joatsaint

You know, de nial is not just a river in Egypt. :-P Seriously though, I guess I was lucky my 1st month. Only had one mood... I hated the world!

Well, the main reason I chose the sleeve was that it was the least creepy feeling of the barbaric surgeries. I really didn't like the idea of having my intestines rerouted. As well, I have a friend who had the lap band 4 years ago and he was not successful at losing the weight - he found ways to eat around it. Plus he's had complications along the way, both with the band and getting it filled to the right size. As for shakes, I don't add anything to mine. I drink the Premier Protein chocolate shakes and they taste very good. I've also tried EAS and Muscle Milk, they are okay, but Premier tastes the best to me.

Visiting the psychiatrist was on of my pre-requs for getting Sleeve surgery. I was pretty nervous about the interview. Who wouldn't be? Knowing that the whole approval process could come to a screeching halt based on the opinion of one guy who only spends 15 - 20 minutes with me. From talking to a fellow sleever, I knew that there was going to be a 500 question multiple choice questionnaire. I could tell right off that it was a personality test. The questions covered the whole gambit - from how did you feel about childhood, how do you feel about being an adult, do you have depressed thoughts, have you ever stolen anything, how do you feel about being in crowded situations ... ect. The kicker is that each type of question is repeated 4 or more times throughout the questionnaire - only it's asked in a different way each time. I can only assume the point is to see if you answer the same way each time - to get your true feelings. It took over an hour to complete everything. The most annoying part was - THERE WERE NO TABLES! Maybe it is part of the test to see how you react, but have you ever tried to hold a clipboard and mark answers with one hand and hold a list of test questions in the other???????????? Now this wasn't their first rodeo. They do these tests for $400 a pop. You'd think they would be a little more considerate. I felt like I was Will Smith in the 1st "Men in Black." The part where all the candidates were sitting in the egg chairs trying to take a test. And Will is the only one smart or brave enough to pull the table over to his chair. So I pulled the same thing. I spun one of the other chairs sideways and used the arm to hold the clip board. The other 2 poor schmucks in the room doggedly mustered on, trying to finish their questions the hard way.

Sorry, but I can't find any way to say this that doesn't sound mean - cause it's not meant to be. It's only a reality check. Buuuuut, Really?????????? Two weeks post op and already stalling? You might want to consider having a sleeve revision.

I don't think you've messed anything up. I was drinking 60 +oz a day by the end of the 1st week. I don't know where the 4oz thing came from, unless, it is a recommended minimum fluid intake. I have never felt full from drinking my Crystal Light. I would think the more you can drink, the better. Just watch out for the calories in your drinks.

My 1st week post-op I was having a disturbing dream over and over. I was in a post-apocalyptic world, taking psych eval tests to determine if I would fit into a new group that was forming to rebuild society. And I had a very frustrating recurring dream about uploading video files to a website, but it was taking forever for the files to convert and upload! After thinking on it, I think it was my mind's way of dealing with the pain from surgery and the frustration of how long it was taking to recover.

I'm 7 months out and the only proven method to break a stall I've found is Patience! Weight loss is not a straight line graph going down. It's more like the Dow Jones Average :-P It's kinda jagged, with a few ups and downs. Stick with your eating guidelines and you will lose.

I agree with your agreement of his agree! Plus, I raise you one zombie!

Look in your profile and choose "signature" on the left hand panel. To cross out the completed step, look for the S in the tool bar when editing your sig.

I think it is automatic. I get notified of any comments posted on my blog posts automatically.

(sing to the tune from "Love Boat") The Love Poop soon will be making another run The Love Poop promises something for everyone Set a course for adventure, Your mind on a new roll of toilet paper! OMG! You are truly my kind of gassy crab. :-)

Just tell them you've been in the wrong body all this time and you're going in for sex reassignment surgery. That way, no matter what people hear about you, they'll assume it's a lie - after all you came back to work looking the same as you left! :-P

Just a few notes on some of the changes I've noticed in myself over the last 9 weeks post-op. 1. I eat when I'm hungry now, don't really look forward to the "full" feeling or have a "taste" for anything in particular anymore - lovin' it. I use to get these overwhelming cravings for a certain taste (especially Whataburgers), they're gone now. 2. I do enjoy what I eat and sometimes I still catch myself trying to eat just one more bite, but I know I'll be feeling sick if I do. It takes time to learn the new "full" signals. 3. I feel satisfied and I get a small thrill seeing how little I actually eat now. Although sometimes, I catch myself trying to finish that last bite - even though I'm full. I've learned to leave it on the plate. 4. Once my staple line swelling went down, I was able to increase my eating to about 4oz per meal, and did start feeling more "normal" after the 2nd week, but it wasn't until about week 6 that I was back at my old energy levels. 5. I can eat pretty much what I want and walk away without gorging myself. I have always been able to take or leave stuff like cakes and cookies. Rice, pasta and potatoes were (I almost wrote "are") my thing. But I can easily pass up most starches now. Although pasta triggers my hunger cravings and I have to stop myself from overeating and making myself sick. 6. My feelings or attitudes has changed incredibly about food. Don't really care about food anymore. I have no "flavors" I desire. So I eat my own concoction of shredded grilled chicken, re-fried beans, cheese and salsa almost every meal - for the past month. 7. There isn't anything that I "want" to eat anymore. I am so happy with my restriction and I don't miss anything, no food cravings, nothing I miss. And there is no food that I couldn't eat at the 3rd or 4th week. It may cause some stomach upset, but if I eat it slowly, I can eat it if I want. However, I do miss being able to chug 16oz of icy cold Crystal Light. 8. I can still eat spicy foods (curries, peppers, etc). I eat salsa almost daily and I found this sweet/spicy dip made with Greek yogurt that I like - very warm. I find it weird that the thing that bothers my stomach the most is healthy fibrous foods, like grape skins, bananas, apple peels, and pineapple.

5:2 diet - http://www.businessinsider.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-the-52-diet-2013-6

Do You Weigh After a Poop? Started by joatsaint joatsaint Posted Today, 4:31 PM Is anyone as crazy as me? I jump on the scale pre and post poop to see the difference. It doesn't count on my "official" weight loss chart or anything. Or am I just being too OCD? johnlatte Posted Today, 4:33 PM yes, that's a bit ocd sarahr Posted Today, 4:37 PM I did a few times when it was umm substantial LOL Gross But no difference. DO you see a difference? And why not count it? katikati Posted Today, 4:41 PM Guilty. Did it today, lost two pounds. No joke. I consider it less OCD and more of just a marvel because I'm only pooping every three days, so it's quite the event. laura-ven Posted Today, 4:42 PM If I did I'm not telling! But OCD runs in my family... Kristina J. Posted Today, 4:45 PM My husband is as fit as can be, has never had weight loss surgery and considers weighing pre and post poop one of his favorite past times! This is my prize... This is what God gave me... VSGKirk Posted Today, 4:47 PM I only get on a scale once a week, but when I do - definitely after a nice BM, emptying my bladder twice, stripped nekkid including removing my genital piercing... quite the ritual, but it works for me! joatsaint Posted Today, 4:48 PM I can always rely on you guys to make me feel soooooooooooooo much better about myself. And I don't count it because it's only temporary. I'll have another torpedo in the tube by the next day. laura-ven Posted Today, 5:06 PM LOL.. I see a new thread. "I'm not fat! I'm full of ****" bunnyg33 Posted Today, 5:09 PM VSGKirk, on March 1, 2013 - 4:47 PM, said: I only get on a scale once a week, but when I do - definitely after a nice BM, emptying my bladder twice, stripped nekkid including removing my genital piercing... quite the ritual, but it works for me! Sounds like my routine but I do not remove my piercings, too much work. I do take my glasses off though lol. bethxxx Posted Today, 5:13 PM I always weigh after a poop, I never weigh before hand to see the difference though, I just poop then weigh. I also get naked, take off my jewelry and hop on and off like 3 times, just to be sure hahah Kristina J. Posted Today, 5:15 PM Let's not forget that this must ALWAYS be before our shower!! We all know that a shower can add, what? 10 pounds of water weight?!? johnlatte Posted Today, 5:34 PM I can't even believe that I came back and read the rest of this thread. Workingonnewme Posted Today, 5:39 PM Lol..I do it all the time! joatsaint Posted Today, 5:53 PM bunnyg33, on March 1, 2013 - 5:09 PM, said: Sounds like my routine but I do not remove my piercings, too much work. I do take my glasses off though lol. And as we all know, glasses add 10 lbs, unless you wear those new ones with the helium filled frames. When I go into the doctor for post op weigh-ins, they ask me if I want to take my shoes off. I say no, but I do leave my cell phone in the car. That thing is heavy! TD41 Posted 48 minutes ago rofl some of the responses are hilarious... I weigh myself after a bm as well... so i am happy to know im not alone

I eat about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of re fried beans per day. Seems to do the trick.

It can be a good thing, not having the surgery at the same time. There was a thread a few weeks ago, where a mother/daughter was planning to get sleeved together but there was a delay and only one of them was sleeved. And there were complications after the surgery. It was a good thing they weren't sleeved together, when things went wrong the other one was there for support.

Are you looking to Feng shui your internal organs? :-P

I thought this was another great article on how on one hand, we're being scolded and treated as outcasts for being fat, and at the same time, food companies are engineering foods that are designed to create cravings and make us fatter. I am all for taking personal responsibility, but at some point you have to realize they are targeting us and creating products that overwhelm our natural eating stopping point and creating a craving for unhealthy foods. The only way to strike back at these companies is to quit buying their products! According to Michael Moss, the Pulitzer prizing-winning reporter and author of the new book Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, (Check out the video below) executives at the major food behemoths – Kraft, General Mills, and Nestle – have known for years that the sugar, salt and fat added to their cereals, soups, tomato sauces and hundreds of other food products have put millions of individuals’ health at risk. But the quest for bigger profits and a larger share of the consumer market has compelled the processed food industry to turn a blind eye to the dangers and consequences of eating those very products. How do the food giants trick consumers? Moss gives several examples: “At Cargill, scientists are altering the physical shape of salt, pulverizing it into a fine powder to hit the taste buds faster and harder, improving what the company calls its ‘flavor burst.’”“Scientists at Nestle are currently fiddling with the distribution and shape of fat globules to affect their absorption rate and, as it’s known in the industry, ‘their mouthfeel.’” “To make a new soda guaranteed to create a craving requires the high math of regression analysis and intricate charts to plot what industry insiders call the “bliss point,” or the precise amount of sugar or fat that will send consumers over the moon.” http://finance.yahoo...-132949611.html

Shoot.... the only reason I had it done in a hospital was cause insurance insisted and the hospital said I could have all the sugar free popsicles I wanted! Otherwise, I was planning on doing it myself in the garage. Got me a couple of those can grabbers and treated my stomach like my favorite "big grab crane game!" Wouldn't even need a local, just a six pack of beer to steady my hand.

Could be worse. :-O Like this auto-complete message post.

I get almost everything off of Amazon. The competition between sellers keeps prices fair. Most of it qualifies for free shipping, but be careful to note when it doesn't qualify - sometimes the vendors charge almost as much for shipping as the cost of the product. Amazon.com

Fast loser, slow loser, I am a half-fast loser! On average, I lose about 3 lbs each week. But on the other hand, I'm eating good and haven't really had to exercise hard. I walk 5 days a week and am working my way up to 5 miles per day. I've managed to get to 5 miles only 2 times since I've started. Knee and hip pain sometimes interfere with my walking. How I wanted to be one of those posters who could say they lost 100 lbs in 6 months, but it doesn't look like it's in the cards for me. But I try to be satisfied with a steady down tick of the scale. If I can maintain this downward pace, I'll be down 150 lbs in 10 months. That would be freakin awesome! That would put me at my lowest weight since high school - 27 years ago! And at 190 - my ideal body weight. Jeeze, until I wrote that last sentence, I hadn't taken time to do the math! 190 seems like a weight someone else is, not me. I don't know if I can handle being normal. It seems like one of those daydreams that only comes true in the movies. Ok, back on topic - the one thing most fast losers don't mention in their posts is, what they had to do to have such fast results. Did they workout 7 days a week on the treadmill for hours, living on Unjury and water? Or do they have a naturally fast metabolism? Or are they just attention whores, looking for approval and praise? ***Disclaimer, I know of no one that has lied about their weight loss! And no animals were harmed in the writing of this post. But my cat thinks I'm starving him!*** Anyway, the whole point of this post was supposed to be, be satisfied that you are losing weight - whatever the speed! If you want to lose faster: move a little more, eat a little better, and stick with the guidelines from your NUT. Oh, and don't forget to have a support group like the good folks here on verticlesleevetalk. You don't have to post anything, it helps me just seeing that others have the same questions and concerns keeps me from feeling alone.

Or my favorite, tell'em - Not all aliens burst out of the chest! Best scar excuses

My 4 small incisions have faded to the point where I can pass them off as freckles. The big one, could be mistaken for a birthmark - it's about 1 1/2 across and fading slowly. If I decide to wear a bikini, I think I could do a comb-over with some of my belly hair and hide it. ~:-)