SerendipityHappens

I did week 1 day 1 (again) today. I made it less than half way through and had to walk the rest.. Just going to keep repeating the day until I can do it and then move on from there.... I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm still 259 pounds at only 5'5"! Frankly I'm surprised I could even run for an entire minute!

Note to Surgeon: So people are better off not having the surgery even though it's statistically proven that Morbidly obese people have an exponentially greater success with WLS than without it? If what you say is true, then why do MORE ,more morbidly obese people regain weight after losing it "the natural way" than those who lose with the assistance of WLS? to your friend: Congratulations! Losing 45 pounds is a great accomplishment! Now that you've also committed to a healthier lifestyle, we can go workout together once I'm well! For everyone else: I don't want or need your approval. I decided to take control of my life. This is not a game or a contest.. there is no easy way or hard way.. there is no "cheating"... It's NOT A FREAKING GAME.. this is a battle, it's a war... there is success and failure.. I am taking this extra step to ensure that I'm a success and I win this battle of my life. If my choice upsets your delicate sensibilities, then go cry to someone who cares.

Nicely played Sleeve Perry, Nicely played.

I stayed one extra day in the hotel but It really wasn't necessary. I flew from SanDiego to Boston non-stop. In the airport, our driver got us there in plenty of time for us not to have to rush to get our flights. Walking to the gate was not far or strenuous. I brought a small carry on which I didn't have to lift.. when I got on the plane, a flight attendant lifted it into the overhead compartment for me. I did not do preboarding as I felt it was not necessary for me. I made sure I had an aisle seat. I got up about every hour and walked up and down the aisle. I also did "point and flex" exercises while seated and I wore compression socks. I am 5'5" and weighed 290 at the time of my flight and the seatbelt fit fine with no extender and I was comfortable in my seat with both armrests down. I purchased two vitamin water zeros at the airport gift shop and was happy to drink those on the plane while everyone else was having their snacks. For medication, they gave some sublingual nsaid pain relievers upon discharge. I didn't need them... I did make sure I had plenty of gasx strips (helps with ACTUAL gas that is in your actual digestive track.. not the weird surgery gas that is in your shoulder) and I took a few of those when needed.

I also thought this was some awesome self-pay US price! I had to save up for mine too ($4,500 as a mexico sleever) I booked my procedure in November or December and didn't have it until March. That gave me four months to save and to get a jump start on losing weight. I was impatient and didn't want to wait to start my new life so just used all my time I was saving up to prepare myself for sleeved life.. AND I lost 45 pounds during this time!

Thanks for the update, I was wondering how things were going.Good job being a grown up! Sometimes it's REALLY hard to remember that you're an adult when you're dealing with your parents! You mom has her feelings hurt now and she'll get over it! BTW, I only told my sisters because I KNEW they'd be super supportive.. My mother, sister-in-law and extended family still have no clue.

WOW, I'll stay away from Juaraz.. TJ is great. I'm going there again when it's time for PLASTICS.. NOT SCARY AT ALL!!!!

I had these feelings in the past when I'd focus on my own eating... this time around I'm much more relaxed about things. My BF is a little guy 5'6" 140 pounds... he eats like a horse doesn't bother me a bit. It does bother me sometimes when I see someone who is obese eating massive amounts of unhealthy food.. but in a sad way, not in a "want to slap the food out of their hands" way... Now when I watch an episode of Man-vs-Food.. I feel disgusted to watch people eat those massive quantities and see how miserable they are on the verge of vomiting... The only time I've been on the verge of slapping food out of someone's hand was when I was two days preop and on my first second day of clears... I was on the train from phila to Massachusetts and the lady behind me was eating a family size bag of Doritos for the ENTIRE train ride.. I'd hear her put it away.. then 5 minutes later I'd hear the bag again.. then crunch crunch crunch then I'd smell the chips... wash-rinse-repeat for SIX HOURS

Lucky for those of us who use booking agencies, we have awesome drivers who bring us back and forth over the border and they don't run drugs while they're doing it. Lot of shady stuff goes down in Mexico.. FORTUNATELY we're very sheltered from that during our stays.

How many ounces are you eating per meal? I could comfortably eat half a cup- 2/3 cup of food or 3-5 ounces without feeling overfull when I was 5 weeks out.. and now that I'm 11 weeks out I'm still eating the same amount. It's at the upper end of what people can eat during this time but it's not abnormal.. I just can't compare myself to the "two tablespoons and full" crowd.

I am doing very low carb so many of the best sources of potassium are not on the menu at present. Most whey Protein powders have a good amount. Flounder and sole are good fish sources of potassium. Swiss chard has a lot. Avocado has a fair amount.. but even with this I was still short and was starting to get leg cramps at night! Electrolyte drinks are good sources but they also have a lot of SODIUM in them which I did not NEED. i already get enough sodium, even too much. I finally found Vitamin Water ZERO the "revive" flavor.. it has 880 mg of potassium.. that's 25% of the RDA.. I've been drinking a bottle a day and it's just enough to fill in the gap of what I'm missing. Other flavors of the Vitamin Water Zero do not have this amount of potassium.. only the "revive" flavor.

there is a sub forum on this board specifically for those of us with 200+ pounds to lose where y'all will find a lot of inspiration! My highest weight was 360 with a BMI of 60, my weight when I started considering surgery was 335 and my weight on surgery day was 290.. I'm currently at 260 with just over 100 more pounds to go. I too struggled between VSG and RNY and even DS.. but I truly believe that I can do it with the VSG.

Size L is AWESOME!!!!! Congratulations.

I started at 6 weeks without issues... though I can't eat a "HUGE" salad. It's mostly meat with just a little bit of greens and some diced veggies.... I mostly choose spinach for my salad because it gives me the most nutritional bang for my buck.

Personally I do best with very low carb and high fat and 70-90 grams of protein a day.. 800-1050 calories... and even doing it this way I'm not breaking any weight loss records.. but I'm happy with my results. There are many however who do just eat the same food they always have, just LESS of it and they do wonderfully... It's really just up to your body.. I have some hormonal/metabolic issues and MY body seems to respond best to the very low carb (under 20 net carbs a day)

YES it is overwhelming... That's why it's a good thing you have a while to practice before surgery. I liked to practice mentally what it would feel like to have small portions.. what the small portions would look like on a plate. I practiced chewing and eating slower.. I practiced not eating and drinking... I started my vitamins, I logged all my food, I tried out protein shakes etc. I didn't just roll out of bed one day and do all these things natrually, I just started slow and worked on a little at a time. by the time I got my sleeve I had already adjusted my habits quite a bit so the transition wasn't such a shock.

Hippa only applies to medical professionals who are treating you.. it does not apply to office gossip. If you tell someone a secret, it's not covered under HIPPA.

Yes, the citrical petites are great... I also take the Puritan's Pride Miniatures.. exact same thing but mail order and less expensive.

A mature adult would be over the moon happy that you were approved for surgery. Your approval has absolutely nothing to do with her denial and any reasonable person would realize that. My response to her would be a very simple: "Your reaction and behavior in this matter has been very disappointing." I'm sorry she betrayed your trust. You had the right to keep this private, but cat is out of the bag now, so do all you can to put your positive spin on the surgery and build excitement from your coworkers for it. I know when we had people from my office go for bariatric surgery, the entire office was excited for the person as we all saw it as such a positive step.

I just take the pill form they're cheaper than the chewable and I'd much rather swallow a pill than have to taste the chewables. yuck.

They look like a nice treat food.. I make my own kale chips.. I'm looking to invest in a food dehydrator to see if I can get them a bit more crispy. when I cook them in a slow oven, the thin bits over cook before the thicker bits get crispy.

forgetting for a minute the level of physical satiety the chocolate gives you.. which is basically NONE, I've ALWAYS found that the really REALLY dark chocolates.. are so flavorful that your mouth feels satisfied with very small portions. IMHO, sliders are only a problem if you are unable to exercise moderation with them.Although I don't currently eat any chocolate, in the pre-sleeve world I could eat a single square of high quality VERY dark chocolate and be very content.

I saved like crazy! No cable, no new clothes, no going out to eat, no gifts for people, no car... Now I'm saving like crazy for PLASTICS! Also, I used the time I was saving to begin my journey... I lost 45 pounds between the day I decided to do the surgery and my surgery date and I addressed a lot of emotional issues that I had with food.

During my first full month after being sleeved I lost 14 pounds.. ALL of it being in the first two weeks. Even prior to being sleeved I was a slow loser, losing at a much MUCH slower rate than predicted by my dietician (I worked with a dietician for nearly a year prior to deciding to do the sleeve) I was on Clear liquids the first week, full liquids the second week, purees the third week and soft foods including deli meats the fourth week. I ate around 600-800 calories a day and got 70+ grams of Protein in daily. I definitely ate a lot more than most people this early out. Also, during the first six weeks I was careful to follow the diet progression and incorporate the food items into my diet even if they weren't something that I planned on making a habit.. so when it was time to add Beans, I added beans.. when it was time to add grains, I added them. I just wanted to make sure that I COULD eat everything .... after I progressed all the way through all the phases (7 phases for me in all) I went back to strictly low carb eating.

I think it's great to be warned about sliders and to understand them but I believe they will act differently depending on how far out you are from surgery but it wouldn't surprise me if some of us are more prone to experiencing sliding of food than others.... Cottage cheese is a slider for me.. I still eat it.. It's not like I'm going to OD on cottage cheese. I'm just aware that if I want satiety, I have to pair it with something else. When I was on purees.. it pretty much all just slid through.. I was soooo worried that my sleeve was going to fail because I was eating so much more than everyone else at my stage and never really feeling full. People say chips are a slider... that doesn't mean that I'll NEVER eat chips again, but if I do, I'll just have to make sure that I'm relying on my willpower and portion control to eat an appropriate amount. There's no reason to fill my stomach up to the point of being full with chips.. It's not appropriate with a full size stomach and it's not appropriate with the sleeve! I haven't had ice cream yet, but I'm pretty sure if I did, I could eat a gallon of it no problem.. I've never had a soft mushy food hurt me or make me feel full. I do have a longer than normal sleeve so maybe by the time I'm able to fill it up with semi-liquidish foods, it's already starting to empty out of the bottom?