RXG

The first fews days of dry heaving, not being able to drink a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g., feeling groggy, weak, sick, tired, yeast infection (yikes).
Now I need to add that I'm 16 days post op and I feel really good. So really the misery was short lived, I'm losing weight and feeling great. No point in dwelling on the bad stuff when there's a pot of gold on the way to the end of the rainbow. ya know?

On Valentine's Day my hubby and I took our boys to their favorite pizza place. Of course I was nervous about the temptations it would pose for me, but I decided to face them head on. The hostess walked us over to a BOOTH- my worst nightmare. I hesitated for a second or 2 staring at what seemed like a tight space. I nervously glanced at my husband who quickly gave me a nod of encouragement. So... I went for it and slid into the booth. YES, I said SLID! I ended up sitting between BOTH of my boys COMFORTABLY! It felt so awesome that I didn't give a second thought to eating what they were eating. I was absolutely fine with just a few bites of salad and a meatball while the guys ate bread, pizza, etcetera.

I can't believe it's been nearly six months!
HW (6/13) - 289
Start of Pre-op diet 12/1/13 - 280
SW on 12/16/13 - 262
CW - 197
I'm very happy with my loss and I feel great. I started in a size 24 and am now in a misses 16 inching into a misses 14. My calories probably average 700 - 800. About 3 months out I was having frequent dizzy spells, at the recommendation of my doctor I added carbs to include about 50 - 60 carbs a day on my heavy workout days, this helped. On my non-workout days I keep my carbs as low as possible, maybe around 20 or 30 in the form of a Quest bar or some non fat milk. Things I eat with some frequency are eggs, baby bell light cheese, turkey or chicken boars head lunch meat, almonds, berries or a peach on occasion, beef Jerky, tuna, trader joe chicken patties, 3 Chucks ultimate fish sticks maybe 1X every few weeks, sliced eye of round from the deli, shrimp, alaska salmon (been meaning to try salmon burgers but have too much salmon in my freezer to justify the purchase) tofu chunks, avacado, cottage cheese with s/f raspberry jam, or sugarfree pudding. I thought I'd eat more greek yogurt but I don't. I drank premier Protein pretty faithfully in the morning for about 4 months. I stopped, then started adding a few a week just because it is an easy no brainer Breakfast and I'm super tired of eggs!
I still take prilosec, the GI doc just upped my dose to 2X per day. I had cut myself back to 1X per day because it kept it under control, he said taking it 2X a day would be better. I had an upper GI done last week which confirmed that I had GERD (well I already knew that!). I've had to cut out coffee for the most part becase of the acid and I really miss it. I drink Chike sometimes but it's expensive. I also eat Quest bars about 2X per week (on my way to the gym because I can't go home first, more of a convenience thing), My appetite is increasing a bit, having to use discipline more these days. I seem to be physically hungry every 3 hours or so. My loss has slowed to 1-2 lbs a week. I exercise 4 - 5 hours a week. 2.5 hours of Zumba and 2 hours of strength classes at a dance studio. I was only exercising 2 or so hours a week but got really serious about it about 2 months ago. I just keep thinking about that first year post surgery being so important so I'm trying to really be proactive. I will admit I haven't been the best about Vitamins. I've finally started being more consistent. I didn't lose any hair. If you have not tried the GNC B-12 chews, give them a try. They are like a red-bull in chewable form. Nice little burst of energy!
This journey can be challenging with the head hunger. I've been struggling in the last month with carb cravings. I'm not giving in but boy do I want to. I've made some tweaks to my diet this week including cutting out the sweet tea crystal light I was drinking as it has corn Syrup solids. I think this might have somethign to do with my cravings. I am also struggling with wanting to eat post workout and before bed because I'm physically hungry, but also just because I want to eat! If I give in I usually have a few spoons of cottage cheese but feel guilty about it.
Hope all my fellow December peeps are going well!

Breakfast 1 (6:00 am): Premier Protein chocolate shake
Breakfast 2 (8:00 am): 2 boiled eggs, 1 whole / 1 egg white only
Snack (10:00 am): 1/2 gala apple with 1 tablespoon Peanut Butter
lunch (11:45 am): small garden salad with cucumbers, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cheese, and 2 oz grilled chicken
Snack (3:00 pm): 1/2 pack of Sweet and Salty Mix
[This evening I will have...]
Pre-Workout Drink: 6 ounces of Water with one scoop of N.O-Xplode
Post-Workout Drink: Premier Protein Shake
Dinner: 3 oz of a lean meat sauteed in olive oil + 1-2 oz of complex carb

Congratulations on getting pregnant! I don't know the answer, but wanted to give you a hug and to tell you that everything works itself out in time. If you want the surgery down the road, it will happen...even if you have to qualify all over again.
-Raine

Congratulations on getting pregnant! I don't know the answer, but wanted to give you a hug and to tell you that everything works itself out in time. If you want the surgery down the road, it will happen...even if you have to qualify all over again.
-Raine

Congratulations on getting pregnant! I don't know the answer, but wanted to give you a hug and to tell you that everything works itself out in time. If you want the surgery down the road, it will happen...even if you have to qualify all over again.
-Raine

Not to sound harsh, but damn it, you know what to do, now that you've undergone this major/life-changing surgery...quit whining and just do it!

The first two months were the most challenging for me, as well as almost everyone else!

You will get through this, however you have to want it, nobody can do it for you...and trust me, you do want it!

This has been a blessing for me and my wife (she was sleeved exactly 2 months after me)...and you will see, the transformation will be friggin' incredible! You cannot fathom how much the weight loss is going to change your life...you just gotta get through the gettin' through!

Good luck and Godspeed for a quick recovery! (Tough love rant over! )

only disappointment with WLS
like many, many, many, many, many others say................
i only wish i had done this surgery years ago
can't go backwards
can't change the past
life is good, great, wonderful, amazing, terrific (get my point!!)
happy camper in the neighborhood
DOS
12/15/11
235 lbs
5'3
57 years OLD
present
130 lb
GOAL
still 5'3
60 years YOUNG
congrats to me
kathy

Am 4 weeks post op and have weighed 225 for the last 2 weeks! So depressing:-( my thoughts this morning were did I do this to my body just to lose 23 lbs in a month? Really? My clothes are getting loose on the tops not the bottoms.... Anybody have any suggestions to get me out of this funk I will listen... I want to get out of the 20's!!!

If you click on my profile and look through my pictures, I posted a 6 month scar picture. I will never be a bikini model but I could care less! I weighed about 175 lbs in the pictures.

My stall was about three weeks out and lasted for about a week. I was sleeved on 12/18. My weight lose is now steady and I really try only to weight myself a couple of time a week but that's not working to well. I'm still on phase two of my physician's diet. Don't move to fruits and veggies for another two weeks. :-(. Missing my veggies. My physician is conservative on diets. Hope that's a good thing. I go back to work on the 29th and I'm looking forward to getting back in a routine. I'm trying to get my daily meals on my work schedule to make it easier. I work some crazy hours and take call at least three days a week. My days can last from 10 to 16 hours especially this time of year when so many dialysis patients are hospitalize due to illness. Taking a big tub of my favorite Protein Powder to leave in my locker for those O My Goodness moments need some energy. Need some ideas on easy meals for Breakfast and lunch.

Yes..2014 is our year! congrats! What date were you sleeved? What was your starting weight?

Stalled for about 10 days now. Sleeved Dec 23. So glad for this board because I'm waiting it out and not stressing. How are you doing?

I think my hardest adjustment was the mental and emotional changes. The physical has been manageable. I actually went back to work 1 week and 2 days later (clinic nurse). It at least helped distract me and get back some sense of normalcy versus OBSESSING over what I could or could not do. I had been on an emotional rollercoaster at times (just like the surgeon told me could possibly happen). I thank God I haven't/didn't use food for comfort like I would have in the past. So far my weightloss is slow and steady (3 weeks post op and still anticipating the dreaded stall though). On average I get in all my Protein and Water with some days slacking a lil on the water. From one day to the next sometimes I was happy then sad, laughing then wanting to cry, hopeful then depressed and full of anxiety, positive then negative, motivated then discouraged...etc. Just an all out pity party of "woe is me"...LOL!!! I had to keep reminding myself why I did this. I realized I have to take control because I determine my success or failure. When I look at old pics, reflect on my numerous past FAILED weight loss attempts since I was a teenager, or see that now some of the jeans/sweats I wore 3 weeks ago now fit a lot looser...I get my a$$ back on track. Reading posts from everyone else also helped keep me going.
Therefore I BEG each of you, as we go back to our "normal lives" and for some return to work, don't forget your December Sleever Family and please stay in touch with your updates or just Hi! THIS HAS BEEN THE BEST SUPPORT GROUP FOR ME!!!! THANKS EVERYONE AND I WISH YOU MUCH SUCCESS!!!!

Hey guys, wondering how you would Celebrate a big milestone. I'm at 202 now and haven't been under 200 for (too many years to count). Normally a celebration would be eating out. (Ha!) So I'm not sure what to do. But I wanna do something when I'm in ONEDERLAND!!

The first fews days of dry heaving, not being able to drink a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g., feeling groggy, weak, sick, tired, yeast infection (yikes).
Now I need to add that I'm 16 days post op and I feel really good. So really the misery was short lived, I'm losing weight and feeling great. No point in dwelling on the bad stuff when there's a pot of gold on the way to the end of the rainbow. ya know?

Yup, had that. For me, I couldn't drink anything too cold, warm drinks sat better with my new stomach. It's trial and error to begin with but it sounds normal.
Congratulations on your surgery and good luck!

Finally broke 2 week stall! Down one pound today...a whole pound! Lol 224! Thank you sweet Jesus!

I said the same thing yesterday.. Did I do all this for 20lbs? I was sleeved on the 12/26. I haven't lost any weight in the last week and it's kind of scary. I try to do everything right.. I won't say I do because I know I mess up sometimes but really? Do these stalls happen to people losing weight other ways? I haven't heard or experienced it so I was just curious why with WLS?

Butter - an hour commute? That's rough. I did that for a year and it got old so fast.
Fiddle - thanks for the suggestions, I cannot eat oats or wheat but I can have chia and flaxseed, I put 2 TBSP in a little boiling Water and add a half tsp of coconut oil and that is my hot Cereal Breakfast, I am trying to remember to prepare a shake ahead of time so that I can immediatley drink it afterward but the Water is so tough!! I'm so full from food and I feel like I'm constantly eating, so drinking is really difficult for me. Basically, the only days I get my full water intake are days when I barely eat.
My body knew what was up, by the way; it took 6 weeks of stubborness, eating 650 cals and doing Insanity 5x a week before the bulb went on and I said screw that! I switched to the compound Xfit lifting every other day with my buddy and a minimum of 1200 cals and after only 3 sessions I am already down 4 pounds, BOOM!
And Fiddle I think you will appreciate this: our weights are in a "clamshell" tent/building and yesterday the power went out in the afternoon and they weren't able to fix it. Now we are right in the heart of an Afghan winter at 8000 ft so the cold gets brutal fast, but we still went! I never took off my two sweaters, my hat, my gloves, or even changed out of my boots for my gym shoes. It was pitch dark, I could see every puff of breath, and was working out by flashlight, but I didn't stop!!

Here are links to several VSG diets from well-respected bariatric surgeons, hospitals, and clinics around the world. I didn't make this list for the purpose of "diet shopping". It is remarkable how similar the advice is in most of these lists. We all know it:
Protein first Lots of Protein (I think the lowest plan here calls for 50 grams) Don't drink with meals Drink 8+ glasses of Water a day If your surgeon's plan is not on this list already and it's published online, leave the link as a reply and I'll add it. Maybe we can get this thread added to the stickies. Auckland Weight Loss Surgery (New Zealand)
Baker Bariatrics
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Columbia University
Cornell
Goodnight Surgical
HealthPoint(New Zealand)
Highland Hospital, Rochester NY
Institute for Advanced Bariatric Surgery
Johns Hopkins (diet progression first month post-op)
Johns Hopkins (Ongoing dietary guidelines)
Johns Hopkins (additional info)
Kaiser
London Bariatric Group (UK)
London Obesity Clinic (UK)
Miami HOPE Center
Murfressboro Surgical Specialists
North London Obesity Surgery Services (UK)
Northwest Obesity Center
Peachtree Bariatrics
Pinnacle Health
St. George Obesity Surgery (Australia)
St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton (Canada)
University of Missouri
Upper Gastro Intestinal Surgery (Dr. Talbot, Australia)
Virginia Hospital Center
Walter Reed - Booklet or Powerpoint

Hi RXG, Gosh well I suppose what I have kept off is due to a daily struggle of doing the right things. I can't workout like crazy anymore but I do something! I do some recumbent bike and muscle toning. Then I always ALWAYS do the Protein first approach when eating my meal. Then I eat my veggies. Then I'll eat some carbs, whatever it is. I still get full pretty quickly, even 3.5 years out thank goodness.
I can try little fad ideas like the bootcamp or even the 8 hour diet which I'm going to start tomorrow probably. But the real is no matter how many hours I allow myself to eat, I better not put more calories in than I'm burning in a day. For the rest of my life.

The first fews days of dry heaving, not being able to drink a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g., feeling groggy, weak, sick, tired, yeast infection (yikes).
Now I need to add that I'm 16 days post op and I feel really good. So really the misery was short lived, I'm losing weight and feeling great. No point in dwelling on the bad stuff when there's a pot of gold on the way to the end of the rainbow. ya know?

I am 3 weeks out and having the same issue. Showering and dressing and getting downstairs wipes me out not to mention exercising. For a few days I had a burst of energy in the afternoon and walked for 30 min., got some housework done, stuff like that. These last few days is a whole 'nother story. Sigh...