Cape Crooner

I had a relatively low BMI (36-38) and it took me 30 years to gain the extra 60 pounds that were killing me. Quite frankly, every time I researched WLS, I either didn't qualify or I couldn't justify all the internal organ rearrangement. I live 6 months a year on one coast and 6 in the the other, so the band was a logistical no-go. I heard about the sleeve from Howie Carr, a Boston talk show host. He was my age, 44 inch waist, etc. He had a sleeve in January and was down 85 pounds by June. That was enough to get me to an orientation. I went to the same hospital and got the same surgeon Howie had. They don't do bands, but they do the other three. The sleeve was my first choice and the more I learned, the more it seemed right FOR ME. They said no NSAID'S after RNY. I have pretty bad arthritis and I need my Advil. They also said no alcohol for life with RNY because the pouch isn't as tough as the remaining stomach sleevers have. I have learned to be a disciplined social drinker over the years and given the choice between giving up drinking or not losing weight, I'd pick not losing weight. My social life is an important part of who I am, but without some social drinking, it would collapse. Finally, the sleeve seemed to be the least invasive surgery. I already have a titanium hip and to me the sleeve is less of an anatomical change. Although the RNY leaves the dead stomach, virtually no one has ever reattached it. I also like keeping all my intestines intact. Maybe if I had a BMI over 45 and no social life, RNY or DS would have been a better choice. I think all of this is in God's hands!

Last night I looked at my loseit app and saw I was at 55 grams of Protein for the day. I quickly downed a Protein shake and some Greek yogurt. Afterwards, I was thinking about pre opt. Being a guy who ate salads all week, I'm sure I went several days without getting 72 grams. How come I need to worry about it now?

This was a big concern for me for social reasons. I stuck my toe in the alcohol waters at around 6 weeks at a party with a very weak (1/2 shot) and diet cranberry juice. Hated it and didn't finish. The next night (another party), I sipped 1 glass of wine over the course of 3 hours with no issues. I have enjoyed a few since then, but I think it's very important to log the calories, eat before you drink, and take an extra antacid before you drink. Interestingly enough, I have lost weight the days after drinking, so the weight loss is not an issue. Keep in mind, wine is 125 calories a glass and vodka/bourbon are around 90 a shot.

Yes, I do fully appreciate the weight loss and satiety benefits of high Protein and low simple carbs. For 40 years, it was the only way I could lose weight. I was simply looking back at many popular diets that have very little protein (Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc) and noting their relative success.

I'm only 2 1/2 months out, but I think I'm eating too few. Midweek, I'm around 800 calories and weekends 1100-1200. Riding my bike an hour - 5 days a week. Last week, I stayed the same all week then dropped a pound and a half after eating 1100 on Friday night. I did just get some 100 mg Metamucil caps. Does anyone know how much and how often I should take?

When I started my journey, I researched hospitals first. Newton Wellesley is the top wls hospital in New England and top 5 in the country, so I started there. At the orientation, they made a point to say that they no longer do lap bands for two reasons; they provide no metabolic help, and so many are being revised to sleeves. Not saying this is true, but considering the source, I'd give it some consideration. For me personally, I looked at all the options and selected the sleeve for the simple reason that it was simple and eventually, you completely heal and are left with a normal body and a "skinny girl" stomach. It is the one option that gives the least trouble with food textures, ibuprofen, and alcohol. Also, my life style doesn't lend itself to frequent doctors visits for adjustment. That said, I am impressed by the success stories I read on this forum from banders. I think it's safe to say any of the wls options will be better than just trying to lose weight on your own!

I'm losing steadily. I'm down 66 overall and 37 since 10/6 surgery (2-3/week). I think the biggest factor for me is eating high protein/low carb and 75 ounces of water. Calories don't seem to matter much (659-1050). I am getting in over 10,000 steps a day walking or riding my bike. Oh yeah, 3 people have asked me if I have cancer!

Can't wait to hear from Marcia, so happy for her!

I started thinking that our timing is perfect for the Holidays. Our sleeves will be in the Honeymoon stage, so we can't overeat without pain, but we'll be able to eat anything, so we can fully enjoy the tastes of the Holiday!

So, I did experiment a little last night. I had a 10 ounce diet cranberry juice and added a half an ounce of vodka. Didn't do much for me. I did feel light headed after a few sips, but never really got the old buzz I enjoyed. I only drank half of it and put it down. I suspect it may have been a function of eating and drinking (very little) at the same time and the fact that I'm not a big fan of diet cran! Next test will be red wine over Thanksgiving...

As I weighed in near the beginning of this thread, I have only told a few close family members, but my 92 year old mother has been telling others. When she mentions someone else she's told, my wife calls them and asks them to keep it private. My sense is that it's out or will be soon, so I've moved to Plan B! Now, I tell people that I entered a very strict medical weight loss program run by a hospital (all true). Then I leave out the details. I'm at peace with this!

Thanks Danny, I like real stories. I have always restricted my alcohol intake and limited how many I have in any given week. My initial concern was damaging my sleeve, but I'm okayed for ibuprofen, so why not a weak Bloody Mary? After that, stalling my weight loss came second, but at this point, the sleeve won't let me eat enough to get close to the calories I'm burning. I still probably won't, but the fact that everyone says something different is bugging me!

Okay, I am 7 weeks out and down 62 lbs. My friends don't know I had VSG and can't understand why I eat so little. I'm already thinner than most of them. Although, I knew my eating would be restricted, I never imagined it would be this much. Yesterday, I was "full" after 3 ounces of thin chili. There is no way I could eat more than 1000 calories a day. I was dropping 3-5 pounds a week in pre-opt eating 1700 calories a day. I have social events this weekend and I'm considering a little vodka in my V-8 or a glass of wine. Why not?

After eating at home for 3 months, I ate out last night and again today! No problems????. Last night at Tommy Bahamas, I had a cup of their Tortilla Soup and shared fish tacos with my wife. I ate the insides of one and just the fish of the second. Left stuffed. Today I had a grilled artichoke and a few ounces of my wife's turkey burger. Left stuffed.

Another "guideline" that seems to vary greatly is whole topic of "Eating, Drinking, and Time In Between..." My program handbook says to wait 15 minutes after drinking to eat and then 30 minutes after eating to drink. I noticed the first week that thin Soups seems to go down with no issue, but Beans and sweet potato hit the restriction. I starting thinking ahead (6 months out) and going out to dinner, having Soup for an appetizer, and a glass of wine with my uber small dinner dish. So I asked one of our doctors to explain this guideline in physiological terms. She said there was nothing magic about the time intervals. The reason they suggest it (ah, sure sounds like a rule), is because they want to make sure we get our 70+ grams of Protein every day. She said that if we drink with our solid food, we won't get enough in our stomach before we feel full. To me, that explains the 15 minutes before, but not the 30 after... I thought I had read somewhere about food digesting differently in the stomach than the small intestine, but she said that wasn't the case. How about you? 1. What's your guideline? 2. Have you deviated? 3. Anything bad happen? PS: Not interested in advice, just personal stories...

Continuing on my Quest for the truth from real VSG veterans, I'd like to pose another question... I hear and read a lot about "Do's and Don'ts" from so-called experts, dieticians, and nutritionists that we must all follow or risk gaining back the weight we lost once "the Honeymoon passes". I'm curious, has this happened to any of you? I'm not talking about a stall or 5-10 pound bounce, I'm talking about gaining back 40% to 50% or more If so, please share what you think caused it; better yet, if this happened to you and you fought it off and subsequently lost the excess weight, please share your strategy. Since I know this is a common fear, I'd also love to hear stories from people who were afraid they'd gain weight as they moved the maintenance, but didn't; especially those who strayed from the diet guidelines. I am very happy with my progress (down 47 pounds), but I'm having a tough time accepting the idea that I'll never be this heavy again... Thanks

Great news, I'm now down 58 lbs since August and people who think "I'm just dieting" are asking me why I'm still doing it. I actually have about 30 to go, but seeing that bright light at the end of the tunnel makes it all worthwhile.

Just had 3 ounces of grilled tenderloin and an ounce of Asian Salad. Tasted great going down (lotsa chewing). Sitting okay, but a little stuffed!

Seems soft foods are less restricting and allowing more consumption. I have been trying to avoid soft foods to keep my calories down and also because I seem to be satisfied longer when I eat meat vs. soft foods like refried beans. One thing I like to snack on is homemade cole slaw, it's low in calories, gives me a crunchy consistency that I crave and I'm filled up with a 1-2 ounce portion. I hope I have the same results in month two as you have. Did you stall during month one? I'm a band to sleeve revision and on another discussion board for us revision patients it seems to be very common for a longer stall than people who haven't had the band too. Not much of a stall -- 3 days max during week 4. Since then, I've been dropping every day (0.2 - 1.5 lbs/day). I like Asian Salads (similar to a slaw), but I'm not cleared for raw veggies til next week, but nothing has been a problem (yet).

I had a brief slow down in week 4, but since adding more real meat, I have accelerated my loses. Also, I've been able to cut back to one Protein shake per day and still getting in 70+ grams of protein a day.

I am eating about 4 ounces every meal. I feel the restriction after my last 1-2 bites. I have no real restriction on liquids. 5.3 ounces of yogurt, no problem (although I don't eat yogurt very often). Why do you think they're recommending 2 ounce portions? My guess is it's a "one size fits all" prescription and they want their 50+ BMI'rs to get to their goal before the honeymoon ends. I'm losing faster in month 2, than I did in month 1 and I think my friends think I have cancer. I think it's from eating meat instead of refried beans and sweet potatoes. What do you think?

Thanks Blerd, I plan to stick to the 6 months, I was just trying to find what others have heard/done.

It's nice to see you running to defend ole Blerd! I asked two questions (let me paraphrase): 1. How about you? (did you get a 6 month moratorium on coffee or something else). 2. (If you got different guidelines...) Why do you think your advice differed? I have read Blerd's "response" several times and for the life of me, I'm having a hard time finding an answer to these two questions. I have no idea what her program suggested. Instead the lame (motherly) unsolicited "advice" (I never asked for advice) that "that's what my surgeon and NUT recommend". In fact they disagreed - WHICH IS WHY I ASKED. Spare me!

Blerd - That's a rather lame answer to a rather straight forward question???? But thanks Mom!

I'm having a tough time with this. When I first decided, I was thinking that I'd eventually be open about it, but decided to keep it on a need-to-know basis for the time being. "Need to know" turned out to be my wife (of course) and family with whom I had events scheduled that would not have been able to cancel without hurting them. Unfortunately, my mother is 92 and she forgets that it's a secret. She also is full of old school misinformation about WLS (it doesn't work, the surgery is a magic trick and I don't have to do anything else). I know that's she's told three people and probably more. Meanwhile, I haven't been telling any of my close friends and I'm afraid they'll find out from someone my mother told and be upset that I didn't tell them! My "story" has been evolving... 1. My BMI was in the high 30's and I carried it well, so people didn't consider me obese (I think). 2. I have been dropping weight very fast (57 pounds since August) and people are blown away. 3. I have been holed up in a remote vacation home and avoiding social activity for 3 months, but now I'm back in a very social community; I think people will notice that I'm only eating 4 ounces of food. 4. My current thinking is to respond to people who ask me "how are you doing it?" with: - I discovered I had diabetes in the summer (true) - My primary care doctor wanted to go down the diabetes treatment path (true) - Instead, I entered a physician supervised medical Weight Loss Program (true) - I have been an A+ patient (true) This way, I can always concede that a surgical procedure was part of the program - if I feel the need. Why would I feel the need? I have a lot of close friends who would benefit from a VSG and I'd like to help them find this path... I wish I hadn't told anyone!