Finding-me

I was only two days into the pre-op diet and it honestly was not a bad as I thought it would be. There's no sense in crying (anymore) over spilled milk. I was handed lemons now I'm off to make lemonade.

Eating out was a bit rough at first because I didn't tell most people about my surgery. I usually just said that I had a big (previous meal), I wasn't hungry, my stomach felt unsettled, etc. All true, just not for the usual reasons.

I had BCBS when I started the process. They covered the sleeve and required 6 months. When I called the guy who answered the phone had no idea what was going on. Ask your surgeon for the billing code and maybe that will help you to get a better answer.

Finally 12 weeks (sleeved 1/20/15) in I have hit 50 lbs lost! Major changes mostly in three areas now.
First, Clothes.... If i wear my fat clothes i look like a pile of laundry.....lol
I have gone from a snug XXL shirt and a tight 40waist to a large shirt and 36waist jeans!!
Secondly is learning how my new stomach actually works and what it is telling me.....actually eating when I am hungry! I have not been counting calories or Protein lately (just once a week ill catalog foods to make sure i'm on track), and just eating the right foods (yes some of the same foods) but not cheating a bite of this and that. This is making the weight-loss much easier. The process of learning how to eat is very important. For example....going out to eat. I order a meal with a good source of protein...lets say steak. I know by the size of my stomach will only allow say 3-4 oz of the meat, maybe a bite or two of the potato and vegetable (for fiber). I also know that I am getting at least one more meal maybe 2 in leftovers for the next few days so I kinda divide it up that way. At home what helps is small salad plates (6") It stops me from putting the "eyes bigger than belly" portion that I may attempt to eat....
Also....I cannot stress the importance of one miracle food to sleevers FAT FREE COTTAGE CHEESE!!! It is so packed with Protein I try to have some as my side at every meal.....It puts me way over the 60-80g of protein every day....actually makes counting protein a waste of time, because 1/2 cup at every meal gives you (13x3) 39g of protein right there. It's real easy from there!
Third is exercise....walking 10,000 steps a day.... which includes a dedicated 45minute walk in addition to normal everyday walking has been attainable, easy and actually fun. Every pound I lose makes it easier to walk faster and further....

I am so tired of hearing that. I feel that people are saying that because they were so use to me being 268 lbs. now that I am 166. It is a total transformation. My family thinks that I work out to much. I try to explain to them that exercise and my new love of running is relaxing for me. Today, I ran 3.1 miles and I ran 14 min 20 sec miles. Never in my wildest dreams would I see myself running and running 14 min miles.
Has anyone been hearing that they have lost enough weight?

Hi all, I am a recent sleeve surgery person (Mar 30) whose short term goal/dream was to reach ONEDERLAND. I hit a 4 day stall at 200 that didn't have me concerned at all because I know at this point the weight has nowhere to go but down. Well, I am happy to report I hit 199 this morning when I weighed. Did everyone hear my cheer and the "whooooop whooooop" across the land?
I haven't seen the 100's in a long long time and couldn't be more pleased. Now, on to the next short term goal which doesn't have a weight attached to it....possibly a level of health to achieve, a size clothes to reach, ability to do a physical activity........to be determined.
At this point I would like to say that the best healing medicine for me has been to get outside of myself. Last week I helped a friend in need who was going for a medical procedure - i drove her to and from the specialist office, got lunch and dinner for her and her boyfriend so they wouldn't have to deal with that during her home recovery. Checking up by phone on her as well and she's just fine. I live on a gorgeous Caribbean Island and I got word that on last Monday (Easter Monday) a mother and her teen children arrived at a Seven Mile Beach hotel on vacation. Within hours her second son went missing and it seems he crossed a busy road at night and was hit by a car, was unconscious and has remained in a coma on life support. How devastating, it makes me hurt inside. I went to the hospital yesterday to pay a visit to the family and the mother was trying to be so strong (husband died 10 years ago). As it turned out the team of doctors here were taking the young man by air ambulance jet to a Florida medical center mid-day. After a while chatting I asked the mother if I could help in any way. She asked if I would pick her brother up from the hotel and take him to a medical office as he was not well with a bad cold. He was a lovely man who was offering support to his sister in this time of need. The bottom line is I have met some very lovely strong people on a very difficult journey. The teenson has a severe head injury with the outcome unknown at this time. I have heard from the mom now that they made it to Florida okay and I know we will keep in touch. Pray for this teenager, Harrison, he is young and strong so has the healing power of youth on his side, prayer and the love of family. My point in sharing this is that 1) whatever we think we are going through there is someone going through worse, 2) help others whenever you can, it's gets your mind off yourself, and 3) the world needs more compassion and reaching out to those who may need a smile, kind word or deed.
Okay, so back to me being in the 100's!!!!! LOL Have a wonderful day.

Hello all!
So I had my real first OMG moment.
I went dress shopping for a wedding I'm in, left picture is 2 weeks after surgery, jan 19th and right picture was today! April 12th.
Same dress but 5 sizes smaller.
84 pounds down from
December 27th 2015.
I was blown away by the side by sides. I can't stop looking and smiling at this picture!! This is, by far, the best thing I have ever done for myself. Today...I'm very proud! ????????

You look beautiful in both, but HAPPIER in the newest one! Congrats!

My surgery was almost two years ago and I've been "at goal" for over a year. I am still amazed when I see pictures of myself not fat.
The kid in this picture is a size 2. I am not. Ha!

Thank you so much
It truly has been a tough time. It also seems I don't get a break from PMS anymore either. 3 good days and then wam! It's awful! It use to be 1 week before and I was a monster lol
I'm gonna call my doc On Monday to see if I can get into see him.

I get a sub from subway maybe 4-5 times a year. I buy a footlong but here's where I've got Jared beat...
I explain my situation and the employees are always ready and willing to please. This is how I order:
Dbl tuna in a cup (easily 3 cans of tuna). I get Italian bread but just have it sliced open and wrapped separately. cheese is separate. Then for my veggies, they use 2 containers to hold all my veggies (future salad, way too many veggies for a footlong). Tomatoes, onions, pickles, lettuce and spinach. No sauces. It cost $10.33 and makes about 12 mini sandwiches. Usually I eat half of my tiny sub and the dog gets the majority of the bread. I leave them a nice tip because I appreciate great customer service.
There's wayyy too much tuna for the bread. I don't eat all the bread but then I have plenty of veggies for a couple salads.
I think it's rather genius. Kudos Subway!

Eff em'
It's your body and your business. Who cares what they think. They are living your life for you. Don't even waste the breath trying to convince them. Simply tell them, "thanks for you opinion" and walk away.
Then start to work on you. Join a gym. Start walking every day for at least 30 minutes. Cut back and/or quit sodas. Walk the walk while you are undergoing your testing.
Here's a good tale to counteract the horror stories your dad told you. I had the easiest time of it. Easier than my surgery to repair my meniscus and easier than my full hysterectomy. I woke up in recovery and was able to get up and walk. I had zero complications, zero gas and zero pain. I never used the pain pump in the hospital and didn't get the prescription for pain filled because I felt that good. I returned to the gym at 3 weeks and haven't had any issues with nausea and vomiting. Every food I have tried, I have tolerated. I have lost 80lbs in 6 mths.
This was the best thing I ever did. I should have done this 20 years ago.

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and there's a lot of posts just like mine but I feel I have to get it all out there if I'm going to feel better. I've been over weight my whole life and I've recently started all the pre-testing needed to go ahead with surgery - I've chosen the sleeve. I've never really been ill, I'm 33 and healthy - but I wont be if I don't change something.
I've been so shocked at the blow back I've gotten when I shared I was getting the surgery. A woman I work with (we're teachers) who was always skinny and a bit of a health nut basically told me I didn't deserve to have my sick leave approved so I could go to my appointments for the pre-op testing. She basically told me it was the equivalent of a tit job. I was furious. For the first time in my life, instead of smiling and nodding, I set her straight - she didn't listen, she looked at me like I was being a drama queen when I told her this would keep me from dying at the age of 45...
I'm terrified to even tell my best friend of 20 years that I'm doing this surgery. When I brought it up 5 years ago she made it VERY clear where she stood - and it wasn't in a positive light. Her grandmother weighed close to 300 pounds and was able to loose the weight and has a "if she can do it, you sure as hell can, you just don't make the right choices/changes and you don't take your diets seriously." Then my father decided to put his 2 cents in. He, of course, talked to a nurse who told him every horror story she's ever heard - leaks, people not being able to eat solid foods ever again, not getting enough nutrients from their new eating styles and having serious medical complications. I know he wants me to be safe, and I want people to be honest with me - all of these risks are very real. But it's hard to move forward with such a scary, life altering procedure when your own dad is freaking you out!
I'm trying to get around one fact in my head. I know that pre-surgery and for the rest of my life I have to make HUGE dietary changes and I want to! I DESPERATELY want to - but I just keep thinking "if I can make these changes, why can't I just make them without surgery" - that's also what my mom keeps saying to me. Can anyone else relate?
I want to make smart choices, I want to make changes while I can, while I'm young (ish) and fit (ish), before I have knee and back issues....but I had an absolute panic attack when I went in for my endoscopy because of the sedation and that's nothing compared to a surgery.
Any advice, words of wisdom and encouragement would be appreciated - I'm sure not getting it from any other source in my life.

Recently ive been cutting out all junk foods and bad Snacks and replacing them with Protein Shakes and Protein rich foods (i havent started my pre op diet, im just trying to form good habits before hand). My question is, can you get too much protein pre op?? I know it will be different once im sleeved, it will be hard at first to hit my goals, but im curious... what is a normal protein range to try to stick to before surgery?

Good Girl! Way to go, preparing ahead of time! You should do really well at this stuff! Why not try for the post-surgery Protein requirement of 60-80 grams? When is your surgery scheduled? When do you start your pre-op diet, and for how long are you on it? You must be really excited for this, to do all this beforehand! I look forward to hearing about your journey...keep us informed!

It would be a pretty high number. I think depending on your activity level anything over 100gms or more might be a little taxing on your kidneys and liver. However increasing it to 60 -80 gms probably will not hurt you as long as you eating a balanced diet.

It was 3/23. And yeah I just drank a Protein ready shake and gave me enough energy to take a shower and hope for a better tomorrow
Thanks for all the kind words

You look great!

Scary indeed.
I almost backed out of surgery - a couple of times in the weeks before surgery and even on surgery day. I sat in admitting thinking to myself, "I can leave right now and I'll only be out $500." But then I looked at my husband, who was just as scared as I was and I chose at that moment to change my life.
Had I let fear win that day...
I wouldn't have the relationship I have with my husband and son I have today
I wouldn't have received the promotion at work - not due to fat shaming by others, but because I did enough fat shaming to myself
I wouldn't have run in that 5K last weekend (and I beat that snotty little 12 year old! Yeah, I kicked her ass!)
I wouldn't have explored Paris on foot logging 20+ miles in 2 days
I wouldn't have explored San Francisco on foot, logging 17 miles in one day!
I wouldn't have been able to walk into the department store and purchase clothes in Misses section (goodbye ugly unnatural prints in the big girls' section)
I wouldn't have tried hot yoga, to which I have now become an addict!
Don't let fear get in your way...

Wishfullthinking: So I did it! I managed to keep a steady weight for all of my appointments. I played the insurance game while following my nutritionist and stayed exactly at a 40 BMI at 240 lbs. They submitted to my insurance and I have a date of May 26th! It seams so far!! Lol. I will be on my liquid diet for Memorial Day . But whatever, this is worth it! I am worth it! Which leads me to my little rant part. I don't post much but lurk often. While lurking I see a lot of "I cheated" "I can't stomach Protein shakes" "I can't drink water" "will I ever eat real food again" (after only a few weeks) I'm am not sorry to say this but it drives me absolutely INSANE! You are cheating yourself. No one else. I worked so hard to get here that seeing this makes me feel like this is all ungrateful unprepared fairly land crap! I just want to scream at them Did you do ANY research? Why even get the surgery if you won't keep working to make yourself a success? This is your health. You did it for your health. And by no means is a quick fix. If you don't like Protein shakes oh well buttercup suck it up! You can't drink Water find a way to do it. Figure it out. I guess I just get mad that people don't love themselves enough to work at being a success but had the surgery anyway.
That's a mouthful of a "rant" for someone who is pre-op.

I 'll look forward to reading more from you once you've gone through the process.

I very rarely post before and after pics, but I feel safer doing it here than I do anywhere else. Since I'm only 9 months out (I was sleeved 6-30-14), I consider myself to be a work in progress and not necessarily at my ultimate "after." I've lost 100 pounds, though, and I'm very happy where I am. I'd like to lose a bit more, but if I was told that I had to stay at exactly the weight I'm at now forever, I'd be blissfully happy.  

My heart aches for you and all the suffering you have endured. I truly hope you can gain your health back. I think you are correct in your theory that extra large patients are treated differently than "normal" sized patients.
I wish you had some legal recourse to go after the doctor that did the surgery. This surgeon should be held accountable for what he did to you and prevented from doing this to any other patient.
Again, I am so sorry for all the pain and emotional trauma you have suffered. Thank you so much for sharing this information as I know it had to take a great amount of courage to do so.
May you find a way to better health and soon.
Kathleen

No, I don't exercise. I hate going to the gym or pretty much any repetitive, structured exercise program. I'm not a runner or biker. I tried to get into a routine riding my recumbent bike, but that only lasted a couple months. But I'm also not a couch potato. My job is active, the activities I choose to do are physical, taking care of my mini ranch is VERY physical. I log 12,000+ Fitbit steps on work days and easily closer to 20,000 and 50-100 "flights of stairs" on the weekends (I'm not actually walking stairs, it's just the ups and downs in the mountains that get recorded like this). I lift 60-80 pounds on a regular basis. I've lost over 100% of my excess weight and kept it off with no exercise. I have excellent muscle tone and definition and minimal loose skin. But I have no doubt my daily lifestyle is probably the equivalent of many people's gym workout.

I'm going to try and hold off on any medications this soon as I have read about replacing addictions. Going to try some deep breathing for now.

I have had a Protein smoothie every day for the last 16 months. Here are some of my favorites....
Syntrax nectar Lemonade, cherry, apple, peach, vanilla bean torte, orange and Cappuccino
Syntrax Matrix vanilla and chocolate
Premier chocolate and strawberry (I don't like the vanilla plain, but it works good as Creamer in my coffee and tea)
Spirutein banana, vanilla, chai latte, strawberry and blueberry
Raw Fit original
Raw Protein Vanilla and Chai
BSN Syntha 6 vanilla, chocolate and banana
Chike Banana and coffee
Muscle Milk cake batter, red velvet cake and banana cream
I did NOT like Bariatric fusion, Bariatric Advantage, Isopure or Jay Robb egg Proteins (the Jay Robb whey were OK)
I usually mix the powders with twice as much Water or milk as it calls for. I dilute the premier RTD 1/2 and 1/2 with milk. I also use Torani and Davinci syrups to mix up the flavors. I've got hazelnut, almond, raspberry, English toffee, gingerbread, pumpkin pie, Irish cream and caramel.
You can buy single serve samples of dozens of protein powders from Nashua Nutrition to try before you commit to a whole jug.