KellyL

Stalls suck You are getting close to the dreaded 3 wk stall though, so maybe it started a little early? I hope it passes soon, but other than increasing the fluids, I can't offer any advise, I seem to be the Queen of Stalls.

Just got off the phone with my mom.....there is nothing like talking to my mommy, its amazing. I'm 43 years old and mom is still sunshine in a bottle to me. She was soothing and said some of the same things ya'll said too. She made me promise to take a walk tomorrow for 10 minutes at least and that I would feel the sunshine on my face and enjoy the Florida weather and that I'd end up walking longer and not even notice. What idiot would jump in front of a bus on purpose? That's what I feel like when I'm binge eating. I've got to stop the madness now what you guys posted and my mom just gave me that encouragement.
I pledge to walk tomorrow as promised to my mom. Eat only Proteins and drink my Water, so help me my Lord and Savior. I must get through tomorrow.....24 hours is all,right?..Yes, just focus on 24 hours...one hour at a time...... I feel like I'm a crack addict or something.
I'll post my progress tomorrow just to keep me honest. Thank you ya'll.

It's an unfortunate reality that the scale isn't going to go down every single day. Sometimes, it even goes up!
Everyone experiences this. The faster you get rid of the expectation to lose weight every time you step on the scale, the happier you'll be. It's a long journey to goal and the scale is an important part of the journey, even if it's an evil contraption that can ruin our entire day within seconds!
Stalls are normal - some last a week, some last months. Just keep doing the right things and you will get to goal. You aren't going to fail, you didn't waste your time or money and there's no reason to regret surgery.
~Cheri

Good luck for an easy surgery and speedy recovery. Please update us as soon as you can.

I think that's what a lot of people have to do in the beginning to get their Protein in at first. It is very difficult to get all the protein in with food, or would require a lot of grazing. I may need to try Muscle Milk Light again. Or maybe it was the reg I tried? But I didn't like it, it had a strong protein taste. But I LOVE the Atkins and have started using them again to help get my protein in, and for convenience, and they are like treats for me because they actually taste good. I eat a good bit of protein with my food, but sometimes because I am not where i can cook, or nothing sounds good, then I have it as back up. I don't see anything wrong with using them early or, or even later like I am.

Sorry to hear about being alone when you're feeling a little down. We're here for you girl!! I know it's not exactly the same, but know you're absolutely not alone in your struggles and your journey.

I love stuffed mushrooms and find you can stuff them with about anything! One of my favorite combinations is cream cheese + pepperoni and black olives chopped up really small. I top with a little mozz cheese. Yum!

im up! im still out of it. they removed the stent. im in recovery. thwy are going to do an esophogram which is the swallow test to see if the leak is healed. im waiting for he dr to come speak to me. the nurses are aggravating me... i really just want to go back to sleep!!!

I am so happy to see you post girl! Been thinking about you and asking Trish about you. So glad things went well. Message me when you feel up to it.

I know, I am scared for you, but more hopeful that this nightmare is almost over for you and you can start feeling some relief both physically and emotionally. I know it's draining you in both ways. Ask them for something for your nerves if you need it, and definitely for anti-nausea meds! I know you have a lot on your mind tonight, just relax as much as you can, though I know it's easier said than done. Praying for you and sending you healing vibes.
:hug:

i love you guys so much... seriously! <3
i cant wait until morning.

For the most part this is a very supportive forum. Most might think I'm being biased, and perhaps I am little bit - but I just do my best to not allow a few bad apples spoil my whole bunch. Everyone's entitled to his or her opinion as long as it's not done in a manner in which anyone is singled out personally and/or meant as a personal attack. That forum rule in its simplest form has kept order here for years now.
Post away!!

I want to thank everyone that has replied to my thread. I really think I needed to hear these things and it has given me the biggest wake up call. Today I did REALLY well, even though I'm on mushies I pretty much stuck to Clear Liquids and gave my sleeve a rest. Im glad that I was able to post here and get all of these responses because they have truely made a difference. I actually cried reading a lot of these because u guys are 100% correct and I can't believe how much damage I could've done to myself. I'm grateful for this website for opening my eyes and helping me take the first steps to getting back on track. Thanks everyone.

If you are feeling that weak right now and out of control, you should keep yourself out of the situations that put the wrong kind of food within your reach. Keep ONLY food that you are allowed and have Protein in it. At 2 wks out, most people are just moving from clear to full liquids. I am not sure of your Surgeons post-op diet, but you need to keep it with you and tell yourself constantly that those liquids are your ONLY CHOICES. If we let ourselves think we have options, or put ourselves in situations where we expect safe foods to just be there for us, that's being unrealistic. Don't go to any fast food or restaurants right now, keep your fridge and cupboards filled with allowed stuff, and mute or change the channel off of food commercials. If others are eating junk around you that you can't have, and you feel tempted, leave the room till the junk is gone. Communicate with your friends and family about whats going on and how you can't be around them currently till you move to a different food stage. I don't expect my family to diet with me, but if they bring in something that is especially hard for me to resist, I ask them not to bring in more than they can eat in one sitting. For instance, ice cream. I ask them to get a single pint serving and not a half gallon or gallon to sit in the freezer for a wk or more. Because I don't want it to be a temptation for me in a weak moment. Stay on these forums for support. If you really want some encouragement to stay on track during the first stage of your post op diet, go find the complications threads and read up on what people are going through with complications and leaks. While they did not cheat and cause their complications, it might help you be more realistic about the possibilities of a leak occurring. And it is very dangerous to be cheating at this stage. I figure you know that, but in your post, I notice you are talking more about cheating and being a failure and stretching your sleeve out. I just want you to realize that there is much more at stake here than that you aren't going to continue to lose weight. You could literally cause a leak which is life threatening and could be fatal.
I hope you take better care of yourself from here on out. You need to take care of yourself just as you would someone you love, like your child, and work on loving yourself. None of the advice I am giving is coming from a cruel or judgmental place. I am genuinely concerned for you and I hope things get easier for you. I know this isn't easy for any of us, but immediately post-op is the most critical time to be compliant with the rules.

Because if they remove it they wouldn't get any business! I know for a fact that when I spoke to Dr Kelly after my surgery, that he was trying to get his info removed from their website and also get the ramoskelly.com website shut down. All those sites do is refer patients to other doctors.
I am 3 weeks post op with Dr Kelly (surgery January 25th) and he was great. In another post someone stated that we all think Dr Kelly is a god, I don't think he's god....but he was good. I base that on the fact that I was comfortable with him, my surgery was successful not only because I survived, but I've had no complications and I'm losing weight. I was not swayed by all the negative bashing between coordinators. All this talk reminds me of my old high school days......it's so immature.
Choose a doctor you feel comfortable with, and my choice was Dr Kelly.

I still don't have a lot of hunger I don't think. But I do have a lot more of a "taste" for food. I don't know if it's more of a variety issue than a hunger. That is why I try to constantly try to change up my meals and Snacks. I pretty well eat a lot of the same things, but I try to throw in new recipes and meals here and there. I do this by checking out the recipe thread on this forum and others, googling for low carb recipe sites, etc. There are so many low carb recipes on the internet. And even a lot of regular recipes, you can modify and make lower carb. And I am NOT a cook by any means. Most of the ones I find and use aren't complicated or have a huge ingredient list. I try to keep it easy and simple.

I think your weight loss is pretty good. While it would be wonderful to reach goal or lose at least 100 lbs within the first yr, it really depends on so many things, especially how much weight we have to lose. Don't think you can't still get to where you want to be. So you have let some bad habits slip back in, either doing the 5 day pouch test, or just a getting back to basics, the main thing is going a few days with getting the carbs out of your system, because generally it is carb cravings that make us want to eat more and the wrong things. A few days of doing without them should at least get you under control. Then if you're eating Protein first/only, you should be able to see where you are on your restriction. I bet you have a smaller sleeve than you think. The bread, crackers, fries, all go down way too easy, aren't filling, and are sliders, meaning you can eat way more of it than you could something like chicken, tuna, or steak. Keep a lot of foods around for protein snacking like almonds, pecans, pistachios, deli meat, string cheese, boiled eggs, deviled eggs, chicken, cottage cheese, ready to drink Protein Drinks, and Protein Bars. Keep your meals and Snacks planned every day and don't give yourself a moment to think "What sounds good" or "What do I want to eat". That gives our emotions time to step in and say, hey!! you have had a bad day, let's have that hot fudge cake!! Ah, come on, just one cheat won't hurt! Problem is one cheat can turn into many as we all know. Have it planned out and don't give your mind the option to consider anything else. I literally tell myself sometimes "it's not up for negotiation" haha. If something unexpected does come up, like going out to eat or a get together, I make myself choose only protein/low carb/low sugar options.
You can still do this, don't give up!! make a few meal/snack changes, get a lot of water/fluid in, and find a way to move everyday. Or even if you only exercise 3-4 times a wk, it's better than nothing at all. You have to prioritize these things, put yourself and your health FIRST above all things. And come to this forum to get the support, encouragement, and inspiration you need to work toward your goals. It's not easy by any means, but we can all work together and meet our goals. We can do it!!

I think it's common for people with weight issues to be an "instant gratification" type personality. Heck it may be more than just overweight people. As human beings, I think most of us want instant gratification. When I was younger and wanted to lose the weight, part of the reason it was hard for me to stick to a diet was because choosing between tasting something delicious right now when I am ________ (fill in emotion of your choice: stressed, upset, mad, happy, bored) or sticking to a healthy way of eating and waiting on the lbs to leave. It's hard to do for anyone. That's the beauty of the Sleeve, it gives us the ability to control our portions even when we aren't at our strongest emotionally. I knew going in that everyone is different, and to not compare myself to anyone. And while I have heard of the 6 month honeymoon period, I have seen way too many people on these forums continue to lose 2+ yrs and maintain pretty easily. So yes, I do wish I had lost more, but I am not going to give up by any means. I've worked too hard and came too far for that. We tend to want to keep falling back into the "diet" mentality. But we are going to have to eat this way, or pretty healthy for the remainder of our lives to continue to lose, then maintain. This is a lifestyle change for me, not a diet. I know and accept that I am a slow loser and I have long stalls. It's not fun, but it's how I lost before the sleeve. We don't have the malabsorption to drop the weight fast. I chose to not deal with the issues than can come with that. Age and hormones also determine these things. We all have our individual journeys to become healthier. I think a lot of wanting to reach our goals quickly, is that we are all so afraid of failure. And when some of us don't lose as fast as others, it seems like the Sleeve isn't working for us. It does definitely mess with our heads and our insecurities. I refuse to give up, no matter how hard things get or how slow my weight comes off. I feel so much better now, it inspires me want to feel even better and become even healthier by continuing to work toward my goals. We can do this together Sleevers!!

Aww how sweet!! She is a lovely and kind person. That was so very thoughtful.

I think it's common for people with weight issues to be an "instant gratification" type personality. Heck it may be more than just overweight people. As human beings, I think most of us want instant gratification. When I was younger and wanted to lose the weight, part of the reason it was hard for me to stick to a diet was because choosing between tasting something delicious right now when I am ________ (fill in emotion of your choice: stressed, upset, mad, happy, bored) or sticking to a healthy way of eating and waiting on the lbs to leave. It's hard to do for anyone. That's the beauty of the Sleeve, it gives us the ability to control our portions even when we aren't at our strongest emotionally. I knew going in that everyone is different, and to not compare myself to anyone. And while I have heard of the 6 month honeymoon period, I have seen way too many people on these forums continue to lose 2+ yrs and maintain pretty easily. So yes, I do wish I had lost more, but I am not going to give up by any means. I've worked too hard and came too far for that. We tend to want to keep falling back into the "diet" mentality. But we are going to have to eat this way, or pretty healthy for the remainder of our lives to continue to lose, then maintain. This is a lifestyle change for me, not a diet. I know and accept that I am a slow loser and I have long stalls. It's not fun, but it's how I lost before the sleeve. We don't have the malabsorption to drop the weight fast. I chose to not deal with the issues than can come with that. Age and hormones also determine these things. We all have our individual journeys to become healthier. I think a lot of wanting to reach our goals quickly, is that we are all so afraid of failure. And when some of us don't lose as fast as others, it seems like the Sleeve isn't working for us. It does definitely mess with our heads and our insecurities. I refuse to give up, no matter how hard things get or how slow my weight comes off. I feel so much better now, it inspires me want to feel even better and become even healthier by continuing to work toward my goals. We can do this together Sleevers!!

I think it's common for people with weight issues to be an "instant gratification" type personality. Heck it may be more than just overweight people. As human beings, I think most of us want instant gratification. When I was younger and wanted to lose the weight, part of the reason it was hard for me to stick to a diet was because choosing between tasting something delicious right now when I am ________ (fill in emotion of your choice: stressed, upset, mad, happy, bored) or sticking to a healthy way of eating and waiting on the lbs to leave. It's hard to do for anyone. That's the beauty of the Sleeve, it gives us the ability to control our portions even when we aren't at our strongest emotionally. I knew going in that everyone is different, and to not compare myself to anyone. And while I have heard of the 6 month honeymoon period, I have seen way too many people on these forums continue to lose 2+ yrs and maintain pretty easily. So yes, I do wish I had lost more, but I am not going to give up by any means. I've worked too hard and came too far for that. We tend to want to keep falling back into the "diet" mentality. But we are going to have to eat this way, or pretty healthy for the remainder of our lives to continue to lose, then maintain. This is a lifestyle change for me, not a diet. I know and accept that I am a slow loser and I have long stalls. It's not fun, but it's how I lost before the sleeve. We don't have the malabsorption to drop the weight fast. I chose to not deal with the issues than can come with that. Age and hormones also determine these things. We all have our individual journeys to become healthier. I think a lot of wanting to reach our goals quickly, is that we are all so afraid of failure. And when some of us don't lose as fast as others, it seems like the Sleeve isn't working for us. It does definitely mess with our heads and our insecurities. I refuse to give up, no matter how hard things get or how slow my weight comes off. I feel so much better now, it inspires me want to feel even better and become even healthier by continuing to work toward my goals. We can do this together Sleevers!!

hmm , why do u wanna lose weight faster ? give ur body the time to adapt to ur new lifestyle ,im 350 lbs and my goal is not to lose more than 12 pounds a month post op , correct me if im wrong but in this way i can maintain more muscles while losing fat only

while a lot of complications are caused by not following instructions, that's not always the case. Some people follow instructions to the letter and still end up with complications. Please don't think that because you're having an easy recovery thus far that its going to be that way for everyone. Every person gets a different amount of pain and every person handles pain differently. Just because someone says they have pain, severe or not, does not mean they're looking for attention. They have PAIN. I was a fortunate person that didn't. I knew I wouldn't have much - I never do. I have an extremely high threshold for pain,which means i will NEVER judge someone for their pain tolerance or lack thereof. Comorbidities also contribute to pain factor. Diabetics and those with sleep Apnea and High Blood pressure are known to recover slower due to those issues.
Please leave the complications forum for those that actually have complications. While its good that you don't thus far, and I hope you never do, There are plenty of other places for your post.

I thought this forum was specifically for those struggling and with complications. I'm happy for you that you are doing great but I think that posting about how well you're doing in a sub forum for people having a hard time is a bit insensitive.

Prilosec should help with the growling acid stuff, they sent me home with this. I don't know what your dosage will be, but sometimes in the beginning we have to take a good bit to combat this. It should help you when you get on it.