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SeaLegs

Gastric Sleeve Patients
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  1. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from heah325 in Weight Loss Stall at 2 weeks Post-op   
    Just had my 2 week appt, but really it was 10 days. I came home 3# heavier than the day of surgery, and am now 2# less. My surgeon laughed when I told him how all the people on the blog already had the pounds melting off at this point. He told me I was still post op and healing, and was surprised that I was exercising (albeit just a little). He said I would be very pleased starting a month after surgery and everything was going as expected. So maybe it's not a stall, but a "haven't gotten going yet".
  2. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from heah325 in Weight Loss Stall at 2 weeks Post-op   
    Just had my 2 week appt, but really it was 10 days. I came home 3# heavier than the day of surgery, and am now 2# less. My surgeon laughed when I told him how all the people on the blog already had the pounds melting off at this point. He told me I was still post op and healing, and was surprised that I was exercising (albeit just a little). He said I would be very pleased starting a month after surgery and everything was going as expected. So maybe it's not a stall, but a "haven't gotten going yet".
  3. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from heah325 in Weight Loss Stall at 2 weeks Post-op   
    Just had my 2 week appt, but really it was 10 days. I came home 3# heavier than the day of surgery, and am now 2# less. My surgeon laughed when I told him how all the people on the blog already had the pounds melting off at this point. He told me I was still post op and healing, and was surprised that I was exercising (albeit just a little). He said I would be very pleased starting a month after surgery and everything was going as expected. So maybe it's not a stall, but a "haven't gotten going yet".
  4. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from heah325 in Weight Loss Stall at 2 weeks Post-op   
    Just had my 2 week appt, but really it was 10 days. I came home 3# heavier than the day of surgery, and am now 2# less. My surgeon laughed when I told him how all the people on the blog already had the pounds melting off at this point. He told me I was still post op and healing, and was surprised that I was exercising (albeit just a little). He said I would be very pleased starting a month after surgery and everything was going as expected. So maybe it's not a stall, but a "haven't gotten going yet".
  5. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from heah325 in Weight Loss Stall at 2 weeks Post-op   
    Just had my 2 week appt, but really it was 10 days. I came home 3# heavier than the day of surgery, and am now 2# less. My surgeon laughed when I told him how all the people on the blog already had the pounds melting off at this point. He told me I was still post op and healing, and was surprised that I was exercising (albeit just a little). He said I would be very pleased starting a month after surgery and everything was going as expected. So maybe it's not a stall, but a "haven't gotten going yet".
  6. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from Jencovi in If there was a Class Action Lawsuit against the band....   
    Do you think we will be having this same discussion about the sleeve in 5, 10, 15 years? After all, the sleeve is also a fairly young procedure.
  7. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from goldilox in So Many Problems. Worth It?   
    Tracy, how did it go with your surgeon?
  8. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from hiddis in Things I will NOT miss about being fat.   
    Oh, I can relate! How about:
    Not going to reunions because I am embarrassed about my weight.
    Having to ask for seatbelt extensions when I get on a plane.
  9. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from Madam Reverie in Reasons to be cheerful!   
    Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats on the good work!
  10. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from Scorpion11 in What did you tell people?!?!?   
    Off-topic, but your family of lawyers cracks me up and I love how you handled them!
  11. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from Nevermore in Angry, Anxious, and Relieved   
    Nevermore, one of the other members mentioned a cruise by the WLFSA, and when I checked the site, this organization provides grants. Here's the link: http://www.wlsfa.org/about/ I am happy to hear you will have a health care advocate!
    I'm glad you're not offended. I'm a nurse who went in it for the hands-on bedside patient care and helping people to heal, and I hate the way health care is corporate and insurance-company driven. The point of good bedside care has now become to earn Press-Ganey points so the insurance companies pay the hospital, not because we care about patients.
    I know you're exhausted. I'm so sorry about that; I have an inkling from my own experiences. If I could offer one more suggestion for your tool belt: Ask your endocrinologist to contact your surgeon directly and personally. While there is a possibility that your endo might not want to get involved, there is also a possibility that they know each other, have heard of each other, have kids in the same private school etc, and while little old you may not have a big impact on a bari practice, referrals from an endocrinology practice after your surgery has been successful would be a feather in that surgeon's cap!
    I'll be following your story and wishing you the best!
  12. Like
    SeaLegs reacted to gamergirl in Why you cant eat just one chip. Great read   
    Article in the huffpost today: http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4043980
    Here's Why Your Favorite Foods Are So Hard To Resist Renee JacquesThe Huffington PostOct 16, 2013
    It's no secret: When you buy Doritos, you're going to finish the entire bag. There are countless reasons why people have so much trouble putting junky Snacks down. And many of them are by design: Companies spend billions on marketing their products and conducting scientific studies to figure out how to engineer their foods to keep you eating. Consider this: In a Connecticut College study released just yesterday, neuroscience students found that eating oreos activated more neurons in the pleasure centers of rats' brains than did consuming cocaine or morphine. And New York Times writer and author of Sugar, Fat, Salt, Michael Moss recently wrote about ten components added to Doritos that make them extremely tasty and difficult to resist. Unsurprisingly, salt and sugar were major ingredients. In fact, the salty additives in Doritos give them a "flavor burst." That "burst" dissolves in your saliva, sending signals to the pleasure centers of your brain, explained Moss.
    Do these foods sound "addicting" to you? Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, and author of many books on nutrition, says there should be a distinction between having a strong desire for food and being addicted to it. "I think of the word as meaning a physical dependence. We physically depend on food in general, but never on one food in particular," Nestle tells HuffPost. "Food companies create food products that people want to eat. Is wanting the same as addiction? I don’t think so but there’s evidence that foods trigger the same neurological pleasure centers as do addictive drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, but not nearly to the same extent."
    Read on to discover exactly how some of your favorite foods may be keeping you coming back for more.
    You love pastries because they're packed with carbs. Lots of starchy foods contain complex carbs that your body breaks down into simple sugars. A study conducted on mice in 2012 found that foods high in carbs, fats and sugar can actually change the brain. The researchers at the University of Montreal discovered that after being exposed to diets with high levels of fat and sugar, mice revealed withdrawal symptoms of depression and a greater sensitivity to stressful situations. They also had higher levels of the CREB molecule, which is known to play a role in dopamine production.
    Much of this is still emerging science, and it's impossible to say that eating lots of sugar will necessarily make anyone feel happier, but humans are naturally drawn to sugary high-carb foods. "We evolved to love the taste of sugars as an infant survival mechanism," says Nestle. "The brain needs sugar to function and carbohydrates are the most efficient source of it." You love Cheetos because they literally melt in your mouth.
    How fast can you eat a bag of Cheetos?
    Probably pretty quickly. That's because the manufacturers of the puffed corn product have mastered the art of "vanishing caloric density." The Cheeto is extremely light and fluffy, therefore making it easy to rapidly melt in your mouth. Moss discovered that this junk food ploy tricks your brain into thinking you're not eating as many calories, so "you just keep eating it forever."
    You love fruit Loops, popsicles and Gummy bears because they are bright and colorful.
    Now, of course, that's not the only reason why you love these tasty foods, but their vibrant coloring has been known to play a part. Food companies add color to their products to make them more appealing. Dr. Linda M. Katz, Chief Medical Officer for the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, reports that color additives are incorporated into foods to "enhance colors that occur naturally" and to "provide color to colorless and 'fun' foods" (like popsicles and soda).
    "That’s what food companies do to sell foods," says Nestle. "That’s their business. People don’t like eating grey foods." You love canned sauces because most contain excessive sugar. When we think of satisfying snack foods, Tomato sauce isn't really on the list. But that doesn't mean it's free of the additives that make more typical junk foods more appealing. If you look at the ingredients list on a can of Prego tomato sauce, for example, the second ingredient after tomatoes is sugar, one of the three addictive components of fast food, according to Moss.
    The New York Times reports that just a half-cup of Prego traditional sauce has about two tablespoons of sugar. That's the same amount of sugar as in two large Oreos. Nestle says the added sugar in canned tomato sauces "makes them taste better and covers up the off metallic taste from the canning process." But before you head to the kitchen to make your own, note that sugar can be found in canned tomatoes -- a common ingredient in homemade sauce -- in the form of high-fructose corn Syrup. If you're craving tomato sauce, you're better off avoiding any kind of tomato product that comes in a can.
    You love candy because your body has not adapted to its intense flavor.
    There are a bunch of reasons why you can't resist munching on your kid's Halloween candy loot, but you can blame part of it on evolution. In an article on Prevention.com, Ashley Gearhardt, Ph.D., assistant professor in the psychology department at the University of Michigan, explained that the human body has not yet evolved to handle the intense trio of sugar, fat and salt that comes in candy bars. Gearheardt wrote that before processed food was developed, sugar was "found in fruit and guarded by stinging bees; salt was a simple garnish; and fat was a nutrient that had to be hunted or foraged." The tastes taken together are still very new to the human body.
    You love fries and potato chips because they have the perfect mix of salt and fat. And they're fried.
    According to Michael Moss, the coating of fat and salt on potato chips and french fries is what makes them so irresistible. Moss writes in his New York Times piece, "The starch in the potato causes the same glucose spike as sugar, but is absorbed into the bloodstream much more quickly." That spike will drop very fast, causing you to reach for another fry or chip. You love soda, juices and sports drinks because they are sweet, sugar powerhouses.
    Kelly Brownell, director of Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, claims that sodas and sports drinks are the “single greatest source of added sugar in the American diet, and the research linking sugar-sweetened beverage intake with obesity and diabetes is stronger than for any other food or beverage category. The average American consumes 50 gallons of sugar-sweetened beverages per year." The Nutrition Source revealed in a guide titled "How Sweet Is It?" that cranberry juice cocktail, orange soda and cola all have much more than 12 grams of sugar in a 12 ounce serving, with some packing upwards of 40 grams of sugar, which is the same as about 10 teaspoons of sugar. That's a lot of sugar.
    As with many of the items above, high sugar content plays a key part in making popular foods and drinks so hard to put down. But why so much sugar? Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at University of California, San Francisco has a theory that he outlines in his viral YouTube lecture, Sugar: The Bitter Truth: So why do I call it the Coca-Cola conspiracy? Well, what’s in Coke? Caffeine, good, good. So what’s caffeine? It’s a mild stimulant, right? It’s also a diuretic. It makes you pee free Water. What else is in Coke? We’ll get to the sugar in a minute. What else? Salt, 55 milligrams of sodium per can, it’s like drinking a pizza. So what happens if you take on sodium and lose free Water, you get? Thirstier, right. So why is there so much sugar in Coke? To hide the salt.
  13. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from JerseyGirl68 in expected weight loss by group   
    Hey, I'm in the "three strikes" group, too! Just had this discussion with my therapist and endocrinology APRN. Most of the nutritional research is on young men, and the guidelines are handed to us even though our bodies are different...
    Despite your three strikes, you have done phenomenally well. If you compare yourself to others based on a single number, you are looking for reasons to consider yourself a failure...please don't get caught in that trap!
    One of my favorite menopause experts, Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, advocates weight training for us 'three strikers". Not Arnold Shwarzenegger weights, but something you can learn from a trainer and do at home. She says "I pick it up, I put it down. I pick it up, I put it down. I pick it up...." And she looks better and better!
    BTW, I think I have a fourth strike...I am a band to sleever...
  14. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from TanyaB in Pouch on top of sleeve ?   
    Please let us know what your surgeon says!
  15. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from Nevermore in Angry, Anxious, and Relieved   
    Welcome to the site. I think you'll find it helpful as you continue this difficult journey.
    It seems to me that your insurance company should cover this under the circumstances. Getting coverage requires a lot of expertise from the doctor's office. Are they really good at it? Have they gone as far as they can go in getting you coverage? Does the hospital have any funds to help out people with hardships? I'm not asking to upset you, I'm outraged that you have to put up so much money for something so necessary.
  16. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from JerseyGirl68 in expected weight loss by group   
    Hey, I'm in the "three strikes" group, too! Just had this discussion with my therapist and endocrinology APRN. Most of the nutritional research is on young men, and the guidelines are handed to us even though our bodies are different...
    Despite your three strikes, you have done phenomenally well. If you compare yourself to others based on a single number, you are looking for reasons to consider yourself a failure...please don't get caught in that trap!
    One of my favorite menopause experts, Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, advocates weight training for us 'three strikers". Not Arnold Shwarzenegger weights, but something you can learn from a trainer and do at home. She says "I pick it up, I put it down. I pick it up, I put it down. I pick it up...." And she looks better and better!
    BTW, I think I have a fourth strike...I am a band to sleever...
  17. Like
    SeaLegs reacted to outwithbenjiboi in Those of you who do not feel "hungry" or desire to eat are very lucky !   
    I really like what Endless says about freeing ourselves from the burden of dieting. I've been dieting for darn near 40 years (since age 13), and, to be very frank, I'm sick of that sh@!
    I'm spending my recovery weeks educating myself about 1. healthy, high-Protein foods, 2. new products/foods that I may not be familiar with, but that others find very useful, and 3. EASY recipes that will work for both my wife (a vegetarian) and me -- a base to which I can add meat and she can add a meat alternative.
    I figure, if I choose, buy, stock, have on-hand, and prepare the right foods, the SLEEVE will take care of the rest.
  18. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from charlie1 in Itch   
    Try a cold pack.
  19. Like
    SeaLegs reacted to mrsjumbo in sugar free yogurtor high protein sugar full greek yogurt?   
    how about getting a plain greek yogurt and stirring in some vanilla and artificial sweetener? I am hooked on chobani passion fruit, but I eat only the yogurt and never stir in the fruit on the bottom. strange I know, but it takes me longer to eat it that way, saves me from eating the seeds and sugar and still has a hint of sweet and passionfruit flavor. there is also a yogurt out there in a black container (power yogurt?) that has a super amount of Protein that might be worth a try
  20. Like
    SeaLegs reacted to LipstickLady in The annoying new habits that came to be with my sleeve...   
    Oddly enough, some people have considered me quite annoying in the past. I have no idea why as I am pretty darn close to perfection. That said, my sleeve has has taught me some really cool tricks that seem to get on the nerves of my family, for reasons I just cannot fathom.
    First, they seem to barely tolerate my habit of hopping on and off my scale 5-10 times several times a day and shouting out, "Now I've lost 2 ounces, now I've gained 4 ounces, this time I am down 3, ooops, now I am up 4!!!" or whatever my undecisive scale seems to want to weigh me at. Instead of getting a new, more accurate scale, I consider this step exercise and the freedom to choose my weight for the day. They are especially unamused at my insistence of telling them how much a "movement" might have weighed if I am lucky enough to have one.
    My second bad habit is stalking strangers through the store, staring at their arses, and asking whomever with me if mine is as big/small/round/high/perky/droopy as whomever my current victim's might be. One kid finds it creepy, the other (who obviously loves me more) is much more helpful but often runs around to look at my arse then the other person's causing me to wonder if anyone might be noting this strange behavior. Mr.Lipstick has taken to asking me if I care if he checks out the hot blonde/brunette/random Hooter girl/etc. instead of the middle aged mom that much more resembles my persona.
    My newest habit is picking up random pairs of pants at home or the store and and exclaiming, "LOOK! LOOK! LOOK!! Can you believe that MY ASS fits in these??!!?!?!!! THEY LOOK SO SMALLLLLLL!! I must go try them on right now just to make sure." as if my ass suddenly grew six inches since taking off said pants 5 minutes ago.
    I constantly amaze myself. Every single day. I love this sleeve.
  21. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from Megabuck886 in Nurses- when are you going back to work?!   
    Funny you should say this, because I've worked at my hospital for 27 years (interrupted, so I only have 6 years of seniority) and I feel the same way, very replaceable. Plus there are social aspects...I'm not part of the cliques, so I expect no mercy. I only told a couple of people myself, just didn't feel like discussing my decision, but I'm sure everyone knows (and the clique people have rendered their opinions in my absence).
  22. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from gamergirl in Clothing expenses after surgery   
    I hate clothes shopping, and fortunately, I wear scrubs at work, so don't need a lot of work clothes. I tend to do mail order, and have a roomful of clothes mistakes from things I should have returned but never did (one of my postop projects). Fortunately my best friend is a shopaholic who considers it a challenge to find things at TJ's, thrift shops, etc. For her, it's a stress reducer, for me, it makes me want to jump out of my skin.
    Part of me still wants to hold back some fat clothes, just in case. After years of different diets, and the inevitable weight gains afterward, it's hard to have faith emotionally. Although with the band, I gained some back but not up to my top weight. Does anybody else feel this way?
  23. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from Megabuck886 in Nurses- when are you going back to work?!   
    Funny you should say this, because I've worked at my hospital for 27 years (interrupted, so I only have 6 years of seniority) and I feel the same way, very replaceable. Plus there are social aspects...I'm not part of the cliques, so I expect no mercy. I only told a couple of people myself, just didn't feel like discussing my decision, but I'm sure everyone knows (and the clique people have rendered their opinions in my absence).
  24. Like
    SeaLegs reacted to GypsyQueen in Beware the Sugar-Free Jelly Belly: A Cautionary Tale   
    There are some of the funniest, awful, hysterical, gut wrenching reviews on Amazon for Haribo sugar free Gummy bears. I laughed so hard I cried.
    http://www.amazon.com/Haribo-Gummy-Candy-Sugarless-5-Pound/product-reviews/B000EVQWKC
  25. Like
    SeaLegs got a reaction from 7 Bites_Jen in What I wish I had known   
    Also,
    I would not have stocked up on so much powdered Protein and premade shakes. Don't need as much as I thought.
    Me, too.

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