Skywalker

According to my bariatric surgeon, it's possible. I asked them the same question, i.e. "If I have 80 lbs to lose, does that mean I'm going to lose only 40 to 50?" She just smiled and told me that most of their patients lost 80-100 lbs within a year (so 100% or more of excess weight), and the nutritionist who told me this was downright scrawny herself. I hope, like you, that they're correct.

I feel pretty gross and bloated tonight. I've been really good on the pre-op diet and am not having alcohol/soda/caffeine anymore, but feel I might be gaining weight anyway. I don't know why. The appearance of new red stretch marks reaching up to my breasts has shown itself. I hope the lackluster results I am seeing now are for dietary habits a few months back because my body's recent response to better eating seems to be really discouraging. This is the exact thing that caused me to fall off diets again and again--hard effort with no or negative results. I just don't understand it.

Have no surgery scheduled yet, just over halfway through the six month approval process. Was hoping to get it this fall.

Was wondering about alcohol use and surgery/anesthesia. What is generally considered the rule for drinking when waiting to get surgery? Omit all alcohols or just certain types? Restrict intake to a certain level or cut it out completely? I enjoy a couple glasses of wine a few nights a week, but I can cut it out if necessary. I had read something that it is good to stop all alcohol 3-8 weeks before surgery as it can affect anesthesia, but I don't really know. I just want to be as safe as possible. (And obvious yes, I understand there would be no alcohol 48 hours before and after surgery, but I was looking more at long term use rules)

In regards to the skin sagging (or stretching), I've heard that using a lotion with Vitamin E helps, especially since it's supposed to be good for skin elasticity. I might try it.

I mean no offense with this question, so no one please take it that way, but I've been reading a lot about extensive diet restrictions, both before and after the surgery. Some examples are (1) Don't have Fluid with your meals (2) Don't ever have sweets again (3) For that matter, don't have Cereal and have fruit pretty sparingly. The push is Protein, protein, protein. So my question is (again, no offense to anyone, because I just want to understand)--wouldn't these extreme dietary restrictions work without the surgery? What is it about the surgery that makes the weight loss a done deal, since a person is already radically changing their diet (in other words, what is the point of the surgery, or what does it do for you that you couldn't naturally do for yourself?) Thanks in advance for feedback...

Sorry to butt in, but some of the numbers in this thread confuse me. Namely, the 600 calorie and the 5,000 calorie....are you guys serious? That's two extreme ends of the spectrum. Once upon a time, I was on a 1,000 calorie diet a day and lost weight to where I was 92 lbs once; my family worried I was anorexic (that's the key word in this sentence, with that little calories). And then, the 5,000 calories; I don't think I could get that many calories in now. How is it a post sleeve person can fit in 5,000 calories? And are you guys absolutely sure the post sleeve diet could dip to as little as 600 calories...that seems significantly under a healthy range for weight loss.

gogogirl--Interesting. I was wondering how something could be a "slider" when your new stomach had a finite amount of space anyway. And like I mentioned, when I get so thirsty during a meal, I often keep eating the meal just hoping to get some Water out of it. The fullest I've ever felt (prior to surgery) was when I would have two California rolls/sushi and several glasses of water--very full feeling. McButterpants (and anyone else)--in regards to smoothies, I know there are the homemade kind, and then the sweet kind (like you might have made for you in an ice cream shop). Usually when I say smoothie I mean when you take home ingredients and mix them--such as milk or water, fruits, and some Splenda. Is this the kind of thing you guys eat?

I'm truly sorry to hear about your family/friend deaths, Linda. I can't even imagine losing a child, although my aunt did (in 2000, her son died of massive heart attach at age 52). Not to put down anyone's story, but probably what hit me the hardest was losing my cat/companion in 2009. It was probably his time--he was around 19--but I grew up with him and was closer to him than most of my family. Honestly, the only person I've ever loved more than him was my daughter.

So would you say Water with meals slows down the rate of weight loss, or stops it all together? Another thing the nutritionist said was to strain the water out of Soups (and, newsflash--if you strain the water out it's not soup, it's soggy vegetables so you may as well never have soup again) Do any of you, post sleeve, have anything like fruit smoothies or ice cream (which are impossible to separate from their water)?

Met with the nutritionist and she gave me the blow by blow. I'm finding most of it surprisingly easy to follow (swearing off carbonated fluids and caffeine, I don't really need them), so I've basically been drinking all Water. The thing that's hard is not having water with my meals because I'm so thirsty. It feels stupid waiting around for the 45 minutes to pass just so I can have a drink, and I often can't do it. I found myself eating more once just because I was thirsty and trying to get fluid/etc. out of the food. How solid is this rule for "no water during meals"? If you have water with your meals, will it stretch out your stomach and will you regain all the weight? This just feels horrible not to at least be able to sate my thirst that the food brings on...

Sorry to drop back in after several days......so having hypothyroidism (controlled by medication) is not a contraindication for surgery?

My mom and aunt swear by him, but Oz always seemed kind of like a running infomercial/medical prostitute to me.

That sucks doesn't it? My husband only had to put out a modicum of effort and his weight would come off on Weight Watchers; it would make me so frustrated. I would be hungry, logging everything, and my weight would come off like 0.5 lbs every two weeks, if that.

I can kind of see both sides, but sorry she's not more supportive. I took a look at your BMI, and you'd think she would be a little more concerned about your health (rather than her food selection) at almost 300 lbs. I don't know if maybe there is a way you guys could compromise, like she puts her treats in a locked/secured drawer in the fridge or cabinets so you couldn't access them?

Last time I went to costco they had liquid Vitamins that they were giving out samples for. They said they were more easily absorbed by the cells. It might have been this one:

I guess everyone has a different reaction to this. I went out to lunch with my banded friend and she confessed she loves watching people eat, even though she can't eat it all herself. She even asked me to take a couple carbohydrate bites so she could watch me with rapt attention. Strange.

God bless you Katie, and I hope it gets better for you. It doesn't seem fair that insurance would deny a surgery that has such benefits just because someone has multiple complex issues that could cause a weight gain or loss. If I was an insurance company, I would take a holistic look at the person after their six month trial, and if they met all the checklist requirements (BMI, co morbidities, commitment, etc.) just approve it. Hopefully this will turn around for you and start a good momentum...

I thought this was interesting. A Stanford study (from a few years back) concluded that those who lost weight via WLS tended to have a moderate weight loss "halo" effect on their family members as well, even if they didn't get WLS: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8831352/Anti-obesity-surgery-causes-family-halo-effect.html

You've lost 15-25 lbs total in a month. Would you really want to speed that up? That's greater than the safe recommended loss of 2 lbs per week.

I agree; it does seem like there's a disproportionate amount of women. Not sure why that is (maybe they carry their weight differently or place more value on their looks?) I was trying to talk my obese husband into considering these surgical options, but in spite of being miserable because of his weight, he won't bite. Oh well. Best of luck to you getting a male cohort; perhaps one of the search filters or the mods could steer you in the direction of a male sleever?

I didn't know airplanes had different size belts (although I'm blessed to have never had the problem of not being able to fit in just one seat). Is this kind of like how manufacturers can't seem to have uniformity in sizes? There are some male XL sweaters that fit me with space, and some 3XL that are too tight. It's frustrating trying to shop online with all the variance...

It sounds like he might have some emotional maladjustment of his own. You know how they say losing weight can change a relationship (as well as your relationship with food)? Sounds like he has a unique bond with the extra weight, and it's something he's identified with. Maybe you losing this is feeling threatening to him in some way. As for him saying, "Maybe you wouldn't feel the need to go through with this", embrace-the-fat attitude....well, just tell that to the high cholesterol/high fat/high blood pressure and sleep apnea co-morbidities that are marching an eventual death our way. That s***s not made up, and it's not something you can just blow off as mental; they are real problems that are really related to the excess lbs.

Hi, I've taken Phentermine. I had a not very bright doctor prescribe it for me and tell me I would drop weight no problem. My appetite was curbed and I think I lost five lbs or something, but I would lie awake at night with my heart feeling like it was racing. Not a good feeling. I could tell it wasn't good for me. She put my husband on it as well. When he went into the ER (probably not related to the Phentermine) his doctor thought it was a stupid decision of hers and pulled him off it right away. From what I can tell it's basically a hyper-stimulant and about as good for your body as slamming Red Bulls all the time. I'd pass.

How do you feel one week out now? Are you sore or feeling kind of normal?