emily_0192010

Good luck Karen!!! It was only a year ago I was, where you are now. It is such a whirlwind, crazy, amazing journey It simultaneously drags on and yet takes no time at all. Keep us updated please And i'll start warming up your seat on the losers bench

Hey there Mags I'm Emily and i'm 21! I'm not in school currently, but going to be returning soon. Life post-sleeve in your twenties is AWESOME! I added you as a friend, feel free to message me and ask any questions you'd like. Congrats on your sleeve and welcome to loser's bench Also, are you on myfitnesspal? If you are, add me. emmeylou

Hey Johnathan One of the reasons I was against the band was because it would need adjustments for LIFE! Some surgeons charge per adjustment. To me that seemed like a lot of money! Plus, considering these things are supposed to be for life, they have an awful lot of revision surgery's! I know the sleeve may seem scary, since it removes so much of your stomach. But it calmed me to know that people live very healthy lives after having complete gastrectomys for other reasons (cancers, ulcers, trauma, etc). Plus, with this surgery our stomach still behaves the same way and the way the food enters and exits is the same! It is simply smaller. Yes, there is a small chance of leak, but there are less worries long term then the band. Good luck with your decision! Also, since we are so biased over here (in the best way of course!) you should check out the "lapbandtalk" website as well to get some other opinions as well

I am currently a size 6 and I am still 20 ish pounds away from being at my personal goal weight. It is well within a healthy BMI range, so why not continue? Why stop just because I am in a size 6. Heck yeah I want to be 4 or maybe a 2 (as long as I'm still healthy!). The thing I've learned though, is that even though I may be wearing the same number as other people who wear a six... my body is very different. I could not get away wearing anything "trashy" right now. I have skin. Lots of it. More than I need for sure! And that isn't going to magically go away. Yes I'm smaller, but I do not have the same body as some size 6 lady who was never overweight. I am so happy that I can look cute, but truly, what I gain the most happiness from are the things I am able to do now. I can run with my baby sister (she's 6) and I can go all day without wanting to nap, etc. I was borderline diabetic pre-surgery. I am thrilled to say I don't have to worry about that anymore! I hoot and holler every day when I think about that

Hey everyone Have you heard of the book "New Rules of Lifting for Women"?? I want to add in weight training into my exercise routine. Right now i'm just doing cardio really, and a few machines (i don't know how to use them, so i've had to take a lot of time to learn each one). I heard about this program through MyFitnessPal and i'm curious to know if anyone here has experience with it? I'm a bit nervous since it apparently uses free weights, but on the other hand following a program would be easier than "winging" it right? Thanks!

No you don't. A greasy cheese burger would make you sick to your stomach and fill you with regret. Find something to take your mind off of it. You are dwelling on it and making it worse! Make your mind and hands busy!

If I could bring myself to enjoy it... maybe lol! Have fun with the Goofy's race I'm a couple hours north in Jacksonville. I've heard of some of the Disney race's before. The other issue I have is with footwear, and the heat. I have okay sneakers, but I can't afford to buy the all out runner shoes. How do you deal with the heat when you run?

I can confirm that the pre-op is the hardest part! And the first few weeks even harder at that. You can do this! Try chewing gum or keeping seriously busy to keep your mind off of it. This is the best time to practice the control that you'll need post-op to be successful. Keep your eye on the prize! This isn't just about losing numbers. The whole point is to shrink your liver. The numbers simply prove to your doctor that you did. The liver stores fat. When your body burns fat it pulls it from the liver first, then moves on to your stored fat. So losing weight=shrinking liver. That is why so many docs make us lose weight PRE surgery!. It makes the surgery safer. Also, google "carb withdrawal". This is what you are going through right now since you are eating so little carbs. The first week is the hardest, seriously. I did low carb for 4 months pre-surgery and the first week I was crabby, weak, crazy emotionally seriously bratty. I don't know why, but powerade zero helped tremendously! Just make sure you are allowed, but there shouldn't be an issue. ((hugs)) You'll get through this! Stay strong!

I was told "if its hurts, don't do it" lol! I am technically allowed it, but honestly the carbonation just isn't comfortable. Even flat any dark sodas (pepsi, coke, etc) are uncomfortable. I can do flat sprite/etc every so often (diet of course!) but its only a sip of my sisters or something here and there. So I think in the end it will be up to you. Your sleeve may allow you to drink, or it may not. If it worries you, then wait until you are quite a few months to a year out. By that time you'll "know" your sleeve and will have a better grasp on what you can and cannot tolerate.

Congrats!! I'm so happy for you! Well, for the positive spirit, NOT the injured knee of course! I can't even imagine running a marathon. I'm just working through the C25K now. Keep running!

Enjoy!!! Congratulations! Don't forget that it will taper down soon, and stall at some point, but in the meantime... isn't it awesome?!?!? Watching the numbers just go down and down and down You are doing amazing!

Just double check with your surgeon. I would think that as long as you are past the 6 week mark you'll be okay. But be really, really careful. Alcohol is absorbed WAY faster now! It will hit you faster and stronger than it did before! Plus, you won't really be eating much food. Have fun!

((Hugs)) Don't worry, from what I understand this is pretty normal. My emotions have been all over the place as well, but luckily not to drastically. More like PMS all the time. If it is getting to a point where it is overwhelming you, please get some help! Find someone to talk to or ask your doctor for some help. Part of the crazy emotions supposedly comes from all of the estrogen that is released when the fat is burned. Plus the psychological changes we are making on top of the physical ones. It is a crazy journey! Please keep us informed and I hope you feel better soon!

I agree with Cookies. If you could stay close to your surgeon just in case there is an issue that would be preferable. Also, the recovery for this surgery really isn't all that long. You said you would be going about a week after surgery? Chances are you won't need all that much help after a week. Most people are back to work after 2-3 weeks. If you are set on going and your surgeon okays it, ask if he knows anyone in the area you'll be going to that you could see if there was an emergency of some sort. If you ask about it now, it won't be so complicated later on. I did this when I moved to New York (from Fl) for a few months. I was already 4 months out though. Our plan was that if I had any issues I'd call him, if he felt I needed to be seen he would set up an appointment for me with one of the NY surgeons he knew.

I'm wondering if that is just your weight loss pattern now... some people just don't lose every week. They "staircase" lose. Meaning that they go awhile without losing, then drop, then go awhile, then drop, etc. If that is how your body is, then these aren't stalls. Also, what are you considering to be a stall? One week without losing? If you are losing on the staircase pattern then a stall would be much longer without weight loss. This is how I lose now. As for being frustrated, I feel you! I think its easiest once you can get to a point where you realize that they happen and can accept it as part of the journey. It will always sucks, but it won't bring you down. You are doing everything right. Look at your overall... even if that was pre-op it still counts! I lost 40 pre-op and I never dropped large numbers post-op and I stalled quite a bit. But the numbers add up in the end. Right now everything is still new and its easy to want fast results. It will settle soon and you'll be able to appreciate each pound more, and not be so frustrated with the stalls. My advice for stalls is always to focus on Water and Protein and not worry about the numbers. They will move!

Awesome!!! Congrats!

Yay! That's awesome congrats! Pretty soon that will be chairs too... especially the ones at the hairdressers!

Honestly, I eyeball it. If I make an entire package of the jennie-o lean ground turkey (1.25lbs) I put two really big dollops of yogurt using a tablespoon. So that is about 3-4 oz of yogurt. I'm not sure if you can use this during the pureed stage or not, but certainly can try it during the soft foods. If you bake them instead of pan frying them (I do nonstick pan, no added oil or butter... gives it great color and very yummy) they will be even softer. Won't look as appealing, since they won't be browned, but still yummy!

It sounds like you are doing perfect At 3 days out I couldn't do Protein shakes at all... I was struggling with water! I had more problems with the "not hungry" once I switched to actual food because I didn't have an appetite. The first few weeks transitioning to food I used the alarm on my phone to remind myself to eat every couple hours! Hang in there, you are doing great!

I'm so sorry this happened to you! Like the others said there are a number of things it could be. It sounds like to me that you overdid it and didn't eat enough. No matter what though, please see your doctor! Or at least call them. Feel better!

I'm 9 months out, over 100 down... and I still have fat days. I still have another 25ish to go and these are going even more slowly then they did at the beginning. It really is all in our minds. Of course you are losing fast enough!! Of course you can tell you've lost weight. But there are some days where we just don't see it. It helps me on these days to think about how long it took me to put the weight on and how long I carried it around. It makes it a lot easier to realize I've taken most of it off in less than a year. Chin up, get through the day and try to be positive about how far you've come!

Congrats on doing so well!!! And thanks for finally joining! I don't know what I would do without this site, it truly has helped me stay positive. Try to be patient with those final pounds. Being in the "under 30 to goal" category I understand how frustrating it is now that we don't lose nearly as fast nor as consistently. It is frustrating!! But be happy with how far you've come and know that with time those final pounds will come off!

Yay!! It took me forever to really SEE the changes in myself. I saw the numbers on the scale and the numbers on my jeans but it never hit me that I was changing. The first day it hit me it felt amazing! Congrats on the weight loss, but also congrats on seeing how far you've come!

Ahh... Breakfast. I am not sure if you are low-carbing or not. Many pre-op (and post op) patients either have to or choose to do so. My best recommendation, drop your preconceived notions about what a breakfast food is. Why not have chicken at breakfast time, or deli meats, or turkey meatballs. You can also do greek yogurt (plain, flavor it yourself with sugar free syrups, crystal light packets, espresso powder, splenda, etc), omelets, bacon (go turkey if you are worried about fat), Protein shakes, etc.