melissa130

i think u should find a helper. that sounds like a lot of pain and healing. isnt there anybody u can lean on? do u have to go so far? i kinda feel bad for you. i don't know u but wish i could travel with u post-op.

You look awesome.

Lol, I dink my coffee black now, when my husband was home he drinks his black but with sugar. I accidentally took a big drink of his and actually spit it across the room. Yes I know that's sad, but I was at home and after 9 months of straight black coffee that sugary coffee made me want to brush my teeth. Yuck

I'm 15 days out and started purees on Saturday. Lentils and eggs and Shelly ricotta bake all ok (like 2-3 oz max) but hummus killed me. In pain for an hour. Since I can't physically eat too much I make sure to have 2 Protein Shakes (50-60g protein) plus anything I eat is bonus. and drink drink drinking between. When I can tolerated more food and denser Proteins I will reduce the shakes but for now I don't stress about it.
I know I have my whole life to eat solids, just moving into it as slow as I can mange. Even if I am craving chicken like crazy. My rule, add one new thing per day. I think you maybe rushing into the solids too quickly, regardless if ur NUT says you can, maybe ur sleeve is still sensitive.
My diet kinda goes like this:
Breakfast: Protein Shake made with ice and high Protein milk, nurse it for an hour+, take my omeprazole
Water, tea
lunch I split into 2 meals bc here is where I focus on food like Soup then lentils 2 hrs later.
Water
dinner is another shake made with water, take my supplements (not multivitamin)
snack is anything I'm craving like pudding, Jello if I need sweet or 3 bites of lentils, or an egg if I crave savory.
water rest of night, making sure my urine is pale by the time I go to sleep.
chewable Multivitamin before bed (mine has iron).
Hope this helps!

i think u should find a helper. that sounds like a lot of pain and healing. isnt there anybody u can lean on? do u have to go so far? i kinda feel bad for you. i don't know u but wish i could travel with u post-op.

Having my panni next week Tuesday. Really nervous ut can't wait to have all this extra skin off. 7-12 was my one yr mark and my weight has been steady for the past 6 months. My highest weight was 266 Im now about 170 and my doc says that's a good weight for my frame. Im 5' 7". So i think this surgery is really gonna help me be able to work my core more effectively and give me more confidence.

Hi all, my name is Frank and I’m 38 years old. I had VSG surgery on July 8th, 2013.
Here’s my story...
I've had a weight problem ever since I was 8 years old. Even so, I was always an active kid who loved to play outside, play most sports and probably took PE class way too seriouslyJ. I played organized football, baseball, basketball & soccer. I was always a little bigger, stronger and taller than most kids my age, so football became one of my strongest sports. As most of you know, there are weight limits in Pop Warner football and every season, I had to cut weight just to make the team. First year it was 5 lbs., next it was 10, then 20. I always succeeded in losing the weight, but it began a vicious weight-cycling pattern for me at a very young age. My last season of Pop Warner, I weighed approx. 170lbs. age 13. After that season, I never had to step on a scale again to play football! My freshman year of football was great…I just played without the anxiety of stepping on the scale to make weight. Unfortunately after the season, things really got out of control for me. I packed on a tremendous amount of weight over a very short period of time. By the time I was 15 years old, I weighed 275 lbs., which meant that I gained over 100 lbs. over 2 years! I was so depressed. I spent most of my early teens inside my room, eating my troubles away. I stopped playing football 10th & 11th grade because I was so out of shape; I isolated myself from friends, avoided family/social gatherings and missed a lot of school. I was pitifully depressed, ashamed and missing out on some of the most important years of my life. Then, by the grace of God, something happened to me toward the end of 11th grade. I literally woke up one morning, looked in the mirror and couldn’t believe my eyes! I said, “How could you let yourself go like this?” Something inside of me just “snapped” and I vowed to lose the weight and get my life back! Through intense dieting and working out 6 days/week, I lost 40 lbs. that summer and got back into football my senior year. I played at 225-230 lbs., not worrying too much about losing more weight since having mass helped me as an offensive lineman. That was a huge accomplishment that truly changed my life. Following the season I was so proud I wasn’t going to stop there. I continued my dieting and exercise routine even more intensely. Time flew by my senior year. My friends and I headed to the Jersey Shore following the Prom and I was now 199lbs.!! NO MORE 200’s!! When I finally graduated that June, I was all the way down to 180Lbs., 32” waist and felt like I was on top of the world!
I took this life-changing experience and decided that I wanted career working in some aspect of health and wellness. I went to college to become a Certified Athletic Trainer (AT) and continued my education in Graduate school to become a Health & PE Teacher; I am presently working in both careers to this day.
So what happened? I gained all of the weight back and more by age 26. I’ve been up and down from 305-270 for 10 years. Not the best feeling when you are working with young, healthy individual’s where your job is to teach them how to be healthy!
See the thing is, even though I conquered my biggest obstacle as a teenager, I never really learned how to manage stress without abusing food. In my world, food is my “heroin”... Some people drink alcohol, some do drugs; I do FOOD.
Through all of the trials and tribulations, I managed to succeed in other aspect of life. I’m happily married for eight years, my wife and I have been blessed with three beautiful children. Our oldest son is 5, our daughter 4, and baby boy is 1 month old; he was born June 12, 2013. I had VSG 25 days after his birth, so my son and I will be sharing meals at some point of this journeyJ.
My choice to have VSG surgery was not an easy one, but what finalized my decision was simple.… “I have too much to lose” and I’m NOT talking about weight! I have so much to be happy and proud of that I’m not going to jeopardize these fortunes anymore…WE deserve better! A thinner, healthier and happier man will slowly emerge; having been trapped inside of this obese body for much, much too long. So from now on, I will march forward with my chin up, shoulders back, eyes set on my VSG goal……..life-long health and happiness for me and my family!

Best Wishes to All,
Frank

I have that F@#$%^! bulge!!! LOL I was a size 24 this past xmas. Today i am in a size 6. Yep - size 6 . Holy **** -right. Well unfortunately--- that bulge is still annoyingly there. I have started a new DVD -- called Ab Assault by Gunnar Peterson. For the next 12 months - I am going to give it everything I got to deflate that area. And then - I am going to consult with a plastic surgeon. If I keep this weight off-- I want my tummy to look good and look good in clothes.

I hate it when people use the terms- "to lose it naturally or with surgery". Even folks who had surgery talk like that. This surgery does not control the food you buy or the food that your hand brings to your mouth. I have lost 94 pounds by getting a grip on my mental attitude towards food naturally. The surgery has helped tremendously by only allowing me to eat small amounts of food.. I am so happy I kept this surgery to myself and did not feel the need to advertise my business. I really hope that people that have not had surgery read this post and learn a good lesson. Keep your weight your own business. Nobody needs to know anything.

My surgeon also put me on Ursodol twice a day which I will be done with in August after 6 months of taking the medicine. I am now on month 5 with no issues. Please check your facts and sources before posting something so misleading.

I've always had the 'belly button bulge'. Then I had two kids and it just got worse. It has gotten much smaller- much much smaller, but it is still there. I'm a size 10 maybe 8 in some pants, but I've been able to disguise the belly bulge pretty well in clothes. We are planning on trying for another kiddo in the next year or so, and after that I'm seriously considering a Tummy Tuck.
I mean you can't completely disguise it, but it's not totally obvious.

I have that F@#$%^! bulge!!! LOL I was a size 24 this past xmas. Today i am in a size 6. Yep - size 6 . Holy **** -right. Well unfortunately--- that bulge is still annoyingly there. I have started a new DVD -- called Ab Assault by Gunnar Peterson. For the next 12 months - I am going to give it everything I got to deflate that area. And then - I am going to consult with a plastic surgeon. If I keep this weight off-- I want my tummy to look good and look good in clothes.

I have that F@#$%^! bulge!!! LOL I was a size 24 this past xmas. Today i am in a size 6. Yep - size 6 . Holy **** -right. Well unfortunately--- that bulge is still annoyingly there. I have started a new DVD -- called Ab Assault by Gunnar Peterson. For the next 12 months - I am going to give it everything I got to deflate that area. And then - I am going to consult with a plastic surgeon. If I keep this weight off-- I want my tummy to look good and look good in clothes.

I have that F@#$%^! bulge!!! LOL I was a size 24 this past xmas. Today i am in a size 6. Yep - size 6 . Holy **** -right. Well unfortunately--- that bulge is still annoyingly there. I have started a new DVD -- called Ab Assault by Gunnar Peterson. For the next 12 months - I am going to give it everything I got to deflate that area. And then - I am going to consult with a plastic surgeon. If I keep this weight off-- I want my tummy to look good and look good in clothes.

Thanks so much for sharing that Grace! It was so nicely written and I can completely relate. I "march to the beat of my own drum", however I'm also a huge people pleaser so I understand how many small compromises can steer you in a totally different direction. I'm only recently sleeved, but look forward to discovering what is under all this weight. Congratulations!

Happiness... Oh the elusive happiness.
So here is the thing, I don't really believe that walking around freaking happy all the time is a true experience. I think that is a bill of goods sold to us to keep us discontent. Theres always one more thing we need to buy, or 10 more pound to lose and then we can be happy, right?
I've lost 70 pounds, and I find myself changing the goal post quite a bit. At first my goals were to get to 170, then it was 140, then it was 115, and recently I have been wondering what I would look like at the 100 pound mark. I am not very tall, so that is not as crazy as it might seem to some of you.
I don't know, I feel like I am really stepping into my own, and reclaiming myself. Something I have always struggled with is the fact that I AM a touch on the... eccentric side? President of the art club, wearing black from head to toe, thick glasses....
Somewhere along the time I lost touch with that girl, and I started living for other people. Went to nursing school even though it wasn't truly my calling, dressing for other people in your standard young adult getup, all the while getting fatter and not understanding why I felt so disingenuous.
I gained nearly 40 pounds while I was away at nursing school, that tells you everything you need to know about how happy I was.
Anyways, I can feel the real Grace coming back, and shes not some pink shirt wearing stiff. I needed new clothes and I went and got them, my old standard uniform of slightly offbeat mostly black, gray, and blue and I love myself again. I got a new hair-do to match also. I needed something a little different than before, to signify my fresh start so I went platinum. I've never been this light before but I love it, I love myself, and I give myself permission to be myself again, even if my mother hates my clothes. HA!

I have spent a lifetime avoiding anything to do with chicken Soup, like the plague. The very idea of chicken soup in any form was revolting to me. I am in my post surgery liquids phase. I am to not have anything that doesn't easily run through a wire strainer. That thought alone is somewhat gross to me. Today i gave in and decided to bite the bullet and try a cream of soup. I chose Campbells Cream of Chicken with Herbs. I thinned it way down with skim milk and warmed it. OMG its absolutely delicious! How is it possible that a persons taste buds can change so drastically? I mean seriously, to go from utter disgust to love! Bizarre. I will take it happily. Now instead of dreading i look forward to discovering new things i will enjoy while smiling because I honestly don't miss anything i can't have. Yay sleeve!!!'

Good doctors prescribe medication - Actigall- to prevent problems with the gallbladder. No matter what way people lose weight- with surgery or without- the chances for gallstones is increased. I hope everybody is smart enough to do their own research and find a good doctor who will know how to help them.

Kardashians don't even look like Kardashians. All the make-up and fake everything- fake hair, fake boobs, botox, collagen...the list goes on. Your pic is pretty.

I can only say that a professional to talk to is of utmost importance for this journey. I go to a psychologist 3 times a month and a behavior specialist 1 time a month. I go to a support group specific for weight loss surgery once a month. It makes all the difference in the world. They really know how to teach you to get through this stuff. You will never deal with body image issues on your own...you have to be taught. You have to be taught a whole new though process and you have to be taught new behaviors...that is the only way you can learn--right? Call somebody Monday morning and make an appointment. Simply just talking about your feelings with the right person helps you put everything in prospective. Call somebody

In three months you could be a size 8 or 10. Wait until 2 weeks before the wedding and have it altered by a professional. Most of the bridal stores will insist you do it sooner. But find a privately owned business and make the appointment way ahead of time and explain that you are losing weight and want to wait to have it altered till just before you need to wear it.

I am not intending to judge you or lecture. But help me understand...is pizza on your bariatric guideline? Did your surgeon give you a packet with a menu to follow? At 3 weeks post-op- I was still mostly fluids/ Protein shakes/ greek yogurt and mashed up fruits and veggies. I just don't understand why you would eat food that is not going to help you move the scale downwards. Why did you have the surgery? I think you need to take advantage of psych counseling to help you through this. It really helped me with head hunger. It helped me change my behaviors. Love your self enough--to not try to see what foods you can get away with. Love your self enough--to make this surgery work for you and eat only healthy foods. You have come this far.

2.5 years is still newlywed time. Is he overweight?

It sounds like you might not be getting 60 to 75 ounces of Water in per day. If you are slightly dehydrated you will have trouble with Constipation. Keep sipping on water- ALL day long. The scale will start to move.

Good doctors prescribe medication - Actigall- to prevent problems with the gallbladder. No matter what way people lose weight- with surgery or without- the chances for gallstones is increased. I hope everybody is smart enough to do their own research and find a good doctor who will know how to help them.