FrankyG

I only told my family (husband/mother). It is nobody's business. I told my work I was having abdominal surgery. Anyone got too nosy, I told them gallbladder removal (I already had this done years ago). If anyone commented on my weight loss, I told them I was doing an intense diet/exercise program and that I was working with my doctor to get healthy. Because that is the truth.

Did you have a psych evaluation? Because what you are doing to yourself is mourning foods and dealing with head hunger, both of which should have been discussed within those appointments. I think everyone ends up thinking about foods in the early days when you can't eat anything, but the liquids phase is pretty short in the grand scheme of things. Just keep telling yourself that and power through. You can have those food again eventually. You'll be able to do eggs in the soft foods stage, and sausage shortly after. Bread is pretty bad and should not be put back into regular routine in your diet, but you could have it occasionally in small portions without doing any major damage, but MUCH later in your diet journey. (it should be whole grain whatever, and again, not a diet staple) The big thing to try to remember is that you are doing a hard reset - re-learning how to eat and what foods you should be eating to be healthy. Just hang in there and try to redirect your time fantasizing about food to finding protein-packed foods/recipes that are good for you that you can start eating/cooking as you enter each new diet phase.

Yes, completely normal. You're probably only getting 400 or less calories a day at 4 weeks out; so of course your body will be severely fatigued and have no energy. It gets better once you get to solid foods and higher calorie counts.

I never had this happen, but I think it's because I have years of training dealing with IBS. I know where all the bathrooms are in any store, restaurant and venue that I've ever visited and the quickest way to get there and recognize the instant the "holy @#! time to run to the bathroom!" feelings start up. I find that after surgery, I don't go nearly as often now, and when I do have "issues" it's because of dairy - usually milk. So I drink that now if I feel like it's been too long between BMs.

The many (not so surprising) surprises I've made so far: I realized at one point trying to finish something that I didn't actually have to because I was full and would probably regret eating the last few bites anyway. I grew up with a father that would yell if I didn't clean my plate so this has been upsetting and then strangely freeing understanding the need to finish off every morsel of food. I am now okay with leaving some behind. That I probably was (am) a binge eater. I would have trigger foods that I would eat until they were all gone or eat until I felt sick. I never really put it together that this was binge eating; I just thought I was greedy/piggish, but feeling compelled to eat... never stopped to think about probably because that was a secret/shameful act and I didn't want to focus on it any more than I had to. I don't think this was a realization but I used food for reward and for comfort. I was shocked at seeing how carby foods I ate affected me once I stopped eating them. And how when I started eating them again in (what I thought) was moderation, how quickly I got hooked on them and craved them until I detoxed and got them out of my system. I have trigger foods that I really should not ever eat again because I can't seem to control myself even with the sleeve. So they will never come in my house again if I can help it. I love how easy it is to find some tasty workarounds for some of my favorite recipes. I don't want to eat crap food any more, and modifying a beloved favorite makes me so happy.

You will most likely be perfectly fine. Stick to your pre-op diet and things will be the best for your surgery - you still have 13 days, so that's plenty of time to shrink the liver in most cases. Deep breaths and try to distract yourself by researching new recipes and foods for after surgery and go in with a positive attitude! Every time that negative stuff starts up, shout it down with thoughts about how you will be in great shape and come through everything with no problems, and you will ROCK this sleeve - you will be awesome!

Totally agree with the others about the fact that you're in a stall, and read that post that Inner Surfer Girl wrote. But have to point out that your eating crackers or taco shells (soft or hard) at just a month out is also a danger, and makes me wonder what else you're eating that is very bad. You should not be eating simple carbs - bread, crackers, Pasta - at this point. And ritz crackers are carb bombs with absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever - even if you only ate two of them, they are bad for you and should be eaten very occasionally and months and months from now. Eating crap food this early in the game just means you don't have the right tools and mindset to help you work the sleeve (and I blame your doc for that if they didn't give you a good guideline of what you should be eating at each point in your journey!). Strangely, if you eat too little, that can also cause your body to hang onto every last pound due to starvation mode. It will eventually start back with weight loss, but it will be loss of muscle, not fat! So try to up your calories by eating more Protein and healthy foods, and get some good ideas for healthy meal options down and you should be okay. This board is great for support, so definitely vent, ask questions and do lots of research! High protein yogurt (there are many low carb versions; I like Kroger's carbmaster brand), canned tuna fish or chicken with a little light mayo and a green onion chopped up, baked fish like swai fillets seasoned with any variety of spices, Fairlife or Mootopia milk (lower carb, high protein milk)... there are so many things you could be eating that are going to be high protein and low carb. Save the crackers for many months from now (and try to find low carb or at least the whole wheat versions then), and concentrate on protein and healthy veggies. There are tons of great recipes here if you and also out in the googlesphere - search for sleeve diet recipes or similar. I'm sure you'll find some ideas that will taste good and be way better for you. It's early days yet. Don't panic - you're not a failure. Just focus on the liquids, the right foods and exercising, and you'll do great.

Agree with the upping the protein. 60 seems really low for 6 months out. I was told to shoot for 80+ grams once I was able to eat solids.

I lose and gain exactly the same way - proportionally. I was pretty sad for the first 3 months as I couldn't see any difference in how I looked (despite my clothes being looser), until my husband pointed out that I was losing weight from everywhere so it wouldn't be obvious unless I compared past photos. Even my feet and fingers are smaller - I've had to get new rings twice so far!!

Negative self talk is very harming. I struggle with this as well. I can start out calling myself all kinds of names in my head when I make a mistake, but the fact is, everyone everywhere that has ever lived has made mistakes and sometimes handle things badly. And even that perfect/pretty person that you might envy - they are just as flawed as the rest of us. We happen to handle stressors by turning to food for comfort. That sucks. But with the help of this surgery, we'll gain a bit more control over the physical need to eat or overeat. The big part you need to work on are the mental aspects of using food for comfort. And one of the ways to do this is to stop the negative self talk and start telling yourself that you are a strong, amazing person that doesn't need to eat lots of bad food to feel better. I'm a good person, and a temporary misstep doesn't change that. You are a good person too. Please start telling yourself that - and believing it too.

I HATED unjury - nasty tasting, and even trying to choke it down, it made me throw up it was so foul tasting to me. I gave it several tries, but something is definitely off as far as I was concerned. Even the smell makes me gag.

My full signal is I burp. I know once that starts, step away from the food! I usually try to stop before the burping starts, as I hate trying to stifle the burps because it's embarrassing to just sit there and sound like a bullfrog for the next 10 minutes. But the few times I ignored the burp signal, I ended up with a gross feeling of fullness and for some weird reason, a tightness/tension in my jaw bordering on pain.

Yes. I'm a slow loser. I'm coming up on a year, and "only" have lost 88 pounds. And the last half of the year, I was lucky to see 6-8 pounds a month on the scale (if that). There are lots of slow losers - I'd wager that for every one person that loses weight super fast, there are at least 2-3 that are losing slower than "normal." Three months out and down 34 pounds... that is awesome. When was the last time you had a steady weight loss like that? Ever? I know I never had that. You can't compare yourself to others - that's a discouraging and false premise. Your body will lose weight at the rate that it loses, not at the rate that someone else loses, or what anyone else (even your doctor) thinks you should be losing. It may be due to metabolism, how you're managing food and exercise, even your sleep schedule can have an effect on weight loss (not enough sleep and you'll stall out more easily). The number on the scale is also not the only number you should be checking. You can be losing fat and gaining muscle and seeing significant losses in the tape measurement/how your clothing fits and not see weight loss on a scale, since a pound of fat is much bulkier than a pound of muscle. It is recommended that you take measurements (like chest, arms, waist, hips, legs) so you can see if those are also changing for the better when it seems like you're stalled or losing slowly. The best thing you can do for yourself is to not judge your progress based off of anyone else. As long as you are hitting your Protein requirements, keeping your calories in range and exercising (all according to what your doc/NUT told you), you will be fine. Just remember - this is not a race. You'll get there in the end, you just have to keep going forward!

I didn't and I had my gallbladder out years ago and had IBS as a complicating factor (The IBS is pretty much gone now; used to go every day if not 2x a day, now it's once every 3 days). I didn't have a bowel movement until 4 days after surgery. I have no idea why you'd be having the complications like that, but it probably is just how your body decided to react after surgery. So sorry and I hope you start feeling better soon!

What you know is wrong. The first month is not always the easiest month to lose weight. It can be good for many, but it is usually not the most dramatic loss as some are hurting and unable to exercise and swollen/retaining Water for much longer after surgery, and everyone reacts differently. And considering that you said you started out at a low BMI, you are expecting entirely too much all at once. You need to adjust your attitude and expectations and realize that your body will lose weight at the pace that it decides - not what someone else lost, not what the doctor thinks you should lose, and certainly not your current expectations. Stop worrying and working yourself up over this. This is a total change in how you relate to food and your body that you should be following for the rest of your life... you need to stop focusing on the first weeks and even months and comparing things so obsessively. You are in this for the long haul. As long as you are doing as your doctor suggested on Protein, water and exercise, you will succeed.

I buy tons of red peppers when they go on sale and roast them, then slice and freeze (they freeze REALLY well): http://www.marinmamacooks.com/2013/09/how-to-roast-red-peppers/ They are amazing for topping meats and with cheeses, and I use them on my mini pizzas as well. (my mini pizzas are low carb tortilla, about a half a spoonful of spaghetti sauce, mozzarella cheese and then red peppers and pepperoni and whatever else sounds good - I layer all of that and then heat about 1-2 minutes in the microwave)

Glad the doc reassured you that you'll be fine - good luck tomorrow!!

I didn't have to do any of that and must have just had shots while still in hospital. But do keep doing them if that's what they advised you to do. Subcutaneous (into the skin/fat) shots are not really painful - you're just psyching yourself up to thinking they are. They are a cakewalk once you get the hang of it. The needles are tiny and don't hurt. I had to give myself shots for an unrelated condition - both subcutaneous and intramuscular (with a 2 inch needle no less) and I worried at first, then felt like a total badass once I got over the fear. You can do this and you will be so proud of yourself for pushing through the fear and worry!!

If you're having the sleeve, they don't even do anything that low on your abdomen. The incisions are all upper belly or around the natural waistline (if you drew a line across the belly button area). Mild rashes or irritation shouldn't be an issue in the pannus region. And you don't have to be hairless. They don't care what is down there, so not sure why you'd put chemical hair remover down there or worry about shaving... they've seen it all and if it would interfere with surgery, they'd remove the hair themselves.

Woo HOO! Congrats on stalling! (that's such a good way to look at it)

Update at 11 months: Still plodding along at the turtle pace, and still very, very pleased. I've lost as of today 88.5 pounds (with my 11 month sleevaversary in 2 days). I have hopes to push that to 100 pounds in time for my year checkup appointment with the bariatric doc. Might not make it, but I'll be close enough for my satisfaction I'm sure. My hair loss was minimal. I noticed it just because I was watching for it to start happening, but no one else (even my hairdresser) said I lost that much if anything. I was really hitting my Protein and taking my Vitamins during the whole time so that might have helped considerably. I'm down 4 sizes and could be shortly down 5. Have to go try on some clothes soon. Skin sag is still minimal. I have a tiny bit of sag around my neck area (the under chin part) but no one else seems to notice it (husband says I'm crazy and there's nothing saggy there, but I SEE IT). Skin on legs is ever so slightly wrinkled depending on how I cross my legs - Oh, I can CROSS MY LEGS. - but otherwise, no signs of obvious sagging. Wow. Good for me also is that the boob area seems to be holding steady. I have lost band size, but my cup size is the exact same. Which I'm happy about as I liked my boobs (and so did the husband). I have regained my hourglass figure - which is AWESOME. I had to get a new ring about 3 months ago as my wedding band kept slipping off. It's now happening again. I've lost at least 2 ring sizes for goodness sake! Even my fingers were fat apparently! I can see more definition in my hands and feet now. I have ankles again! I can wear shoes that were too small and cut into the tops of my feet because I guess they would swell and get too fat. Oh and my feet don't swell up from walking and standing/sitting too long any more. I can take a bath now, and there are large gaps between my hips and the sides of the tub. I used to touch both sides solidly and have to shift around to get Water to flow behind me, but not any more! I don't have to shift my sides around to buckle my seatbelt in the car. I have cheekbones again. In fact, from the shoulder up (due to my swimming, I have nice muscles in my shoulder/arm area) I don't look fat at all. My arms and legs no longer have tingling or numbness when I sleep. Things I've learned so far: Carbs do count with my diet. If I get around 50-75 grams/day, then I'm going to be okay, but over that for any length of time, and my weight loss will stall. Keeping my calories up is actually a good thing. I eat between 1000-1400 a day. But when I'm on the high side, I see more weight loss. I think it is because I'm getting my metabolism up enough to have energy to do things so I don't feel so tired all the time and move more. Grazing is BAD. I can't let my guard down with grazing since it is just boredom, tired, or head hunger. Distraction is the name of the game. So I have things like baby carrots for crunch or a glass of milk (mootopia with lowered lactose and higher protein) if I'm desperate and really think I'm hungry, but otherwise I get 3 meals and 2 Snacks and that's it. I definitely have slider foods - and I don't bring them in the house any more. I can eat "bad" things occasionally as a special treat and not wreck my weight loss. The key is moderation (something I always had issues with). A piece or two of chocolate is enough for me to be happy.

Your hormones and metabolism are going to be haywire for the coming months. That can explain both issues you're experiencing. It's pretty common for the cycles to get a bit off and even go annovulary for several cycles (meaning you won't get your period or you'll experience longer than normal cycles).

Yup. I was cold pretty much non-stop for the first couple of months. I think it is pretty common and due to the shift in hormones and other metabolic changes.

Yoga! I am really enjoying learning new poses and seeing real results - can almost flat hand on the floor for the toe touching now and regaining so much flexibility, balance and muscle. Bike riding and swimming. Loved both when I was a kid, but lost my joy from them once I got older and fatter... now I ride my bike to go swimming in the spring/summer and ride my bike around the trails and it's so lovely. I actually look forward to weighing myself since I'm more often than not seeing reduction in weight every week or two. Love "shopping" my closet for clothes I was too big to wear, but couldn't bear to get rid of. I bought a beautiful pale green velvet fitted jacket years ago that was too small to wear (fell in love with it and thought I'd somehow diet down to fit) and just tried it on this month and it not only fits, I have a bit of room to wear a sweater under without binding in the arms! And also trying on clothes in general. I've bought a few new pairs of jeans, and no longer feel dread at the idea of going clothes shopping.

I had that problem with