Browneyedsouljah

Wow, it has been a while since I have been on here. I also need to be on here as I am seeing. Well It has been 6 months and one week since my sleeve. I am down 90lbs and at my goal weight!! The doctor had a goal 5lbs less than what I weigh but I am quite happy where I am. I am glad I revisited this forum today as we can sometimes forget the great tools we have at our disposal. I do have some questions for some veteran sleevers. Do you basically alarm claock your meals? How do you prepare when in the office? Do your friends tell you it makes them uncomfortable to eat around them because you eat so little?Has anyones intake amount increased? I cannot eat more than 3 oz at a time. Is it ok to still rely on Protein shakes to get what I need? I don't eat well at work(lots of stress lately) and by the time I get home its a time and space issue with my sleeve. So, I often drink a ensure 25mg Protein Shakes in the morning on my way to work and one on my way home from work. How long again till my hair stops falling out? Like I said, we all have room to grow and learn. Although I may look different, for me this is about how I feel and sustaining how I feel. I should have been on this site everyday and I am glad I reconnected.

@ Scentcy Girl-- Thank you!! I dont always work out in the gym, but I do get alot of activity in. I bought a house and have been remodeling the interior myself. I work on it almost everyday and seem to burn alot of calories. We also take care of and are adopting 2 boys that keep me active. Since the weight seemed to be flying off.. I dont do alot of cardio stuff. I really am just trying to rebuild and maintain muscle and get alot of protein in and lift weights. It seems like I reached my goal quickly, but I do not drink any sugar drinks or carbonation. If I drink alcohol I drink vodka and sugar free redbull. I eat almost anything I want but the difference is that I eat a small sample bite literally, and I am satisfied. I feel wonderful and have no regrets about this. I feel like I gave myself 20 more years of life!!

Now I am worried. I am just at my three month mark and am down about 60lbs. I am always checking to see if it comes out in clumps. I have natural black hair..no relaxers or anything. I started taking biotin before my surgery and take it daily now. It looks like my hair has actually gotten alot thicker and grows really fast but I am still scared. I dont comb my hair and i use conditioner and hairfood everyday. I had lost all the hair on the right side of my hair previously and I really dont want to go through that again. This is the only part about this that really scares me. I may get that nioxin shampoo..IDK. I heard it doesnt happen so maybe I'll be blessed and be on of the exceptions.

I am about 5 weeks post op and down 43 lbs. I do well with Protein although I dont always get it from food. I do utilize the Protein drinks when there are times I just don't want to eat. As far as eating I am doing ok. I eat alot of chicken, tuna, and Turkey. I eat string cheese and slices of the goulda cheese. I can do eggs but stick to three or less eggs a week. I love black Beans now and eat alot of them. For sweets I do the sugar free popcicles and sugar free hard candy. If there is something I really wnat that i shouldnt have I simply have a small bite and it usually fills the feeling. I do stay away from sugar as I was given a wrong drink and experienced dumping syndrome. That was something I hope to avoid in the future. Anyway I was wondering if there was other foods I should be eating? I think I am also going to hit up my local support group. My partner is still upset that she has nobody to cook for anymore and that I no longer take her out to dinner on a regular basis. She advised she feels like she is being punished. The experience has kind led to us growing apart a bit. I shop seperately, prepare my food seperately, and we pretty much eat seperately. I am trying to understand this is a change for her too but I am feeling kind of selfish. I did this surgery to be healthier and happier. Not for anyone else or anything else and I dont feel like I should feel guilty or bad. I kind of feel like some people are haters too. I have some co-workers who have lost and regained weight wht seems like a thousand times and of course I get a comment here and there. I just tell myself eventually they will ask some questions after they regain the weight again. Besides none of them can say they lost 4 lbs during the holiday like i can! I am just wondering if all this is normal? I mean I love my sleeve and love my decision. I mourned the loss of food for the first couple of weeks but I feel like I am ok now. I have no complaints about my new diet at this point. I go to dinner, lunch, and outtings. I eat slowly and small bites and it is ok. I am pretty open about my procedure so most people understand. It is more the emotional stuff that bothers me. I dont like people treating me like I am any better of a person now than I was 40lbs ago. I dont like people who I have known forever now hitting on me. I was the same person before. I dont like skinny people acting like now I am free to join a part of thier "Club". I always have been the person I am..always. Has anybody else went through this?

I think weight training is good to go with after you have a little cardio. If you circuit weight train you will burn just as many or more calories as you would with cardio but the weight training is going to help us tone the skin from the weight we are losing and provide some definitition. Cardio is good but i was told to skip most of it and focus on weights. I am only 4 weeks out today so I cannot lift more than 20lbs, but I bought some small 5lb weights and starting working my arms. Its been two weeks and you can see the difference already. Since I was pretty much in the house the whole month I also used household goods and climbed the stairs. I am mlooking forwrad to getting back in the gym this week to circuit train. I must say its been a month but my knees feel great! I will be focusing on squat,lunges and my core!!

Finally sleeved. It was postponed a couple days due to a cyst on my ovaries that burst,but I stuck with it. Day two was the worst but it is getting better. I am getting water and protien in but the large incision pain has been more than expected. walking alil more everyday. I cant wait to join the losers bench! Thanks to my forum family for all the encouragement and support!!

@DoOver should look into finding a certified senior financial counsilor. They will be able to find the LTC companies that will accept you. I have a mentor who has MD and was still able to get LTC coverage. Her husband is severly overwieght and he also has a plan. There are plenty companies out there as LTC is a hot product. Loosing the weight and having great lab results for a minimum of two years will be benifical.

Give it at least one year! They are looking for 1-2 years removed from the procedure. I am in the insurance business.

My date is for the 10/19 too!! My surgeon knows I do not currently take anything for GERD or Reflux but i have been treated for it in the past. He says the sleeve will help me identify foods that I should stay away from but is confident that I should be ok. He also does the scope before surgery to check my esophogus and stuff. This guy is very thorough. He said that I didnt really need to lose a 100lbs because of my body and that I actually have more muscle than he expected so the most he would like me to lose is between 80-85lbs. So I asked if he would leave a little more of my stomach so i didnt get to small. ( I really have no desire to be skinny, I just want to be healthy) He said that he would rather over perform the surgery than under perform it and that the bougie size he uses is a 36. So hopefully if you dont have gerd now you wont get it. To the rest of the 10/19 sleevers..I'll see you on the losers bench!!

Maybe the Peanut Butter is causing the issue. This is the part I am confused about. My surgeon said I wuld be on pureed foods for 4 weeks and then 4 weeks of mushies, then 4 weeks introducing fruits and vegitables. They told me that the PB needed to be thinned out bc it is so sticky. Any thoughts from you sleeve veteran?

Im sorry you are going through this. I do have a question though. i noticed you had the plication versus the sleeve. Does the plication eliminate the hunger hormone like the sleeve? If not that could be why you are still having so much hunger. Just a thought. I hope things get better for you.

Planks for your abs!! Get the biggest losr last chance workout DVD.s a nice routine that will help tone. The planks for your abs are the best thing you can do. I am just pre-op but i have been doing this workout at the gym and the surgeon commented on how relatively flat my tummy was during my pre-op appointment. My GF had a big belly and lost 113lbs from walking,but her skin was horrible. She has started doing planks too and is seeing the skin tighten up alot. Now with that being said can someone give me tips for my inner thighs which is my problem area.

I am scheduled for 10/19 and am worried about the same thing. My surgeon is giving me a handful to tape to my skin for a while to make sure I wont have a reaction. Maybe you can ask your surgeon to provide some staple so you can do your own test.

Ok I had my pre-op appointment this past Tuesday. I lost 10lbs!! Anyway they did all these measurements on me and then we discussed the surgery and expectations. Mind you my goal has NEVER to be skinny. I just want to be healthy and able to do the activities I used to do. I am 5'9 and I weigh 265. ( I cant believe I just shared my weight). I have always been fairly active and athletic. i worked in a gym in highschool, played sports, and just am an outdoors type person overall. I am pretty well proportioned but my thighs are my biggest problem area. When I am reading everyone elses experience and they weigh about the same as me I am confused. Alot of people say they are trying to get to 150 or 160 or the surgeons goal is 160 and thier personal goal is 150. My surgeon just told me he thinks I should stay around 180-185. He said my BMI is different and I have dense muscle under a layer of fat. Does this sound right? I was thinking of getting to 170 or 175 and that was more than the suggested weight for a person my height which is between 150-160. Can i get some feedback about this? Thanks,

Thank you for the insight. I think I will avoid the scale until my follow up appointments and just focus on how I feel. I really dont want numbers on a scale to rule my life.

Wow you look great. You looked great before too, but wow!! I remember viewing one of your postings when I first starting coming on this forum in April right after you were sleeved. I'm so happy for you and hopefully you are proud of yourself. Thanks for sharing and I hope to join you on the losers bench real soon!!

October 19 2011 starts a new beginning!! Dr Needleman at OSU will be performing my sleeve. He has a great reputation and I feel like I am in great hands! I am so stoked and ready to begin a new chapter in my life!! Cant wait to join the LOSERS Bench!!

Wow you look absolutely stunning. Congrats on your success!!

Hi Forum Family!! I got a call this morning to schedule my pre-op with the surgeon and his staff. Dr Needleman at Ohio State University hospital will be performing my surgery. They said he has never had a leak and I dont plan on changing that!! I assume that my surgery will be within 2 weeks of that date since they will be doing my labs? Maybe someone can offer some experience on that? I am a bit nervous but I am so looking forward to a more enjoyable life. I have been doing weight training and will be walking and swimming as soon as I get a green light. Its crazy to think by Christmas I will be able to work out without taking all these steps I take now and having little to no pain afterwards. Alot of people on this forum say they werent into working out prior to surgery , but they do now because they know it does make a difference with sleeve in place. That was inspirational to me because I have always been active and work out. In fact as I was completing the steps for insurance approval I had to take two fitness test. Each test reflected that I was more physically fit that most women of regular body weight my age. They thought i would be happy to hear that, but I wasnt. To me I work out, and the fitness shows, but I am still obese and that fitness test doesnt matter. Now I am hoping that I will not only be fit but not be obese. I dont want to be aware of the space that I take up or worried if a chair will hold my weight. I am tired of being limited to plus size fashion. I dream about being able to go to freaking OLD NAVY and able to fit a t-shirt or pair of shorts off the rack. I dream about being able to run without the jiggle of the fat from legs hurting or needed to ice down for the next few days. I look forward to a better way of life for me and my family. Being more happier with myself will mean a happier family and that is important to me. I look forward to being a little more confident in my profession that is primarily dominated by men or women that the men like to look at. I look forward to it all!!!

Wow you go girl!! You look amazing and should be proud!!

I ahve been on B6 and b12 injections for about a year now. Just once a week for each and of course you absorb and store it better since its an injection. You may wnat to talk to your DR about them.

I am not sleeved yet( I just recieved my insurance approval) but I will share what I am doin pre op and post op to help with that. Currently I am doing a circuit weight training regiment. this way my heart rate stay high so I burn fat, but by doing weight training I am conditioning my muscles and toning. I also am wearing compression sleeves to help with bat winds and shorts to for my thights and tummy. The compression wear keeps the skin from jarring around during exercise. the force of the exercise works with gravity and seperates the skin from the muscle when we loose fat, thus producing saggy skin. So with the combo of weight training and compression wear I should be ok. I got this trick from a couple of women who spoke at one of the pre op groups. They were each beyond 50 yrs old and lost more than 150lbs and neither have any loose skin. It was absolutely amazing to see.

Well i started this journey back in Apil and I received my insurance approval today!! I should be in surgery be mid OCTOBER!!! I am excited and nervous all at once. I have learned alot and will be ready. Thank you to everyone on this forum who answered my questions and gave me strength to keep persuing this no matter what other people said!! I dont think I would have been as comfortable with my decision without this forum!

I would be careful with the weight gain. It may come back to haunt you. Most insurance companies want a two year previous weight history and for you to at least show you can lose weight. I wouldnt advise you not to do something but just consider all angles. Good Luck