Lee

Good Morning! Things are going good here. Lot's of exercise and sun this weekend. My son got home yesterday so it was great that he got up and walked the 3 miles around the lake with me this morning. Weight loss still going slow but determined to be 174 when I see Dr. Baggs in August since that was the goal he set for me to be "overweight" at my six month check. I won't be around until the end of the month as I have a busy work week and leave early Friday morning for France to spend a week in Provence and a week in an apartment on the French Riviera. I'm looking forward to a visit to St. Tropez and all of the other southern towns. This vacation is a treat for working my Sleeve and really taking care of myself this year. I'll try to stop back before I leave. Have a fun day everyone.

Stacey, your BMI is so low to start with. My surgeon gave me a goal to be at a 30 BMI at my 6 month mark. You're doing fantastic!

I feel your pain! Month one - down 18 pounds Month two - down 3 pounds Month three - down 9 pounds What I did differently to get it going was to plan 60 minutes of exercise 6-7 days a week. There were a couple of weeks I had 60 minutes 5x and 30 minutes 2x. I keep carbs low and didn't get over 500-600 calories until I was 3 months out. Now at 3.5 months I'm aiming for 700-800 calories a day. How is your Protein intake. I learned over at OH that upping the protein would help and it did. I now try to get in at least 1 Protein shake daily and to get 80 grams of protein. Try shaking things up. Exercise, rotate the amount of calories. Your body may have just adjusted to what you've been doing.

Congratulations!! It will take more than a few bites of anything to sabotage your plan. We're in this for the long haul and that's going to include a few bites of something here and there. The important part is that it's very occasional and only a bite or two. Enjoy the journey!

Congratulations on your surgery! At 3.5 months post op, I eat three meals a day. I can eat 2-4 oz of dense Protein depending on what it is. shrimp 4 oz, turkey 3 oz, beef 3 oz. If I eat that amount of protein there's not room for anything else. If I want to eat some lettuce, or 1/4 of a peach, I have to reduce the amount of protein. My plan calls for up to 1/2 cup of protein, 1/4 of a small fruit OR a few spoons of veggies and 1/2 slice of well toasted whole wheat bread or small slice of potato. I haven't been able to eat those things if I eat protein. I'm keeping it to low carb because I don't want the cravings. 6 months? I have a few months before i get there. I'm sure others will chime in.

Katt, What a wonderful, well thought out post. My mother died with advanced Altzheimer's so I understand your concerns. I too have a 40f and at 59, I'm very pleased with it. I may not be losing as quickly as a 30 year old with a 32f, but I think my progress is wonderful given all of the factors. My quality of life is already improving. I have pictures of my Sleeve and I don't see the larger pouch that you're talking about. I'll have to give it a closer look and ask my surgeon at my 6 month follow-up in August. Congratulations on your great progress!

I have a 40f and I'm doing fine with no complications. At 3.5 months out I can eat 4 oz of shrimp, 3 oz of dense meat if I eat slowly.

At 3.5 months out, I'm still taking my Protonix 2x a day. Last night was the first night since 3 days post-op that I woke up with acid in my mouth. YUCK. I got hungry on Day 10, but it was resolved when I went to soft foods. My program is 1/4 cup, 3x a day no snacking no Protein supplements. At around 7 weeks I got hungry again, still eating 1/4 - 1/3 of a cup of food 3x a day. When I went for my 3 month checkup the surgeon said it probably wasn't true hunger from what I described (hollow feeling an hour after eating) but that my Sleeve is irritated. I took Carafate to coat my Sleeve for around a week and it started to get better. At 3.5 months out, something changed and I'm not getting as hungry between meals anymore. I'm just now building up to 4 oz of protein 2x a day and a Protein shake for breakfast. Things like steak I can only eat 3 oz. We are all so different. We all have our own story of how we feel as far as being hungry, full, satisfied etc. All in all, I'm thrilled with my Sleeve. I was always hungry before surgery but didn't have a chance of losing weight. I'd rather fight the fat battle from this side! :thumbup:

You go girl! What a fabulous journey you've had. Everyone here is so lucky to have had your guidance along the way as we've started our journey. You taught me so much as I came here to learn about the Sleeve. Bumping into you here was wonderful for me. You look terrific, your energy shines and your happiness is so apparent to everyone who knows you. I wish you continued Sleeve success and hope that the baby making process is joyful! Keep shining Tiffy!

I'm reading the same stories as well. It seems like a common thread is "carbs". I tested it with a few crackers, or with 1/2 a small movie popcorn (gained 2 pounds overnight and took a week to drop them), and I can see how it would be so easy to eat carbs and gain weight. The carbs slide down like it's a party going on in there. Dancing straight through my sleeve, not a hint of fullness or restriction. Needless to say, I won't be visiting popcorn again, and the box of crackers (whole wheat health food store blah blah blah) went into the dump after eating 4 of them and seeing them slide on through. I ate low carb before surgery and I guess it's going to be my path post-op as well. I can't complain because before I would do low carb and lose 5-10 pounds a year, only to put them right back on if I picked up carbs again for a moment. At least I have a fighting chance of keeping the pounds off this time. Rather than being frightened by it, I hope to read and reread those stories to motivate me to stay on track.

I was surprised to hear 1 hour a day as my plan recommends 30 minutes daily to everyone. It's true that many of us had very slow metabolism in the first place, so 30 minutes just isn't enough. When I walk fro an hour and get in over 12,000 steps a day on my pedometer, I'm more likely to see a few ounces lost the next day. I tend to stay the same weight for around 10 days, then drop a pound. Very frustrating, but certainly not as frustrating as dieting forever and not losing at all. I'd like my weight to drop more quickly but not willing to do more than an hour a day at this point. I haven't fallen prey to the snacking, but I'm only 3.5 months out and my Protein meals take care of my hunger. I just won't/don't keep anything carby in my house to turn to.

Welcome Acaaew. They may not recommend RNY for you as a cancer survivor. The Sleeve is more effective for those of us that have needed drugs in the past and may need them again. Because of that, the only surgery available to me was the Sleeve and since that was my 1st choice, I was thrilled. Analynn, I get my calcium citrate chews at Bariatric Advantage. I like the raspberry and chocolate flavors. Ash, so sorry you're sick sweetheart. :biggrin: John, Robin doesn't advance to the last stage, that's up to Doc Fisher. Baggs and I didn't even discuss it so I just did it. Has anyone seen or heard from Pat? I'm getting a little concerned about her. Late for work, have to run....

Bevanne, I personally got a little hungry on Day 10 but then wasn't hungry at all when I went to soft foods. Around week 7 my hunger came back and I felt like I was hungry 2 hours after eating. At around 3+ months, the hunger seems to be lessened again. My surgeon thought it had something to do with Sleeve irritation and I did take carafate for a week after my 3 month checkup. Maybe that helped soothe my Sleeve and took away some of the hunger.

I had my surgery at 59. My surgeon told me that over 50 we need to exercise 1 hour a day to have the metabolism of someone in their 30's that is sedentary. So it may take a little longer to get to goal. That's ok, let's all enjoy the journey!

I have a 40f. That's the smallest my Kaiser will go. They think that having a bigger sleeve allows better hydration and less complications post-op. I tried to talk them into smaller. :thumbup1: I've had no issues with reflux etc after the third day when my PPI - Protonix kicked in. By day 5 I was able to easily get in 64 oz of fluids. No complications. I don't know if the size of my bougie has anything to do with my slow weight loss but I would venture to say it's more about exercise etc, than the size 40f. All in all, I'm very pleased with my recovery and progress.

I do gross calories and carbs, but enter my exercise into myfitnesspal.com as well.

I use Myfitnesspal but I don't know if they have and "i" app. I'm going to check it out for my new iPhone, or else I'll just get there through the browser. I think it's the easiest of all the trackers.

I have to agree on the walking. I'm really enjoying it these days! HW - 249 SW - 229 TW - 195 Losing slow but enjoying the journey!

I find that I lose better at 600-700 calories than at 800 calories if I keep the carbs very low. I think every body is different based on age, exercise, metabolism etc.

Hi Jane, I posted last night that the hunger is much better at 3.5 months out. I have always eaten primarily Protein. I rarely have a bite of fruit or veggie and that's how it's been since day 1. I just didn't get the hunger relief that others got. That seems to be getting better now. I still struggle to get a 1-2 pounds off each week. If I get less than 60 minutes a day of exercise I don't lose anything. That's ok, exercise is good for us. I eat 3x a day as called for by my Kaiser plan and try to get most of my protein from food though some days I have a Protein shake. Example from yesterday: B. Protein shake, (145 calories) 1/2 of a ISS protein wafer(105 calories) L. 3 oz beef short ribs - 167 calories D. 4 chicken wing drumets, 4 cashews - 194 calories I had planned another protein shake but was too full. My day was 72 protein grams. I had carbs from Calcium chews.

Hi BJean, I'm so glad you feel that you made a great decision in revising from Band to Sleeve. Isn't it wonderful to be so optimistic of a wonderful outcome? I wish I had done this years ago!

I wanted to come back and update. I posted around 6 weeks ago that I was hungry all the time. I'm not sure when that changed, but now at 3.5 months out I have a lot more restriction. If I keep my meals to primarily Protein, I don't get hungry the way I used to and it takes a lot less to leave me feeling quite full and satisfied. A lot of the time I'm feeling a bit nauseated after eating but I know it's important to get in a good bit of Protein during the day. So for those of you that are still feeling the hunger, it just may change! Now if my weight loss would just speed up.

Hello, I had surgery with Dr. Baggs at Kaiser Richmond on February 17th. I think Dr. Baggs walks on Water. Dr. Fisher assisted in my surgery. They're a good team. The Richmond support group meeting is tomorrow night. I'll be there. :thumbup1:

Happy Sunday Everyone! I hope you all get out in the sun today and have fun with whatever you're doing.

Hello, Almost everyone goes through a stall. Don't let it freak you out please. I see that you have upped your Water which is great. I bet you see the scale move soon. Try to get in 64 oz of fluids a day. When I was at your stage, I think my calories were less than 500 a day and my carbs were under 30, just for a comparison. That said, I'm a very slow loser so may not be the best one to advise you. You're going to do just fine. Are you exercising? I found that upping my exercise really helped get the weight coming off.