Stacy160

You know that Thanksgiving Full where you've eaten to the point where you feel sick, and it feels like every nook and cranny in your gut is stuffed with food? It's not like that. Think about it--your stomach, the stretchy "feed bag" part of it, is gone, and right now not only do you have a skinny little tube for a stomach, it's not gonna stretch. Plus, there'll be swelling in there for a good long while, before it completely goes away. For me, early on (when "full" was 1-2 oz. of refried beans), it was just pressure right there where the stomach is, kinda between the ribs, feeling like it maybe could chuck right back up through the esophagus (which thankfully only happened a couple of times). As the swelling goes down that feeling subsides, unless you overeat, but "full" is still in that same area... you'll never have the bloated, distended abdomen again. Which is awesome, 'cause you don't have to unbutton your pants after eating anymore!

Any time there's an incision, there's a scar, BUT, I can say that at a year and a half out, only one of my 5 shows unless you reeeeally look for the others. That's the big one above the belly button, which started at 1 1/2 - 2 inches long and is now only about a half inch. It's faded just as much as the smaller ones, but between there being more adhesion under it (since it's bigger) and the loose-ish skin around it, it dimples.... if it weren't for that, it would barely be visible.

There's a certain temperature that you have to keep your liquid below... I think it's 120 degrees? Anything hotter than that, the protein will separate and rise to the surface and form a disgusting gelatinous mess. Even if you mix it separately and then add it in, make sure whatever you're adding it to isn't too hot.

Yikes... OK, here we go! Diet Plans: Weight Watchers (3x)... hard to do when the lowest point items are the highest carb foods. *rolleyes* Medical Weight Loss (1x) ... lost 12 lbs, felt justified in buying a chocolate-chocolate chip muffin at the mall, and that was all she wrote. Cabbage Soup Diet (1x) ... with no Protein at all in it, as directed. Day 5 when I had to grab on to a rack at the video store to keep from falling on the floor as I was starting to black out. Headed straight to Taco Bell, and that was all she wrote. Oddly, this is now a staple in my diet, but with lots and LOTS of ground beef or chicken! Slim Fast (once or twice) ... Yeahright. Self-hypnosis CDs (2-3?) ... Whatever. Atkins (at least a dozen times?) ... works GREAT but still no portion control. And you get so sick of meat and veggies all the time. Once lost 35 lbs., but just could not keep away from the carbs after awhile, and like any abused substance, we all know what happens once a slide starts. And finally (and I'm sure I'm forgetting some) .... the Master Cleanse Diet, aka the Lemonade Diet. Surprisingly not difficult to stick with, lost 17 lbs. in a week before I just HAD to get some solid food, and of course it all came back plus some, as always. This was two months before my decision to give it up and have surgery, and the final straw. pills: Dexatrim (2-3x), first time at 19 years old. Metabolife (1x), didn't do a damn thing for me. Hoodia (2x), see above. Adipex/Phentermine (2x), sure it worked great, but it bound me up like a mofo and turned me into an angry, raging b***h! No thanks. And, of course.... The Gadgets: Exercise bike Ab roller Ab wheel Ankle weights Dumbells of all sizes The Gazelle Steps (for aerobics) The Ab-Doer (not a bad piece of equipment!) Treadmill probably forgetting some. This was fun, and gives me a whole new perspective on things.

I'm in agreement with everyone else... I'd have loved it if a healthcare professional would have shared their WLS experience with me. And you did it the right way, waiting until she brought up the subject and then sharing what worked for you instead of focusing it on her. I'm sure she's immensely grateful and she's probably still thinking about what you said... heck, I bet she's already Googling it. I work in PT, and while my co-workers know that my surgery is NOT to be brought up out in the gym among patients (just don't want to deal with the questions and comments), I have shared privately with a handful of them... mostly people we've been treating off and on for years who we know very well on a personal level. There have been a few others that I'd like to say something to, and have tried to steer the conversation in such a way that maybe they'd bring up the subject of weight loss struggles, but so far the opportunity hasn't presented itself for me to share my experience with someone who I think could benefit from it. If and when the chance comes along though, you bet I'll do it!

Real Age is 43.6... I just turned 46 a few weeks ago, so I'll take it (even though I was hoping for better! ).

I teeter back and forth between a 7 and a 7 1/2.... almost always a 7 1/2 the last few years (pre-surgery), and ALWAYS a 2E or extra wide. Since surgery I'm able to get into 7s much more often, and very often just a W and sometimes just normal width. I'm LOVING that.

Ask her if she thinks you should wait until you're on YOUR last chance, can't move and are close to death... or if it's better to stop the progression now while you can still prevent more permanent damage to your body. Then take care of yourself, get it done, look and feel like a million bucks, and rub her face in it when you finish your first 5K.

Well, at 10%, that $150 would make the cost of surgery only $1500... sounds like the Dr.s office told you the WAY wrong amount and whoever came up with that amount must have huge problems with basic math. Still though, they verify benefits as a courtesy to you, they don't have to do it, and ultimately, legally, it's your responsibility. Good news is, even if you have to pay the $1340 (meaning that the amount the insurance OK'd would have been $13,400), that's still a heck of a lot less than any of us self-payors dished out!

Torani and Davinci both make a HUGE variety of excellent sugar-free syrups you could try. Nettrition.com has them all and it's $5 flat rate shipping no matter how much you order. Other than using it like sour cream, my favorite is to just add vanilla and splenda (and sometimes, especially before running, I'll toss in some original Fiber One cereal).

I had no idea that Callanetics was still around! I did it for awhile years ago (like 20-25 years?) when I wasn't overweight, and it really did make a difference in a very short amount of time. My only complaint was the way she talked, it just annoyed the heck out of me LOL... didn't know there was a book though! I just may see if I can find it and start doing them again.

I thought for a long, long time that surgery didn't change my tastes at all, and for the most part, it didn't. I still like the things I liked before, although naturally some things are just difficult to have much of, or really make me feel gross afterwards. What I have found is that there are things I used to hate and/or avoid, that I love now! I can drink red wine if it's sweet enough, I'm liking spicier foods, and all of a sudden I absolutely ADORE bleu cheese.

I'm right there with ya, at 18 months. I never did hit goal (which was 160 or less).... I hovered around 172 for a LONG time, briefly (like for less than a week) hit something like 166, but went right back to 172 for another LONG time. Over the last few months it's been creeping, and last time I looked, I was at 178. My exercise goals have been hampered by injury, although I'm doing the Warrior Dash tomorrow, even if I have to limp through it LOL. I've finally gotten some Wellbutrin, which I plan on starting Sunday, and which I expect to really help me get my head back in the right place, and even just thinking about having a little extra help makes me excited to get back on the horse and FINISH this damn thing. I feel like it's the missing key, at this point. So I'm saying for the gazillionth time in the last 9 months or so... let's DO this and get it done!!

First, start documenting those calls... when you called, what time, who you talked to, and what they told you, in case you need it for future reference. Chances are the muscle's just tight from not being used much, since most of the time when you're not on your feet, the muscle's in a shortened position. Could be low on some electrolytes as well, but that would probably present as twinges and spasms in the muscle. And of course, the big worry would be a blood clot. Monitor it closely and if it starts getting worse, you notice swelling, hardness, or redness, go in ASAP. Hope it's nothing!

You'll be chugging before you know it! Maybe not slamming back half a 2-liter of Mountain Dew anymore (if you ever did that ), but easily 6 or 8 nice full gulps! Don't worry about drinking "too much" ... you can do that because it IS liquid and you must not have a ton of swelling, or maybe you're tall with a bit longer sleeve. Once you hit solid foods, even just mushies you'll be amazed by how much you can't eat.

Ohhhh, to be young again, with that nice tight skin LOL.... You look great!!

WOW, you made it 14 weeks before hitting your first stall? That's awesome!

Sounds like you're on liquids? Still very low-carb (which is a GREAT thing!), and often the first few days of low-carbing can be uncomfortable while your system is kind of detoxing itself of the sugars and their toxins. Headaches and fatigue and a general state of "ickiness" are common too lol... don't worry, stick with it and it'll go away, and in another 2-3 days you should feel a huge burst of energy and feel wonderful! (Been through the Atkins thing enough times in the past to promise this. ) [eta] OH! And Motrin will help with the headache, but if you're within a week or two of surgery, check your guidelines or ask the surgeon about it first. Sometimes it's contraindicated because it can thin the blood like aspirin will.

I was only on clears the day before, of, and after surgery, so I went home on full liquids. I think I had tomato soup probably on about day 3 or so?

I don't use an app at all, I just follow the progression of the program and use the stopwatch on my watch, and listen to my own tunes on my iPod. I should say "used," since this is my second go and I'm kind of doing it my own way since I didn't have to start over at the beginning. Last night I went 17.5 minutes straight for 1.35 miles, before having to stop and walk, which is a nice jump from the 13 minutes and ~1 mile from the time before. Just like the first time around last summer, I'm finding it hard to believe that I'll actually be able to go over 3 miles straight not too long from now!

Your "therapist" is an idiot.

You could mix in some unflavored Protein powder to give it a boost, if you wanted! I hear ya on the flavors... tomato Soup was my ambrosia amid all those sweet things during the liquids. :)

It's just your body adjusting... same reason for "stalls." It says to itself "Whoa, what's happening here??" and decides to hold on to water... don't worry, you're still burning fat, and when it decides everything's OK, you'll see several pounds go at once, which is always a cool thing. I actually learned to like those little pauses when I was losing steadily, knowing a nice surprise was coming!

Don't confuse "sugar-free" with No Sugar Added ice cream.... they may not put any extra in, but there's plenty of sugar. Read labels, look at the carbs (a.k.a. sugars) and calories on that stuff... it might be better than eating regular ice cream, but it's sure not gonna help you lose any weight.

How far out are you? That would qualify as a puree, which for me was the next step after two weeks of full liquids. The concern there would be with the seeds, but if it was really pureed good and you're close to a couple weeks out, you're probably fine. A lot of surgeons don't allow anything with seeds for several weeks, but some (like mine) give the go-ahead for blending things like strawberries right off the bat. (And then there are surgeons who send people home from the hospital on mushies right away, so.... go figure! lol) Your concoction sounds yummy, did you have it warm or cold?