bikrchk

Me too! I went from an 11 to a 10 in the first 6 months which is amazing since they rarely make the "cute shoes" above a 10! :-)

Everyone needs to do what works for them! I still monitor myself pretty closely and I do battle weight "creep". When it creeps outside my comfort zone, I journal and drop back to 1200 calories per day until the problem is managed. I also live alone and do all my own cooking so I don't have a lot of distractions, which helps!

That's pretty much exactly how the sleeve works for me. I eat what I like in small portions. I enjoy treats, but no longer to excess. And yes, there are things I tolerate less well now than I used to. Too much fat or sugar over the course of a day, (not typically one meal) will send me to a place I don't enjoy, (food trying to leave my body violently either the way it went in or by dumping), so I have to pay attention. But I do enjoy all things including carbs, deserts, and even a drink now and then in moderation. Has it been a major change, yes, absolutely! I went from being a couch potato who ordered a lot of pizza to a person who exercises 5x per week and tends to eat a lot more high Protein, home made meals. I've come to prefer it most of the time, (probably out of self preservation . For example, I had a single fried chicken leg for lunch with a Starbucks latte (unusual for me to do that much sugar in a drink but I do occasionally). I have skinless chicken thighs, potatoes and carrots in the crock pot when I get home and will eat on that for the next several days. When I'm done for today, I'll have had about 1200-1300 calories and 75g of protein which, I've learned is about what I need to maintain while exercising off about 500 calories per day. I've maintained my 90ish pound loss for 2 years so far.

Absolutely! And it's partly chemical... As your body releases fat, it releases hormones and toxins stored in the fat tissue and that can make us kinda crazy for a while. Good news is, it passes. Hang in there.

You are EARLY in the process. All I can tell you is that right now, you need to be treating everything you intake as if it is part of your prescription diet. Because it IS. It may be months before things taste normal again. Until then you need to nourish your body in spite of it. You don't take your supplements because they taste like Skittles, you take them because this is what you signed up for to get healthy. It's the same with your Protein supplements. Right now, do your best to get down whatever the prescribed amount is. Now, that said, there IS hope if you don't fancy shakes, (me either). Once you can take solids, there are lots of products to help you get your protein in if you can't get it all from whole foods. I can't achieve the number I should without at least one supplement per day and I'm more than 2 years out! I do a Protein Bar, protein muffin, protein bread, protein Pasta, protein hot chocolate or latte... Something to give me about a 20g boost at least once per day. Sometimes it's in a product I purchase, sometimes I make my own Protein Bars using whey protein as a component. Point is, it's rare that I ever do a "shake", but I do supplement. Other simple swaps like spinach for lettuce, greek yogurt for regular, Fairlife milk for regular (you can do that one now on liquids) can all help get you there. Hang in there! Work your plan like the prescription that is is and you'll get there!

Absolutely! Looks, smiles, people seem to greet me first, even the solicitors at the mall who never approached me before won't leave me alone now! The whole "invisible fat person" thing is really a thing! I always wore makeup before and dressed well, (in a vain attempt to hide my weight). I'm also fully aware that a portion of this is all about the vibe I give off... How approachable I am. I am am happier, more confident person these days and it shows! That's probably part of it too.

I drink it. Caffeinated. One big cup per day and that's typically the end of my caffeine for the day. That's a great improvement from my pre-op habit of drinking it all morning and chasing it with diet coke all afternoon. I also take 40mg PPI 2x per day as prescribed to prevent any issues.

I'm 2 years in maintenance and typically hang out within 6-10 pounds of my lowest. If it goes higher than that I adjust my intake until I'm back in the zone.

2+ years out here and yes! My sleeve surgeon moved on so I do it at my PCP, but I do it once per year and probably will for life!

Nonfat Latte Machiatto

Exercise, MFP, digital kitchen scale, Nutribullet, WiFi smart scale

I had it pre-sleeve but it was misdiagnosed as asthma. Kept me up all night every night coughing (no real reflux or heartburn). My pre-op EGD was where they figured it out. Went on PPI immediately and was immediately better, (still preop) They also found a small hernia which they fixed during my sleeve surgery. 2+years post op and I still take the PPI 40mg 2x day and will likely for the rest of my life. No issues.

THATS why I never have issues! Got the RBF mastered! Lol

Dbags will be dbags. That said, I didn't have that problem when I was fat. It was like I was invisible to all people. I get looks, catcalls, whatever occasionally now. Not sure what these guys are thinking. "Hey maybe if I say something really offensive to this person, I can get lucky"? SMH.

Heh. Eharmony was unable to match me with a single person either. I ended up getting a refund back thru Apple since that's where I purchased the subscription. I have had some luck with Match and POF. Match definitely has higher quality. It's there with POF but you have to be willing to "weed thru a lot of duds to find a stud". And I've met "secret agent man" and most of the other losers you mention. Here's the deal... Online dating is a numbers game. In my experience you have to be willing to sweep 90% of the crap away to find the 10% that might be cool. And be willing to take none of it personally until you are in a serious relationship. They can be found meeting someone online if you have the patience. Anyway... hang in there and try to enjoy the ride!

Not at all as long as things go well. I'm a systems engineer and was back at work the next week. Felt fine. Be advised that some folks respond better than others so if you can plan for the worst, then go back early to maximize your time off plan, I'd do it.

Yep. Not bad at all. My fav by far is the P28 Protein flat though. I can only eat 1/4 of one with a topping, but it adds a bit of protein and they freeze well. They are available at my local grocery store or you can order from P28 foods online. https://www.p28foods.com/baked-goods/p28-high-protein-wraps

I did lose some but not so much that it was noticeable when it happened. When I noticed it was when it started coming back and I found a million short pieces falling out of my pony tail! Thing I did... Followed post-op Vitamin and Protein instructions, took Biotin and attempted to feed myself as much as my weight loss would bear, (1000-1200 cal per day) with exercise. Same as the folks who lose a lot of hair, I suppose. Personally, other than staying properly nourished, I don't think there's a lot you can do. It's a response to trauma and some bodies handle it better than others. It DOES come back. Just part of the deal.

It really depends on your particular issues. If you have bad GERD or full blown diabetes or a really high BMI bypass may be recommended. Your surgeon should be the one to advise you on this. In my particular case, my surgeon thought I could be successful with either procedure and they were equally as safe. I chose sleeve to minimize the risk of dumping and Vitamin deficiency. FYI, I'm a sleeve and DO dump if I over-sugar\over fat but it has to be a LOT of either\both.

Sounds great! My mom made me some and froze it into ice cube trays for easy storage. Only thing was, I hardly used it. Turns out I really don't like to drink chicken broth! Stuck with Water and Protein shakes for about 48 hours then on to well whizzed Soups, (I was allowed full liquids immediately post op). I did use those broth cubes to cook with later.

4 months ish. Think I had a bloody mary. Took me all night to get it down and it was "dinner" that night, LOL.

I agree about the TMI. I don't want to know about your health issues in your profile. Keep it positive and highlight the things you like to do. Funnily enough I did meet another sleeve patient online. He was complaining about being cold on a 70 degree day too! But we just didn't "click". No big. Lotsa fish in the sea!

I was about 235 pounds and I think my requirement was the same, along with a colon prep. I WAS required to lose 10 pounds between consult and the final pre-op appointment for liver shrink, but there was no required "diet", just the required weight loss.

Not lighter, heavier. Bloated, swollen, slightly nauseous, but not enough to throw up. Didn't need pain meds other than whatever was in my IV right after. Took me a while to really be coherent after. Used what they gave me for nausea and the nausea patch behind the ear and my discomfort was well managed. Laps that night several times, home 24 hours after. Funny, you'd THINK it would feel smaller after the swelling goes down, but I didn't. I'm not talking about restriction, that is definitely still working 2+ years out, but sitting here, I don't "feel" any different in the tummy area.

Vodka cranberry with a twist Bloody Mary Skinny Margarita if I can get it On occasion I'll do a Guinness beer. Yeah, I know, the bubbles, judge away, but they don't bother me and Guinness is the healthiest and most lightly carbonated beer around. (It DOES make me full FAST and I often can't finish one) I've been known to bring real-lime powder and mix my own skinny margarita with a shot of tequila, water and stevia Greyhound, (grapefruit juice and vodka) Sometimes tequila and a spot of stevia for a grapefruit margarita