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It's frustrating, and I'm glad you got the chance to vent and were able to take something from the cheerleading of others here. We all want to be the person to hit goal in nine months. We daydream about our lives post op and want to be in those skinny pants ASAP but it doesn't always work that way. It took me 17 months to get to goal. If you average out my losses I lost just over 6 pounds a month...that's less than 2 pounds a week, by the way! Goal is awesome no matter how long it takes you to get there, so try to be patient. We all understand how aggravating that scale can be. We opted for a drastic surgery and want immediate, drastic results. Well, I got the results, it just took longer than I wanted. And that's okay. I learned a lot on this journey and I think it was better for me to have the slow loss as it gave me time to do the mental and emotional work while I was losing. Keep the positive attitude, because you'll need it in the months to come. It's worth the time and effort you put into this, and believe me - you'll be posting in just a few months about how you're more than halfway to goal. Every pound you lose now, however slowly, is one that's gone for good. ~Cheri

Yes, you got great info from OregonDaisy. It does stretch, but not in any way like the pouch in a bypass patient can stretch. I'm 19 months out and have more restriction than some folks here, based upon what I've read. I can eat (in one sitting): 1 hardboiled egg or 1 scrambled egg with 2 Tbs. cheese 2-3 oz. dense Protein, 2-3 bites of veg., 2-3 bites of carb/starch (but only if that's ALL I eat for the meal) 1/2 a meat sandwich/cheeseburger (with only a bottom bun) 1/2 a grilled cheese sandwich and 1/2 cup of Soup (if it's a liquid/cream soup) 1 cookie 2-3 cups of popcorn So as you see, my sleeve has stretched enough that I'm eating more than four ounces of Protein shake at a meal. However, I'd have to concentrate really hard on eating to gain a serious amount of weight. If your main concern is being able to maintain the smaller portions in the long run, then you really don't have that much to worry about with the sleeve. That said, if you make poor food choices long term or overeat regularly you can and will gain weight. Learning how to eat responsibly and healthily is a must, especially with a restriction-only procedure like the sleeve. ~Cheri

It took me a lot longer to get to goal than a lot of folks and for the first six months or so I drove myself CRAZY comparing my results to everyone else's, changing up my diet every time I had a stall and basically just freaking out thinking that I wasn't ever going to get to goal. It took me 17 months to get to goal but I was within 20 pounds of goal for six months. So around ten months to one year out I was feeling very good about myself, considering myself a success and not too worried about getting all the way to goal. Getting here was S-L-O-W work my body really just didn't want to lose that last 20 pounds. At that point I wasn't willing to fuss with my diet too much, I just kept plugging away and the weight kept slowly falling off. Now that I'm at goal my body absolutely refuses to lose another pound. If it happens it will happen very, very slowly. I weigh daily to keep myself accountable (so I won't slip into denial about my eating habits or weight) and I'm anywhere from 134-137 on any given day (depending on my time of the month) and I think that's perfectly normal. Good luck, and don't let that scale own you. It's hard to get to the point where you can remain optimistic even on days when you don't lose, or when you have a small bounce up. Just stay calm in the knowledge that there is very little you could possibly do and gain weight at this point! Heck, I'm 19 months out in two days and there's very little I could even do to make myself gain more than one pound. ~Cheri

I'm nearly 19 months out and I eat like a normal person. I consume around 1200 calories a day of whatever I feel like eating. I aim for 90+ grams of Protein and an equal amount of carbohydrates. Now, I did have my metabolism tested and for me, this range of calories is suitable as I could expect to gain on anything over 1300 calories without stepping up my exercise. I didn't get to the point where I could even dream of consuming more than 1000 calories a day until one year post op, though. For much of the first year I was hardly able to consume 800 calories a day, and it was a real chore to do that much. I don't exactly graze but I do think I eat more like six tiny meals than three regular ones. I'm happy with that. Since hitting goal I haven't needed to record my food yet as I never see more than a pound and a half +/- on the scale. I'm happy where I'm at and I feel normal. I do eat half a sandwich and feel satisfied. If I push myself, I can eat a half cup of Soup with the sandwich, too, provided the sandwich is grilled cheese or something else without meat. Cake bores me post op, so I don't even need the whole slice - just a bite or two and I'm good. There is only one food that I want to eat by the bucket and it's popcorn. And honestly, after about 2-3 cups of it I'm done eating it, anyway. It's the only food I want to eat 2-3 cups of, though! My feeling is that if you do the head work as your body is losing the weight you'll get to goal and find you have a healthy relationship with food. I started out post op really restricting carbs and calories and found that just like prior to surgery food was ruling my life. I was thinking about it all the time and making myself crazy. Once I got to the realization that the diet mentality had to end and accepted that I'd lose weight more slowly than I had imagined prior to surgery, I was able to slowly but happily drop the rest of the weight over the course of 17 months. I feel that part of the reason to choose such a drastic surgery is to drop the diet mentality forever. I wanted a diet I could live with, and I sacrificed getting to goal in nine months to have that. I still got to goal and trust me, it's just as fabulous as it would have been had I done it in half the time. For those of us that don't feel hunger and have huge restriction it's more of a challenge to eat than you think. I still rely heavily on Protein shakes or I'd never reach my protein goals. I still have a hard time eating more than 2-3 ounces of protein in one sitting, or anything more than one scrambled egg with some cheese. ~Cheri

I had the ability to go wherever I wanted because I was lucky enough to get an unsecured loan through my bank to cover the expense. We have Tricare which does not cover the sleeve and we were not close enough to any Military Treatment Facility doing the procedure on their own. I researched three doctors and quickly narrowed it down to two: Dr. Nick Nicholson (in Plano, TX) and Dr. Aceves (in Mexicali). For me it came down to bang for my buck, honestly. I had two great surgeons to choose from and both offices were great at responding to my questions and putting me at ease with my choice of surgery. However, I ultimately chose to go with Dr. Aceves. The sheer number of absolutely glowing reviews really swayed me, as did the fact that I got more than twice the amount of time in the hospital for half the price. I flew all the way from Germany to San Diego just to see Dr. Aceves and I don't regret my decision one bit! Oh yeah, and one big factor for choosing Dr. Aceves? No hoops to jump through! I filled out my paperwork, picked my surgery date and booked my flight. Easy-peasy. I feel awful for the folks that go through six or more months of fighting their insurance companies just to get denied. Good luck with your decision. If my insurance would have covered the procedure I would have tried that first. If they jerked me around too much I would have gotten impatient and self-paid, anyway, I think. ~Cheri

Put that scale away! You just had surgery and are going to make yourself crazy for no good reason. It's going to take your body a while to adjust and get used to the program now that you've gone and removed 85% of your stomach. I dropped all of my first month weight in the last two weeks of the month. Any number of factors could cause a small bounce up on the scale and after a few months you're going to understand when to expect it and you'll figure out why it happens to you. The entire time I was loosing was a cycle of short stalls with rapid losses and I gained weight every single month around my period, too. Right now all liquids are liquids and you should be sipping something all day long. I had trouble with plain Water and drank room temp Crystal Light, warm Soup and unjury for the first few weeks. Everything you put in your body counts towards your liquid intake goals. Don't expect to get much of anything in for a while, and don't beat yourself up over it, either. It's hard in the beginning! I didn't regularly hit my Protein, liquid AND calorie goals until about 4-6 months out. You are not going to fail. You just removed most of your stomach and can't even drink half a cup of water in one sitting! This isn't a race and the weight won't drop off overnight. Take it easy, don't stress yourself out and let yourself heal. And put that darn scale away until three weeks out from surgery! You're going to stall once you hit mushies anyway and it will frustrate you to no end. Guess what, though? In four months you're going to be posting about how much weight you've lost and how your clothes are too big. Give it time. Good luck, and speedy healing. ~Cheri

Congrats! Me, too, and it's one of the major reasons I opted for surgery. Enjoy these successes - they're the reasons we had surgery, and will help us live longer, happier lives. ~Cheri

I was a 40 DD/DDD prior to surgery and I'm at goal and wear a 32/34 D now. That said, the girls ain't pretty! It's not so bad that I can't pull it off in my clothes and still look my normal, busty self. But out of clothes it's rough. They're not dreadfully saggy but they're just not what I'm used to having. Prior to surgery I could bounce around the house in no bra and nobody would know the difference! Now if I don't wear a bra they're halfway down my chest. Surgery is definitely in my future and my husband is on board with me considering implants as well. I always had large breasts for my frame so I don't think it's unreasonable and I think that if I went with just a lift I'd be unhappy. I may have cursed my large chest many times in the past but the fact is that they sprouted when I was ten and there is no doubt that having a small chest would be a difficult adjustment. I'd like to be a D or a very full C after they're upright and perky again. ~Cheri

AH! I am so glad I'm not the only one that does this! I've bought more shoes in the last six months than I bought in the previous three years! But I'm at goal, half the size I was a year and a half ago and heels are just so much more comfortable these days. However, if I keep this up I'm going to need a separate closet for all of my shoes! I also shop (probably a little too much) because that exhilarating feeling of fitting in a size small is still there every single time I try something on. I knit. I bake, then eat one cookie or croissant and give the rest away. I read. I go dancing with my husband, something I was always too embarrassed to do before. I play with my four year old twins more than I ever could before. Basically, I live life, and I live it happily. I still enjoy food - at least the first two bites or so. It doesn't rule my life anymore and I don't spend hours of my day thinking about what I'm going to eat or agonizing that I can't eat because I'm on a diet. All of that time I used to spend thinking about food and eating is spent being a normal person. It's awesome. ~Cheri

At this point in the game I'd be amazed if you manage to get even close to 1,000 calories in a day, anyway! It took me until about four months to be able to consistently hit 700-800 calories a day and to even get close to my nutritional goals. I'm often in the minority here, but my belief is that we should eat as much like normal people as we can. So restrict your calories and set nutritional goals (mine was 90+ grams Protein, 800-900 calories a day, 75-100 carbs) and worry about meeting them. I cannot deny that eating only 40 grams of carbs and 500 calories a day will provide fast results, but I don't think it's any healthier than going on a crazy fad diet, either. You can either restrict like crazy out of the gate and learn to eat like a regular person with no food issues later, or you can slowly learn the ropes from the get go. I'd personally aim for 800 calories a day, at least 75 grams of protein and a reasonable amount of carbohydrates. You may not lose weight as quickly but you won't have the bounce back or food issues once you get to goal, either. The best way to know what to do is to track everything that goes in your mouth religiously and adjust as needed if you aren't seeing results. Be wary of drastically changing your diet if you hit a slow month or a stall, though. You just had a major surgery and removed most of your stomach. Short of eating gallons of ice cream a day, there isn't exactly much you can do to make yourself NOT lose, now is there? Good luck, ~Cheri

Incorporate shakes now so you get used to them being part of your diet. They should be for a long time. I'm a year and a half out and still have one daily because my restriction is still so much that it's hard to eat all of the Protein I need. I'd start scaling back your portions and I'd even start recording my food to get in the habit. But I wouldn't go crazy and jump into things as if you have the sleeve already. You don't. The reality is that any food you're eating right now can also be eaten post op. There should not be a single "Oh, I'll never eat this again" food, unless you're unlucky enough to develop lactose intolerance. And even that fades a bit as time goes on, so foods I had to avoid for a year or so are now okay in small portions. You should be trying to learn to eat things in moderation and eating in the proper order (protein, veggies, carbs/starches) but the rest is going to be forced on you after surgery, anyway. Very few people even WANT to eat post op! My opinion has always been that pre-op is a better time to work on head issues than stomach issues. Record your eating habits, your triggers, your feelings when you eat. Sounds silly, but all of us have to do this post op. I think a lot of us fool ourselves into thinking that our weight issues are purely medical, or that our only issue is that we eat bad foods occasionally. A number of us are overeaters, emotional eaters, bingers, lifelong dieters - a lot of us have underlying head issues that helped us get fat in the first place. Start thinking about these things now, because I promise that if you want to be a totally healthy person post op, you're going to be thinking about it and coming to terms with things eventually! So no, don't go overboard on the food funeral. That said, I honestly feel that this is something that we all do to some extent! Good luck! ~Cheri

It's all about putting our losses in perspective. Congrats on breaking your stall. Continue to do the right things and you'll achieve your goal easily. I lost nothing pre-op and my only big loss was my first month. If you average out my results, I lost just over six pounds a month. However, there were a number of 3-6 week stalls in there. Relax and enjoy the process. If you put it in perspective you'll realize that this is totally unlike any diet you've ever done before. Every pound you're losing now, however slowly, is one that is never coming back. I'd take slow and steady over heavy any day. Good luck, and keep up the good work. We're here to listen, to motivate and to help each other through this journey. ~Cheri

I brew the coffee into a measuring cup and add one ice cube, bringing it down from scalding hot to something more manageable. Then I pour it into my shaker cup (I use one with a wire ball) and add my Protein powder and usually a little cold creamer, too. I shake it all up, taking a break to pop the lid of the shaker cup halfway through so it won't explode on me. No clumps, no fuss! Nice hot coffee, too. If you're someone that needs to drink scalding hot lava coffee it won't work for you, but I never touch my coffee until I won't burn myself, anyway. :smile1: ~Cheri

Love the vanilla Bean Torte and Latte Cappuccino flavors in my morning coffee! I make a 16 oz. coffee/protein drink every morning - sometimes iced, sometimes hot and it definitely helps keep the weight off and my Protein intake up. ~Cheri

Yes, check into the PPI. And don't forget that we really do rely on our Protein shakes a lot for the first six to nine months. Even if you're eating protein all day long it's very hard to reach those nutritional goals while your sleeve is new and you can't eat much. Focus on getting in fluids and protein - that should be the most important thing right now. On average, I lost just over six pounds a month after the initial month. Yes, your loss is slow but that's how it is for some of us! Also consider your starting weight - if you had less than 100 pounds to lose it's not surprising that it would come off more slowly. Just hang in there, keep doing the right things and you will lose the weight. ~Cheri

Yeah, I'm 18 months out and for dinner tonight I made homemade chicken jaegerschnitzel (breaded boneless skinless breast with a mushroom and onion gravy) and I measured out my portion just to see how much I could eat. I was aiming for 4 ounces but only managed to eat 3 ounces. I had no side dishes. I still have a LOT of restriction. I can eat one egg scrambled with cheese. I can eat half a sandwich and half a cup of Soup. I can eat half a cheeseburger. I can eat one slice of pizza. So with that meal I would have had to sit there for more than an hour and pick at it but I could have eaten probably 2 oz. of the steak (steak fills me up very quickly), a few bites of broccoli and carrot and I would have deliberately saved room for a few bites of dessert. And I agree with the idea that there are no last meals. We make changes to how we eat and we should be more careful about tracking our food and meeting nutritional goals but we should also be aiming to eat like normal people. This is a lifelong change - we had major surgery to reach a weight loss goal and be healthier people, but our stomachs don't miraculously grow back once we reach goal. Going into it looking at foods and saying, "I'll never eat this again" is just asking for trouble! You want to get to the point where you can take or leave food and not let it control your life, and where you can eat like a normal person with no food issues. So, heal up and in six months go out for another steak dinner at Applebees. I'd bring a friend or two to share with, because you won't be eating nearly as much next time around. ~Cheri

Agreed - they don't squish the chest too much and I'd order in whatever size you're in now. I noticed the same thing as Swizzly when I hit a size eight and had to go down to a M at that point. Now I order a S and I'm a 6 (sometimes 4). They're snug but not so snug I can't get them on or that they roll up. I want them to still suck in all that extra skin, you know? Anyway, I pull them all the way down to my hips and wear my jeans over them and they never roll up or give me an issue. I love the FF Dressing tanks and even wear them around the house or when I work out (can't be having all that skin flop around during jumping jacks!) and they're super comfortable even though they're very slimming. ~Cheri

I eat Chinese food all the time. I love it, especially the spicy dishes with chicken and nuts. I almost always avoid the rice, noodles, etc. that I used to eat, simply because I want to enjoy my meal, not squirm in discomfort. I usually start with some Soup, eat a few bites of several different main dishes and maybe even have a bit of someone's spring roll, egg roll or dumpling. I think that so long as nothing you're eating is a danger to you because of healing, you should be focusing on eating like a normal person. For me, part of having the sleeve was to shake the diet mentality, to finally get over forbidden foods and the binges I'd have as a consequence of denying myself. My approach was and is to focus on keeping my calories at a certain level, to make sure I got at least 80 grams of Protein a day and to keep those carbs restricted but not ridiculously so. I eat about 1200 calories a day now (it's not easy!), average about 90 grams of protein and usually I have about as many carbs as I do protein. I'm happy, I'm maintaining with no problem and I never, ever feel deprived. This is something I can do FOREVER, which is the point. So, act like a person with no food issues and eat what you like, in moderation. Always keep your eyes peeled for those trigger foods, though. Track it all, whether it's a stick of celery or a chocolate chip cookie and keep within your nutritional goals. You won't be able to avoid losing weight, and you won't have any of the mental baggage that comes with being on a diet. Find that spot for yourself where you continue to lose but also feel happy about what you're eating. We have the sleeve so we can be NORMAL. If we wanted to be on a diet forever, we would have given Weight Watchers or MediFast another shot. ~Cheri

See, I always LOVED pickles, particularly the extra crunchy and garlicy Claussen ones (when I couldn't get to a good deli and fish one out of a barrel, anyway) and used them as a snack all the time before surgery. Now my taste buds are wacky and they taste too salty and too sour for me! I've tried a few different brands but no dice, they just don't do it for me anymore. I will add that I was always told to limit pickles (and any other "free" food) to 3 or less a day because of the sodium, though, so watch that if you notice a small bump up on the scale. ~Cheri

Congrats on your success so far! I was sure I was pretty done around one year but I shed another fifteen pounds (and a pant size) very slowly over months 12-15 so it's definitely possible that you'll continue to lose. The weight comes off much more slowly as we get close to goal but it still comes off if we do the right things. You look fabulous and you've done a great job. Enjoy it! ~Cheri

Oh gosh, I didn't tell a lot of people but it was like everyone bigger in my life was just determined that it was their job to "soften the blow" and remind me (repeatedly) that I might never make it smaller than a 12/14 or that I'd never reach my goal of 135 pounds. On one hand, I'm sure that nobody could actually picture me any smaller than that, because I spent more than a decade with a 12 being as small as I could get. And yes, I heard the lines about how my family is just made of bigger people and it was unrealistic to expect to be a small person. Well, I started my journey for health, too. And my goal of 135 might sound small to my overweight friends and family, but if I gain just 2 pounds I'm in the overweight category on the BMI chart! There's nothing unreasonable about a goal like that, now is there? I'm a size S/6 and I never in a million years thought I'd be this small. I believed what I heard from other people even as I scoffed at them. I really expected to have to find a way to be happy as a size ten or so. It took me a long time to get to goal but I'm here and I'm never gaining the weight back again. You just keep on working your sleeve until you get to where your body is happy and you're happy with your body. ~Cheri

Yes, you're hearing the right things here. Hydration trumps caloric intake while you heal. It took me several months to hit my daily nutritional goals of 80+ grams of protein and 800 calories a day. Eventually you'll get there. Right now focus on getting 64 oz. of liquids in each day and taking it easy while you heal. If you were heavy enough for surgery, I promise you won't starve to death in the few weeks you'll have such a limited intake. ~Cheri

Yep, shakes are the way to go. I still use them! I have at least a few a week, sometimes one a day. I just can't eat a lot at a time, and rather than eat around the clock I'll just start my day with a Protein shake. ~Cheri

Congrats on your new sleeve! You'll heal up and feel better every day from here out. I still remember being completely grossed out by my noisy stomach post op. And to be honest, it's not as bad now that the acid isn't an issue anymore, but I still have a lot of gurgling and rumbling! You'll get used to it, I promise. I'd take a sometimes embarrassing stomach over plus sizes any day. ~Cheri

Thanks for sharing your experience! I think we all fret about the possibility of a leak even if we're following doctor's orders. I like your goals list, too! Great way to keep yourself motivated. Even though I still had a lot to lose at that point, I think I was proudest after I could shop regular stores and give away all of my plus-sized clothing. Hitting goal was really great, but sort of anticlimactic after feeling "normal" for so long. Best of luck to you on your journey. You'll be posting pictures and halfway to goal in no time. I can't believe how quickly the last year flew by for me. ~Cheri