FrankyG

I barely did anything the first 4 months. I was so freaking exhausted, I just couldn't move more than needed for my day to day. Around 6 months, I finally started getting some energy, and began walking and swimming. At about 7 months, added back in biking. At this point, I was swimming around 5 days a week for 2-3 hours (not constant laps, but in the pool, diving and swimming and running underwater and playing catch/pool volleyball - it was both for fun and exercise). I was riding my bike to the pool every time as well - .60 mile total each day. And then I added in a yoga class once a week. My current schedule at just over a year out: Walk 2-4 miles 5+ days a week on a walking trail (with small hills/valley terrain - I LOVE my walking trail!!) I might be walking 7 days a week if not for some weird pains I keep getting in my hips (working on hip abduction exercises to try to work that out now) Yoga - one structured class once a week; 1-2 at-home yoga sessions (30-45 minutes) Biking a few times a month (depends on weather; I like walking in rain, but not getting my bike soaked) One weight-type workout - some pushups, leg lifts, hand weights, etc... mostly concentrating on arms tho since the rest of the stuff works the lower body more When the pool opens for the 2016 season, I'll be adding back in the biking/swimming 5 days a week minimum (swimming does not feel like exercise to me, so I do it every chance I get)

I'm not your age, but the thing you have on your side is your youth. Losing a large amount while you're still young means your skin likely will rebound much, much better than in your 30s or 40s. If you lose weight slower, and make sure to exercise and keep hydrated and hit your Protein goals, you should be okay, and once you hit goal weight, your skin will continue to improve; most plastic surgeons won't even evaluate you until you've been a stable weight for one year because they know skin continues to tighten and adjust during that time. You may be lucky and not have any issues after a few years. But anything that doesn't tighten up can be fixed eventually if it is really bugging you. The big thing is that a little loose skin is nothing compared to how great you'll feel losing all that weight.

You're ready when your doctor and nutritionist say you are. If they want you on a specific diet, it is very foolish to not follow it. You've just had major surgery and need to follow what they told you to do. Even if you think you can handle it, your stomach is going to be swollen and healing for months. Seems dumb to me to advance to solids so soon just because you are craving them; aren't cravings really what got you to the point of needing weight loss surgery? Why on earth would you listen to that little voice now? Advancing too soon may mean you'll either stress your stomach out, or minimum not be learning your stomach's new "full" signs and how to eat properly. Eating small amounts of liquid, then puree, then soft, then solids is important because you're relearning how to eat food and breaking your old relationship with food as well. Not following the proper steps is setting yourself up for a possible issue down the line because you are so impatient. Not a good idea to skip steps if you wanted this for long-term success.

The reason you feel so hungry after eating is not getting in your Protein. Protein is needed because it is essential to make sure your body has enough to maintain muscles and basic function (hair, nails, skin, muscles... all need lots of protein to function well). Protein makes you feel full and satisfied longer as well. SO skipping your protein because you don't like the drinks is really bad - you risk losing muscle mass, your hair will start falling out faster, your skin and nails will look like crap and you will feel bad because losing muscle mass just makes you weaker. and you'll start feeling vunerable to eating crap again - it is a bad cycle to get caught in.. so stop doing that! Find protein drinks that you can tolerate. Go buy a few different types at the grocery store, and check out the recommendations on these boards for others available online. You will find one that tastes okay eventually. Most grocery stores carry a type of low lactose/sugar high protein milk. I am lucky to live where they have one that tastes wonderful - Mootopia (in TX HEB stores) - but there are others like Fairlife I think that are going to be great for a high protein low sugar drink. If you added some Protein powder to that, it probably could be just as good as a regular Protein Drink. Start reading labels and find things at the store that could work out for you at each stage of your diet. Kroger makes a decent yogurt called Carbmaster that has only 60 calories and 4 grams of carbs, but 9 grams protein and they taste pretty good. I know when I was finally cleared to eat things like eggs I still couldn't because I threw it up (and continued to throw them up until almost 4 months out). You don't want to rush things food-wise not only because you are trying to relearn how and what to eat, but because your stomach might not be ready for them either... you might not have had that happen yet, but believe me, I'd rather have waited and never experienced the egg intolerance! In the mean time, work on eating what you're supposed to be eating. Cheating is bound to happen and what you did isn't going to hurt your staples or stretch your stomach, but you have to realize that the only person you're cheating on is yourself. We all end up doing dumb things every once in a while, but don't dwell on them - just resign yourself to getting back on track and recommit to sticking to the program. Get psyched up - you are going to be happy and healthy and rock this sleeve!!!

So using a credit card? How were you able to do that? If you didn't pay it all off that following month $15,000 would rack up a lot of interest wouldn't it? My doc let me pay in installments. I broke the full amount into 3rds, had the office charge the installment to my card every month for 3 months. I had the full amount in my savings, and would pay off the card in full each month. That's the only way I'd use the credit card (I don't do interest charges!)

You had a day of crazy. Don't freak out too much about this - just realize that you have difficulties controlling yourself around sweets and guard against exposure to this stuff until you are much better about restraining yourself. But a big thing to remember - at this point, you could eat absolute crap and still lose weight. There are plenty of people out there that eat fast food and Cookies and because of the restriction in the early months, they continue to see weight loss. My doctor was just talking about this at my last appointment, not that I was eating poorly, we were discussing a friend of mine that is doing this and justifying it by saying she's still losing weight and me trying to get ideas of what to say to counter that mentality. What the doc said was this: the sleeve will cause anyone to lose weight eating exactly the same foods they ate pre-sleeve in the first year. They can't eat anything in large quantities, so the weight drops away. It works that way until they hit about a year or so out, and then the weight loss slows/stops. At this point, their stomach has relaxed and they are able to eat a bit more food than at the beginning. And all of this time, they haven't adjusted any of their eating habits or tried to move towards healthy foods, because they thought they didn't have to. So they keep eat stuff that has no real nutritional value, is high in fat, calories, salt and low in Vitamins, Protein and Fiber. They no longer have the sleeve's super reduced size to make up for the poor eating habits. And they gain back all of the weight, say that the surgery failed, when in reality they failed themselves. You should be using this time over the next year to completely change how you eat, what you eat and how often/how much. The sleeve takes care of portion control and in most cases the feelings of hunger. The biggest thing that many seem to miss about the surgery - the biggest advantage is really that it allows you to relearn healthy eating habits - good foods full of nutrients and putting protein, veggies first and foremost in your daily diet - because you're no longer a slave to ravenous appetite or able to stuff in tons of food. Sweets or junk are still possible, but they should be very occasional treats, not stuff you eat daily. It's a huge mind shift, but those that are able to make that shift do the best after having this surgery. I hope you're going to be one of them!

I was self pay, had ACA (the real name of Obamacare) and it was not covered under the plan we have. It really just depends on the coverage on the exchanges (I'm in a state that refused to set up a healthcare exchange and acts generally pissy about everything that might help others). Advantages? You can itemize on your taxes, take a medical deduction and get a bit of money back as long as it is something like 7% or higher of your total income. (confirm details yourself) No 6 month wait time, and in general, no hoops to jump through. You get a few tests run, and as long as you're healthy enough for surgery, you could go in within weeks of starting the process. No psych evaluations, no constant back and forth with insurance reps or other paperworky hassles. No having to appeal turn downs and play phone tag for months with insurance and the doctor's office. You can pick any doctor you'd like, not just one covered by the insurance plan. If you have points credit cards, you could use them (as long as you have the cash to pay them off shortly) to run up some impressive rewards. I made sure to pay in installments so as to not max out my best card, paid it off that month and then charged up the rest of the amount and paid it off. Didn't cost me anything extra, scored hundreds of bucks in reward.

It is good that you're committing to staying on target for your diet, but the other thing to remember is that you're not expected to be 100% perfect 100% of the time. We all got to the point of needing bariatric surgery because we had serious issues with food. The surgery isn't going to magically solve all of the problems - the reasons we crave crummy food, the compulsion to binge, the head hunger - the only thing it helps control is portion sizes. Losing weight and keeping it off is still going to be hard work. Eating a few bad things every once in a while isn't going to ruin what you're working towards, but getting super negative and down on yourself isn't the answer. You're human, you'll make mistakes, and that doesn't mean you're a bad person. So don't feel too harsh towards yourself, rather, use this feeling as a "I'm better than this, and I'm super psyched to get back on track!" And stalls are gonna happen, so don't think it is always something you did - your body will lose at the pace it decides. And sometimes that will be S-L-O-W as a turtle. You just keep going, keep motivated and positive, and you'll get there!

That's wonderful! You're doing so well!

I know I've always noticed in people's faces/necks when they've lost a large amount of weight. I am pretty sure it just looks off for a little while, and the skin eventually rebounds somewhat. I know I've been okay so far, just the smallest of sag in the neck area, but that's minimized by the fact that I got my cheekbones back. I figure if my neck area doesn't tighten eventually, I'll fix it later if it continues to bother me. But you are so right - I would do the surgery again in a heartbeat considering how much better I feel and move.

I slept mostly for the two weeks I took off, but if I was working remotely, I might have been able to handle just one week, and then worked a few hours, nap an hour, work a few more, nap... But I was really, really exhausted. Like the worst tired you've ever been and it drug on for over a month as I slowly was able to increase my calories. It may be okay, but you're the only one that really knows your workload and how much contact you have to have and whether you can take frequent rest breaks/naps during working hours and maybe just work later to make up for the breaks.

Totally my opinion... If you have to beg others (friends and strangers) to afford something like this, then you can't afford it. Reduce your spending, save money and pay for it yourself. Living below your means (which means you aren't spending every last penny of your paycheck and that you are saving a good percentage) should be a given. Just off the top of my head - cut out the high phone bill (plenty of low cost phone plans out there below $40/month - I pay around $30/for TWO phone plans!), stop eating out, cook in bulk and freeze meals, do away with shopping for fun or things like car washes, manicures or cable... just about everyone has one or two (or 10) things that they do that could be stopped to save up without causing real pain. The money is there, you just have to give up some other luxury to find it. Again, completely my opinion, but I think it is a really sad sign that some people think they are owed an easy time just because they want something, instead of working hard and making some effort to do it themselves.

I used an over the counter PPI - generic is called omeprazole. It has to be taken daily and I was on it for about 6 months before my doctor said try coming off and assessing if I still needed it. (I didn't)

You're barely even to two months... you aren't giving the sleeve a chance to work. As long as you are following your doctor/nutritionist instructions regarding Water, Protein and exercise, you will do just fine. Stalls are completely normal, and expected and can last for weeks. The weight isn't just going to steadily melt off until you reach goal; there will be a whole lot of starts and stops. Please read this from another savvy poster: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/351046-embrace-the-stall/ And if no one told you this part as well: take your measurements ASAP. Arms, chest, waist, hips, legs using a measuring tape and then retake it every month around the same time. Many times when you think you're not losing any weight because the scale isn't budging, you're losing fat and gaining muscle. One pound of fat is far bulkier than one pound of (lean,mean) muscle, so while the scale is telling you you're stalled, your body may be slimming down anyway.

Make sure to take your Vitamins, include Biotin if not already in your regular bari Vitamin, and lots of collagen (eating sugar free Jello means you're also getting some collagen). That, plus getting your Protein in means you're less likely to experience any extreme hair loss. It is pretty unlikely anyone but you will really notice in any case.

Walking, ride my bike and yoga right now, but in the summer I swim like 6 days a week and ride my bike to get to the community pool. Love swimming! I made up a walking playlist so I have songs that are fast paced and really great for getting the heartrate up, and then one or two songs slower paced before the next round of fast walking... it's more fun that way.

Holy moly!!!! That is amazing especially in that short of a time frame... Congratulations!

Save a few things... but just so you can look at them later and see just how much you've lost. Congrats on such a great NSV!!

I think this question comes up at least once a month (just like a period!) It's fine. You can't wear a tampon, so let the nurse know the day of surgery that is getting you prepped and they'll give you a pad to wear for during surgery (they'll have you do a urine test for pregnancy anyway, so just tell them before that and you can take care of all of it then). They've seen it all before and there is absolutely no reason to worry or get embarrassed.

Your husband is (excuse my profanity) a complete asshat. I know I've lost lots of weight over the years using all manner of diets. And I've regained every damned bit of weight after as well. This surgery is a tool to help you get control of your eating habits, allowing you to relearn how to eat healthy and create an entirely new lifestyle if done properly. It is not a fad or a diet - it is a total life change. Your relationship with food is forever altered. So if you weren't already aware of that, then I guess it might be something to think about. But the fact is, no one exercises every day. No one eats perfectly every single day. This isn't a sign of lack of commitment; it's a sign of being human. But using the sleeve, you'll lose the gnawing hunger, and the ability to eat large quantities and also for about a year's time, you'll lose the overwhelming desire to eat really bad stuff. This gives you a chance to change up everything. You should become better at making healthy choices overall, so that the indulgence of a small slice of cake or a few Cookies every once in a while don't do anything to your weight. Or feel well enough to get out there and walk or ride a bike or go play a sport several times a week. You might even get to enjoy certain activities to the point where they don't even feel like you're exercising. That's the goal - and with this surgery, it is achievable. He is a jerk for being so unsupportive. He is a jerk for not understanding that carrying large amounts of weight around is only going to increase your health issues as you get older, and he is a total jerk for trying to make you feel like a failure before you've even tried. Just because you've lost some weight now doesn't mean you will be able to keep it off long term, and you are giving up on yourself because he's basically put you down enough to where you feel like it is a given that you will fail at this too. And that is the biggest jerk move of all. Even if you do give up on this surgery, you need to sit down and really examine the relationship where your husband is so unsupportive of something that is meant to improve your health and well being. It might be that he is scared something bad might happen, or it might be that he is upset that you might get better to the point where you might leave him or some other insecurity he has that makes him project his fears and anger at you. Because that sounds like a really crappy relationship to have, and I would be super pissed off at my spouse if he acted that way. All of this should have all be discussed and worked out months ago - when you first started this whole weight loss journey. He should not be freaking out and making you feel awful just days before your surgery. And that is why I say he's being a complete asshat - because he is so small and petty as to basically tear you down right when you need him to be there for you - no matter what his reasoning is for doing so. Big hugs, and I hope you can have a real conversation with him regarding his attitude and what you need from him and he actually hears what you're saying. And good luck with whatever you decide... but I do hope you are able to move forward.

I started eating it about 6 months out. It is dry and tough compared to foods you're eating for the first few phases, and you should definitely wait until you're cleared for all foods before even attempting it.

I'd never heard of it, but this just looks scammy and unlikely to produce any measurable results while picking your pocket for the experience. Save your money. You shouldn't even consider any plastic surgery until a year out from being a stable weight as your skin most likely will adjust and tighten on its own somewhat. Work on building up muscle, getting in your fluids and using decent moisturizers and hope you've got good skin genetics. Since you're still actively trying to lose weight, figure at least a few more months to hit your goal and then one year after you hit your goal before you should start worrying over skin procedures. Most reputable surgeons won't operate earlier than that anyway. So you've got lots of time to save up for any plastics. And you might not really need them as much as you think depending on your skin's elasticity anyway.

It hurts and would definitely have more bruising because they pulled the stomach out through that incision, and there was more surface area of muscle compromised by that. It also likely contains stitching in the muscle layer as well (which also causes more pain).

You look amazing! So sorry you're having a rough time right now. I do hope things get better for you and yours really soon.

I read his blog, and really enjoyed that piece. Thanks for posting!