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Well it has been 6 months since my gastric sleeve surgery. Up to now the weight was flying off and I was having no trouble meeting my 10 pound goal per month. This wonderful weight loss stopped dead after entering my 6th month. It is so frustrating to get so close to my goal weight and then bam it stops. Of course this is different for every individual. Every person responds differently to weight loss surgery. With Gastric Bypass surgery the average weight loss is 60-77% Excess Body Weight Loss (EBWL) in the first two years. That means that if a person is carrying 100 extra pounds, they will lose 60-77 in about 2 years. The Sleeve is 60-65%. These numbers are averages for large populations of US patients. I called to Dr Michael Feiz and spoke to him about this. He said this was a normal reaction that my body has now lost more than 60% of my excess body weight. The weight loss per month will now go down from 10-15pds per month to 2 to 5 pounds per month. Having talked with the dietitian on staff with Dr. Feiz we came up with new meal plans to achieve each goal per month. Morning meals now consist of complete protein such as protein shakes or an egg white omelet. Lunch – 2oz of protein with fruit such as a ½ of apple or pear. Mid afternoon snacks, a small piece of cheese or a protein shake. Dinner – consisting of 2oz of protein and 3-4 oz vegetable. Not drinking with any meals all this does is fill the stomach with empty calories hence I was hungry shortly after. Drinking 60 to 70 oz of water a day is a must. What I do after each meal, I drink 6 to 8 ounces of zero calorie free flavored water or Snapples diet. Every hour I drink until I have satisfied my total intake of fluids. Its so easy to start slipping into the old habits of eating when you don’t see the weight flying off. I found myself snacking on empty carbs, not drinking the fluids and just having this nonchalant attitude with myself. I also stopped doing my daily routine of exercise. Staying on track is not an easy feat to do. It can be a complete disaster when you start giving up. The scale will tip in your favor if and ONLY you stick with your doctor’s advice. Having the gastric sleeve is not a “cure all” for your weight loss. It takes dedication and determination to follow completely through even when you are at stumbling blocks. My best advice for this – stay in touch with your doctor. Tell him/her what’s going on and what to do to fix this. Ask questions and most of all don’t give in to temptation even when the scale does not show to your favor. Stay true to yourself…you have come so far with your weight loss. Don’t sabotage yourself and fall into old habits. Given the right tools to beat these temporary obstacles thorough education process and ongoing support will give you every advantage you’ll need to over achieve. If you are serious about losing the weight and are willing to dedicate yourself to what needs to be done you will achieve your ultimate goals. Remember you are in control of you and its up to and only you to make this happen.

Yay! I got my first fill this morning! I'm so happy, it's ridiculous. Even if I don't reach restriction from this fill, at least I now know that this journey has really started and is really progressing, and as long as I do the work, I can expect to get results. I can't even describe how that feels. It's euphoric! Even though my surgeon had indicated I would likely have a fill at this appointment (4 weeks post-op), I still had paranoia that it might not happen. I'm just that kind of girl--a worrywort! Well, when the nurse escorted me into the exam room, I saw all the accoutrements of a fill already laid out for the doctor, and that soooo made me happy. Never have the sight of needle, syringe, and alcohol swabs given me such a thrill! When the surgeon came in, he asked me if I was on soft solids yet (which I am) and if I wanted my first fill. I don't think he even got to finish the question before I was shouting my "YES!" It turns out that my surgeon does his fills by feel--no barium swallows or flouroscopy. He had me lay back on the exam table and lift my head in a mini-crunch while he located the port. Then came the needle. Now, I'm on the fence about needles; they don't totally freak me out, but I don't love them, either, so it was a little odd for me when, after the initial stick, he spent maybe 15 seconds wigglnig the thing around to get it in precisely the right spot. I can't say it was totally comfortable, but I can't say it was painful, either. It was just a weird sensation. Once the needle was in place, he started the injection, backed it up to be sure it was correctly entering the system, then completed the fill. The whole appointment was like 5 minutes (with another 40 minutes spent completing my form, waiting, weighing in, and getting my vitals checked). After the fill, he gave me a small cup of water to drink and said I could come in after 3 weeks if I felt I needed more restriction. The fill itself consisted of 3.0 cc of fluid. That made me quite happy, since I dreaded getting only 1 cc at a time. The surgeon claims that most patients feel restriction between 3 cc and 8 cc. Right now, I'm not entirey certain what I feel, since I've been instructed to have my first post-fill meal as liquid, then progress slowly back through the stages until I'm on solid foods. The water at the dr's office went down with no issues, so I felt a little worry that I might not have any restriction at all. When I got home, I had a protein drink for lunch, and it took me 45 minutes to drink the 8 oz. I didn't have any trouble with it at all, but I thought I could feel it going down in a way I hadn't before. Whether that's restriction or just swelling, I guess we'll see, but I'm feeling fairly optimistic. And full off just liquid, which is nice. Hopefully that will continue. Anyway, that's my first fill experience. I'm crossing my fingers that the band kicks in and starts holding up its part of this bargain, since I only lost 3.4 lbs since my last dr's visit.

I recently responded to someones post about this and thought it would be a good blog topic. This is something I heard quite a while ago that has stuck with me. Any time I am struggling to change something, I remember this saying. In this instance, it has to do with the gym. I do NOT like the gym. I don't like the crowds, seeing people I know (I work at a local bank, and I know half the people there), feeling like people are looking at me etc, etc. I just don't like it! However, I signed up telling myself that if I could do this for one month, then I'm good. Why only one month? Because I know that if I could be consistent with one month, than I obviously have it within me to make it a habit. And guess what? A month has come and gone, and I'm still going strong! I have left myself with no excuses. If I ever stop going, it will be because I gave up. I AM NOT GIVING UP! I love the results I've seen even in this short span of time. The positives obviously outweigh the negatives. I have lost 54 pounds in less than 4 months. See this as an encouragement to you! If I can do it, anyone can do it!

Yesterday I went to my lapband doctor for a fill. Now, I'm an old timer with a 4 cc band, so when I see you guys getting a whole cc in a fill I'm thinking to myself "lucky" before my fill yesterday I had 2.5 ccs in a 4 cc band. Today I now have 2.75 ccs in a 4 cc band. I asked why such small fills, and was told that it will make me keep coming back gotta love doctors lol. But on a good note, since my last doctor's visit I lost 7 pounds and am at 288 lbs. 8 lbs to where I was when I had my gall bladder taken out in September. I feel so good about that. The APRN asked what I did to lose the weight I told her "not put food in my mouth, excercise, and will power because I'm hungry". So for the rest of the day yesterday I was on liquids, had a protein shake and some soup. Today I'm on liquids (so far just coffee--hey it's a liquid!). Tomorrow and Thursday mushies and Friday back to my normal eating. After the mds appointment I got home, got dressed for the gym and started the c25k program. I'm not going to lie I was out of breath, but from what I hear from other people on this forum that do c25k the next time it gets easier I sure hope so. I told my friend that I wanted to run a 5k next Easter, she told me an inspiring story about how her mom's friend was in a plane crash two years ago; had her legs and one arm amputated; now is being fitted for prosthetics and they want her to do a 5k next year as well. That right there is an inspiring story, mine is so insignificant to that. I will be rooting for her every step of the way. Today I'm going to the gym to do some weight training on the upper body, nothing crazy. Just want to build some muscle and see if that revs up my metabolism. I mean 7 lbs a month is not bad, but I would like to lose about 10 lbs a month. Also when we go to Key West my dad and I are doing some serious fishing so I want to have some upper body strength to reel in a big one! Oh yeah, just checked my calender 25 days until vacation! I saw on the forums this morning about a skinny bucket list. I think I have a few I want to jot down, and maybe one day look back and say "yup did them all". Here goes: 1) Go to Kleinfeld's in NYC to get my wedding dress and not shop from the plus size bridal line 2) Look proportionate to my friends 3) Be one of those people who love to run! 4) When I am a mother, be an active one. 5) Wear a two piece bikini 6) Get some sexy lingere, panties, bras etc (I like my stuff to match Lane Bryant does not lol) 7) Live a long, healthy life 8) Shop in any store in the mall 9) Borrow clothes from my friends Well I guess that's all I can think of today. Hope everyone has a good day and stay positive!

I went in for my first fill today. Everything went wonderfully; however I assumed they were going to just add around .5cc no more than 1 cc to my band considering I am feeling restrictions and my band is closed in the morning and open at night. Well to my surprise she added 2ccs. When she told me how much she added, I really freaked out. I know the nurse thought I was insane. I have read so many blogs about the red zone I was afraid of getting too much, etc. Because I was so hysterical, she then took out .5 ccs. I left and then returned about 15 minutes later as I still didn't feel comfortable and it felt as if I could not swallow my spit (just me being insane). They did the barium test when I returned and everything looks fine. The nurse was in shock because she indicated people usually ask her to put more in and for me to freak out about her putting too much in was a first LOL. Needless to say. I am feeling fine and now laughing about what I did - looking back, it was definitely an embarrassing experience. First time bandsters, reading these blogs are a good thing; but please always take into consideration that every individual is different. Don't take the contents here into the doctors office as I did and look like an idiot.