Thomas CPA

I am 49 and my spouse was never in favor of surgery. For a year I did diet and exercise losing 70 pounds and thought I could just continue that for rest of my life. Yes, you will likely get some sagging skin typically around tummy, arms, butt and some legs. However if you do resistance/weight training to build muscle you will lessen effects on arms and legs. Woman sometimes also loose around the chest and you will find some women have posted that issue on the board. My personal trainer knew one woman who had to have a lot of surgery on chest and arms. This may not happen to you, it is just observations from history. The important thing to remember is you are doing it for yourself and your long term health not his. You are not asking him or causing him to change his eating habits, my wife still eats the way she did before my surgery, I don't shop differently for her, I just buy less food as I can't eat as much. For instance instead of buying hamburger in 1 pound packages I now get 1/2 pound packages. He will likely come around. One thing that he may be fearing is that as you lose weight you may become more attractive than you are now and draw attention of other men - green jealously. I know my wife is jealous and doesn't like that I weigh less than she does. It should pass in time.

I did not have to do a psych evaluation though it was recommended by Kaiser. My understanding is though the purpose is to make sure you are mentally prepared for lifestyle change. It is a big commitment but if you adhere to the diet before surgery you are preparing yourself to an extent. I had sleep apnea, it is now gone with surgery. Tell tale symptoms are: Snoring, waking up with a drenched pillow - sleep apnea causes you to stop breathing so carbon dioxide builds up causing your temperature to rise resulting in sweating, and your spouse constantly kicking or waking you up saying you stop breathing or snoring.

Developing the muscles will help around the legs and arms though if you have not been doing resistance training before you skin will become looser faster than your muscles will develop. Not uncommon to get plastic surgery on the arms, butt and especially the tummy. Woman have another problem. My personal trainer has known a few people with gastric surgery and the real bad loose skin ones get surgeries. Other people I know who had the surgery wear long sleeves and unlike all the billboards for Lap Band they are not about to head to the beach in bathing trunks or a bikini.

It is a lifestyle change. You can eat your way out of surgery and it can be easy to revert to emotional eating like the old days. I have had nights that I had to stop and think as I started nibbling on things for an hour out of being bored or getting upset by wife setting me off. Yes, you will still likely have cravings and go on grazing sprees especially after you do it for a couple of months and you can start to eat more. In some respects by a diet you need consciousness not to overdo junk food especially sliders like ice cream. You know it is coming so you should start changing eating habits now by eating smaller meals over a 45 minute period, not drinking with meals. I have no regrets about the surgery, I just get mad at myself when I go on a grazing spree. Tonight I had a handful of jelly Beans and way to much orange juice. My tummy is reminding me not to be so stupid to cave into emotional eating. After a couple of months you will eat most all normal foods. If you are used to a lot of eating out lunches and stuff then you will changes to make like ordering smaller portions or do a lot of doggie bagging.

History of sleeve surgery http://bariatrictimes.com/2010/02/18/the-history-of-sleeve-gastrectomy/ While this particular procedure HAS NOT (circa late 1988 but not really done until late 1990s) been around long, no long term studies, the doctors believe it is safe else they wouldn't do it. They will run many exams and many insurance companies require a psych exam. They will, once unused stomach is removed have it run through the lab. Yes, there is a possibility of future problems so you need to follow medical advice like never taking Motrin again and using Tylenol (something you have to know if case another doctor tries prescribing it) to avoid ulcers from Motrin. If you are really worried just consider avoiding foods and spices that don't agree with you now. Learn the things that cause ulcers and avoid them as much as possible. You will still have a stomach the size of a banana and you will be able to eat normally again in no time. However, this really doesn't your worry. If this is a major stress/worry that you have and are not comfortable you can do the bypass, which is reversable and may only be covered by insurance if medical necessity. You will be more restricted for a much longer time but still have 100% of your stomach. Your worry then is malnutrition which is not typical in sleeve surgery. As a sleever it is easy for me to say I am happy with decision but I was not worried about losing the bottom portion of my stomach. Instead of getting opinions here you should consult the professionals, medical doctors and possibly a psychologist, about your concerns and or fears. You really should be mentally okay to go through the surgery else you may go through long period of regrets after surgery.

Starting month 3 and I sometimes have a little water or coffee with dinner to wash down food but just a little. Otherwise I just can't drink a lot of water, can't stand it unless it is iced cold, changed to small water bottles but still hard to get in more than 4 to 5 cups.

Start prepping as you will have to lose weight before hand to get rid of fatty liver to make surgery easier as they have to move the liver to get to stomach. I lost 60 pounds before surgery by simply looking at labels and tracking calories and Protein. I changed to fat free milk, fat free cottage cheese, nonfat cheese slices, egg white only, vegetables and fruits for Snacks. I eliminated chips, Cookies and other junk food (yes, I had once in a month treat), more turkey and chicken, cut fat off all meats. There is a lot of good low fat, non fat, lower sugar foods and drinks out there. Also got personal trainer and went to gym three days a week, walked another three days. Was running 30 minutes and then weight training 60 minutes at gym. Walking was like 2 hours. Grocery store only 1/2 mile away so for those forgot to get items I walked, wife once had me walking four times for as soon as I got she remembered something else she needed.

I had pains at that incision for about 3 weeks, nothing major, more annoying at moments and it felt like a hard knot for five weeks.

At third week I had nectarines, peaches, apples and bananas - doctor recommend peeling the fruits for a few weeks. Now starting third month and not peeling anymore, just had half a grapefruit last night. I like well steamed vegetables: celery, brocholli, cauliflower, turnips, squash, zuchinni, carrots, red potatoes, white potatoes.

Your doctor will give you a list of things and timelines. In general, many of us got various instructions. For me First two weeks liquids - jello, broth, protein shakes Third and fourth week - soft mushies - pureed soups, apple sauce, cottage cheese, sugar free/reduced fat pudding (in moderation watch calories), pureed anything, poached eggs, soft scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, cream of wheat, yogurt, peas - anything you can mush with a fork By fifth week regular food usually still soft, use gravies on meats, avoid dry meats Now the truth of what I did which is not recommend second week I was nibbling on real meats that were well chewed, toasted bread and the stuff listed in third and fourth weeks. By third week I added peeled fruits, shrimp. By fourth week I was back to normal eating. Again - this was not the prescribed menu and you should follow what the doctor says.

At 195 my doctor and I determined that for my body frame to not go past 180 instead of 150 and I am starting post op month 3. Talked with dietician and due to my exercise routine we increased caloric intake and the metabolism is starting to become stable. Congratulations on achieving your goal.

Eat some carbs, toast before long walks and some Protein after. If you lose to fast you may feel fatigued and then hungry. I was sleeved on August 4 started back at gym week 3, took a week to get back to 30 minute running and 60 minute resistance/weight training. It may be feel tired and hungry then I had to slow weight loss to regain strength. Talked with my dietician and she had me up calories. Check in with your doctor/dietician and see what the caloric intake should be.

From the male perspective, I have enjoyed having ladies comment on how good I look. When asked I tell them the truth, lost first 60 pounds by changing eating habits and exercising and last 40 from surgery. The people tend to ignore the surgery and concentrate on change of eating habits but then again they watched me get from 305 down to 235 over a year of diet and exercise so they concentrate on that part of loss.

It could be spice of pepperoni which is a little strong for your stomach at 4 weeks. Also the crust is bread and if the middle part is not toasted then you ate the equivalent of untoasted bread. At 10 weeks I threw up spicy shrimp. Doctor says what doesn't feel well now, try again later.

Take the compliments with pride, people get jealous and see how you are changing and know they want to also. My wife didn't like my weight loss and has made those type of comments, she is now trying to lose since other people comment on my loss and show interest in how I did it. I find the waitresses and third party people that know me give honest opinions and for some they see me as getting to thin for my body. My doctor tends to agree so we changed goal from 150 to 180 as I am at 195 now. Being a guy it is nice to hear from the ladies and some think I look fine now, why mess with success? As for how much to lose, you have to live with yourself and if you lose weight in the undesired places then get a trainer to help mold body sections. My trainer helps to mold legs and arms so as to not get flabby skin and help shape the tummy and sides. Sometimes it is now weight loss we need it is body molding as we can't control from what part of the body we lose weight from.

Down 35 lbs around that stage. Your doing great. Good luck on your journey.

Losing weight is basic math burn more calories then taking in. Your body metabolism adjusts after time and you need to confuse it. Sometimes taking in more calories gets body out of starvation mode. Also, change up exercise pattern. Hit treadmill and adjust speed and incline every one to two minutes. My personal trainer will have me, for example, start at 3.5 mph then move up to 6 then drop to 4 move up to 7 and so one. Eat carbs before working out as they will burn first followed by more built up carbs in body. After exercise eat Protein to support muscles. Don't sweat the once in awhile cheating with chips, just put a limit on it and don't go overboard and revert back to old eating habits. For instance, today I had to drive 400 miles and got a Mcdonald's grilled chicken sandwich and fries. I got rid of the bun and dressing and limited the fries to about 10 threw rest of stuff away.

Congratulations on your hard work.

good luck, have a good surgery and nice stay in hospital.

Have a great surgery though from looking at your photo you look great already. Enjoy the soon to be new you!

First, congrats on the loss. shake up metabolism. Mix up routine, make time for exercise. Walk in morning before school, or between classes, or evening. Hit gym on weekends. My son is a full time student in college, one of the classes he takes is dance, he is an engineering student, it gives him a class every week of physical activity and gives him mental relieve from core courses. He also finds time to hit gym on campus, plays two on two basketball at night, sometimes around 9 pm. Change caloric intake in case you get into starvation mode. Go on a liquid diet for a couple of days. Even though you are back to eating normal food pretend you are one week post op and go back to basics. One thing I did at work was that every time I finished a project or report I went out to parking lot and jumped rope for 5 minutes. You can do this between classes also, don't worry about who is watching and you may become an icon after awhile. In college a lot goes on and nobody really cares or pays a lot of attention as they are to busy on cell phones, running to the next class, talking with friends. Remember it is as easy to find a solution as it is to make an excuse. Your in college you are learning to find solutions not excuses. You can do this, you have come a long way and achieved a lot of success in weight loss. Keep it up!

7/1/10 weighed 305 pounds 8/4/11 sleeved, weighed 236 pounds 9/26/11 weighed 199.5 pounds, goal 1 achieved by getting under 200 pounds 10/4/11 get sleep results study of 9/23/11, goal 2 achieved the sleep apnea machine gets returned 10/16/11 weigh 195 pounds, goal 3 achieved the BMI is below 30 and officially no longer obese Goal 4 getting to goal weight and only 15 pounds to go for that.

The pain is likely just gas built up inside. You need to pass some gas to get rid of pain. Not uncommon to put on a couple of pounds with the IVs but you will lose that fast enough and then some. As for Protein, just drink a lot of chicken or beef broth and Protein shakes. It is easier to drink the shakes, at least for me, when they are cold. So mix it and put some in fridge to chill. Add some ice into blender. To boost protein, use fat free milk instead of Water. After first week or so put in some plain yogurt and fat free cottage cheese if doctor okays.

Flab or no flab, you are going to lose weight fast and skin is not that elastic. Typically the problem areas are arms, tummy and neck. Some women have also had problems with the chest area. My personal trainer has clients who needed to have excess skin removed under arms, breasts and tummy. Continue the exercising and you should minimize the loose skin. Unlike those ads for the lap band losing 100 plus pounds, nobody I know would wear a skimpy bathing suit or bikini.

i wore a pajamas, long slightly loose fitting pants and shirt, snaps. Be comfortable get out of the gown.