christinems4280

I hate Spanx with a white hot burning passion.
Buuuut. I am obsessed with Maidenform Flexees. I usually go with the high waisted boy short ones as they are the most comfortable for me, but they come in a variety of styles. They aren't crazy expensive at all. And they hold up really well after longterm use. I even put mine in the regular washer (on cold cycle - no dryers!) and they come out perfect. They come in nude and black, which is helpful.
I typically purchase mine at The Avenue or Macys, but there are plenty of online retailer options (Herroom, BareNecessities, Amazon).

Dear lord above, please let me get to this point in my weight loss journey, amen.

Full disclosure, I admit there have been times I've done a double take and exclaimed "Damn!" while driving down the street... but I was by myself in the car, with the windows rolled up and did not slow down/stop or make myself obvious.
That being said, to the guys that make a habit of catcalling out of a car, I wonder what they think the possible outcome is? I can't think of a single male friend that has ever told me a story that started with "So I was driving down the street when I saw this girl running in yoga pants..." and ended with "... and then she hopped in the back of my car."

Very few women actually enjoy being catcalled. It's embarrassing, demeaning, and degrading. The men that do it don't actually think they are going to get a date out of it, it's just an aggressive tactic to put a woman in her place (as a sexual object for men's consumption).
I'm not surprised to hear that it made you feel unsafe. Strange men shouting sexual slurs at women are situations that rarely end well. God forbid you told them to "piss off". Who knows how they could have reacted?
For example, a woman was just shot and killed for rejecting a man at a bar. He waited outside after closing and shot her in the chest. This isn't the first time it's happened and it won't be the last.
Men who respect women don't catcall. They may think "damn she looks good" in their head, and that's totally fine, but they don't call out at women and belittle/scare them. TL;DR - I hate catcalling!!!

I really believe comments like these are meant as compliments. Try to take them as such. It makes life easier. There really is no reason to take offense when none is intended. Even if it is intended, who cares what anyone says? You are doing this for yourself, not for them.

I sent one of my sons a recent pic of me. He said "where did that come from?" I answered "My phone" He said "I thought it was a picture from when I was little." He is 29. I told him that he is now my favorite child.

First, you look fantastic in both pictures! The new you looks much healthier. Congratulations on your progress.
I think people have no idea what to say and tend to stumble without even realizing it. I just give them the benefit of the doubt most of the time.
I have had a couple of instances where people literally do not recognize me so I do believe that we don't always look like ourselves. One of these instances my husband was with me and the person asked him where I was. my husband looked at them all confused like really? She is right here. I guess he is used to how I look but I do think my face looks a lot different and I have nearly lost half of me. That person was shocked.
I have also had someone ask me if my weight loss was intentional and then confided they were worried I was sick with cancer or something.
This type of weight loss is drastic and so fast that I think people just don't know what to say and apparently saying nothing doesn't even cross their minds.

A whole lot of awesomeness in this thread.
Amazing results. Truly amazing.

I lost 150 in 14 months. Most importantly I am still at goal. My sleeve surgery was Dec 2011

I lost 200. I lost almost exactly 50 preop (about 6 months, but about 20 of that was just in the 4 week preop diet I had), then after surgery it took me just under a year to lose the other 150. I exercised EVERY day and stuck to the post op instructions regarding diet religiously. I also tracked every bite of food in mfp. Best of luck to you! Listen to your doctors/nurses/p.a.s and it will happen.

I hate Spanx with a white hot burning passion.
Buuuut. I am obsessed with Maidenform Flexees. I usually go with the high waisted boy short ones as they are the most comfortable for me, but they come in a variety of styles. They aren't crazy expensive at all. And they hold up really well after longterm use. I even put mine in the regular washer (on cold cycle - no dryers!) and they come out perfect. They come in nude and black, which is helpful.
I typically purchase mine at The Avenue or Macys, but there are plenty of online retailer options (Herroom, BareNecessities, Amazon).

I buy maidenform flexees. They are always on sale. And even when you go down a size, they still can be worn when you don't need to be super tucked. I wear my old ones around the house and they help smooth me out and if I am getting dressed to go out I wear my new. Even 2 sizes down the old ones still offer some control. I have the firm control long leg and the wear your own bra torsoette. They go on sale often and you can get them for 1/2 the price of Spanx

I agree that trying to quit two addictions at the same time is not advisable, but it is not like we decide to have the surgery and go in the next day and have it done.
As an ex-smoker, I know it is difficult to quit. I stumbled more than once. IMO, the day you make the decision to have the surgery is the day you have decided to change your life to a healthier direction. That is the day to begin the process of quitting smoking.
I'm guessing we have all kidded ourselves with our eating issues but there comes a times when we say enough is enough. If you really think smoking is OK and not a negative thing while you are healing from major surgery, then ... God bless you and good luck.

Again, always enjoy a good exchange.
If you look at my last post, I'm not talking about "attempting to quit 2 addictive behaviors at once", but quitting smoking should have occurred at least 3 months prior to even scheduling the surgery. I'm sure guessing surgeons in other countries won't have a problem operating on you and watch you go out 30 minutes after and have a cig. I'm sure there are several here in America, too. But that is not what my surgeon and dozens of others I researched allow. If you're looking for a backrub and warm fuzzies to tell you it's OK, go smoke in your hospital gown ... I think there is a forum for that. But if you want real answers to how people are succeeding with their sleeve program, then the answers may not fit your pre-conceived notions. Empathy? Oh, yes, we have it. So much so that we are willing to share the truth and offer whatever help we can. But I'm not going to sit here and tell you black is white.
Sorry
ps I quit years ago (about 6-7 attempts) and it is still a battle. If smoking were healthy, I'd have one right now

I have plenty of empathy. I also know that coddling and agreeing with every bad feeling never solved anything. Logical thinking is not a bad thing. Warm fuzzies aren't very effective in most cases.
I also know that people will do what they are going to do. But if they come online and ask a question, I am going to assume they are logical and really want an answer. I know, silly me.
I hope you remember what it is like to be in a smoker's shoes too. What that has to do with whether or not smoking against doctor's orders during recovery, I am not sure.

No, I didn't take your points completely out of context. And, my entire post isn't just about what you posted, or I would have quoted you and addressed your points specifically.
The original poster came on here looking for validation that it was okay to smoke following the surgery. There are discussions all over this forum started by people looking for "permission" to deviate from their surgeon's program. When the original poster got advice she didn't like, she accused the very people who took their time to try to help of being rude, and then she flounced off.
Fact is, at the time of surgery, WLS patients are not supposed to be battling the food addiction for the first time. They should be well on their way to recovery. They should be able to handle a few days (or more) of not smoking, without becoming suicidal. That sort of issue should have come out in the psychiatric exam.
I smoked rather heavily for 25 years. I totally get that it is addicting. I surrounded myself with smokers as friends, because smoking is one of those deal-breaker habits when it comes to hanging out with people. All but two of my friends have quit. It is not an intelligent or considerate habit and I wish I had quit earlier. I had to clean my life up to give it up. Yes it is hard.
Regarding bias against overweight people and smokers: Yep, have been on the receiving end of both of those. Is there bias against smokers in this thread? I don't see it. Facts are facts: It can cause complications in recovery from surgery. Many surgeons advise against it because it is unhealthy and can cause complications. That isn't bias.

My insurance coverage required that I have two blood tests for tobacco, one at 45 days before surgery and one the day of surgery. They don't cover this surgery for smokers. Period.
Regarding surgeons requiring patients to stop smoking, I am not sure now many actually require it. I don't think mine required complete quitting, but then it was a non-issue for me so maybe he did.
There are plenty of WLS "mills" out there though who will do anything for a buck and just go through the motions as far as prequalification. My surgeon's team was not like that at all. My psychiatric evaluation was rather grueling and I even had to see a counselor for several sessions. She insisted that I buy and read several book suggestions (not her own books) before I would receive a letter of recommendation. All addiction issues were addressed, not just food. Also addressed was how well I was equipped to handle life as a thin person - would my marriage suffer, etc.
I guess my point is that while the smoking and other behaviors should be addressed well before surgery, I don't think they are in many cases - whether it is through deception on the patient's side or apathy on the surgeon's side.

Well, cigarettes have chemicals in them that cause a bona fide physical addiction, whilst food causes a psychological addiction at best. So quitting them both is possible, but definitely psychologically very difficult. I quit smoking prior to surgery, though it's not required where I am -- I just wanted to do so. I have been lucky to have found quitting to be relatively easy, I know others go through a hell of a time with it. Have you tried the e-cigarette? I have a friend here who absolutely swears by it (and you can 'smoke' it indoors as well, so no freezing required LOL).
That said, in my opinion it's not at all irresponsible to ask people to quit smoking before having surgery, to break the physical and psychological addiction all at one go. And also to help with a safer surgery and easier recovery, as cigarette smoking hinders both (and increases the risk for clots significantly). Yes, it's very difficult for sure -- and not everyone does it, which I understand. However, saying that people need to be gently enabled in one addiction so that they can 'cure' their other one strikes me as fairly absurd. "Transfer addictions" are a big danger indeed -- but one doesn't go ahead and provide or mollycoddle a transfer addiction for people to slide into. I think the real issue isn't giving up multiple problematic/compulsive behaviours, I think the issue is addressing the addictive personality or underlying need that is being met by addictive behaviours so that the person finds *healthy* coping mechanisms rather than easy transfers.
That ALL said, I am not one to tell people to quit smoking, never have been. I know full well that people only quit when they are *ready* to do so. But I'm not a surgeon -- and when they ask people to quit smoking, I think they are perfectly justified in doing so in order to try for the least risk and best outcome from surgery. I would never consider it irresponsible of *anyone* to encourage people to quit smoking when it's appropriate to do so -- though it's absolutely useless to bug smokers about quitting, which is why I don't do so.
Annoying and a waste of time, yes. Irresponsible, no, not at all. When people are in rehab for drug or alcohol addiction, smoking is the last thing I'd bother about -- so in that sense I agree with you. But there is no rehab for food -- and there are good reasons for that. It's really apples and oranges IMO.

Lets be honest here..if you thought it was perfectly fine you wouldn't have asked.
My doc wouldn't operate on anyone who had smoked 30 days before surgery.
Nicotine kills your circulation (hence smokers wrinkles) as well as other problems... other chemical components can cause problems too... Here is one medical paper that talks about it...there are many more listed on google...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1323208
I would say, if you must smoke, wait at least until your stomach heals... over 8 weeks. Please don't take these comments as rude... I think the people here are just looking out for your health and success... I am also an ex-smoker, and sometimes it is said that ex-smokers are the most down on smoking of anyone... I think this might be true!
Abstract
The association between cigarette smoking and delayed wound healing is well recognized in clinical practice, although extensive controlled studies have yet to be performed. The documented effects of the toxic constituents of cigarette smoke--particularly nicotine, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen cyanide--suggest potential mechanisms by which smoking may undermine expeditious wound repair. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor that reduces nutritional blood flow to the skin, resulting in tissue ischemia and impaired healing of injured tissue. Nicotine also increases platelet adhesiveness, raising the risk of thrombotic microvascular occlusion and tissue ischemia. In addition, proliferation of red blood cells, fibroblasts, and macrophages is reduced by nicotine. Carbon monoxide diminishes oxygen transport and metabolism, whereas hydrogen cyanide inhibits the enzyme systems necessary for oxidative metabolism and oxygen transport at the cellular level. Slower healing has been observed clinically in smokers with wounds resulting from trauma, disease, or surgical procedures. The reduced capacity for wound repair is a particular concern in patients undergoing plastic or reconstructive surgery. Compared with nonsmokers, smokers have a higher incidence of unsatisfactory healing after face-lift surgery, as well as a greater degree of complications following breast surgery. Smokers should be advised to stop smoking prior to elective surgery or when recovering from wounds resulting from trauma, disease, or emergent surgery.

And we just responded...no judgement here...

From what I understand, smoking can really impede the healing process. Big time. You are talking about your stomach here and you are OK with it not healing properly or taking twice as long? I'm sure your surgeon talked to you about this, assuming they knew you were a smoker.
Oh, boy ... I'm sure I'm going to come across as judgmental, but, I just have to say ... if you are not going to be compliant in this, how do you think the meal plan compliance is going to go?
Sorry, but you may be in for a rough road, then.
BTW, I am an ex-smoker and I know the demons. If you got this surgery to make a change, then make a change. If not, then I don't know what to tell you.

85% of your stomach has been removed.
Lots of healing to take place.
A cool side effect to the liquid diet during this healing time is that it'll help you lose the strong food focus.
Know that in time a big juicy cheeseburger will be a righteous meal......okay....2-3 meals. What a bargain that will be. Leftovers will be an extra value with the sleeve.
I'm a cheeseburger fiend. I love 'em. I strive to make a damn good one on my grill. It's was sorta a point of pride.
I can honestly say that as much of a food lover as I was before......these past few weeks have been extremely beneficial in cooking my heals and getting me focused on a better way of eating that will ensure long-term benefits.
As far as big-girl panties.........throw 'em out. Get rid of them.
Go by some hot looking new stuff and rock it with your new body. Unleash the new beast on a lucky dude.

@@christinems4280 Thank you so much for posting your experiences and concerns.
I find that it's damn hard to get the loss we seek and hit our Protein goals.......without supplementation of Protein powders.
To eat that much ends with more additional calories than I really want.
Great advice and strategy has been forthcoming in your thread. Good stuff.

Thank you!
100g a day? Wow. And here am I whining about 65! haha.
Do you eat veggies as well?

Hi Everyone!
I'm new here. Joined back in August 2015 after my initial consultation with my surgeon. My surgery date was November 23, 2015. Been lurking awhile, but this is my first post.
All in all, I think I'm doing pretty well. I've lost 61lbs. I tolerate most foods well. I haven't experienced much nausea or vomiting (that only happened once thankfully!).
I do have some concerns and I'm hoping the lovely people here can offer some tips.
I feel like my life revolves around food now. I feel like I'm constantly eating all day to get my required Protein in (my doctor recommends 65-80 grams per day). Water is a whole other beast (64oz). It seems I just don't have the space for the volume of food and Water necessary to meet these requirements. I know once we are able to eat solid foods, we should be getting most of our Proteins that way. I do okay maybe half the week and the other half I'm still using shakes to supplement. Should I not be doing that? I almost feel like Protein Shakes will be something that's part of my life forever, but there's a lot of people who disagree with that feeling. While I'm not vegan or vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination, I CANNOT just eat meat and nothing else all day long. I eat veggies and dairy products as well. I don't eat much fruit due to the sugar content. If I have any at all it's blended in a shake or 1/2 a teaspoon is added to my Greek yogurt to take the tang out.
To make matters all the more awesome, I was never a big water drinker. If I had 8 cups of water in a month, that was a lot. So to go from that to 8 cups PER DAY is really difficult for me. I get maybe half. My doctor is aware and it's something I'm working on. He'd like me to get it increased, and quickly at that.
So. Any tips to ensure I get as much Protein packed into a single meal WITHOUT using shakes? Or is it okay to supplement with them as long as I need to? Tips for water consumption would be awesome, too.
Thanks for reading! Sorry if I rambled