SerendipityHappens

I don't know why the doctor wants to make it so complicated.. water+fat free milk powder=fat free milk... so why wouldn't you be able to use fat free milk???

four months out 800-1050 calories a day. I like to eat in a range because some days I'm just hungrier than others... If I've done a LOT of exercise for the day (like if I burn 1500 extra calories according to my bodymedia fit) I might go as high as 1200 but only if I'm feeling like I need it.. When I get down to 200 I'll increase my calories to create a more moderate deficit and I'll eat back my exercise calories.

I understand the irritation. Yes I DO feel better.. my knees don't hurt anymore.. but I don't feel like that's what most people mean by the comment.. I feel like they are talking more emotional... like before I should have been feeling all sorry for myself and ashamed because of my size... It's almost like they assumed that because I was 360 pounds, I must have loathed myself... uh, I felt about myself pretty much the same as I do now, only now I do it with less knee pain. I've always been active and accepting of my body.. I wasn't always the fattest person in the room and I definitely wasn't the fattest person in Walmart, but I was ALWAYS the fattest person on the hiking trail or at the mountain summit.. Fattest by about 100 pounds. Did I feel bad or ashamed about that? Nope.... and I think a lot of people have a hard time wrapping their minds around that.. They feel like I SHOULD have felt disgusting and full of self loathing.

My first week I was on clear liquids so I hardly had any calories at all from that.. MAYBE 150 calories a day. My second week I was at around 600 calories a day. By six weeks out I was eating at 800-1050 calories a day.

That's fantastic.. you know one of the most understanding doctors I ever had was 100 pounds soaking wet. She was very sympathetic to my plight with my weight as she said she struggled constantly with hers but in the opposite direction. She told me: "we're both battling against our genetic predisposition, all we can do is keep fighting"

I'm 4 months out and I've been eating 800-1050 calories a day since 6 weeks. I've NEVER had a problem getting in MORE calories.. I'm pretty sure I could get in 2,000 calories a day if I wanted to. 2T of peanut butter = 190 calories.

Well if you lose muscle your weight loss will slow down... More muscle=higher metabolic rate=more calories burned=more weight lost.

I was really tired all the time! I went to my PCP at three months out and all my vitamin levels were perfect.. Shockingly my thyroid levels are now in line as well (YAY) She asked me how much I'm sleeping and I told her 7.5 hours a night and she told me that maybe I just need more sleep. I told her I never needed more sleep before.. and she said "well maybe you do now- your body went through a trauma with the surgery and now it's working hard to lose weight" So now I aim for 9 hours of sleep a night and whatdayaknow, it's WORKING. Huh, go figure, more sleep cured my feeling tired all the time. Sometimes the answer is just too simple!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Happy Birthday indeed!

LOVE IT! You're doing so great!

I eat fairly quickly and I'm 4 months out.. I take a smaller bite than I used to and chew my food very well but I don't wait between bites. My meals don't get cold.

Excellent blog post.. but everyone please note: Serendipity Happens welcomes everyone to tell her how fabulous she looks.. as long as it's not from the Korean lady who came into my store the other day and told me "oooh, you look good now, not so fat like before.. before you was sooooooooooo fat." I kid you not.

I had the same fears and even considered getting the Duodenal switch but I wanted to give this a try. I've never been thin in my entire life.. I was well into the 200s by the time I was in highschool and my highest weight was 360 pounds and a 60BMI. My GOAL WEIGHT of 150 is the same weight that I weighed in FIFTH GRADE! I've failed SO MANY TIMES with tons of diets. This time really is different I'm not losing as fast as I would have if I had had the DS or RNY, but I AM losing and I'm not suffering with hunger and deprivation. I think you'll do GREAT because you've done great so far just in your preop phase.. so enough with the negative self talk and and go Celebrate your 25 pounds lost!

I'm not close with my PCP either.. I went after three months told her I had the VSG surgery and she just gave me a quick look over and ran all my vitamin levels/and lipid/metabolic panel. Everything was perfect and she told me to come back at my one year surgiversary in order to run the tests again.. and congratulated me on my success so far. Easy peasy.

When my sodium is high I just drink extra extra extra water and also include high potassium foods like flounder or kale to balance out the sodium.

I gotta second Quest Protein bars They have 20 grams of protein 170-200 calories 17-19 grams of Fiber and around 4-6 non-fiber, non-sugar alcohol carbs. Some flavors have a few sugar alcohols and some don't.. I am VERY sensitive to sugar alcohols in sugar free candy (like a few werther's originals send me to the bathroom for an hour) but the sugar alcohols in the quest bars don't affect me.. I think they're from a different source. And they're wheat/gluten free. The power Crunch bars look GOOD and are fairly low in sugar but I stick with Quest because I can't have wheat

It usually depends on which company you book through.. I think Medical Tourism co uses Lucerna and MBC puts you at the Marriott.

yes it's confusing.. Dr F. Garcia's Anestesiologist is Dr Cabrera... but it's a different Dr. Cabrera. Dr Ishmael cabrera garcia is a bariatric surgeon who practices with Lousiana Valenzuela. To make matters even more confusing there is a Dr Garcia on their team who does a lot of the follow ups with patients so both teams have Garcias and Cabreras but in different roles!

It's a good article and I hope it helps. I meet my protein goals consistently, include a diet with plenty of fat, take all my vitamins PLUS supplement with salmon oil every day... There's still no guarantee I won't lose some hair. I'm nearly four months out and that's when a lot of people say they've started losing theirs.So I've got my fingers crossed but at least I know I've done everything I could to prevent it. For some people the hairloss is an after affect of a surgery and unrelated to the actual sleeve or nutrient intake. Some people lose hair several months after an appendectomy! Some lose hair several months after a traumatic event such as a death of a loved one, or car accident.

At my highest weight of 360 I could only wear a 26/28 from Lane Bryant if it had a lot of stretch in it I was 54" around the waist and 64" around my lower abdomen...at my starting weight of 335 I was wearing a size 26 jeans comfortably. At my current weight of 253 I am wearing a size 20 jeans and size 1X top. I'm 41" around the waist and 53" around the lower abdomen.

So not true.. Personally, I did/do have a problem with certain processed foods, but there were times (even years at a time) in my life where I didn't include any of them in my diet and still gained weight... You can definitely get fat on real whole foods.. I'm an excellent cook/baker.. I can make you a carrot-nut bread with natural whole ingredients that will make you gain 10 pounds instantly... Especially when you top it with fresh whipped cream... and stay away from my homemade granola.. the highest calorie food EVER. (uh butter, oats, nuts, dried fruits.. sooo calorie dense) OP, Do you use stevia.. there is minimally processed stevia out there or you could buy a plant and just use the leaves yourself. Beware of juicing too early on.. fresh raw juice is very hard on the stomach. I enjoy juicing and was told to wait 6 weeks before reintroducing.

Amanda the cute young blonde girl that america "voted" to be a contestant on the biggest loser a few seasons ago has Lipedema and she has had liposuction on her calves... so there is hope for us.. save those pennies for plastics!

Lipedema, also called lipoedema is a disproportionate fat build up in the legs..It is not NORMAL fat and often it will not release even if you are starving. It's very possible you will never be able to lose all the weight in your legs. (I'm in the same boat) I started out with a 25.5" calf when I was 360... at 254 my calf is 22.5 not really much of a difference given more than a hundred pound weight loss but I'm hopeful that after I've lost all the excess everywhere else my body will release at least SOME of my calf fat! There is a doctor in Germany who is having good results with liposuction of the lower legs though and he specializes in lipedema patients.. so I guess there is hope for us yet! BTW don't confuse lipoedema with LYMPHedema.. lymphedema is swelling from Fluid.. lipedema is abnormal FAT.

yep Tylenol is ok by my doc too..

As soon as I was discharged from the hospital. There was no "ban" on coffee for me but I was urged to try to keep it to two cups a day.