carolc

Thanks karesse. This is the best decision I have ever made for myself...besides marriage and kids! Make the most of your 6 months, try to lose as much pre-op as you can. I truly believe that following all the doctors advice helps with the outcome of your surgery and how well you do both physically and emotionally. Enjoy this chilly morning. Brrrr!

Hi everyone! I am in the new haven area, sleeved 8/14/12. 51lbs gone forever!!

My daughter is lactose intolerant. She gets really ill if she drinks milk, however yogurts and cheeses are easily digested. It may be common?

3 weeks is common. Mine lasted a week. I have been in another week long stall this past week (7wks) but it may have just stopped. This is all I know so far. Be patient.

Honestly, this is probably everyone's worst nightmare, I am sorry that you are going through this. The positive thing is that you realize what you are doing and are trying to stop. You really need to get tough with yourself and get rid of any bad food at home first off. As mentioned above, look for a non food alternative to distract yourself. Something physical or even something creative that keeps your hands busy. For instance, i love to knit and when i knit i definitely won't eat. Please dont give up!

What a fabulous couple!

It seems the magic of this surgery is never-ending! I have suffered from really dry skin for years and years, warm months were bad and cool months were brutal. I am not doing anything different to my skin and it is NORMAL, soft and not at all scaly or cracked. Anyone else notice better skin or have any clue why?

It was hard at first, post op, mainly because I had zero desire for food which made me not want to cook. I stuck with dishes that my family loved and made enough for 2 nights. I made soups and stews, etc. I was never big on Chinese take out so they were happy to do that once a week. Now, i just eat the protein and veg from whatever dinner I prepare. It is much better now!

I consider myself a slow loser too and I did anticipate I would be. Pre sleeve, I wasn't a terrible eater but had zero metabolism. So now I eat 500 calories a day (mostly protein) and exercise; i have lost 29 lbs in 2 months. I do feel frustrated when I read about others that have lost double this amount but I am grateful that I am not gaining. Slow loss is better than no loss! Keep on going, we will get there eventually

My Nut described it this way... If you put it in a glass of Water and it dissolves or falls apart, it's a slider food.

I told my immediate family and a few closest friends. My reason is that I know that I am sensitive to negative comments, being fat sure doesn't mean "thick skinned"! I did the research regarding wls and was 100% confident in my decision. I really didn't want to sell my reasons to anybody. If anyone were to ask me if I had wls, I would be honest. I just don't feel the need to tell the world.

That's huge!!! Congrats

I add recipes in my fitness pal all the time and it gives nut values...am i still misunderstanding the question? Forgive me if i am

Gorgeous!

Myfitnesspal is great

Woohoo! You are doing great and you look great too.

I am super hard on myself, so anything beyond what I am supposed to eat is a cheat for me. This means even licking a tiny bit of frosting off my finger while baking for my family is off limits. It really is ridiculous, i know, but i am an all or nothing kinda girl. It works for me.

Thanks everyone. It may be a little "hokey but I really do think being positive helps create positive results

Hello all who are in the pre-op stage, I am 7 weeks post-op and by no means a sleeve expert, but I would love to share a bit of what worked for me thus far. Please, please, please, do the work! All of it. I know how hard pre-op dieting is, I know how difficult exercise is, I know how painful it is to dig deep and figure out why we got so fat, and I also understand how anxious you are to just get the surgery done. I have had an uneventful, rather effortless time, post-op and I attribute it to a great surgeon and doing everything I listed above. I haven't experienced a bit of emotional (head) hunger and I would like to believe that it had a lot to do with dieting and losing weight pre-op as prescribed by my DR. Oh, it was AWFUL and I was pretty miserable during the time but I have zero regrets now. I could have gone through the motions and pretended to do the work but in the end I would have only hurt myself, mainly by being 25lbs heavier today and feeling deprived from fattening food. I suffered through the liver shrinking diet and my liver was perfect...I have no idea if it would have been otherwise but I was not willing to risk it. I stepped up my exercise and HATED every second but it turned into a habit. I still HATE it but I just go to the gym and do it. I worked hard at ending my old abusive relationship with food by saying GOOD BYE and today food doesn't haunt me. I love how it looks, tastes, smells but it no longer controls me. I crave nothing. I gave up carbonated drinks, drinking while eating and with a straw. Weaned myself off caffeine which was so difficult. I began upping my water intake pre-op and that also became a habit. I am not claiming that if you do what I did, you will have the same experience. Who knows what my situation will be a year from now? I am merely suggesting, why not give yourself every possible chance to have the best possible outcome? I wish you all great success and skinny futures! Carol 55 lbs lighter

Beautiful!! I think you should use the same pose (the surprised pic) at different weights, it's such a cute pic.

Wow! I can't have raw veggies until 4 months. I would peel the skin at first if I were you. Enjoy!!

Walk, walk, walk! That helps the gas. I wish you great success with your sleeve.

Ok, this will sound crazy but I have had a problem for years, when I raise my arms over my head I get extremely dizzy and/or feel faint. My pcp, nor my neurologist have figured out the problem. I just make sure that i don't hang curtains, etc anymore. I don't have any advice for you, just letting you know I have something similar that isn't sleeve related. Let me know if you figure it out!

I think everyone has pre-op jitters. I was a total wreck!! Some things to keep in mind are that every type of surgery has its share of horror stories and hardly anyone writes about a non eventful surgery. Yes, bad things can happen but it doesnt mean they will. Has your surgeon discussed his history with VSG? Do everything in your power to make the surgeons job easier...liver shrinking diet, no smoking, etc. best of luck to you!!