StaySea

Teh Erika, I'm in the same boat. I feel your stall pain. I think we had surgery around the same time. I'm 4 months out, down 81lbs but the scale hasn't moved in many weeks- probably close to a month now with no real significant loss. I was on a diretic last week b/c swelling from a massive bruise on my leg so I lost 9lbs in Water weight but now of course this week it is slowly creeping back up on me. I expected this but it is still really depressing to see the number go back up. I'm doing what my doctor here said to do, which is different than what the docs in America seem to say but I trust him, he's the best in Asia and docs from the US come to learn from him. And hell I've lost 80lbs in 4 months and I don't count carbs....living in Asia its not possible to say no rice. And there are no sugar free foods in the grocery store here and all that other "diet" food that is available by the isle load in the States/Western world. But still this stall is very tough to slog through. I'm exercising as much as I can- on average 4 times a week.

I will admit that I have been having a little bit of caffeine lately but I am still sleeping through the whole night! YAY! )

Yeah I have lived in Taiwan for about a year and 3 months and had my surgery done here as well. The only down side to WLS here is I have a hard time finding the low/no sugar stuff at the store that is so abundant in the States.

Hi I can't offer much on the husband issue. My boyfriend has been supportive....I don't think he understand why I did this but he supported it anyways. But as for pain and throwing up...from my experience (I am 2 months out) both of these are minimal. I was in pain for maybe the first 12 hrs post op and then it was just a little discomfort for a day and that was it. Maybe a day and a half of "pain" to gain back the rest of my life. To me it's an easy trade off (like getting a tattoo....hurts like hell for a few hours but its there forever). And for throwing up I have only done so once because of my tiny tummy and it was my own damn fault- I ate to fast and it just popped right back up and out. But again throwing up a few times vs holding onto this weight forever and all the possible consequences of this down the road also seems an easy trade off. Don't let fears of these things that will only last for a short time (if at all) stop you from changing your life and becoming a healthier you. You will only turn into a food freak if you let yourself. You are in control of what you do and what you turn into. The surgery and adjusting to life isn't easy but on the other hand I haven't found it to be the hardest thing I have ever done either. Just try and explain to your husband that you've tried the Weight Watchers, the diets, etc...and didn't see the results and that this is a way to get you healthy and happy. I told my boyfriend this surgery would extend my life so I could be around longer to nag him more:P. )

SN..............Starting Wt........Current.......Goal.......Lbs to Goal Chilo1.............216...................169..............154................15 Dansha...........220..................220...............195................25;) DJackson........246.................246...............220................26 Filosophia Scandinavia...205...205.............187...............17 (Will be sleeved on the 30th November) Fit ..................290.................250.8..............235.8............15 GayleSBennett ....232.................201................189...............11 Good Luck everyone! =) Juliarh............303.6.................247..............225................22 Kgremmy........225..................221..............199................22 (being sleeved 12/14/10) Laylasmojo......242.................200.6.............185.............15.6 LilMissDiva........247...............247................226..............21 Lisalu..............210..................137..............130.................7 Maddie............257.................167................147................20 merieri............240..................206...............190................16 Mini-Me...........203...................133..............125.................8 Mommy2Girls....275..................256.............240...............16 mp8btpc.........199...................160...............145...............15 Sleeve 4 me ...204...................176..............164...............12 Stacy160.........258..................174...............148...............16 pattimomof3NJ.....203.4..........183.4............170...............13.4 (start NY on an even number!) Labrys............238..................208.................193...............15 StaySea........299...................299.................275.............24

I love my Wii fit and the Wii has tons of fitness games. I have been thinking of getting one of those dancing games. Not an official work out but gets you moving. I used to play DDR on my PS2 as a workout- that gets you sweating even if your totally failing at hitting the right arrows still fun. Also maybe switch up the DVD's. I do Biggest Loser weight loss yoga and BL Cardio Max throughout the week but I rotate so I don't get too bored.

Hi. I'm not a student but a teacher of little kids and I was back to work the next week. Had my surgery on a Tuesday and the next Tuesday I was back in the classroom wrangling the kids, playing with them, them playing with me, on my feet all day, etc... and I was just fine so I think you would be a-okay for hours of awesome lecture & lab time. ) Good luck on your upcoming test and graduation!

Recently I have been forcing myself to drink my protein shake but not enjoying it. Those crisps sounds interesting! Thanks for sharing that link OregonDaisy

Could it be that maybe it's too sweet? My body handles milk just fine (non fat) and this vanilla protein powder that I have that I usually mix with water. But when I mix the 2 together it tastes super sweet for some reason and then my stomach rebels against me about 45 mins later and says "NO!"

Yay I'm not the only one. I'm on week 4 and was doing great till this past weekend when all of sudden most food made me want to throw up- even the thought it. The last couple days the only thing I enjoy are these chicken fingers I got at Costco to throw in the toaster oven. 2 of those fill me up. But they have more fat then I would like. Hope this phase passes soon!

No one has been rude to me yet but they do give me weird looks. I ordered a sub at Subway the other day and said I didn't want the bread to just put it in a cup. Now granted I'm in Taiwan and I know my Chinese sucks but I do know how to say "I don't eat bread" and "cup" perfectly. The lady stared at me bewildered on how to put meat in a cup- as if she physically didn't know how to do it. It took 2 of them to put 4 meatballs in a cup with 1 triangle of cheese. It was frustrating at the time but still kind of funny. Luckily we are the only Americans on our block so they know now when I walk in get a cup and don't ask about the bread.

Similar thing happened to me. In America I was always about 5'10" but I get to Taiwan and every time I have to do my health check for my visa type stuff or when I went to the surgeon they measured me in at a 1-2 inches shorter. What the heck man?!

GOOD LUCK!

Thanks for sharing that. My weight loss was the lowest it's been (tho I am only a month out) this past week and that was kind of discouraging but people keep telling me I look smaller and smaller. I need to remember all these other little things and not go scale crazy!

Congrats dude! I'm within 13lbs of the 299 and can't wait!

I was doing a-okay with my eating and getting 60-70 grams of protein in a day up until this weekend. The last few days food makes me feel nauseous and I have to force myself to eat and get in as much protein as I can tho I have not made it to my goal for protein either. Argh! I hope this is a phase and I hope it passes soon.

I didn't have an official pre-op diet but I put myself on a self-made version of one. My strategy was to just cut out one bad thing a week. To ween myself off these bad habits. And then just forced myself to stick to it knowing post op there would be no choice. So one week I would say good bye to fast food. The next ice cream/sweets. Etc....

I have purchased a ticket on the Onederland Express! Though I have awhile before my exit. My first goal is twonderland. Lol. Will hopefully be there in a few weeks. Then next stop Onederland! Woot woot!

My sleep has gotten better post op. I used to get up to go to the bathroom once or twice during the night. Every night. Since surgery I haven't gotten up in the night once. I can sleep in a lot longer but I don't think I'm sleeping super hard. I still wake up the minute before my alarm goes off.

Congrats on your progress so far!!! I will be a month out this week and I walked into one of my classrooms the other day and my students (in 3rd grade) had finally noticed I had lost some weight (about 25 lbs since surgery) and they were like "oh teacher you are so skinny you used to be this *held out their little hands really far apart* now you are this *held their hands really close together*" It was so cute. I told them I will keep getting smaller and they were shocked. And I am nowhere near skinny...not by a long shot. Thanks for the confidence boost anyway 3rd graders! HAHA!

I experienced something similar a little over a year ago. I was moving to Taiwan so ending my contract a few months early....well really not I was paying for the last month or 2 I wasn't going to be there b/c I had the contract. But trying to cancel so they didn't keep charging me once my contract expired and I was on other side of the planet was a pain in the ass! I had to call several different people, show proof that I was moving overseas, they even wanted a utility bill from Taiwan (to which I said how would have that I haven't moved there yet....???). It was an utter joke trying to cancel my membership when I was willing to pay for the rest of the contract I just didn't want to renew. ARGH! I liked the gym but the paperwork side of it is ridiculous! Makes me nervous of joining other gyms in fear of this paperwork run around and hidden fees and crap.

Hey TehErika, I had my surgery I think the day after you and I am kind of feeling the same way. I don't think I'm grazing but it takes me a long to eat to make sure I actually get in the little bit of food on my plate. I don't think I'm over eating. I don't see how I possibly can be. I end up worried I'm eating to little and not giving my body enough gas to go- so I make sure to eat my whole "meal" even if it takes me a while. I don't want to starve my body and have it hold onto everything. Its so frustrating that every surgeon has their own methods and everybody has their own ideas of what to do....eat for 20 then toss the rest, eat what you can no matter how long, etc... I wish there was an international rule book of VSG surgery.

Speaking of people meaning well in what they say. I have a student that I tutor and when I went to their house last week the Mom told me you can really tell I'm loosing weight (which made me feel good) that my face looked thinner (yay in my book)...then she said she liked my face better before (she thinks round faces are cute). LoL.

As others have said tuna has become a big part of my diet. It's quick and easy to prepare and packed with protein. Once I was onto soft foods and allowed to eat tuna was when I was finally able to meet my protein goal for the day. I mix it with Greek yogurt instead of mayo (there is no low/no fat mayo in Taiwan that I can find LOL).