KnowNothing

Thank you so much for your kind words chavrzmommy! I really needed to hear that and I'll follow you recommendations. Thank you!!!

Hey chavrzmommy and all Jan 2016 sleevers!
I'm struggling with emotional eating from time to time! Sometimes I just want to keep eating and eating and eating and I feel so bad that I have to throw up! I wish there was a brain surgery as well for the food insanity.
I've been active but I need to start prioritizing my training more.
I've been in a stall for who knows how long, but at the same time in +/- 3kg from my weight goal. I'm continuing with a lchf/keto/Banting and intermittent fasting diet.
Looking forward to hear how's everyone doing and if you have any tips for me!'
Cheers, Ariana

Hey chavezmommy!
I've mentioned on my previous posts that I stop losing weight after my fifth week after surgery and I have followed a low carb, moderate Protein and high fat diet since then with great results. Sometimes I overeat and I've been fluctuating between 60 and 57kg (my goal weight is 55kg). I have incorporated since last week a juice fast of four days that led me to an over 2kg weight gain but an amazing feeling of accomplishment.
I stopped the juice fast and went for a 24 hour fast of non-caloric-liquids like tea, coffee and Water. After the fast I ate a bariatric portion dinner and went back to 57.5kg again. It had taken me a lot of trials and errors to find what is best for me and definitely I believe that this lifestyle is the safest and must correct for me because it prevents me from binging and brings me towards my weight goal. I also would like to add that my blood tests looks amazing: Vitamins, minerals, etc are all great, blood sugar, blood pressure and LDL cholesterol (the bad one) are perfect, so there is no reason that I'm wrongdoing.
Let me know if you want to try this!
Best,
Ariana

Congratulations Tris!!!
I'm only 4 (plus minus) kilos away from my goal weight (I was a low bmi sleever) but already on the normal bmi range.
Congrats again ????????????????!!!

Congratulations Tris!!!
I'm only 4 (plus minus) kilos away from my goal weight (I was a low bmi sleever) but already on the normal bmi range.
Congrats again ????????????????!!!

For me the surgery only worked the first five weeks. Afterwards I've been in a lchf/Banting/ketogenic diet in order to continue losing weight. Sometimes I combine it with fasting as well.
Either way, I've been in a stall for around a month, even with the diet.
I believe this is a trial of body biochemistry, patience, habit forming and physical change... Nobody said it would be easy. It's been a wonderful journey! But sometimes I get a little bit annoyed, and at the same time very thankful.
Good luck , Ariana

For me the surgery only worked the first five weeks. Afterwards I've been in a lchf/Banting/ketogenic diet in order to continue losing weight. Sometimes I combine it with fasting as well.
Either way, I've been in a stall for around a month, even with the diet.
I believe this is a trial of body biochemistry, patience, habit forming and physical change... Nobody said it would be easy. It's been a wonderful journey! But sometimes I get a little bit annoyed, and at the same time very thankful.
Good luck , Ariana

Hey everyone!
I stopped losing weight after the fifth week of the sleeve and I don't get a fullness signal until it's too late and I'm full to my throat. Because of this I've chosen to follow a ketogenic diet (in some places also known as banting or lchf or low-carb-moderate-protein-high-fat) which has helped me with my crazy cravings for food and sweets. I also had to cut all artificial sweeteners and hopefully I can reduce dairy and nuts as I can see that they cause me trouble with the food addiction and anyway, I'm lactose intoleranse and have nut allergies, so I shouldn't been eating those anyway.
Because my diet is based on fats, for sure I consume over 1,000kcal. I don't weight anything. The only thing I do is the following rule:
1. Does it look like food?
2. How much it was processed? The only processed food that I eat now are cheese, heavy cream and butter. Also high cured ham like serrano or prosciutto, chorizo and bacon.
3. Drinks: tea or coffee with heavy cream and butter. Otherwise plain Water.< /p>
4. Meat: all kind.
5. Veggies covered in butter.
6. Berries (occasionally) with whip cream, obviously no sugar nor sweetness added.
7. I've been trying to fast over 12 hours and eat only 3 meals.
Goals: (Height: 159cm = 5'3'')
Highest weight: 80kg = 176 lbs 6oz = 12 stones 8.4 lbs
Surgery weight: 76kg = 167 lbs 9oz = 11 stones 13.55lbs
Current weight: 58.9kg = 130 lbs = 9 stones 3.85 lbs
Goal weight: 55kg = 121 lbs 4oz = 8 stones 9 1/4 lbs
Unfortunately Orange Theory is quit far for me as I live in Norway!
Best, Ariana

Me as well! It's horrible! I've lost a LOT and it doesn't seem to stop! Looks like I'm sick!

Hey everyone!
I stopped losing weight after the fifth week of the sleeve and I don't get a fullness signal until it's too late and I'm full to my throat. Because of this I've chosen to follow a ketogenic diet (in some places also known as banting or lchf or low-carb-moderate-protein-high-fat) which has helped me with my crazy cravings for food and sweets. I also had to cut all artificial sweeteners and hopefully I can reduce dairy and nuts as I can see that they cause me trouble with the food addiction and anyway, I'm lactose intoleranse and have nut allergies, so I shouldn't been eating those anyway.
Because my diet is based on fats, for sure I consume over 1,000kcal. I don't weight anything. The only thing I do is the following rule:
1. Does it look like food?
2. How much it was processed? The only processed food that I eat now are cheese, heavy cream and butter. Also high cured ham like serrano or prosciutto, chorizo and bacon.
3. Drinks: tea or coffee with heavy cream and butter. Otherwise plain Water.< /p>
4. Meat: all kind.
5. Veggies covered in butter.
6. Berries (occasionally) with whip cream, obviously no sugar nor sweetness added.
7. I've been trying to fast over 12 hours and eat only 3 meals.
Goals: (Height: 159cm = 5'3'')
Highest weight: 80kg = 176 lbs 6oz = 12 stones 8.4 lbs
Surgery weight: 76kg = 167 lbs 9oz = 11 stones 13.55lbs
Current weight: 58.9kg = 130 lbs = 9 stones 3.85 lbs
Goal weight: 55kg = 121 lbs 4oz = 8 stones 9 1/4 lbs
Unfortunately Orange Theory is quit far for me as I live in Norway!
Best, Ariana

Hey everyone!
I stopped losing weight after the fifth week of the sleeve and I don't get a fullness signal until it's too late and I'm full to my throat. Because of this I've chosen to follow a ketogenic diet (in some places also known as banting or lchf or low-carb-moderate-protein-high-fat) which has helped me with my crazy cravings for food and sweets. I also had to cut all artificial sweeteners and hopefully I can reduce dairy and nuts as I can see that they cause me trouble with the food addiction and anyway, I'm lactose intoleranse and have nut allergies, so I shouldn't been eating those anyway.
Because my diet is based on fats, for sure I consume over 1,000kcal. I don't weight anything. The only thing I do is the following rule:
1. Does it look like food?
2. How much it was processed? The only processed food that I eat now are cheese, heavy cream and butter. Also high cured ham like serrano or prosciutto, chorizo and bacon.
3. Drinks: tea or coffee with heavy cream and butter. Otherwise plain Water.< /p>
4. Meat: all kind.
5. Veggies covered in butter.
6. Berries (occasionally) with whip cream, obviously no sugar nor sweetness added.
7. I've been trying to fast over 12 hours and eat only 3 meals.
Goals: (Height: 159cm = 5'3'')
Highest weight: 80kg = 176 lbs 6oz = 12 stones 8.4 lbs
Surgery weight: 76kg = 167 lbs 9oz = 11 stones 13.55lbs
Current weight: 58.9kg = 130 lbs = 9 stones 3.85 lbs
Goal weight: 55kg = 121 lbs 4oz = 8 stones 9 1/4 lbs
Unfortunately Orange Theory is quit far for me as I live in Norway!
Best, Ariana

Hey guys! First of all, thank you for your replys! I really appreciate all of them! I need some insight on how you guys are winning your weight loss battles.
Statistics:
· Sleeved: Jan 18th, 2016 (exactly 8 weeks tomorrow Monday)
· Height: 159cm (5’3”)
· Age: 37 y/o (in 6 days)
· Initial weight: 76kg (167.5 lbs)
· Current weight: 64.1kg (141.5 lbs)
· Goal weight: 55kg (121 lbs)
· Diet: 3 meals per day, not counting calories nor portions as my nutritionist mentioned to eat only 3 meals, focus on Protein and I should be eating around 1000Kcal however I’m not counting them. I’m avoiding all sweet and bread/pasta/rice carbs as I’m fully aware that I’m strongly addicted to them.
· Exercise: Haven’t done anything in a week because of a knee injury and lack of discipline. Hoping to start walking again today. It was recommended to exercise 1.5 hours per day 6-7 times a week.
· Water: Goal Water is 1.5L per day (6 ¼ cups) and some days I reach this goal, some others I don’t but most of the days I reach it.
· Past drugs: metformin for prediabetes, telmisartan for high blood pressure and atorvastatine for cholesterol control. All drugs are gone and replaced by bariatric Vitamins, Calcium and Iron.< /p>
My struggles:
1. Ear infection: of course this has nothing to do with the sleeve but I’ve been struggling with my ears for over a year. I was told that most likely my ear infections were caused by high sugar content in the blood. My sugar is regulated now. My doctor prescribed oxytetracycline, polymyxin-B and hydrocortisone ear drops three times per day for 1 week and then I need to wait 4 weeks when I have the ear infections all the time!
2. Constipation: I go and poop 2-3 times per week. I have increased my amount of veggies with my meals. If I take Bisacodyl (Dulcolax) I only get dry hyves after 5-6 hours after taking it and glycerin suppositories do nothing unless I stick 2 (gross but true).
3. Head hunger: I mentioned before my carb addiction, but I do seriously want to binge all my cupboards and fridge! And I’m having a rough time coping with this.
4. Stomach acid: It started two weeks ago and I’m in pain around 50% of the day. I’m taking 40g omeprazole daily in the mornings (prescribed by my doctor) and I have to take Sodium Alginate, Sodium Bicarbonate and Calcium Carbonate (Gaviscon in the UK) once or twice a day (prescribed by me) to manage the pain. I have tried Calcium Carbonate (Tums, I in the US) and I started to binge on them.
5. I haven’t lost weight in the last three weeks! That will be that I’ve not lost weight after 5 weeks of the surgery and I’m so frustrated.
6. I can’t feel full. I don’t have that feeling. My nutritionist has explained the hunger feeling over and over but I just don’t feel it. She recommended Portion Control but she didn’t recommend a specific amount of food as there are no guidelines.

All ideas, suggestions and comments are all well appreciated and thank you!

Hey Siege,
Congratulations in your weight loss and what an amazing journey we all are in this boat together!
About the demons: Oh! God!!! So many of them since I was a kid! Nowadays are less and less. I don't follow nor count nor measure what I eat, so the demons are away and I've been doing a low carb high fat approach and it has helped me fantastically with keeping the sugar demons away. How did I find that this was the right way for me? I was starting to get obsessed with all the types of food that I was putting in my mouth and specially foods or drinks that have artificial sweeteners where driving me crazy! So, after testing and retesting, I'm much better from the sugar cravings, even though I relapse at least once a week (this week however none), but I just follow real food rule: meat of all kinds, butter, olive oil, veggies that grows on the surface, nuts, heavy cream, cheese and berries. This approach has helped me as much as the sleeve!
Don't fight your demons, just put them to sleep!
Hugs,
Ariana

Thank you Kathy!

Wanted to comment back on this post. This helped my food addiction. I no longer consider myself a food addict or a compulsive over eater. The surgery forced me to find alternative ways to deal with my emotional triggers. Beyond grateful I did this!

Hi everyone,
I'm finally back for an update! I had been in the typical stall for quite some time, so was hesitant to post too much and come across pessimistic.
Here's a recap. Had my surgery January 9th in Mexico. BMI was 29, weighed in at 153.4 (only 5'1) on January 1st when I started my pre-op. I had an easy pre-op, basically just did Protein shakes for Breakfast and lunch and then veggies and chicken for dinner. Three days before surgery was yogurt only diet, but I did add a Protein shake once a day just to keep my Protein up and my carbs down. Day of surgery I weighed 148.4 lbs, which put my BMI at 28.
I went down to Mexico on the day of surgery and spent a few days in San Diego afterwards. First time I weighed myself on my home scale I was 139.2 and that was on January 17th.
Jan 18 - 137.2
Jan 19 - 137.0
Then my weight started to bounce around and stall out so I stopped weighing daily.
Feb 1 - 137.6.
I started working out Feb 1, scale was still moving super slow, so again just weighed every once in a while
Feb 5 - 136.0
Feb 23 - 135.2
Then I went on vacation to California. Just got back last night and I weighed in this morning at .... 129.0!!!!!! That puts me at a BMI of 24.4, the high end of NORMAL WEIGHT.
Why did I finally drop? I don't exactly know, but here's two things that probably helped.
1. I ate out a lot, and although I didn't eat lots at a time, my calories were definitely higher, so I think that actually helped boost my metabolism.
2. I got super sick the second last night, stuck in the bathroom (sorry if this is TMI - but basically all night pooping and puking --- although it was mostly dry heaving since there was no food in me). So I probably am down quite a bit of Water weight, and fully expect I may gain a couple pounds once I get hydrated again and eating somewhat normal.
Anyways, I just wanted to post an update since it's been a while, and I feel like I may have finally broken this stall. I am less than 6 lbs above my lowest weight as an adult. Still 14 lbs above my goal weight, but that being said, I am looking forward to increasing my exercise and putting on muscle, so realize it may be difficult for the scale to drop steadily if I'm toning up.
Hope everyone else is doing well!
--I am going to copy and paste this post to a few of the other "low BMI" threads, so sorry for the repeat to those of you that follow those threads as well--

The 5 day pouch is a reset program for WLS veterans. People tend to use it if they feel stuck, have put on weight or don't feel in control of their food input. Basically it gets you back to knowing what 'full' feels like.

I can't say that exact thing has happened to me (though I am treated generally better overall), but there are a lot of published, peer-reviewed scientific papers out there that show fat people are discriminated against in all sorts of settings: less likely to be hired or promoted (with identical resumes, just based on one including a picture of a fat person and the other a slender person), less likely to be admitted to college (same scenario -- identical application files, just pictures), less likely to have their health concerns taken seriously and treated appropriately by health care providers, less likely (for women) to have doors held open for them -- you get the idea.
A lot of people, even fat people and formerly fat people, will try to blow this off and say it's because you have more confidence, positivity, and outgoingness as a normal-weight person. To me, that's victim-blaming. How can it be about confidence and positivity when the studies show that fat people are discriminated against based merely on a picture of them?
So no, I do not think you are imagining things at all. Fat people are treated terribly by our culture, I am sorry to say.

Good morning everyone! I hope and pray your journey is going well.
My surgery was Oct 26 and I have lost almost 100 # since my heaviest weight and almost 75 since surgery. I am looking and FEELING great!
Now, enough of the bragging...
To my question:
I have noticed at work, in the past, when I made proposals, no matter the situation, certain people would immediately put them down, degrade my knowledge, and more often than not, they would resurface 3-4 months later as their own proposals and the celebrations would begin.
Since my weight loss, my proposals are getting serious consideration and implementation. Even ones 6 months ago that were summarily dismissed and I am reintroducing are being seriously considered.
The only change I can think of is my weight loss.
Am I crazy? Has this happened to anyone else? I have been told my personality hasn't changed and my professionalism is the same.
I know, ride the wave and enjoy but this is nagging at me. I wonder what if I would have lost the weight years ago. Where would I be?
Anyone have work horror/success similar stories?

Mine was low too, I self paid because my insurance won't cover it. I even had one of the doctors at Kaiser who did WLS actually criticize me for doing it and told me I'd regret it. Five and a half years later I am still waiting on the regret.

So here's the truth, uncensored, successes, regrets, and over all feelings:
I'm still on the liquid phase post my sleeve. Where do I begin? My story may be different than most in that I just found out about the sleeve procedure about 5 weeks ago. Seriously. From the moment I found out about this procedure, I did research. I mean non-stop all night (literally until I had to shower for work in the morning with only 30 minutes of sleep).
Within 2 days of research, I decided this was what I was going to do. I looked into insurance financing and they told me I had to be on a physician approved diet for 6 months then submit it to them for possible approval. That wasn't going to happen. So I looked into self pay. I decided on a place overseas (btw- I live overseas) and the total was $17,000 not including flight, hotel, or transportation which would have pushed me past $25,000 easily. I booked it anyway. I asked the facility tons of questions but they were hesitant to respond (I assume I was too thorough for them) so that gave me pause. That's never good. Then I found this website and read read read. I passed by something that said Mexico and I was thinking, no way. Fast forward 5 days (4 weeks ago total), I changed my mind and booked it through a well researched documented reputable company. So before I continue let me tell you this, when I decide on something, I research at nauseam then go forward full speed ahead. That's exactly what I did. I proceeded to give my medical history, pay my deposit, and within 2 days I was scheduled with a date. So I booked the flight, reserved a hotel, and prepared for the best.
I was told to be on a prep diet for 10 days. Total fail. What can I say. It was completely on purpose as the first day was great then every day after was a I'll start off fresh tomorrow type of day. It never happened.
I flew to get the surgery done in Mexico. I was all by myself. There's only one other person which was my spouse (who knows me aside from the medical team and company of course that I'll never see again so that's ok) that knew what was going on. I booked at some cheap hotel because I was thinking hey, it's just for a night and booked the same hotel for the night before my flight.
I checked out of the hotel the day of my surgery, driver picked me up, drove me to Mexico, and the coordinator was at the door waiting. From then on it was easy street. Got all the tests done, IV in (only stuck me once...super rare), and prepped to go and actually get it done. They told me not to eat at all from midnight the night before on and I actually listened to that :-) . I was supposed to be #2 for surgery which would have been around 2 pm but another patient got sick so I got bumped to #3 which was actually around 7 pm. Hey doctors have to take a break and eat lunch too right?
On the way down at night to get the surgery done, everyone was asking me, "are you nervous?" I said, "should I be?" It made every one laugh. I guess people typically say that they are nervous but I truly wasn't until the 11th person asked me if I was. I was brought into the surgery room, then told to count to 10. I counted to 10 then laughed at the physician because I felt like I accomplished something truly special. Then about 2 seconds later, I woke up in the recovery room. Joke was on me.
PAIN!! Pain pain pain pain pain. Seriously. My chest felt like it was going to explode out of my skin. It hurt like nothing else I've ever felt in my life. All I wanted to do was sit up. Literally. Just sit up. But they refused to let me. I suppose they figured my guts were going to fall out. Then it began. What would plague me for a full day and a half. Vomiting. Over and over and over. I figured I would vomit as I always have after procedures but this was insane. Non stop vomiting. Every 10-15 minutes. Remember I didn't eat so it was nothing in my tummy. So what did I vomit? Blood. Lots of blood. All shades of red and pink. Various ounces. Gross at best. Of course before the sleeve vomiting blood was always a bad thing. Taboo even. So when I became the queen of bloody vomit, it was awfulness. Before I left the recovery room, I sat up. Flat out refused to have the exploding chest feel while I was vomiting blood. Wasn't going to happen. That was the only time I actually regretted having the procedure at all (knock on wood). So they figured I was in recovery long enough so they moved me back to my room.
The nurses were great. Never once got upset at all about my shooting bloody vomit spells everywhere, and were always kind, empathetic, and caring. Constantly. Plus there turn over was impeccable. I mean when ever I got a new nurse or new person, they got a full debrief of everything. My full case. Start to finish. Sometimes it was a little annoying like I just want to go, but then again, I've never seen such thoroughness during turnover of staff even when the shift hadn't changed.
When I got back in my room after I woke up from a much needed nap (honestly have no idea how long I was out), there were doctors all around me. Turns out they continued to do my vitals and my blood pressure was through the roof meaning over 200/145. Needlesstosay, everyone was scared. Really scared. They kept asking me how I felt, taking blood, giving me different meds, and so forth. I was fine. The pressure in my chest was going away, the bloody vomit continued of course, but otherwise I was fine. I suppose they didn't believe me as the testing continued and they wanted to ensure I was truly ok since the tests were different from what I stated. Eventually they gave me some combo medication that worked and all my vitals went back to normal.
Oh I forgot, the pee. I had to use the bathroom constantly. That's what happens with an IV from morning until... But they wouldn't let me get out of bed so the bed pan and nurses were my best friends.
So we have bloody vomit, bed pan, vitals, repeat. I did have #2 in the hospital and stayed 3 nights total. I got out of bed twice total. No walking what so ever. Also no gas pains.
Fast forward until the day of discharge. Got up, showered, dressed, and finally got to do my hair. The staff was in awe about how great I looked. I wonder how bad I looked in bed that whole time come to think of it. :-) I was able to walk very easily and drag my carry on suitcase. But the driver took it from me and brought it to the car instead. I hugged all of the staff, we didn't exchange information or anything, told them how amazing they were and how blessed I was to have them care for me. Then I was driven back to the border, stopped by the store to get some bouillon cubes, and put in my cheap hotel, last day.
Couldn't wait until morning. Got a shuttle to the airport and prepared for my 30 hour airplane journey back home. Checked in and walked the airport, carry on bag and all. I was tired. Sleepy and exhausted. My bouillon cubes disappeared, go figure, so I was stuck with nothing but Water and Powerade. That didn't help as the air sickness started to grab my neck so I at starburst candies. Yes, less than a week after surgery I was already eating junk. Couldn't help it and don't regret it. Saved me from starting the vomit story again.
Now I'm home and doing great. All of my incisions (5) have healed but the one that had the drain. I bought some scar removal stuff online and will use it to hopefully get rid of all 5 physical external memories of the surgery. I looked at the two X-rays (before and after) from my surgery. Took me a while to understand exactly what I was looking at. From what I remember in passing, the doctor said that he took 80% of my stomach away. I could be totally off about that though. So that little slither that I saw must be the new stomach that's left.
I've been able to get my Protein shakes in (1.5 a day) as I love chocolate. Always have. I drink both Atkins and Slim Fast high Protein Shakes. I'm drinking Water too but no where up to 64 ounces. I also "eat" miso and watery potato Soup that comes from powder. It's great and I don't feel deprived, tempted, or anything. I don't know when I'm full but I know I can't gulp because I'll spit it back out. Tried it three times (not on purpose) and failed each time. I chew gum, drink water, eat chewable Vitamins, drink Protein, and get some watery broth Soup in. I am alert, energetic, and feel like I'm queen of the world.
So what have I learned? Pre op diet is ideal, not mandatory. Recovery room sucks bad and hurts like hell. Vomiting blood once in a lifetime is not a death sentence. Constipation is not inevitable. Starbursts may be the best thing invented since electricity. Mexican hospitals are perfection and I couldn't have asked for better care. My family is the most supportive in history and my children accept answers the first time when they know I don't want to answer countless questions. Life is a journey and I'm going to enjoy every single second of it!
Thanks for reading. :-)

First time posting in here. I'll have mine on Jan 18th! Filled with mixed feelings!