Tiffykins

The scale will start moving. Have you taken your measurements, are your clothes fitting differently? Exercise will definitely help burn the fat and build lean muscle which will help with the inches loss and pounds going down. Don't give up! ! !

I just absolutely love you to pieces, and am so elated that your date is almost here. The title of this thread makes me giggle because we counted down the "sleeps" until John returned from deployment. That made it easier to get through. You know you'll be in my thoughts and prayers tonight and tomorrow. Positive energy vibes coming your way.

Hi Marie and welcome ! ! ! Congrats on getting your date, and we'll all be here cheering you on. Best wishes for a smooth surgery and uneventful recovery.

I have ever found any Calcium supplement with 100% daily recommended dose in 1 pill/tablet/capsule/chewable. I ordered the TwinLab calcium citrate + magnesium from vitacost.com and it's recommended dose is 2 capsules per day. Even then it only gives you 60% of the daily recommended value. I plan on taking 3 a day. I eat dairy every day in some form so I figure 90% in 3 small, slim capsules will be sufficient for me at this point in my life.

Beef jerky, and pork rinds for the road. For the fast food places, grilled chicken sandwich sans the top bun is really the only I eat from fast food places. Taco joints, I get a taco with a side of beans and sour cream.

Glad to see you back online. I eat late at night sometimes and never have any issues. I sometimes don't get 3 meals in a day so eating around 10pm is my only option to get in another meal for my day. I do drink plenty of Water before bedtime to help.

I'm beyond open with my son. I was a single mom before meeting and marrying my husband so it was just me and Lil C for over 8 years. He knew about my band surgery, he knew about my mom having lapband surgery in 2007, and he knew about my revision. He knew I hated being fat, he knew I hated shopping, and he saw me struggle for years with my weight. Heck, I drug his happy hiney to Weight Watcher meetings, and he had "different" dinners than I did off and on because of all the diets. My son is a worrier as well, and I just told him I was doing this so I could live longer, and not hurt when I walked. He saw me take "breaks" when we ventured to the mall. I couldn't play outside with him when I was fat, and playing baseball with him is something he wanted me to do. However, I could never play for very long. My son is 11, and he's embraced my wls journey. He knows that is not appropriate to discuss what happens in our household. He doesn't talk about my surgery or anything else that goes in within our family. I told him before my band surgery that if I talk about it's because I want to share my experience, but it's my experience and not his to share. It might not work for everyone, but I don't think keeping things from my child is appropriate. I want him to know that I'm open with my life, and in return I have found that he is super open with me. It's just our relationship. The best thing about the entire process is that he is so supportive and really helps when it came to my super tough recovery. Even now, he's a trooper when it comes to sharing Entrees at restaraunts. I even showed him VSG videos from youtube.com because he's a pretty inquisitive little kid, and showed him several pictures of the actual surgery. Information, and educating him on what I was going through really helped him understand it.

Bloating from surgery can affect the sizes/inches early on. And, yes you can wake up one day and be down a size. I went from a size 14 to a size 10. Somehow I skipped right over 12s. I realized my 14s were getting super saggy in the hiney, and thighs. Went and bought a couple of 12s, and they were too big. I had to get 10s, and then just a couple of weeks later I was getting into junior 9 skinny jeans. It was kind of crazy.

Hey slutpuppy ha ha ha, see what fun y'all miss in the chatroom? ? ? I'm glad you got the seminar out of the way, and you know I'm your biggest cheerleader in getting approval. I'll see in chat tonight. . .

I'm excited for you. I honestly don't know how you do it without a scale. But, then I know the scale filled a huge void during my recovery because John was gone, and I quit my job so I had nothing else to focus on. I can't wait to hear your results. Best wishes ! ! !

MellaElla, we're all scooting over for on the loser's bench. It really is a wonderful place to be, and living life for the first time. I'll be keeping you in my prayers and thoughts for an uneventful surgery, and smooth recovery. If you need anything, we're here for you. Stay strong, and lean on us and your faith.

Are you cramping or straining? I know when I was going through the liquid in, liquid out phase, I switched over to sensitive formula baby wipes because regular bathroom tissue made my hiney raw, and I had some blood on the paper. I know that is too much information, but it's what happened for me.

I watched them, and honestly the huge amounts of scar tissue left after my band, and all the adhesions around the tubing, and port area were much scarier than the scar tissue left behind after VSG. As a former bandster, the sleeve is a blessing and truly fabulous tool for WL. I am so happy to be rid of the band.

How absolutely sweet of your husband ! ! ! I've had sugar-free ice cream a couple of times post-op, and I did okay with it. If you can tolerate milk products, then I say have a couple of bites to Celebrate with your family.

You aren't weak, you're human. We all have our vices. I started smoking again post-op, and having a really difficult time quitting this time around. I've actually had to get a prescription of Wellbutrin to help with the withdrawls and mood swings. I quit twice post-op, and go back to it. No one is perfect. Enjoy your coffee, it isn't going to sabotage anything. Maybe make ya pee a little more, but that's just extra Water weight you'll lose. Chin up, buttercup ! ! ! You're gonna do fabulous.

Congrats on getting your date. I truly love Tricare Prime and didn't have to jump through any hoops for my band or my revision to VSG. I know a lot of wives that loathe our insurance, but I finally sat down and calculated just how much Tricare has paid for me in just 2 years, and it's over $450,000 between the 4 surgeries, dermatology appointments, in-home healthcare nurse, prescriptions alone are astronomical if I would of had to pay out of pocket for them. So, I won't complain one bit about the insurance. There's a few of us around here that have talked about having a Georgia/Florida meet-up sometime in the future so watch the forum for updates as we try to figure out a good time and location for all of us to get together. You're about 8 hours from me. The husband is stationed at Hurlburt Field, and we've been married 2 years. We don't live on base, but thus far the military has treated me well. Keep us posted as your date draws near, and if you need anything, we're all here for you ! ! !

I cancelled my order of the Calcet lemon chews just because I wanted to save money for clothes LOL. I ordered the Twinlab capsules from vitacost.com It's 125 doses for around 9 bucks.

A lot of people have coffee. It doesn't count as a liquid because of the caffeine, but as long as you're getting in your recommended amount of Clear Liquids it should be fine. Some believe it's a diuretic so it's not recommended unless you can get in your full amount of liquids to keep you hydrated. I indulge in coffee with full fat creamer french vanilla or caramel macchiato creamer from time to time.

We share a lot of the times. One of our favorite steak houses has a special when you order a steak dinner, you can get 1/2 rack of ribs for $6. PERFECT lol. John orders his 12oz steak, 2 sides, and I get to have 3 of the ribs and I nibble on his side dishes. When all 3 of us are out, me and the kiddo share an entree and sides. TGI Fridays, Applebee's, and Chili's all do that 2 for $20. Appetizer, 2 Entrees, and a dessert to share. We always get a bunch of different stuff so all of us can eat. It's like going to a buffet now when we go out to eat because we all share stuff. Definitely a cheap night out, when you feed a family of 3 for less than $25 including the tip. To everyone who thinks everyone else in the restaraunt is noticing you NOT eating, I promise they aren't. I can't ever recall a time in my life when I've been lurking over other people's tables watching what they do or don't eat. I guess I can say this because I eat out so much these days, and have social luncheons 2-3 times a month with a bunch of other Air Force wives.

Glad you had a great time out. I agree it really does work, and eating out gets easier and easier as time progresses. When we go to the mongolian grill/chinese buffet, we are always there for at least 1 hour to an hour and a half. If I'm going to go there, the husband and kiddo know we're gonna be there awhile.

Hi Lynda, and welcome to VST. Congrats on getting your date scheduled. For my pre-op diet, all I had to do is low carb/high Protein for a week before, and the night before nothing past midnight. As for the recovery time, it seems every surgeon is different, but I was restricted to no lifting over 10lbs for 6 weeks. Incisional hernias are a big concern even with lap procedures so make sure to check with your doc to find out the specifics. I'm not sure about driving since my recovery was a little different than everyone elses due to my surgery being a revision. Good luck and keep us posted as your date approaches.

During the healing process, post-op diet, you will not eat normal portions or have normal food choices. But, it's temporary. So, what you're reading is people who just recently had surgery and they can't eat decent portions. I've posted a couple of threads called "Food for thought" if you'd like to search for them. It'll show exactly what I can eat in one meal. I don't feel like deprived or that I'm missing out on anything. I eat out 2-3 times a week with a bunch of girlfriends. They all know I've had surgery, but never am I restricted in what I can order. I bring leftovers home and have those for later or the next day for lunch. Plus, the sleeve makes it so much easier because the ravenous hunger is gone. So, food simply becomes energy instead of a comforter, void-filler, or something to occupy my bored mind. I literally eat anything and everything I want just in moderation. I consume steak, ribs, spaghetti, thai food, fajitas, all veggies, salads, chips and salsa, potato and corn chips, pretzels(hard and soft), Snicker's miniatures, ice cream, guacamole etc etc. There really isn't anything I've found that I can't eat. I eat small portions, but I am completely satisfied. If you honestly think you'll have issues post-op, check into some counseling with someone who has training and experience with bariatric patients. Believe me when I tell you that I love food. I lived for my next meal. I woke up thinking about what I was going to have for lunch, and before lunch was over I had dinner planned out. I've only had one case of "buyer's remorse" and that was at Thanksgiving when I had to witness other people shoveling food into their bodies and I couldn't do it. I got upset, went outside, kicked rocks and was talking to myself about how stupid I was to have this done. Once I cooled off, went inside and saw everyone in their food comas, and stretchy pants, I felt much better about my satiety with the small portions of everything I ate that day. I went back a couple of hours later and had more of the Thanksgiving day spread. I can honestly tell you after losing 130 pounds, I have absolutely zero regrets. The quality of life I live is superb compared to what it used to be lugging around all that weight.

I think it's just a SPAMMER.

I call it SPAM.