NMJG

You are such an inspiration. Thank you for coming back to tell your story.

Heather, I'm with you. I have the occasional half slice of whole grain toast or cracker, but heavy carbs just don't sound appealing to me anymore. The exception is tortilla chips/salsa and pizza. I rarely eat pizza, but it does still call my name (at least my favorite NY style pizzeria does - the others do not tempt me at all). I am relieved, to say the least, because refined carbs were a real problem for me pre-sleeve. Loved rice, potatoes, bread, etc.

Where did you find your info? There is also a wide range of statistics between Centers of Excellence and those that are not in the US.

How on earth would you band after bypass??? Just asking....

I drink up until I eat, but find I don't want to drink again until an hour afterwards. It just feels gross most of the time and eating/drinking at the same time is unpleasant. Soup isn't fun anymore either (have to drink the liquid first then eat the solids). I would have thought this would be gone by now (6 1/2 months out), but it's not. Oh well, maybe that's a good thing.

I have hair loss, started around 5 months out and is still going on. I got in all my Protein, too. It really varies person to person.

Karen, tell us more about yourself. You may not lose as fast as others. Your loss rate is similar to mine. Age, starting BMI and gender play a big role.

hahah, love this thread. Some things I have heard that worked for others I've talked to at my clinic: Make a bead necklace out of silver lead fishing weights, the oval kind. You can add 3 lbs. with that. Fishing weights in your pockets or attached with safety pin to the inside of your clothes. When they get your height, don't stand straight. You can take off 1/2 to one inch easily, which can be the difference between making the cutoff or no. Right before you go in, drink Water. A 16oz bottle of water is 1 lb. A few days before you go in make yourself constipated - no Fiber and lots of cheese and potatoes. You can hold onto several pounds of poop when you are constipated. Eat Chinese food the night before and drink lots of fluids but no caffeine. The sodium content will make you hold water. Caffeine is a diuretic - makes you pee, and that will get rid of all the water you are trying to hold onto. Now if there were just a way to take off weight that easily!

Breakfast: protein shake Morning snack: 1/2 oz of almonds or soynuts or dry roasted pumpkin seeds, roasted chickpeas, or similar Lunch: 3 oz deli meat, usually rolled up with mustard, sometimes with cheese, occasionally with a whole grain cracker but usually not, with a few bites of salad or other veg Afternoon snack: sugar free frozen yogurt bar or sugar free jello or jerky or greek yogurt or fruit Dinner: 3 oz cooked beans or meat or tofu (carne adovada, roast chicken, meatballs, that sort of thing), 1/4 veg

Personally i have trouble with bread and pasta. They don't agree with Sleevette. Do have half a slice of toast occasionally, but I am just plain scared of pasta. I used to be a real carb whore. Loved pasta and bread. Over that now, which is a good thing.

Maybe try Tramadol? You'll need a prescription for it.

You are still very early for raw fruit. I had a horrible strawberry incident at 2 months. I'm thinking applesauce and bananas at one month, but I'd check with your dr first. Took me a long time to be able to tolerate fresh fruit, but everyone is different.

Just my opinion, but I would shoot for a BMI under 25, and 175 is pretty far above that. I think you can aim lower and still be successful. Don't be afraid

I get it too. Fiber helps regulate me, so I always try to make sure I get in 10-15 grams a day.

Tell us about yourself. Are you male or female? How old are you? Personally, I don't lose weight at 1200 and would certainly plateau or maybe even gain at 1500 calories. But if you are a 23 year old male, that may not be a problem for you at all. What sort of exercise are you getting? Do you get in a minimum of 64 oz of Water daily? I am not a nutritionist, but just from what I have seen for many people here I would make the following changes. This is just my opinion. I do think that a diet with 50% carbs is not very good for weight loss or even long term maintenance, but I'm a low carber. I also think higher fats from good fat sources (nuts, vegetables, oils) are very healthy and helpful for weight loss. Keep your Protein where it is or even increase it to 80-90 grams Drop the fat to 30-40 grams Drop the carbs to 40-60 grams (net grams) Drop the sugars to 15-25 grams Get a minimum of 10-15 grams of Fiber in every day (I'm a fiber fan) Go back to 1200 calories max since that worked for you until you changed it Let us know what happens. Good luck.

I like Chike, too. I usually mix it with half milk and half Water. Sometimes I'll add a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder to make Mocha flavor. Buffle, those recipes look pretty tasty....

Speaking of self-medicating, you can get Cuban rum in Mexico, which is divine. Can't get it here in the states and it's much better than Bacardi and reasonably priced. Not that I drink with the sleeve, oh no, I never do that.......

Annie has it right. You only need a prescription for controlled substances. I stock up on Retin A and antibiotics when I'm there. Oddball US drugs are not cheaper there, though. I checked out Latisse (the eyelash stuff that is $120 for a 30 day supply here), but it wasn't any cheaper there I think vet meds are much cheaper there, however.

Ask Cowgirljane, she has good info on compression garments.

Hi Coops, Well, here is what I would try if you are interested, and remember, it's never too late and I believe you can do it. Let us know how you do. Good luck! Kickstart yourself with 2 or 3 days of just liquid Protein shakes. I found this sort of "reactivates" my sleeve and gets my head back on. It's hard to do after eating somewhat normally, but it does get the restriction fired up again (at least for me). Start writing everything down again - MFP or other Measure your food. I have started eyeballing things, not a great habit to get into... Get that Water in! 64 oz minimum, you know the drill. The same old routine: firm protein first, then vegs, then carbs. Plan out your exercise regime. Maybe split your time between cardio and strength training. Cardio will burn fat, strength training will build muscle, which will raise your metabolic rate over time.

It's very common for your tastes to change, especially in the first few months. It's always a shocker to eat something you think you like and discover you now think it is gross LOL. It keeps changing, too. I was never a tuna fish fan, then during my soft foods I ate it all the time and loved it. Now, I'm like "meh" and never seek it out. During my first months I didn't like candy or sweets anymore, either. Unfortunately, that trait didn't stay

Many statistics show the divorce rate after WLS to be around 75%. You can google it. After all, the regular divorce rate is 50%, then add to it the issues that extreme change brings to light and many marriages cannot stand up to the strain. Iviv, it sounds like you have some pretty significant issues with your marriage right now. If I were you, I would start counseling sooner rather than later if you want to stay married. Good luck to you and your husband.

Interesting topic. I was just thinking about this today. My goal weight (that I picked and it happened to coincide with my doctor's goal weight) is 125. That's 24 lbs. away. Right now I am at a 25 BMI and look/feel pretty good. I keep asking myself if I really need to lose that final 20 odd lbs. My "bad" side says no, My "good" side says I need to make that goal. My cynical side says I will probably lose it regardless because I don't eat that much anymore so I'll probably keep losing unless I radically change my eating habits (currently 800-1000 calories a day and mostly healthy foods). Even if I go way off base for the day I never eat more than 1200 calories, and I don't feel like I'm on a "diet" - it's just the way I eat now (protein first, then vegs, then carbs and lots of water). I really don't know what I think anymore. ;p

Good for you! You will be amazed how quickly you will start feeling better. My arthritis in hips, knees, back etc. is so much better. I can exercise. Blood pressure has dropped and cholesterol is good. Not to mention no more blood sugar worries. So as a 50, you may lose slower (I did) than the younger folks. Don't worry about it if it happens.

Didn't know they had them. I take B12 shots monthly. I think I'll ask my dr about the iron shots.