NMJG

Welcome Jeremiah! Congrats on your success so far, you are doing great!

How long has it been stopped? You are likely in a stall. If it is a stall, just keep plugging along and it will pass. May take 3-4 weeks, might be less.

You might try mixing up the makeup of your calories. I'm trying to get the last 20 lbs off, too, and I'm trying very low carb (20g a day) with 900 calories. My fat is high (50%) and Protein is around 90 g. It's hard to do at first, I keep going over on carbs and not getting in enough fats. I have had progress, though. There is substantial research on this type of diet and the idea that a calorie is a calorie is being challenged. In some studies, people lost weight and/or inches on relatively high calorie diets when the fats were high and the carbs were very low. Just something to think about. Did your nut give you your BMR? That's your basal metabolic rate. I'm sure it is well above 1000 calories, unless you are bedridden or older, so it's really unlikely you would gain weight trying that out. Good luck to you.

My doctor's clinic has two in-house nutritionists. I do think it's very helpful. I would have had no idea how to navigate meals and supplements without their guidance early on. The sleeve is just so different from anything else one has experienced prior. But, I would be very sure to find a nut that not only has sleeve specific experience, but vegetarian sleeve also. I am a "flexitarian" and used to eat 50 - 75% vegetarian. I found that very difficult to continue with the sleeve and Protein requirements of 75-80 grams a day. It can be done, but your options are limited. If you search on here, there have been threads in the past from veg sleevers that I'm sure would be helpful to you.

Question #8 needs an option for 0 lbs gained.

I miss food, too, and not just cravings for this or that, but the entire eating experience. I eat so differently now and I can never go back to how I ate before. Food was a huge part of my life and I went through a mourning period for it. But, you get over it and on to bigger and better things. The first 6 months are about learning a whole new way of life. It's hard, but so worth it. I am still learning.

Really! That's so interesting. I see my surgeon in a few weeks so I will ask about it.

I've grown! Over the years, my height shrunk from 5' 6" down to 5' 4 1/2". After losing the weight and starting strength training and building up my core muscles, my height is back to 5' 6"! They just measured me at the doctor's office this morning. I'm so thrilled Has this happened to anyone else? I guess it's a combination of weight literally pulling you down and weak core muscles, but any insight on this phenomenom is welcome.

Trader Joe's high potency chewables are great, tasty and easy to chew. No nausea probs. I have found it is easy to become Vitamin deficient with the sleeve. I was not good about taking my vits, and it caused some pretty ugly deficiency issues, especially B Vitamins. Please don't blow off your vitamins like I did, even for a few weeks, because it is hard to get back to where you were. It's not like pre-sleeve. Find a good vit that you can keep down, that is the most important thing, even if it is not a bariatric brand. Glad to see you found a brand that is working for you.

I would do it again. I had about a 3+ on the complications scale. I'm down from 3 blood pressure meds to 1, no more thyroid meds, cholesterol down to 111, no more incontinence, IBS gone, anti-depressant gone, arthritis hugely improved. It's also pretty slick being a size small and being the thinnest woman in the room instead of the fattest

Revs, you are such a data slut, I love it! The more stats, the better You are right on track. I expect you will pass your goal of 24 BMI. At 6 months I was around 25 BMI (started at 36 BMI). I'm now at 24 BMI (7 months) with 20 lbs. to go (want to get to 21 BMI). In terms of %, I have lost 75% of my excess weight.

Nicely said, thanks Alex. A timely post. We've lost a number of great members. It's a real shame.

A typical meal for me is a few ounces of Protein and some vegs. I also snack in the morning and afternoon, usually some nuts or Jerky. I have "bad" days when I want to eat garbage, and unfortunately it goes down easier than good foods. I have a problem with candy, especially. I can't eat as much as I used to, but I can still eat more than I wish I could. If I keep myself full on protein and nuts and vegs, then I have no room or desire for candy, so I have to stay vigilant with eating regularly so I don't get to the point that I want candy. For holidays and special events, I mostly avoid the carbs and stick to the meat and vegs, with a couple of bites of dessert and a glass of wine. I do this because I can't eat everything I'm offered, so I have to decide what I am going to eat, and how much of each thing. If I start out with a roll, I won't get anything else down after that.

Stalls happen. Some can last for a month or more. Keep calm and carry on! You will get through this. Weight loss is a stair step, not a continual line of progress.

So the hot liquid cooks the ingredients somewhat? I do miss hot cereal, and I've got all those things in my pantry.

Unless it is a 60, it doesn't matter, really! The difference between a 32 and a 38 is so minimal. It will not hinder your success and will reduce your chances of complications. Don't worry about it.

I'm impressed with all the folks who have set items they eat every day. That must make it so easy. I get bored with food, I don't even like leftovers most of the time. I'm moody about what I want to eat. I do plan out the night before, but if I'm really not in the mood for said item, I will change to something else at the last minute. I was a picky eater as a kid. I grew out of it, but post sleeve I find it's coming back. If I don't like or want something, I flat out will not eat it. My tummy is so tiny now, I don't want anything else filling me up and keeping me from whatever I have my sights on for that meal. I think it annoys my hubby, but he's a good sport about it. I guess presleeve, I used to eat a lot of stuff I didn't want, just to be polite. Now I never do.

For me at three months, the only thing on your list I could have eaten was the cheese and chicken. It took me a long time to be able to handle raw foods. Tortilla chips unfortunately went down just fine, though. Unlikely you'll be able to eat a whole tortilla, but that's just as well.

Seela, try Chico's. Their dresses are very flattering and comfortable. I'm wearing one in a pic in my photo gallery if you want to check it out.

Just my take, but is it possible she never saw you as fat? You were not very big to start with, and you look awesome now. Sometimes those closest to us see us differently. Personally, I would not bring it up.

Wow! Well done!

My dr said no straws, but I found it didn't cause any gas issues from too much air. I do use straws.

Every practice is different and insurance vs. self pay makes it different, too. I was insured and it took 4 months from first info meeting to surgery date. Mostly it took time because I had so many different tests to do, psych eval, doctor visit, etc. then the doctor's office submitted to the insurance company. Insurance took 3 weeks to approve then we scheduled the surgery based on the doctor's schedule. Maybe you are thinking of a mandatory 6 months pre-diet. Lots of people with insurance have those, luckily I did not,

I only told my husband and two grown kids, no one else in the family. Too much drama. So glad I chose to stay quiet, it's been great, especially when I read about all the cr@p other people on here post about their family issues with WLS. The surgery is hard enough.

PDX has it right. My own thoughts on the topic, based on info from my surgeon plus my own experience: As your stomach heals, you can't eat much at all - perfect opportunity to lose fast in the early days, so take advantage of it. After 6 months, you are pretty much healed up, so more food is easier to get down (read "easier to screw up"). Your metabolism "reset" that allowed you to lose very fast in the first 6 months may start to slow down. My dr says the "window" closes around 18 months and weight loss stops at that point. I definitely lose at half the rate post-honeymoon than I did early on. One pound a week instead of two (I'm a slow loser to start with). My surgeon's goal was 60% of my excess weight off by 6 months, which I was able to do, even with my slow loss rate. I still have my food issues, but at least I am very aware of them now and I feel like I have more control. I know now that I eat "bad" food for reasons that have nothing to do with hunger. While I am not always successful, I do have some go-to strategies post-6 months to help me get through those times, and they work most of the time. I have the sleeve to thank for that because it never would have worked for me before. The honeymoon was a great period to work through these issues and learn good habits. Bottom line: you can lose after 6 months, however, it will likely be much more difficult than the first 6 months when everything is new. The honeymoon is a wonderful time for loss and not to be wasted. Best of luck to you.