Cape Crooner

So @@Babbs, did you gain weight down the road?

The only two good reasons I heard for gastric bypass over sleeve is acid reflux and the additional Weightloss that comes from intestinal malabsorption. Not sure if you need these problems solved. On the other hand, there are plenty of pluses for the sleeve. Not the least of which is that you still have a functioning stomach (albeit a very small one) and everything else is intact. To me, the sleeve means that in 7 months, your physiology is intact, but you have a skinny girls stomach!

You're about to enter a very rewarding weight loss phase. The surgery traumatizes your body and it takes a few weeks to get all the IV fluids out of your body and let the surgical swelling heal. I predict you'll be happy tomorrow, but if not, very soon!

Fair point. I was a nationally ranked skier and I competed (and won) at 200-210 pounds. I was also 6' tall back then. Due to severe arthritis and cartilage deterioration, I'm now closer to 5'10", but still have an overly muscular lower body. I discussed this with my surgical team and they suggested 200 lbs as a goal. I subsequently lowered it to 190. I know 175 is theoretically "normal" for an average 5' 10" person, but I'm not an average 5'10" person.

Thanks for the insight and support. I'm actually trying to design a maintenance lifestyle that can stand the test of time. I think most everyone will stop losing once they get to 20 lbs under their goal. Congratulations and keep up the good work!

I love you girls, so predictable! Now back my original observation and question: 1. Anyone else experience this? 2. Any good theories or explanations? BONUS QUESTION: Any men on this forum drinking wine and suddenly losing weight THAT IS NOT Water and stays off?

I'm with you. I'm shopping at Walmart and Costco for all my pants!

The rudeness started when my statement of "burning 3,000 calories a day" was rudely questioned by mutiple know it alls. The rudeness continued when it was suggested that my fitness tracker malfunctioning and that I should toss it out. Then we get the "holier than thou judgement comment on having a glass of wine" -- you girls crack me up! Yes, I do respond to stupidity and rudeness in kind.

You people really need to educate yourself if you ever want to get thin! http://www.livestrong.com/article/312510-how-many-calories-are-burned-daily-by-active-sedentary-people/

Misfit Shine currently and others in the past. I always burn 2600 to 3500.A 155-pound person burns about 596 calories in 60 minutes going 5 mph on the treadmill. I really think your fit tracker is wrong. Or you may want to cut back from your 8-10 hours of vigorous exercise every day.I agree, I'd toss that fitness tracker fast. Makes sense, 15 weeks out of surgery, down 82 pounds, 9 pounds from goal - sure I'll toss the fitness tracker - NOT!

Hey there all you Rocket Scientists -- read my original post and toss your own fitness trackers! "burning 3,000 calories a day. "

Misfit Shine currently and others in the past. I always burn 2600 to 3500.

I considered that except I always drink extra Water the day before and after. Also, the weight never comes back. I think it's a way to get my body to release the weight it's been holding on to (as in BM)...

Nope, just kept keeping on. I do have a party tonight (unrelated) that lends itself to mischievous grazing and red wine, so I'll probably avoid the scale until Monday.

No, 3000 calories a day according to my fitness tracker. I exercise about an hour/day and go out of my way to take extra steps whenever possible.

I'm around week 15 and 9 lbs from goal. I am expecting my Weightloss to slow down or stall, but it's not. I have noticed a new pattern and was wondering if anyone else has experienced it and/or your thoughts. First off, I am a very conscientious logger of food, Water, and exercise. I am consuming 1000 calories, 70 grams+ of Protein, 64 ounces of water, and burning 3,000 calories a day. Monday - Friday, I pretty much stall. Then the weekend comes and I have a drink (or two) and the pounds fall off. I have now been observing this for over a month. BTW, I only drink red wine or bourbon/vodka and water. Around 100 calories per drink.

I was around 275 (BMI 38) when I decided to get a VSG last July. I had my surgery on 10/6/15 and just weighed in at 199. The nice thing about having a lower BMI is that you can get it all over and done with pretty quickly. I'm 15 weeks post surgery and 9 lbs from my goal. That said, I was very fortunate in that I had no complications, no dumping, vomiting or pain. Since week 9, I've been able to eat anything, just no more than 5-6 ounces at one time. I do still track all my food and exercise. From a diet point of view, I have become the person I always envied! Now, my next issue will be maintenance. I'm not really sure what to do differently without sabotaging what I've changed in my lifestyle. Stay tuned...

I just hit ONEDERLAND! HW 281 (8/10/15) SW 251 (10/6/15) CW 199 (1/16/16) Sweet!

How on earth are you so close to goal at 4 months out?? Thanks for asking! I had an unusual situation. I live in two different places 6 months of the year. In July, I decided I need to make a serious run at weight lost (having been stuck in the 270's for a few years). After some research, I decided to make some calls and look into the sleeve. My dilemma was that that I needed to be on the West Coast for the winter by Thanksgiving, which meant I needed to complete my surgery by early October, which left me with about 3 months to meet a surgeon, get approved, and have my surgery. The first hospital I called said "no way". I then called the #1 WLS hospital in the state (top 5 in the country) and met an incredibly responsive staff. They explained the process and basically said "if you do everything right and we hit all green lights, it might happen." That was good enough for me! My first meeting was my orientation on August 10. Knowing that I might not be quite at BMI 40 and knowing that having to prove comorbidities would take time I didn't have, I basically ate like a pig for the 5 days before the orientation and then stuck around after the meeting and talked a PA into "weighing me in" that night. Voila -- 281 lbs. and a BMI of 40.2. After that, I read everything I could read, got my doctors to write letters, shut off all socializing, stopped drinking alcohol, coffee, or soda, and starting working out an hour a day. On September 2, I finally met the WLS team. I was down 15 lbs (to 266) in three weeks and they were blown away. They were also blown away by the 5 page diet history I presented with integrated doctor's reports going back 7 years. After that, I attended all their meetings and did all their tests as fast as possible, even if it meant spending every day driving around. On October 1, I got approved for an October 19 surgery -- which would have worked, but cut it close for Thanksgiving. I pleaded with the scheduler, who was excellent, and she found a way to get me in for October 6. I was down 31 pounds to 250 on 10/6. After surgery, I continued to follow everything the said and continued to exercise 90 minutes a day. Yesterday I weighed in at 201 (down 81 lbs from HW and 51 from SW). Although I would need to get to 175 to have a BMI of 25, I am a former athlete with a muscular build and competed nationally at 210 lbs. I weighed 175 in 7th grade. Also, I've lost 2 inches in height due to hip issues, so I have a 6' body in a 5'10" frame. The hospital originally said 200, but I upped it to 190. So actually, I'm now 11 pounds from goal...

I'm only 14 weeks out, but I have had bouts of hunger off and on. One thing I've noticed is that the earlier in the day I eat simple carbs, the hungrier I'll get. Sweet potato and watermelon would lead me to being hungry all day. What do you have for Breakfast?

To the OP... What do you eat/drink all day, do you do anything for exercise?

Not sure where you are in your journey. I have been quite successful in a short period of time and I think it was because I "went off the social grid" for the first 3 months. No dining out, no guests for dinner, no worry about what people think or say, just total focus on doing what they told me to do. My wife wasn't crazy about, but I told her it was only temporary and promised we be going out and socializing soon. After 3 months, I started my new life. My old life was such a distant memory, it was totally irrelevant. Now I eat like a little girl in a size 0 dress. I order a glass of wine and slowly sip it (I never finish it before we leave), and pass on the bread. If it looks like a multi-course meal, I'll order a cup of soup for the appetizer round. I'll then order something moist for my entree (beef stew, chicken piccata, etc). I'll eat a little, comment on how filling the soup was and take it to go. If it's a casual restaurant, my wife and I order two appetizers to share and she eats 2/3's of it. I still log everything, but seldom eat/drink 500 calories. I would steer clear of Water or anything you might drink more than 4 ounces of. My final advice would be to negotiate a plan with your family. Be ruthlessly honest about what your obesity is doing to you. Paint the picture of your state of health 10, 20, or 30 years down the road. Get them to visualize your grandkids losing their grandmother before their high school graduation. Share the pain and embarrassment of obesity (crying helps). Then do some math, figure out how long you'll need to be "off the grid" and tell them they can dine out, go to birthday parties, holiday dinners, whatever WITHOUT YOU. You must shake your mind and body into a new realty. It may take 6-8 months (or more), but it'll take less time than recovering from a heart attack, cancer, etc. After 6 months plus of 100 calorie meals, dining out and splurging on 250 will feel like a Roman Feast.

I was pain free and slept as normal from the first night on. That said, I'd spring the $50 for the comfy chair just in case.

Let me elaborate on what I mean by "metabolic support" (as described by my surgeon). I was referring to the concept that only with VSG do they remove the section of the stomach that sends hormones to the brain that make us hungry. Nothing is removed in band surgery and in gastric bypass, the stomach is left behind and continues to produce the hunger hormone. That said, bypass patients do great in weight loss because they also have their digestive system "shortened". My issue with bypass was that I was uncomfortable with all that organ rerouting. Also, my surgeon said no alcohol or NSAID'S for life after bypass. Here's one link that touches on some of the differences: http://www.bariatric-surgery-source.com/gastric-sleeve-surgery.html#The_Difference I do know that lots of people have done great with the band, but I also know a lot if people have failed and then gotten conversion surgery to VSG or one of the others.

While I concur on cereal and applaud all the healthy suggestions (carrots, apples, etc), I think we're talking about crafting a new lifestyle as opposed to "dieting". Like most of us, I crave an occasional salty/crunchy snack. As I have told my NUT, I think most of my weight gain came from eating nuts which are full of calories. The first thing you have to do is make it a treat -- not a daily habit. My sense is a treat should be eaten no more than 1-2 times a week. Second, understand that sugar is POISON. Not only does it cause weight gain, but it also kills you! If I eat sugary food, I limit it to once a month. For the last 6 months, I have been enjoying something that I never would have eaten in my pre-VSG low carb days - JOLLY TIME POPCORN. They make a single serve 100 calorie bag that they say makes 5 cups of popcorn (it looks like less than that). Even in my pre-sleeve days, I couldn't eat more than one bag. I know popcorn is frowned upon, but in my case, it works!