Forsythia

You can't control their reactions. You can only control your reaction to them. You know they are not particularly supportive, so don't expect any from them. Focus on the support you are getting from your dad, finance and other friends. And if your brother comes over to your house with a bag of candy you are fully able to tell hem to GTFO and to not eat it in front of you. Your house. Your rules. He can eat that crap in the car if it is triggering to you.

In the words of Taylor Swift: Haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate . I'm just gonna shake shake shake shake shake, shake it off, shake it off. The fact is, that if everyone in your family is overweight, your sister has no idea.. none.. what 150 lbs actually looks like on your body or her body. The fact is that 150 lbs is right on the cusp of healthy/overweight for a woman who is 5'5" (like myself). That is my goal. If I could get down to 135, that would be even better for my frame. You can take what she says into consideration, but you know your body and what will work for it.

Can I just post this picture? A skirt I used to wear (women's 3x) and a skirt I bought yesterday (size XL - from NY & co). I cannot believe my waist is this small.

I gained 12 lbs in the hospital. That's a bowling ball of Water weight, yo. Also, calibration. Your scale is not calibrated to the same specifics as the one you weigh on in the hospital. Mine weighs me 4lbs less than the one at my surgeon's office consistently. So I know when I make my appointments with them, I'm going to have to mentally add on 4lbs.

I was not disallowed, but I was hooked up to an IV and a catheter and it was kind of a pain in the ass. Once the catheter was removed things were a lot easier. Can I also say if you bring a bra (because the girls need support, right?!), bring one with convertible straps. If you are hooked up to an IV, you can unhook the strap to get it on over your IV lines.

I had my sleeve in May too (on the 5th, so I'm almost 6 months out). I think after a few months you get complacent and bad habits creep back in. At first you are all gung ho about making sure you are eating correctly and drinking correctly and the weight loss is on auto-pilot so you start getting a little relaxed. At least I did. Now it is a lot harder. I have to focus and make sure I am drinking all my Water and not eating all the Snacks that have snuck back in the house. I have to go to the gym to burn the calories off if I am going to have the cookie. After awhile, vigilance is the challenge.

I am an odd duck in my reaction to caffeine. I do not get withdrawal from it. I do not get a boost from it. I can literally stop any time with no headaches, shakes, or foul mood. I can drink a cup of coffee before I go to sleep if I wanted. Having said that, I drink a coffee every morning. I put a scoop of Protein powder in it. It's the only way I can tolerate the Protein Powder anymore. The pre-made shakes are a bit too pricey for what you get, so I've opted for powder. I'm not prone to acid reflux and in my program coffee is not a banned substance. I think my program is realistic in that it is hard for people to stop drinking their coffee. And for a lot of people decaf is a why even bother proposition.

A lot of people get reflux and it presents as hunger, when in fact its acid. Are you on an acid blocker? If not, you might try one to see if that helps. Also, you may be thirsty. The thirst mechanism is weak in most people. We confuse it with hunger. Are you getting in all your fluids? Try to drink a glass of Water before you resolve yourself to eat. I am one of those people who is thirsty and thinks it is hunger - it feels like hunger. But it is not.

You will be fine. I had BCBS (of IL, but they all generally go by the same rules). BMI of 35 or higher with co-morbidities. High blood pressure and Type II diabetes will get approval.

Yes, if I drink a premier or EAS premade, it counts toward my 64 ozs. If I put a scoop of Protein powder in my morning coffee, it does not count toward my 64 ozs. These are the guidelines set forth by my program. Most days I put a scoop in my morning coffee and try my best to get in an additional 64 oz. I will say it will get easier. I'm almost 6 months out, I can basically drink normally.

Sadly, everything I have tried basically agrees with my sleeve. It's all willpower now. But personally if I am going to go for a salty pork product it's gonna be proscuitto every time.

I am from Chicago (the NW side). Sadly I have no tips about the liquid diet because Northwestern Memorial's program does not have you do a liquid diet. Just a high Protein diet that can be best described as Atkins phase one. Don't beat yourself up or stress yourself out over it though. Just try your best and fill up between meals with Water so you don't focus on hunger.

Well, that's a bummer. Bacon is meat's fruit (not my quote.. but funny, right?). Sorry it got stuck

You do not need to go to a gym. I go to a gym. I like taking classes, using the pool and getting out of my house. I like that it is my time that will not be interrupted by my husband or cat. I also know if I don't pay someone I won't work out at home. I just cannot work up the mental wherewithal to do it. I am also not one of those people who likes doing things outside in nature. So do I need a gym? Yes? Do you? Maybe. Are you going to work out at home? Are you outdoorsy? Does spending money each month work as motivation to work out? Is the drive/time commitment worth it to you? Answer those questions honestly and you will have your answer.

I started my program over 300 lbs. Highest weight ever: 335 Start weight: 312 Weight on the day of the surgery: 294 Sleeved on 5/5/14 Current weight: 226 I'm dealing with the monthly 3 to 5 lb weight gain from my period right now. Bloating can suck it. But I hope to be below 200 by the end of the year.

I can't imagine your pain. I'm one of the few people whose program did not include a 2 week liquid diet pre-op or weeks of liquid post op. I was on liquids for the two days I was in the hospital, and that was it. Went home and was immediately on purees. I still had to supplement with Protein shakes though. Shakes that were fine pre-op tasted so gross post-op. They were sickeningly sweet. It was all I could do to choke down a shake to get my protein in. And for me, purees were so gross. The texture was gross. I wasn't very hungry and didn't really want to eat until I was cleared for soft solids. At the time, I was not a member of this forum, so I only had my husband to mope to, and he really couldn't understand what I was going through. So rant away!

I had conscious sedation. I remember nothing. I remember getting on the table. Talking to the doctor who was way chipper, and turning on my side when they asked me to. Then I remember being in the recovery room humming a song. Easy peasy mac and cheesy.

When I first went back to the gym, I walked on the treadmill so slow. 2.8 mph. For maybe 25 minutes. However long it took me to walk a mile. 5 and a half months post surgery, I walk at 3.5mph as my slow speed. I can do an hour.. I've just started jogging interspersed with my walking - it's a slow jog - 4.2mph, but just a few months ago walking for 30 minutes was exhausting. So don't fret, you will make the gains you want to make if you keep with it. You might feel like you are gonna die first off, but you won't. Just try to do a little bit more every day.

I doubt I will ever not have ample junk in my trunk. I come from a long line of booty. LOL. But, I notice when I sleep (I'm a side sleeper) that my knee bones are knocking against one another. And I am not even thin yet. I am pretty thin in the legs from the knee down though. But jeez.

I didn't freak out at all. Although, throughout the entire process (for months) I was like, "well, I can quit anytime". But I kept fulfilling the requirements. Also, I took public transit to the hospital (because I live in the city) all by myself. So I sat there on the train with my music on my headphones and my overnight bag. I was remarkably chill. They called my number at the hospital and got me prepped and I was still chill. Wheeled me in the room and that was it. The next thing I remember was waking up.

I met the anesthesiologist the morning of the surgery. He was delightfully easy on the eyes. LOL! But to answer your question, no, I did not have to have any sort of meeting with him prior to the day of.

I went to a gym 5 days a week, and hired a personal trainer for sixteen weeks long before I ever considered surgery and lost maybe the same 10 lbs over and over. So it was not for lack of trying. The diabetes and PCOS just made losing weight incredibly difficult. This drives me nuts. Oh, just drink more water and workout more. And of course, put the fork down. Ugh.

I was on that Rx dose twice in one year. And my Vitamin D levels, according to the doctor who did my final labs before my surgery, never really did get up to where they needed to be. But I was at a double disadvantage being black, I tend to absorb less natural vitamin D from the sun. I also live in Chicago, and there are all these shadows and tall buildings blocking the sun. Add those two factors on top of the obesity (which I was told by a nutritionist that there seems to be a correlation between obesity and vitamin D deficiency, thought she said there was no specific reason why). But anyhow, no, my low vitamin D did not delay anything. I really had no noticeable side effects from my deficiency. I take 1000IU a day and am no longer deficient. I think since I've lost so much weight I absorb it better? Who knows.

I think when people say this, they are saying it because we (as in Americans) have all gotten so fat that fat is the new normal and you look "okay". And I thought I was okay for a long time. I never lacked dates. I had a social life. I got married. I mean, a person who has friends and a life can't be fat enough to need surgery. Only "those people" who are 400 lbs or bedridden are big enough for surgery. But the fact is I let myself creep up over 300 lbs. I had diabetes and high blood pressure. And I didn't like how I looked or felt. All my size 24 pants were too tight. Your reasons are your reasons and you do not need to justify them to anyone. When you have a BMI of over 40 you are big enough to need surgery. When you have tried and tried and can't lose the weight or keep it off, you need surgery. When you fall off the ledge and become diabetic or have PCOS and can't get pregnant, or are on all the medications for your various ailments and maladies, you need the surgery.

I had a sleeve and my sugar levels immediately dropped after my surgery. I was no longer on medications about a week or so after my surgery. My HgA1C at my last check up was 5.5%. At one point it was over 9%! (I had gotten it down to 6.7% pre-surgery, as my surgeon will not do the surgery on you until you get your HgA1C down below 8%). Like countrysweet, whenever I check my sugar levels they are always pretty even keel, around 94, 98 and the like. While I will fully admit to being vain, I really was becoming more and more concerned with going blind and/or losing a foot. I was already on two medications and my nurse practitioner was thinking about moving me to insulun. I was diagnosed as diabetic when I was 32 (I'm 37 now). So the thought of facing the effects of the disease for another 30 plus years was daunting.