kpay10

My surgeon/program didn't require a purée stage. I was allowed to go from full liquids to soft foods at 2 weeks. Today, I was moved to regular diet at 6 weeks, but introducing one new food at a time.

I haven't kept it a secret at all, and I also update on FB (occasionally) with weight loss updates. I really don't have the time or energy to waste on what people think, and for the record, I've had such positive feedback and support, it helps me stay motivated! I'm proud of my accomplishments and I want to share that with others, not hide it like I'm ashamed of what I've done! While I'm doing all the hard work, my sleeve deserves some credit, too! LOL

Hi all! I haven't been on for a while, as I've been very busy living life and LOVING it! I hit my goal weight several months ago, and am now actually 25 lbs. below my set goal weight! I feel fantastic and want to pay it forward, therefore, I have started a Blog! If you'd like to check it out, you can find it at kellyshrinks.weebly.com
Best of luck to everyone and I hope you are all doing wonderful!!

Hi all! I haven't been on for a while, as I've been very busy living life and LOVING it! I hit my goal weight several months ago, and am now actually 25 lbs. below my set goal weight! I feel fantastic and want to pay it forward, therefore, I have started a Blog! If you'd like to check it out, you can find it at kellyshrinks.weebly.com
Best of luck to everyone and I hope you are all doing wonderful!!

Hi all! I haven't been on for a while, as I've been very busy living life and LOVING it! I hit my goal weight several months ago, and am now actually 25 lbs. below my set goal weight! I feel fantastic and want to pay it forward, therefore, I have started a Blog! If you'd like to check it out, you can find it at kellyshrinks.weebly.com
Best of luck to everyone and I hope you are all doing wonderful!!

I just got my date today! Soooooo excited and ready for this!!!

Way to go!! I'm almost 6 months out, 127 lbs. down (since I started my pre-op diet almost a year ago), and ONE LB. away from "Onederland!" I can't wait to get there!!!!

Today is my first Thanksgiving since being "sleeved" on April 30th. My journey in pre-op began November 1st, 2013 and since then I have lost 140 lbs!!!! I am 22 pounds to goal, and I feel fantastic!! This journey has come with some sacrifices. It is not a quick fix, however, it is a wonderful tool, if you use it correctly! I exercise 5 days a week or more, I eat clean, avoid all carbs and sugars, and live on Protein, veggies, and a tiny bite of fruit now and then. I weigh and log everything that I possibly can on My Fitness Pal and I am sticking to an 800 calorie diet until I reach goal. I am bummed at times that I can't eat some of the yummy foods my family and others are eating, but I am in such a different mindset now that I get over it within minutes and I just keep on doing my thing.
For those of you considering this surgery, I say DO IT, but keep in mind that it's not a quick fix and it won't make you "skinny" if you aren't willing to do the work. Yes, you can eat whatever you want in small amounts and lose weight initially, but from what I hear, keeping it off is the hard part. If you don't change/break those bad habits now how will you keep the weight off? That's been the struggle for us all along, right?? Just some "food for thought" on this food-laden day.
Happy Thanksgiving, all! Stay healthy and eat healthy today (and a bit of exercise won't hurt, either). Your body will be thankful!

Thanks to the wonderful program at Kaiser I have been told countless times that the surgery is a tool, not a fix. If I don't use the tool correctly, it will fail. I have been "near perfect" on my Pre Op diet since November and "perfect" on my liquid diet, leading to surgery in 10 days. I'm not having major surgery just to misuse the tool I've been given, therefore, I will do my best to live a near "perfect" post op life, as well.
Here's my analogy: I can use my tool to hammer a board to a wall ( a proper use for a hammer) and it will stay in place, or I can use my new tool to hammer Jello to a wall. It may stick and look pretty for awhile, but eventually it will slip.

Today is my first Thanksgiving since being "sleeved" on April 30th. My journey in pre-op began November 1st, 2013 and since then I have lost 140 lbs!!!! I am 22 pounds to goal, and I feel fantastic!! This journey has come with some sacrifices. It is not a quick fix, however, it is a wonderful tool, if you use it correctly! I exercise 5 days a week or more, I eat clean, avoid all carbs and sugars, and live on Protein, veggies, and a tiny bite of fruit now and then. I weigh and log everything that I possibly can on My Fitness Pal and I am sticking to an 800 calorie diet until I reach goal. I am bummed at times that I can't eat some of the yummy foods my family and others are eating, but I am in such a different mindset now that I get over it within minutes and I just keep on doing my thing.
For those of you considering this surgery, I say DO IT, but keep in mind that it's not a quick fix and it won't make you "skinny" if you aren't willing to do the work. Yes, you can eat whatever you want in small amounts and lose weight initially, but from what I hear, keeping it off is the hard part. If you don't change/break those bad habits now how will you keep the weight off? That's been the struggle for us all along, right?? Just some "food for thought" on this food-laden day.
Happy Thanksgiving, all! Stay healthy and eat healthy today (and a bit of exercise won't hurt, either). Your body will be thankful!

Today is my first Thanksgiving since being "sleeved" on April 30th. My journey in pre-op began November 1st, 2013 and since then I have lost 140 lbs!!!! I am 22 pounds to goal, and I feel fantastic!! This journey has come with some sacrifices. It is not a quick fix, however, it is a wonderful tool, if you use it correctly! I exercise 5 days a week or more, I eat clean, avoid all carbs and sugars, and live on Protein, veggies, and a tiny bite of fruit now and then. I weigh and log everything that I possibly can on My Fitness Pal and I am sticking to an 800 calorie diet until I reach goal. I am bummed at times that I can't eat some of the yummy foods my family and others are eating, but I am in such a different mindset now that I get over it within minutes and I just keep on doing my thing.
For those of you considering this surgery, I say DO IT, but keep in mind that it's not a quick fix and it won't make you "skinny" if you aren't willing to do the work. Yes, you can eat whatever you want in small amounts and lose weight initially, but from what I hear, keeping it off is the hard part. If you don't change/break those bad habits now how will you keep the weight off? That's been the struggle for us all along, right?? Just some "food for thought" on this food-laden day.
Happy Thanksgiving, all! Stay healthy and eat healthy today (and a bit of exercise won't hurt, either). Your body will be thankful!

Today is my first Thanksgiving since being "sleeved" on April 30th. My journey in pre-op began November 1st, 2013 and since then I have lost 140 lbs!!!! I am 22 pounds to goal, and I feel fantastic!! This journey has come with some sacrifices. It is not a quick fix, however, it is a wonderful tool, if you use it correctly! I exercise 5 days a week or more, I eat clean, avoid all carbs and sugars, and live on Protein, veggies, and a tiny bite of fruit now and then. I weigh and log everything that I possibly can on My Fitness Pal and I am sticking to an 800 calorie diet until I reach goal. I am bummed at times that I can't eat some of the yummy foods my family and others are eating, but I am in such a different mindset now that I get over it within minutes and I just keep on doing my thing.
For those of you considering this surgery, I say DO IT, but keep in mind that it's not a quick fix and it won't make you "skinny" if you aren't willing to do the work. Yes, you can eat whatever you want in small amounts and lose weight initially, but from what I hear, keeping it off is the hard part. If you don't change/break those bad habits now how will you keep the weight off? That's been the struggle for us all along, right?? Just some "food for thought" on this food-laden day.
Happy Thanksgiving, all! Stay healthy and eat healthy today (and a bit of exercise won't hurt, either). Your body will be thankful!

Today is my first Thanksgiving since being "sleeved" on April 30th. My journey in pre-op began November 1st, 2013 and since then I have lost 140 lbs!!!! I am 22 pounds to goal, and I feel fantastic!! This journey has come with some sacrifices. It is not a quick fix, however, it is a wonderful tool, if you use it correctly! I exercise 5 days a week or more, I eat clean, avoid all carbs and sugars, and live on Protein, veggies, and a tiny bite of fruit now and then. I weigh and log everything that I possibly can on My Fitness Pal and I am sticking to an 800 calorie diet until I reach goal. I am bummed at times that I can't eat some of the yummy foods my family and others are eating, but I am in such a different mindset now that I get over it within minutes and I just keep on doing my thing.
For those of you considering this surgery, I say DO IT, but keep in mind that it's not a quick fix and it won't make you "skinny" if you aren't willing to do the work. Yes, you can eat whatever you want in small amounts and lose weight initially, but from what I hear, keeping it off is the hard part. If you don't change/break those bad habits now how will you keep the weight off? That's been the struggle for us all along, right?? Just some "food for thought" on this food-laden day.
Happy Thanksgiving, all! Stay healthy and eat healthy today (and a bit of exercise won't hurt, either). Your body will be thankful!

Way to go!! I'm almost 6 months out, 127 lbs. down (since I started my pre-op diet almost a year ago), and ONE LB. away from "Onederland!" I can't wait to get there!!!!

Hi guys, as of yesterday i am 7 months out and have lost 121 lbs. I just entered ONEDERLAND which I have not seen in YEARS!! I weigh less than I did in high school. I walked my first 5k yesterday which was a breeze. I feel amazing and couldn't be happier with my decision to have this surgery. I'd love to lose another 30 but feel great even where I am at right now so whenever my body wants to stop losing is fine with me.
HW: 320
CW: 199
GW: 170
Before:
Now:
(My first pair of jeggings!)

That is what cracks me up about small-minded people who think that weight loss surgery is an easy way out. It is work - a lot of hard work - and math - and research - and drama. I am 9 1/2 months out and have weighed and calulated and measured and logged and exercised every day and still hit stalls. My most recent stall has been over three months, and I do not want to be done while still forty pounds from goal.
So.....Two days ago, I pulled my original pre-op materials out of storage and decided to go back to the written suggestions on post-op phase IV. I may (ok, WILL) have to give up my late-night hot chocolate because even the sugar-free cocoa mixes, and the lite whip cream, and the sugar-free chocloate Syrup have enough collective calories to contribute to my stall.
Well, double ding dang darn, the rest of this weight will come off some way some how, even if I have to cut it off the front with a plastic butter knife from my three year old granddaughter's dolly tea set.. I know with my knower that this ol' gal ain't done yet.

I am going to challenge you.. not to in any way invalidate your feelings or experiences, but rather to give you "food for thought".. so please take it in the way intended.
Can you really eat as much as you used to? Are you really as hungry as you used to be? Do you think that you can continue to lose weight (and more importantly maintain your losses!)? Could you have accomplished any of this without the sleeve?
I have lost over 160#. I started at 308... and my dream, my measure of success was to get under 200# and actually maintain it. At 5'5"; still obese. I got to about 190 and sure enough... my weight loss slowed to a crawl. At about 8-9 months post op, I was losing around 2# a MONTH!
I met with my nutritionalist and she pointed out the single worst thing I was doing food wise that created my problem.. i was eating Protein bars like candy. crap. One more thing got banned from the house. Essentially, Protein Bars had become my new junk food and they are really high carb!
I also faced my own inner feelings. I had lost about 120-125# and people gave me so many compliments, I felt so good, I could physically do things so much easier... but I still had a nice comfy protective layer of fat. I frankly looked matronly, in spite of my friends saying how good I looked, i looked like a typical overweight middle age woman. hmmm. Did I really really want to lose more? Was this good enough? Was I fearful of trying to get all the way to a normal /slim weight?
I had to face my own inner decision - much like the original decision to get WLS. What do i want to make of this? How can I leverage this tool to the fullest?
I got hardcore again. I went back to basics and pushed pushed pushed, Water, Vitamins, ate low carb again, worked out... etc. Frankly, that first about 14 months post op (except for the little Detour I just talked about) I didn't do alot of fun stuff like vacations, dinner parties and cocktail hours. I focused on losing weight.
Guess what, when I refoced, reduced carbs, my hunger decreased and my weight loss accelerated back to the 9-12# a month until I got to my ultimate goal in Feb 2013.
I am now maintaining under my goal weight and it is still work. (it is easier than staying under 300# was for me preop, but it is still work). It is my lot in life. Guess what, it is the struggle most women over 40 engage in to stay trim. It sucks. My best friend packed on about 35# over the last year or two and she is hungry all the time.. just to lose a pound a week she has to really work it.
Anyway, in truth, i would have been okay if I had maintained at 190.. beats the crap out of 300+ and gaining.. but I am very glad that I took the plunge and continued on as I love my body and health at a normal BMI, but the reality of the WLS situation is that it is not a guaranteed easy ride to skinny-ville.

I'm in the middle of the hair loss phase at 5 months post op! I was told it should stop by 6 months, so hopefully only 1 month to go! Mine hasn't been too bad, but I've noticed it, especially when I wash my hair (I have strands of it in my hands and in my comb) and it looks a little lifeless. To keep the loss to a minimum, here's what I have been doing: I only wash my hair every other day, I comb and style it gently, and I started using the WEN cleansing system rather than commercial Shampoo and conditioner. My hair is looking fuller and it seems shinier and less dry (I had been noticing it looked dry and faded these last few months).
I do have to say, the Hair loss is such a minor side effect compared to how I look and feel! Good luck to you!

It's all about choices. You have to decide what's more important to you, your health or the carb satisfaction? I am 5 months post op, and live with my carb loving family. There are chips, crackers, bread, Cookies, etc. in my house at all times and I haven't eaten any for the past 8 months. I'm no saint or perfectionist (well, maybe a little of a perfectionist). What I am is a scaredy-cat! I am a carb addict and I'm scared that eating carbs will put me back on the weight loss roller coaster. I am also scared of heart attacks and other weight-induced diseases. I'm scared of being the fattest person in the room again. I'm scared of not fitting in the largest plus size at the store. I'm scared of not fitting on airplanes, AND I'm terrified of not being around to enjoy my children and grandchildren. So I choose to stay away from unhealthy food. I love carbs and I sorely miss them, but it's not worth it! Again, it's all about choice.

Ask yourself how much loose skin you are willing to deal / live with and how much money you have to pay for plastics.
If you're like most of us, you have a good bit of weight to lose. If you lose that weight through meals alone, your body will show it in the end with significant, saggy skin. Any exercise would be better than nothing; you don't have to be in the gym like a pro athelete. Let go of all those excuses and ask yourself why you're making them in the first place. Catch yourself now. Regroup and start over.

I'm over 3 months out and still have to supplement frequently.

I think one of the biggest decisions we have to make as forever WLS patients is how we choose to handle the processed, refined carbs for the REST of our lives. We have the disease of obesity and will have it for the rest of our lives. WLS surgery did not cure us of that. Some people can have the occasional starchy carb and be done with it. I cannot. I do not have an "off switch." The more I eat of that stuff, the more I continue to want. I have chosen to find good, satisfying, healthy substitutes for my old "nutty buddy" type Snacks so I don't feel deprived, and I don't send my body into those crazy carb-craving episodes. That takes months and months (even years) of practice and head work to change those old habits, but for me, was soooo worth it.
Also, I found that when I began to really look at my relationship with food--why I HAD to have that nutty buddy, for instance, and began to look at other ways to satisfy that emotional need I was looking for at the time I reached for that food, my obsession and addiction to the refined carby stuff began to lose its grip on me, and slowly but surely, I began to take POWER over it for the first time in my life, instead of it having the power over me.
But, like I said, this is a long process. Attitude and choices don't change over night. We are not perfect, but we can choose to change our old habits bit by bit, one day, sometimes one hour, at a time. GUILT does not need to be part of our lives any more when we choose to be good to ourselves by using food as medicine and fuel for our bodies. You are still in the stage of mourning the loss of your old familiar starchy carby friends. It doesn't give us permission to go crazy and eat what we want, but it helps us understand that eating that nutty buddy isn't a reason to feel bad about ourselves. Just make a better decision next time knowing that you have some hard work to do in changing your old habits. YOU CAN DO THIS!
P.S. When the nutty buddies are not in the house, you can't choose them. Set yourself up ahead of time with go-to healthy craving Snacks when you just 'HAVE TO HAVE' something sweet. Say goodbye to nutty buddies. You'll be so proud of yourself!

Well. Thank God! I bumped up my mammogram to Monday, just in case, but I feel soooo much better now! Thanks everyone!!! Discovering new bones, etc. is a trip!

I'm 13 weeks out and my caloric intake is between 600-700 calories per day. I exercise intensely 5-6 days per week. I was afraid at first, too, but my doctor told me that NOT exercising will put my body in starvation mode and slow my metabolism. Lord knows, I didn't want that to happen! Since I've been exercising more vigorously (the past month or so- before that I was just walking a few times per week), my energy level has skyrocketed! I feel so much better! I make sure to,get 75 g Protein per day and get all my Water in and I'm good to go!

Hey there,
I'm just a month ahead of you and can understand the frustration.
I copied this months ago from another poster, gmanbat, knowing one day I would need to refer back to it.
"You have beaten the greater part of your enemy. It's on the ropes. Kill it.
Go over your battle tactics one at a time, cover all the bases. Water, Protein first, exercise, Vitamins, Fiber, sleep, no browsing, and whatever you use in your fight.

Accept no excuses, show no mercy, don't lie to yourself.
You can take it to the goal and beyond, it is in you. Grab it. Get mad, get mean. Win. "
The best part is you know exactly what you need to do, you just need to re-focus your desire to meet your goal.
You have come this far. Go for it.
Thanks Gmanbat!
Good luck.