Foxbins

Pace--I mostly run to music so my pace depends on the song--anywhere from a 10-minute mile to a 7.5 minute mile. My favorite is Springsteen's "Trapped" but any fast beat will get my legs moving. Body changes--I have muscle under the saggy skin in my butt. Running hills will help there and in your thighs, too. I also have great calf muscles--not bulgy like a ballerina but long and lean with a good shape. My abdomen and back muscles are strong too. I keep a 10 lb dumbbell by the chair I watch TV in, and I can do bicep, shoulder, tricep, and chest exercises right there. I also swim for an upperbody/back workout, plus it makes a nice change from the pounding my knees take. Running and swimming help everything!

It's easy to gain weight, just eat junk calories and stop moving. I think it's better to be a little underweight when you enter maintenance so you have some wiggle room to gain over time.

I've had Botox, IPL treatments for hyperpigmentation, a lot of peels over the years, microdermabrasion, and a facelift in January. No fillers, though. Any of the above that you're interested in, ask away!

I had both--sleeve in Jan 11 and gallbladder removal in Nov 11. I took 2 weeks off from work with my sleeve but I only took 10 days with gallbladder. The gallbladder hurt more than the sleeve, I don't know why.

I ate 600-800 during my losing stage and got to goal and beyond quickly. I lost my hunger with surgery and really there was no reason to eat more, I wasn't hungry and I wanted my body to burn its fat reserves as fast as possible. I eat about 1200 now, sometimes more, sometimes less, and it seems to be working out for me.

With dedication and perseverance, uou can lose 120 lbs with a sleeve--there's a guy who posts on Obesity Help who has lost 350 lbs. I would urge you to avoid a plication, I don't think Kaiser does them and I have seen lots of complaints about complications and poor weight loss. Given the procedure is fairly new it doesn't look promising. A bypass might get you to goal sooner but in order to maintain the weight loss when the malabsorption phase is done you will have to depend on the new habits you have learned--just like a sleeve.

I am 14 months post-op and people still notice how little I eat. I told no one about my surgery but I did say that I had changed my eating behaviors. My friends see me put down my fork after each bite, chew thoroughly, and eat slowly. Sometimes when I feel like I have eaten enough I will wait 2 or 3 minutes and then eat a bite or two more. With people who don't know me I just say that I only eat half of what I am served. (Sometimes I eat less than that, but no one argues with me.) In restaurants, I sometimes ask for a half-portion and I can usually finish half of it depending on what it is. I have been doing this for over a year now and no one says anything. People will get used to how you eat eventually.

The edges of mine peeled up and I kept trimming the loose edges, leaving the part that was still stuck. Showering seemed to loosen them. Finally they fell off totally at about 3 weeks.

My shoulders really hurt, too. I found that a heating pad on them really helped. Turn it up high.

I am 14 months post-op. This morning for breakfast I had 1/2 toasted English muffin, 1 egg, and 1/4 slice ham. For lunch I had 4 large shrimp with Thai chili sauce. For dinner I had 2 oz. tri-tip steak and 1/4 cup cauliflower w/cheese sauce. For a snack I had 14 almonds. I mostly eat protein as I feel better when I do.

I am 5'8" and believed my whole life that I was big-boned. I wear a size 10 shoe and a L glove. My initial goal weight was 150, but I lost a little more and now my wrist is smaller than 6" and I realize that I am small-boned! I have skinny fingers and my feet are narrow and not W. I think you should aim for 140--I am at 138 and slender but by no means skinny.

You look great! Done any running?

I'm at goal, but I believe that if I wanted or needed to lose more weight I could. I don't believe there's a honeymoon period; there is a time when you can't eat or drink much so the calories you consume are limited, and there is a time when your resting metabolism equals your caloric intake and you won't lose anymore. In between, I believe, I quite a long period of time, certainly more than a year, depending on how much you have to lose. I would say that to achieve success, we need to relearn how to eat, to view food as fuel, and to find other ways of managing out emotions besides eating.

Do you have a fever? Do you have trouble swallowing? Do liquids go down and stay down? I would not worry about headache and weird little pains, I'd worry if you had a fever of unknown origin and couldn't keep anything down. The chances of complications are very small; the odds are in your favor that you will heal uneventfully. I know it doesn't really help to say "Don't worry" if you are naturally a worrier, but really, try and not to think about complications. Think about buying new clothes and doing all the things you want to do when your excess weight is gone!

Gurgling, groaning, growling, a burp after every sip...all completely normal, and so are the heightened emotions. Hang in there, it will get better quite quickly.

I had Dr. Aceves and I had 5 incisions, one of which was for a drain. The drain is no big deal, helps the doc see if there is a leak (you drink blue dye on day after surgery) and mine didn't hurt. I am 14 months post-op and you can barely see my incisions. I think he must use glue on the skin because there were no skin sutures to remove, but there is tape covering them that needs to stay until it falls off on its own in 10 days-two weeks. You can see the scars if you know where to look but they have faded so much no one notices at the pool.

When was your surgery? I had a tremendously dry mouth and sore throat following surgery due to the tube that goes down your throat for the anesthesia. Also, if you are early out you are probably a little dehydrated because it's hard to drink very much the first few weeks. As for your Nexioum question, I took Nexium for about 9 months, then stopped. I never had any symptoms like you report, though. It just helped with acid.

I thought I was done at 150, weight had been coming off very slowly in October and November, but I dropped another 12 lbs between Nov 17 and Feb 1. I have been holding steady at 138 for about six weeks now so I think I might be done now at 14 months post-op. However, if I needed to lose more, I feel confident that sticking to my losing plan would take more off.

Since you are in the Mexico forum, I assume you mean in Mexico. I have no idea what was in my IV while I was in the hospital (and had no pain!) but I came home with sublingual Supradol (toradol) that I used the first night home to help me sleep. After that I didn't need it.

I went to Mexico alone for surgery and was able to drive myself home from the airport my 4th day post-op. I could take care of myself as well. I made sure that I had stocked the fridge beforehand and just took it easy the first 2 weeks. Most docs say you can drive if you aren't taking pain meds that will make you drowsy.

I always thought the Smart Ones tasted terrible. The Lean Cuisine are heavy on carbs so I needed to add protein to them, plus I can't eat a whole one at one time. I don't generally buy diet food. I eat ice cream at parties or a cup at Baskin-Robbins once every couple of months.

@june13sleever--Yes, I weigh 138. I feel great! I am not "too skinny." I still have D cup boobs. In fact, my measurements are 35-29-38, a far cry from the 46-41-54 I started with. I am 57 and and have hypothyroidism, too, so I was a little worried that weight loss might be really slow or I might not get to my goal of 150. I just wish I had looked like this years ago.

I can't do chicken either. I used to live on a rotisserie bird for two or three days and now it just won't stay down. However, I have no trouble at all with steak--I buy a tri-tip, cut it into 2.5 oz servings, and bag and freeze them. I eat lots of seafood, fish and eggs, too. Deli turkey, surprisingly enough, is easy for me to eat.

A Q ball is a time-released pain management tool. A lot of surgeons are using it for post-op pain, it doesn't make you drowsy the way opiates do. I did not have one and I did not have much pain at all. Insofar as the first few weeks, I could not drink more than 32 oz the first 10 days and I didn't get more than 400 calories in until about six weeks post-op. I felt okay, tired for about two weeks, but I could move around fine. Turning over in bed was painful right after surgery and maybe for the first week. I am not really sure what you want to know...I recovered fine and reached goal a while ago, don't regret anything!

I have a 20 oz cup in the morning and occasionally I'll have a Starbucks grande iced in the afternoon--maybe one day a week. Having a hot drink in the morning sort of relaxes my sleeve for the day.