Sassy Pants1

Pretty much everyone has that fear, including me. Even now, into my 5th month, I fear I've already lost the last pound I will ever lose.

Oy, emsgma! I am so sorry to hear this. I would be out of my mind. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you. All I have to offer is the good juju I am sending your way. I hope your stall ends, like tomorrow!

I had a sip of red wine at about six weeks out and it did not sit well. I waited another month before trying again. It went okay, but I consume alcohol very cautiously now simply because of the empty calories. They really add up!

You San get back on track by going back to rule #1: Protein first. That should fill you up so there won't be room for the junk food. Sadly, even with the sleeve, it's too easy to consume junk food. It does not engage the restriction like dense protein does.

I'm about 11weeks post op and feeling great, been out to eat a couple times but usually just got Soup. Yesterday went to Applebee's with the family and my youngest was looking at the children's menu and said hey dad they have a 4oz steak that would be perfect for you and it comes with mozzarella sticks, which we could share if you want. we all started laughing then after thinking about it I was like that's actually a good idea so I went ahead and ordered it, you could choose from a bunch of different sides but since I knew the steak would be plenty so I got the mozzarella sticks for the boys. let me tell you that steak was the perfect size for me and the price was great, which was around $6, will defiantly be ordering this again.

This is a bad-ass story. I love every bit of it. You must feel (and look!) like a million bucks.

So, after having a lovely afternoon with a fabulous friend, who had managed to rationalise and put into perspective a work problem I've been enduring since 2008. To Celebrate, as I finally felt free of this burden, I decided to drag my man out for an evenings entertainment.
We went and had a few drinkies and then decided to go dancing at the local 80's nightclub. I love 80's music, me.
So, the club was jumping and I, was having a wonderful time bopping around. My man doesn't like to dance, so he stood on the sidelines - effectively on guard!
Apart from the fact two drunk males who had decided to use the dance floor as a race track and knocked me flying, which resulted in a considerably bruised hip bone today and a fiance who wanted to literally kill these two youths; something very nice happened.
We'd been standing near a group of more mature Polish males, who were a jolly nice bunch. Who, too, were bopping around and having a good time. One of them asked of my man 'is that your wife?' to which he replied 'yes, sir'. The Polish blokes all said 'You are a very very lucky man'. He replied 'I know'. <raises an eyebrow at how men can be sometimes!>
A bit later, a, well, how would you refer to him as? A bit of a geeky looking/studious male, approached me whilst dancing. Nervously he said 'I am really sorry to disturb you. I am with a group of blokes who think you are gorgeous. We've been talking about it and they reckon that I would never be able to approach someone like you. (Someone like you?!!!) Would you mind if I just stood here for a bit, because I want to prove them wrong.'
Feeling taken aback, I replied 'Aww, thank you! But of course! In fact I can go one better than that. Would you like to dance with me?' His young bespectacled face lit up as I grabbed his hand and dragged him onto the dance floor. (My man didn't mind as he clearly didn't feel threatened by it). This young lad's mates were left open-mouthed at the bar and I got such an effusive 'thank you!' when our dance was concluded.
Towards the end of the night, as the Polish men were leaving, one of them approached me to say goodbye. With his thick accent and courteous demeanor, he leant forward and said 'I just want to say, your husband is one very very lucky man. You are a beautiful woman. Have a good evening.' At which point he kissed me on the cheek and left.
Now, I have been excited about inches disappearing, I have been shocked by the scale dropping, I have been bemused by all my new found bones - I have also been devastated at the Hair loss, but nothing. Nothing, compared to how last night made me feel.
I am normal again. I am a 'someone like you'. I am humbled, slightly embarrassed - but elated.
And you know what's even better? I logged my three hours of dancing on MyFitnessPal and I'd burnt up 1,293 calories! (Which more than offset the 5 pints of Guinness and the couple of vodka and red bulls I'd consumed!)
Yay, me!

I think a lot of "nay saying" is lack of education. My dad was especially vocal about not wanting me to have the surgery. He cried and asked "Are you sure you can give up the foods you love?" "Are you sure it's come to this?"
I let him ask his questions and express his concerns. It wasn't easy because I just wanted support, not to get grilled with questions. But when I look back, he was trying to help me and he was trying to understand why someone would do this to themselves.
He now calls weight loss surgery "a necessary medical procedure". That makes me laugh - he is so supportive now. He asks questions now about my meals, how certain foods feel in my stomach, and can see when something doesn't sit well.
I hope your daughter comes around. She doesn't have the capacity or life experiences to know what you live thru every day - she's young. Be patient with her - I bet she does change her mind, it may take a while.

For the first few weeks, fluids trump Protein intake. Keep your focus on drinking. Before you know it, you'll be eating at your new normal.

I tried red wine at about 6 weeks. It was thanksgiving. One sip and it didn't sit well. I started drinking white wine about a month ago - 1 or 2 glasses on Friday night. No problems at all. I limit myself to once a week because the calories are too high.
On the other hand, I have a friend who had this surgery in August. He has been drinking red wine since about one month out and he's lost 100 pounds. Go figure.

A "stall" a few weeks out is inevitable, and here's why.
Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of Water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet.
As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a saber tooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.

My stall will be 3 weeks tomorrow. It sucks when you're in the middle of it, and just can't be consoled

Pretty much everyone has that fear, including me. Even now, into my 5th month, I fear I've already lost the last pound I will ever lose.

17 pounds in 23 days sounds pretty darn good to me. I lost 19 in my first full month.
My biggest and only real disappointment with this surgery is that my expectations for quick weight loss were not met. I should have managed that expectation better. I am a slow loser, comparatively speaking. And it's frustrating. But this is a done deal - irreversible. So I plod along and wait for the scale to move. And it always does.....eventually. Hang in there.

Yes, what Ziggy said. Write today off and start anew tomorrow. There will be bad days and I think that's okay as long as they are not the norm.

Full evacuation of your bowels at the speed of light. I will find a way to work that into a conversation if it kills me!

I am in my 5th month and I still take Prilosec 2x daily. I've had very little nausea so I feel I've been lucky.
Good advise about staying hydrated. I've heard people like the G2. I've found that warm goes down better than cold. Hot tea and diet hot chocolate work great for me.

I was not told to avoid caffeine. I drink several cups of tea each day. And a soda once in a while. With a straw.....I'm a rebel!

That's the beauty of the sleeve, you will likely not have any food restrictions at some point. Lots of people report difficulty with different foods. Me....not so much. My sleeve will tolerate anything. Well, not that I've tried everything, but I've not yet come across anything I cannot tolerate. Makes it a slippery slope so I have to be vigilant about what I permit into my regular diet.

Hi Abigail. At two months, I was just released to an unrestricted diet. Try for 64 ounces of liquid, if not more. 60-70 grams of Protein. I was still drinking at least one Protein Drink a day at that point. Try to stick with the Protein first rule. It really does work.
I would encourage you to not avoid your doctor. Your doc is the main person who can help you. They've been through this many, many times.they will have good advice for you.
Good luck!

Excellent post!
I would add that you really need to manage your expectations about rate of weight loss going into this process. You will see lots of people dropping TONS of weight in a short few months. I mean, like 80-100 pounds! You need to be prepared that you may not be one of them. I was/am disappointed with my (comparatively) slow weight loss. I still struggle with this. But the truth is, the weight IS coming off - just slower than I originally thought.

Ok, I, like many on this forum, have been "dieting" for most of my adult life, well essentially my entire adult life and something that has NEVER amused me struck me as funny this morning. I have pretty much had a Love/hate relationship with the scale (yes, yes, not to get my knickers in a twist over "numbers" but that wasn't the amusing part)...I have dropped what I, and my doctor, consider a good amount of weight loss since surgery. Granted I am only 2 weeks post-op, but it was making me laugh every time I got on the scale and it continued to drop-it was like, holy s**t am I really seeing this. The weight loss stopped for 5 days (Fluid shifts etc-I really was not upset or stressing) and I got on this morning and dropped 3 more pounds....this is truly unreal to me and I looked at the scale and said "you gotta be kidding me," and I actually chuckled...

I just thought I would share what I found humorous after a lifetime of hate...I know I have a long way to go and I know there will be stalls/plateaus in my future but now that the pain and nausea are finally getting controlled, I am starting to feel a sensation I have not felt in a very long time...hope.
Bless everyone of you and I hope your day is full of good things

Pretty much everyone has that fear, including me. Even now, into my 5th month, I fear I've already lost the last pound I will ever lose.

Pretty much everyone has that fear, including me. Even now, into my 5th month, I fear I've already lost the last pound I will ever lose.

RJ, I love your attitude of gratitude!