JamieLogical

Yay for you! It's never too late to take control of your life and it sounds like you are headed toward some truly wonderful years ahead!

Congratulations! Sounds like you are doing well. Hang in there through these first few weeks.

While it's true that you can lose weight through calorie restriction alone, it is still important to incorporate regular exercise. Otherwise you risk losing significant amounts of muscle along with your fat. Then you end up being "skinny fat". A low weight, but with a poor body composition. My nutritionist actually emphasized a goal body fat percentage for me (under 25%) more so than a goal weight for this very reason.

Trust in the decision that you and your doctors have made. Don't let one bad apple spoil the bunch. If you've done your research and you know all the things you will have to do to be successful post-op, there is no reason to question yourself now. Thanks you are right .. Everyone is different. Off to surgery I do Hope all goes well!

Do the sugar-free products you are trying have sugar alcohols in them? A lot of people experience a laxative effect from those. I'd say, start reading ingredient lists and paying close attention to how you feel after eating specific types of artificial sweeteners to try to figure out if it's all sugar substitutes or only specific types that are causing the problem.

Trust in the decision that you and your doctors have made. Don't let one bad apple spoil the bunch. If you've done your research and you know all the things you will have to do to be successful post-op, there is no reason to question yourself now.

That's very unfortunate. Most of what the OP says is complete BS. Her "facts" are woefully inaccurate and I hope you've read through the rest of the posts in this thread to get a clearer picture. WLS is simply a tool and if you don't use it correctly, you will not be successful. That is the TRUTH. But if you go into it with your eyes open, you follow the plan, and you use your tool correctly, you can have tremendous success and much-improved health. So please please please, read through all the posts in this thread and as many posts as you can on this entire site. Make sure you've read and understand any/all materials that your surgeon and nutritionist have provided for you.

I couldn't/wouldn't do bread/toast every day. I do have it from time to time now that I'm 11 months out, but I worry about that many carbs every single day.

I think you might have a little more luck getting this answered if you start a new thread about it. I don't think you can exercise "too much", so long as you aren't risking injury and you are eating enough to sustain your exercise. It is possible that you are gaining muscle and that some of your weight gain is due to that. If you are eating on plan and exercising regularly, you should be seeing some results. Even if the scale isn't moving, your clothes should fit better, you should feel better, and you would probably look better.

I really hope it all works out for you. I guess worst case is that they aren't allowed to cross back into the US smoothly and then they have to deal with the US embassy or something?

I actually had to get my passport card to ENTER Mexico when I went for my sleeve. I already had an enhanced New York State drivers license that allows for land entry into the US (used it previously to reenter the US from Mexico and have used it LOTS of times to reenter the US from Canada). However, since the last time I'd been to Mexico, they changed their laws to require a US Passport or Passport Card for entry INTO Mexico. I was informed of that change in Mexican law by my patient coordinator for my sleeve surgery. She said the Mexican border agents absolutely would not accept my enhanced driver's license. So I scrambled to get a Passport Card at the last minute (thus my trip to the Buffalo Passport office). Then after all of that, when I actually crossed the Mexican border, they didn't ask me for *any* ID at all!

Good luck!

Stories like this make me so mad. These are supposed to be medical "professionals".... why aren't they conducting themselves in a professional manor? You should definitely report her.

Oh wow. That's a long way out to be dealing with so many issues still. I hope you and your doctors can get things figured out!

Do you live anywhere near any of the passport offices? I was fortunate enough to live near Buffalo and go get a Passport card made somewhat last-minute. But there aren't that many offices in the US so the nearest one could be hundreds of miles away from your parents, which doesn't help at all. PS: It's awesome they are coming with you and I truly hope it all works out! It certainly sucks to be dealing with this extra stress on top of the anxiety you are likely feeling about your surgery. Hang in there!

You have stitches. They are just subdermal.

Definitely if I had to give ONE word of advice to all new and future WLS patients it would be "patience". Everything about the entire journey requires patience. You have to be patient while awaiting insurance approval and all the hoops to jump through pre-op. You have to have patience awaiting your surgery date. You have to have patience to make it through your pre-op diet. You have to have patience about moving between the food stages post-op. You have to have patience with the scale. You have to have patience with your sleeve and how it handles new foods. You have to be patient with YOURSELF at you are relearning how to eat. Your family has to have patience with you..... Patience is definitely the key to long-term success and sanity. You will drive yourself completely crazy without it.

How far out from surgery are you?

I love this article! The problem is the people who NEED to read aren't likely to.

It's perfectly normal for weight to fluctuate from day to day just due to things like Water retention. Remember, one cup of water weighs half a pound. You should be drinking at least 8 cups of water a day. That's 4 pounds. So even retaining a portion of that can cause fluctuations on the scale. It's not like it's actual fat. You aren't gaining 5 pounds of FAT in a week or 4 pounds of FAT in a day! Stick to your plan. Trust in the process. And the scale will trend downward. It's also very important not to compare yourself to others. I have been a "slow loser" through this whole process and I really struggled with the frustration in the early days when I "only" lost 14 pounds my first month while others were dropping 20-30 pounds. You know what? I'm 4 pounds from goal now, 11 months out, and what does it matter whether I lost the weight fast or slow?!?! I lost the weight and I'm now happier and healthier. That's what matters!

I add granola or kashi Cereal to my greek yogurt on the days I work out, since it's my last snack before my workouts and the extra carbs help fuel me. But I just buy those separate, measure them out into little containers, and add them when I eat my yogurt. I agree that the added texture is really nice, plus it's a little more filling, since there are some solids in there.

Meanwhile, the other day someone on here was saying that her surgeon insisted she wouldn't feel any hunger for at least 12 months post-op, so in her case I guess she would just starve to death! I told her her surgeon was a "big fat liar" and she was pretty offended.

The pain seems to vary wildly depending on the patient. I had no pain at all around my incisions and no soreness in my abs. My only pain was cramps caused by my drain and gas pain. Neither was unbearable and I didn't take any pain meds after I left the surgical center the day after my surgery. My cramps went away the moment they pulled my drain out. The gas pain was mostly gone after the first couple of days, but I would still get it once in a while the first week or two. Marching in place seemed to help a lot with that. Some people have pain around their incisions. Some people say their abs feel like they've done 1000 crunches. I didn;t experience any of that.

Because your stomach is now the size of a Sharpie and because you can't eat and drink at the same time. I gave up soda years ago and only drank water and hot beverages (coffee!) prior to my surgery. I could easily get in a gallon or more every day. Even 11 months post-op, I struggle to get in about 10 cups a day now. I am just not as thirsty as I was pre-op. I don't gulp water the way I used to. And I can't eat and drink at the same time, so I'm no longer using water as a way to wash food down so I can cram in more. I used to go through a good 2-3 glasses of water at restaurants when I ate out. Now I can maybe get through half a glass in before they bring me my food and then I can't drink anymore until after I get home.

Wow. That explains a LOT right there. Like you said, it's good that these people are at least getting SOME food, but i have to wonder why so much of it is junk. Where are these food donations coming from that so much of the food is unhealthy garbage?