BSU

It is a unique question. How many committed weight lifters have this surgery? Has to be a small minority.

Good luck! Its worth the try.

Jdj4r

Yep. On the good side, we can wrack up some big monthly losses. On the bad, we have a huge amount to lose. I am having some uncertainty about my proper target weight. The lowest I have ever been as an adult was 240. That was good, but not thin. The tables say 170-180, but that is inconceivably low. For now, I am just shooting for 240. Once I get there I will reevaluate.

5'10" and I'd like to get into 40s. That's as good as I have ever been.

My Doc recommended a target calorie range of 1,000 to 1,200 a day. I was doing well staying in that range, averaging around 1,050 a day and hitting the gym regularly, then I hit an off week where I lost less than normal and said "to hell with it" and laid off the gym and stopped being so strict on the calories for a week (went to 1,379 a day on average). Surprisingly, I lost more than normal that week. Tried it for another week (1,333 a day) but went back to the gym and, again, had a better week than normal. So, I am getting the feeling that upping my target may be a good thing. Awesome problem to have, however, the process has been haphazard so far. Does anyone have experience in how to dial-in a good calorie target? One concern I have is that in getting in the higher calories I am also getting in a higher percentage of fat and carbs. I do not want to build bad long term habits for short term wins.

I am on daily as well. JDJ4R

double post, please delete

I think you are doing fine. At one month out I was averaging about 1,000, but everyone is different. My Doctor told me to target 1,000 - 1,200, but that it is okay if I did not reach it at first. You've also gotten past the dreaded week 3 stall, so that is good. Hang in there. Your capacity will increase. Also, your weight loss will slow down, but if you stick to the plan you will keep losing.

I generally agree with Frankie. I like to fly Southwest and for the past few years I always bought two seats. First, I wanted to avoid this exact situation. Second, I knew I was big and although I could fit between the arm rests I really would encroach upon my neighbor and did not feel this was fair. Unfortunately, I think this second point is largely being ignored here. The "passenger of size" rules are there for a valid reason. In this case, the airline employee approached the OP before the flight and just warned her it could be an issue. I was going to say that it is better to be warned before than have them wait until you sit down on the plane and then call you out in front of everyone and potentially pull you off the flight, however, this is not quite right. Really, these things should be flagged at the ticket counter or not at all. Once you are on the plane, there is no possible way to address it without huge embarrassment. I should also mention that Southwest has a great policy on the extra seats. You can call them up after the flight and they will refund the cost of the extra seat. I mean, every time. Even if the flight was completely full. Just buy a second seat with your name but use "XS" as your middle name and no frequent flier number, then tell the ticket agent upon check in that you bought a second seat and they will check you in properly. Then, just call customer service after the flight and they will refund the extra ticket fee. No problem.

I had a 2 1/2 week pre-opp diet. I've heard of some people doing just a few days, so it is really just what your doc prefers. Not to be discouraging, but I just suffered through it. I was starving. The food and carb withdrawal sucks. I too quickly got sick of the Protein shakes. Ended up drinking only 3-4 a day when I was allowed 4-5. I was allowed V-8 and tomato Soups, so that helped. The good news is, it gets much better after surgery and is totally worth it. You will not always feel this hungry. When I was on pre-opp it was torture to be around people eating real food. Not a problem now. Hang in there. It sucks, but you can do it.

Glad to hear that you guys are doing better. Good luck with the surgery and I hope he makes progress on his smoking.

Summary: try sugar not vinegar Sorry to hear things are so rough between the two of you. I do not smoke, but as I am on this Board I do have some familiarity with unhealthy habits. Let me throw something out there. I could not be told to lose weight. I knew I had a problem. I knew it was unhealthy. I knew my wife wanted me to lose weight because she loved me and that she wasn't just trying to annoy me. However, "harping" just pissed me off. It was counterproductive. I finally found this path on my own and am appreciative that my wife supports me. Your husband apologized and you told him he needed a psychiatrist. Maybe he does, but that was not a productive response on your part. You may feel hurt that he gave in to his addiction, but I bet he is also very hurt by your behavior. A more productive path may be to express concern and offer that, when he is ready, you will help him in whatever way he wants. Now, he may never get there on his own, but pushing and harping on him hasn't worked very well either.

Makes sense now. You had practically no preopp period. The first 20-40 pounds come off fast. It will slow down. Many people hit a stall at week 3, maybe later for you. Don't worry about it. You are doing fine.

Yes. I was tolerating everything just fine and moved to pureed a little early. My doctor then cleared me for soft foods 2 1/2 weeks after surgery. All good so far.

I was heavy into soda. Diet Mountain Dew, Diet Coke, Monster Lo-carb and the occasional 5 hour energy. Probably 64 oz or more a day. I went cold turkey when i started the pre-opp diet. It was actually not that bad. Of course, i was STARVING so that probably distracted me. All good now. I get through the day just fine. Probably better than I used to.

I have UHC and my surgery was covered. It must vary by plan.

Apologies for resurrecting the thread. My feeling is you know you have made it when you have an altercation like that and they don't say anything about your weight. Being fat is such an easy target that people invariably zero in on it.

I avoid it. The daily fluctuations bother me. I'm fairly comfortable just trusting in the process. Also, I use myfitnesspal to make sure I am staying in line on calories.

Amen. If it were as easy as diet and exercise, I wouldn't have needed the surgery. I am finding that, already, that my yearnings for the "good stuff" are lessening. Not gone, but it is not the agony of the pre-opp diet.

Yes, probably best that you move on then. Good luck.

Same here. June 3 sleeve and I have stalled for the last week. I had my post-op appointment on June 20th and my Doc said to shoot for 1,000 - 1,200 calories a day and that the weight would melt off. Well, it is not working yet. Intellectually, I know it is just my body slipping into starvation mode. At 1,000 to 1,200 there is no way I will not lose weight long term. However, it is frustrating nonetheless. I am tempted to go back to two shakes a day like right after surgery when I was still losing, although I know this would be the wrong answer. Patience sucks. I want to be thin now.

There seems to be a lot of variation in recovery time. Some are fine in 4-5 days. Some need 3 weeks. I don't know how you can predict what you will need.

Yeah, that is a trap. For me it is "real food". Pizza, nachos, burgers, fries, taco's, spaghetti. That's real food. It's also what got me where I am. For me the sleeve is a tool to help with my portion sizes, but I also see that I need to change my ways. Normal needs to be healthy and low carb. I am not swearing off the bad stuff 100% in the long term, but it needs to become the exception and not the rule.

I am 17 days post surgery and just had my first follow-up appointment with my Doctor. 17 lbs down since surgery. He said my goal for calories is 1,000 - 1,200, but that most can't get that much in at this point. I've been getting maybe 750ish with three meals and he said try eating more often, maybe 4-5 small "snack" meals a day. Although, my NUT said Protein protein protein, my Doc said some fat is okay and just really try to avoid carbs. Also, he cleared me for soft foods and as much exercise as I want. I'm pretty pumped. Food-wise I am excited about the expanding possibilities. I think 1,000 calories is doable and that keeping it below 1,200 should not be hard. I definitely have more energy for exercise. I am still very heavy, so I'm thinking low impact walking until I shed a few more pounds and work up to fast cardio walking in a few months. All good so far.