Knee2010

I had my surgery 11/15 and yesterday I did tons of walking at the malls. I didn't carry any packages, my husband did that for me. But this morning my lower left side is very achy and kinda hurts. Is it just sore muscles or does anyone think I did some kind of damage due to all the walking? Could too much walking at one time so soon cause a leak? Thanks for your inputs!

I cannot believe it, I'm one year out from my sleeve surgery. I remember my doctor told me this would happen. Last night I moved my SIZE 6 dress pants into my closet!!!! Even though my doctor said it would happen, that I would get down this small, in the back of my mind I had my doubts. But I'm here! I did it and according to my doctor, I'm not finished. He says I should/WILL get down one more size into a 4. Absolutely, freaking, fantastic!!!

Ask you insurance what, if any guidlines you have to follow. A lot of insurance companies make you do a "supervised" diet for 6 months. If yours has that requirement then you know you need to start it during the summer so that way as soon as next year rolls around you will already have done that part.

ditto, ditto and ditto!!!

LOL, I think we are all pretty much in the same boat. I gained a couple of pounds also during the holidays. But back to the basics today!!! I just finished my Breakfast Protein Shake. I've got my 2nd one in the freezer here at work, will be taking it out around 11:00 so it can be thawed enough for lunch. Packed my yogart and string cheese for my Snacks and I have chicken and ceaser salad for my dinner tonight. Isn't it just wonderful that we all only gained just "a few" pounds this year instead of the 10+ that we used to gain? I know that used to be me, but not anymore!

Pull it back. And once you get the job, keep it pulled back except for "casual Friday's".

I know this might sound crazy, but I am so thankful for gaining 3 pounds. Just think about it for a minute and I'm sure most of you will agree with me. I have NEVER gotten thru the holidays having gained ONLY 3 pounds. Before the sleeve I could easily have gained 3 pounds in just one day and now, since Thanksgiving I have gained 3 pounds. Every day at the office there are tamales, baked goods, chocolates, etc., and then just this week we have had three different Christmas luncheons. Now don't get me wrong, these 3 pounds are NOT STAYING! I have already signed up for a pilates class that starts after the 1st, and when I leave work today I will throw any/all food/goodies in the trash can so when we come back to work after the holidays we can all start fresh. But I am not beating myself up over this, instead I am CELEBRATING being normal. Not quite yet a normal BMI, but normal in the sense of ONLY gaining a normal amount of pounds instead of what I used to gain each year. My New Years Resolutions: I WILL lose these 3 pounds!!! I WILL finish losing the last 20 pounds!!! I WILL continue to be thankful for having lost my weight and finding my health!!! I WILL continue to be thankful for my family (my real family and my virtual/sleeved family)!!! and, I WILL continue to be thankful for being able to be thankful. I hope/wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and I hope everyone has a safe Happy New Year and many, many more to come!!!

Congratulations!!! This is sooooooo worth it. You better tell Santa to bring you new clothes in a size small, cuz that's what you will end up in.

I like the "good weight fairy" answer. If I give you my address will you send her my way when your done with her? lol

MacSleever, LOL, you are definetely not alone on psycho island. I am 1 year out and down to my last 20 pounds to lose and I still don't "see" the new/real me. When I look in the mirror I still see the overweight me and when I go clothes shopping I still pick up the wrong size pants. I am getting better at selecting the correct tops but I have yet to take the correct size pants into the dressing room the first time. It helps me to have my husband go shopping with me, cuz he wants to see me after I put the pants on, and he'll tell me that he thinks I could go a size smaller and he'll get them and make me go back inside to try them on. And of course he is right. lol I have had several friends tell me that it takes forever for the mind to catch up with the body. In my case, my mind hasn't caught up yet. Hope this helps.

sleevemeup, I am 5 foot 3 and 1/2 (give me that 1/2 lol). Yes, I have some excess skin. Right now it is not real bad. I kinda like to think that I am just soft (not muscular/hard). But also, I am 50 years old so even with exercising I'm not sure I would ever again see a lean/mean/muscular "hard body". Of course I do have a small sag on the very front/bottom of my stomach. What with being overweight for years and having 2 kids. But overall, it's not real bad right now. I do have the "batwing" thing going on on my arms and I do have a saggy/flat rear end now. Am I planning on plastics? Right now, today; No, it's not bad enough for me/in my opinion. However; I have had several friends tell me that the "last 20 pounds" is what did them in. And that's where I'm at, so when I finally get this last 20 off, my "softness" may turn REALLY saggy, so I am keeping an open mind to having plastic surgery.

Piplula, I'm on MFP as Knee2010 We can be friends. When was your surgery and what part of the country are you from? Me, I'm in south Texas.

Bebee and Dar1983, Just keep the faith, keep on reading the posts on this site and BELIEVE that IT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU. I know it's hard to really know/accept that this is FINALLY happening to us all, for years with the yo-yo dieting and the giving up to have finally found a way to achieve what we all want/NEED so much sometimes seems like a miracle. And even though I am a year out now and my weight lose has slowed down (my last 20) I still have not fully come to gripes that this has indeed happened to me. All the senior posters have said it takes a long time for the mind to catch up with the body and they are right. When I look down at myself or in the mirror I just don't see what I'm looking at. I still see the overweight person. It doesn't matter what the size tag on the pants say, I just don't "see it" on myself. My husband is always pointing out other women to me and telling me they are larger than I am and all I can do is shake my head "no, that's not possible". He then shakes his head at me and gives me a hug. He has been so understanding throughout this whole process! Anyway, ladies, and everyone else on this site who might read this. Just know that it CAN AND WILL happen to you also. It's not easy, and sometimes it slows down, but if you keep doing what your doctor and nutritionist tell you to do, then it will happen.

Bebee, When I started this journey I was in a pant size 20W and top size 2X. And I was fixing to have to go up a size in pants.

Congratulations!!! I remember how excited I was when I got my approval. Your date will be here before you know it. 1 tip that I can give you would be to "clean out your pantry" before your surgery. Get rid of the bad junk food now. Depending on what type of post-op diet your doctor has you on, at first you might be only liquids and you aren't going to want your "old" favorites staring you in the face. Especially once you move to the soft/mushy stage of eating. This is fantastic tool that we've all gotten, but it doesn't fix the mind. Good luck and WELCOME!!!

I just sent you a request.

Completely normal!!! Just get as much rest as you can right now and let your body heal. You should start seeing a drastic improvement in your energy levels and feeling better in another couple of weeks at the most. Just keep trying to get as much liquid in you as you can. If the Protein drinks give you problems (sometimes they are too thick), then thin/dilute them with either a fat free milk or Water. For some people it is easier to drink warm drinks rather than cold. If that is you, (it was me) then keep your Protein Drinks & water in the ice box and just pour a small amount (1/8 -1/4 cup) into a coffee cup and warm it and drink that, then repeat, repeat, repeat, all day so that you are conistently sipping your liquids/protein. At first I would fix a cup of chicken broth and put some in a coffee cup and I would put/set it on my electric mug warmer plate to keep it warm-it would take me so long to drink that coffee cup amount. I remember celebrating when I realized I had finished an entire cup of Soup amount by lunchtime. Just remember, this takes time. Allow yourself the time to heal and you will get thru this!

In my opinion, 46 days out is too early to be eating any kind of bread, even the "thin" ones. The humus and turkey slices are good choices, but the bread will stick and swell. As far out as I am my lunch consists of just cheese slices and chicken slices, no bread. So I eat a "breadless sandwich". Try rolling up some cheese, turkey, chicken, string cheese etc. and see how that feels for you. Even though we have all had the same surgery, it is still a little different for each of us and it is a trial to sometimes find things that work for you. If the bread isn't working right now (and I think that's what is giving you problems), stop eating it and if you really feel like you need bread then try it again in a few weeks. That's one thing you will find out, our tastes change. Somethings that we liked before surgery or right after surgery, all of a sudden we no longer like the taste or the texture of. Give it time, don't loose the faith and make sure and follow YOUR doctor's/nuts plan for you.

Using the mall was a good example to show your friend. It might also help to pass this website on to your friend. Even though she isn't getting the surgery, she can get as much knowledge as your getting from here. I have passed this site on to lots of people (both surgery interested and those who aren't). A lot of times I think those that love us just need extra reassurance that we will be OK, and the unknown is scary.

Our vacation this year (Oct) will be riding the bike from San Antonio to Key West, FL.

In 2008 we rode from San Antonio, TX to Sturgis on a Heritage. Awesome trip! We're thinking of doing it again in the next few years.

Fellow VSGrs, I have a huge dilema. My husband and I will be traveling this weekend to a family get together (surprise 70th birthday for his Dad). Nobody in my husbands family has seen me since the surgery and my dilema is: I am so excited for everyone to see the "New Me", but last year one of my husbands "step/half brothers" passed away. He had started the insurance approval process for the lap-band (I'm guessing he weighed between 300-400 pounds) and during the process he suffered a heart attack. He left behind a wife and 3 young children. How do I handle this? I don't want to upset anybody in the family and while I'm sure they will be happy for me I am also sure everybody at some point will be thinking "what if he had started the process sooner" or something along those lines. Thanks for any words of wisdom and/or guidance given. Karen

Welcome to the losers bench! Elka, thanks for the update on Patrick. Encourage him to sip sip sip, all day. Those teeny tiny sips will add up throughout the day and that's the most important thing at first, staying hydrated.

What a wonderful frame of mind going into this. You so got this!!! I'll be waiting to hear from you afterwards telling me how well you are doing walking the halls and sipping. Here's to keeping the positive vibes coming your way!

Welcome, I'm glad you are doing so well. It just gets better from here on out. This site is a great place to get answers to all your questions so please check in frequently, also, let us know how you are progressing. Even those of us who have been here for a while still enjoy reading about other peoples success!