bren

Hi everyone Today is my first day here, someone from OH invited me, but their profile was gone by the time I got the message, so I don't know who it was. But anyways, doesn't matter, I found you all. I had the sleeve almost 1 year ago, and have lost 80 lbs. That would be great, but I still have 70 to go and I've been stuck at this 80 lbs for a couple months. I have a real aversion to dieting, having done that all my life, but I can see that now if I want to continue to lose that I need to get over that and start being aware of what I am eating. So today I started tracking in the daily plate. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how many calories I should be eating at this point? The DP says 1414 to lose 3 lbs a week, but that seems high to me. But what do I know, since I am quite stalled. PS, I had my sleeve in Mexico, Dr. Alberto Aceves.

Hello, I have suffered from various eating disorders all my life, with Binge eating disorder high on the list in my later adult years. I was warned that WLS would not help me, but you know, after 40 years of every diet, every therapy available, everything that medical science had to offer as well as everything that all the quacks out there have to offer, I had to try it. So my answer to does it help with binging is yes and no. Yes, because now I have that restriction so that even when I do make bad choices, the damage is very minimal. And no becuase of course, I carry the same head around with me that still wants to binge sometimes. But what it does do for me is buy me time to think. There have been times when I have wanted to binge, and have even purchased my favorite binge foods. But can I scarf them down? No, 3-4 bites and I am done. So then I have time to think it through, do I really want to do this? SOmetimes, YES, LOL!, but really I can't physically, so I end up throwing it out or sheepishly bringing it home and handing it over to my family so they can finish it. They know all about me. And then I look at what led me to think I needed to binge and I hopefully learn yet another thing about me and my food issues. So I guess this is why I have a problem when I hear people say that if you don't solve your food issues first, then you shouldn't have surgery. Some of us would die first. I also take issue with surgeons who won't operate unless you lose X amount of weight first. If I could lose weight on my own, I wouldn't need the surgery. I gained 20 pounds while I was waiting for surgery becuase for me stress and binging go hand in hand. Dr. Aceves was so sweet, he knew that I needed the surgery to get my life back and he was right. So my wieght loss has been slow, now 84 lbs at 11 months out, but even though I've had some bumps in the road with the food still, the periods of good eating have been wonderful, and the bad times are getting fewer and far between, and now finally for the first time in my life the pressure is relieved and I really am learning to deal with my food issues. So for bingers, I would do this again, but just know that its not a magic cure and that you will need patience and time and willingness to work on things as you go. Bren

And you are absolutely right again! I've lost 3 since Monday! I had forgotten what a great tool that daily plate is, I had not really used it since last year sometime. Its funny, just a week ago I was feeling depressed thinking that my sleeve was done and I would have to start looking at DS to finish the job. But I think I need to give it more time and I need to get back to basics.

Thanks Elizabeth and macMadame, these are good tips. Will start planning ahead!

Wow, good for you for dealing with this now! I had the sleeve as my 50th birthday present and I wonder how different my life would have been having it at 24. But of course, they didn't have it back then, so it is what it is. You are going to love this journey! Bren

Hey everyone, guess what!!!!! After the scale being stuck for 2 months, just 2 days of tracking my food on the DP and I lost a pound! I tell you, this has really helped because I would put in what I was about to eat, see the fat and calories and carbs, and then it was like whoa, no wonder! Then I would tweak it until it looked better. As to the slider foods, I think there are good ones (cottage cheese) and there are bad ones (chips and icecream). I had gotten into the habit of bad ones. Sure it was great to eat whatever I wanted and not gain weight due to the restriction, but I had stopped losing it too. Maybe I wasn't ready and needed my brain to catch up with my body, I dunno. But I do feel ready to carry on now and I am so jazzed about that one pound! So that is 81 pounds lost, 69 to go! :confused1: Bren

I make my own Greek yogurt using the regular fat free plain yogurt. What I do is take a coffee filter and place it in a strainer which in turn is placed over a bowl. I put a cup of yogurt in there and keep in the fridge overnight. In the morning it is like yummy fat free creamy Greek yogurt. I bet you can even make cheesecake out of it, its that good. Bren

I'm sure you're right Oregondaisy, I seem to remember that 800 cal number, and I was able to do that no problem for the first 6 months or so. I think I have fallen into some bad habits but I feel ready to go back to a more structured regimen. Doing the Dailyplate today was an eye opener for sure. I did around 1000 calories and I went back to the old standby of protein first. I realize now that I had resorted to slider foods and lots of them. Today was tough, but it felt good! Thanks both of you for the encouragement! Bren

I had to chime in here, not becuase I went to Mexico (which I did) but because I'm Canadian. So as a Canadian, going to the US is going to a foriegn country and using foreign doctors and currency, etc... So if I'm going to a foriegn country anyways (because I couldn't find a Canadian doc to do it) then why would I pay double to the foreign American doctor? I did research American, Mexican, Indian and Spanish doctors, to me they are all 'foreign'. I settled on the Mexican. Bren

Not sure who this was addressed to, but I'm 7 weeks out now. I have heard that 3 weeks is a common time to stall because we are adding mushies and more solid food. For me I had one stall at 4 weeks, but it coincided with a week's vacation and I did not drink my Water, get my Protein, and I just grazed all day long that week. That is the only week that I did not lose weight. What I do now is I eat 3 meals a day plus 2 Protein drinks (as per my surgeon's instructions). My meals are low carb, I eat protein first, then veggies. The first 6 months are the best time to lose the most weight, so to me it is worth it to concentrate on changing my habits and not eating the foods that made me fat in the first place. Just my 2 cents!

I used Dr. Aceves in Mexicali. It was $9500 all-inclusive except for air fare to San Diego. But they pick you up at the airport and bring you back 4 days later. Anita

Hi welcome! I'm pretty new here too but had my sleeve 4 weeks ago and have lost 30 lbs. I have heard its 2-3 lbs per week after the first month, so that would work out to 8-12 lbs per month, which is a nice steady loss. I hope that all goes well with your revision, please keep us posted!

I too have had binging/eating dreams since my surgery. I have heard that alcoholics and addicts have similar dreams about using their drug of choice. Makes me happy that I did this, because I truly believe that food is an addiction as well. Its great to have another support place!

Its great to have experienced sleevsters here! I'm pretty thrilled myself and can hardly wait to see the changes that are yet to come.

Hi Pamela! Love your blog! I'm 4 weeks out and came here after seeing it on OH as well. I love to cook even when I can't eat! So I'll be trying out your recipes! Anita

I'm thrilled that this forum got started because I loved it when I was researching the band and left when I decided on the sleeve. I'm 4 weeks out from having the sleeve. I had it done in Mexico with Dr. Aceves because I couldn't find a Canadian doctor on my side of the continent. And to me, going to the US vs going to Mexico made no difference, as they are both foreign countries when you are a Canadian! I love my sleeve and have lost 30.4 lbs in 4 weeks. Anita

Sorry, just need to make a small correction here. With the bypass they use the stretchy part of the stomach to make the pouch, so yes it can stretch over time. BUT with the sleeve they use the heavier, muscular part of the stomach to make the pouch, so there is no stretching.

Hi, I'm 4 weeks out from having the sleeve done in Mexico. I have lost over 30 lbs. With the sleeve there is virtually no aftercare, so I did not have a problem going to Mexico. The only aftercare required with the sleeve is followup lab work. I also think that some people confuse the sleeve with gastric banding, and some of the other surgeries. Complications with the sleeve are rare and there is no mal-absorption. Basically your digestion stays the same, you just have a smaller stomach. I'm so glad that I did this! Thanks for letting me throw in my 2 cents!

I have an appointment with Dr. Woodhead for June 19. Today I did all the required testing at the lab and so I am hoping that things will move ahead quickly. I have been reading about both the band and the sleeve. Does anyone know if Dr. Woodhead does both these surgeries and what the cost difference is? Thanks!

I saw him yesterday and yes he is a very nice man. He was incredibly honest with me about all the pros and cons. For those of you wondering about costs and time frames...... He charges $14,000 and that includes 5 yrs of fills,adjustments, although he said that he is flexible on that. He no longer does fills for Mexican surgeries. If I made my decision today I could have the surgery in August or September. Normally it would be sooner but in the summer we are dealing with vacations. That all said, I have made my decision to have the VSG (sleeve) procedure and so I won't be posting here anymore since this is lap band talk! But it was so nice to meet you all and especially those at the North Van support meeting. I wish you all the best! :smile: Anita

Hi, I'm new here and soooo glad I found this site (actually was referred to me from someone on the Obesity Help site). I was all set to go to Mexico and put down my money, then I came here and found out there were 2 doctors right here in the Lower Mainland. They never came up on all my google searches and other research I had done. So today I called Dr. Woodhead's office in Delta and they faxed me over the forms and I am going to do it here instead of Mexico. I know it will be an extra $5000 but I just feel so much better about it. Anyways, so nice to meet you all and know that there are people here locally that I can get support from and give support back to. Anita

I don't know what meetings if any are in Vancouver, but there is one tonight in North Van at Lions Gate Hospital. (See the first post in this thread) I'm just not sure of time, I guess I will go at 7 and hope I'm close! Anita

What time does the meeting start tonight? Anita

Its worth a try. My broker found me a plan (high premium!) and told me to call him back when I have lost weight to get a lower premium. I've actually gained weight since then, but once I have my band and have lost weight I will call him to redo my insurance. Anita

Yes, I will definitely be asking him these questions on the 19th when I see him. I'm just so impatient, now that I have decided to have WLS, I want to know everything right NOW, and I want to get it done and behind me! Each day is like an eternity while I wait for that appointment. Anita PS, yes I will see you at the next meeting on June 18.