Chris R

I think that, somehow, we develop a mental picture of ourselves when we look in the mirror. I never thought I looked as heavy in the mirror at 450 lbs as I did in pictures. And when I lost weight down to 157 in college, I still saw a much heavier person in the mirror than pictures of myself from that time looks. I agree with the poster who said to look at pictures. It seems like then, your brain allows you to see the truth objectively, as though it tricks your brain into not thinking it's you!

That is awesome! Very encouraging. I started at 450 9 months before surgery, lost 60 pre surgery. At 5 1/2 weeks post I'm down another 28 lbs. 'Just' 212 lbs to go to goal!

I gained 10 lbs of water weight from the IVs in the hospital. It took me a week to lose those. I'm now 6 1/2 weeks post-op and down 27 lbs from me pre-op low. Patience!

Oops! Double post

Mine seemed to be taking a while to heal, probably because my big boobs covered it keeping it a bit damp. It also seemed a bit red around the edges, though not sore. It healed up nicely after I started putting a dab of bacitracin ointment on it morning and bedtime.

I hope it was 30g of protein, not 30 oz!

Hope your PC recovers quickly!

Bald is DEFINITELY sexy. Patrick Stewart? Yummy! I love to rub my hands on a smooth, sexy dome! However, there are few things less sexy than a comb over! If a guy is going bald, he should embrace it, not try to hide it!

You give me great inspiration! I had 300 lbs to lose when I started this journey 10 months ago. I lost 60 pre surgery. Had surgery 5 weeks ago on my 50th birthday. I've lost another 25 since then. Great to hear that you've been able to lose so much in just 19 short months!

When I eat it straight, I season with pepper. I love to scramble 1/4c of fat free cottage cheese with an egg- tastes yummy and makes the scrambled egg light and creamy.

What fat content? Just thinking it might make a difference. I use fat free.

I've said it before but will repeat- cottage cheese is an excellent source of protein, and very tasty if you scramble 1/4 c of it with an egg.

Cottage cheese is a really good source of protein. It's also very tasty if you scramble 1/4 c of it with an egg. You could also try mixing flavored or unflavored protein powder with your greek yogurt to boost protein and calories.

I think that often happens when people who are larger lose weight - those who see them every day and care about them worry that they will get too thin. Explain about BMI to them. A 'healthy' weight is considered a BMI between 20 and 25, and over 25 is considered overweight! Maybe this medical explanation will help them accept it.

Yes - Water in, water out!

Well, I feel hornier...

I just watched a video posted on another thread where Dr. Guillermo Alvarez explained what a bougie is, how they are sized, and actually showed video of using one during VSG surgery. Here's the skinny on size: Bougies are measured in units called "French". 1 inch = 76.2 French. 1 French = 1/3 mm. So, the difference between a 32 and a 40 is 2.67 mm - or 0.14 inches - less than 1/6 of an inch! Also, they don't staple right up against the bougie, because they don't want to accidentally cut into it, which would cause a myriad of problems! So, it doesn't seem like bougie size should make all that much difference.

I live in Jaffrey, had my sleeve done in Manchester at Catholic Medical Center on February 12. Doing great!

I hope you're not expecting a lot more than this in the long run - looking at your numbers, it looks like you've lose nearly a pound a day since your surgery! That's fantastic! Remember, this isn't a miracle, it's a tool - but your body can only do so much in a certain amount of time. you're doing great!

I'm 4 weeks out. I average 800-900 calories a day, and 80-110g of Protein, 8 -12 cups of liquids a day. I had my 1-month check in with the surgeon and NUT today - they're very pleased, and moved me to stage 4 (Yay! toast! crackers! lol). According to their official count, I lost 19 lbs in the last 3 weeks (since my first post-surgery check-in). I was only down about 2 from surgery at the first one. My complaint is that, for each of the last 4 days, I've actually gone UP a pound! And I'm eating the same, and drinking plenty! I can't believe I'm retaining Water - my sodium intake is well under what MFP says I'm allowed a day, and "Aunt Flo" just left a week ago... Grrrr...

@fyre_storm

My experience has been great. No problems with nausea, vomiting, sliming, or dumping. Had some stinging pain in one incision until the dissolvable stitches let go, since then no pain. Lost 60 lbs pre-surgery over 9 months, have lost 24 lbs in 25 days since surgery, not including the 10 I gained in water weight from IVs in the hospital.

I'm 3 1/2 weeks post, and have felt pretty much back to normal for almost a week already. Everyone's different, but I would think if you're being sleeved in April or May, you should be fine for late June, barring complications.

They took out my drain before I left the hospital, and told me to change the dressing daily until the seepage stopped. They did tell me if the dressing had a strange color or smelled unpleasant, to call them... so it might be worth a call.

Let your sleeve be your guide. Eat until you feel satisfied, NOT full, then stop. Do NOT wait 20-30 minutes until the feeling subsides and go back to finish. If 2-3 hours later you feel hungry again, then eat. That's what my surgeon told me.