Leesey

wear braids!!!!! WEAR BRAIDS!!!! I got my sleeve on dec 8th 2010 I have lost 200 pounds and I am still losing. My hair is also natural and I believe that is why I have not lost hair but I did experience some thinning in the front but nothing significant. I too have met other people who have had a lapband and they have had it for a significantly longer time and still have not lost over 50 pounds (and not gained it back). I did not have significant scarring or keloids so my scars are itty bitty. any other questions just ask

It is finally here, I am sitting in my hotel room awaiting the date and I am totally not even scared or anything yet... I thought it would have hit me by now... Sooooooo I expect that closer to it will be crazier for me but for now I'm just awaiting the time... Should I sleep before surgery or expect to rest afterwards?

So I am a little over five months out from surgery and I have lost a total of 191 pounds thus far!!!! I started at 410 pounds on my initial weightloss journey. Life is good! and the crazy part is I am STILL losing. I smashed through my upper goal weight of 250 pounds a while ago and I totally didnt expect for it to happen this soon. I work out twice a day, once in the morning, and once in the evening after work. I don't count anything I eat, I do drink alot of water but I also drink soda, juice or anything else i want. I take protein first and whatever else i want after. i take vitamins, and I am truly, truly doing well. Thank you all for the help and the forward motion!!!

Give me the vanity sizes -- I went from a size 34 womens to a size 24 womens in what will be 3 months on March 8th so WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! in 3 more months I hope to be down another 10 sizes, LOL!

That number comes from a research study that can be located on the internet that discusses how people can lose 65% of their weight loss the first year, another 45% the second year and it is supposed to taper off after the second year at under 25%. These percentages are again based on all of the people who participated in the study. There is no finite percentage of what you will lose, this is just the mean ( the average amount of their weight lose). You could lose much more or much less, the person who has ultimate control over that is you. Also when we are talking about 65%, this is not of your total weight this is of the unhealthy weight. For example, I was 410 pounds prior to my surgery, healthy weight for me is between 220 and 180 pounds. If you subtract 220 from 410 and also 180 from 410, you will get a range of the total amount of weight I need to lose, which is between 190 and 230 pounds. Based on the research study, if I am in line with those who participated in the study I should lose between 123.5 pounds and 149.5 pounds the first year, I got these numbers by multiplying 190 and 230 by .65. This is my weight loss only for the first year. the second year my starting weight should be between 286.5 and 260.5. Then the math starts all over again - my total excess weight will be between 67 and 118. So for my second year I would need to lose between 6 and 10 pounds per month. If all goes well my second year then at its conclusion I should have reached my goal weight. If it is lower then these projections I promise I will not complain, LOL. But I use these numbers to determine if I am on schedule, behind schedule, or ahead of schedule on my weightloss. Again it is also important to note that you do not lose weight continuously rather it ebbs and flows. But here is how I do it, This may not be good for everyone, this is just my method. After calculating those numbers to meet my 65% I then divided them by 12 for the months in the year. So each month I should lose between 11 pounds and 13 pounds. If I lose above that then I am ahead of schedule, which is what I aim for. Heading into month 3 I am WELL ahead of these numbers, but this is normal in the first 6 months of the life. Pace yourself, follow your medical team's advice, and get your Vitamins, Protein and Water in and you will be just fine.

same thing happened to me, it happened whenever I let myself go too long without eating. Monitor how often you are eating and what you are eating. That is what changed it for me.

Houston Texas Here, sleeved 12/8/10

DO IT. I am 25 I haven't been this size, since I was 20. If you want this, don't let it go until it's done. I had mine on 12/8/10 and I haven't looked back since I have lost 89 pounds since then. My starting weight was 410, so I still have a while to go but I am loving life, and will love it even more to come.

So, I used to have perfectly clear skin.....before surgery at least. Since surgery, my skin has gone nutz. Just on my face, I mean blemishes on top of blemishes. Any one else experience this after surgery?

I too live in Texas, and you have it exactly right, " the media has us believing" I was in Tijuana, MX 12/8/10 for my VSG and we had a police officer stationed outside of the hospital the whole time. But I never saw anything that made me feel unsafe or anything like that. Everyone was friendly including total strangers who didnt speak the same language as I do.

Anyone get really hot after eating? Any idea what causes this?

Okay so I had surgery 12/8/10 5 weeks and 2 days ago and I still can not eat bread. People I love bread. The minute I swallow it, it then comes back up. HELP!

25 sleeved 12/8/10

ATLGirl: Thank you for sharing your opinion. I was not looking for a particular answer, merely an answer to the question asked. Either someone has it or they don't. I think I clearly expressed my feelings on the issue w/o targeting anyone in particular. No need to "guess" about what I meant or asked for because my question was clearly stated. Former_vbg: As mentioned dearly, I did not target anyone in particular which is what gave that person the opportunity to edit their response, which btw they did. Hence the reason you did not see said comment. SarahD: I agree completely with your statement " Ultimately we all make our own choices about what we chose to put in our mouths and no one else is in control of that. I believe you have to do what is comfortable for you and base that upon advice from your team." But it is again funny how those who have chosen to respond to the post recently have yet to address the actual question at hand...

Mommy2Girls - lol trust me I know the feeling. Eureka - I tried the toast trick with a small slice of rye bread and it worked wonders! I had to double toast it so it was nice and crunchy but it most certainly worked! YAYYYY. Kris - I was definitely a carb girl too and a sweets monster. The sweets were easy to cut out the carbs not so much. I had to literally go through and find substitutes for the standard things like mashed potatos and rice. Once I got accustomed to it, I was fine. Tiffykins and Chilo1 - I hope to get where you are one day!

I paid 4500 for everything in Tijuana MX on 12/8/10

I think it's funny that some imply that you are unhealthy simply because you do not do things exactly as they do. I mean honestly, how many times have we seen that many nutritionist have different people on different plans. I am a 6'2 tall woman who is not slight of build, is it not possible that my body requires something more or less then someone who is much smaller? Is it not possible that my team of people ( doctor, nutritionist, and trainer) know more about how to craft a diet that more thoroughly reflects what I specifically need then someone following a standard plan thrown out at WLS patients? I asked about how to make bread more tolerable for my diet. I did not ask for judgement, nor for snide comments intended to just make you feel better about yourself. Newsflash -- we all needed weightloss surgery hence food was a problem for ALL of us. We are ALL on a journey to be a healthier person.

twogirlsandaboy, I have been able to eat anything else I wanted to eat red meat, chicken, pork, Pasta, rice, etc. The key is to eat Protein first and keep your carbs low. I have lost 62 pounds since my surgery date because I get all my protein in and all of my Water, I eat lots of fruits and vegetables and I take my Vitamins. So that's a little background info into my diet. Outside of this sometimes I crave bread. I will try toasting the bread a little more then I normally do to see how that works thanks for the tip!

Let's hope so Lila!

I've tried it multiple ways - tortillas, crackers, sandwich bread, by itself, with other items, toasted, not toasted, etc. I'm hoping at a year out it will be better but I'm dying here.

I live in Northwest Houston and I was just sleeved on December 8th, 2010. I had my surgery done in Mexico. Would totally love a support group!

Try dates that dont revolve around food, movies, plays, the zoo etc.

I got mine done in Mexico on December 8th and I paid 4500 for mine. And I received 2 nights in the hospital and 2 nights in the recovery house with a nurse, cook, and housekeeper on staff 24 hours. My brother came with me and all I had to pay for for him was his flight everything else was included in my price. And my sleeve has been completed I have had no complications and no pain whatsoever not even the day of surgery.

been dealing with this as well. I keep 3/4 ounce pieces of cheese and 3.5 ounce yogurt. combined this is 120 calories i eat these when i feel the hunger pain and i eat every 2 to 3 hours. the weigt is peeling off. i have lost 58 pounds in 3 weeks time.