sweetie716

I also have a weird thing with the mirror. I didn't see myself as big as I was 125 pounds ago. Perhaps it was some form of denial/avoidance. Pictures were my reality check. Now, I have days when I feel so fat (like today) and have a tough time seeing the changes. Other days, I think I look good (or better) and things are fine. Like others have said, I can focus on flaws, but I try not to. At the end of the day, no matter what I really look like, I am proud of the accomplishment of losing the weight I have so far, and even the extra arm skin and tummy skin is kind of like a badge of honor for having fought the fight. I'm thankful for the days I can be happy with what I see.

Do you mean what we like/dislike the most or the best/worst thing we've eaten nutritionally?

I had a seriously out of whack cycle preop and it went on for like 8 years. Nothing for months, then a 'light drizzle' for a month or more. There were a few times something changed to make me actually be on a normal cycle for a few months or more during that time. One of those times I started birth control, one time I lost a significant amount of weight, and then I eventually had surgery after I'd regained it. All of those times I had a really rough first period or two. They were excessively crampy and extremely heavy. However, after that things evened out in all of those situations. Feel better soon

My guideline from the doc is to keep it under 50 g a day, although I usually keep it under 20 because I'm still pretty early out (4.5 months).

I did! They are super efficient at scheduling your stuff. They have it worked out to the letter. Barbara was my case manager, and she set up all the tests and everything preop, then you'll probably have the 3 month nutrition requirement with BCBS NC (I have BCBS MI which required 6 months). Sarah was my PA who I had my nutrition visits with. She is FANTASTIC. I learned more from her and was motivated to really start changing how I did things way before surgery which has definitely made adjustments post-op way easier to handle. In the pair of Dr. Bruce and Sarah, Dr. Bruce will do a good surgery, but Sarah is the one to be helpful with the lifestyle changes and reassurance. They'll submit to insurance once all testing/requirements are met. It's pretty quick from there. When I had my surgery he was doing Monday surgeries at Rex and Thursdays at WakeMed Cary. That was 4 months ago so it may be totally different now. I would prepare for somewhat of a wait in the waiting room. It's never bothered me, but I always hear a couple people grumble about it.

Dec. 11th

I have found that "easiest" way to make sure I will exercise consistently is to get up at 4:15 am and go walk and/or run. I have to be out of my house by 6 to get to work. On weekends I go first thing when I wake up to keep the habit consistent. It was kind of tough at first, but now it's just the way it is. It was too easy to find excuses after work between cooking/shopping, work, and everything else, so this works way better. I also have a 45 minute commute, and it does suck to spend that much time in the car each day, I can't even imagine a 2 hour commute.

The sleeve did kind of reset my ability to feel full. I am much more careful to listen to my body and I keep the full feeling for longer. Yesterday I ate dinner and felt full for about an hour afterwards and didn't feel hungry again at all. I used to never really feel full and if I did I could eat again within the hour easily, always looking for the next thing. I have never vomited due to anything I ate. I dry heaved once while I was sick and coughing way too much. After recovery, I now eat all meats/cheese/nuts. Eventually I'll be able to add in vegetables, but for now I need the space for Protein. I usually do a couple of cheese sticks for Breakfast, a premier Protein shake for lunch (convenient for work), some chicken or other meat for dinner, and some bacon and unsalted roasted peanuts in the shell for "second dinner". My stomach doesn't feel any different except I get full a lot faster and I don't get the hungry feeling as often. It has changed how I do business in my life. I'm very careful to track everything I eat in MFP, and I make my food decisions based on my protein count for the day. I literally only eat meat, cheese, and nuts (along with some various mustards and vinaigrettes). My carbs are usually under 20, although if I eat a premier Protein Bar, it can be as high as 45. I don't just "go with the flow" with food anymore. I preplan what I'm going to have with me if I go out for the day (always Water, sometimes a protein snack/meal). If we're going out to dinner I look up a menu/nutrition info and choose before I leave the house. I exercise every day and am determined to get the most out of my honeymoon period as possible. I plan on always tracking in MFP, exercising, and planning meals. The main thing I think will change when I'm at goal is that my balance of protein and carbs will be a little different when I can eat more calories- although I'll definitely be talking to my NUT when that time comes. Good luck to you!

If you weigh at the same time each day (within a couple of hours), you'll get more consistent results. But weighing at night and in the morning had always been a big difference on my scale too. I normally try to weigh when I get up before eating/drinking and with nothing on. The scale can swing 5 pounds in the course of a day and that's normal.

Maybe you could find a lightweight shrug. I've seen them at a few stores lately. It is tough to find the longer sleeves this time of year. I hate shopping in spring because of all the crazy colors and the whole sleeve thing.

I did a 4 week full liquid diet, lots of Protein shakes. However, the last 2-3 days were clear liquid. There is a drink called Isopure that is not a great tasting liquid, but it does boast a healthy 40 g of protein in 20 oz. Maybe think about getting a few of those. Also, I had to stop all Multivitamins a week preop. They told me that it could promote bleeding or something- I can't remember the exact reason. So I think you're probably not supposed to be on Vitamins until after surgery. Good luck and hang in there! ETA: Sorry, misread. Thought you were preop. My doctor had us do a class at 3 wks postop to learn about the soft food diet, and we got recommendations for vitamins there. I didn't start a multi until then. It's a bariatric chewable. He should also tell you about B12 and/or B complex, and a Calcium citrate supplement.

The lane bryant Livi brand of leggings and stuff are great and they have ones that are like 20-30 dollars before coupons. I love them.

Congrats! Just think- that's 30 pounds you won't have to lose after surgery. You get to use that "honeymoon" time after WLS on the more stubborn 30 pounds that will be coming off down the road. I was in a size 26 pant before surgery and it took a LONG time/ lot of weight to get to where I had to go down a size. I really don't get it- I was in those pants for a good 70-80 pound span (although by the time I bought new ones they were really big). Now I go down a size about once a month or every other month. Good luck to you and enjoy it!

I would wait until after. I had a beautiful and fast recovery, but the soonest I could have had my surgery was about a month after they sent in all my paperwork due to the surgeon's schedule. I think I would want to make sure that there was no way I'd miss out on feeling great on my wedding day/honeymoon. While everything will surely be great after your surgery, there are cases where people feel sick after eating or get really tired easily or sometimes have some kind of other more serious stuff going on. Putting an extra few weeks between your wedding and your surgery would not be a bad idea. Whatever you decide, congratulations and enjoy this time So much exciting stuff!

Okay, so maybe this was a crazy expectation, but I really thought that after getting healthier by eating right and exercising my body was going to be better at fighting off things like colds/sore throats/other stuff. I've been making these changes for almost a whole year at this point (started exercising/eating better when my 6 mo. nutrition appointments started). Every year I get the same bug and unfortunately this year was no different (although I am 100+ pounds less while being sick ). I still have somewhere between 50-80 pounds to go. Is there any hope of a super immune boost in my future?

Mine came off of my face, back/ribs first, and now a lot is coming from my butt/legs. Still waiting on my belly and arms to start being noticeably different. Well, my arms are different, they are deflating, but I still have all the skin (still quite a bit of fat in there), but I'm hoping that as I keep losing it will tighten up at least some. Now if i hold up my arm you can see kind of an indent where my arm outline should be and where all my 'extra bits' are. It's not very pretty at the moment.

I ate refried Beans on my soft food days. I would drink mainly Protein shakes and just the 1-2 oz of refried beans each day. I waited until after the puree foods stage to eat the more actual chewing required foods. My puree stage was only about a week or two. My center suggested yogurt as well, but I didn't like it too much since most of it has a bunch of carbs. Here's a list my doc/nut give to patients. Strained Soups broth and lowfat cream based soups (try stirring jar baby food meats into your Soup to increase protein) Lite-low fat strained yogurt of plain greek yogurt protein fortified strained hot cerials like cream of wheat or cream of rice low fat 1% cottage cheese or ricotta cheese protein fortified cooked and mashed or pureed potatoes and non gas-forming veggies like carrots, squash, green beans, or peas. mashed black, pinto or navy beans lowfat, fat free or vegetarian refried beans or hummus protein fortified sugar free and low fat or fat free pudding **They say to fortify these foods with protein try adding unflavored Protein powder OR add 2 tbsp of non-fat dry milk (the milk adds about 5 g of protein)

You're down almost 40 pounds in less than two months! Be happy about that. What are you counting as a stall? You're doing great.

Making good food choices is a key part of surgery, and that includes getting your Protein in. Definitely follow your doctor's plan because they've put it together based on the specific needs of people who have gone before us. Here's a really good article that addresses a few of these things, in particular #3, 9, and 10. It is not an easy thing to make the change, but for the best chance at long term success it's so worth it. http://www.bariatriceating.com/2015/03/02/top-10-bariatric-post-op-mistakes/

Yeah, I eat cheese most mornings. I do get the reduced fat since my surgeon suggests no more than 10 g of fat or sugar at a sitting. The reduced fat lets me have 2 1-oz cheese sticks for 10 g of Protein and like 7-8 g of fat, no carbs. I don't eat diet food, I eat meat and cheese and nuts mainly, along with a Protein shake a day and the occasional Protein Bar. The one 'diet' food i would have trouble getting rid of is the mio (kind of like crystal light). I drink about 1/2 plain Water and 1/2 flavored with mio. I don't like the idea of artificial sweeteners, but it makes it easier in to get in all that water if I have some variety.

You might be surprised by how quick it actually goes. I had a 6 month requirement and really used the time to change my eating habits and start practicing for post op (not drinking 30 min before/after meals, small bites, thorough chewing, etc.) and between that and all the other appointments like the sleep study, egd, psych appt, and all the other stuff, it came pretty quick. I lost 27 during the 6 months, then another 23 during the 4 week preop diet. I weighed exactly 50 pounds less than my highest weight on my day of surgery. At first I was disappointed to hear that I'd have to wait so long for surgery, but once I got into those nutrition appointments I was so glad I had the time to prepare and get ready for post-op living.

I'm sorry it was rough. I think I'd count it as a victory that they had suits available that fit me though. I bought one online at lands end last year, (it was a very cute suit) because in stores they would have had VERY limited, if any, options for a 3x suit. Yay for shopping normal stores- the end of shopping in plus sizes is on the horizon but not here yet for me.

It happened to me when I had knee surgery in high school. The just gave me a pad type thing to wear between my legs while I was in surgery. I was fine with using the bathroom and cleaning up after myself following the sleeve surgery, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Best of luck to you

I think it's just one of those things that get a bit better each day. I was lucky with a very smooth recovery, but I still had to find inventive positions to sleep comfortably and would get tired after a day of shopping and stuff. It's just a gradual transition back to normalcy. I'd say by the end of the second week I was fine sleeping normally again. Hope you start feeling better soon!