BlackBerryJuice

Today is my 3-month surgiversary, so I took some photos, but there's something wrong with the board and it won't let me upload them to my gallery. So I decided to post here until that issue is resolved. In this post, I have 3 pix of me on the day before the surgery, and in the next post, I'm gonna have 3 pictures from today.

I'd like to second that. I tried to add my 3-month progress pix to my album this morning and I kept getting error messages without any explanation as to the reason. They are the same format and size as all of my other pictures, so I don't think it's anything on my end, but rather the forum itself having a bug of some sort.

Why, thanks! I built up all that muscle mass before the VSG - I honestly don't know how much you can build once you've had the surgery due to restricted eating, as you generally need a surplus of calories to put on muscle. But at the same time, if you think about it, it's not that hard to up your calories through drinks after the surgery. juice, hot chocolate, milk instead of Water can all put you in the 2000-calorie range if you so choose. But on the upside, I don't feel like I've lost much muscle mass after the surgery, either, and I'm generally eating 1000-1400 calories a day (usually 1200 or less) and working out 3-5 times a week. So who knows, if you have the right genetics and eat more, maybe VSG isn't a hindrance to muscle building. It's also important not to do excessive amounts of cardio when you are trying to build muscle, especially when it comes to extensive, steady-state exercises like lots of endurance running - otherwise, you'll just burn it all off. But interval cardio is good (e.g. sprints). I never really had anything to show for my abs until I started doing weighted crunches on the decline bench. Regular crunches didn't really do anything for me. I set the decline bench at the highest decline possible, grab a 10-lb plate or one 10 and one 5-lb plate and do maybe 12-15 reps of sit-ups with the plate against my chest. Here's a pic of the piece of equipment I'm talking about - http://www.gtechfitness.com/ProductImages/inflight/free_weight/Inflight_Decline_Ab_Bench.png If you want more resistance, you either grab a heavier plate or put your arms behind your head (it will add resistance). I also do an oblique variation where I grab two 5-lb dumbells, one in each hand, and do sit-ups with cross-overs to the side (also on the decline bench). Sometimes I'll get really adventurous and do leg raises on it, as well: http://www.body-mind-strength.com/assets/small_tone_building_abs_photos/decline_straight_leg_raises_finishing.jpg Sorry, not very good at explaining this, but I hope the pix help. But yeah, that made a huge difference in my abs. I also did competitive boxing at some point, and punching the heavy bag really works your abs, and it burns lots of fat, too - and until that layer of fat on your stomach thins out, you won't see your abs. So I'd say it's a combo of weighted ab exercises + high-intensity interval cardio.

Stretchy stuff for casual clothes (like leggings suggested above). For dressier clothes, I've found an A-line pleated skirt with a stretchy waist. Skirts in general are easier to deal with while losing weight, IMO - they are much easier to take in. I've paid about $10 to take in a skirt, whereas for jeans, it cost me around $20. Besides, with pants, you also have to worry about how they fit around the thigh area, whereas with the skirt, it's just a matter of waist circumference. So tailoring things is another option, it will generally be cheaper than buying new items.

Wow, sounds really scientific. I really hope folks here are smarter than that!

Wow, sounds really scientific.

I don't see myself as skinny, but I'm technically not there yet, at a BMI of 27-something; however, I do see myself as average-sized and definitely wouldn't use "fat" to describe myself. I feel comfortable wearing an above-the-knee skirt or tighter clothes, but I'm aware of limitations (e.g. no booty shorts for me!).

I had my surgery at 10:30 am or so and by 2 pm I was able to shuffle down the hallway and back. I read lots of magazines, played computer games, called friends and family on Skype daily, and surfed the web. Brushed up on my Spanish, too - I tried to speak it as much as I could. I was pretty bored by day 3, to be honest. The pain meds didn't affect me negatively.

Interesting! Thanks for sharing your story. I hope you are able to overcome some of these roadblocks that have popped up.

I saw an obesity specialist about a possible research project the other day and he said the average weight loss with VSG is only 33% of excess weight. Well, I'm 3 months out and I've lost over 50% even if you want to be really radical and peg my goal weight at 130-135 or so (I'm aiming for 140-145).

Stomach cancer is not very widespread in North America, it's more of an issue in Eastern Europe and Japan (where they actually screen on a regular basis - we don't). Helicobacter pylori, which is associated with poor hygiene, is the biggest risk factor. You can always ask for a urea breath test to be done to get screened for that and it's easily treatable.

I don't think I'm getting anything. My boobs are a bit saggy, but they still look good in a bra and are still quite formidable at DD - even though I'm getting quite close to my goal weight. Not a fan of the scars from the lift and the only way I'd ever get implants would be if I had a mastectomy or something drastic along those lines - really not a fan of the bolt-ons and the fact that you are bound to get them redone several times over the course of your life is a huge deterrent for me. But if I had been a lot bigger at the time of surgery and ended up with a pannus or something, I'd definitely take care of that. But it's almost more of a medical than a cosmetic issue at that point, I guess.

Definitely thighs not rubbing together anymore. I'm getting pretty close to it, but I think it'll take getting to goal weight to completely get rid of the problem. I can't tell you how many hours I've wasted trying to find shorts long enough to be able to walk in without my thighs chafing raw after 10 blocks.

Congrats!

5 - one is inside my bellybutton and not visible at all, so only 4 visible ones. I've been pretty lucky with my drain scar so far - on a lot of people, I've seen it turned into a really deep dent, sometimes almost like a 2nd bellybutton, but with me, it's pretty flat. Probably because I didn't have that much fat and, consequently, extra skin on my stomach to begin with.

I think a lot of these people have weight and/or body image issues themselves. My father is probably the most vicious fat-hater I've ever met, and he's struggled with his weight his entire life. He generally hovers around the overweight mark, although he was briefly obese at about 300 lbs, but the way he talks, you'd think he's some sort of fitness icon here to toss pearls of his wisdom in front of all of us fatties. It's kind of like those homophobic "family values" Republicans who end up getting caught with gay dudes in washrooms, you know? Some of the most vocal homophobes are gay themselves.

Ha, just give me a second. Not exactly a day of exemplary eating, but people want to see what you REALLY eat, right? Bfast: oatmeal with 1/2 milk 1/2 Water and Peanut Butter Lunch: grilled chicken, spaghetti with parmesan, some pita bread with baba ghanoush Snack: 2 pieces dark chocolate, mini KitKat, mini Aero, 1/2 small clamshell of raspberries with Splenda Snack: apple pear Dinner: 1 slice of thin crust pizza with prosciutto and bocconcini Kinda hungry now, but the pizza was only 2.5 hours ago, so I'm not gonna eat anything else and just go to bed. EDIT: ended up having a small cucumber.

I don't think it's that uncommon to have some hunger after the VSG. The first month was really the only time I hardly had hunger. Now I definitely get hungry if I don't eat for 3-4 hours. But the hunger is a lot more manageable than before the surgery and it goes away the second I eat like 1/4 cup of food, so why worry?

Go put it in your car or your mailbox - so that getting it would actually require getting dressed and leaving your house. That's been enough of a deterrent for me.

Something I noticed recently - every time I eat raspberries, within 30 mins I've gotta go. I did some Googling and it looks like they do, indeed, exhibit a laxative effect in some people. If you have constipation issues, it might be worth a try. I eat maybe 1/4 pint in one sitting.

Let me preface this by saying that I am a skeptic by nature and with several years of healthcare education under my belt, my first reaction was "this sounds absurd." After Googling this and finding the source, I question this even more than I did it when I first saw it, as the author of this lacks any sort of medical qualifications. Having read that absurd book about yeast which assumes that the yeast to make bread is the same yeast that colonizes your vagina doesn't count as medical qualifications in my book. 2 things move lymph in your body: your skeletal muscles (primarily legs) and your diaphragm (every breath results in lymph being pumped). The lymphatic system is pretty deep under the skin, so it's not something you can affect by brushing the surface of your skin. It will improve blood circulation in the skin and help soften the skin by removing dead cells, but that's about it. If you want your lymph to be pumped faster, try walking. Don't waste your time on this brushing scam.

I was never a big wine drinker, but I find these days it makes me nauseous and/or uncomfortable. I don't seem to have that problem with mixed drinks.

I was a fast eater, as well. You'll learn pretty quickly after you end up in pain after eating too fast.

Nice, I "liked" these.

My diet's pretty varied from day to day as I'm a student who likes to scavenge for free food and I'm always eating leftovers from our couple dinner outings, but try to make sure most meals (except for fruit snacks) have Protein in it. I'm approaching 3 months out and I think yesterday I had: bfast - Protein Bar snack - about 1 cup grapes, 2 squares dark chocolate lunch - leftover penne gorgonzola from a restaurant to which I added some grilled shrimp and scallops for protein (been taking this for lunch for 3 days in a row, lol) snack: 1/2 large apple, about 10-12 mixed nuts 1 glass of juice before working out Post-workout: protein bar Dinner: 5-6 pieces of sashimi with a bit of rice