YeaMe

I have a ton of girl's nights out. I didn't not go out for the first 3 1/2 months to get myself on track, and frankly, had no desire to because I was so focused on my plan. I realized I had the rest of my life to go out. Now, I go out frequently. I don't necessarily drink each time, but if I do, I will order a glass of white wine, or vodka/cranberry. I limit myself to one because of the empty calories, and I have it before I put any food in my stomach so I'm not eating and drinking. One thing you will find, that can sabotage you, is when you are a little buzzed you will be looser on your food choices. Believe me, I was a 4-6 drink person when I went out. I've been saving a ton of money because I now have 1 to zero drinks, and always split a meal with someone. You have to make a commitment to yourself that it is what you really want. If you do, it makes it a lot easier to comply.

I too had a hiatal hernia and it is a very common practice for them to fix it at the same time as doing the sleeve.

That is good news. Keep focused on the future.

I personally would not have had the energy to enjoy a vacation like that. I never took pain meds once I left the hospital, but I was very nauseous for 5 days, dizzy for about 14 days, and no energy, I mean ZERO, for 5 weeks. Some people feel fine within a week, some it takes 6 weeks or more. There is no way to predict how you will feel after the surgery. I would put off surgery until after the trip. There is a LOT one needs to focus on the first 3 months after surgery.

The stalls can be very frustrating but I have come to realize, I am usually ALWAYS in a stall, until one morning I step on the scale and it goes down 3-4 lbs. I don't get it, but there is no getting around it. Just know that it will come off if you follow the rules. Best of luck!

I talked to my surgeon about it. He said if he knew of a prevention he would be a billionaire!!! There is nothing you can put on topically or take orally that will change the outcome.

I am five months out from VSG and fortunately only have 16 more lbs (my goal, which may change) to lose. My dilemma is clothing. Example - this morning I was getting dressed for work and now only have one pair of pants that fit. Really!?!? Last week I had 4. What happened over the weekend - I only lost 1 lb! So the problem-I have to dress in "professional" clothes - that's their term - meaning suits/jackets, etc. I have tried the thrift stores but they don't seem to carry much work professional - well, not true, if I want to dress in the 80's they do. I just can't afford to buy clothes over and over and over, as I have probably already spent $800 in the last 4 months! I will go out again and buy a few staples, but literally nothing in my closet fits so I don't even have a M-F outfits. My trainer finally told me I HAD to go out and buy new workout clothes, which I did. My question - when is a safe time to go out and purchase a new wardrobe? Once you reach goal? Wait 6 months after reaching goal? A year, 2 years? I see people's weight seems to fluctuate in the first 2 years before it settles down, or just possibly the people who post. Advice from those that have been there would be appreciated.

The people on either side of my cubicle can still hear my stomach growl. They have finally stopped verbally commenting after 5 months , but now send me IMs with unwitty remarks - feed that thing before it attacks someone, etc..

There is the dreaded 3 week stall, 6 week stall, and pretty much stalls through the entire journey. It WILL happen, it WILL pass. Just keep yourself on track and probably off the scale.

My daughter and I were discussing this topic over the weekend. As we were waiting at a stoplight, a gentleman was walking the median with a sign asking for money saying he was homeless, but had on nice clothes, designer shoes, and smoking a cigarette. I told my daughter, maybe I should try that but with a sign telling the truth, NEED MONEY FOR BOOB JOB! We laughed, but then my daughter said, people would respect the truth and you would probably get enough money in a couple of weeks.

Introversion - Out of curiosity, what was your calorie range during weight loss?

I was self-paid too and chose to have my surgery near my home in the states. It thought it would be more expensive, but I decided it was worth it to have the pre/post-care that I feel is important, and in case something went wrong. I had a friend who went out of the country and she struggles because she doesn't have any post-care. I'm sure it depends on the doctor/facility that you go to as to what type of pre/post-care they offer. It was important to me to sit down with a nutritionist who specializes in bariatric nutrition. I thought I knew everything, but realized I knew very little. My insurance didn't cover surgery either, but I had a hiatal hernia fixed and they ended up paying almost 95% of hospital expenses, though I did have to pay my surgeon's fee of $5,000. I wasn't expecting them to pay much at all. It was a nice surprise.

I think that a majority of people are scared about surgery and doubting it because there are so many what ifs: will I have pain; will I have complications; will I lose weight; will I be able to change my eating habits. You can ask these questions to 10 people and get 10 different responses. Complications are rare and this is one of the safest bariatric surgeries available. Of course I was hesitant about altering my body, but realized after 40 yrs of dieting I was still obese and I needed to go a different direction. As far as pain, I had very little, just nausea. Transitioning into post-op life, I am almost 4 months out and so far there are just a few things that have been hard. Eating too fast and not chewing enough - both of these you can start working on before the surgery (which I did not). Success so far - I am elated with not having the carb and sugar cravings that controlled my life. My primary food sources are protein with a few complex carbs. As of now, I can say this is the best decision I have ever made for my health. The one worry I still have is the long term outcome. I just have to stay focused and realize this is a "forever" change and going back to eating fast and processed foods will only take me back to square one again. Only you can decide in the end if this is right for you. Good luck!

You said it yourself - I feel my diet has increased and I haven't been exercising. That's exactly why.

Thanks all for the information. Hitting goal right now for me is a scary thing. I keep telling myself over and over that when I hit goal, it doesn't mean I can start eating Mexican, Italian, sweets, etc. again like all my friends think I can. Maybe I will just keep it to myself when I reach it. It just means that I eat my 3 oz of protein and then some veggies, which I have been missing. I'm not sure what is harder, training my brain or my friends, a few of which I'm thinking about trading in! I know it will be a lifelong process and one I hope to master.

Do they have Captain Crunch?!?!?! If so, I might take up vaping!

It's so liberating - congratulations and keep up the good work!

Perfectly said. Someone came up to me the other day and said, "don't you wish you would have lost the weight before your daughter's wedding." Meaning, don't you wish you looked skinny in her wedding photos. I thought about it a long while and realized, I have no regrets. That was me a year ago, this is me now. I don't cringe looking at the pictures, I think, girl, you had some issues. Slowly, I am figuring them out and letting them go, one by one.

You will also find that each individual processes the intake of food differently, so you have to tweak it to find your sweet spot. My dietician wanted me on 600-700 calories a day for the first 6 months. I hadn't lost any weight for 3 weeks so I upped my calories to 850-900, and the weight started falling off the next day. I also eat a lot of carbs, where most people keep them low. I don't eat bread or potatoes, but I drink a lot of milk, and eat fruit. I have to have them to be able to work out or I just stand there due to lack of energy which is pointless. Our drs./dieticians all have their "plan" which honestly, doesn't necessarily work across the board.

I am 1 week short of being sleeved 3 months now. Oddly, I am being able to eat less and less dense protein. At one point I was up to over 4 ounces and now I am lucky to get in 2 ounces at a time. This makes it nearly impossible to get in the required protein/calories, as I work out every day too. I've been hitting maximum 800 calories and usually more like 600. I've just started recently drinking lattes a couple of times a day to get in some liquid protein. I am totally burned out on protein shakes so trying something different. Has anyone else gone through this and have any advice? I've tried eating more often, but that makes it almost impossible to get in enough water. I literally eat NOTHING but protein - no bread/pasta, fruit or even veggies. Thanks

I am eating canned tuna and chicken; crockpot chicken that just has some broth and seasoning; eggs and ground beef I can only get 2 bites down; grilled steak; grilled fish. Oddly, I can get more steak and fish down than anything. I've only though had that a couple of times because I know it is really hard to digest and don't want to over do it. The proteins are all moist.

The dizziness is from lack of fluids and potassium. I still get dizzy (9 weeks out), though not as often) and that's my signal that I need to drink water. I go to the gym everyday so I lose a lot of fluid there. I now literally walk around with water in my hand at all times and it's still hard to get enough in. As far as protein, you need to do whatever it takes to get it in. I have a skinny latte every day and either a protein shake or make my Quest protein bars into cookies so I can get it down. I still can only eat about 2 oz of chicken/eggs/fish/beef at a time and average about 80 grams a day.

I used a child's sippy cup - seriously. I too was severely dehydrated and became so dizzy I could hardly walk. It took a good 2 weeks to be able to start getting any amount of water down.

I was a self pay and paid surgeon $5,500 and hospital $4,800. I did have a hiatal hernia fixed at the same time. The total hospital bill was $38,000, with the insurance paying the complete share of the "discounted" rate. Since the insurance paid the entire hospital bill, I get my $4,800 back! Nice surprise - now I can put new clothes on this new body. The surgeon does have a cash price of $15,500 that includes his fee and he hospital.

I have a 3 week stall every 3 weeks!. Then I step on the scale and a chunk is gone or just a few pounds are gone but I have changed sizes in clothes. Difference in my weight between last Monday and today, 2 lbs. - but have 2 pairs of pants that fit me last week that didn't today. I can't figure it out!