Lee

Oh golly, I can't wait to get a lift. These girls haven't seen the "right" place in too many decades! Congrats on getting the closet cleaned out PNW. I'm so glad you're finding cute clothes to wear! Shapeless shirts, toss em. You wanna be a big show off now!

Hi Lydia, Welcome to the forum! I think it depends on where you have surgery. I'm a Kaiser patient and they used my weight that was taken the morning of Orientation. That said, it can never hurt to lose as much as possible to make your surgery easier on the surgeon. My process was pretty quick. My PCP recommended to me that I have the surgery 10/09. Orientation 11/09. Meeting with surgeon a month later 12/09. I putzed around over the holidays and got serious about getting the weight off after my son went back to school mid January. Goal weight beginning of February, surgery February 17th. That's just an idea of my Kaiser experience.

From one California to another.... Welcome! I know a guy that was Sleeved the same day as me. He had just gone through two failed bands and he's in heaven with his Sleeve. Down 35 pounds in 7 weeks and very happy about it all. Are you a Kaiser patient? I was Sleeve at Kaiser Richmond up here in N. Ca.

PNW, TWELVE'S! You go girl. Before you know it, you're going to be on here talkin about 6's getting loose! Bernadette, I haven't been in anything below a 16 in around 30 years so there's nothing in my closet. You're lucky that you saved all those clothes! Anna, you're going to have so much fun shopping for all those cute clothes you'll need. :biggrin2:

Yow! Great to see so much activity and excitement over shedding pounds going on around here. Pammie, they don't really tell us about the throwing up part very much. I know it happens because of my actions. I either try to eat one bite too many, don't chew enough times or eat too fast. I can't blame my Sleeve on my own slip ups. For you bay area folks, I'm going to the John Muir support group meeting in Concord this morning from 10-12. I hear that it's a nice meeting so I'm going to give it a try. It happens the 2nd Saturday of every month and several of the OH Luncheon women go and say it's good. I'm checking out the local options as Wed. night at Kaiser doesn't always work out for me, plus I like to meet new people. Anyone here every check out John Muir? Everyone welcome regardless of surgery or where it was done. Have a great weekend everyone!

Heck, I'm no veteran, but I always have an opinion. First, thanks for posting the article. It was a good read. From many people that I've talked to post-op, a slow down of weight loss for a short time isn't that unusual. During weeks 4 and 5 I only shed 1/2 pound each week, then the next week 3 pounds. Nothing was really different except that my body decided to let go. I'm expecting to see weeks of varied numbers along the way so I won't be surprised if I occasionally see that week of only 1 pound gone. I don't try to figure out the chemistry etc, I just concentrate on doing everything that I'm supposed to. The article says to eat every xx hours. My plan says 3 meals 3x a day 4-6 hours apart. So who's actually right is anyone's guess. I do try to keep my carbs under 30 a day and keep my calories between 600-700 but generally come in between 550 and 600. We all do it so differently!

One other thought about Water.... I don't seem to be able to get it down (mental issue) at room temp, but I notice that if it's ice cold and I get into it more. There's something about the "crispness" when it's very cold that I seem to enjoy. Isn't it strange that so many of us have difficulty with plain water post-op. That said, I love my Britta for keeping me in filtered water! I also can recommend Sobe Lean beverages. I know they have green tea flavors but I particularly like the Mango Flavor. I see that my local market has them for $1 each this week so I'm going to go get some!

You got that right girl! :crying:

Hi! Look how amazingly well you're doing. You must be thrilled with all the changes. our surgery was days apart. I haven't been liking Crystal Light these days except the strawberry Lemonade which seems to taste good right now. I do drink a lot of herbal tea. Look for flavors that appeal to you. I like Celestial Seasonings Peach Tea these days. I also like decaf Earl Grey and Decaf Constant Comment. I drink a lot of tea at work. Pasta I can't comment on. My program says to stay away from it because of the high carb content. I know if I had it, I'd just want more. I figure i'll have plenty of time for it when I get to goal weight.

YAY!!! Welcome to the Loser's Bench! I'm so happy to read that everything went well for you. Now the fun begins. Hang on for a great roller coaster ride to better health! :biggrin0:

I'm so sorry that I didn't get here in time to wish you good luck! I hope everything went swimmingly well!

I first made contact with the Boom Princess about 12 years ago doing Low Carb. I had to call on her often for help. :biggrin0: Even the Benefiber doesn't help if I let myself get constipated. YUCK! and way TMI! I think I'm about 2x a week these days. I can't wait until adding raw veggies is allowed as I know that will help. I think I get stopped up by Protein shakes but it's a toss up.... constipated or losing hair? Hmmmm.... now what should I choose?

PNW, you're going to be at goal before you know it! I have lots of pants in 16 and 18 so I'm set for awhile. I don't have any 14s so that's going to be a fun time for me. I haven't been in a 14 in over 30 years!

Congratulations on a great first month! I completely understand about the almost backwards metabolism. That's why my primary doctor recommended WLS to me. I hope your second month is just as exciting!

Great great post. I remember your surgery day as it was only a week before mine. How exciting that you're doing so well. Have you lost all 36 pounds since the morning of your surgery? You've done fantastic. I'm so proud of you and thrilled for you! You didn't mention how your husband is reacting to all of this? Are you getting more appreciative glances? :biggrin0:

Heck, it's more than 2-3 days for me. Most of the time I'm not uncomfortable and forget to add my Benefiber to things. Hmmm... I wonder what that says about me? I think I'd better call on the BooM Princess to come visit me. Low carb always makes me this way. Just sign me.... Full of Poop!

Hi Nancy! Welcome to VST and the Loser's Bench! My best friend in my first 5 days post-op wa No Sugar Added Fruit Popsicles. 2 oz in each pop. I'd just throw the sticks in a glass and count them up at the end of the day. I promise you that it gets easier to sip more as time goes on. I was able to drink 64 oz on Day 5. Hot herbal tea felt good and my fav drink for the first two weeks was Sobe Lifewater 0 calorie in the Fugi Apple Pear flavor. It tasted like weak pear juice to me. I hated the Pomegrante flavor as it was way too sweet.

AT seven weeks I can guzzle really well. I've been able to drink a 16 oz cup of tea in a short time since around week 4. I like getting it in while it's hot so I have to drink fast.

Do we find Miralax in the pharmacy section? I've never heard of it. My surgeon said that I could start Benefiber (which he recommends) at two weeks post-op. I found a huge bottle at costco and try to remember to get in a serving a day mixed in my tea. He said not to use Metamucil but I don't know why. Anna, are you drinking enough Water? Fluids really help get things going. Fiber only works well if we have fluids, or else it can just make it all worse.

You are such a Little Lightweight Slim Diddy! It's really going to be fun watching you drop those pounds and get into a tiny body. My plan requires that I weigh daily, so I do. It really doesn't have an effect on me like it used to when I was dieting 365 days a year. Back then it really set me up for self hatred at failing but yet again. This time feels totally different because I know that I'm going to get to where I'm supposed to be. The things that I can control are what I eat, how I exercise, whether I get in my Vitamins etc. The rate at which the weight comes off just doesn't feel like it's in my control so I'm learning to just let go and enjoy the ride. Let's all have fun together!

Mz. Diva, we are all big winners around here and along the way we're becoming big losers as well. I'm so glad you're along for the journey!

Ash honey, drink lots of water. Flush yourself out really well and it will take the weight along with it. Good luck tomorrow. I didn't know I had a hernia until I woke up from surgery and was told that I did and that it was repaired. Go figure, huh?

Hi Everyone, I'm sitting here eating one of the new Bariatric Advantage Raspberry chews that came today. Tastes like a Starburst. They're having a sale, buy 3 get one free. At 9.99 a bag, it's a decent savings. I'll try the chocolate later and give you a review. Rachelle, I'm a Sleever too. Love my Sleeve. John and I had it the same day. One right after the other. Same two surgeons for both our surgeries, but my surgeon is Dr. Baggs. John, I'm still barfing away as well. Got home last night at 8:30 and ate too fast. BAM! At least I'm managing to keep down vitamins now. I'm loving spring. Walked to work twice this week. YAHOO! Love reading the pouch test results and reading about how all of you are doing!

Momma, I never had those multiple numbers so .5 at a time always feels great to me. I think our bodies just lose at different rates. Also, I think that age can play a part in it. I'm 59 and in good health. My doctor recommended the surgery for me because I'm such a slow loser. Last summer I went to Russia and walked 8-12 miles a day. That was after being on the couch for 1.5 years after an ankle fracture followed 8 months later by intensive ankle surgery. Even with that dramatic change and addition of exercise, I didn't lose an ounce after 12 days of walking that much. So when I lose slowly now, I'm just so grateful that I'm losing!! I try to keep it all in perspective. I think it's more about how we get to goal and stay there than who wins the race getting there. Let's have fun along the way!

Hi Maggie! I only count the weight on my weekly weigh-in. During the week it's going to fluctuate based on Water retention, pooping, what we eat, how much we sleep, how much we walk etc. I too was amazed that I could eat under 500 calories a day and not lose even a pound that week. I guess our body gets to do what it wants. I think that losing daily may be too much to ask, but I'd love it too!! When is the last time you let go of 13 pounds in three weeks and kept it off? For me the answer would be never! The coolest part of this is that while we may see one pound come back for a moment, we're never going to find those lost pounds again. Have faith in the process and enjoy yourself. Wearing smaller clothes is definitely an uplifting experience. Don't let fear of losing too slowly rob you of the delights along the way! Keep in touch please. :scared0: