juliarh

I don't get hungry either and I forget to eat all the time.

But you know it's true -- if we work the sleeve, no matter how long it takes us, we will get to goal. I am a firm believer in that. My body can moan and complain, add a pound or two as retribution, but in the end I will be the victor. Seriously. I will.

Oh and welcome!

Yeppers!! It's actually not a plateau, but a stall -- I stalled for weeks 4 and 5 (losing a grand total of 2 pounds), but like a lot of people who are ahead of us, they started losing right away again. I'm losing again this week. So, just keep plugging away -- you really can't not lose weight with the sleeve if you're doing everything right -- so eventually you will win over the fat Hope this helps!

I know this is a wild shot, but have you thought about having surgery in Mexico? I know it would be out of pocket, but so many people here have had such good experiences. I know a couple of people on this forum took out small loans to cover the cost as well. Just throwing it out there just in case . . . I hate to see you lose out on this opportunity because your insurance company is so dumb. (sorry, but they are.)

I lost 18 pounds before surgery and gained every one of them back after getting out the hospital. It wasn't until the 2 and 3rd week I started losing. the 4th week, I lost a couple of pounds, the 5th week 1 pound -- so my body is completely fighting this low-calorie thing I've just done to it -- but you know who is going to win, right? The body can fight me all it wants, but I will triumph and the fat will go!!!

That is so awesome -- I think the best thing is that the number is not the really big thing -- all those other things you listed, your pants, your belts, you blood pressure, sitting in a restaurant, are the things that make it all worthwhile -- a number is a number, but boy oh boy, the other things, that's pure gold, isn't it Congratulations!

My surgeon told me at 2 weeks "we could resume our relationship"

There is a new sweetner (not artificial) called Truvia -- it's made from the stevia plant (here in Paraguay!) -- you might want to give that a try. I really like it and there doesn't seem to be an aftertaste. Also, I've found that my taste for "sweet" has significantly diminished -- so whereas I would usually use 2 packets of Splenda before surgery, now I can only use 1 packet of sweetner -- a lot of things are unbearably sweet now. That may also be a problem too. Hope that helps!

I think Chilo said it perfectly -- just work the sleeve, don't tell anyone, and the results speak for themselves! I've told a total of 8 people -- my husband, my 3 kids, my parents, and one friend. That's it. I'm not putting it out there for everyone to judge. It's my health decision for me -- it has nothing to do with anyone else -- it has everything to do with my health. So, it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. I hope your husband and daughter come around and see what a good decision you've made!

Hi MrHopeful -- I think the first 3 weeks after surgery I was very down and cried and didn't really know what was wrong other than I was not myself. I did read the thread on depression and WLS and that was very helpful. I think it was the initial release of hormones stored by the fat -- just the past couple of weeks I've started to feel like myself again I hope it gets better soon. Please let us know if we can help or if you need another shoulder to cry on

Awesome job!! What a feeling it must be to be under 180!! Congratulations!

Way to go Irene!! It does feel wonderful, doesn't it?? I am digging through my old clothes because the ones I was wearing (just 6 weeks ago) are ridiculous on me -- isn't awesome??? Couldn't believe it was possible, and here we are getting skinnier by the day -- wish I had known about this earlier, don't you??

Good thread! Here are mine: 1. I am/was terrified of hitting my 50s and having to battle obesity related-diseases -- I had no co-morbidities pre-op, but I have a family full of diabetics and those with high blood pressure. 2. I wanted my children to see me as I see me (I don't see myself as fat, just overweight ) seriously, I wanted them to see me "normal" before they were too old. 3. I wanted to be attractive to my wonderful husband who has encouraged me through thick and thin (mostly thick). 4. I don't want to fear getting into a small airplane seat, sitting on a plastic patio chair for fear it will break, looking into an elevator to see if I can fit, worrying if I "flow" over into the next seat on the metro, etc. 5. I don't like sticking out as the "fat American" when I'm overseas. 6. I want to be able to buy attractive clothes that are worth the money. 7. I want to be able to participate in sports, go hiking, ride horses, be active without fear that I will not be able to, that I will "break" the horse, that I can be one of the gang. 8. I want to be introduced as me and be seen as me without worrying if people are thinking, "ugh, who is that fat person?" 9. I want to cross my legs, sit on the floor, do things that I physically cannot do right now. 10. Most of all, I just want to lose weight to be healthy -- I know I said that before, but I think that if I just got to a healthy weight, all the rest would follow

Cherice -- I was where you were too -- I just looked at eating like taking medicine -- I had to eat every 2 hours whether I felt like it or not, so I did. I didn't eat much, and most times didn't enjoy it at all, but I did - eventually your tastes slowly come back -- so take it one day at a time and know that we're here for you if you need it

Awesome -- and how great is it that you bought some, waited and have to return them!!

Awesome!! Isn't it a great feeling knowing that those pounds you will never see again?? Hooray!

Chiming in here -- I too had a really slow loss up front -- I gained weight in the hospital from the IVs and then sloooowly lost it in the first couple of weeks. The next couple of weeks have been kinder to me. BTW, I'm OCD about the scale too! Don't worry, the weight will come off if you keep working the sleeve -- there's virtually no way it can't. Keep plugging along!

Congratulations!! 60 pounds in 5 months is incredible -- and double congrats on your "new" life

Hooray Connie!! Crossing my fingers and toes for you -- let us know as soon as you're able how the surgery went We'll be thinking of you on the 19th!

Hi Globe -- I'm going to weigh in on this (ha) -- my nutritionist wants me to eat A LOT more carbs than I think I should be eating . . . and less Protein than I've read elsewhere. So, I'm going to see her, but I'm going to be getting in my 80 grams of protein, going to be eating around 800 calories (I seem to lose better there), and eating much, much less carbs than she recommends. Her idea is that I should be acclimatizing myself to "regular" food. But, I figure I don't want to eat carbs right now, I should take advantage of the 6 month window while I have it and really work my sleeve. Plus, right now I really don't want to eat much more than protein -- the carbs are kind of gross right now. I'm with the others who think maybe you should see someone new? Or maybe give a week's worth of 800 calories just to see the results?? It doesn't make sense that she is not listening to what you're saying and yet you have results when you eat a couple hundred more calories. . . .

bumping this up so we get more Sept. sleevers to give us their good news

My surgeon warned me about the very same thing -- I said there was no way I was having a kid at 46 -- he said his mother did -- so one never knows -- but just in case, we're being VERRRRRY careful

I agree with Tiff -- I find if I'm hungry (too many hours without eating) and I'm eating faster and taking bigger bites than normal, I will definitely get pain and want to throw up. It's pretty horrible. Now, it may be also, that this is your "signal" that you're full -- but you might want to slow it down a little so that you can identify your "signal" before it becomes painful. My signal is nausea. Before I consciously slowed down, I would get nauseated every meal -- now, I wait with each bite and kind of "test" my stomach -- no nausea sensation, I'm good to continue, but as soon as a slight bit of nausea hits me, I'm DONE! Hope this helps!

Good luck with your surgery and know that you'll do fine -- let us know how it went when you're up for it