delta_girl

Just start. Set some goals that are achievable and start working towards them. It may have to do with a yoga class, playing a new sport such as tennis, running a half mile, taking a strength training class, or just plain ole walking 30-45 minutes a day. Just start now.

I have to wear two at the same time to get enough support since I'm large chested. I've tried buying expensive ones and less expensive ones and it really doesn't seem to matter for my particular build. Two layered work well, though.

This is exactly how I felt pre surgery. It is how I feel now sometimes. Especially after a two week stall and that I ate so much for supper last night. I'm 3 and a half months out and I wonder if I won't lose any more weight, if old habits will creep back, if I'm doomed to fail. I don't beat myself up for having these feelings because they are real feelings and I need to acknowledge them. Sometimes I'm stronger and more positive and sometimes I fall behind in my feelings. I don't think that is unhealthy. What would be a disaster is if I allowed destructive or defeating internal dialogue to truly sabotage myself over time. If it goes in that direction I would seek counseling to deal with my behaviors and feelings that trigger mindless eating. Fear isn't bad. It is a natural feeling relating to something unknown. Ask questions, watch videos, talk to people and get the information and support that helps reassure you. You may always have a little bit of fear because this is a serious choice and your mind knows it. There can't be courage without fear.

Siggi brand skyr is incredible. So far I can only find it at Whole food. The Yoplait Greek is pretty good and has fewer calories than most other options. For overall texture and taste, Fage rules

I'm gonna be a wet blanket, but I don't like Wendy's chili. I got it one time when I was out of town on business and picked it up at the drive through. When I got it back to my hotel room and started eating it, I was a bit grossed out. It was just greasy and icky to me. Sorry. I know a lot of people love it but I don't and won't get it again.

ME TOO! YAY for us!! I'm just overweight now!!! So funny to say that...but seriously!! Victory!

Baby food is not easy. I found out very quickly that peas were ok, so was anything like fruit with oatmeal or fruit. Things like turkey with sweet potatoes or chicken with apples was odd tasting and "sweet" which really put me off. Sweet flavored meat was icky to me. So I would heat up some baby food peas or carrots with some salt and have that with low fat cottage cheese or with some canned tuna or pea soup and could do it. I am SO glad that that phase of the diet plan didn't last very long. It was really over before I knew it. That might have even been harder than straight liquids.

I'm 5'3". I looked at middle ground for my height on a BMI chart.

That is my philosophy. Right now at 161 lbs I have no idea what I will look nor feel like at 128 lbs or 115 lbs. When I get further along I think it will get a lot more clear. I'm not a young chicken, so being 44 years old, perhaps 115 is not reasonable. I'm willing to be open minded about it and see what happens over time.

I ate a lot of baby food. It needed salt, but wasn't undoable. I also had cream of wheat once, and canned tuna. I was not putting meat in a blender, just couldn't do it. I did eat cheese, edamame, boiled peanuts, tofu, pea soup, low fat cottage cheese, hummus and other soft things.

Protein shakes are not ideal, not especially tasty, not something most people would choose to have. But it is part of our program. I sucked it up and drank them during the weeks that I needed to. It was an act of compliance that was not always the most fun, but I had a level of commitment to follow through. Sometimes I couldn't finish it. Sometimes I thought I would croak because I tried a new one that I hated. I knew it wouldn't kill me and it wasn't forever, so I did it. I don't drink them much anymore, but I did it during the time period that it was necessary and didn't do a lot of complaining, even when it wasn't easy. You do what you need to do. Like paying taxes or cleaning the toilet. You just do it.

My surgeon's stats also say 60% ...but I still question 60% of what? Excess weight by what measure? My surgeon's office says that my goal is 128 lbs and anything above that is excess weight. My BMI chart says 115 lbs as an average for weight for my height so excess weight is about that. What number are we using to determine "excess weight?" By my surgeon's office, if I get to 128 lbs I will have lost 100% of excess weight. By my goal, I won't have lost 100% of excess weight until I get to 115 lb.s I talked with him about this during my follow up visit this week. He asked how I would feel if I lost and maintained at 140lbs, which is neither my goal weight for myself nor his goal weight for me. If this is their 60% weight loss, would I be ok based on their statistics. I told him I would then be a very fabulous 140lb woman. % of excess weight is based on what exact number? That baseline is from what? That is where those stats come from.

I really do not know if this includes me or not. I am VERY imperfect. But I also am aware of some of the so called "common sense" recommendations and practices. If people complain or fuss about something, but it is a direct result of a contradiction to what they would likely know was not appropriate, then what do you say? I have a glass of wine, I eat a piece of chocolate, I have bread sometimes, I eat out a lot, sometimes I snack on crackers, or sometimes I eat fruit when I know I should eat Protein first. Neither I nor anyone else is going straight to hell for any of this. But if you elect to indulge in things that slow your weight loss or cause you discomfort, then ask for advice or input, then you can expect responses relating to that. Support does not mean a blanket endorsement for anything and everything. That would be enabling. The line between enabling and support may be different depending on your perspective. I do hope that I never judge anyone because I don't need advice when I elect to do something that I know is contrary to what I "should" be doing. When I read about someone posting a question or stating their feedback on what they know is a poor choice and I make a direct statement, it never meant to be directed at a person, it is about the choice and what might have been a better choice. So again...I really don't know where my perspective falls. Within my own mind I don't feel controversial or judgemental, but others may perceive it to be so.

My SO, who is very athletic, didn't know until he was at the hospital with me. My former husband was very controlling and I was determined to follow through with the vsg because it was right for me and I did not want any barriers. At first he was shocked when he found out the nature of the surgery. However, he immediately became very supportive when he understood that it was about better health and a new lifestyle that would extend my lifespan and make me healthier and happier. He made homemade broth for me in the early stages, encouraged me to get outside and become more active, played tennis with me and has continued to be an ongoing advocate. I did spend some time sharing with him specifics about the surgery, statistics, my own resolutions of previous health issues and new goals. Now he is pushing me to achieve more and to stay on track. It has become one of the best and healthiest relationships I have been in so far. Last night, for the first time, we discussed plastic surgery. I thought that it would be a difficult conversation, but it was not. I told him potential options for future surgery to remove excess skin. I'm only half way to goal and I already have some loose skin, but I don't know what it will look like at another -25 or -50 lbs. He was also supportive of that! Which surprised me and makes me very happy. I don't know if I will ever actually pursue plastic surgery, but it is a possibility and I love knowing that there is support there if I opt for that at a later date.

I had a conversation with my surgeon this week on this exact topic. He asked why I wanted to know and I told him that it is occasionally the topic in this forum. He said that probably 90% of what is stated as fact here is inaccurate or misguided. The bougie size opens the stomach so that he can view the work area. What happens after that is a result of the surgeon's technique. Any variations in the actual size of the stomach are so miniscule as to be irrelevant.

I went in to see my doctor/surgeon for my 3.5 month follow up yesterday morning. I felt like a whipped dog with her tail between her legs when I got on that scale for the "official" weigh in. It said 165. Two weeks prior I was at 161. When I visited with my doctor I told him it was my TOM and that I had already hit a plateau anyway. He had already asked me to stop drinking shakes, so I had pretty much done that. I had around 500-800 calories a day during those two weeks. His response really surprised me because he is a tough love type of guy. He said do not have unrealistic expectations and day to day scale numbers and even week to week scale numbers are irrelevant. What matters is over several months, 6 months, a year, two years. He was also referring to the fact that in 3.5 months I have already lost more than half of my excess weight and don't have nearly as far to go now. My defeating voice in my head keeps saying that its over. I was lucky to lose this much and just don't gain any back. I've had lots of practice over many years of feeling like this from diets, then the weight plus extra creeps back. I know it will get better, I've just got the blues for a few days.

I was tired, but with a desk job it was manageable.

I was out for 3 days.

Give it more time. Track your food and count calories. Work with a nutritionist. The sleeve isn't "easy."

I picked up some Terra brand sweet potato chips and loved them. I could eat maybe three of them and that's it. They are thick and hard compared to regular potato chips. I probably ate around half of a bag over 3-4 weeks and then I was done and didn't even want any from the remaining.

My whole first two months were up and down with my emotions and food issues. Though I have not regretted surgery, sometimes I wish I could have more than two bites of fruit because it tastes so delicious and fresh now. There was a point around 8-9 weeks that it got a LOT better pretty fast. I guess that was about the time I could start eating most anything, just not a lot of it. Hopefully you'll push through and have a breakthrough soon that makes you feel better about your choice.

Stalled for almost two weeks, then I gained 4 lbs on the scale. Its that TOM, which is being particularly prissy this round. I know intellectually that I have not really gained 4 lbs. There is no way. I should have lost 6 lbs in the last two weeks based on my average. I have a follow up visit this morning and I was hoping to be further along when I do my weigh in. No tears here, though. Anything is better than where I was.

I have used Prilosec and Prevacid. I prefer Prevacid because it just seems to work better for me. It is only effective for a certain length of time, though, then I suppose your body builds up a tolerance to it. I'm 3 and a half months out and I've switched them out. I have a follow up appointment tomorrow and my doctor is probably going to fuss that I'm still using them (2x a day!)

I have been losing hair like crazy ...I thought. I wash my hair every other day and a lot comes out in the shower, it sheds during the day and I have to keep a lint roller around. When I do my hair in the morning a lot falls into the sink that I have to clean out. That is a lot more than comes out at once for me, though. I could probably collect that much in several days.

This gets posted to the forum about once a week or so. It is very common. I was on mine too.