Denise73

I will be getting my surgery date next week! Woo Hoo!
I live in NY on Long Island and my doctor, Dr. Shawn Garbar created a new procedure called single incision gastric sleeve, meaning 1 incision through my belly button no scaring at all. Has been doing his sleeves this way for 7 years now. Not sure why other surgeons haven't followed suit, 1 incision compared to 4,5 and 6,7?

1/5/14 when I had my surgery. I had the tube ball thing. The took it out when I left the hospital. Odd feeling when it came out. My incision have been fine not tender or sore . In fact this morning I woke up and I was sleeping on my stomach . I love being sleeved!

Congratulations, Sue! Did the hospital give you the abdominal binder or did you buy it yourself? 11 pounds to start is so awesome. Let everyone know what you are down at your post-op doctor's visit! Are you still walking a lot? Do you feel exhausted all the time? What pain meds did they send home with you?

I am just finishing my one week liquid diet and it hasn't been bad. I am just tired of sweet shakes and drinks. I was able to have veggies raw and cooked for the first five days and that helped a lot. The hardest day for me was Day 6 and today hasn't been bad with Clear liquids.
My surgery is tomorrow! Having the sleeve!

My pre-op, 1-week diet consists of pre-packaged food that I had to buy from the bariatric center. I'll eat 6 times a day, but it only adds up to around 800 calories. I think I'll do okay.
It seems every doctor has different pre-op diets. Hope you can get one you can handle!

Here are a couple of reminders for the regular Challenge participants as well as any new folks that want to join us:



Although the weigh-ins are scheduled to occur on Fridays, as the challenge ends on Friday, July 4, you are welcome to adjust this to whatever works for you. We're definitely flexible here.
You'll know that I've updated the spreadsheet with your data when you see a "Like" from me (BeaAmaya) on your weigh-in post.
EVERYONE who is working toward a goal is welcome to join us in this. We've had some very successful pre-surgery participants before, participants that are at goal, in "maintenance" mode, and simply wanting to maintain their weight, and a whole bunch of us that fall somewhere in the middle. All are welcome here!
When a question is asked or a comment made that seems to be directed at me, FEEL FREE TO RESPOND. I'm merely the volunteer that keeps the stats for the group...it's really the group itself that keeps the group going, and individual participation in cheering on, consoling, providing input, etc. is really what makes the challenges work for us all. So yes, please, be an active participant when you can!
The spreadsheet may look a little funny now, with a lot of people showing a start weight of 200 and goal weight of 199. :-) These figures are merely placeholders until the challenge gets rolling. I'll change the text color from gray to black when "real" data gets entered.
I try to post a kind of wrap-up from the previous week just before a new round of weigh-ins are recorded. In this post I try to list everyone who has crossed a "border" of some kind. For example, I was THRILLED to list my own name in crossing over from the 200s to the 190s (ONEDERLAND) during the St. Patrick's Day challenge. I'm currently chasing another move from the 180s into the 170s for this challenge and will proudly list my name along with all the others who make a "border crossing" when this happens.
Hope this helps!

Bea

Yea Bea on your successes and willingness to document theses challenges for us. Count me in!!!! May has been about the 230's for me so I expect June to be more about the 220's. My goal will be 220 by July 4th, but that may be a big stretch...
Of course that's why this is a challenge....

Time for the next challenge...
4th of July Challenge!

Here we go with the rules and instructions:
1. Be sure and log in here on Friday, May 30, 2014 to post your start weight and your goal weight for the challenge.
2. When setting your goal, keep in mind that this challenge is only 4 weeks long (5 weigh-ins).
3. Weigh in every Friday and post your updates here.
4. Watch the data at 4th of July Challenge (click to be taken to an online spreadsheet) to see our progress as individuals and as a team.

GOOD LUCK!
Note for you non-USA folks...even though it is not your country's Independence Day, it is definitely your country's "Fourth of July" (I mean, it's the 4th of July everywhere, right?!?) So here's hoping you'll think of this as a holiday to share with us and join in on the fun here. Happy 4th of July, folks!

I'm one of those people too. I've struggled my whole life with my weight. I was scared I wouldn't be successful or would be hungry all the time and miserable.
I was sleeved 4/1/14, including my 2 week pre-op diet I'm down 56lbs.
I no longer have food on my mind all the time, in fact, I often have to set myself alarms to remind myself it's time to eat so I'm meeting my Protein goals.
I don't have those uncontrollable urges anymore either. Used to be that were there a cupcake or donut around I would be first in line in my office (fyi there are ALWAYS cupcakes and donuts in my office) but now I don't even have the urge anymore.
This has been the best decision I've ever made and would recommend it to anyone/everyone struggling without reservation or hesitation.
Good luck to you!

I wonder the same thing. I was not overweight until age 50. Before that weighed 125-135 lbs. now at 212 lbs I am miserable. Concerned about my chances of success but am heading to Surgery June 12 th. I am so excited to think that I might actually lose this weight.

Thanks! That's super good info. So the SLIDER foods can be the DANGEROUS foods. I just thought anything would fill you up.
Why don't slider foods fill you?

I am terrified about even touching a little white doughnut @@Georgia I believe that they are solely responsible for at least 20 lbs of my excess weigh..Maybe more...I will not allow them in the house...I do look at them but I do not touch.
Thanks..now I am thinking about them...

^^^^^^ what she said
at the beginning, not MANY things are sliders since you still have some residual swelling etc. As time goes on, MANY things can become sliders.
For example, I could hardly eat ANY bread - a couple bites and I would get really sick - totally bloated my little stomach. Now, not so much! Still can't eat a whole sandwich but I can def eat a full half now and if I eat biscuits/rolls I could eat a couple without stopping. THAT's where healthy choices and watching your basics comes in!
Any chips, Cookies, candy, etc - all sliders! Especially, those little white powdered donuts! (if you get my drift!) LOL

A slider food is a food that you can eat a lot of. It does not have a dense Protein as a base and so therefore it slides right through your sleeve and does not allow the flaps to close on either end of your sleeve to start the digestive process....
Me..pop corn is one of my worst sliders I can eat 3 cups before I even think about it.....Ice cream, Cookies, candy, cake, chips, Popsicles, usually refined sugar anything is a slider...Some people are fortunate and can't eat refined sugar...Most can....
If you start with dense Proteins then you will fill up with a lot less food.....And your flaps will close ( sounds like a plane ) lol to hold it in the sleeve to start breaking it down...

Congrats - wishing you a great recovery with plenty of protein!

I've bought a variety of sample packs, so I wouldn't have an overwhelming supply of anything in particular. I've got unflavored Protein Powder more than anything, figuring it can go into most everything. Other than that, I haven't started shopping for post-op yet. I plan on getting sf Popsicles, sf Jello, Soup, skim milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.

Hello June Sleevers! My surgery is scheduled for June 16th in Mexico. I'm not scared or nervous I'm just really excited to get my life back and start living again! I'm sure I'll be nervous as time gets closer but for now, I'm keeping a positive outlook.
Good luck to everyone and I hope your journey is smooth!
Holly

Are you familiar with shopping website "Zullily". It has become my favorite online shopping website. check it out.... Lots of cute clothes... All sizes, shoes and accessories. I am also going to be sleeved in June .... The 12 th. I am beyond excited! I should have done this years ago!

well I went through my closet today. I got rid of all the close that made me feel terrible. Getting new work out clothing mine are getting a bit rough. Tomorrow I go in for all my labs pre surgery class and a consullt with my Dr. I'm off alot of medication that i've been on for a long time. I see colors as brighter the world just looks so different after being druged up for so long. My surgery so far is still on the 2nd of june. I just want to be there in my hospital bed and waking up. I need a new life so badly I just cant get over how close I am.
looking forward to moving on.
Jenn

Im getting sleeved June 27th 2014 by Dr Elias Ortiz. Im so excited about starting this new journey in my life!!! But im not going to lie im also a little nervous!

This is my 1st post! I just got my date yesterday!!!!!! My surgery is June 23rd!!!!! This process has gone pretty smooth and quick. My brother and sister- in- law recently had surgery and are doing Amazing. I started looking into this 2 months ago! I'm so excited this is really happening!

@@Denise73 We are scheduled for the same day!

Back in jan / dec I started a post "the new me in 14" and wanted to let everyone how much my life has changed since having surgery. These past couple of weekends have been terrific, went to six flags and rode roller coasters with fear that I wouldn't fit in the seat or that the straps wouldn't hold me, went to a May-fest and enjoyed walking around all day enjoyed paddle-boating with the kids and the best part was not spending a fortune on food, had a shrimp kabob and was good for the afternoon. I have so much more engery, I really have been blesses and enjoying this new journey.
I wish everyone has the same success and happiness with thier journey as well.

My advice is pay attention to what you are doing and the response your body gives you. Each of us are unique, and while there are overarching rules we all need to follow, our success is as unique as we are. What works for one may not work for another. For me, I attribute my success to tracking what I eat. I have to weigh and measure food. I don't do it as much now as I did at first, but I still do it to get a reality check and make sure my eye sees portion size correctly. I track EVERY bite I eat and and drink. I do not let one thing slip past my lips that I don't log on myfitnesspal. You can consume a lot of calories without realizing it, and I have to constantly fight the urge to graze. Forcing myself to be honest about what I'm consuming really keeps me in line. I've learned that I need very little calories to maintain, and even fewer to lose. Follow your docs plan and pay attention to what works for you.

My best advice to everyone is to find a good therapist, not just for eating issues, but someone you can talk to when your emotions go haywire, when relationships change, and your mindset about so many things changes. I can't stress enough how important it is to take care of your emotional self as well as your physical self while losing this weight. None of us got to where we are because we have healthy food behavior, and its important for success to address this as early on as possible.
My other advice is to always under-eat your sleeve! You will have better restriction at 6 months, 10 months, a year out if you do this. The reason many people feel they can eat more after 6 months is because they have been eating to capacity, which causes the stomach muscles to relax to allow more food in at a time. The stomach is a muscle and it will do what you tell it to do, so if you're always eating to the point that you're full, it will remember that and adjust itself so you can eat more without pain next time. This will become more important around the second month when solid food suddenly start going down a lot easier.
Lastly, do not put moral labels on food. Do not label food as something you can't have. When you do this, you give the food power over you in a very real way. A lot of people talk about "eating clean", so then what happens if you eat something that's not "clean?" Does that make you dirty? You may not think so on a conscious level, but subconsciously these thoughts can run rampant and derail your progress with thoughts of "I'm a failure." I see that so much on here! Make your weight loss about forever food, not diet food!