CraftyChristie

Hello everyone! I am pretty new on the boards and I don't have a surgery date just yet but my consult is on May 12th! My husband wants to have the VSG also. I've been a weight-loss and health blogger going on 10 years now. I recently started a new blog when I began therapy for my weight issues... and now it is going to become my sleeve blog :ohmy: I hope you will come follow me! http://healthy-christie.blogspot.com/ If any of you have blogs out there... I'd love to know about them so leave a comment here or on my blog! :cursing:

Hey everybody. So I am 15 weeks post op as of yesterday. Got on the scale this morning for my weekly weigh-in and I weighed in at 234.8 .... well 235 is my halfway to goal mark!! So now I am down 75 lbs of the 150 lbs I am planning to lose. It feels WONDERFUL. I happened to get my hair cut and colored yesterday as well, and took a photo of it after, which is now pretty much my favorite picture of myself... and a great way to Celebrate being half way to goal I already made it my avatar on here... lol. What can I say, I am diggin' it. I am feeling so blessed and grateful that I made it here, because a week ago I wasn't doing so well. Basically when I hit 237 which was my lowest weight ever as an adult.... although I felt happy, I also felt scared. Since I am not someone who has ever been thin as an adult, ever!! It is a big unknown for me. Of course I WANT IT... but I guess I'm also afraid. I know THIS person... the weight I am now. I don't know THAT person.... the one I am becoming. I found myself eating some junk food over the weekend and a couple days into this week. I ate a whole bag of Squiggles (Cookies... sorry BISCUITS... from New Zealand) which I guess is 12 cookies... over the course of 3-4 days. I can say I didn't stuff myself or overfill my tummy... but I know I was eating these because I was attempting self sabotage. I was attempting to prove to myself that I would NOT lose more, that I WOULD get stuck here again like I always do, and start gaining weight back. That I will never be thin and healthy and normal. That I am still controlled by food (even though I really am not anymore, for the most part). I think I was trying to prove all of this to myself because THAT is the ME that I KNOW. I realized talking to my dear friend April from the boards here (while we were at the gym earlier this week)... that I am carrying some guilt also. Guilt that i had surgery, and that many people in my life who struggle with weight may be feeling jealous even though they do fully support me. I don't want to make anyone feel bad. I don't want to make anyone else feel that they failed and I succeeded, especially because I have this amazing tool to help me, and I was NOT able to do it without this tool. Then there is also the fear that my friends or loved ones are thinking that. "You were only able to get this far cuz you had surgery." Which I guess is true, but it sounds more negative the way I am thinking it. There is also the fear that I will lost my friends.... especially my best friend of 15 years who has always struggled with weight but I have ALWAYS been the bigger one of the two of us, and I will be passing her up soon and be smaller than her. Same with my sister in law, I'm a size away from being smaller than her. I am so worried that when they realize I'm smaller than them, they will not feel good about being around me and they won't want to be. I am comfortable being the bigger one... I don't know how to be the smaller one. April helped me to realize I need to let go of the guilt and stop worrying about what anyone else is thinking. That if I am going to reach my goals, it will take hard work, and I am earning it, and putting in the time for ME, and that it is not selfish to do so. Thanks for listening.

Krista, I remember having pain in my chest too when I took deep breaths, mine was from my drain tube though. But even after having it removed you have have pain from where it was inside.

I know and I'm hoping it's really achievable... I just don't know when my loss will slow way down and how much. But I'm gonna keep workin for it!!!!

Well I wouldn't say get used to it... in a week or two it will be much better

Yes, The World According to Eggface is an awesome blog. Her "bites" recipes are especially awesome. As far as cookbooks, I have found diabetic cookbooks to be the best choice because they are high protein, low carb, and pretty decent on fat and calories. They always include the nutrition info also, which most recipe books don't (unless they are for dieters). There are also specific post weight loss surgery cookbooks out there. I just searched amazon and read reviews... I also found one diabetic cookbook in the discounted section at B&N that I like. If you are really interested I'll grab all the books out of my cupboard and give you the titles.

Thanks for sharing your story! I have never had a 1 in front of my weight since um... middle school!! I was easily 220 when I began high school. SO. It seems unobtainable... but I know I am on my way! I am now at 233 (started at 310 and had my surgery 5-20-10). My surgeon wants me to hit 199 by Jan 1st. I totally think I can do that! What a great way it would be to ring in the new year, right!! Not to mention it will be 1-1-11... a day full of 1's. That would be pretty special. :huh0: Although the odds of hitting the timing exactly are pretty small LOL. So if it happens early, hey I'll take it!!

Okay FIRSTLY my friend I want you to hear this. YOU DID NOT FAIL AT THE BAND. THE BAND FAILED YOU. YOU DID NOT FAIL AT DIETS. DIETS FAILED YOU. This is important because you are placing blame and guilt on yourself that you do not deserve. Secondly. I was also VERY hungry the first two weeks after my sleeve. It seems hit or miss, some people deal with hunger and some don't. My hubby and I both did. So did my friend who is almost 3 weeks post op right now. It's okay, it sucks but you WILL get through it. While you are in this liquids phase, you won't feel too much restriction unless you chug stuff which you probably won't :huh0: Once you get on soft foods you will start to feel it, and even more so on solid foods. If you eat a bite too many you will feel pressure in your chest, like a bad heartburn or just a major pressure in your sternum. It's very uncomfortable and once you have felt it a few times, you learn to stop eating before you get to that point. The nutritionists and nurses in our surgeon's office stress, you do not WANT to feel that... you want to stop eating before you feel it. You will experience it most in the first couple of weeks on solid foods when you are learning. I have only felt it once in the past month and a half when I accidentally ate too much turkey (it was only 2 oz! I can usually eat more than that.) That's the other thing is different foods will make you feel different, you can't always eat the same amount even if it seems similar. chicken and turkey, pretty similar, but it affected me differently. Also, 2 oz of chicken might fit comfortably today, and not tomorrow. So treat every meal like it's the first, and proceed carefully. Hang in there, the hunger gets better. Promise!

I haven't read through the replies so forgive me if I am just repeating something lol. I don't work but my husband does and he has VSG also. He works with a small close knit staff of 7 people in his office. He pretty much told everyone, which I was surprised about because I don't know if I could have done the same in his situation. I mean, I do tell everyone who asks, but not if they don't ask. So anyway... his input is that it has been very helpful. He is able to eat his frequent small meals at his desk, have water constantly, take walk breaks, etc and take better care of himself overall because everyone knows his situation. They have been supportive. He had to take time off for pre-op as well as post op appointments too, so this has been important for him to have their support. They also permit him on business trips to get a room with a fridge and do a small grocery store run.

I totally get those cravings!!! The best thing to do in my opinion is indulge them, but reasonably. Figure out what would really satisfy, and have it in a small amount. If you try to just fill up on something else and be "good", the cravings just get worse. When I wanted chocolate i found a few M&M's did the trick. When I wanted cheese I had some good full fat cheese, just a small chunk. I have managed not to gain any weight at all, and still lose... so I guess it's working! It's my theory that denying what you crave leads to more overeating and poor choices in the end. Good luck!

My labs were great and I was feeling tired too. One theory is that as ketosis sets in (from the high protein low carb diet) around 3 months, we have more adjustments to go through. The other theory is less exercise = less energy. I went through that and it's hard to get out of because when you feel tired, you don't wanna exercise! But once I got back to it, my energy picked up again! Hope it helps!

Thank you for all the kind words, yall! I have to say I have been continuously surprised how much support is offered to me through blogging, youtube, and this forum. I am so flattered and honored to be an inspiration to anyone. I have had several people tell me that reading my blog is how they learned about the sleeve and discovered it was what they wanted. It is amazing to think little me can have an affect like that which will change someone's life in a positive way. I plan to keep blogging and sharing well after hitting goal... just about maintaining a healthy lifestyle post op, and being available to talk to people who are considering surgery. As a side note... 233.6 today :huh0:

Thanks so much everybody I love sharing on here!

Brian, your posts are always so open and heartfelt. I always shed a little tear... lol. I can just feel what a kind person you are. Anyway, I can relate. Food was a friend... a best friend... always there no matter what... even when someone dies. In SOME ways this loss is even more difficult because it is the thing that helps you cope with every other loss, every other situation, well everything! But I know you are putting in the work... and you WILL get to the point where you don't think about food like that anymore. I honestly feel like I have for the most part... and I never, NEVER thought I would be able to say that. I also had to smile because I came on here specifically to post about being half way to goal Lol.... so that's awesome Congrats friend.

I posted my 3 month videos in my previous 3 month progress thread but I know they are harder to notice over there. I wanted to share the videos with you here! As well as a bonus video I made today, a little fashion show of the new clothes I got :001_tt2: [nomedia=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDLkEd-qArQ]YouTube- 3 Months Post-Op VSG (Part One)[/nomedia] [nomedia=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7M9-P8TLQs]YouTube- 3 Months Post-Op VSG (Part Two)[/nomedia] [nomedia=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPX24qFVr00]YouTube- Fashion Show[/nomedia] Thanks!!

Thank you!!! :thumbup1: I know I am blown away when I watch my old videos too. I barely see myself in there.

No offense to those with these answers, but it is NOT ACID!! lol.... Everyone told me the same thing. Sorry but it's not acid and it's not head hunger - it's true physical hunger! I Was STARVING the first two weeks!!!!!!!! Once I got on soft foods it got better, and over time it went away a lot more and now I get hungry every 2-3 hours when I'm supposed to eat (sometimes I don't get hungry but I usually do.) One person told me that it takes different amounts of time for each person to get rid of the hunger hormone and I think that is part of it. I still had a strong hunger hormone and was putting nothing but liquids in, so therefore I was hungry. It does go away with time though!!

Deprivation, dieting, guilt, etc play a LARGE part in emotional eating. We go to it for comfort because it's an excuse to have it. I personally have had the same experience. I was a MAJOR emotional eater before surgery. I'm past 3 months out and I've had no instances of emotional eating. I've had a couple "almosts", but I think it was more out of habit... and as soon as I realized I was thinking that way I'd just drop the idea. It's so easy to ignore now. It's interesting learning to handle your feelings without food.. but it's entirely possible, and very freeing.

Thank you so much