RealRocknRollaVSG

The BIG Book on Gastric Sleeve was a great book. Dr. Matthew Weiner's WLS vids on YouTube are also really informative. As far as fellow Sleevers: VSGHeartOnMySleeve, Clusie, and ... and ... oh gosh there were just so many great vids posted by others who went through this that I'm literally having a brain-fart, sorry. Hope what I noted so far helps some

Whoops. Meant to say thanks for the info!!

Yup. Totally. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
My husband had RNY almost 9 years ago. Back then, they didn't really give them many "rules" to follow. Or they did, and he just didn't follow them.
Although he got more active, he never exercised formally, ate whatever he wanted (yes, that includes sweets and carbs..he didn't really dump ever) and in almost a year, had lost 130lbs. He went from 300 pounds the day of surgery to 170 lbs in less than a year. He has maintained most of it aside from an initial 20lb gain (he looked healthier after that) and then another 30lb gain after quitting smoking. He has since lost the 30, but has learned now that it's a slippery slope, and he cannot eat whatever he wants anymore without gaining. His pouch has stretched considerably.
Fast forward 8 years. I decided to have WLS. But I had also decided to have the sleeve, not the bypass. I really thought I would be able to do the same things and lose the weight. Thanks to my NUT and this site, I learned that was absolutely false. And on top of it, Karma kicked me in the ass with slower than average weight loss.
I work my butt off. I adhere to my plan 98% of the time, and I have turned into a gym rat. Has it been frustrating at times? HELL YES. But I am happy I've learned to love exercise and have learned so much more about proper nutrition. If it had just fallen off of me with little effort like it had my husband, I would have never cemented the habits I have today. I feel I at least I have a fighting chance of maintenance when I finally hit my goal. And hubby has learned good habits from me

HW 239.5
SW 225
CW 145
Surgery 4/7/14

@@toohot74akaelh2 The weight came off quickly but honestly very gradually- I would have weeks where I would lose nothing then randomly lose 6lbs but most of the time it was 2-3lbs weekly which is about what you're supposed to lose anyway regularly. I do work out a lot now (I didn't work out a lot during the losing phase though). I have sooo much energy to burn. I have an update pic I took with my doc on 5/5/15. He was amazed. He's so awesome. The before pic was day 2 postop on 10/9/13.

Nope that doesn't offend me at all! It made me smile actually. Thank you for the encouraging words. I'm a ball of nerves right now!

Good luck and hope all goes well!Excited for you! ... or should I say "I'm wicked excited Jennafah!" Sorry, I hope that doesn't piss you off or offend you--spent some time MA and your username made me think of then Again, GOOD LUCK!

Hi everyone. I'm having a sleeve done in a couple hours. I need to be at the hospital by 6:30 am to have my sleeve. I'm super nervous. I have been reading all the stories on this app and it's not helping my nerves. I know what to expect but that doesn't mean it will be my reality because in actuality everybody is different. I'm just relying on God to make sure that everything from my surgery to recovery goes better than expected!

Hello all my surgery is schedule for MAY 1st... Im supper excited and soo happy.. Cant wait to get this done already.. Have been waiting for so long...

Hello. Is anyone already in the May Sleevers FB group. The links provided don't seem to want to work for me, or the group is already set to private.
My surgery date is next Monday 5/4, and I could really use like-minded advice/support. The only person I have who's had WLS is a coworker who had RNY done ten years ago. Having the company of others going through the same thing at roughly the same time would be great.

1 week from TODAY!!! Woohoo! I'm sooo excited (in my Jessie Spano Saved by the Bell voice)...

Just got through the audiobook (iTunes). What a gem!! Chock full of great information. I'm scheduled for 5/4 and will definitely run through the book several times before then (and after).

I just picked up a bottle of passion fruit and a bottle of coconut. I got about 1/8th ... I lie, 1/10th of the way into passion fruit (if that) till I couldn't drink anymore. Capped it and since it's high in Protein and clear, and seems perfect for when I'm post op, I will give it another good ol' college try again tomorrow. I'm hoping coconut will taste better.
Side note: I also picked up a canister of Unflavored Isopure and tried that with Water. It's got that same taste that I'm picking up from the passion fruit drink that I do not like (a bit "plasticy"), but I'm going to try and make the best of it since I can't take it back. Maybe I'll add some orange extract or vanilla extract to give it a diff flavor w/o adding sugar...

I was sleeved on 1/20/15. To date I have lost some 48 lbs in the 11 weeks since my operation. I hope this will inspire some of you that this operation is not something that will handicap you but will actually free you to a much more enjoyable side of life.
One of the things my wife and I enjoy is cruising. Pre sleeve it was all about the food and the beer. Life has changed now as my 2XL body is just now adjusting to a “lumpy” but comfortable “L” size. My eating habits have become healthier and less the big part of my day. The thing is…. I couldn’t in all fairness to my wife stop vacationing (my wife is not overweight). Veterans of 23 prior cruises over the past 16 years, I had to see if it was possible, and as soon as possible. We booked a cruise on NCL Sun out of Tampa to coincide with my transition into stage 5 (solid foods). I learned a lot this week. And I like what I learned. BTW it was the best cruise ever. No alcohol, small portions…. I had my doubts. But I stuck to the plan. It was easy and doable. Here is what I learned, how I coped, what I did, how I ate and how I did weight wise.
1. I decided on day one that everything I ate would be quality….no bread or Pasta. I ate steak, shrimp, chicken or pork for lunch or dinner, no sandwiches , no sweets… I want to emphasize that there are and to my surprise always were good options on every buffet…..especially for sleevers!
2. Breakfast everyday was eggs, cottage cheese (yes the had it) and if I had room a little yogurt. After which we sent for coffee from room service to enjoy later on the balcony.
3. My day started on deck six everyday with my wife ….which has an open air walking track (on most boats ) for 8 to 10,000 steps….about an hour of leisurely walking. By day 3 I was actually jogging small stretches of the track.
4. Dinner every night was a small bite of an appetizer or a few bites of salad and about half the portion of meat. No dessert, instead I would treat myself to a single espresso after my wife finished her dessert
5. I drank ice Water, skim milk and occasionally made myself an ice coffee in my waterbottle everyday.
6. I drank no….yes zero alcohol!!! It did not bother me a bit. My wife did drink and I got all the exercise going to the bar for her….lol
7. At night we took in as much of the activities and shows as possible.
8. Late night occasionally we would get a small bite at the late night buffet. Most nights.
9. I challenged myself to do a shore tour ( I never liked doing things because of my weight ) We did cave tubing in Belize and snorkeling in Roatan Honduras. Which is “not” like me.
10. I think the toughest thing on the cruise is the looks the waiters give you when you don’t finish your meal….I got a lot of…. “you no like? I bring you something else?” I gave a simple “I’m fine…it was delicious!” which works everytime.
11. I think my smartest idea was though to bring a nice water bottle… it was very handy.
12. I bought a new T-shirt in every port in my new size “L” That was a great feeling.
So what was the end result? I was never hungry, slept great, ate some tasty things, met a goal of at least 10k steps every day and still lost 3.2 lbs. It was the first cruise that I actually fit in the clothes that I came on the boat in. I hope this blog encourages you to get out there……but you have to follow the plan and be strong enough to stick to it. It wasn’t hard at all.
LOVING MY SLEEVED LIFE
John M

It's time to start enjoying this! Just smile that big pretty, CONFIDENT smile, say "thanks for noticing" and be on your merry way! It doesn't have to go further than that. If they continue to persist, tell them you have to be somewhere, do something..... you just CAN'T be bothered!!!! LOVE IT!

I am your height and I was about 10 pounds heavier when I started than you are now according to your sidebar stats.
I would MUCH rather have saggy skin than die early of complications from my obesity. I might not look like a bikini model naked, but I sure do look a helluva lot better in my clothes. Plus I have the ability to do anything I want.

Grab a hold of your life while you are young!!
In these pictures I am about 6-7 pounds heavier than I am now. Where would you rather be in a year or two?

My friend, it's a HUGE commitment and a major life change - if you didn't have moments of second thoughts, I'd worry about you! And everything seems so much more difficult when you're hungry.
What I CAN tell you is that, statistically speaking, there's a REALLY good chance everything is going to be just fine. All those feelings you've got now are normal.
Yesterday I read a story about an agoraphobic woman who left her house for the first time in 10 years and fell in a sinkhole - no joke! The truth is, I kind of went into surgery feeling like that would be me. I'd finally try something drastic to take control, and be the anomaly that ends up with complications or bigger than I started. Neither thing happened, and other than 3 weeks of a nagging pain in my right side and a monster case of what felt like morbid Constipation, it all turned out alright. I have two regrets - getting myself in the position of NEEDING surgery, and waiting so damn long to do it.
I wish you had someone to go with you. Heck, if I had two nickels to rub together right now and some time off work, I'D go, lol. But if you can get past the jitters and go for it anyway, I think you're going to be really happy that you did!

I'm finally home. Surgery was Tuesday morning. Everything went well. No pain, no nausea, no complaints. Hoping my recovery continues to be uneventful.

Thank you! All is well! Surgery was great, they did leak test this morning and no leaks! So happy!!

Maxi dress. That's a great suggestion!

:-) still some to go, but ive come so far!

Before/ during (posted in another thread previously)

Creating a new thread because the other one has gotten really long.
So, here are my before and currents to keep the topic moving.

Current as of last week:

In addition to the usual underwear, lip balm, thongs/flip-flops, phone I'm taking:
- A maxi dress, instead of having a waistband in the way.
- Dry Shampoo, as I need to wash my hair every day.

I'd just do the 2 week liquid diet if I were you. I lost 21lbs during mine.