Foxbins

Just have the broth. Noodles still are iffy with me 18 months out.

Just my opinion, but it tastes different to me. The flavors are kind of...diluted and not distinct. Kind of mushy-tasting, even if it is supposed to be spicy. I am thinking in particular of Vietnamese noodle soup, which I blended early out. It didn't taste anything like the soup un-blended.

My BMI was 35 and I self-paid 18 months ago. I had no co-morbid conditions but I was putting on about 10 lbs a year and could see where I would end up if I didn't do something. I had tried diet and exercise my whole life and had been only intermittently successful and never really thin. I spent most of my 20s-30s as a size 12. This surgery has totally been worth it. I feel great. I can run without my knees hurting. I threw away chocolate after Easter because I didn't want to eat it--it wasn't very good and not worth the calories. If I put something in my body now, it had better be either nutritious or something glorious for the tastebuds. Ordinary is not good enough anymore. I am a size six, I'm 5'8, and life is wonderful. Best money I ever spent.

I specifically asked about this. My nutritionist said that when we had quart/half-gallon sized stomachs, we could hold a lot more fluid at once. Now, we have to sip sip sip and some people forget or can't as often as they need to. And also as mesaucedo mentioned, many foods are mostly water and we used to be able to eat a lot of them. Now, not so much, so the decrease in the amount we could chug plus the amount in food totaled quite a lot before surgery.

I have a Sole E25 that I bought used on Craigslist--I love it but it weighs a ton. I think it will outlive me! Very sturdy and smooth action, doesn't wobble at all.

Congratulations on 83 lbs lost! I picked my goal weight by wanting to be a normal BMI--for me that would be 160. When I hit 160 I was still losing pretty easily so I wondered if I could hit 150, where I had maintained easily in my late twenties and early 30's. I hit 150 and decided to maintain. I had two surgeries back to back and lost an additional 13 lbs and I like how I look and it's not difficult to maintain so I am staying here. I maintain by eating higher calorie foods for Snacks, like nuts and nut butters, eating the skin on chicken, sugary fruits like strawberries and cherries, and using full-fat cheese and dairy products. I added in extra calories pretty slowly (100 extra a day for a week) and monitored if I lost or stayed even. It took a little while but now it's balanced. Also, I too have days when I can only eat a little bit and days when it seems like I eat all day. It's the nature of the sleeve, I guess. I think your goal weight should be where you are happy with how you look and at a point that you think you can maintain. Don't be afraid to go below your Dr's goal if you want. I expect a little bounceback at 3-5 years and I have some wiggle room being toward the bottom of a normal BMI now.

I had a DXA scan in August 2010, 5 months before my sleeve, and again in August 2011, seven months after. Overall, I lost 3.6% of my trochanter mass in that year, partly due to the fact that I'm a post-menopausal, sedentary woman not taking HRT. I boosted my exercise and now run about 15 miles a week and take supplemental Calcium (as I have since surgery). Frankly, I'll take the bone loss compared to the risks I was going to run by remaining obese and continuing to gain. It's not something I'm terribly worried about, although I may change my mind if I start having fractures.

I go try on clothes all the time. When I was fat I used to buy most clothes by mail and a lot of time, men's clothes, I'm embarrassed to say. Now I go in the store just for fun and try on clothes. If they don't look good, I know it's not because I'm fat. If they don't fit, the clothes are the problem, and not my body. I have found that there are loads of oddly cut, ill-fitting garments no matter what your size, but when I was fat, I always believed it was me, and my fault, that everything looked bad. Sorry for my little rant, but I felt horrible and guilty for years about crummy-fitting clothes.

I went to Dr. Aceves alone and I was fine. Picked up at the airport, taken to the hospital, had pre-op tests, went to the hotel, picked up first thing the next morning for surgery. My surgery went great--I had no nausea or vomiting, slept most of the time for the first 2 days, walked and sipped, talked to the other patients who had surgery. After I came home my PCP ordered some labs for me. Other than labs I haven't needed any followup. There were no complications. One of the reasons I chose Dr. Aceves was his low complication rate-- when I was trying to decide on a surgeon I could not find anyone on the boards who had a bad experience. I'm 16 months post-op and would do it all again with Dr. Aceves. I'm 5'8 and I wear a size 6. Best money I ever spent.

As others have said, you are hypothyroid (too low). Your pituitary is sending out lots of thyroid-stimulating hormone to try to get your thyroid to work, that's why the level is high. Your doctor will give you a prescription for synthetic thyroid hormone and that will help get the level down. I am hypothyroid as well and lost weight just fine. My metabolism might have slowed due to hypothyroidism but I got fat from eating too much and not exercising. I get my levels done 2x year--so far I'm on the same dosage as I was pre-surgery and I'm 17 months post-op.

Only the ones that are fat-soluble, and I think those are A, D, E, and K. Don't take more of those than recommended unless your labs come back low. The water-soluble vitamins will be eliminated in your urine if you have excess.

I'm in Napa. I'm at goal, happy to help if you have questions. I self-paid so I'm no help with insurance issues, but other questions, fire away!

I needed my gallbladder removed 10 months after my sleeve.

I was an hourglass when I was young and apple-shaped at surgery. I lost most in my hips, thighs, rear, and belly. I am now a triangle shape--size 10 tops (still a D cup), size 6 pants. I don't think any particular shape loses weight quicker.

Mine fell out from month 3 to month 10. Six months later, it's growing back. Don't worry, you won't be bald--I got pretty thin, but no baldness!

I'm at goal and maintaining. I weigh every morning. I don't stress about a pound or two, but I'm usually 136 or 137. If I ever hit 140, it's back to Protein only and more time at the gym. I got fat by not weighing myself and I'm not going down that road ever again.

All the liquids I drank during the liquid stage counted toward the 64 oz goal I had--the broth, shakes, juice, sf popsicles, milk, etc. I drank hardly any plain water. Maybe that's true for your plan as well?

Yes--please weigh or measure each item and get the calories, carbs, and protein. Are you taking your vitamins and supplements and drinking enough water?

Are you journaling your food? Do you know how many calories you are eating each day versus how many you are burning? Post your food intake and we can help you, but if you have been stalled for a few months you are eating too much or sitting too much, Sorry to be blunt but that's the truth. The good news is that you can continue to lose if you get back on track with the proper food and exercise. Don't give up!

I counted all carbs just because it was easier. I don't think it really matters as long as you are consistently counting the same.

I never stalled either. We are all so different in what works and what doesn't and how our bodies react to this change.

I had surgery with Dr. Aceves in Mexico. He fixed the hernia at no extra cost to me. My surgeries were the reverse of yours==I had my gallbladder removed 10 months post-op and although my surgeon was worried about adhesions in the area from my VSG, he didn't have any problems getting my gallbladder out.

I have been fat or thought of my self as fat my whole life. Consequently, I generally chose my clothes to fil loosely. so they wouldn't show every bump and bulge. Since I hit goal, I have been buying some new clothes, but businesswear first so that I don't look frumpy when I go to work. I have been making do with some old summer clothes I found in a box for casual summer wear. Today I had lunch with a friend, wearing a pair of the "box" pants (size 12) and I asked her if my pants looked okay. She stared at my butt and said, "They are too big. Pants that fit are supposed to touch your butt!" Am I the only one who doesn't know this? How do you find out about stuff like this? I am wondering what other stuff I'm wearing isn't fitting properly...

I am 16 months post-op. I started at 232 and wanted to be 150. After the first month, I lost about 8-9 lbs per month. I did not stall, although my weight loss slowed after month 9 to about a pound a week. I have wrinkly thighs and no butt, what's there is sagging skin sliding down the backs of my thighs. The rest of me doesn't sag, nothing hanging off my abdomen and my arms are decent. However, the last 10 lbs seemed to come out of my face, which got very saggy and wrinkled, so I had a facelift. However, I'm 57 and if you are younger your skin may retain enough elasticity to recover.

I told no one about my surgery. I live alone. My doctors are the only ones who know. My friends and family have watched me gain and lose weight repeatedly over the years so my weight loss was nothing new. I told everyone I was doing Atkins. I'm 16 months post-op.