NMJG

Too funny. I especially love the "bless her heart." Are you in TX? We say that all the time, and it's always prefaced by something negative LOL.

I used to love meetings with refreshments. Now I'm sitting here willing myself to stay away from the luscious cookies that are calling me......siren song...

That's a good visit You are doing so well. Yes, do weight training. I started it beginning of January. It is hard! And you stop losing on the scale while your body figures out what the heck you are doing to it, that's frustrating so be prepared. But you are building much needed muscle that will eventually increase your metabolism and make you so much stronger and healthier. I got a trainer and she's great. I am just past 6 months and still losing hair, although I think the flood is slowing. Ick. I agree about weighing too often. I'm trying to only weigh every 3 weeks or so now.

I do between 40 and 60 g of carbs a day. I think I lose better with fewer carbs, but I eat a lot of vegetarian Protein sources, Beans and seeds, dairy, etc. and so my carbs creep up even though I eat no bread, Pasta, rice, etc...I get plenty of Fiber and food based Vitamins, though, which for me is important. At the beginning of my program my nut told us no more than 60 g of carbs daily and no more than 20 g per meal. Lots of people do fewer carbs than that, some do more. It worked for me, but now I do try for a lower carb number and higher fat number. Still doing 70 g protein a day.

I do B12 shots too, give them in the butt. I am also able to get off of prilosec now. If I feel like my tummy is acting up I take a 14 day course of it, but am no longer doing it daily and its fine.

Awesome achievement!

Yes. Dumping is not that common with the sleeve, but it happens to some people. I had a dump at around 12 weeks eating frozen yogurt with fresh strawberries. Not fun at all.

Your doctor will give you the information you need. It is going to be similar as for any major abdominal surgery, likely 6-12 weeks, somewhere in there. And Bufflehead is right, you are protected by law FMLA up to 12 weeks (unpaid of course, unless you have sick leave to help cover it). After your surgery, this will be a great job to help you build muscle. You might want to hit the gym and do some lifting at that point, too, as it will help you adjust to the new load. The more muscle you have, the faster you will lose. We will want pix showing how buff you are in a few months.

Good question. I'm afraid I don't have the answer, I would call my doctor's office. I'm thinking 6-8 weeks at least, but I don't really know (very helpful answer NOT). What I wanted to say is that when you start seriously losing weight, adjustments become so much easier. The chiro can move you around easier and you can get into those weird positions now. You will really like it.

You can ask for sure. I'd be surprised it they would do it (she says cynically), but it never hurts to try. Let us know what happens. Personally I would never do a video like that for any amount, I'm too private, but that's just me. However, I love watching other people and those videos are so necessary. Glad someone is open to doing them.

I can't, they don't carry 34 Long LOL

Why is it that people always remember the ones who lose fast and forget the people who lose slow? LOL. Everyone loses differently. i never lost more than 2 lbs a week and I exercised from the second week on, almost daily. But I'm 53 and post menopausal female. A young woman will lose faster, a man will lose faster, pretty much everyone else loses faster. So forget about comparing yourself and just enjoy your personal journey. What really surprised me? How uncomfortable it is to overeat. How bad the first month was. How hard it was to reprogram myself to eat so much Protein and severely reduce carbs (I was a carb addict). How easy it is to eat sliders and fall back into old ways.

Good topic. For me, the fear is still there. And honestly, I kind of hope it doesn't go away, because if I get complacent I will fail. Taking the sleeve for granted, forgetting the basic sleeve rules of eating, chowing down on sliders - these are the things that will let you fail. Why will you succeed? Because you have never had a tool as powerful as the sleeve. Because you will come here for support and a thousand friends will cheer you on and cheer you up. Because you are not going to sabotage yourself, and you are going to learn to love yourself and your body and do good things for it, because you dserve it.

I have never heard that it wasn't allowed.

They have it in the check out lane at Home Depot. I've heard good things about it.

I had something like this at almost 6 months out, very scary. Went to the ER but all they could tell from the CT scan is that it was inflamed. I called my doctor (I am 3 hrs from WLS office) but they didn't have much more to tell me except do liquids only for a few days and see. It settled down in a few days and Zofran plus antacids helped (had nausea too). Never figured it out but maybe it was a virus.

Panties is right. It's gas and you need to walk walk walk after meals. You'll also get used to figuring out when to stop so it happens less. I still have to walk after meals. I don't have sharp pain, but I'm uncomfortable and a good walk always makes me feel better. Oh, and I used GasX strips - huge help early on.

I have them and they are a good break from the sugary creamy shakes, but I'm not crazy about them. I've heard that if you mix it with crystal light it's better. I'm assuming that is 4 oz of crystal light to 4-8 oz of Isopure, but not positive. I've also heard that it makes pretty good popsicles and jello.

wow! almost half a million calories! amazing.....

mmmmmm sounds really tasty

You look great! Really, congrats on a job very well done! As of today I am BMI in the 25% range, but I still think I'm fat. I just keep seeing my awful flabby tummy and the fat that hangs off my saddlebags. Hard to change our self perceptions. Will take much longer than losing the weight.

Good luck to you! Great job getting back on track, that is so difficult, but you did it! Stay strong

Just tried these - awesome snack with protein that makes you feel guilty it tastes so good, and it's easy on the sleeve regardless of where you are in your journey. 6 g Protein 80 calories 14 carbs 1 fat Yasso brand Greek Frozen Yogurt bars - I tried coconut. Yum! Tastes like coconut ice cream. They come in other flavors, too. Found them in my grocery store freezer section (Smith's). I wouldn't eat these every day to fill my protein needs, but for the occasional snack that tastes divine and still is weightloss friendly, this will do the trick. No, I'm not affiliated with Yasso

Hangramom, why don't you try this (just a suggestion) before going back to your surgeon. I recommend it only because I have seen it work for other vets. I fear I will be in your shoes at a year, too, so I pay attention to this stuff. Go back to tracking everything if you have stopped. Set yourself a calorie limit that you know works for you (i.e. enough food but that you can still lose on) Set yourself a nutritional limit for grams of Protein, carbs, fats that you know works. Start out with 3 days of just Protein shakes - I found it really affected my intake amount and how much I could eat. Seemed to jumpstart the sleeve and reduced how much I could eat at a time. I discovered this by accident. On day 4 start back to basics: go on regular foods but focus on firm protein (4 oz meat) first before eating anything else Eat vegs second. Avoid carbs - they are such slider foods and it's so easy to get too much in. Try to avoid Pasta, rice, bread, tortillas, potatoes, corn, crackers, popcorn, chips, candy. Get back to getting 64 oz of Water in and don't drink 30 min before or 60 min after meals. It does make a difference, especially if you are eating carbs. They just melt down with the liquid and you can get way too many down. Good luck and let us know how you do

Oh myyyyyy! Well, I'm glad you are feeling so good about yourself. Good for you.