M2G

Congrats on your date! The nervous stuff...pretty normal, but still not fun.

DJ, I'm sure it will come off soon! Like others said it is probably sodium/water retention. FJM - OMG, I think I should try this. I have yet to break over the number 800 (cals per day) and I'm 5+ weeks out. I should try it and see what happens!

This was also my experience. It was the worst part of surgery IMO (not the pain, which for me wasn't bad at all, or the stitches, which were glued shut) but the drain. I had it for 6 days and thought I would be SO happy to have it removed, when in reality, I felt worse after it was gone, spiked a fever and ended up taking 2 pain pills later that night (which I had been off of since day 3.) So yeah it was the worst part for me. Ask your surgeon, not everyone uses them and some take them out before you leave the hospital. The only thing that I liked about the drain was knowing that I didn't have internal bleeding and that it was getting some extra "gunk" out of my insides post-sugery.

Congratulations! That is wonderful loss, what a great start! Thanks for the inspiration.

I KNOW how frustrating that is. I am already thinking I will be a slow loser (all of my weight on my ticker is since surgery) and I'm thinking that if I've lost -26lbs in almost 6 weeks it will probably only get slower from here. But you know what. It is one foot in front of the other, day by day. There is no finish line...I'm not saying don't have goals...but this is for life. I think the hardest thing to do is do everything "right" and NOT see the results on the scale. It plays mind games with us. Frustrates the heck out of us. But you have the most amazing tool in your corner. I am so thankful for the sleeve because in a "normal" diet, this would be the point that I would give up, give into the cravings and start putting the weight back on. I know the scale is going to drop for you soon. Hang in there, and know that this is for the long haul. Every pound makes a difference and keep doing what you know is right and eventually it will drop again!

That is good that you checked things out. The way something is 'advertised' on the box can be very tricky when it comes to the actual nutritional label. Even stuff we don't necessarily think about unless you are in the habit of measuring (like Cereal, who actually <pre WLS> eats 1/2 cup of cereal...yet that is what the nutritional label of some cereal is based on!) I went and bought a bunch of sugar-free popsicles pre-surgery, and in the last 5+ weeks since surgery I've eaten about 4. lol. Go figure. Ice cream was always my kryptonite, and popsicles just don't fit the bill.

She had a leak...I think the post is on the Tell Your Story??? Filica, I hope you get out soon and I hope everything is going ok!

Bookmarked it! Will play later... thanks for posting!

I'm 17 (or 16 if you don't count actual surgery day) post-op today and I've had this happen one other day. I just have zero energy today. I have eaten 1 Protein shake (30 grams protein) 2 oz of egg beaters, 2 oz of cottage cheese, and walked 20 minutes on my treadmill. I am totally zapped. I don't have any energy at all. I'm still limited on what I can eat (basically these 5 things, egg beaters, cottage cheese, refried Beans, yogurt, & sugar-free pudding, plus broth, shakes, popsicles, etc.) So far I've had 45 grams of protein and I will definitely get about 65-70 before the day is over. And I'm drinking my Water.... I just don't know what to do? Go back to bed and sleep it off? I have heard that some people eat some carbs (told by their surgeon) however, mine hasn't said anything about extra carbs anywhere in the plan. The good news is I get to change things up on Wed. after a followup appt. and a NUT class. I just hope I can make it until then...

Well, first of all, the amount you lose in xxxx number of days is all relative. I think you are doing FANTASTIC!!! As far as the pain after a 1/4 of a cup...I don't know what to say. I generally eat 2oz per meal (give or take) and I do not normally experience pain. One time, however, I had too many turkey meatballs and did experience pain. I didn't throw up but felt hot, sweaty and my chest was in pain, and it took about 30 mins. to pass. Have you tried LESS than 1/4 of a cup and do you still experience pain with a smaller amount? If you don't maybe for you, right now, 1/4 cup is too much. Hard to say. I would def. talk to your dr. if you are having pain after every meal. You are still very newly sleeved, so any concerns should def. be brought up!

You look stunning!

I had little amounts of ham, and turkey (gotta get my protein) and literally a bite of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn stuffing, Beans and the tiniest sliver of pie. Perfect! I didn't weigh this am, because of all the sales, I was up and out at 5:30. I will weigh later.

So I thought it would be helpful for us to sort of start a running tab of things that we think are going to be hard or challenging for us post-sleevers during thanksgiving, and how you plan to deal with those obstacles. As long as we are at it, might as well post things that you think will be easy too!

Okay, I have a ton of sizes in my own closet! Ever since I started dieting in my 20's I've been a yo-yo dieter. So I have plenty saved over the years in different sizes. Once I hit size 14 though, it will be time to shop since I hardly have any left in that size. I plan on doing all the cheatp stores and thrift stores too!

My personal liquid diet lasted 9 days. All liquid, no pureed food, nothing remotely solid. Then after 9 days I moved to mushies and my mushie list only had 5 things on it. Cottage cheese, refried Beans, egg beaters, greek yogurt and SF pudding. Then at 3 weeks I moved to more solid, but still very soft Protein and can puree things as needed. I won't go full solids until 6 weeks. That was my surgeon's plan. Your surgeon may have a different plan, and if you have questions ASK them, it's why you paid $$$$ to have this surgery so you can have support along the way too!

Oh the drain is the worst part about having surgery (at least IMO). I had mine on the right side and had it for 6 days following surgery. The day I got it out, I spiked a fever and felt miserable (I was so happy to have it gone though!) I took 2 pain pills that night and felt better the next day. That incision didn't get any stitches or closure so it is the slowest incision of mine to heal.

Welcome! My mom also was diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago and while she doesn't weigh as much as me (and she is much shorter too) I've seen her weight battles all her life. I was not diabetic and am hoping to reverse a family trend towards it. The sleeve is truly the best weight-loss tool I have ever used!

Well, for me head hunger is all I ever have anymore. I don't ever *feel* hungry, so I have to sort of watch the clock. I also keep track of my workouts and what I'm eating here: http://caloriecount.about.com/ You should always focus on Protein...protein, protein, protein. That will help with any light-headed-ness, etc. While on liquids, Protein drinks are your best friend. As for rollerderby, and playing for 3 hours, I am guessing that your dr. told you to give it up for at least 6 weeks (or longer!) I don't know much about rollerderby but it sounds pretty physically demanding. My surgeon's rules are no workouts until you passed 6 weeks. Walking is the best acceptable workout for post-surgery until you pass the 6 week mark. I think you will just have to pre-plan your meal before (I don't know if you get a time out where you can have some protein, but that is what I would do, bring a cheese stick, or a Protein Bar, shake, something with protein to keep you going during those 3 hours.) 6 weeks is also when my surgeon gives the green light for all types of food, but still doing protein first. At 6 weeks it is 75% protein and 25% complex carbs per meal. Most people follow a high-protein, low-carb diet to help them lose the weight.

I'm only 1 month post-op and would go back and do it all again! Best decision I have ever made for myself. My hubby is having it too (hoping for a Dec. date) and he has hypertension and asthma (plus a slew of allergies) and we are both looking forward to adding years back on to our lives once we shed the label of obesity. Definitely it is scary going under, but I had 100% faith in my well-chosen surgeon and knew that I was going to have to work to make this work for me. Good luck on the diet...you can DO this!

I am so sorry you are going through this. I will be thinking of you and sending you positive health vibes. I'm so glad they caught it and you are getting the proper treatment you need. Hugs!

Congrats!!! THAT is truly amazing!!! I'm so happy for you ...okay and maybe the tiniest bit jealous...lol...truly awesome though!

So my drs. office has TONS of support groups, classes, phone-chat, etc. It is one of the reasons that I picked him. However, right before I was having surgery, I was told that all the support groups were undergoing a radical overhaul, and to 'stay tuned'. So in one of my post-nutrition classes I met a lady. She and I were the only two in the classes so we got chatty and friendly and exchanged email addys. She had the RNY procedure a few days before I had the VSG. I got an email from her yesterday saying "there is a support group tonight, let's go!" And even though I couldn't find it on my calendar from the surgeon's office, I decided 'what the heck' and went. I got there, sat down and then realized....this support group is for lap band people. Whoopsie! But the group was facilitated by my NUT and I do really like her and they didn't ask us to leave or anything. So there was probably 10 people total there and my friend and I were the only non-lap banders. So this is how the breakdown of the room went: * 2 people - Super-happy with the band (and less than 4 months out...one lady had lost 40lbs in 4 months...not too shabby) * 2 people - Completely unfilled due to issues (one lady was headed to the ER after class she was in SO MUCH PAIN...I really worried about her...poor thing she was over 1 year out) * 1 person - Happy with her loss, but unhappy because she could never eat for 10 days after a fill, she was banded in June and spends more than a week after a fill being sick and having to survive on liquids) * 1 person - Didn't say much, but was very obese (not sure when banded) and said she was struggling but didn't elaborate. * 1 person - Was pre-surgery and trying to get a feel for things during post-op life, etc. * 1 person - Struggling with 'getting back on track' just having issues in general. And then there was me (VSG) and my friend (RNY) and I felt SO BAD for the bandsters. They had all sorts of questions about why I choose VSG, and some of them called it "radical" etc. SO there I was saying 'um I didn't get the band because I can't stand to throw up, plus I don't view the band as a long-term solution' ...I wasn't expecting all the questions. I ended it by saying that those were having trouble could consider revising to the VSG. It was all very eye-opening. And every single bandster who had thrown up was blaming THEMSELVES! Truly. "I did it to myself, I ate too fast, too much, too big of a bite, etc." Wow. So I'm glad I went but next time will go by the schedule. Interestingly enough, they don't have a stand-alone sleeve support group...we are lumped into the RNY category. Oh well, it will be interesting to hear all of their stories too. I did ask pre-surgery for them to make a sleeve support group since they are in the process of restructuring, etc. Oh and the reason I put 'real' in quotes is because I truly consider this to be my TRUE support group...love this board!

Awesome!!!

No liver shrinking diet here either. Just 24 hours of clears before surgery. Just follow your surgeon's orders, everyone is different!

Cool! Thanks for posting. My dr. recommended weight is 150 (I'm 5'6") and the fun one said 175 (which is exactly what I weighed in H.S.) I can't even picture myself at 150lbs. I think I was about 15 years old last time I weighed that. But as I've been telling people, I didn't do surgery to go half-way to goal, or 3/4 way to goal...I DO want to get to goal and have that healthy BMI. Just gotta stick to it!