HaddocksEyes

Thank you so much for sharing that...this will be the tool you need, make no mistake!! And in time, you will replace that embarrassment with a new sense of self and a renewed self confidence!

LOL Kindle! I have a J.D. but I have not passed the bar. Another good one - "it depends" (when you ask an attorney a question).

Hi Again! For some reason there was a bit of a glitch and I could not directly respond to your last post. So whether or not you take the bar after being sleeved - hmmmm...that's a good question. Okay, so I think you CAN take the bar after being sleeved - I think it is do-able but I do think trying to study right after surgery may be a bit difficult. Feeling sick to your stomach or having another complication will defintely hamper your ability to focus and learn. My doctor said that the most common side affect of this surgery is nausea. Some people get it right after and then it goes away (the majority of his patients). Others have it for weeks and some have it for months (the minority). One of his patients had nausea for four months straight. He said this is not common. I don't do well at all with nausea. It totally takes the wind out of my sails, if you know what I mean. You may be a bit different; maybe head colds do you in. When I studied for the bar I basically sat at my computer all day for about 8 hours a day for about a month. I took breaks for a walk and lunch, just like I would at a job. The work I did was all mental, though, and can be draining. I think this will probably come down to a few things: (1) How you recover from your surgery - do you expect to have complications or is there a medical history that might indicate that complications are likely to occur? (example: History of blood clots, prior experiences with surgery, etc.) (2) How motivated you are to see this through - if you encounter complications, how far are you willing to take this? (3) How you respond to challenges - do you normally just resolve to plow through, no matter what, once you are committed to something? The fact that CT bar is easier than others is certainly a plus. And the fact that you made it through law school tells me already that you are a tough and motivated person.

I am respectful of all three approaches - (1) tell everyone; (2) tell only certain people or groups of people; or (3) tell no one. We all have different life stories and our approach will be the one that works best for our individual needs. We should be careful about attempting to box in a definition for "truth" when coupling that with someone's experiences - truth is relative and not always cut and dried. I'm totally open with this surgery with family but not co-workers because I just don't want my personal business broadcasted over and over again. I work with some very gossipy and bitchy females and I just don't have time to deal with the drama, which I can assure you would raise its ugly head.

LOL! I WISH I could say I don't have saggy skin - I'm right there with you on things looking funky. My thighs too are a disaster and my lower midsection is the worst because of my two pregnancies. It's weird how the back of my upper thighs and back end were more firm pre-weight loss - now, they both feel "mushy". That's the best way to describe them. I'm wondering if one can recover from just "mushy" as opposed to "sagging".

Please let me know how you are doing! I am totally rooting for you.

I read this post earlier this morning and thought "man, that sucks!" About 30 minutes ago I started my period AGAIN - 17 days after just having one! I have never in my life had this happen - ever. I'm as regular as regular can be. Just kind of ironic I read your post and BAM - it happened to me. Lovely being a woman, ain't it? LOL!

I'm not an attorney because I never passed the bar but I have taken it twice here in CA. I applaud you for trying to study in recovery. Honestly, the first week after surgery you will pretty much feel like just laying around and getting in your Protein and Water each day will be a job in itself. However, after that first week you should feel better, but it is not a guarantee. It is something that can be done if that's all you do (study) and you don't feel crappy or have complications like nausea. I give you credit for trying! California's bar exam is three days - first day is essays in the a.m. and performance exam in the pm. Second day is solely multiple choice. Third day is a repeat of day 1. I'm not familiar with CT's version but hope it is less stringent. In some states you can retake only the sections you fail. In CA, you have to get a certain number of points to pass - so you can fail on one section and excel in another and still pass. I'm not sure which type is worse!! GOOD LUCK!!

Hi Bella! Stalls are no fun! Hope the info I give you helps, even a little bit. I started working out about 6 weeks after surgery. I eat about 1000 calories a day because my nutritionist said that if I didn't, I would have little hope of building any amount of muscle. And I really want that muscle! Eventually I will have to go up in the calorie department to really see significant muscle mass gains, but I am reluctant to do so without a lot of hand-holding from my nutritionist. She said she would be there to guide me along, so that's good! (edit: I work out three to five days per week because it is almost a guarantee that something will come up at least once per week that keeps me from going to the gym. I lift three times per week but I superset, or giant set to also have a cardio effect. The days I don't lift I do cardio on the elliptical for 30 minutes. I don't go to the gym on the weekend but i try to stay busy around the property or the house because there is so much to be done!) I love my Protein shakes - I drink two a day. I drink one in the early afternoon (anywhere from 1:00 t0 3:00 pm) and then the other one I drink right after I am finished lifting weights - like as soon as I get to my car. The shakes usually have about 20 to 25 grams of protein in them. I add 1/2 cup skim milk to each shake (so a full cup per day) and then the other 4 ounces per shake is plain Water. I love my Muscle Milk100 calories chocolate Protein Shake - best taste I have had yet! The rest of the day I eat Lean Cuisines, Healthy Choice dinners (and the like) and other things like chicken breast, hard boiled eggs, baby bel gouda cheese with whole wheat crackers, tuna with low fat mayo, etc. I love eating steel cut oatmeal with some non-fat milk, cinnamon and Splenda in the morning (I make it in my crock pot the night before and it last me days). Nice on a cold morning! I always try to have an eye towards protien when I make my lunches for work. I don't eat a lot of bread, but I do eat it maybe once or twice per week. I eat anywhere from 90-130 carbs per day, depending on what I eat. I have had some Cookies and candy more than I should have very recently..and I am thinking maybe even though I can tolerate them, I really don't want to eat that kind of stuff anymore, even occasionally. It takes up room in my stomach that could be occupied by real, high quality clean Proteins and veggie carbs. I think I might not hit my goal of a 2 pounds weight loss this week because of this, but I will know tomorrow, as I weigh in every Saturday. However, tomorrow I will start also taking my measurements as well because if I am going to really try and build muscle over the next year, I may see stalls in the scale but reductions in overall measurements.

I weighed 289 at my very last visit to the doctor immediately prior to surgery - so that would have been one week before I had the surgery. Because I couldn't eat two days before the surgery, I lost 4 pounds and weighed 285 on the day of surgery. I lost about 15 pounds the first two weeks, went into a two and a half week stall at the three week mark (totally expected though) and then it's been about 2 pounds per week thereafter. I go to the gym four to five days per week - I lift as heavy as I can two to three days per week and then do cardio on the other two or three days because I have to rest my muscles. Otherwise I would be hitting the weights every single day because I love them so much. I have always been a slow loser and with this surgery, I can see that will not change. As long as it is steady, I am poised to lose 100 pounds at the one year mark. I need to lose about 140 pounds total to get to my goal weight.

Nah, I think that is totally normal for some of us. I was the same way - somber and quiet. The anethestic department nurse at the hospital said to me when I pre-admitted myself prior to surgery - "well, aren't you just so excited!" (in a "you're going on a fabulous vacation" voice) and I said "No, actually I am not. This is major surgery and I am a bit scared." She paused like my response surprised her and said "Oh...yes, that is true, it is major surgery but you are in good hands." And I think it is okay to be really excited and happy too - many different personalities and ways to deal with things.

BEST of luck to you! The liquid diet is a little hard, but I know you can do it! I had to go a whole weekend with nothing but Water and gatorade directly before my surgery and I didn't think I could go two whole days eating nothing - but I did and you will too when the time comes.

Yes! He loves to joke about it. He's such a cutie!!

Yeah, you look pretty sweet - love those arms!!

I love Oxygen magazine - will be renewing my subscription soon.

I just found this post - lolz don't come here enough. Anyways started lifting about 3 weeks ago and am LOVING it! I do cardio because I HAVE to. Gotta have lifting rest days so cardio fits in there. Thank you for all the words of encouragement! I really appreciate it. Looking forward to posting a picture some day of my soon-to be awesome guns!

6 weeks - I superset between body parts (example: 20 pounds bicep curl, do 12 reps then immediately shift to incline flyes, do 12 reps...rest 60 seconds then back at it). If you do it like this you can get a cardio effect. I try and stay above 1,000 calories a day (between 1,000 and 1,200) because this is what my nutritionist recommended for the time being. She said I won't grow much in size but I will be able to keep more muscle.

I LOVE those little packets - makes it easy to try without committing to the whole canister.

Right now I am loving the taste of Muscle Milk 100 calorie powder (powder form, not pre-mixed although it comes ready to drink). It's got a great chocolate taste. I actually like it better than Nature's Best (Isopure). Another one I would really like to try is BSN's Dessert. It's kind of expensive but looks like it would be yummy.

Hey everyone - still doing well and taking time to reflect each day on the wonderful gift I have been given. My latest musing - I realized the other day that without this surgery I could have never lost weight (and kept it off) on my own prior to this surgery. Now, I am not saying that surgery is ALWAYS the answer and that NO ONE can lose weight without it. I am saying that for me, I know now that there would have been no way I could have been successful, which is why I have been overweight for the majority of my life. But I couldn't SEE that until I got on the other side of the fence, so to speak. I had nothing to compare my experience to because I had been fat for most of my life - the way I saw food was skewed. Now, I have a "before" and an "after". It's just another realization that this was the right thing to do. One of the things I did not expect was to feel "normal" so soon after surgery. This means I no longer have to "tip-toe" around my stomach (although there are some things I do not eat like donuts, soda and steak). I definitely feel full after eating a certain amount but because my stomach tolerates almost everything, it means it is very easy to eat too many calories. I realized the other day that chocolate chip Cookies (really, cookies of any type I imagine) go down way too easily. So this means that I have a hard time saying no. This further means I don't have them in my house because I know I will eat them if I do. And I am not sorry about that in the least, but it was something I had to recognize. What is gone is the resentment of "I can't have this or that" or the strong cravings. The feeling that yet another attempt to lose weight will likely fail is gone too - I just eat as healthy as I can each day and exercise. I have been losing about 2 pounds per week pretty steadily, and I am okay with that. I don't worry anymore if I will be fat forever - I know it will be gone eventually and it will never come back. It gives me a sense of peace that I have never before had. I've got leftover packets of Protein shakes from past liquid diets. I keep them in case I need a quick meal because they actually taste pretty good. But knowing I don't have to LIVE on them ever again is priceless. Best wishes and continued good health to all, whether pre or post surgery!

This is an awesome thread - 1. GET A GRIP! You're not going to die. 2. This is the best thing you have ever done and yeah, it will be hard at first but it will get much better 3. It will totally change your life in the best way possible 4. FEAR IS A LIAR Sometimes I just need a little tough love to get through...

YES! LOL. I got into an argument with the fellow that was assisting my doctor (but we talked afterwards and made up ) Then, I asked so many questions that the anesthesiologist chided me for taking up so much time (which I ignored). Almost jumped off the operating table when they wheeled me into the surgery suite...scary equipment and bright lights everywhere. But I made myself stay and after they shot the medicine into my IV, I was out like a light and it was too late to run! I don't regret it all and am very glad I stayed. Good luck to you!!

I ate veggies hotdogs at 6 weeks with no bun. Went down fine - good source of non-meat Protein.

That muscle mass is gold in the bank - keeping it intact helps keep your metabolism up! YAY for the weight loss!

Some people never regain their hunger and then others get it back just as strong as it was before the surgery. It's a specturm really, between the two extremes, depending on each person's individual anatomy, hormones and I am sure a bunch of other things. I got my hunger back..however..before the surgery if I wanted a huge plate of food and felt deprived if that didn't happen. Now, I am happy with the smaller portions and have a sense of freedom from food that I have never in my life experienced. Food no longer is the focus at family gatherings or social events. I can pass up a donut or cake or any other sweet treat and not feel bad or upset over it. Sure, I look forward to tasting certain foods. i still enjoy eating and still love macaroni and cheese. If appropriate (meaning I have planned for it in my daily meals), I just eat a little bit for a taste and then move on. But it's not like it was before.