Marietizzy

@@angewil60 Holy mother! Lol! You may need to type that up again....After you come off the pain meds!!!!

I really hope not. I have dreadlocs and I have no idea what I would do without them.

So true, I was going to put in fat free Mayonnaise on my tuna yesterday. I watched this new documentary called "Fed Up" (released earlier this year) which highlights how much sugar and extra processed ingredients are in fat free or low fat foods. Its more of an attack on Big food for sweetening us to death. I had no idea how much corporate influence there was over school lunches. I will not let my child drink chocolate milk again (or at least not everyday during school lunch), that is for sure.
Anyway, the film does get you into the practice of looking at food labels. And yes, the fat free mayonnaise was loaded with sugar!
sure.

Under the circumstances, wouldn't you rather stay and let them figure out what's going on? A slight temperature increase after surgery is normal. A fever is not. Anything above 101 F is considered a true fever post-operatively.
If you think you're frustrated now, go home and let this undetermined problem persist. You'll end up in the ER with them starting from scratch trying to figure out what's going on.
I'm sorry you're having this slight complication; I wish that weren't the case but it is. True fevers are present for a reason. Are you taking pain medication (hydrocodone or oxycodone)? Oral narcotics (pills and liquids) contain Tylenol, which is a fever reducer as I'm sure you know. If you are already taking those meds that contain a fever reducer and you STILL have a fever, they are rightfully concerned. You are right where you need to be. Let them get this issue resolved so that you can go home free of complications and can focus on getting healthy and dropping your excess weight. As hard as it may be, patience is necessary in your situation. Praying that all will be well and that the rest of your recovery goes well. Take care.....

Today I started my liquid pre-op diet. John is incredibly supportive and helpful.
My daughter and John's sister are both coming to visit this weekend, and he went out this morning to buy a few things so we could feed the company. We included on the list the things I needed for my liquid diet. The list was not very long lol.
He came home with $400 worth of groceries. Four. Hundred. Dollars. I'm not exaggerating. While he was in the store, he started imagining all these meals we could make. He totally forgot that I can't eat. For like a month.
I can't stop laughing, and he's still trying to fit it all into the refrigerator.

@@butterfyeffect -- love it! I have a selfie of me in a dressing room in a size 6 that I immediately texted to my daughter!
You know you've had weight loss surgery when you drop 62 pounds in 4 months and look forward to dressing up in Halloween costumes now:

Ok, so let me first explain the two circumstances that came together that day to create the "Litter Box Incident"....
1) when I had C. diff, my BM's consisted of a severe, painful cramp, followed by projectile, watery diarrhea approximately 5-10 seconds later. This occurred 15-20 times a day at the height of my infection. No way to either predict or prevent the chain of events.
2) I am a vet tech/partner in a mobile veterinary practice. It's just me and the vet. Our mobile unit is basically like a 25 foot RV. We took the toilet out years ago in order to convert the tiny "bathroom" into a storage closet.
Despite my preference to camp out in my own bathroom for the day, I ended up having to work. My vet had just had a hysterectomy and was laid up on her couch. One of our clients called to say she was out of pain meds for her dog that was recovering at home with a broken pelvis. I had no choice but to venture out. I made the 20 minute drive to her house without incident (whew!). But as I was getting up her pain meds, I was consumed with the tell-tale cramp. Knowing I had about 5 seconds before you know what, I grabbed a litter box out of the cupboard, dropped my drawers and squatted. I'm just glad the client didn't come in!
And who said pooping can't be fun?

Noooooooooo!!! NEVER Abercrombie & Fitch!!! Don't wear/buy it. Everrrrr!!!

The USA has one of the worst food supply, nutritionally speaking, in the world. It's full of chemicals and junk our bodies don't need. The reason we have one of the highest number of obese people in the world. American Sumatra has the highest. People are literally getting fatter and fatter because their bodies are perpetually hungry for nutrients that the food supply isn't providing.
When I began eating for nutritional value, I felt a lot better with a higher energy level throughout my day. It was like a revelation. I started to really drop the lbs without starving. I eat to satisfaction, Usually, with my smaller plate plate than before organized with 1/3 Protein, 1/4 grain & 2/3 veg. I'm able to listen to my body much better now. I rarely crave sweets.
My tongue still gets in the way of progress. I shake it off and get right back on the horse. I allow myself something once in awhile though now I'm considering nutritional value when choosing a treat. If it has no nutritional value, I don't get it. For instance, I buy only raw sugar. It has nutritional value. White sugar doesn't.
Here's how to ween yourself into this way of eating:
Buy the highest quality food you can afford, like, buy all organic if you can, free range, grass fed and whole grains; NO BioGenectically-Engineered foods, and stay away from highly processed foods.
If you can only afford to buy a couple organic items, choose what you can on this list:
buy meats without antibiotics or hormones.
Buy thin-skinned & root veggies organic.
Swap usual white carbs for sweet potatoes. It's one the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. Seaweed is too.
Avoid grains, corn & soybeans that grew from disease resistant seeds. Our bodies don't knowhow to process the bio chemical-mix of toxins and people are getting very sick. Many countries around the world have banned Bio-genetically engineered foods. You can pick a couple/few on this master list to start with & go from there.
I discovered that if I eat for nutritional value rather than calories, I'm not hungry all day. My body finally tells me when it's time to eat. I feel satisfied, not full. I feel sustained throughout the day.
The Protein you eat can be measured like this: if it fits in the palm of your hand without the fingers, it's about as much protein as you need, per serving. It works for men and women if they use their own hands to measure for themselves. Each cheese stick is 1oz (16g). Each egg is about 1.5g. Whole grain carbs have protein in them already- a few grams.
I still have my scale & measuring utensils but the more you get used to cooking everything (& ween off packaged stuff) you can eyeball it to pretty close to true measurements using palm measuring.

Your health and recovery are much more important. A good friend will understand and take a raincheck. Maybe not for the concert but definitely for dinner. I would say in advance "I know we have plans for the concert and dinner but this is the only time I can schedule this surgery. I have all intentions of keeping our date but I hope you understand if I am not up to it when the time comes, I will keep you posted on my recovery. Please keep me in your prayers and postive thoughts"

Sounds to me like you aren't getting enough calories.

My husband is fit...i have always felt i didnt measure up (of course he has never said this) but im REALLY excited to initiate! I want him to be able to pick me up and push me up againt the wall! Lol...a girl can dream!

Oh and stop telling yourself you're a failure. YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE! You are adjusting to a completely new way of life. Everyone makes mistakes and not the best choices, but that does not make you a failure. Pick yourself up, brush your shoulders off, and keep on truckin'
It's never to late to start doing the right thing!

@easymack63 CALL YOUR DOCTOR!!! Don't wait for an appointment, pick up the phone and CALL THEM!!!
You have yourself identified some issues that you know are not in your best interest, and you'll already telling yourself that the things you are doing are wrong. CALL YOUR DOCTOR!!! These are concerns and issues that your doctor should know about right away. Those of here on the boards can offer you all kinds of encouragement and support, but your doctor needs to be the one who is guiding you in the direction you need to go.
I promise you that you'll be more angry with yourself if you don't speak with your doctor and something goes wrong. DON'T WAIT! Put your mind at rest, and update your doctor on what you are going through.

My goal is to lose 38% of my total starting body weight.
I state it that way because people (those who I've confided in) tell me "you don't need that surgery." Even my bariatric surgeon (who I think is great) looked at me as they were prepping me for surgery and said "no one would believe you are a bariatric patient." These statements bother me because this is not an easy decision for anyone who makes it.
I am 4' 11". I have never been 5' and will never be. My BMI is 35.3. I am 57 yrs old. I have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic, have joint pains... I can go on. At my highest I weighed 175 lbs. My body knows I'm obese.
I have lost a lot of weight, several times and in-between I was either losing or gaining. I always gained more back. My sister (5' 4") and I lost a lot together a few years and then we both gained it all back and then some. Last year my sister confided in me that she was 4 weeks post surgery for the sleeve. I was shocked. I wasn't in the mindset to start another diet again yet but surgery seemed extreme. I read her brochures and listened to her process and still doubted.
I saw her again this last summer (lives a couple of states away) and after 8 months, she lost 65 lbs and looks great! I watched her and she behaved "normally". She didn't dwell on food and she didn't require a special diet. She was enjoying her new life with her new body. I was tired of failed diets. I went to the next information session on bariatric surgery. Three months later I had sleeve surgery.
I don't want to review my status right now because I know I am healing and changing and any issues are temporary. I can tell you that I am down 15 lbs (10 day pre-surgery diet and first days of clear liquids). Kudos to my sister who is my support group.

For the past couple of months, I have came on here; whined, complained, bitc##d, begged for advice, and most importantly vented about my lack luster and disappointing weight-loss. I've had to laugh when the nutritionist and doc told me I have to eat more calories then most VSG patients because my body was starving, because I'm so big. And I'm talking like double what most VSG patients eat. Clearly there's no room for that in my "Baby Belly".
But today I decided, I'm effing over it, maybe not the venting, lol, but most definitely the bitc##ng and complaining part. What led me to this amazing moment of clarity and enlightenment? It's when I finally start realizing that I have had Non-Scale-Victories happening all around me, but I was to engulfed in my self pity to recognize them.
For starters, I have lost 2 shirt sizes, I've only lost 65lbs SINCE SURGERY, but I have lost 2 shirt sizes, down from a 6xlt, sometimes 7xlt to a 4xlt. I also have lost 6-8 pant sizes (depending on the pants...lol). I no longer have to sit 5ft away from the wheel to accommodate my super super super sized belly, while driving. I don't spill over in every chair I sit in anymore. I no longer force feed myself and allow myself to cover up stress with 6000+ calories a day. Although the wieght-loss isn't coming to me as fast as it is for some of my VSG buddies, it's okay, because it's still coming off. Walking from my basement to my second story is not nearly as laboring as it use to be. I don't need 101 medication to regulate and counter regulate my bodies comorbidities. I have achieved a new found level of mental clarity in my life. I can shop at Macy's. I can jog at 4.9mph on the treadmill, up from a 2.7mph walk.
And today, I had the NSV that is more important than all of them combined, that is; I FLIPPING love who I'm becoming!
So here it is, my Declaration of Independence from the Scale! In my household it's officially, No-Scale-November, meaning no weighing myself for the whole month of November.
Victory for Me! Because it's all going to work itself out. Fidem Servare!!! Latin for "Keep the Faith"

I have finally reached 249 lbs. I haven't seen this number since I was 18. It feels great so far. I want to get into the 230's and then I'll be really happy.
Only thing I am seeing is I'm getting really tired towards the end of the day and I find myself going to bed around 8 to 9pm and waking up around 4 to 5am.
This would be fine except its getting cold and I hate walking when its cold... so I'm trying to stay active and warm lol

In my humble opinion I think MANY interpersonal relationships change when you have WLS. Family dynamics shift, depending on your place in the family. I have always been the one to support and give of myself to everyone. If I had nothing, I would still try to give. I would be suffering, in pain, yet I was always thinking of others. I had been off over two months from work and had spent 6 days in the hospital, yet in May 2013 I made sure to get to my nephew's wedding. ( Four days after I was released from hospital for a major DVT/PE) I was not perfect, but I tried. Then I decided to have the surgery for ME. As I lost weight I became more and more aware of how certain family members used me, and I put a stop to it. Then there was work. Most of my work associates supported my decision and have praised me for the weight I have lost. One coworker though has always been difficult. She is extremely passive aggressive and difficult to get along with. I put up with her nonsense for over 12 years, biting my tongue. Earlier this year I couldn't hold it in anymore. I let her know in no uncertain terms exactly what I thought of her. It got tense and ugly in the office for a while, but I didn't regret it. The old fat me did everything to keep the peace, don't rock the boat. The new thinner me isn't going to put up with the same BS. I am very over that.
And then there is my "personal" relationships. I will admit 100% I thought it would be easier to find a nice guy to date if I weighed less. I never got asked out on dates at 300 lbs +, I really thought when I became physically more attractive that would change. It has not. I haven't dated more than once or twice since I have lost weight. Yet I have made a change in this area too. I used to be available for "FWB" friendships. The problem was they weren't really friends and the only benefit was mostly for them. They didn't want to hang out. Heck most of the guys I have had "benefits" with over the past 10 years have had significant other women in their lives at the time! No, once again I did things just to have a guy pay attention to me. I believed I was desirable to the men, but the truth be known I was just easy. Well since I have lost weight that has stopped. I no longer have FWB. If I am not good enough for a man to take out on a date, been seen together in a social setting and want to actually spend time with me, I am not good for the other either. I think a lot of overweight people will do this, settle for less than ideal rather than nothing at all. Whether it be getting involved with people who are not the best for you or having intimate relationships that are without a relationship, obese people will put others before themselves. I think with weight loss after surgery we begin to find some confidence. We want better for ourselves. And those who have used us don't always like this change. They accuse us of being different people, that we have "changed"- like it is a bad thing. What has changed is we are learning to love ourselves enough to want better. And yes, it does often lead to changes within our social and familial dynamics.

I waited till 2 years post op....at goal for awhile... I had a vodka and soda Water....teehee.
In truth soda pop, diet or not is TERRIBLE for you. I strongly encourage anyone to just break the habit. Eating clean, real foods is just such a good thing.
Signed,
Former Diet Pepsi junkie (and it never made me skinny)

Hey now don't put 'everyone' in the same category, I like "cute fat boys" just fine

There's been a lot of posts on the three week stall. You might just got yours early. Remember you just had MAJOR surgery. Your stomach was cut out. Your body needs time to heal. Weight is just how much force gravity is pulling. (Can't remember the actually definition right now) Your weight might be "stalling" due to numerous factors, bm, bloating, etc. I can almost guaranty you, you are still losing fat. Put the scale away for awhile.

There's been a lot of posts on the three week stall. You might just got yours early. Remember you just had MAJOR surgery. Your stomach was cut out. Your body needs time to heal. Weight is just how much force gravity is pulling. (Can't remember the actually definition right now) Your weight might be "stalling" due to numerous factors, bm, bloating, etc. I can almost guaranty you, you are still losing fat. Put the scale away for awhile.

I went from a 8W ( wide) to a 6.5 ???? I am 6 months out. I just donated TONS of shoes

It never ceases to amaze me that total strangers go out of their way to take the time to offer their support, advice, and kind words to people they've never met before. Thank you all so much!

They better