Momonanomo

I want my total loss to be exactly 144 lbs too!! 56 down, 88 to go. . . Congrats on getting sleeved, you are on your way! I will promise you that it will get easier and more routine. So be patient with yourself. This process is very much about totally revamping your lifestyle, including your eating and drinking. It is completely appropriate that it is constantly on your mind! This is some serious behavior modification! Anxiety is such a yucky negative feeling. Maybe you could try to evolve "anxious" into something more productive, like "motivation" -- you are "motivated" to get your water & protein in Yes, you have temporarily lost some of your spontanaity, but that is true of the recovery after any kind of surgery. You will soon be in a groove, so to speak. It took me about 6 weeks I guess. Remember also that a lot of people experience this whammy with the emotions. On top of not beign able to cope with the food favorites, you've also got some serious hormonal turmoil going on in there. So try to remember that this too shall pass, and keep your eye on the prize.

nope just a friend

I have mirena and it was absolutely no issue at all with surgery

My final straw was my first wedding anniversary we went away to a fancy hotel and I snored so badly my poor husband was miserable. I told him that our second anniversary everything would be different. It will be! I stopped snoring almost right after surgery. I'm so grateful for that.

That is such great news!! Congratulations -- all your hard work has obviously paid off! Thanks for sharing this -- I hope I can do as well have, and I sure do appreciate the inspiration you and others who 'make it' give. You ROCK

Amen to that!

Ooh i hope that will happen to me! OP, as far as the organic, i dont have a good explanation for you, but I believe it. Food allergies can be really difficult to pinpoint, but if eating organic keeps the itchiness away, then do so! I have been afflicted for years with urticaria (hives) & angioedema (big hives/ deep tissue swelling). I believe I am sensitive to nonorganic meat and dairy; i am allergic to many antibiotics & i think i react to any that is given to the animals. So i stick to organic the best I can. On top of that, I take zyrtec every single day, so you might try that.

It seems you need to be more surrounded by positive & supportive people. If your surgeon is near you, maybe his program offers a support group that is free. Or, maybe there is a local meeting of overeaters anonymous, also free. You mentioned that you pray to God...so I also suggest getting involved in a church. Create your own, new family. You cut loose the bad boyfriend, it is time to realize your parents are damaging to you as well. Dont let ANYONE stand in the way of what you really want!!!

You are going to do great. I can tell this by the way you are handling this. You have admitted what you did -- you are not in denial, you are not asking permission nor forgiveness. You have identified the reasons WHY you did it. You have created a strategy to keep it from happening again. I too have issues with carbs - MAJOR ADDICTION. I can tell you that the time immediately after surgery will allow you to detox completely. After that you should think long and hard about reintroducing bread, etc. But find some comfort knowing that the sleeve will help you during the detox part. I wish you success,and I believe you can conquer the Carb Monster!!!

Everyone is DEFINITELY different, but I can understand wanting to gather some data. I was the same pre-op. My start BMI was 42.7. I lost 10 lbs during the 2 weeks liver shrinking plan. The first 4 weeks after surgery I lost 20lb, the next 4 weeks I lost another 13.2 lb, and the third month I lost 9.4 lbs. I'm a couple of days past my third month-iversary and have lost another little bit. My total loss since May 8th is 55 lbs. There are some things about your loss rate that you can control, and a bunch of things you have no control over. I'm trying to just do all the things I know I'm supposed to be doing and beyond that, my mantra is "I will lose at exactly the rate that I am supposed to."

Just a thought ------ If you do cold or hot compresses, make sure the incision is kept dry-- in other words, don't let ice condensation get the area wet. You do NOT want that skin Water logged. Hang in there -- it won't hurt forever!

Awesome Awesome Awesome! Good job!

Yes definitely call the dr. You need to be able to eat!

I agree-- in vanilla protein shakes. But boy oh boy, in greek yogurt sounds great! I will be trying that!!

I had an easy surgery on 5/22; no complications. Nausea but no real pain. I have a desk job, and I felt I could have come back after a week. But I didn't come back until 6/3, so that's 12 calendar days. Once back I noticed I got exhausted easily and my thinking was a little fuzzy. No discomfort, I was just not 100% me. I would liken it to going to work with a headcold. Just felt a little out of it. I also noticed that I was more clumsy than usual...my VST friends here chimed in and said that is yet another side effect of ketosis. So, if you're in healthcare & need to be "quick", the fuzzy thinking and clumsiness is something you might want to be aware of. For me, sitting in front of my computer, it didn't matter so much.

LOL I love Candy Crush too! I call it mental Junk Food Congrats on your weight loss success! You should update that ticker!

omg that is AWFUL!! I'm so sorry! What a horrible person that clerk was! Like 20 years ago, bought some sweatpants without trying them on -- just grabbed a folded pair & paid for them. Well when I got home and put them on, there was a giant hole in the crotch! So I took them back. The salesclerk woman was like no we won't take this back, you obviously were too big for them and ripped them. I was FURIOUS! I told her exactly what happened, and I said You Have GOT To Be Kidding Me that you won't exchange these for me. The owner of the store heard all this & rushed over and let me exchange them. But I never never went back in that store. What is WRONG with some people???

Haven’t blogged in a month, so this will be long. Today marks 12 weeks since surgery and 14 weeks since the beginning of the pre-op. I’ve lost 43 lbs since surgery and 53 lbs in total. I’m damn happy with that! How funny….at the end of that last sentence, I made a typo, and instead of an exclamation point, I typed a question mark. If that’s not my subconscious peeking through, I don’t know what is! No really, I’m happy. No way would I be at this point if I hadn’t had the surgery. I am impatient. I am dismayed that the weight loss is slowing a bit. But, I do find hope in knowing that if I apply myself, the losses will continue and time will pass and every little bit adds up to a lot. So much of weight loss is a mental game. This is the true test. To make sure that I stay the course, not just because eating healthfully is actually good for me, but because I cannot – will not – comfort myself with the wrong kinds of food. I will lose weight at exactly the rate that I am supposed to. Now, I take this time to analyze what I am responsible for. I believe that I am eating the proper way and that I am getting a balanced diet. I am tracking my food, another plus for me. I will be downloading my sparkpeople logs and submitting them to my NUT so that she can review and give feedback. I am taking my vitamins. I am definitely reaching my protein goals. I do not feel that I am under eating nor do I feel that I am overeating. What could I be doing better? I probably am not getting my fluids in. I am not tracking that, and how would I know for sure if I don’t track it? I am hiking 6 evenings a week, up the hills behind my house, for at least 30 minutes & sometimes longer. That is waaaaaay more than I used to do, so while I applaud myself for that, it is time to step it up again. And I have not been doing the strength training I should be doing. I do sometimes have the fear that I will be someone for whom this surgery only gets me half way to goal. Or that the weight loss will stop altogether. I remind myself frequently that there are still things that I am responsible for, and I have no choice but to take responsibility. I have this sleeve as a tool, I have been lucky that my body has taken so well to this surgery, and I also have a tremendous source of support in the resources my surgeon’s team provides. I can contact my NUT and exercise specialist any time I want. For the rest of my life I have these tools. What has changed for me since surgery that seems to be a Forever change for me now? Well, like I said, I am much more active. I am much more mobile and my balance is better. I love that because I can see evidence of things to come! As far as intake, I am still following a pretty pure, unprocessed, paleo type diet. I have had bread on about 2 occasions, in the form of ½ of those whole wheat skinny buns. Other than that, no bread, no rice, no pasta. No sugar! I am having fruit once a day and more vegetables than I was eating at the beginning of my diet progression. The sleeve has certainly relaxed, so I am being careful to do the protein first thing. That definitely does the trick for filling me up, and it gives me peace of mind that I have the ability (for the rest of my life!) to be in control of my appetite. I got the sleeve because there have been times in my life that I felt insanely hungry. Now I know that I just need to eat some good dense protein and I will not feel that way! No doubt if I ate slider foods (and I could now if I wanted) I could eat and eat and feel that out of control hunger and keep eating. So I love that I have that control measure. I ALWAYS eat the protein first. And often I find that one last bite, the one bite that would be the One Bite Too Many, I discretely spit into my napkin. I will not push myself and make myself sick. I’ve gotten over the whole clean-my-plate thing. I’ve had alcohol on a couple of occasions and have been fascinated to discover that I have become a one-drink-nurse-it-all-night kind of gal. I was never like that before. I always felt driven to be gluttonous with food and drink in my previous life, and I no longer feel that way. I am so happy about that! This is an amazing journey indeed. I am so very grateful to have been given this opportunity. Onward!

I think you are a wonderful, sweet, thoughtful wife, and he will LOVE your surprise! Your post brought tears to my eyes. You have a wonderful husband, and you will be rewarding him for his love & devotion by becoming a healthier, happier you. Be honest with him about why you didn't want to have the rings up-sized, he'll understand and be glad you shared that with him. There is every reason to believe that you will get to a healthy weight -- isn't this journey amazing? It has given hope to those of us who thought we were doomed. I wish you every bit of luck and an early "Happy Anniversary!"

Maybe someone else has experienced something like this and can chime in, but I'm going to say that pain that severe does not sound normal, and may not even be sleeve related. If it were me, I would get an appointment with my PCP to start with, and try to get to the bottom of it. I'm so sorry you're hurting like that! Hugs are supposed to be nice things Take care, and good luck

When I read the title of your post " Can't I just hit the stupid people?" I thought to myself, Sign me up! And, Boy are our arms going to get tired! LOL But when I read your story OMG I am soooooo proud that you did what you did!!!!! That was awesome!! I can't stand "sales people" types in the first place -- sometimes I just want to freaking LOOK without having someone up my butt trying to "help". But for her to make such an assumption, omg, rude. Let's just hope it was a learning experience for her!

yes, I'd say an odor is something the doctor would want to know about. It is a sign of infection. Don't panic, but don't hesitate to call the doc. I had the belly button single incision, and the first couple of days I left it alone -- it just got incidental rinsing in the shower, though I was careful not to let the spray go directly on it. The next couple of weeks I would create a bunch of soap suds in my hand and kind of pat them over my belly button, then splash a LOT of Water on it to wash the suds away. Never never never scrubbed it, and waited several weeks before running the water directly on it. Have the professional look at it though, and give you advice on how you should best clean it.

The sticks are for unrinalysis and are supposed to show the presence of ketones. I mean, honestly, if you're in ketosis you kind of already know it, but I like that extra reassurance-- I like things you can see so it shows me. LOL I just googled "ketostix" so I could show you a picture, but then I found this: http://ketopia.com/why-you-need-to-stop-worrying-about-the-color-of-your-ketostix/ which I probably need to go ahead and read now ANYwaays....yes the ketostix confirm to me when I am indeed in ketosis and I just like that added feedback. You can get them at any pharmacy.

I agree with JerseyGirl -- track your intake and show it to your NUT. I use sparkpeople and it lets you export to excel so you can print it out. I would think that MyFitnessPal probably also allows reporting, if that's what you use. I know sparkpeople will let you track sodium, just in case that's the culprit as you suspect. If you feel like you're doing everything right but don't get the results you want, take the data to your NUT and let the expert review it. that's what the NUT's for!