up the awesome work.

I am not married and don't have a long term boyfriend right now, so I don't have a lot of advice to offer. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry you've had to go through that, because you really deserve to be treated well, heavy or not. In my opinion, it sounds like you guys have had a fallout in support/communication that would need to be remedied if things are gonna work. I hope things work out for you.