NewSetOfCurves

I know my BMI is a little lower than the norm for this surgery, but I have been over 200 and plus size for 10 years. I am very active and love healthy food, I just cannot portion control--aside from having a slow metabolism. So, I believe (or I have convinced myself) that this surgery is right for me. I guess what I want to know, is that if there comes a point where I have hit my ideal size (I am almost 5' 7" and medium framed, so a 6/8 looked good on me back in the day), what do I have to do not to look sunk in and/or too skinny? Amazon, what you said sounds simple enough: in a nutshell, just consume higher calorie foods?

Sorry... I meant to put LOSE in the title, not "lost"

I started out right at the 40 BMI mark and am already at 35 pre-surgery. I am curios if anyone has lost too much weight. I REALLY want to get back to a healthy size after 10 years of being a plus size; however, I am not a fan of too skinny. Has anyone had to deal with the problem of not being able to stop losing weight?

Oh! And 15 grams of Protien...hehehe...left that out.

Another pretty good tasting one,in my opinion, is the Supreme Protein Carb Conscious Bars. It yields 210 calories, 6 grams of sugar, and is infused with different vitamins and minerals, as well as calcium. My favorite flavor is the original flavor, Carmel cookie crunch. You can buy a box of 9 from ProSource for about $11 bucks: http://www.prosource.net/

Personally, before my obese days began and I was into fitness, I consumed lots of whey protien products, so I can tolerate the taste because I've tasted much worse. I personally like the grape and pineapple; however, someone posted this about Isopure: "Each 20 ounce bottle has 160 calories, 40 grams of Protein, no carbohydrates, no fats and no sugar. Isopure comes in a wide variety of flavors, including grape frost (which I think tastes a lot like grape Kool-Aid), alpine punch (which is like fruit punch), passion fruit, blue raspberry, icy orange, pineapple orange banana, mango peach and apple melon. Sometimes I mix the Isopure ready to drink Protein drinks with other things. For instance, I mix the passion fruit Isopure with sugar free lemonade or mix the grape frost Isopure with sugar free grape Kool-Aid to boost the flavor. The variety keeps me from getting bored with my protein drinks. I keep them refrigerated and often serve them over ice, as well, as I find they taste much better when they are very cold. Some people seem to really love some flavors while really disliking others, so I suggest you try more than one. Isopure is not my favorite protein supplement; I think there are others that taste better. It's my favorite ready to drink supplement, though. I find it has a slight metallic aftertaste, which seems common with these types of ready to drink protein supplements. The metallic aftertaste is much less noticeable in Isopure than in some other brands like Cytomax, at least as far as I'm concerned. I don't love the taste, but it's tolerable to me. I also like the fact that these drinks are relatively low in calories and are sugar free. In addition, I like the fact that all the protein in these drinks comes from whey protein isolate, which is lactose free and highly absorbable." http://voices.yahoo.com/review-isopure-ready-drink-protein-drinks-7975574.html

Thanks for so much great feedback. I realize that there is going to be seperation anxiety from the food that I have built a relationship with, and I thank you all for helping me comprehend the hurrdles that I am going to face and the satisfication of finally jumping over those hurdles. You all are great!

Yes...the whey Protein gives it that yucky taste. Here is a thought, it has nothing to do with Protein Bars, but it is an alternative drink that IS NOT a shake, but contains lots of protein: Isopure. They taste like a Water downed Crystal Light and yield 40 grams of protein. You can buy them by the case from dealers like Prosource. They have about 160 calories, 0 fat, 0 carbs...the only thing that doesn't have a "0" on the label is potassium and sodium. Hope this helps!

I'm starting my sleeve journey and beginning to complete all of the pre-operative testing. I'm curious to know, for those who have sleeved, what are your biggest regrets about getting the sleeve? What would you have done differently? Why?

I agree! It's energizing and tasty! My kids love them!!! I freeze the left over and the kids love to eat that way as well...it turns into a frozen fruit sorbet. My three year old thinks its ice cream...Lol!

I love a fresh fruit smoothie in the morning! Every weekend I'll hit up my local Sam's Club or Cosco and purchase an array of fruits: pinapples, strawberries, berries,bananas, etc. when I get home I chop them up and place the chopped pieces in freezer bags. In the A. M. I'll take the frozen fruits of my choice, add a splash of NON CONCENTRATED apple juice or orange juice and water, a tasteless protein powder, and a green superfood powder (like Amazing Green Grass Superfood) and blend. No ice needed due to frozen fruit! And viola! A GREAT tasting fresh fruit smoothie! Some people recommend adding spinach leaves or other greens. I've heard celery is a nice compliment as well. Hope you enjoy

Thank you all for such great, positive feedback! I was having human moment and I had succumbed to my very human emotion of anger, but I decided shortly after that I wasn't going to waste my time, energy, and emotions on ill informed people. Thank you for all the support...it brought a smile to my face!

Thank you! I'm glad it has made a positive difference in your life. i can't wait until it makes one in mine.

I've never tried MyNetDiary. I have the MyFitnessPal app and I love it! The foods you tend to eat the most, it saves them for you and you literally just touch the bar with that food item and it is recorded. It also keeps track of any exercising that you do, calculating the additional number of calories you can consume because of the exercise. You can also keep track of your weight and your progress.

I've decided, without a doubt, that I want the sleeve and that I am going to follow through with the surgery. I have researched for months all aspects of the surgery, more so the negative comments, side effects, etc., and I still believe that this surgery is right for me. However, I am frustrated with cheap comments, and the one that upset me the most was: “You are taking the easy way out.” Excuse me? Just because I am utilizing a technology that aides a person in losing weight when all other avenues have failed, means that I am taking the easy way out? I am sorry, but a person utilizing a vehicle to make it EASEIR for them to get somewhere; or an agriculturist utilizing specialized tractor equipment to make it EASIER and hasten the planting and coming of their crops; or a person using a defibrillator to aide them and make it EASIER for cardiac survival; or a person taking cholesterol, hypertension, or any other medication to make it EASIER for them to stay healthy does NOT give them less integrity. All of the afore mentioned are a means to an end; a tool utilized as a means to an end. Technology is created to make things easier for us to survive, to get around, to stay healthier, and to accomplish tasks easier and quicker. So, YES…maybe I am taking the easier route because all other forms of technology have failed me…and in the end, this “easy way out” is a tool; a means for me to survive and preserve my life for a longer period of time. I AM taking an easier route, just like billions of people across the globe do every day as they utilize all the technology that is available to them. SORRY! I had to vent!!!

I understand what you mean. When I worked at the university fitness center, I was the incentive program director. We often had 4, 6, to 8 week incemtive programs to encourage students, faculty, staff, and alumni to shed fat and build muscle. At the beginning of every new incentive program, everyone would come in for a private screening of thier weight, measurements, and calculations of body fat percentage. I always felt that the mechanism in which we used to measure body fat was far from accurate. There were many people who were big and who obviously had high fat ratios, but it was difficult to pinch and measure. On the other hand, there were people who were lean and muscular but had very elastic-y skin that was easy to pinch and pull. There are more acurate ways to measure body fat, but they are not readily available without a price. In the situation with your skin, I am sure you are one of the ones that falls into the latter category.

Sorry for all the typos!

Aroundhnky, butterthebean is right...you look great! Talk about a success story! BMI doesn't take into account muscle mass, and I think it's the percentage of bady fat that should matter, not the numbers on a scale. Somebody could have a low BMI, but they coyld also have higher percentage of body fat than someone with a higher BMI. When I was at the peak of my fitness game, most if my female students would gasp when I told them how much I weighed. Hence the idea that "muscle weighs more than fat." Lol

I also want to add that "aroundhnky" is very much correct: women do not add mass the way men do. Men have testosterone; testosterone—stated in a simple way—yields itself to a greater ability to build mass. The estrogen hormone that reins a woman’s body, unfortunately, lends itself to higher ratios of fat. Staying away from bad fats, eating balanced meals, and consuming at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight (as well as adding cardio and strength training) overrides this genetic variable. If you are a female looking to add more muscle and are seeking out that “muscle look,” you need to work your way up to lifting heavier weight and lower reps with failure at the end of each set. Make sure to spread out the days in which you work out the various muscles. Muscles build after it tears and heals itself.

I should have clarified, but yes...you are correct and thank you for that clarification.

I have not sleeved yet, so I do not have first have knowledge or experience with it. However, in my former life (ten-plus-years-ago-when-I-was-in-shape), I was an aerobics instructor and weight trainer. I learned a lot about the body and how it functions when it comes to fat burning and building muscle mass. That being said, I want to address those of you who are experiencing stalls. Stalls in the beginning of the sleeve process are usually due to your body re-supplying its Water and insulin stores that were utilized when your body went into shock from the liquid diet. When stores are utilized, your body sheds all of the weight that those stores consisted of in your body. This is part of the large amount weight that you see shed in the beginning. However, once your body has depleted its stores, it starts to store them once again (it needs to prepare itself in case of another emergency!). This is where sleevers tend to see stalls—the period of time that your body is restoring itself and is adding back its water weight. Stalls seen thereafter in people who are following the doctor and nutritionists advice to the letter, and whom are also exercising, are often experiencing the added pounds of muscle mass. Muscle weight weighs more than fat because of its density. Picture a steak with chunks of fat on the sides, the meat is heavier—denser. Often times people think that they are “stalling” or plateauing, but they are in actuality burning more fat and adding muscle mass. DO NOT let this stop you from lifting weights and trying to build muscle mass, because the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn! YES, that is right!!! The more muscle you add to your body, the greater you enable your body to burn the fat—essentially, making you thinner! So, you might not be seeing loss on the scale, but you should definitely see loss in the inches and circumference of your body.

I have not sleeved yet, but I did read a really good post where somebody added a link to an article stating that stalls in the beginning are very normal. When your body goes into shock from the liquid diet, it automatically uses your insulin stores to supplement itself with the energy it needs to sustain itself. Somehow (I don't remember exactly how), this process flushes out a lot of your water weight. That is why there is typically such a large loss of weight immediately following surgery. However, once the body realizes that you are not going to supplement it with the amount of food you once consumed, it starts to conserve itself once again--adding BACK the water weight you had originally lost. This is the "stall" that people are seeing or experiencing. You are not gaining back weight from fat or excess eating, but you are adding on water weight. Also, remember that when you are exercising—especially if you just started—not only do you begin to burn fat, but you begin to build muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat! Somebody who is built with lots of muscle can way more than a person who is bigger than they are because their fat mass weighs less than muscle mass!!! Often times people believe that they have plateaued or “stalled”, when in fact they are still losing the fat and inches!

We are smoothie drinkers at my household, and even though I haven't sleeved yet, I am already planning on adding a tasteless protien powder to mine once I sleeve. My husband is a hard core weight lifter and I add it to his. Once you sleeve this is an excellent way to fulfill the protien quota your nutritionist recommends.

My doctor's website posts a little Vitamin 101 type of document. You can check it out here: http://www.lonestarsurgical.com/nutrition/#supplements FYI: I love your Plus Size and Fabulous sign on name!!!

After seeing your response today, I noticed a lot of women posting similar experiences. Many said it went away as their bodies adjusted. I really hope it gets better for you. I have first hand knowledge of depression because I struggled with it in my late teens/early 20's. I remember not being able to get out of bed to face the world or to even crack a smile, and then switch into an "I'm fine" mode. It is struggle nobody should have to deal with. So when I say I hope it improves, I mean it with all my heart. I am glad to hear that you are eating right and following what is recommended. I will be following you progress.