ready_to_be_thin

Carbs (like bread, crackers, etc) actually fill me up much faster than protein! I very, very rarely ever eat them though. I am 8 months out and I can still only eat 3 ounces at a time. I cant even eat a whole piece of pizza, much less a whole pizza! Even if I had all day, I couldn't do it. I am not trying to put anyone down or make anyone feel bad, so please, anyone who is reading this, don't take it personally or negatively. It is just my personal journey so far.

I didn't have a catheter during my surgery. I asked them if I was going to, and they told me they don't put one in you unless you are going to be under a certain amount of time. I can't recall what the time amount was now, but it wasn't going to be long enough for me. Now that doesn't necessarily mean all hospitals are like that, but that was my experience. I was grateful because I hate those things.

I found these Jimmy Dean frittatas in the frozen section. They are fast and easy, and really tasty. I like them because they are so easy to take with me to work. Sometimes I will eat one for lunch also.

I definitely feel your pain! I always tell my friends that your nipples shouldn't point to the ground, but mine definitely do too! LOL! I was a 40DDD before my sleeve, and now I am a 38D. They have deflated even more. Its ridiculous. I really don't want to have to have surgery, but I have considered it. I don't want implants though. I just want them to be lifted so they aren't looking down anymore. LOL!!

I promise it gets better. I honestly didn't reach my protein goals until several months afterward. I couldn't drink much at all my first few days either. I also could hardly stomach the protein shakes for quite a while. So the first few days, I just focused on drinking a small sip every 5 minutes. But I didn't get anywhere near my goals until several months out.... Some people can do it really quickly, and some can't. I definitely couldn't. I didn't take vitamins until several weeks out either. Try not to worry about not losing anything. You are still swollen from your surgery and you will have fluid still on you from the IV. But I promise, you will start losing. This will work for you, just hang in there. The first week is the hardest, but eventually, I have faith that you will be thrilled that you made this choice. I am about 8 and 1/2 months post-op and I have lost 112 pounds so far. This is definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made. I am only 14 pounds from my goal weight. If I keep losing after that, that's ok too, but I will be happy with myself if I stop there. You will do great!

I think they are disgusting personally. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using BariatricPal mobile app

I think everyone is different, and it really just depends on the type of person you are and the type of people you have in your life. I waited until I had made the decision to have the surgery and had my first appointment with my surgeon before I told anyone. Then I told my family and my closest friends (which are mostly work friends) . After my surgery and once my weight loss started, other people at work from other departments/floors that I didn't see everyday would comment and ask me questions. I was very honest about it with everyone. I never really experienced any negativity about it and everyone has been very supportive (and lots of jealousy...LOL). I'm proud of my weight loss and would recommend this to anyone so I actually enjoy telling people about it. And if I do ever experience negativity from anyone, I'm not really the type of person to let it bother me. They can think what they want and my life will still go on the same. :-)

absolutely agree!!! I use unflavored protein in my drinks to increase my daily protein, but by no means is it unflavored! I can only use 1/2 of a scoop in my drinks otherwise I can taste it and cant stomach it.

I have lost 102 pounds since 8/31/2016 and I am having the same issue...although not as bad as yours. I have to sit on top of several blankets when I sit on my couch or in my recliner when I watch tv. It doesn't bother me to sit in my chair at work, but at home, it really sucks. I watched "Skin Tight" the other day and there was a lady on there that had lost a bunch of weight and her tailbone was sticking too far out and caused her a lot of pain. She ended up having her tailbone removed! I wish I had some suggestions, but I am at a loss on what to do myself.

I try to keep my protein at about 100 grams and I try not to go over 20 carbs per day. I don't really worry about my fat intake. Congrats on your fantastic weight loss!

I won't say that I always do this because I forget and sometimes get busy, but I will tell you what my doctor told me to do. He said that I should eat about 5 times a day. My "eating" a lot of times is just my protein powder. I do try to do this anyway so this is just an example of what I might do and approximate times: 8:15: coffee with unflavored protein mix 10:00: 1/2 protein bar 1pm: lunch 3pm: protein shake 5pm: the other 1/2 of protein bar 7pm: dinner 9:30: handful of nuts or some other kind of low carb snack And I add unflavored protein mix to all of my drinks to increase my protein

I don't think that sounds low at all. Your start weight is much lower than a lot of us on here. So typically you won't lose as much as those who started out at a much higher weight. 17 pounds in less than a month is great!!! Constipation is a bummer. I definitely had major issues with it when I first started out. I still have some, but its not near as bad now. I use ClearLax (similar to Miralax but cheaper and it seems to work better for me). I got it off of Amazon. You are doing great, so try not to get discouraged.

That's normal. I couldn't get all of my protein in that early in either. Its still hard for me to do it now, and I'm 7 months out. I can't do it without my protein drinks and bars and adding the unflavored protein powder to my drinks. I was worried about it because I had read that you should be getting protein in from your food instead of shakes, but my doctor told me to get it in however I could get it in. I can't get eat much more now than I could when I first had my surgery (sooo grateful for this) so there is just no way that I can get 100 grams of protein in with my food. So my unflavored protein mix is definitely a must for me.

I don't usually on the weekends, but during the week I walk. I usually walk for 15 minutes during my break, and then another 20 or so minutes on my lunch hour.

I haven't had any bald spots, thank gosh. I could just tell when I washed my hair, brushed it, and on my clothes. I had really thick hair, so its thinner now, but nobody seems to notice but me. I am just so glad that it has finally slowed down.

I think I started losing my hair at about 4 months. I'm a little over 7 months out and its finally slowing down. When I went for my 6 month follow-up, he told me that it would stop once I stopped losing weight, but that didn't help me feel too much better for the present! I was already taking biotin and fish oil, which he said would help, but he also told me to take zinc. So I have added that in also. I'm not sure if that is what helped it slow down, or if its just that my weight loss has slowed some since I don't have as much to lose now. Either way, I'm glad it has slowed!

Dang girl you look amazing!!! Honestly I have to say that I'm jealous of your pre-op pic much less your post-op pic!! You don't look by any means that you weighed 242 pounds in that pic. You sure carried your weight really well!! I'm sorry that you are having to deal with his comments. He is probably somewhat worried that you are going to leave him for someone else. Its probably just all of his own insecurities coming out. Hang in there, and keep up the great work. Do this for you!

I've seen all of the episodes, and they definitely show all of the ups an downs that she went through. It shows her with her trainer, the difficulties she had following the diet, and the major amounts of pain she dealt with on the skin removal surgeries. They also showed her having some problems with depression. I think if people watch the show, they'll see that its not an easy way out of doing things, but if not, people might draw that conclusion...that we all know is sure not the truth. I think she really looks good and I commend her for going through all of this with a camera on her allowing everyone to see the struggle.

I had my surgery when I was 43 and 1/2. My only regret? Not doing it sooner!!!

Taking your walker isn't a bad idea at all. Better safe than sorry. Walking helps so much with the gas pain, so you're definitely gonna want to do that. I am definitely a side sleeper so I think that is what hurt my back so much, sleeping on my back. I honestly thought that this surgery was much less painful than my gallbladder surgery.

Wow! I can't believe they expect you to lose 40% in 3 months! That just sounds crazy to me!

Sure! I don't count calories at all. Well, I should say I don't really worry about them anyway. I use the My Fitness Pal app, and it counts calories for me but I don't really pay much attention to them, except to say that if I don't eat enough, I will definitely not lose. If my calories are too low, I guess my body thinks I'm starving and it will hold on to it and I won't lose. I don't really care about fat either. All I really watch is my protein and carbs. I try to get in 100 grams of protein per day, and I try to stay under 20 carbs per day. I guess my calories are typically around 800-1,000 per day. Let me know if I can help any further.

I had gallbladder surgery as well, and for me, my gastric sleeve was very minor in regard to pain. I had the typical gas pain, but walking helped tremendously. What bothered me most was my back because I have chronic back pain. So laying on my back so much hurt my back, but I had very minimal pain in the incision area of my gastric sleeve. It really wasn't bad at all., to me anyway.

I had the gastric sleeve done on 8/31/16, so tomorrow I will be 7 months out. I have lost 100 pounds exactly. Hope that helps, but let me know if you need any other info. Thanks!

Hey guys! Hope everyone is doing well this morning. I am soooo excited - I hit onderland today!! I have been waiting for this moment and I'm so glad that I made the decision to have surgery. Just wish I would have done it sooner! I included a pic of when I started, and a current pic as well. Only 8 more pounds to go until I am 100 pounds down. Hope everyone has a great Friday and weekend.