NtvTxn

definatly happy! we are celebrating our 18 year anniversary on the 20th of september. we make sure to act like we are dating, and not just like we are married and have kids. its important to keep dating even after you have kids and are married!

that is so wonderful! doesnt it feel good to know they are still in to us? just a little more now...lol

I'm not sure what I thought anymore...lol
Everything is so different now compaired to then. I think before I was thinking like the sleeve was going to be this quick thing, that I would lose so fast....but I still couldnt picture myself as thin.
Now I still dont think of myself as thin, and my wii doesnt either because it still says that I am in the obese catigory. I dont think that I look fat, just not thin. It is weird. I am so happy that I got the sleeve....no regrets at all!
You look great by the way! Can you believe it has been a year already?

awesome!! Did you ever expect a year ago to be where you are today?

So my hubby and my daughters went into Kmart to buy something. After they went in I realized that I needed something. I went in and got the thing I needed. I was at the register paying for my stuff when my hubby and kiddos came up to the register across from me. I saw my hubby look over at me, at which time I thought he realized that it was me. He looked me up from the feet to the top.....and then came across my face and then shook his head.
He didn't realize that it was me at all. When he did his face had this shocked and embarressed look on it. He laughed and said, "I just got caught checking out my own wife....haha!"
I thought it was pretty cool that I am skinny (and sexy) enough for my own hubby to check me out
Love it!!!!

I started using a straw at two weeks out. I never have any more air in my tummy.....I never had a problem and I am able to drink more using a straw. It was a win/win for me! I followed rules, but I poo poo'd this. I guess had I started having pain, I'd have stopped!!

Kris,
Do NOT get discouraged, there was a time when a 12 seemed like a dream and I told myself that if I never wore a smaller size, that is what I was wearing in in high school and I was NOT big!! An 8 was my goal, I never even considered a 6....it still seems unreal....it just happened recently, I'm still in shock! I know it may seem out of reach some times....but I assure you, it is not! You'll look back and see that although NOW it may seem like it is slow, when you look over the course of your life and all the ups and downs - a nice steady weight loss is great and it really does happen quickly. (many times I'd lose a lb or two and then gain a lb the next day and do that a few days before it would stay off, but it WOULD stay off!!) It takes a while for your mind to catch up! Good luck!!!

Karen,
First of all, if you're going to a surgeon experienced in sleeve surgery, he'll removed about 85% of your stomach!! As barbaric as it sounds.....it's wonderful. Forced Portion Control.< /p>
I had my surgery in June of 2010, so I'm just over 2 years out. I had no health issues, my BMI was 36, but I fought to maintain 228 lbs. I have to admit, a lot of my determination was pure ol' vanity. I wanted to be able to go shopping because it was fun, not because I HAD to have a new pair of pants or a new shirt. I hated shopping. My goal was to A) Not lose my hair and get into a size 8 I managed to do both, keep my hair and lose weight!!
I'm going to try and answer your questions and give you anwers that were important to me! I started taking Biotin a few months PRIOR to surgery. I've NEVER had a hair issue. I managed to lose 23 lbs before surgery, more than the doctor even required I lose, then I lost another 60'ish between the day of surgery and Nov. I reached my physician's goal just under five months. When I saw how easy and how quickly I was losing....I got to a size 8 lickity split....I readjusted and decided I could lose more! I wanted 5 lbs under the doctor's goal, which I accomplished before Christmas. Right at six months out. I kept losing and was kind of freaked out, I couldn't stop. After talking to the dietitian I started adding a couple of Snacks into my diet and gained some of the weight back. I had gotten down 18 lbs under Dr. D's goal.
I maintain without much trouble. I stay between 145 and 152 and I do not deprive myself of anything. I am not stupid, but i don't do without. If I creep up a lb or two more than I like, then I just adjust calories for about a week. I had NO HUNGER for months and months. Now what I call my 'new hunger' is more of an empty feeling, I know when I can or need to put something in there!! Losing this weight is THE easiest thing I've ever done. It just happens. We were told at the seminar that this is 'not a diet', it's a way of life. Well, until I reached goal, I treated it as the most important diet of my life. When you are NOT hungry, it isn't that difficult.
Pain after surgery was minimal. I used a flat pillow to prop under my tummy for about six weeks afterwards. I sleep on my side. I used pain medication for a little less than a week after leaving the hospital, and ONLY at night. During the day for about 10 days, I used a heating pad whenever I was sitting or laying around. A heating pad is a must in my book!! I had a hard time getting in my fluids, I started and ended EACH and EVERY day with a cup of skim milk, that does count as water!! It's good Protein and liquid!! I spent months watching the color of my urine. I hated it, but finally a nurse told me they 'prefer' Water but tea, coffee, all those things count. Life has been much easier since then. I usually drink Water only when I eat out....sadly!! I like to add some lemon and one of my Stivia packets. It's not lemonaide, just refreshing. I am not a lemonaide fan.
For me, NO REGRETS, no buyers remorse, EVER!!! I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I was realy for this, I love it. I'd initially thought about getting the band, but after research and all, I knew it was not something I'd be happy with.....the sleeve is so easy! Nothing has been re-routed and there isn't a foreign in my body!
Follow the 'rules' and stick to it. There are ups and downs, and that is normal. I still weigh or measure my food when I'm home. I keep an on line food log, you'd be surprised how easy it is to eat over what you should, calorie wise.....and I like to keep track of my Protein. I weigh twice a day, I've been doing it since I got home from the hospital. The first time is so I'll know if I'm on track, at night when I weigh, it's a game. I guess what I'll weigh in the morning!! My doctor wants us to weigh daily, he said it is much easier to get back on track if you've gone up two, three or four lbs vs ten lbs!! Some folks never weigh unless they're at the doctor's office, or at home, once a week or once a month!!! Seriously??!!!!! WEIGH and WATCH IT. Yes, YOU will be up and down during the losing phase, we all are. I'd lose two lbs, go up a lb, down a lb and then finally the two lbs would be off for good. On to the next lb or two....same thing. I brought it up at a support group meeting (GO TO THEM!!!!) and found out that the one that were maintaining had done the same thing. Yay, I was normal. I did not let it get me down when nothing changed in my diet, but I was up a pound!!! It is what it is. I knew that I was eating 500 - 650 calories per day, I KNEW the weight would come off....and it did!!
I got down to a size four....A FOUR!!! My goal had initially been an 8!! I was thrilled. I can still wear a four but right now, a six is more comfortable. The four was just exciting, I've never worn a size 4!!
I attend a support group meeting almost every month, they are great, you get good info from others, and it's nice to give encouragement to folks who are newbies!!
I hope I've answered everything, if not....just ask!!! Good luck, you will love your sleeve!!!!

A cup of skim milk will add about 90 calories. Veggies should be kept at a minimum compared to Protein. chicken, fish, I've kept a bag of frozen shrimp in my freezer since week six, tuna, cottage cheese, eggs, beef, lean porkchops. The focus is on protein first and foremost. I never put one bite of anything sweet in my mouth until I reached goal. I wouldn't have taken a lick of an ice cream cone. I was told fruit should be seldom and considered a treat. Still now, I still am focused on protein, and with my 3 - 3.5 oz of meat, I'll have an eighth of a cup of cottage cheese and the same amount of whatever veggie we have on the side. If we have potatoes I will have the same amount.

I took in between 450 and 650 calories per day during most of my losing phase. I was in constant contact with the nurse (we're given her cell number before we leave the hospital) and the dietitian. This was not a problem at all. I was getting in the Protein I needed to get and by month two I got it all in with food, no Protein Shakes, bullets, nothing. I'd say by the time I reached goal I was getting in 700 - 800 calories per day. When I started maintenence I did increase calories to maintain. I couldn't get it all in with the amount I was eating, so I was instructed to go from skim to 1% milk and to not be afraid to get a side of mushroom, black peppercorn gravy on the side to dip steak in....things like that. I couldn't quit losing, and I was up to 1000 calories. Finally after adding a morning snack and mid day snack...NOT ice cream or twinkies I maintain easily at 1200 calories. I gained back the additional weight I did not want to lose and now, on vacation I can put on 5 lbs, but I nip it in the bud and it comes off pretty quickly. Do NOT worry about the lack of calories, just so you feel good, which I'm betting you will.....it's all good. We had 85% of our stomachs removed for a reason!

I bought some toddler bowls and spoons. I measure out everything. 1/3 cup is about my limit right now bur putting it in that small bowl helps. Eating is really a chore for me right now.

I took in between 450 and 650 calories per day during most of my losing phase. I was in constant contact with the nurse (we're given her cell number before we leave the hospital) and the dietitian. This was not a problem at all. I was getting in the Protein I needed to get and by month two I got it all in with food, no Protein Shakes, bullets, nothing. I'd say by the time I reached goal I was getting in 700 - 800 calories per day. When I started maintenence I did increase calories to maintain. I couldn't get it all in with the amount I was eating, so I was instructed to go from skim to 1% milk and to not be afraid to get a side of mushroom, black peppercorn gravy on the side to dip steak in....things like that. I couldn't quit losing, and I was up to 1000 calories. Finally after adding a morning snack and mid day snack...NOT ice cream or twinkies I maintain easily at 1200 calories. I gained back the additional weight I did not want to lose and now, on vacation I can put on 5 lbs, but I nip it in the bud and it comes off pretty quickly. Do NOT worry about the lack of calories, just so you feel good, which I'm betting you will.....it's all good. We had 85% of our stomachs removed for a reason!

People do not stall because they aren't eating enough. I see SO many people climb on here freaking out because they're "stalled" and the first thing they do after three whole days of no loss is start screwing with their diet.
This is a major shock to our systems. Shedding weight at a rate of more than a pound a week is a shock to the body. It stops and starts and tries to recover along the way because you've completely changed from gaining weight to rapidly losing weight.
This has been widely debated here but the starvation mode thing is doubted but a lot of us.
Too many people carry those misguided notions from life prior to surgery (we MUST eat 1,200 calories or we'll starve, eat with a calorie deficit and you'll lose every time you step on the scale) and try to apply them to life post op. It's not the same. Diets are NOT all one size fits all, I say this over and over again. Why people who fail to lose the weight following a strict 1,200 calorie diet and exercising prior to surgery but then try to apply that same failed experiment to the sleeve post op amazes me.
Calories are fuel. They are neither good nor bad. food in and of itself is not good or bad. Life and diet are not black and white. food is fuel. The nutritional makeup of your food can be better or worse for your body, and you can certainly waste food space (very limited for a while post op) on absolute crap choices that do nothing to further your nutritional goals. Living like the sleeve is a diet is the biggest culprit I see in stressed out sleevers and regain posts.
Everyone's body is different. How many calories you need is based upon how your body does. I was amazed to see that I lost best initially with about 800-900 calories a day. It took me months to get to the point where I could eat that much. I still lost when I ate less, and I still lost when I eventually upped my calories. It's not an exact science for most of us. There isn't a big, bold line we can't cross - it's flexible, and a lot of it is dependent on what you're eating and how your body reacts to those foods.
I am a huge advocate of eating normally. That means no foods are off limits and moderation is key in all things. That said, I truly feel that our weight issues start with our brains and our habits of disordered eating. So until a freshly sleeved person learns more about how their new body tolerates things, and until they work on some of the head issues, I wouldn't say that worrying about upping calories, and downing possible trigger foods to do it, is a good idea.
It's a process. There is nothing wrong with indulging once in a while - it's normal. But building a habit of telling yourself that you need extra calories, and therefore a bowl of ice cream (or some other such treat) is necessary each day *could* be a slippery slope for a lot of people.
I truly believe you'll have such a hard time getting in your basic Protein first calories that you won't have room for the thought of anything else. That's how it is for the vast majority of us.
And nothing tops a lower carb Protein shake for nutritional punch. We don't eat them to add to our calories in most cases. We eat them because you can drink pretty easily once you're healed, and drinking up to 50 grams of Protein with only 200 calories for a meal is a darn good way to stay healthy once you're sleeved.
You brought up some interesting questions. I am not trying to slam you or any of the other responses here, or lecturing you as if there's only one way to live post op. I've just spent a lot of time on these boards in the last three years and I've seen a lot of trends.
Best of luck to you, and congrats on trying to work some of this out prior to surgery. It shows you're trying to prepare and that's important. Too many people skip the questions and research!
~Cheri

Dana,
I am pre-op and have been reading this site daily for 2 months. The statement about the ice cream and the chocolate is not wise, that is what got us the way we are in the first place. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but you should up your calories at THAT POINT with good carbs like fruit or some kind of vegetable. The occasional treat food would come sparingly after you are at goal and for maintenance as a meal FindingMeMe is doing now. She knows what she can eat and exercise away the next day because she is at goal.
Keep reading and you will understand what I mean. Best of luck to you on your journey.

So...I tried on jeans 2 weeks ago, and found that I was down from a size 26 to a size 22. I had a couple old pairs of size 24's, so I decided to order some size 20's, and just wear the baggy 24's until I could get into the new 20's.
Well....those new 20's arrived today....AND THEY FIT!!! I don't just mean I could manage to get them zipped...I mean I could breathe and sit in them!! They look amazing! Its been more than 15 years since I could fit into a pair of size 20 pants...and, so help me G-d, I will NEVER see anything larger EVER AGAIN!!!
WOOHOO!!

This is to avoid excess air in your stomach when you swallow, but even drinking normally allows air during swallowing.
Many people are able to use a straw or prefer to use a straw to make drinking easier.
Sometimes I prefer a straw, like when I make my Protein frappacinos and I have no problem whatsoever.
And yes, I drink caffeinated coffee too. My bad?

Lmao I was one them before ppl and I will be the same after. But I have gone to the same bux for 8 years they know what I want and make it as soon as I walk in the door lmao it's kind like my own little cheers i get a big hello how's your day and so on

Yup- this is me at Peets or Starbucks.
"Hi, can I get a short iced nonfat sugarfree vanilla latte extra ice"
then I have to repeat
and repeat again
and then appologize with a shameful smile to the barista about being a PITA!
All picky customer sins are erased with a nice fat dollar in their tip jar though!

In my first weeks post sleeve, I felt the constant need to appologize to the waitress that I am not ordering food (becasuse I was sharing off my kids or husband's plate) or if I only ordered the Soup. It would drive my kids crazy (they are teenagers, so it does not take much...but I digress) My daughter would say, "Mom, you do not need to appologize or explain why you are not ordering more food!" I think for me it's more of being a people pleaser and the need to be overly considerate. I don't appologize any more, but I do still compensate my tip a bit. So I say, order your double skinny, sugar free latte (or whatever the Starbucks speak is) any way you like it, and ENJOY IT!

OMG Tracy, I feel the SAME way! I'm scared to go back to our favorite places and feel like I have to explain everything. Especially since my DH and I used to spend way too much money for two people at a Mexican restaurant on a Friday night. Yup - huge Entrees and a pitcher of super top shelf margaritas with Don Julio Tequila. We haven't been in over a month. Our poor waiter probably can't pay his light bill without our tip on Friday nights. LOL.

I was sleeved on Friday. I've been working from home. I have a stressful job. I decided that I felt good enough to go in, today. I haven't taken any of the good medicine since yesterday. The liquid Lortab makes me have dreams that I am in a Harry Potter movie, but I digress...
Anyway, I had to laugh today because on my way home from work I wanted something new to drink. I have been trying to add milk and Protein Shakes, but I'm having some "issues" with milk. So, I decided to be one of "those people." You know, those pain in the rear Starbuckians who request everything from the amount of foam, to the room in the cup, to the pumps of Syrup in their latte. I went to Starbucks and actually ordered a tall, sugar free Decaf soy vanilla latte. It's heaven (and completely on my diet plan, so don't make any smart comments about "listening to my doctor.") I may do this more often. I just felt like I had to apologize. I may not feel so weird making special orders when I am thin, but I feel as though a fat person being a pain in the rear regarding food is not good. I'm always trying to blend in or be extra nice so that people will like me even though I look like this. Has anyone else had a similar experience in their first days post sleeve? We don't want to draw attention to ourselves and what we eat because we're still fat, but we want to be able to socialize and be with friends in a restaurant enviornment....

AWESOME! The appetite being reduced was why I opted for the sleeve rather than another WLS.......I am so hopeful for long-term success and this makes me even more so. <<<<happy dance>>>>>

I had same thing. It was lake of caleries I'm better now. N I eat 1200 cal a day. I'm 4 lbs from goal. 6 mon out next week

Get rid of all the bad stuff, the temptations in your house. Stock with 1% cottage cheese, a bag of frozen shrimp, frozen chicken breasts, (it's easy and fast to bake one) tuna packed in Water, Lite mayo. Get your Protein with food, rather than relying on powders and Protein Bars. Get some skim milk, a couple glasses a day is 16oz of Protein. Oh, and eggs, probably the best source of protein there is. You can do it.

Me!! I started at 228 at my first pre-op appointment. (siminar and scheduling appt) I weighed 205 the day of surgery and my doctor's goal was 150. I reached that just a few days shy of five months. My goal was 145, I got there a month later. I am back up to 150, as of today. Summer has been brutal with vacation, family reunion and company. I started getting back to basics yesterday. I should be able to lose this 5 lbs to get back down to MY goal without much suffering, in a couple of weeks.