We are beginning week 6! We count surgery week as week 1 so everyone should be completing their 5th week of their brand new tummy!

I've been traveling a lot the last few weeks and it is a HUGE eye opener to how little I can eat now. I survived a buffet by having a few bites of some different things, and paid for far too much money for meals that I couldn't take home leftovers and it looks like I didn't eat a thing off the plate. I think one of the hard things for me is that a plate of food comes and it looks so good and I want to devour it! I get slightly depressed I'll only get to enjoy a few bites. Yet after about 1/4 cup I'm stuffed and full and push the plate away and don't want another bite, which is AWESOME!! I'm assuming the odd depression right when the plate comes out will pass. At least when I'm at home I can box the left overs right away and then it might not seem so bad. I never thought much about the money being saved on food, but holy cow its gotta be a ton.

So I'm curious... how many are sticking to super low carb, vs those who are just watching calories/letting restriction do its job.

How many are working out a ton and how many are waiting?

Whats your favorite meal at this point?

And I'd like to continue habsi's question; what pills/multivitamins is everyone taking daily?

devint I loved your idea for putting up averages etc!! I've added mine and included those who weighed in last week. Hopefully we can get everyone to weigh in Monday or Tuesday next week and see our numbers skyrocket!

We are beginning week 6! We count surgery week as week 1 so everyone should be completing their 5th week of their brand new tummy!

I've been traveling a lot the last few weeks and it is a HUGE eye opener to how little I can eat now. I survived a buffet by having a few bites of some different things, and paid for far too much money for meals that I couldn't take home leftovers and it looks like I didn't eat a thing off the plate. I think one of the hard things for me is that a plate of food comes and it looks so good and I want to devour it! I get slightly depressed I'll only get to enjoy a few bites. Yet after about 1/4 cup I'm stuffed and full and push the plate away and don't want another bite, which is AWESOME!! I'm assuming the odd depression right when the plate comes out will pass. At least when I'm at home I can box the left overs right away and then it might not seem so bad. I never thought much about the money being saved on food, but holy cow its gotta be a ton.

So I'm curious... how many are sticking to super low carb, vs those who are just watching calories/letting restriction do its job.

How many are working out a ton and how many are waiting?

Whats your favorite meal at this point?

And I'd like to continue habsi's question; what pills/multivitamins is everyone taking daily?

devint I loved your idea for putting up averages etc!! I've added mine and included those who weighed in last week. Hopefully we can get everyone to weigh in Monday or Tuesday next week and see our numbers skyrocket!

Current WEIGHT LOST - 660!!

Average of those who did this weeks weigh in - 26lbs

Sorry the formatting didn't stay... The numbers are SW CW Weight Lost

alxmak1021 289 270 19

devint 288 254 34

WhoKnows 252 233 19

Nicci829 318 298 20

kungfuaaron 296 266.6 29.4

par1959 344 298 46

habsi 240 213.6 26.4

mrsfitzpatrick 350 313 37

hrhlaurie 250 230 20

tiredtwinmommy 183 163 20

cnilson 250 222 28

Krystal0528 290 263 27

bella328i 278 250 28

Monte0828 204 181.4 22.6

SingleMom33 261 238 23

lylabelle 260 235.6 24.4

I checked signatures to try to get updated numbers of these.

jajmj 13

Sh3iz 300 279 21

DsmCasey 360 320 40

DonnaM75 284 253.5 30.5

LookingforMe 256 236 20

Skinnyana 225 211 14

SlimDownThick 256 234 22

barbcute 235 217 18

TaylorR 358 330 28

TXGALINAR 284 253.5 30.5

I have been using the Nascobal for my B-12. They have a $25/month special that works with your insurance and is including the BariActive Vitamins for no additional charge. Mine came in this Friday and they are not that bad. I figured that there was no harm and best case, it would lower my expenses. You may want to give this some consideration. Nothing like passing on a good deal.

Is anyone using one of the smart watch/pedometer? If you love it, would you share which one you are using? My mechanical one is starting to fail and I think I want to get an upgrade. I have been seriously considering the one from Nike.

I am finding my weight loss is stalling a bit too. I do like to graze a bit and I need to get better about making that sipping on the no-calorie stuff instead.

@@Suzzann I use Nascobal with the Bariactiv and have since surgery. It's a win for me, except sometimes I just get sick of the taste but money wise its the best Vitamin solution for me. For pedometer, I use my iPhone, it drains batteries and its only about 95% accurate but it does help me to keep track of whether i've been totally lazy or at least come close to my goal.

Because of my three week stall, I decided to start logging food here starting last wednesday and omg no wonder i'm stalled! I have been between 1200 and 1400 calories and have seriously let my carb consumption go haywire (aka over 100 grams most days), all in an effort to be super Protein rich (been over 80 g everyday and hardly "tried") Mostly due to trying to stop/slow the hair loss. :/

I am so disheartened that I have to reevaluate my eating habits again to get "leaner" choices in. I HATE feeling like i'm on a calorie restrictive diet, despite surgery I am back at square one trying to do it "the hard way" that I've tried doing it my whole life with no real long term success. Ugh, I don't mind "rules" like no sweets or bread but I hate "counting" and "logging." But obviously it works.

Good news though, family is coming to visit this week and next and haven't seen me since surgery. Prepare for shock and awe.

It could be muscle but it doesn't seem like it. I really wish I could stay off the scale, it's an addiction!

Well 3 pounds could be muscle you might be gaining . Stop weighing you're selfs I wait for the dr visit to . Yes some times I will cheat and get on the scale at the gym but I don't log it as official tell I step on the dr scale . So don't beat your self up . I stay around 400-1000 cals a day for me I am a 44 year old male .

No I didn't take measurements I really wish I had! I know that I am down from a size 20 to a 10/12 and I am very happy about that! I am trying to just wait it out and be happy of where I am right now. At least I can buy clothes and not worry about them not fitting a week later. Is that the bright side?

@@4andcounting , Are you measuring inches or some other form of body composition? I took measurements before my surgery but haven't since. If you have any idea where you were before surgery, maybe it'd be worth it to measure now and use that as a judge of success. If you are heavily using weights it is conceivable that you could be losing fat and gaining muscle mass at an almost equal rate, if you were eating Protein like a maniac.

Don't fret what you'll weigh at your checkin, focus on what you're going to bring (food and exercise logs) and what questions you're going to ask to help your doctor get to the bottom of whats going on. *hugs*

I started at 221 and have lost 60 pounds. My insurance paid for my surgery but I had about $1000 out of pocket in co pays. I am sure my insurance would pay for me to see the nutrionist again, I will look into it. I have only seen her twice and both times were pre surgery.

In Canada if i could have waited for the surgery in the public system for over 2 yrs and the surgery would hsve been free. But when i madee my decision i did not want to wait 2 yrs to get the surgery, than another year to lose the weight. So i went private and it cost me out of pocket 22000$, altough i have insurance it doesnt pay for one penny. Anyhow all that to say, that in this private package i have access to 10 counseling with a nutrionist. I think you need to go to a nutritionist for sleeve and seek from expert advice, i dont think its normal that you had a stall for this long, maybe you are not eating enough...i dont know, but it just weird, unless you had very littel to lose...becaus my cousin went public and she had the surgery about the same time i did, i have lost 90 lbs, she has lost 40 lbs...so it depends on your starting point, i was 303, she was 200 lbs.

I agree! It is scary how much and what I can eat now although I still stay at around 800 calories most days.

I am also hungry way more than I used to be!

I think this period of the year is very bad for everyone, halloween omg, cheated so much, and i will continue until the candy are finally over with. But i have been hungry, and i have been able to eat more and more. It is scary...i know that the honeymoon period is almost over, and that things will get tougher, yet i dont feel ready to battle.
Keep in mind that, winter is coming and our brain/ body, like it or not, is trying to prepare us for survival, and trying to gain fat to keep warm. Like bears wanting to hibernate. Its cold we dont want to go outside and move, not to mention the lost of sunlight. Just keep that in the back of your mind, dont get too depress, fight hard as your are now batteling with the law of evolution too.

I have been using the Nascobal for my B-12. They have a $25/month special that works with your insurance and is including the BariActive Vitamins for no additional charge. Mine came in this Friday and they are not that bad. I figured that there was no harm and best case, it would lower my expenses. You may want to give this some consideration. Nothing like passing on a good deal.

Is anyone using one of the smart watch/pedometer? If you love it, would you share which one you are using? My mechanical one is starting to fail and I think I want to get an upgrade. I have been seriously considering the one from Nike.

I am finding my weight loss is stalling a bit too. I do like to graze a bit and I need to get better about making that sipping on the no-calorie stuff instead.[/quote

For the fitness tracker i would not recommend the Nike, apparently it is about to be discountinued or something like that. I have the jawbone Up 24, i really like it..but now they came up with the jawbone UP 3...however if i had to purchase another one today i probably go for the garmin vivofit.

Went for my 6 month check up on Friday. Good news is that all my numbers look really good. I met with the nutritionist while I was there. We ran through my daily eating and exercising. She thinks I am not taking in enough calories and not drinking enough water. So I am going to try to eat more (ironic right) and drink more water and see if I can finally break this stall.

So i went to my 6 months check up today.At my surgeon they have made over 2500 of these surgery, and from that data base they can draw conclusion. and so at the 6 months point he checks if you are within the average and on target compare to the group. On average these 2500 people, have lost 50% of their excess weight after 6 months . for example me at 300 lbs and being 5'3', my healthy weight according to imc should be 140 lbs, so i excess weight is a 160 lbs. So 6 months after surgery i should have lost about 80lbs...but i have lost about 93lbs so i am around at 56% so he was really happy and said i was doing well.

So i'd like to know what is everyone percentage of weight loss base on your excess weight

Finally he said something scary, he said that the surgery that he perform is responsible for 50 to 60% of the patient lost....or he garanties 50%....so basically as of now, if you stop losing weight its all up to you and i havent learned my lesson. And from now on i should not expect drastic weight lost ina given month, i should still lose, in the next 6 more months but its going to be tough, and its normal that i am hungry, the body is healed and its acting like before

Edited November 27, 201411 yr by Niquee

I was hauling in 3 ten pound bags of ice over the holiday and thinking to myself how much this weights. I had to chuckle, I used to carry around twice this weight all the time!

That's awesome that you are doing so well!

My surgeon said something kind of similiar. He said that the average loss is 60% of their excess weight in 18 months. I have lost 75%. He stated that I am going to have to work for the last 25% which I already knew.

So i went to my 6 months check up today.At my surgeon they have made over 2500 of these surgery, and from that data base they can draw conclusion. and so at the 6 months point he checks if you are within the average and on target compare to the group. On average these 2500 people, have lost 50% of their excess weight after 6 months . for example me at 300 lbs and being 5'3', my healthy weight according to imc should be 140 lbs, so i excess weight is a 160 lbs. So 6 months after surgery i should have lost about 80lbs...but i have lost about 93lbs so i am around at 56% so he was really happy and said i was doing well.

So i'd like to know what is everyone percentage of weight loss base on your excess weight

Finally he said something scary, he said that the surgery that he perform is responsible for 50 to 60% of the patient lost....or he garanties 50%....so basically as of now, if you stop losing weight its all up to you and i havent learned my lesson. And from now on i should not expect drastic weight lost ina given month, i should still lose, in the next 6 more months but its going to be tough, and its normal that i am hungry, the body is healed and its acting like before

SO I have a kind of odd question. Is anyone noticing that things hurt you more? For example my husband has always pulled me across the bed to cuddle with him (I am not a cuddler and this is his way of forcing me to cuddle LOL) well it never hurt but now its like it hurts my ribs and my stomach. I am not sure if he is using to much force because he thinks he needs more strength to pull me or if my bones are more sensative. I feel like it may be the latter. We moved some furniture around for Christmas decorations and I have bruises all over me and I very sore. I don't think I should be this sore since I exercise pretty frequently.

Ok another weird thing - I am noticing that I have a bone that sticks out on my chest near my collar bone. I am wondering did something change or is it just not hidden by fat anymore?

Anyone else experiencing weird stuff like this or should I talk to the Dr?

SO I have a kind of odd question. Is anyone noticing that things hurt you more? For example my husband has always pulled me across the bed to cuddle with him (I am not a cuddler and this is his way of forcing me to cuddle LOL) well it never hurt but now its like it hurts my ribs and my stomach. I am not sure if he is using to much force because he thinks he needs more strength to pull me or if my bones are more sensative. I feel like it may be the latter. We moved some furniture around for Christmas decorations and I have bruises all over me and I very sore. I don't think I should be this sore since I exercise pretty frequently.

Ok another weird thing - I am noticing that I have a bone that sticks out on my chest near my collar bone. I am wondering did something change or is it just not hidden by fat anymore?

Anyone else experiencing weird stuff like this or should I talk to the Dr?

have you done your blood test for your 6 months check up? You may have some deficencies, (calcium or magnesium)...as for my stomack area i really dont like when my kid plays with me, i am always conscious of the surgery it seems, it is sensitive i must admit. My weird things is with my pelvis and my back, now that i have lost a good chunk of weight its like my center of gravity has switched and some days i cant seems to know how to walk without hurting...weird. And the bone that is sticking out, i think you just lost the weight :-) soon when you'll get out of the shower you will have to empty out the triangular hole ln your shoulder close to your neck lol

Yes I did my 6 month check up blood work and everything came back in normal range.

My actual surgery area doesn't hurt me at all LOL. I am weird!

Yea my collar bones are really poking out now also. I guess this is probably all just part of the process. I showed my mother the bone on my chest I was talking about and she said it was always like that, I guess I just forgot since I have spent 10 years with it covered in fat!

have you done your blood test for your 6 months check up? You may have some deficencies, (calcium or magnesium)...as for my stomack area i really dont like when my kid plays with me, i am always conscious of the surgery it seems, it is sensitive i must admit. My weird things is with my pelvis and my back, now that i have lost a good chunk of weight its like my center of gravity has switched and some days i cant seems to know how to walk without hurting...weird. And the bone that is sticking out, i think you just lost the weight :-) soon when you'll get out of the shower you will have to empty out the triangular hole ln your shoulder close to your neck lol

I've also noticed that I'm bruising really easily, especially on my legs and chairs feel like they have less padding (even though clearly its me that has less padding lol!) I just went for my bloodcheck yesterday and haven't gotten the results back but the internet (in its vast wisdom) has made me concerned that maybe my iron levels are low and that's causing easy bruising.

I am currently and annoyingly between pants sizes. I was so excited I was losing weight pretty good for a while and then as soon as I bought pants that were a little tight, then I hit the stall and have to look at them in my closet taunting me! I suppose it doesn't matter what weight I'm at, my clothes and I will still have a rocky relationship ha!

Made it through the Thanksgiving holiday, indulging a little bit but not overdoing it, no reflux or getting sick. Now things are "back to normal." Since Christmas is right around the corner, did any of you find any awesome holiday meal bariatric type substitution recipes worth sharing? Never hurts to ask. Thanks!