marymoon

This. Even though I should be used to the fluctuations, I still had a freak out moment this morning when the scale jumped 3lbs and my jeans were snug until I checked my little pink calendar and saw that I was scheduled to pop an ovary at any moment. It's frustrating for sure!

You're in good hands in Mexicali! Good luck on the surgery!

My highest weight ever was 260lbs. I weighed 235lbs on April 15, 2011, the day of surgery. That's a 25lb pre -surgical loss. This morning, I weighed 154 for a loss of 81lbs in 219 days since surgery and a total loss of 106lbs. There are size 6 jeans hanging in my closet where size 22 used to be. I would have this surgery again any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Maybe you can get some audio books for your iPod. Dale Carnige's 'How to Win Friends & Influence People' is an excellent read.

I'm just over 7 months out from surgery, 4lbs away from goal & I don't low carb. I exercise quite a bit and found that my body needs the fuel carbs provide. Shortly after moving to regular food, my carb intake was under 50/day but with the amount of exercise I do, I was constantly lethargic and often dizzy. Once I upped the carbs, I felt worlds better! I did find that my rate of weight loss slowed somewhat, but that can also be attributed to my getting closer to goal and because I also upped my caloric intake to cover some of the deficit from my exercise. I currently eat around 1200 calories and anywhere from 150 to 200 carbs daily. Overall, I'm extremely pleased with my progress. I'm wearing size 8 pants and on the verge of moving to a 6 and, most importantly, feel better and am more healthy than I've ever been in my life! Good luck to you!

Woo hoo!!! Congrats!!!!

My experience has been a bit opposite of Foxbins' - with fen-phen I had no hunger and the mere sight of food actually turned my stomach. I clearly remember watching a commercial for pizza Hut and seeing the grease on the pepperoni made me dry heave and ths was YEARS ago. With the sleeve I feel little to no hunger but I still have a bit of head hunger & the occassional craving. I also used phenterimine which gave me the jitters, caused sleeplessness, etc but helped tremendously with my hunger. I have a hard time remembering to take pills & wanted something permanent. The sleeve has been the answer for me.

I had my surgery on a Friday and was driving the following Wednesday, no problem.

Congrats! The C25K program is GREAT and will have you running a 5k in no time! I completed the program last year (before surgery) and am on week 6 right now. It is soooo much easier to run without the extra weight. Flabby skin is a whole 'nother issue, tho. I buy spandex capri length running pants at outlet stores like Marshall's, TJ Maxx and Ross usually for $12 to $17 a pair. Was browsing in a sporting goods store tonight and almost choked seeing a $60 price tag for some of these same pants! Good luck to you on the running!

Running is such great exercise!!! I first completed the Couch to 5k program last year when I weighed 215lbs and running was HARD on my joints as well as my cardiovascular system. I'm doing the program again with a friend and yesterday was our 20 minute run, with no walking breaks. At my current weight of 165lbs it was a piece of cake! We do run slow but once we get used to the distance we'll concentrate on speed. Keep running! The interval training is good for you, too.

Ain't it great?!? I used to have to bend my shoulders forward to see mine but now they show all the time! This sleeve just gets better & better, right?

Chunky all my life, most of my excessive weight piled on after the birth of my second child. After several failed attempts at losing the weight with Weight Watchers, Slim Fast and other programs, I decided to see a bariatric doc & a nutritionist. Under their care (and diet pills) I was able to lose 60lbs thru self control and exercise. I started at 260 and got down to 200, never getting into blessed Onderland. I fell off the wagon as far as exercise goes last June and the weight started creeping back up when the diet pills lost their effectiveness. By last October, I had gained back 40 of the 60lbs I had lost and was disgusted with myself. I knew I needed more help in controlling what I ate than I could give myself so I started exploring WLS. At the end of January 2011 I went to a local seminar and begun researching my options. I decided I wanted VSG because it was the best fit for me. Discovered that insurance wouldn't pay and even if I appealed the decision, they only covered 50% of the allowable charges anyway. Hubby & I talked it over and decided that we wanted to avoid the wait, hassle and expense of the appeal, nut and psych visits, etc. and made plans for me to go to Mexico as soon as possible. There is quite a bit of heart disease in my family - my oldest brother dropped dead at 44 from a massive heart attack, my dad died of complications of open heart surgery and he had congestive heart failure and suffered his first heart attack at 56, both my other brothers are over 300lbs, cousins weigh in at 400 and just last month another cousin dropped dead of a heart attack at 52. The writing on the wall couldn't have been any clearer for me. I turned 40 this year and I'll be damned if I spend the second half of my life trapped in an unhealthy and gross body.

I do eat most of my exercise calories, but only those burned off doing high impact/high heart rate cardio. I don't record calorie expenditure from strength training, housecleaning, golfing, bowling, etc. because I consider those calories burned during the normal course of the day. Before I had my sleeve when I was seeing a NUT on my own, she cautioned me to NOT eat those calories. Back then I was on a 1400 calorie/day diet so I didn't really have too much to spare if I wanted to see a 2lb/week loss. Now, I try to limit myself to 800 to 900 calories a day and since I can burn in excess of 600 calories in one zumba class I have to eat some of those calories back to keep my body and mind functioning properly. I'm 4.5 months out and have lost 67lbs since surgery and this is what works for me. I also don't do low carb, enjoy a small bowl of ice cream every other night, small bites of chocolate when I want it (like daily) and even drink a coke every once and a while.

Absolutely! I always retain fluid the week before I'm supposed to start and have major head cravings for sweets and carbs. Once my period starts, I tend to drop 4lbs over night and the cravings go away until the next time. Weird! I don't get sick after eating the crap foods, unfortunately.

I'm pear shaped and the clothing thing happened to me, too. After losing 40 or so pounds after surgery, I was still wearing my size 20 pants and it really bothered me. Then about a month ago I went shopping for fall clothes and found myself in a size 12 missus pants and medium shirts! Now that I'm down 60+ pounds, the 12's are getting baggy but not quite enough to move to a 10. It'll happen for you, too. Just need a little more time & patience to let your body do its thing....

Welcome to the boards and congrats on your sleeve!

Here's a really good site that goes into greet detail in understanding how to determine & train in the correct HR zone for your age, weight & conditioning. http://www.howtobefit.com/five-heart-rate-zones.htm Kudos on getting a HR monitor! It can make a huge difference in making sure you get the most out of your workouts!

Congrats to all kicking the habit! I've been smoke-free going on 12 years now & I wouldn't go back to being a smoker for anything!

It was hard, but I kept reminding myself that the staple line in my new tummy was extremely raw & vulnerable these first few weeks and unless I wanted to risk a leak, I had no choice but to stick with the program. That said, I was so desperate for flavor and texture that I often chewed up something tasty like french fries and spit them out. Disgusting, I know, but I have little willpower & I was desperate! After 30 days you can eat anything in moderation so just Remember that these next 22 days are just a small blip in comparison with your diet for the rest of your life.

I never crushed mine - they dissolve in water easily. I used a shot glass and filled it with water & dropped a Nexium in. It dissolved in about a minute and I stirred it up and threw it back. It's foul, but very effective!

I didn't even track protein intake the first month. I couldn't tolerate the mixes I bought pre-surgery so I mainly drank G2 for the electrolytes, water and broth for the sodium. I did drink the Premier protein shakes from days 11 to 20 when I was cleared for all liquids but I still only had 1/day. Hope you start feeling better soon!

Gatorade also helped me combat dizziness during the liquid phase. I drank G2 to keep the sugar & carbs low.

We are cheating nature in that we had our bodies surgically altered so we would be less hungry and get full much quicker than others. I'm extremely sensitive to it when I'm out eating with my friends. I get full on so little & they either pig out & feel guilty for gorging or they eat very little (to compete with me maybe?) and complain about how hungry they still are. The sleeve makes controlling what I put in my mouth so easy and I do have an advantage over people. But honestly, i'm perfectly fine with that. I tried losing weight the 'old fashioned way' and failed to keep it off. I also paid a lot of money for my sleeve and had to meet certain criteria to even qualify for surgery so I feel I earned my cheat. I remember the uncontrollable hunger & cravings I had pre-sleeve and don't feel guilty for doing what needed to be done to be free and neither should you. ((hugs))

It's not considered cheating when people get a kidney or heart transplant or take insulin for diabetes. Why should WLS be any different? I know how you feel because I'm very upfront with my surgery and when I see someone making that face I usually stop them in their tracks with 'I'm sure you think I'm cheating and maybe I am but at least I'm no longer obese & unhealthy and managing my weight is no longer a struggle. I look good, I feel good & I'm going to live a longer & healthier life on my terms and I don't give a damn what anyone thinks.' And honestly, I don't give a damn what people think - most of them are just jealous anyway! I've lost 62lbs since surgery in April and 87lbs from my highest weight so I get comments about my loss all the time. I volunteer at my kids' school and there are a few heavy/obese teachers and a couple of otter staff members who wont speak to me since school started a couple of weeks ago but I consider that their loss if they want to wallow in their own misery & unhappiness.

Congrats! You are doing such a great job with that sleeve!