SnohoGal98296

You will not regret it - I am 5 months out, started at 302 and now down to 225 - feeling great and the weight just keeps coming off - a few head games early on (my brain screaming Why don't you eat more? and stuff like that) but when the lbs come off and they don't come back three days later - it just gets easier and easier. I just had an early THanksgiving becasue my Daughter is working and cannot travel to the Thursday party and I was totally fine with a few ounces of turkey and a few bites of the sides. It was easy becasue I was full and satisfied - that is what the sleeve does for me - takes away the constant hunger that always did in my best intentions, Got get 'em! You will love it!

HW: 302 SW: 289 CW: 230 Having the sleeve was the best thing I have ever done for myself, I wish I had come to this realization ten years ago, instead of dieting and gaining and dieting and gaining, over and over again, I would started in the low 200's, instead of the low 300's. I would have lost and gained one more time and back on track for my Dad's early death at 57, instead feeling like I am 10 years younger now. If you are thinking about and just aren't sure - let me tell you, if this had been another diet, I would have quit before now and would be higher than when I started. The restriction forces you to realize that you don't need that much food. I used to get sooo angry when a skinny friend would say that "I just don't need that much food" when staring at a skimpy meal. Today, as I can only eat few ounces at a time - I finally get it. 70+ lbs down and another 70 to go - this is the first time where I truly believe I have a chance to be a normal weight and maintain it.

Our favorite Mexican restaurant has a dish called Filete de Piscado - grilled tilapia, grilled asparagus and salad with steamed rice. I immediately put the rice in a to go box for my family. I can barely eat 1/3 of the fish and have a few bites of veggies and take the rest home for lunch the next day (and sometimes 2 days). Out favorite thai place - I have the cup of egg soup and one of the family style dishes we order usually has a meat and veggie mix so I just eat that and I am fine. Our favorite american place - I order one of the specialty salads with no dressing and only grilled Proteins, I eat the Protein first (well that is true for whatever I eat) and then at some of the veggies and take the rest home. No dressing means it can usually be eaten the next day for lunch. I have also ordered a speciality burger and throw away the bun and eat just the patty, cheese and the veggies I haven't been to an Italian place - the Pasta would be just too tempting. My Doctor's plan says no white bread, no white pasta and no potatoes - complex carbs are ok in small amounts. I am loosing around 10lbs a month so I am pretty motivated to stay away form those items. 5 months out and 70 lbs down doesn't suck!

Those first few weeks the weight just flies off and I agree it feels so good to see the scale on a continuous downward trend! I am in my fourth month (Oct 11th is month 5). I have lost 70lbs, my Doctor is very pleased that I continue to lose around 10 lbs a month. Only 30 to go to hit 100 lbs! But there are days where the scale doesn't move, I try not to check every day, today I haven't weighed myself since Friday, here is to a few lbs down when I weigh myself tomorrow :-D

I love Quest bars - they taste better than most of the other ones, I do cut them up, they hit the spot when I am "starving" ( i always laugh when I say that - I haven't been starving since surgery) - they help when it comes to a needing a snack or an emergency meal. They taste great and they keep things moving, all that fiber LOL

My hair loss started at about 2 months post-op, I am 4+ months out now and think that the hair loss is in a steady state, I am lucky that I have very thick hair - the huge wads of hair I pull from head every time I shampoo is quite alarming sometimes! But then I don't have any bald spots or thin areas (except for maybe a few spots right at my temples but that may be just panicking on my part). Recently, I warned my hairstylist not to freak out when she shampooed me and she told me "oh, this is nothing honey!, I have seen much worse!" So that made me feel better. I am looking forward to noticing a decline in the loss - but one thing has me nervous. The comment in the article about iron levels, I have a genetic disease called hemochromatosis or "iron overload" disease. It means that my body holds on to too much iron and it must be removed medically. So I have one goal from my Blood Doctor and another from my Weight Loss Surgeon when it comes to iron. If iron also impacts hair loss (and I have been diagnosed for several years before my sleeve and never noticed hair loss like this), I am worried that it might taked me longer to come out of the hair loss period. Here is to crossing my fingers, because I can't take iron supplements!! My blood doctor was thrilled when I told him about getting WLS - he said, that is perfect for you! It will impact your iron levels in a good way for you!

At 2 months post sleeve, on solid foods, I was eating around 500 calories, 60 gms of Protein, less than 100 grams of carbs, today at 4 months out I eat around 1,000, 80 gms of protein, and less than 100 gms of carbs. I am currently losing about 11 lbs a month. I started at 301 lbs, have lost nearly 70 lbs since surgery. Oh, I am 5'6". My Doc says I need atleast 800 calories to maintain a healthy functioning body and no brain fog.

At 4 months plus after the sleeve, I can eat anything I want, (well, things with too much sugar do make me feel bad, but I think that is because I stay away from sugar 98% of the time, so when I have a bite of dessert at a party - it makes me feel sick). I followed my Doctor's instructions for all of the progressive types of food, but at 4-6 weeks I was eating regular foods. I don't eat Pasta, white bread or white sugar), I have been steadily losing about 10 lbs a month and have lost 67 lbs as of this post. Now - I go out to eat with my family once a week, I order what I want (excluding high carb things) and yes I always end up with lots of leftovers, but that just makes for great work lunches! Sometimes I just eat something from my husbands plate - but that is rare because he is skinny and doesn't like to share;-D

I chose the sleeve over band for a few reasons - these are my personal opinions, worth what you paid for them, and not meant as a bash on the band, I am not a Doctor nor do I play one on TV: 1) The band is a mechanism, manmade, it can break. My cousin had the band and it helped to her lose 100 lbs, but then it broke. She revised to Gastric By Pass (RNY). 2) I also thought that having a port, that you can feel under your skin and needing to go for adjustments was too creepy for me. 3) It is adjustable - you can have the saline removed, this may be a positive to some, but to me that was a free ticket to quits-ville. 4) It is reversible, done with the new lifestyle? Have it removed - again free ticket to quits-ville. 5) Restrictions on what you can eat - with Sleeve once you are healed there are no dietary restrictions in terms of stringy vegetables or dry goods. Some people look at the sleeve and say it seems so extreme, it is not reversible, you will have 85% of your stomach removed, that is so scary! But those are the things that appealed to me. It is just me in there, just less of my stomach, I can't decide that I want my restriction decreased, I can't decide that I want to eat "normally" again, and beleive me I know I needed the finality of this surgery. I have lost 64 lbs as this post, I feel great, I can walk again, I can be active again, I am getting rid of most of my clothes as they are now too big for me, I can keep this up, my sleeve gives me the tools I need to be succesful. There you go - my thoughts - and 100% discount from the normal 2 cent price :-D

I personally have noticed that people, even friends and family, have been afraid to comment. For work folks, I figure they are nervous that they might be wrong or that they "shouldn't" notice. But for friends, some have even said, "maybe I shouldn't comment, but you are looking very thin! How much have you lost?". My Mom who helped me pay for the surgery even is a little shy - maybe she thinks that due to her financial involvement that I will feel pressured. So I always tell her, "Well I have lost XX lbs now" and she is always so happy to hear that it is going well. The only person who really just points it out is my favorite cousin who has had both the band and now gastric by pass - she is so supportive and helpful, and my inspiration! She started at 424, lost down too 300-ish, moved forward to Gastric ByPass (band broke) and now is in the low 200's

VSG ANN is spot on, airlines reconfigure their aircraft for the most revenue possible. I was the traveler that needed the seat belt extender and always worried about complaints, but only 1 month after surgery I no longer needed the extender, the armrests no longer dig into my sides, and I no longer see that "look" when people realize I will be their seatmate. It gets better is my point. Follow the rules of the surgery and you will get there faster than you think. I have flown twice since VSG and it gets better every time ;-D

Grabbing a pair of shorts the other day that didn't fit the day I brought them home. They were even a little big! Fitting in an airline seat and not needing a seat belt extender Realizing that I had run up and down the stairs at work that used to make me so breathless after a slow climb, It just keeps getting better each week - wish I had done this at 270 instead of waiting 2 more years and 30 more lbs...

I found that immediately after surgery what I thought was hunger was actually head hunger - I am 3 months out now and I really don't feel hunger. I do get an empty feeling when I go too long between meals, but never stomach growling actual hunger. (My tummy made/makes lots of noise - don't get me wrong - but that is digestion not empty tummy growls). Over the past few months I have battled head hunger (I want to eat that! or something!) but I stuck to the recovery plan, 3 days clear, 11 days full liquids, 14 days smooth/soft foods and on day 28 slowly started adding more dense regular foods. At three months I can eay anything, some crunchy things still kind of scare me but it is all in my head. I also experienced dreams where I was either eating something really bad for my healing tummy or I was surrounded by foods I was eating before surgery - but in some nightmarish scenario... that was my brain not understanding why I wasn't eating like I used to anymore... I likened it to detoxing in a drunk tank. My point is - the liquids stage is tough, once you get to the stages with more dense foods you will find that you can only take a few a bites and feel like you had a huge meal, eventually your brain will let go of the comfort / quantity food addiction and it will be easy to eat 2 ounces of Protein and 1 bite or 2 of veggies and be more than satiated... 55 lbs in 3 months doesn't lie.

Just a quick follow-up, this drink is meant to be enjoyed immediately. That doesn't mean that you should gulp it down (it often takes me two hours to drink an Protein shake made with 8 oz of liquid), but I can tell you that if you let it sit for 3 hours or more, and some days that is how long it takes me to drink my shakes (hence the insulated cups and ice mentioned above) as I am just now 3 months post-op, that the fiber gel in Citrucal becomes just that - Gel. I comically tried to take a sip the other day and the last two or three tablespoons had gelled. So definitely keep that in mind if you are having a swollen tummy day!

I totally understand - I felt the same way - you are on day 6, have you lost any weight? I really crossed that bridge when I noticed I had lost 7 pounds in a week. It really helped my motivation. If you must eat something, have another shake, or sugar free popsicles (I was allowed SF popsicles). Are you on 3-4 shakes plus a small meal (my instructions were 300 calories or less, like a lean cuisine)? or just plain liquids? When I got really crazy I would grab a Water and go for a walk. My liquid diet was 10 days - how about you? Just keep thinking about the upcoming surgery - I was worried that they would be angry with me if I messed up too! But all was good in the long run. My biggest tip for the day before would be to drink drink drink water or zero calorie non-carbonated beverages - I was so nervous I didn't drink as much I could have and my surgery time was 12pm, and with nothing by mouth after midnight the night before I was so dehydrated that they had a hard time finding a vein at surgery time. I ended up with the IV in an odd spot near my wrist and it was so annoying! Anyways - hang in there - you will make it, this is just a few days to the rest of your life with a healthier body!! Oops - just saw this was in the Men's room - sorry! The new content page really should make that more obvious - didn't mean to sneak in ;-D

Wow! I can't believe they said you would never enjoy a meal again - was this coordinator trying to scare you away? Amazing! I am three months out and I enjoy most, if not all of my meals. In fact I can look at a restaurant menu and choose what is the best option for me - no rice, no potatoes, etc. I have had some amazing meals, and the best part? I get to have the leftovers for lunch for a few days afterwards. Even meal planning at home is just as good if not better than pre-surgery. the foods I eat today just plain taste better - fresh vegetables, less fat and sugar. The flavors are more intense and just real, if you know what I mean. Before I might have eaten a ton of Pasta and rich sauces with bread and salad - then I would spend the next few hours berating myself - today I pick what is good for me, no soft white breads, no refined pasta, and enjoy yummy fresh salad with little or no dressing and zucchini spirals (noodles) with a no sugar added tomato sauce and turkey sausage - for example. Don't believe that coordinator - they are just plain wrong!!

Update - I have also tried the shake with all water, it still tastes good, don't get me wrong, but the method with 1% milk is the best, with half milk half water it is still pretty darn good, and with all water - it is good but doesn't hold up to the milk method. I will try it next time with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.

Hi, my tummy made noises every drink or bite from day 1, it is similar to an empty stomach growl but with the added bonus of bubble type noses traveling up the throat (not burps, wish I was burping back then), doesn't hurt, in fact the noises made me feel like it was relieving some the early uncomfortableness of eating new foods. Now that I am about 2 1/2 months out, my stomach only growls after difficult foods like chicken breast or if I eat too fast. Other than being embarrassed, feeling life my coworkers or strangers could hear my noises, the noises were not a big issue for me.

52 lbs down so far 1. Finding "new" clothes in my own closet! 2. Removed Seat Belt Cincher in the car (belt used to ride on my neck because of my body shape - had a cincher to keep the belt away from my neck. 3. Able to walk and be on my feet for longer than 20 mins with no lower back pain and foot pain.

Fabulous idea! Yum! I made the shake again today with 1/2 1% milk and half Water, it was great! Tomorrow - all water!

I don't know why some management tries to be flippant during terminations- it is never a good thing. As a manger who has had to lay someone off before - I had hard time not crying during the meeting - I felt so awful, maybe this guy was trying to mask his own feelings. In any case, I bet they knew before you took the time off - they usually make these decisions a few weeks in advance and then double check the timing - if they had laid you off just before your surgery (don't know if your insurance paid?) They could have set themselves up for a lawsuit - laying you off just before an expensive surgery or even a private medical procedure would look pretty suspicious (although your insurance should cover you through the end of the month following any termination). Which leads me to my next topic - if you are not currently covered by a signficant others insurance, you may want to consider the COBRA option to ensure you have insurance for the first 90 days (minimum) following the surgery. Pretty spendy - but imagine how much it would cost to cover a complication yourself and those can crop up even a year later! Did they offer a letter of recommendation or job search assistance? If the reason they laid you off was new software made job obsolete you would think that they would be willing to support you that way - in any case get your butt on some of the major job search websites out there like LinkedIn and make use of the contacts you have - go to your same industry companies and find yourself a better job and just think - the next time you see your old boss, you will be healthy, gorgeous and employed and he can go take a flying leap!!

Hi Everyone, OK on my 2nd month follow-up appt my Doctor tells me about this Protein shake recipe she has and that she just loves because it reminds her of a Creamsicle (I grew up in California so I had to tell her that we called them 50/50 bars), you know vanilla Ice Cream with an orange sherbet shell. She was recommending it because it has added Fiber to keep you regular, something that helps both pre and post op! I decided to try it today because I had all of the ingredients at home: 8 oz of 1% Milk 1 scoop of Vanilla Protein powder (I am a Syntrax nectar Sweets Girl - so mine is Vanille Bean Torte) 1 heaping tablespoon Citrucel sugar free SmartFiber(This is the orange flavor) I put this in my shaker bottle and went to town, and then I did what I do every morning, transferred it to an insulated travel cup filled with ice. Now in hindsight this would also be great in the blender with the ice all blended in - but I am telling you that on my drive into work this morning I was in 50/50 bar heaven! I highly recommend this to everyone if you are looking for that citrus vanilla yumminess for your next Protein shake - try it with whatever flavor of Vanilla protein shake mix you have on hand! I might try it with Water tomorrow to see if the calories can be decreased - here is what MFP says are the stats for the shake as described above with 1% Milk (could be tried with water or nonfat or almond milk) Calories 234 Protein 33g Carbs 13g Fiber 2g Sugar 12 (from the Milk) Fat 3 1% Milk is 110 cals, 9g of protein, 13g of Carbs, 12g of Sugar and 3g of Fat - so I am definitely trying this with water or unsweetened almond milk vanilla next time!

I agree with @@Kindle in fact this is exactly the program my doctor recommends - watch your calories (I am at 800 for my sleeve age - 2 1/2 months), Protein first, vegetables second and if you can maybe a bite or two of complex carbs. No white bread, white rice or potatoes. High Fiber crackers and multigrain flax flat breads in extreme moderation. This seems to be the charm for me so far - but I am still a newbie ;-D

Ok - sooo many questions! I want to help - please don't misunderstand my questions for anything but trying to be helpful: When you say you have to eat more than your body wants - you are struggling to get in your calories/protein each day? What are you eating on a regular day? What are you drinking? Are you taking any medications that might interfere with your weight loss? You said your plan is 1200 calories - are you eating 1200 calories? If less, how much less? Which leads me to my next question... Are you logging on My Fitness Pal or some other food/calorie logging application/Log? It can really help - they say that people who estimate their calories are incorrect by 25% - you could be eating 1500 or more calories. You could be eating 900 calories... Are you exercising? I find that when I do at least an hour of either heavy duty home chores (Like laundry up and down the stairs with heavy loads) or gardening, or vacuuming, the weight comes off the next day. Even if it is light chores or a walk during the week and the heavy stuff on the weekends. This weekend I went to a BBQ, spent 4 hours on my feet and played ping pong with the men for 30 mins and the next day the scale went down again. I have always felt that activity is a better way to get the scale moving than under eating. Especially if you believe the "Starvation Mode" argument. At 2.5 months I am just only able to get in 800 calories - they say at 3-4 months I should be up to 1000 and 1200 by my one year anniversary, some days it is easy and others it is hard. Trying to get your Protein 100% from food (meaning no protein shakes) can make it even harder - your sleeve says no more! @@missbrown30 is right when she says get your protein in with a shake (or even a bar)! I drink one shake a day - or if I have Breakfast with my family I will blend it with a ton of ice in the evening to have an icy treat. I keep bars in my purse, half bar meets my snack requirements and gives me a boost of protein when I find myself with bad food options. What would you say is the reason you have stalled at 50 lbs at 13 months? We are all in the same boat here - you can share and maye we can get to the bottom of this together...

Totally agree on the Syntrex Fuzzy Navel. It is awesome!. Did I read correctly that you 1 year + 1month post surgery? What does your Doctor say about your progress? Are you eating lots of sugars? Do you drink enough fluids? When I get behind on fluids I notice the scale doesn't move. As soon as I get my fluids in, the scale starts dropping again.