ChavaBling

I've had 2 tiny sips of ye olde sodey pop since I arrived in Sleeveland, and they were both strange experiences. The sensation was odd, tingly, and I felt immediately that I should not take another sip. One was diet Dad's root beer, YUM! The other was Coke Zero, which was delicious, I'm not going to lie. It might not be a coincidence that so many obese people are "addicted" to diet soda? I know skinny people are too, but skinny doesn't equal healthy! I've heard some evidence that diet soda is still pretty bad for us in a number of ways, I'm not a health professional though.

I feel you. I have a really, really hard time getting my 60 grams without using a supplement. Since surgery, I am having a very hard time tolerating any of the bars or powders- even Quest. I can taste the "chemicals", as insane as that sounds.

@@Hilary Epstein Cohen I was only in the hospital for one night, a total of about 27 hours. I was ready to leave! Everything went extremely well though, and I had no pain at all- but I also used every single possible push time on my PCA pump. I was flying so high, my husband took my iphone away from me so I would stop sending nonsensical text messages to people (including my boss- whoops!) I didn't lose much the fist month- maybe 7-8 lbs, but the weight started coming off very quickly after week 4 or 5.

@@polavsg I am going to send you the same DM I sent @@bpbqueen last week- we are actively trying to put a meet-up together! The reservoir is great! We were actually talking about some ways to maybe exercise WHILE we support one another & gab it up!

Mah nishmah, achoti?! It is important to have realistic expectations of what this "tool" can do for you! That's why you may want to ask your surgeon about their goal weight for you, because it may be different than the one you have for yourself. As someone who had not previously had any kind of surgical procedure, I wanted to know everything about the process- from check-in to waiting room to surgery prep to recovery. Check this site for a great list of things to bring with you to the hospital. I DEFINITELY wanted to know what, if any, tubes would be coming out of me when I woke up. My surgeon does not typically place a drainage tube or breathing intubator, and I was VERY happy about that. PAIN MEDS. Ok, I was shocked when in Yerushalayim, I had to explain to the pharmacist (in detail) why I wanted to buy some Immodium (LOL). I know sabras (and olim) are tougher than tough, but you may want to have that frank discussion with your doctor/anesthesiologist to let them know exactly what type of pain relief you expect. I wish you the best of luck! Please dm me if you have any other questions. Shalom u'vracha!

@SMO @nsquared @@dansgem Oh man, peeps. I feel ya! I'm 8 mos out. Since I was 2 months post-op, I have not been able to stomach fake food/chemical food. I can taste the fakeness. I have taken a bite of a Protein bar, chewed once or twice, and spit it out. Premier Protein, the shakes I used to love, taste like drinking a "melted Frisbee"- hella plastic. I don't see how it is better for us to eat super-processed, unpronounceable ingredients. I WILL USE REAL (greek yogurt) CREAM cheese ON MY MORNING PIECE OF HIGH Fiber, HIGH PROTEIN TOAST! And, I would rather drink something totally plain that use sugar substitute. Note: I LURRRRVED SPLENDA pre-op. Now, I can finally understand what all those people were telling me all those years about the "fake taste". I honestly never ever noticed it before. My NUT definitely encourages supplement use and sugar-free beverages, but there must be alternatives for those of us trying to "eat clean". My go-to sugar free drink is Water or unsweetened tea. The side effect of me eating only "real food" has been that I rarely make my protein goal. I could supplement with shakes but it makes me gag. Any ideas for an easy-to-digest natural (plant based?) protein boost?

@@BLERDgirl Could you give me specifics on your preferred plant-Proteins? I am having a hard time hitting my daily Protein goal (60 g), even at 8 mos out. I am so, soooo tired of dairy. makes me farty and bloated ALL THE TIME. I do eat lean meat, but I am struggling to consume this much meat to get in my 60 g of protein. I was veg for 6 or 7 years. Prior to surgery, I ate chicken & fish, but not frequently. Now I dabble in red meat as well, but I don't want to rely on meat!!

@@BLERDgirl you are the SHEEEEEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOLZ girl!! YAAASSSS!!!!!

@@polavsg @@bpbqueen @@FitnFabfor2014 @@IcanMakeit East Bay (WC)!! I am young n fun n looking for some compadres to be on this journey with. I find it absolutely unacceptable that there is only ONE WLS SUPPORT GROUP in the area, and it's on a Tuesday morning in Concord- not really great for people that are employed!! I have a private meeting space in a public building that we could use for free to meet- I just need some peeps! I have had a lot of trouble locating "bay area" support groups on this website. Also, the Bay Area is HUGE and we probably need separate EB, NB, SB, and SF groups. Please send me a message if anyone is interested in getting something going. Even just 2 people can get together for exercise, support, shopping, whatever! It would be so amazing to have a friend/person who understands! And who doesn't need every single thing about your new lifestyle explained... I can organize/host in WC.

oh man... i didn't poo for 9 days after surgery. It was cray cray. I started adding A LOT of Sunsweet Suprafiber to my smoothies AND takling 2x dose of Miralax for days 6-8...then on Day 9 the miracle happened. Now that I am 8 mos out, I make sure to include a lot of high Fiber foods in my diet...or it somes back REAL QUICK. Something about super-high Protein diet...it's binding (much like our decision, lol).

I love adding chia to yogurt, granola, smoothies, whatever- they are amazing little seeds with incredible health benefits! I always make sure to consume them immediately or they get pretty gross (I find the swollen seeds to have a very unpleasant consistency). I have never had a tummy ache or any digestional issues from chia (or flax).

OH STALLS! Soooo frustrating. I has a BIG stall the first few weeks after surgery. No weight loss happened for the first 3 weeks, then I lost about 12 lbs in 2 weeks. Additionally, I had a stall at 2 months that lasted about 10 days. AND!!! After I hit the 6-month mark, my weight loss screeched to a halt. As I understand it, the "rapid weight loss" phase lasts about 6 months. Well, I didn't lose ANY WEIGHT for about 7 weeks. I was exercising, eating right, and I was literally fluctuating between 183- 181 for almost 2 months. Then I busted through that and have lost 7 lbs in 3 weeks. I think the stalls are normal and a way for our bodies to adjust (I am not a medical expert, though). It seems like the early ones are simply a biological function and unavoidable. It does seem like after you have a handle on eating & nutrition post-op, you can figure out ways to "shake up" your routine/body and kickstart the loss again. In my case, I was reallllyyyyy tired of the 7 week stall so I got super-duper strict about my calorie intake & walked an extra 20 min each day. It worked!

I FEEL YOUR PAIN AND FRUSTRATION! I am 7 months out, I still throw up once or twice a week from food, and maybe once or twice a week from Water (boo). I'm soooo sick of barfing. Ugh. Also sick of round the clock burping, gurgling, and tooting (yes. that's right, constant). I don't even know what I am eating that is giving me this crazy gas, but it sounds like I swallowed an old, creaky pirate ship that's sailing the high seas. Yes, it sounds like there is a wooden yacht of some sort sailing around my tummy with all that dang creaking. I know (I'm 100% sure) that my food coming back up is due to eating too fast and taking bites that are too big. Look, the way I see it, it took me 30 years to build up these terrible eating habits, and it is going to take a long time to completely change the way I ingest food after all these decades! I have found that I can eat almost anything, if I take it slowly enough. Then again, bread, Pasta, and tomato-sauced foods just do not agree with me anymore. This half- Italian girl from NJ is crying inside. I have found that no matter what I try at a restaurant, I throw up. I don't know if it is the added fat/sugar/salt, or the fact that it is greasier than home-cooked, or simply that eating at a restaurant is still "new" to me and I can't focus on eating slowly- it might be all of those things. However, I'd rather not eat out than get sick again in a public bathroom. Again, ugh. Water- esp. cold water- is still very difficult to keep down unless I take tiny, controlled sips. It is still hard not to chug water, esp. during exercise. I can pretty much guarantee if i sip water too quickly, it will "come out through the in door." I am trying to give you some honest feedback. The vomiting has been the most frustrating part of this experience, hands down. It has led me to be a lot more careful (even though I was already being extremely careful!). It has gotten much, much better over the months. I'm hoping it eventually resolves completely as my new choices become "habits".

I started losing handfuls of hair arouns 2.5 months out. Tomorrow is my 7 MONTHS SURGIVERSARY and I am still losing a lot more hair than before surgery, but it is slowing down. The loss is noticeable, but apparently, only to me. Not to my fiancee, BFF, or even my stylist! I am lucky to have very thick hair to begin with, so now my hair is sort of "average thickness". I'm actually liking having less bushy hair for once in my life, but I'd also like it to stop. All the hair loss adds a lot of time to my showers.

I am in the East Bay. I had my surgery in Pleasanton. We have NO BARIATRIC WEIGHT LOSS SUPPORT GROUP in Walnut Creek- crazy!! I've been wanting to start one but it seems so hard to find people to come!

At six months out, I still eat too fast. I throw up several times a week because of this. It is exhausting, makes me feel terrible, and I constantly worry about damaging my sleeve. I'm fine during Breakfast and lunch but dinner is always a struggle. Sitting at the table and removing all distractions really helps me. Also, I struggle to even admit this, but if it is a food that I really like, I have more trouble with eating slowly. The old tendency to "scarf" comes back! Also- WATER! You have to slow down, and you will, because sliming Water all of the time will get real old, real fast. Little sips at first, but I still can't take more than 1-2 decent sized sips of water at a time without getting nauseous. So, at 6 months, I am still struggling with the mental part of all this, but I still feel it was worth it.

Good morning! I am about 6 months out and I really struggle with this. I struggle to find something on a menu that my sleeve will tolerate. Then, if I order food, I struggle to eat it extremely slowly (the only way Sleevie Wonder can handle things right now). It's tasty and everyone else is eating normally. I think it might take years of practice to get this one down. Then, I struggle to keep the food down. I don't know if it is the added fat or sugar or what, but after eating nearly 100% of meals at home for the last year, I have sooo much trouble keeping restaurant food in my stomach- I get sick almost every time. I'm sorry! I'm sure that's not what you want to hear, but this weekend it really came in to focus, because of all the unusual eating that occurs. Here's the one thing that I have had a lot of luck with: Pho, vietnamese Soup. I definitely only eat a few noodles but the chicken and the broth are excellent. I have had Pho several times at our local shop since surgery and it feels amazing and tastes delicious. The power of soup! Except, I know people have mixed feelings on soup, too, b/c of the liquid factor. Good luck on your travels.

100 just feels arbitrary after all the work I've put into my new lifestyle. Still, it's a BFD, I guess I have about 60 lbs to go. My long term goal is 127, which is literally, the highest I can weigh and have a 24.99 BMI. I know BMI is just one metric, but it's the thing that's been shoved in my face for the last decade as "proof" of what was "wrong" with me. So I'd like to flip ole' BMI the bird. If I end up looking or feeling too skinny or unhealthy, I think my body will let me know when to stop losing. It's definitely slowed down at almost 6 months out.

Thank you! And good eye! What l meant is, I started getting serious exercising & losing weight in July 2014, when I recorded my HW of 291. I lost 31 lbs prior to surgery and 70 since! Woot!

ETA: Sorry, some of those files are huge. I still havent quite figured out BP's photo sitch.

Attention short ladies! My clothes will fit size 18-22, 4'11" to 5'2". Pants have been tailored to fit my small stature. Fiancee's clothing will fit men 5'10" to 6'2". 44x30 pants, XXL shirts. My fiancee and I are located in the East Bay (CoCo County) and we have 2 huge boxes of pretty nice clothing! We are happy that these clothes no longer fit but some of the pieces are very nice. Nothing in this collection is stained, has holes, or rips. All of these items could be worn to work. We have ladies' shirts, dresses, pants, sweaters, blazers, and more. We have lots of men's dress shirts and khaki pants. We are in our late twenties/early thirties, so the style of clothing reflects that. (Torrid, Old Navy, Forever 21, Gap, Target, etc) We'd really like these clothes to go to people who need them. We'd ideally like you to take both boxes! We would happily accept cash or trade for these clothes but are also willing to give them to you if you pick them up. I also have a gorgeous Lane Bryant velvet blazer, in Midnight Blue, size 22. It's only been worn a few times but I paid $90 for it last year...I can part with it for $25. It's beautiful and I'm grumpy I can't wear it anymore LOL. Send me a message if you're interested!