@DomLorenVSG

Thank you so much for your "truth" your "story." I am over here in Oklahoma with tears in my eyes. What an inspiration you are! I am being sleeved tomorrow and I am so very excited! I know, like yourself that my whole world is about to change. Thank you for allowing us a personal look into your story. Your a Blessing.

The first 3 months post op were very difficult for me- I wanted my weight to magically be gone. And it wasn't. I slowly got to where I am, and it didn't happen overnight. I look back at the past 9 months and I'm thankful that my brain and emotions had time to adjust to the physical changes. Just take it one day at a time!! I'm a totally (new improved version) of my previous self!

Funny story... guess who started texting me this morning?! That's right! A day late and dollar short! I told him how I was so excited for this weekend because I've got so many wonderful plans and I hope he has a great weekend planned too. He hasn't responded back yet. lol. >

I would have never had this confidence before surgery. In fact, I allowed a lot of nonesense in my life out of weakness and self doubt. I'm okay being alone, and I'm really happy where I am. I'm in no rush to do anything stupid, so if he (or some other guy) is Mr. Right, he will get his act together and act like prince charming and plan a date and actually go all out for it including the time and location planning.

I will also say that my body has been really good about eating clean foods, so the shock of the sodium/salt and the absorption rate of the popcorn was a double whammy on my system. It probably didn't know what to do! I have to detox just to get that crap OUT of my body now!

The purpose of the liquid diet is to shrink your liver some to make it easier for the surgeon to get around during surgery. Most doctors will want you to do at least a one day liquid diet, but all are different. I had to do a one week liquid diet.

When in doubt, always ask your surgeon what he/she would like for you to do to prepare for surgery. Congratulations and good luck on your journey!!

I just wanted to add that I had a low BMI of 33 at surgery and I was not required to do the pre-op liquid diet, but voluntarily did so the day before surgery. When I asked my doc he said the higher your BMI the fattier your liver is, so the higher the BMI the longer the pre-op diet because they want to strip your liver of the fatty acids that A.) do shrink your liver and B.) don't make it as slippery and slimey to work wtih before surgery. IF you are a low BMI of 35 or under they normally do NOT require a 1 to 2 week preop diet. However all surgical procedures are the same for the most part and you cannot have liquids or foods after midnight the evening before your surgery (they want your stomach extra empty). And it never hurts to check in with your doc either if you're concerned.

o_0 ... wow. I'm so sorry. The Holiday's are going to be rough on me this year as a single mom, but you got double and triple whammy's going on. You're in my thoughts and prayers!

Congratulations and Happy Birthday. I noticed that you have not experienced any stalls..what's your secret?

Thank you all! And Xavtay2, I haven't experienced any major stalls, and I do have several secrets (that aren't so secret)... I work out 2 to 5 hours every. single. day. I document it in my blog if you look up some of my previous posts. I hate land sports, but I do a masters swim team on my lunch 3 days a week, and I was doing water polo 2 hours 4 days a week (we just ended our season and I'm on a 2 month break). I eat a very high protein diet, and I've pretty much cut out everything else except little bits of fruits and veggies. Since surgery I've become lactose intolerant and me and bread just don't get along either. Between eating the clean high protein diet mixed with aggressive work outs, I've been on a steady down slope. I know my numbers are starting to slow down to about -1 lbs a week, but that is fine by me, any loss is welcome. I use to kill myself and couldn't even lose a pound in a week, but now it works itself out. Some weeks are better than others, but over all it's maintaining a healthy routin with workouts.... the sleeve can only do so much, you got to put the work outs as a priority in your life! But everything else is documented in my blogs as well, so feel free to take a gander at them.

And I've been terrible this weekend celebrating, definitly drank too much, my stomach hates me, I embrace drinking nothing but water this week and eating my healthy stuff, my sleeve does NOT do well when I'm not kind to it! So now after the last 48 hours of crappy food and drinks, I'm back on track and refocused. I've had my fun, but it's nothing like it use to be. So glad to be healthy and feel good when I eat and drink clean.

You are an amazing woman and I'm so happy to be your sleeve buddy! God works in mysterious and wonderful ways!!! Your family is going to be mezmorized by you! You can absouletly make your goal and you look awesome now. Just wait until you hit that 180 mark and jaws will be hitting the floor! You are doing it all right! The working out, the eating right, taking care of you! You got this girl!

awesome!!!!you go girl...i weight the same so keep posting pics so i can see about where i may be...your gonna be a skinny minnie soooonnnn...yea!!!so are you glad you had te surgery? after the surgery was it miserable?

As someone who has battled my weight issues ALL my life, has other medical complications (I have PCOS), and has had serious interpersonal relationship problems because of insecurity, weight issues, etc. I can say this surgery saved my life. My only regret was not getting it sooner. A lot of the people who I see being negative the first few months post surgery are people who have not dealt with their relationship battles wtih food. THey weren't ready to say good bye- I however am totally okay with only getting one bite of something and being done. I have no more self loathing about over eating and ordering everything off a menu and still being hungry. It's all gone now. My head and self esteem are in a much better place. I also had a workout plan in place, I swim 5 days a week. I'm not dealing with any stalls because I've had a plan of action from get go. I don't weigh myself with my fingers crossed that the scale might go down- my scale ALWAYS goes down if only a little it's almost always moving because I workout 5 days a week. I paid out of pocket for this surgery, I sacrified a lot being a single mom paying $9000 out of pocket. I owe this to me and my child to give it everything I got now. So while there are some not so pleasant moments post surgery- I'm thankful everyday that I got it, and everyday I'm a happier and healthier person for it. I know once I get into my goal weight areas, I will have a lot more personal growing to do, to get comfortable in my body and learning how to maintain. But to know this permanent and not some fad diet, I'm so happy to hit the restart button in my life.

Yes! Lol!

So just adding in my two cents (nicely written blog entry I might add) that I have 1 rule when it comes to discussing weight loss with other people. THEY MUST approach the topic first. PERIOD. I will never offer my information, my experience, or journey with VSG unless someone ASKS ME how I did it, OR they start about how unhappy or miserable they are and don't know what to do- then I tell them, encourage them, and inform them. Walking up to someone, writting someone about such a personal topic without them asking for it is no different then walking up to someone with a same sex partner and expressing your religious or personal beliefs on them. If unwarranted- keep it to yourself. If asked for- then freely give. That's where I find the fault in all this.

Be careful about hunger vs Acid!!! This is a very common misunderstanding! People think they are really hungry when in fact its the stomach making an over abundance of acid, and then you eat things like crackers to calm the acid!!! Make sure to be takinga PPI (like over the counter prilosec or nexium) your doc should have prescribed. When I get really hungry- it's almost ALWAYS because I forgot to take my PPI. For a few weeks I was taking it twice a day- any day I miss or forget I suddenly get ravanous around noonish- so make sure to take your meds! If not you can get them cheap over teh counter as well!

You got this mamma! You are sooo close I just know you are going to hit One-derland in the next few days!!!!! I remember killing ourselves for weeks or months, and you can do this in days!!!

As for the ex, well it's called a break up because it's broken- and apparently the man is defective if he's blind not to see how awesome you are doing. He has to be going out of his way NOT to see your progress. Maybe we can put him in a boat with a couple of my ex's and send them off into the sunsest together? From the sounds of it, he will never acknowledge your weight loss, and just find new ways of brining you down. I don't know the man, and maybe you think he's amazing in every way- BUT this... fyi- YOU ARE AMAZING and deserve only the best and he's a fool for not breaking his neck to be with you. End Rant. Muah!

About 15 minutes after I posted this blog this morning I got the call that my grandmother passes away. My grandmother was the first person to hold me when I came into this world. On Sunday I had the previlege of holding her hand and telling her how much I loved her. At 9am est this morning she passed away quietly holding my grandfathers hand. She held out long enough to make it to their 60 year anniversary. She was just that damn good. Heaven's got another angel today.There just won't be another dame like her. While my heart is breaking, I'm so glad I could be with her this past week. I'm certainly jealous of the angels in heaven.

I've got PCOS too, and I'm also insulin resistant and have been off my meds for a few months. Carbs are the enemy! I love my carbs, especially breads too! But we are just not meant to be! You can and will beat it! You're doing great!

The workouts don't need to be so intesnse, from what I've experienced. TRaining really hard can actually do damage to your joints...as it has done to mine. Getting 3-20minute walks in has the same effect on the body as walking for 60 minutes. Some people may be able to do the hardcore stuff...but some cannot, and the walks split up like I do, works as well. I also would not risk having solid food in my sleeve...because it CAN spring a leak and cause problems...why take that risk. Be happy with the weight you are losing and just be careful...you'll get there. That's what seems to work for me.

I completely respect and understand where you're coming from. I workout doing organized sports- and most importantly I swim and play water polo, which are the #1 reccomended thing for all VSG and WLS patients to do because it's the easiest on the joints and best for recovery. I highly reccomend water aerobics to anyone wanting to get into working out, without overdoing it. All the gyms in the local area have a variety of aquatics classes for everyone of every shape and ability that increases the blood flow and gets yous moving. Walking I found is easier schedule wise for a lot of people, and like you said 3- 20 min walks is just as good as a 60 minute workout.... BUT IT'S STILL 60 minutes! The goal is to get your heart rate between 110 and 120 (which varies from person to person depending on health and weight etc).

And I was cleared for soft foods at week 3, I just went ahead and incorporated proteins (no other solids) such as chicken and steak in small amounts because I wasn't coming close to my needed calorie or protein intake. I do not encourage anyone to break their doctors orders, I however choose to incorporate protein 5 days early, I was cleared for full foods at 4 weeks.

I've always been proactive and aggressive when it comes to my weight. In fact I've been a serious athlete all my life, including when I was a soldier in the Army. Because of PCOS and insulin issue I've been losing my weight battle for years, but not from a lack of trying. I've always been in good shape, but my body just couldn't get in sync, which is why I became a VSG candidate as a light weight with a metabolic disorder. Everyone has there own journey, but I'm a firm believer that VSG is not a miracle cure, it is a tool. You have to use good common sense, listen to your body, eat healthy, but you must still workout. It's good for your skin, weight loss, and over all health. Don't go overboard, but changing your workout habits is just as important as changing your eating habbits post surgery.

A lot of the stuff I've read has really pushed me to workout a minimum of 1 hour a day straight through high cardio etc. Do you walk or anything besides doing the stairs, I knows stairs really kill some poeples back and knees. I'm a big advocate of swimming and walking, adding it in to see if it changes things up.

I'm torn about this... because I think so much of this has to do with how much you work out. But I understand only losing -2 lbs a week or something is completely frustrating. I'd like nothing more than to snap my fingers and drop 60 lbs but it didn't come on overnight so it's not coming off overnight. I'm working out 2 to 5 hours a day (I swim) and I'm not a gym person. Chin up, look into some fun zumba or salsa dancing classes. See if you can spice things up. Don't get angry- it will just cause you to stress and you have to be nice to yourself- love yourself. Your sleeve loves you, and it's not going to let you fail. If you want to lose weight faster, you just simply have to move more. Easier said than done, I know... but you're on the right track!!!!

I've PCOS, and the illness has left me powerless over my weight. Even as a light weight with a low BMI I was a surgical candidate because my body has so many insulin/fat issues. I've had so many people say just eat healthier, work out harder, etc. Even after I explain that I have an illness, they just say it is a "crutch". I quietly got VSG and now the weight is slowly coming off. Weight is not something we want. We don't ask for it, and it haunts us everyday. I'm so sorry this happened to you, and all I can say is GOOD FOR YOU for chosing the VSG journey. We all have our breaking points, this sounds like it was very traumatizing for you... I'm so sorry, and I hope this makes you stronger and know that you will never be judged here and we 100% support you!

You are a rockstar!!! I think your cousin is evidence that you made the right decision with VSG over LapBand. SO proud of you girl!!!! Our bodies are just adjusting, and your are so close to all your goals. AWESOME!

Oh, hun. All I can say is that we are right there with you. I'm a true believer that if it's meant to be, it will be. I'm a little farther on the spectrum and have had friends point out the obvious- I dated and had relationships with emotional vampires, guys who took advantage of my insecruities with weight and didn't treat me right because of it... I held on to hope that if only I did this better or that better it would work out, because I just didn't want to feel alone. I'm only a few weeks post op, but I can already tell a huge behavior change in myself. I haven't dated in months, and I don't plan too until I"m a at least 50 lbs lighter, to give myself the time and peace to put it all back together, mentally, physically, and emotionally. I have made promises to myself to demand better, and if I don't find the right guy- it's going to be okay. I can wait. I'm no longer clingy or focused or trying to force things. By making my health and weight my number one priority my attitude on so many things has changed- and I too feel peace. You clearly have a kind heart and good soul, and you will find Mr. Right- just wait, it will come... god bless.

Ahahahah, funny thing my mother is from Sicily and our world revolves around food too! ahahahaha... I found that hillarious when you said that. What's also funny is that everyone minus my grandmother is severly overweight and my mother is morbidly obese, yet they think they are all experts at health and nutrition. If weight watchers and jenny craig where so freak'n great we'd all be super models and not yo-yo dieters. Sometimes I think misery loves company. I knew going into this they wouldn't approve. But just like they didn't approve my college major (and I"m paying for my degrees) and didn't approve of me getting my PhD (they thought it was over kill and unnecessary, I should be husband shopping) I just decided to keep it on the hush hush.... AND I BET YOU MONEY that when I lose that first 50+ lbs they are going to tell me (and probably you) that your starving yourself, accuse us of being anorexic, and try to tell us we are too skinny. It's a lose/lose situation. Got to make your mind up and run with it... I've had enough practice with my family giving me crappy advice based on ridiculous old world values to help me prepare for my surgery. Just do YOU!

Yes. In fact I refused to tell my family I was having VSG. They are all experts of stupidity. Now I love my family, but as a single mother of a 4 year old I understand your situation. I'm a collegiate athlete and full time grad student, I'm in great athletic shape but my body packs on weight like no one's business. I've been big all my life, even when I was in the Army. I had a horrifically big appetite and nothing ever satisfied me. VSG is no quick fix. WHen I did have surgery I just told people it was for stomach ulcers and to get my pancreas fixed for making too much insulin- BOTH truths, I just didn't add in the WLS part. It's always easier to say than do. I'm 3 weeks post op and I'm telling you it's the best decision I've ever made. I'm pretty successful in life considering what all I've been throw, but I've always felt like a complete failure when it comes to my weight. And my family- if they are anything like yours uses negative reinforcement to try to motivate me- reminding me I don't need to eat out, or I shouldn't have a piece of birthday cake, etc. I assure you VSG is no quick fix. It takes months if not years to get off all the excess weight- and guess what? You will be able to eat anything you want, just in tiny portions, and you won't be hungry anymore. You, and you alone will be able to sleep easier at night knowing you love yourself and you're living life for your kids and you. I'm not self concious anymore, I still have a lot of weight to lose, but I'm not stressing like I once did. It's not the elephant in the room anymore. No more money wasted on weight watchers or diet pills or magical cures- those are quick fixes. No gym membership was going to keep me from my favorite fast food- but my VSG MAKES me an honest woman and I can't fool or cheat it. And now the weight is coming off, and I'm more worried about getting enough in! GOod luck. It's your life. Your happiness.

Do you think you deserve to be happy? Yes.

It may change, you might begin to feel some kind of hunger in a couple months but it is NOTHING..I repeat NOTHING like it was before. It turns from a lion to kitten and it doesnt really feel like hunger, more like...a small empty feeling that can be forgotton if you dont keep a schedule..It is a nice feeling...ENJOY.

Absolutely, my doc said I will get hunger back, but it will be faint compared to now. I actually a couple of different issues (PCSO and an insulin issue) and both contribute dramatically to my appetite. I kept thinking before my surgery, omg 4 weeks post op liquid diet? HOW in the world???? I'm one week out and I have ZERO desire to eat, even when food is right in front of me. It is just so new and different for me to feel this way. I feel like a burden has been lifted off me. Like I'm not depriving myself of food- I've always felt like I was in starvation mode, and right now I'm perfectly content.

Wow congrats. That's so awesome. Please keep the updates going. I am inspired by success stories. I am due to go in on Monday and am starting to freak out. How was waking up for you ?? I think that is what I am most afraid of. The eating part is fine. I love the shakes.

Good luck !

BTW what the codes for above ?? ( HW,.. OH duh highest weight ?? LOL ) Take care.

Lisa

I was terrified of this journey- as any sane normal person would be... but I was out before I knew what hit me and when I woke up I lift up my hospital gown because I didn't believe them when they said it was done. HOLY smokes! It was easier than getting my wisdom teeth out! THey kept me well drugged and I just chilled in bed and watch'd tv. I was so anxious I had a hard time sleeping but the team was amazing to me. Jessica the nurse and everyone where just fantastic. I've never had a doctor and his team treat me that well for that many days. No regrets... only wish I'd done it sooner!