sleevegenie

I think the reason we lose weight is because we force the body to use all the stored fat it has to live our daily lives. That's why its so important that we feed the body what the fat we burn doesn't have, which is Protein. I hear you though on the number of calories once we achieve our normal weight. I just found a series on youtube called supersize vs superskinny and they have a large person and a very small person move in together for a week. They have to eat the other person's food for a week. I found this facinating. The thing that got me is these anorexic people they said ate 1700 cals a day and i can't believe it because they ate nothing. I can't imagine how they could live on so little food. So I'm confused by that as well. I think it has changed me somehow tho, for the better ) jeani

Seriously...I understand that you are simply unable to eat that much after having surgery, but eventually when the stomach has healed you're expected to only eat 1200 calories? Any nutritionist will tell you that 1200 calories is not enough for the average person (not average as in average = overweight, but average as in what we should be eating). After finding your BMR (basal metabolic rate) which is how many calories your body burns just in the process of lounging about and doing its normal biological functions, you need to figure out how many calories your body expends during your average day. This is why most people should really be eating 1500 - 2000 for their weight-loss programs. Unless you weigh 120 lbs or are just really tiny (like my best friend, one of those naturally tiny people) then 1200 calories isn't really a lot, let alone the less than 1000 that is recommended for the first few months or so. My current worry is that this weight loss is due to malnutrition.

Are there any nutritionists on the forum here? Does anyone else have any data to support the idea that 800 calories is okay? I am now going over the professional literature to see if I can find anything. This just seems potentially scary. I mean, if I am out hiking in the woods (or across Asia which is a hope after graduation) I'm likely going to need more than 2000 let alone 1200...

Thanks!

Congratulations, i think 550 calories is too low, your body will think you are starving and hold on to your weight as self preservation. I have the opposite problem, i eat too much. I very recently , well 3 months ago, lost my best friend of 30 yrs and went into a big depression and was eating way too much and stayed stuck around 180, very frustrating, even tho completely my own fault. So i decided to get back in the game, since i still need to lose another 20-30 lbs and thankfully am down to 170. So the scale is moving again and i'm very happy about that. I have always been able to eat a lot more than most people say they can and i believe i have a bigger sleeve. But it is what it is and we have to work with what we have to work with. My biggest challenge now seems to be making myself exercise. I walk twice a day at work 15-20 mins. but really need to up that, i have nearly every exercise dvd know to man, the problem is buying them isn't enough, evidently you have to actually do the exercises if you want to see results, so that is where i am trying to concentrate now. I wish you every success. I'm so happy that things are moving again for you too. Good luck, jeani

About a month ago I started birth control pill and put on 4 pound in a week! I went from191 to 195 and stayed there for nearly a month despite stopping the BC pills after 2 weeks.

I tried everything from upping the exercise to Water pills. NOTHING! I then took a good look at my calorie intake and was shocked that on a good day I was taking in 550 calories! I thought how in the world was I going to get more calories in with good food as I was stuffed on what I was eating.

So I added a protien drink in a day and found some protien bars with only 15 carb at GNC. Still nothing moved for a week. It was really playing head games with me! I then decided the last couple days to splurge. I had myself a fried chicken finger for lunch yesterday, then at dinner I ordered a chicken sandwich that the menu described as a sliced chicken breast, only to find the chicken was fried when it came out. DOUBLE GUILT, 2 fried things in one day! OMG. Well I said what the hell maybe it the shock my body needs. Since I can only eat about 2 oz of meat any way I figured it was not that bad. ( I never eat the bread). So then I take the rest of the chicken home and have it for lunch the next day. I thought for sure I would put on weight with all that at 3 meals, but I woke up today to find 2 pounds gone! A month of not budging after gaining and BOOM 2 pounds gone like that! AMEN! I am not psyched again and ready to watch the scale go down some more!

Yeah, so happy for you. Remember to get up and walk, sip, rest and repeat. You are gonna do fine. Congratulations, your life is gonna get very exciting, take care jeani

thanks so much, best thing i ever did, you're doing great too, what a gift this is, yah for all of us, we rock !!

what you have done is made a very courageous choice to improve the quality of your life. Good for you. I'm almost 4 months out, down 54 lbs with 46 to go and i couldn't be happier. You will feel the same soon, i promise. Its all very emotional at first, hormones flying all over the place, your body is in shock from the anethesia and the surgery so all perfectly normal. Just get thru the first month and you'll be so glad you did this. Take care and rest, it really helps. Best of luck jeani

i have a couple of cups of coffee every day,, love it, never had any issues, my nut said it was ok to have a cup and eventually a couple of cups so i do, jeani

its sad that you had to be subjected to that. so many people have not heard about the sleeve, or even if they have heard they have no idea what it involves. my sister freaked out when i mentioned i was considering it. everyone has heard so many horror stories from back in the day when they first started doing the bypass, hopefully you didn't let it spoil your evening, you have made a wonderful choice and will be so much healthier and happier. Take care jeani

I won my appeal with Anthem Blue cross if you belong to Obesity help you can look at my letter on my profile page, same name on that site as this, good luck to you jeani

ooh, i had a really easy time of it, but no way would i have been able to do a little girls sleepover, no way, You will just have had major surgery, you will need to give yourself time to heal, you will be tired and struggling with drinking your liquids, i wouldn't have tried anything like that, best of luck whatever you decide, could you change the date? either before or after. I think that will be very stressful and you need to rest and heal. Take care jeani

welcome and congratulations on making such a smart decision. You are so young and this is the perfect time to take control of your life. I'm very proud of you. I'm 60 and got my sleeve 15 weeks ago and couldn't be happier. This is the best decision i have ever made and i LOVE MY SLEEVE, you will also. This is truly is a life changing for the better choice and i applaud you. You will love your new life and the new you and a great future, God Bless and keep us posted on your progress, all the best jeani

i too had bad gas pains, its from the gas they put inside you during surgery so they can move around in there, for that reason its not really gas like we think of it and walking is the only thing that helped me the gas x did nothing. However i have read posts that said a heating pad helped?? it was too late for me to try as i was passed that point when i read this but maybe it will help you. I hope you feel better soon.

It really is the truth, this is the best thing you can do to really have a different future, the difference in your health, your weight, such a difference its a miracle really. I certainly couldn't do it with out this. its major surgery so you might feel like caca for the first couple of weeks, it does get better every day a little, you have to let yourself heal and have faith this is the right thing for you as it has been for so many of us, best of luck to you, i'll be thinking of you youll do great, walk, sip rest, jeani

Determined one, my friend, man o man you're so close its gonna happen so it is what it is, mine was a trip too,.... lots of them are, ...... you're there and it will happen on the day its supposed to happen...... and i'm so happy for you, its very frustrating at times and emotions are high, try to accept this great gift when it works out being, so close yah!! you'll be crossing over to this side, yeah can't wait, your spot on the bench is just waiting for you , you've come this far, its close we'll be celebrating your new sleeve soon, take care let us know, sorry if i'm rambling :thumbup:)

Completely normal, when i first had mine done i was convinced that all they did was cut me but didn't do the sleeve because there was NO restriction, until i ate my first egg, OMG then i believed i had a sleeve, liquids go right through you, real food will fill you up. I was also exhausted so i took an Iron pill which you should take with vit c and i made a big difference. So relax, and give yourself time to heal, you'll be fine jeani

That's such a great story, thanks for sharing. I love hearing everyone's success stories. This is such a great gift we have given ourselves. Keep up the good work you are doing great, jeani

i ate a lot of eggs, egg salad, chicken salad, loved turkey chili, turkey meatballs and turkey spaghetti minus the noodles, i had a friend who made me a lot of different types of Soups that i put in my magic bullet. Then finally went on to eat pretty much anything i wanted so just think of this as a transition time until you can eat whatever, just try to remember Protein first, fish is good too, and meatloaf, turkey or beef, experiment, enjoy, good luck jeani

so sorry that you are going through this, no words of wisdom here just wanted to wish you well, hopefully they will figure out what it is and correct it, best of luck to you jeani

main thing is Protein first, stay away from the white carbs, drink lots of fluids and i'm sure it will all come back to you and you'll do fine, good luck jeani

that's great, so happy that you chose the right procedure. i was lucky like you too, the day i found out i won my appeal was exactly two weeks before they scheduled me. I found out on a friday and was supposed to start my two week liquid diet but i had last suppers and started it that monday, still lost 18 lbs, remember to walk right away, walk sip rest and repeat, you're gonna love your sleeve jeani

Hey determined1 i am so happy this is finally happening for you. I knew i was doing the right thing and i was extremely calm, couldn't wait to have that part over it. I also read about the balloons but i didn't do it. I hope the time flys by and can't wait to hear all about it and have you on the path with us, take care xoxoxo jeani

Thats great news, congratulations. Its the little things that show us just how much we really are changing. For me it was being able to lift my foot to wash it in the shower, i've had to use a long handled brush for a year and a half now due to arthritis in my hip and one day looked down and realized i was washing my foot minus the long handled brush, that was a big one for me, continued success, jeani

i think i'm a little different than your average sleever. My doctor hasnt been doing sleeves very long and i think he makes a bigger one than the surgeons that have been doing them for years. Mind you i eat WAY LESS than i did pre op but i can eat what is probably considered a small normal size portion. This has caused me a lot of concern but at 3 months out i've lost 50 lbs so i think i'll be ok. I can eat anything i want just get satisfied with much smaller amounts. Good luck to you jeani

Hi i have noticed that sometimes the weight can go up a little, it happens when i am not being as good as i should be with eating carbs or making not so good food choices, but when i get back on track it goes away. Remember this is a work in progress, that's why some people say we shouldn't weigh ourselves so often. We can get discouraged, but i can't seem to help myself, i get on every morning right after i pee. Good luck i'm sure you'll do just fine, jeani