Lee

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:

Hi Michelle, I was just talking about this at a support group meeting last night. First, congratulations on your upcoming surgery! I went back to work on day 7. In hindsight, I think if I had the option to have more time off, I would have taken it. Going back to work so soon used all of my energy. I think it would have been nice to pamper myself a little more, get my energy back up and use the time to really get a good exercise routine in place. I think that moving is an important part of this journey because it helps us feel good and vibrant. Please keep in touch and let us know how you're doing!

JudyJudy, Great to see you around here again! Heck girl, look at you... 4 months out and more than 1/2 way to your goal. That doesn't seem so slow to me. Thanks for sharing your experience. We're all going to get to goal so let's have some fun along the way.

Jen, I don't have any words of wisdom, but I have as many hugs and prayers as you want. Please take good care of yourself. I know your doctor will take good care of you and help you to heal.

Hey Samie, get some no sugar added fruit popsicles. I melted one and it was two ounces of fluids. In the first 5 days I was supposed to get in 20-32 oz of fluids and those popsicles really helped me out. I kept a glass and just tossed the sticks in so that I could add up the ounces. I also really like Sobe Lifewater 0 calorie. It has carbs but I wasn't worried about that at the time. The Fugi Apple Pear flavor was incredibly refreshing. (hated the pomegranate - too sweet). Find something that you like to sip and have at it. I found it easy to get in my 64 oz by day 5 as required by my program. Sobe Lifewater and hot herbal tea. I'd drink chicken broth for a change of pace. It all gets easier each day.

I love this site and everyone here! Thank you all for all the positive feedback. I really like this Sleeve of mine. I think I'll keep it!

Hello Team, Just a quick wave hello as I'm in the office. I just wanted to remind everyone that tonight is Kaiser Support Group night if anyone is interested. Love to see any/all of you! Doing ok. Finally figured out how to manage soft foods without taking that one bite too many. What a relief to be keeping food down. After two weeks of eating right with only 1/2 pound down each week, this week is 3 pounds so my body is ready to let go again. I love wearing 18's instead of 22's! Hope to see familiar faces at the meeting tonight!

I'm always curious about how people lose at different rates. Today I'm starting my 7th week post-op (Wednesday 2/17 surgery). I was on a 1200 calorie diet pre-op and had to be at 230 on surgery morning or I'd be sent home. I've been eating low-carb both pre-op and post-op (30 carbs or less a day). Week 1 - 7.4 Week 2 - 5.8 Week 3 - 2.2 Week 4 - 2.8 Week 5 - .6 Week 6 - .4 Week 7 - 3 pounds - so happy to be losing again! So if you think you're the slowest loser, forget it! There's always someone slower or faster than you. Keep a positive attitude and be grateful for having this great tool. I love the way my body is reshaping. Everything looks the same, just smaller.

HA Tiffy! I have good reasoning powers. PMW, I used to take potassium at night when I was doing Low Carb eating. I haven't had any potassium since VSG so that wasn't a difference for me. The Calcium however was the only difference. Ok, I'm off to take my calcium and Vit. D before bed! I'll see if it happens again tonight. Hopefully NOT!

I don't take additional Iron either. Being over 50, I need an additional 500 mg of Calcium so I take one mid-morning, mid-afternoon and after dinner. Anna, as far as the spacing of the multi's, I think it's better to take one in the morning and one in the evening. I'm trying to get in at least 1 Twin-lab multi capsule a day right now. I'll up it to two as soon as I get them 1 routine down. I've always been bad about Vitamins. Before I figured I was eating such a healthy food plan loaded with fruit and veggies, that I didn't need them. UGH UGH UGH I got calcium capsules and had a tough time with them so I ordered the BA citrate chews. I'm waiting for them to arrive. Last night I forgot to take my evening calcium and had foot cramps all night. I wonder if there's a correlation between the two. That was the only thing I could think of.

From what I've learned, we do absorb Citrate better. We can only absorb 500 mg of calcium at a time so we need to space it out into 3 portions. Also, we need to take our Multivitamin 2 hours from our calcium for best absorption. After surgery I was taking the soft calcium (carbonate) chews because I figured something was better than nothing. I just ordered the citrate chews from Bariatric Advantage. They were having a buy 3 bags, get one free sale.

Hi Diane, My surgery was 2/17. I'm like you, not a lot of room in there. I can eat 2 oz of Protein, sometimes 3 if it's fish or shrimp. After that, not much room. If I'm out I'll try to eat a bite or two of spinach but I don't bother cooking it at home yet. Sometimes I try to get in one or two strawberries after my protein but sometimes they come right back up. Last night felt like my biggest meal yet. 1.75 oz of nitrate free breakfast ham with a fried egg on top and a touch of cheese melted on it. I find that if I melt cheese it goes down more easily. That was my first whole egg. Frozen shrimp is simple to make with a little cocktail sauce it goes right down. What works best for me is to add sour cream and salsa to foods so that they're wet before they go down. I had to eat it really slowly, which is what we're supposed to do anyhow. I eat a lot of lean ground turkey (2 oz) sometimes adding a spoon of refried Beans before sour cream and salsa. Eating just feels like something I need to do right now, but I do get hungry between meals. I find that eating slower allows me to eat more which is good because I want to up my calories a little. When I started on soft food I ate too fast and a few times it came back up. What kind of things are you eating?

Russell, I'm so happy to read that you and your wife are doing so well. I too had difficulty sleeping at first. It gets better!

Miss B~ you are looking just fabulous!