Tiffykins

I had weight loss every week. The numbers were inconsistent, but I never stalled. Not one week went by where I didn't lose something. I might have only lost 1-2lbs some weeks, but I always lost, the scale only slowed down when I got close to goal and I think I went 10 days with no movement, then BAM I woke up and had dropped several pounds.

You can use light dumbbells and do bicep/tricep curls, skull crushers, get a slightly weighted ball to help with leg lifts. I didn't work out for the first 4 months, and still dropped 80lbs.

You are getting to the point of internet bullying, and insulting the very intentions of this board by stirring the poop pot. After all that you said in your previous posts about keeping your mouth shut to not be mistaken for a fool, honestly, you need to remember you have 3 fingers pointing back at yourself when you wag your judgmental little finger at others. This is so juvenile, and petty for you to drag all of this up, and really something must be seriously lacking for you to feel the need to insult others to make yourself feel better. I've reported your posts as violations of the TOS, and forum rules.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh thanks for the helpful post. . . I never knew what all was offered with the full editor option.

When you're released for regular food as long as you have room for it. If it doesn't agree with you, give it a couple weeks to try it again. Adding different seasonings to it, really makes it totally worth it.

Go take a good poop or a good pee, you'll be down again ! ! !

I can relate a lot to your reply. I was that confident, bubbly, fun-loving, outgoing, content person that never realized just how huge I was. I was fat, but I didn't see myself "that fat". I didn't have any health issues either. I had knee pain, but I was also diagnosed with arthritis in my knees at 21 yrs old. I can say that being skinny has brought on a new slew of "misgivings" about my body, my shape, my mentality on how I look that I never dealt with at 270lbs. I started having sex with my shirt on again with a man that worships the ground I walk on, and loves me endlessly regardless of pant size. He married me at 270lbs, and loved me just as much then as he does now. It has nothing to do with him, it's all me and how I see myself now. I don't "hate" my body, but I hate some of the things about my body like most 34 year moms. I have more wrinkles today that my 52 year old mother, and my husband is absolutely me getting fillers and botox, sadly, he doesn't get a say in what I do to my body so as soon as I recover from the c-section with Sprout, I'll be hitting my derm's office for some juvederm and botox. The only time I've had someone talk to me about life post-op was a few months ago when we were discussing my reasons for WLS. My friend is obese (has about 100lbs to lose), suffers with type 1 diabetes and high blood pressure, and when she was asking me about VSG, life post-op, all the normal questions, her last comment was " well, I'm not miserable yet so when I get there, I'll want to talk to you more." I ended the conversation with "please don't allow your health to deteriorate just because you aren't miserable and don't think getting skinny has fixed me. Surgery was my last resort, my last option to prevent the conditions you are dealing with now, and to promote a healthier life for my future. I'll always be here to support you, and please know that surgery is not always sunshine and rainbows, it took me a long time to get where I am today." Everyone has to come to their own reality when it comes down to making changes. I hope I can inspire others to take that step, and realize that being skinny is only a small part of the equation.

It's called positional/postural orthostatic hypotension. I've had it for over a year, and I still have episodes to this very day. Increase in fluids, sodium intake should be between 1500-2500mg per day, and increased physical activity. One thing that really helps me is wiggling my legs and feet before getting up from a reclined position before standing, or getting out of bed. Use caution when bending at the waist to pick something up off the bottom shelf at the grocery, or off the floor, these are two situations that I find it happens most often. My PCM and surgeon both explained it to me that it is due to sodium intake, and the blood pressure receptors are in our neck (I had cut salt/sodium intake to prevent Water weight since I was below goal, and didn't like seeing the scale bounce up when it's completely normal to see a bounce in maintenance). I also drank regular gatorade or I ate a couple of pedialyte frozen pops for the added electrolytes. They both said that when we lose weight those receptors need time to adjust to our new weight, and sudden movement throw off the receptors. I was having several (more than 5 episodes a day) at first, currently I have 1-2 episodes every week, and it's more related to me jumping up out of bed, or out of the recliner. Also, if you're on a bp med, getting it adjusted should help. Here's a link that helps explain it medically. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/orthostatic-hypotension/DS00997

Stevia and agave are popular options as is that "sugar in the raw". My one RNY friend can not tolerate artificial sweeteners either and she's used the raw sugar since day 1, she dropped 175lbs in her first year post-op. Grant it, she has malabsorption on board, but she also had to adjust to what would work for her. I'm a Splenda girl. I haven't drank Crystal light or any other aspartame sweetened fluids/jello/pudding/popsicles since getting out of the post-op diet because I could not tolerate and still can't tolerate aspartame stuff. It literally hurts my stomach now to eat sugar free/aspartame sweetened stuff. It causes gas/cramping. I tried switching over to Truvia because I had a coupon for a free box, and I used it once, and was in pain for 2 hours. Least to say, that box was given to a friend that loves the stuff. For your Water, try slicing up a cucumber, or lemon/lime putting in a pitcher with the water and letting it sit in the fridge overnight so you get some natural flavors without the extra sweeteners if you're sensitive to sweet stuff right now.

These are an oven-baked version of the Italian frico. It's just basically thin rounds of baked cheese. One of the cool things about it is that they are moldable when still warm. If you drape them over an upturned glass, they will form a cup that you can fill with anything you like. It makes a really nice presentation for a party.Ingredients: 1 cup grated hard cheese (such as Parmesean) - NOT the dried powdery stuffPreparation:Preheat oven to 350 F. Note on type of cheese: You can use any kind, really, but the results will be different. Hard cheeses, such as Parmesan, Romano, Asagio, etc, will make a crisp "shell," whereas cheddar will be more chewy and "lacey" (the fat separates out), though still firm. Softer cheeses such as mozzerella will not work well. Toss cheese with any seasonings you'd like -- garlic powder (about half a teaspoon for a cup of cheese), hot pepper powder, even cinnamon. Or leave plain. Pile 1 to 4 Tablespoons of cheese (depending on the size you want) on a baking sheet covered with a silicone mat or parchment paper oiled on both sides. Flatten the tops so they are in more or less an even pile. There should be at least two inches between smaller mounds, 4 inches between larger ones. Bake 5 to 6 minutes until they are a light golden brown (they will be a little darker at the edges). It happens fast, so watch carefully. If you want to mold them into a shape, you want to "drape" them while still warm. You can make cups over an upturned glass, or "taco shell" shapes by draping over any cylindrical object that is at hand (rolling pin, side of glass) Serving Suggestions: Fill with fruit, dip, salad. Spread flat ones with sugar-free jam (I'm not kidding), or any spread you want, or eat plain.

I had a lot of the same things on my list. Here are some my other post-op wants: 1) To not have to waddle my way up off the floor or use a table, chair, my husband's assistance to lug my big ass up off the floor 2) To shave my girly bits without fear of nicking something off (this is so awesome to achieve LOL) 3) To see that little triangle of light shine through my thighs 4) To not have to sit on the bench at the mall while my husband and son continued to browse and shop 5) To have sex as a skinny chick, never did I realize how much my fat got in the way in more ways than one 6) To not wear clothes that looked like I went to tent maker to purchase them 7) To see the bones in my feet 8) To see seat material on the side of my thighs in an airplane seat 9) To not have to squeeze myself into the driver's seat of a compact car because my legs are so short that my belly would rub the steering wheel 10) To get into single digit jeans that weren't labeled "stretch" 11) To avoid the major co-morbidities that were in my path pre-op 12) To have my husband carry me around like a sack of potatoes 13) To weigh less than my husband (pre-op I weighed about 110lbs more than him) 14) To have a better relationship with food, and to recognize, accept and embrace that I didn't take the easy way out

You can also add sugar free pudding powder to greek yogurt, dry ranch or italian dressing for savory. The white chocolate flavor sugar free pudding makes the nonfat, plain Greek yogurt taste like cheesecake filling. The butterscotch pudding flavor is a favorite of mine to mix with greek yogurt. Lemon, and vanilla were other good options for me taste-wise. I'm not a fan of chocolate, but many people love it. The sugar free Torani or Davinci coffee flavor syrups are another option for flavoring Greek yogurt.

These are my favorites. I never worried about fat content since we need some fat, and these give the best crunch for the least amount of carb consumption. Hard cheese work best like parmesan, and asiago make the best ones in my opinion. You can add all sorts of flavors via different spices. KC Masterpiece makes a barbque sprinkling, and any of the cajun or creole seasonings really make them yummy especially for a quick snack. You can mold them over the bottom of a shot glass to make "cups" to fill with taco meat, or other yumminess when everyone else in your house is eating chips/taco/tortilla shells and you want to enjoy the same dining experience. Cucumbers are really yummy with hummus as well. http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/snacks/r/cheesecrisps.htm

I'm all about feeling connected with the doctor that is going to cut on me. That goes for any medical procedure. I don't need hand-holding and sugarcoating, but I do expect a level of care and compassion along with amazing medical experience. A surgeon for me needs to be honest, but also realistic, and his explanations/comments are not realistic, and seemed very cold. I personally would look for another surgeon. That first impression means a lot, and are follow up appointments going to be riddled with "I told you so's or well you could have lost more". I'm so sorry you had a horrible experience. My band doctor came highly recommend, also operated out of a COE, and that means diddly squat in the personable and compassion factor of the surgeon. COE simply means the facility has met certain criteria on certain standards.

I am a self-admitted scale whore. I weighed multiple times a day. For me, it really helped me to see trends in my ups and downs. Water weight is a real booger, and once I recognized it, to see a bounce up, I never freaked out. I still don't freak out over my 5lb bounce around on the scale in maintenance. I can tell when I've gone over my 5lb bounce because of how my clothes fit. My husband has now hid my scale at home due to the pregnancy, and the mental aspect of weight regain I'm dealing with because of the pregnancy. The main driving force to me having surgery was to have a healthy pregnancy, and deliver a healthy baby. I had zero co-morbities, or obesity related health conditions because of my weight. Some would say that I had it for vanity reasons, and to some extent that is very true. I was tired of being fat. I was tired of wearing frumpy clothes, and I was extremely tired of just being tired. The life that post-op has given me is full of little joys that most take for granted, and most do not understand my fear of regain with the pregnancy. I can say that the scale never did me wrong. I never had a true stall so I never was disappointed with my weighing habits. But, I also lost that "high" once I got into maintenance when the scale kept reading the same number every day.

No, pouches and stomas stretch tremendously over time. I have one friend with RNY, she is 7 years out, and can eat 1/2 medium pizza by herself, that's 4-5 slices of pizza on average at most pizza places. She's never suffered with dumping so she eats all the "bad foods" and has zero ill effect from them. That pouch is made of the stretchy part of the stomach, and also once the malabsorption wears off, their relying strictly on what restriction they've protected because most end up metabolically challenged due to the bypasses portion of the intestine.

Deleted posts make this board so unappealing. It's like a temper tantrum gone bad. Life is 10% what happens, and 90% our reaction. I agree with SouthernSleever and YB. No one is perfect, and we all have pet peeves. The grammar and speech police on internet forums just makes people who are not perfect feel shunned, and possibly prevent them from reaching out for support in fear of being "condemned" to the corner with their dunce cap.

Remember they pumped you full of fluids, plus your body just endured a major trauma. Don't expect to lose weight after putting your body through hell. Focus on staying hydrated and recovery. You're only 8 days out, and you've lost 5lbs, that's nearly a pound a day. Keep pushing fluids, I added a little light/lower sodium soy sauce to change the flavor and that helped tremendously. Try not to compare your weight loss numbers to others, some may have more to lose than you do, and every person has a different recovery. Use caution with the protein shots, they are not a complete protein, and are made of mainly a collagen protein, a lot of people find them too sweet to tolerate. I did use them sparingly because some protein was better than none, but they were not tolerated well for me.

Here's a big long thread on this topic: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/15947-the-diet-coke-debate/page__p__134881__hl__soda__fromsearch__1#entry134881 http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/13580-carbonated-beverages/page__p__116741__hl__coke__fromsearch__1#entry116741 There is zero scientific evidence that it will stretch out your stomach, or even an RNY pouch. It does leech Calcium from our bones, it is a filler Fluid, and some people get a lot of discomfort with soda early out. My standard reply is in the topic links I shared above.

This is something that I had to train myself not to ever get to that point. It is highly encouraged to stop eating before you even feel full. I understand that is beyond difficult or most of us wouldn't be here. But, let's be honest, this is not just about restriction, or low calories/carbs, it's about behavior modifications, and changing habits. Early out, your nerves are severed, cut off, staples, damaged and need time to heal. I didn't get a full signal for months post-vsg, and the first time I did, it was a lone hiccup, we were out to eat, and bam, that one last bite I took came up. BUT, I felt NOTHING in my stomach, it was seriously just a single hiccup and I had no idea why it happened, but apparently that is my full signal and to this very day, if I take a single bite after that hiccup, that bite is coming up. I measured my food by volume and never felt anything in my stomach. I had to lose that memory of what full felt like because I was one of those that loved to get that "Thanksgiving Day" full feeling with every meal. I had to change that behavior. I have overeaten a few times considering I'm almost 2 years out, we're human, right? So, it happens, and I can tell you that 1 of 2 things happen for me. I either puke up the overage, or I'm disgustingly uncomfortable for about 2 hours. It typically occurs when I am distracted such as at social functions, or at potluck things when I kind of nibble, socialize, nibble a bit more, socialize, so on and so on, THEN BAM, it hits me, "Oh crap, there is no more room in there". For me, there is no pushing through the pain, or avoiding that one last bite coming up. It's gonna happen, and I'm going to suffer through it. I can honestly count on 1 hand how many times I've eaten to being "full". I find satiety in my portions especially now in maintenance. There are lots of ways to cheat the sleeve so I'm not relying on restriction to keep me from gaining weight. If I relied on restriction, I'd be screwed. For me, I had to break 20 years worth of bad habits with food, and my thought process on eating.

Hormones, and metabolism play a big role in that "honeymoon" phase. The first 6 months, the sleeve hasn't typically matured to full capacity, so weight loss is hell of a lot easier because there just isn't room for mush of anything except Protein. Of course, if you continue to make all the "right" decisions, you continue to follow all the rules for the first 12-18 months, you'll continue to lose weight, but more often than not, sleeve size changes, more food goes in, old habits creep back in, and poor food choices seem to be the culprit. Also, metabolic changes occur once the weight comes off. As for losing weight after goal, I've found it to be pretty easy. That might not always be the case, but I can pinpoint a solid gain(not Water weight) to my indulgences typically with alcohol and social eating which I do a lot. . For me, I have yet to have trouble losing weight. Even in the pregnancy, I've lost a few pounds when I was concerned about the rate of gain I was seeing on the scale. Just my $0.02 worth on the "honeymoon phase" of WLS.

Those are the best moments cherished between friends ! ! !

I've never had to follow the 30 minute before rule with the sleeve and for that I'm forever grateful. My instructions specifically said we didn't have to do this because we don't have a pouch like the band and RNY so there is no seeping through the stoma. Liquids go in, hit the pylorus and dump into the intestines. For the 30 minutes after, I beat the habit/urge with the band because there was no way I could eat/drink at the same time and sometimes for an hour after eating with my band. So, it was mainly establishing a new habit of not drinking while I ate, or after eating with the sleeve.

I eat pizza all the time, but held off until I got to maintenance. I can eat 1 slice of medium size pizza minus the top crust. As for sushi, I only eat the cooked with rice, and I can eat about 3-4 small slices. It's one of my favorite things in the world. That sashimi stuff is allowed in soft food stage, and many people love it for an easy Protein source. I'm just not a fan of eating stuff that isn't cooked.

I can only add my experience. I ate 1200-1500 calories in maintenance mode so that seems high to me, but I don't know how much more weight you have to lose. As for quantity, I can eat an entire sandwich because bread is a complete slider food for me, I have to cut away the crust, and it can only be a pb & j sandwich, but if I eat slow, mush it up really well, I can manage an entire sandwich. I struggle with chicken so I still can't eat an entire chicken breast at almost 2 years out. As for the hungry all day, are you still on a PPI? Do you have reflux symptoms? Are you pushing clear fluids as well? The carbs might be the culprit if your body is sensitive to them. Your body will burn the sugar from carbs instead of fat. I agree with Daisy on exercise, the cardio is great, but it's not building muscle which will burn fat even faster than cardio. Maybe incorporating more weight training will get the scale moving.