Bubbletoes

I'm 5 months out and can eat anything I desire. That being said, I don't eat bread, pasta, potatoes, rice or many carbs because I'm a type 1 diabetic. I eat my protein first, then green veggies and for a treat every so often I'll have fruit. I've been able to cut my insulin use to 1/4 of what I used to take and although it's difficult at times, I try to keep my carbs below 20 grams a day. It's all worth it! I'm down 5 sizes and feel 20 years younger. I'm not at goal yet, but I'm getting there slowly but surely. I made it through Halloween without even a nibble of chocolate so I have no doubt I can sail through this coming holiday season. I'm a month shy of my 65th birthday and now instead of always wondering if I'll live through another month, I'm looking forward to the years ahead of me!

I'm 5 months out and I can eat pretty much anything I want, but in smaller amounts. I will be traveling across the US in 3 days (yay!) for a long visit with friends and relatives. I have no worries to bother me; not even the old one: "will I be able to buckle my seat belt on the planes without asking for an extender?" Answer: I will have lots of room to spare! Nothing stops me now from going out and enjoying my new found life! I'll be 65 next month but I feel (and now look) much younger. I made my plane reservation for this trip last March, two months before my sleeve surgery. I knew I'd be smaller but didn't dare to dream I'd be smaller than I've been in 45 years! Go! Enjoy!

Yep, I still have one premiere protein drink for lunch almost every day. It really helps reach my daily protein goal. Nice going, Toler!

I had my four month follow up visit with my surgeon this morning and he was pleased with my 65.5 lb weight loss (me, too!). My blood pressure is way down, I'm on just a tiny fraction of the insulin I used to be on (I'm type 1 so I'll always have to use insulin), and I feel amazing. I'm not losing hair (yet!) and my back and joint pain rarely bothers me anymore. This is the best thing I've ever done for myself. He said I should be at HIS goal for me by the end of the year, but my goal is way beyond his. He said I was looking good! Yay! Now I just have to figure out how to rev up my metabolism a bit more to burn the rest of this ugly fat off of my real body that has been hiding underneath all these years. ????

You did it! Don't let all the usual bumps in the road get you down. If you take everything one day at a time or even a week at a time you will be surprised at how quickly you get into your "new" routine and how much better you will feel. I'm already down four-five sizes and it's been just under four months. Even better, I haven't felt this good for years! I wish the same for you.

Good luck for an easy surgery tomorrow and a quick recovery, Toler! You won't regret it! (Well you might for a split second or two but you'll get over that quickly!). You have a lot of good vibes behind you.

I had a tissue fibrin seal applied to my staple line and have encountered no problems. It is highly rated with no known suture leaks, but it does cost more than a suture reinforcement of other means.

I eat sushi every so often. I'm 3.5 months out and tried it at about 6 weeks out without a problem. I take off excess rice and can still only eat 1-2 pieces of a special size roll. I ate sushi all the time before my sleeve and wondered how I could ever live without it. Now it's a not so often treat and I'm good with that.

I now cook in a completely different way than I used to, so I don't really need a cookbook anymore. Gone are the days of casseroles, pasta based dishes and other combination food meals. Now I cook everything separately and it works out well for both my husband and me. I cook most of our meat in my George Foreman grill and have discovered how delicious adding herbs and spices to marinades or directly on meat can be. (I only grill enough pieces of meat that will be eaten at that meal.) I've had that grill for years and rarely used it. Now it has a permanent place on my kitchen counter. I steam most veggies or roast them in the oven with garlic and a little olive oil. I usually make my husband a starch of some kind such as a baked potato or rice, noodles with a sauce or something like that. He will eat leftovers the next day, but if I freeze the rice and later reheat, he has no clue that has been done. I never make dessert since we are both diabetic. We consider fruit, cheese and nuts our treats, along with occasional SF pudding cups, jello, Popsicles and fudgesicles. (Healthy Choice Fudgesicles are good!). I have chosen not to eat any type of bread, pasta, etc, but I make sure my hubby gets what he likes because he is a healthy weight. It's all about priorities and sticking with them. If he wants an Italian dish with pasta, cheese, garlic bread etc, he will order that type of dish when we go out to eat. I will order something that's healthy for me. It has worked out well. By cooking more simple meals, we eat better, we have fewer leftovers and my time I spend in the kitchen has dwindled which I love. I do love to cook, but it got me in trouble so this solution works for me.

I was sleeved on May 20th and am down 61 lbs, but my weight loss is really slowing down. I've got to change my exercising habits. I started using elastics and am doing weight training along with the aerobics stuff. Hope that revs me up!

When I lost 50 lbs I got a few "you've lost weight" comments and they felt good. I work from home but go in to the office for occasional meetings. One particular woman goes overboard, though, and just goes on and on about how wonderful I look now and isn't it amazing how great I look and generally just gushes on and on. She had no idea I had WLS. All that wild gushing made me VERY uncomfortable and I would rather not hear a word than endure that. It makes me feel like I was quite a grotesque sight before losing weight! Be careful what you wish for. ????

That's exactly what happened to me! It was weird to get that approval letter after I was home from surgery for a week.

I took off three weeks but could've easily gone back at two. I also went back on a Thursday so I only had to work for two days before I was off again for the weekend. That worked out well. I'm probably older (64) than the average sleever here, and I'm a type 1 diabetic so I had a lot of fatigue and foggy brain days to get over. It also took me a while to adjust my insulin and blood sugar to my new eating habits, but after 3 months, I'm glad I took the time I needed to adjust which made going back to work easy. I'm feeling good, losing slowly but steadily and I do not regret doing this for a second! Those first few hard weeks will quickly become a blip on your past life with a new life yet to be enjoyed ahead of you.

Congrats, Toler! This has been a long time coming for you! Don't be nervous! After that first postoperative week, you'll love your new life! I never once regretted doing this.

Medical Coder (ICD-9-cm, ICD-10) for 34 years. I'm hoping to retire next year