Kami

I'm newly sleeved, 8 days out, and I'm already learning that head hunger is going to be a pain. Especially when pizza Hut commercials come on. This was a problem through the 2 week pre-op, but I kept my focus. I thought more of my hunger would have gone away post-op, but there's still a fair bit there. That combined with overall deprivation has stirred up some annoying cravings. Sometimes its just for yummy healthy stuff my family has for dinner (baked salmon never looked so good) and sometimes it is stuff from commercials, or something someone posts on Facebook (did I need to know that my cousin wen to Chick-Fil-A? thanks for that craving!) Given that the surgery took away most of my stomach, and I know that my fat stores, plus the oodles of Vitamins I'm taking, are plenty to sustain me, and I am also eating three meals/day of about 1/3 cup of strained Soup or yogurt, I think most of this is head hunger. That being said, what are your strategies for dealing with it? So far I've been reaching for my Calcium (yummy BA calcium chews that taste like candy!). Or I try to distract myself. But you guys who have been at it longer, what are your coping strategies?

I'm in the same boat as BroadwayBaby. Little-to-no weight loss, but little-to-no effort or discipline on my part. It will come back. Life has been throwing me some awesome NSV's. I decided I had some decent enough pictures of me at this lower weight that I was willing to put some on match.com. I met an awesome guy about a week into that, and here we are, blissfully happy 2 months later. In the same time period, I managed to score an interview with an awesome company. Their interview process was long (five interviews!) but it all worked out in the end, and I start my new job on Monday!! I've been working a dead-end job for the last 4 years while I tried to figure out my next career path, so this is just a really awesome opportunity that I'm really excited about. Oh, and my pay will be doubling! I know these aren't directly related to the number on the scale, but neither one would have been possible 9 months ago. I needed the self-confidence and increased energy that came along with losing 50 pounds. I still have another 50 to lose, and I need to refocus on that, but I'm just so happy to have my life looking totally awesome right now.

It's been an awesome past two months. Major life changes that never would have happened 50 pounds ago. I had my surgery last August, and the weight loss has been SLOW. But I'm hanging in there and the rewards have started rolling in. I decided to try online dating in March, after I was able to get some pictures of myself that I felt ok with. Two weeks later, I met an awesome guy and we're so happy together. Right about the same time, some networking paid off and I landed a job interview. The company was pretty slow with the interview process, but last week I was offered the job! The company is really dynamic and high-energy, and I know I wouldn't have been an ideal candidate if I had been at the weight and energy level that I was before the surgery. I'm not saying they wouldn't have hired me, but I KNOW that the weight loss has helped, if nothing else its helped my self esteem and the way I project myself. So, while the scale is slow, and I'll probably never be one of those people who gets to a size 4, it has given me a new outlook on life, and it looks like 35 is finally MY YEAR!!

I tried salad pretty early on, shortly after I was allowed solid foods, and had no problem. I eat salads all the time now.

I'm on the same medication and didn't have any problem during post-op. You can open the capsules and just dump the little balls into your mouth, then swallow with regular liquid. That's what I did. I started out using apple sauce, then realized it was just easier to dump them into my mouth. I used apple sauce for the Actigal though, because that stuff tastes pretty bad.

I'm a slow loser too. But you know what, its coming off. I've had no problems either, so at least I have that going for me. I'm at 6.5 months and down 50 pounds. One thing I've found is that it really helps to walk. I'm a total slacker about exercise, but when I do exercise, I almost always drop a pound or two. Might be something to evaluate. Hang in there. Don't beat yourself up, because you definitely aren't alone!

I like the Premier Protein, but I found one I like better. Clif bars makes one called Builder's Bars. Don't get the regular Clif bars, they don't have enough. But the Builder's bars have 20 grams. There is a mint chocolate one that I swear tastes like Thin Mint cookies. I love that one and the peanut butter chocolate ones. These have become a staple for me now. I buy them at Target or Safeway.

Well, I don't have many days that I don't get hungry, but I do have some of those days where it doesn't seem to be satisfied very easily. The best I can figure is that my body knows it is about to lose more weight, and it throws out whatever it can to prevent it. My wonderful famine-proof mechanism at work! I usually find that I lose a pound or two after days like that.

I've been hovering at 200 or 201 for a MONTH!! Finally the scale showed 199.5 today!!! Hang in there, it will come!!!

My mom (I live with my parents right now) made a German chocolate cake a few nights ago. In a late-night moment of weakness, I ate some last night. I'm pretty annoyed with her for making it (no special occasion). I would have eaten at least one piece of pizza! I'm just struggling right now with other things and finding food to be that old comforting friend, but I've been trying hard to break out of it since the holidays. Making some progress, but it is damn hard with chocolate cake on the counter. Congrats to you for being strong!

Sounds like what I experienced. I think there's some people who eat very small amounts, and some people who can eat more. In the early days, it depends on how much swelling you have (and swelling can apparently last a few weeks after surgery). Maybe you just didn't have much swelling, or it went away pretty quickly.

I'm on Seasonique and I love it! Periods only 4 times a year! My doc let me stay on it in the lead-up to surgery, and my period came normally the time it was supposed to come, but it was actually MUCH heavier than usual. I have very light ones on the Seasonique. I'd highly recommend it if you have a choice and don't mind getting more seldom periods (some people don't want it because they'd worry that they actually are pregnant - lol!)

Hi all! Just wanted to pop in here and share some details that might help others. I'm just a couple of months out and just got back from an international trip to India! Crazy, right? Well, I just wanted to share that traveling with the sleeve works just fine! I had a lot of trouble sticking to the "rules," but the nice thing is that the sleeve is very forgiving. According to my dr. I'm still supposed to be crushing my pills, but it was hard to do this without my access to applesauce, so I broke up those that I could and just made sure I took them soon after eating part of a Protein Bar so that I had something in my stomach. My dr. told me that the rule for not taking full pills was not because they'd get stuck, but because they might irritate the stomach. So, I figured it would help to take them with a bit of food. I'm even on some extra pills (malaria medication, and now an anti-biotic for some kind of intestinal bug I picked up) but all are going down ok. Also, I know that a lot of people take full pills early on, so I figured it would be fine, and it was. I also ate way more in the way of carbs than I normally do. Indian food is VERY spicy, and the bread and rice help to cool the stuff down. But I also did a lot more walking than normal, and after a 10 day trip, I was down 3 lbs, which is way more than my normal rate of weight loss. I'm now down over 40 lbs, which is a rather slow rate, but my doc was cool about it, so I am too. I should be in onederland by Christmas now The nicest thing was that I fit so well in the airplane seats - it wasn't uncomfortable at all. And I was able to buy some pretty Indian clothes. It was tricky, because I am still large, but it would have been so much harder to find clothes that fit when I was 40 lbs heavier. Anyway, I'm so glad I have the sleeve. I think the trip would have been much trickier if I had the band or bypass. The sleeve is just a good sport about everything - even spicy Indian food!

I wasn't able to get on the scale for almost 2 weeks because of my trip to India (I posted a little about it in the post-op forum). I weighed in when I got back at 202, for a 3 lb loss in that 11 days, then another .5 lb on Saturday. At 201.5, I'm now more than 40 lbs gone and so close to ONEDERLAND. I'm totally hoping I make it there by Christmas. I think if I'm able to keep up my walking (I did a lot of walking in India, which I think helped counteract the extra carbs I ate while there), I might make it, but it will be hard with the Christmas prep I have to squeeze into this week. I'm going to use the week I'm off between Christmas and New Year's to start an exercise video program (Callanetics). Can you believe next week is Christmas Eve already? Good luck with the weight loss and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Puja - where are you in India? I was in Mumbai, with a short trip to Delhi and Agra. 10 day trip in total. To answer your questions, well, I took some Pure Protein Bars with me, and ate one per day. I also ate eggs for Breakfast. I'm pretty sure that some days I was below my Protein still, because there were a couple of meals at a friend's house that were vegetarian. I ate chickpeas and lentils those meals, but those aren't as protein rich as meat, I think. I tried to focus on protein as much as possible, and ate veggies like cauliflower when it was available. Like I said before, I still had rotis and rice and stuff, but just small helpings to tone down the spiciness. When it was available (it wasn't always served) I used raita to tone down the heat. I'm also pretty sure that my calorie counts were above normal (but apparently not more than I burn, maybe 1500-1700), especially the days I ate Butter chicken (YUM!). But I didn't really have a way to log it, and it was just 10 days, so I just listened to my sleeve about when it was full, and hoped that would be enough. I actually wasn't sure if I would lose weight or just hold steady while I was there, but I ended up losing, so that was great. It was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, and I love Indian food, so I just decided I wasn't going to worry about it. The only time I really had a moment of regret was when I was eating some fabulous butter chicken, and wanted to eat more, but I just savored it as much as I could and then stopped when I got full. likasulema - good luck on your weight loss! I'm sure you'll be able to fit without a seat extender on your next trip. Its the little NSV's like that that really make a difference.

I just ate at Cracker Barrel and their kids menu is "for kids of all ages" - I was wanting to share that info here and this thread gives me the perfect chance to do so. I was excited that I didn't have to ask about whether I could eat off the kids menu. Normally I just order from the regular menu and bring the extras home. I like leftovers

Not that it will be much help, but I was sleeved the 24th of August, and just hit 41 lbs lost. My doctor was ok with my weight loss. He said that women who aren't hugely overweight just don't lose as fast as say, a 450 lb guy. Slow and steady wins the race! Also, are you exercising? That might help speed it up. I haven't yet for various reasons, but will be hopping on that wagon very soon.

I've used BJ's Bariatrics. Their shipping costs are high, but I've gotten coupons for discounts on the stuff I buy. It lets me do Celebrate and Bariatric Advantage in one order. I'll look into the Vitacost though.

I second the vote for the Chocolate Raspberry Chewy bites. Those things are like candy - seriously! Yummy!

I took the liquid ReViva for about a week - then one day, it just came back up. It is the only time I've thrown up since I left the hospital. I asked my surgeon's nurse if I should try it again and she said "only if you feel like throwing up again." I didn't even take it on an empty stomach. But definitely try it. The taste wasn't awful, but for some reason my new stomach couldn't tolerate it. Luckily, I sort of like the taste of the Celebrate orange multi-Vitamins. And I LOVE the Bariatric Advantage calcium chews.

I checked back to my last check-in and I'm down 2 lbs i the last two weeks The weight is just coming off soooo sloooowwwlllyyyy. But I had a very nice NSV yesterday. I bought some pants at Coscto, which was an NSV in itself (they don't sell plus sizes!). But I didn't just need the 18's, the 16's fit. So, I decide to head back later in the day with my mom, and decided to get a pair of 14's, to use as a next set of goal pants. Brought then home and tried them on to see how far before I could get them fastened, and THEY FIT!! I WAS ABLE TO FASTEN THEM!! Without even laying down on the bed!! I fit in a size 14. What's ridiculous is that I've been wearing some of the same brand in 18's. Yeah, they are a bit loose, but I guess I need to pay more attention to how loose! So, even though the scale is being a b***h, the inches are still coming off. Going to take measurements this weekend too.

I am weighing in at 209 now. I feel like my weight loss is SOOOO SLLOOOOWWW. I'm down 34 lbs overall, but just 24 lbs since surgery, which was 2.5 months ago. At my 2 month check-in my doc said he was perfectly happy with my weight loss, so I guess I should be too. I'm averaging 10 lbs/month. On the bright side though, i went clothes shopping yesterday How much more fun is clothes shopping now!?!?! I love it! I hit the clearance racks at Walmart and came away with six t-shirts at $3/each. Some 1X, some 2X, but I used to be in men's 2XL/Women's 3XL. Since I live in AZ, t-shirts are a necessity year-round. Bought 2 new hoodies that were both in regular sizes - not plus sized! This was so exciting. The jeans I bought a few weeks ago are getting nice and loose, and those are 2 sizes down from where I started. Yep, clothes shopping is now fun

from a physical standpoint, you will be fine (as long as you are off the narcotic pain pills.) The one thing you have to think about is that you will be REALLY tired. What you might consider is breaking it up into two days. You can get a roadside hotel for less than $50, which is a lot cheaper than airline tickets and a rental care, but still allows you to take better care of yourself. Drive half the distance on day one (with breaks - you've gotta get out and stretch and walk around a bit). Stay overnight somewhere and rest up, then finish it the next day. Driving while exhausted is always a bad thing, and I really think that the last couple of hours (if you do it all in one day) will be too much.

I'm the same. Two months out as of two days ago, and I have eaten salads without a problem, breads (limited) without a problem, I get tons of Water (100 oz/day) with no problem. And I'm a SLLLOOOWWWWW loser, which sucks. But I guess it would be too easy if I could tolerate everything AND lose quickly

I've been weighing every day, but I basically lose nothing all week, then have little mini-whooshes on the weekend. I think its because I'm currently working 2 jobs (one is just Monday-Thursday) so I'm not sleeping more than 6.5 hrs/night. For some reason, my body doesn't like to lose weight when I'm not getting enough sleep. As of yesterday, I was 211.5, which is just under 30 lbs down, including the pre-op. Tomorrow will be 2 months since surgery. That's only 20 lbs since surgery - 10 lbs/month. I feel like I'm a REALLY SLOW loser, and it is so frustrating. I've been having problems getting all of my Protein in because I just haven't been able to force myself to drink my Protein shakes. I know this is really bad, and I'm going to get back to business this week.