JanePatrick

I can only speak for myself on veggies, but I eat more of them now than I ever have in the past. (one year out but started veggies at 8 weeks) Fresh veggies of any kind are the ONLY food I have found that never makes me feel sick. I joke around with my sweetie that since having the sleeve, my stomach wants me to be a strict Raw Foods only person. I also eat veggies lightly cooked (less mushy=better for me), and we have an Omega juicer that I use 4-5 times per week to get in some green leafys such as Kale. I usually juice 4 leaves and 1 (ONE) piece of fruit like an apple or an orange to take off some of the "green" taste that can be strong. I also notice that when I do not get in as many veggies I don't feel quite as energetic, maybe because less veggies means I may be filling up on something else that rhymes with "arbs" and starts with a "C" /grin

Congrats and good luck. If you get a drain tube in, most of your pain will go away once they remove that, at least that is how it worked for me. I also took a look at your posted pics of your room and it is the room I was in for my stay! My partner slept on that couch and I got the comfy bed . I left good vibes in the room so I know you will do well, plus if you get bored, open the door and watch the nurses and the people who clean the floors every hour /grin. Wishing you well.

I started out at 5'8 508lbs and female (still female ). I had the VSG August 20 2010, so just shy of 6 months. My BMI was like 73 I think. As you can see from my ticker I have lost almost 120lbs in that 6 months, I am down to 366 and my BMI is around 56. I have not "officially" exercised but I am much more active, and will be starting at a gym this month, which will only help my weight loss continue. Getting to 508lbs obviously means I must have food issues....which have severely dissipated w/the surgery. I have not had a hard time losing even with some monthly stalls, and holiday eating which taught me a good lesson. The lesson was that if you eat the wrong foods to often, you will stall, and perhaps put on some pounds...but eating the wrong stuff occasionally, will not stop that weight loss. I feel more like a human being, and I am that person that I always envied who could eat a small bit of something and feel satisfied. No more 1 bite of something leading to eating the whole bag, cake, bar, pizza, ice cream container. 1 bite is just that 1 bite and I am good with it. I can't answer you as to what might happen at 260 or so, but I can not imagine that with exercise and good food choices you or I would just suddenly stop losing for ever. It might be slower weight loss, but I think the body will keep going until it is at a healthy weight. Everyone is different and your mileage may vary, but I would recommend this surgery to anyone as long as they are mentally prepared for making some big changes in the way they relate to food.

Hey there, This post was originally from 2008 and somehow got resurrected. Many things have changed with insurance since the original posting. Your best bet is to check with your current health insurance carrier.

Get out of my head! Lately I have been having those same thoughts. I am still huge by anyone's standard, but I have already lost 110 pounds, and it seems ridiculous to me that I am thinking (mildly worried) that I might not be able to stop losing weight and will end up a skin skeleton, then in the next thought I am worried I will stop losing weight and never get down to a "normal" size. You are right that having those opposing thoughts at almost the same time is odd.

I am just past 5 months since surgery. Our friend got his tax money and wanted to take us to dinner so we went to Bob's Burger and Brew (kind of like a red robin but 10 times better). They had no kids menu so I ordered a regular meal. Fish Dinner Three generous portions of ocean fresh cod, hand-dipped in our special batter, deep fried in pure all vegetable oil, and served on a bed of leaf lettuce, tartar sauce and lemon wedges. Soup or salad. Baked potato, Fries, or Jo-Jo's. Garlic Bread on the side. Needless to say I knew I would be bringing home most of the dinner. Everyone else ordered fancy burgers and soda pop-I got Water When dinner came I was shocked. They probably used 6 potatoes per person for the jo-jo's, the burgers were the size of my face oozing and dripping with all the fixin's, and the pile of onion rings must have come from at least 3 medium onions. It was insane, the portion sizes were ridiculous. I got a nice salad delivered w/my meal and I picked at it dipping some lettuce into the dressing, then gave most of it away to my companions. My dinner was huge. My dinner alone could have fed me, my daughter, and my spouse. The fish pieces were each about the size of my hand, the 2 garlic bread's were 1 inch thick and as big as the fish, and the jo-jo's took up most of the plate, which was one of the kind you usually get at mexican restaurants...oblong and big. I ate 3 medium bites of the fish 2 jo-jo's, 1 bite of bread, and then it started.... DUH DUH DUUUUH. My mouth started watering, but not in a good way...usually it means I am about to hurl. My chin got all wobbley and I felt like I had the alien baby in my lower gut trying to break out. I stopped eating immediately and waited about 5 minutes and it got better, then it got worse. I ended up having to run out of the restaurant and drive home while in major pain. Our friend had to bring home my spouse and daughter. I ended up laying on the couch for an hour till I felt better. The crazy thing is that I barely ate anything. I am thinking it may have been the salad, combined with the fried food. We rarely eat fried and I think I just can't handle it. I thought for sure I was past the vomit/explosive rear end phase but I guess not. I realize I have become a bit snobby about food portions as well, whether that is positive or not I do not know. I can not imagine that I could have eaten a dinner that big prior to surgery, yet my dinner party, as well as those seated around us were munching away w/o a problem. The amount of food at our table was about the amount that we might eat over a 4-5 day period. My thoughts toward food have really changed these past months, and it isn't like I was trying to change it just evolved. Anyway, I am just not that hot on eating out anymore simply because I feel like I am wasting money. I can eat about $1 worth of food, but paying $15. Luckily I was able to convince them to forgo the Casino Buffet tonight...but I know that trip is coming up soon...my friends and family love themselves some casino fixins!

" I am part Filipino and rice is SUCH a huge staple" Most of the time that rice is White or Jasmine right? Maybe switch over to Brown Rice. Basmati Brown Rice is really good, and does not seem to taste as strong as regular brown rice. It is also a very healthy carb. It might give you the satisfaction of eating what your family is eating, and satisfying a desire for a carb at dinner without really giving you "bad carbs" or much carb at all since you would only be eating a small portion of it. Just pay attention to what your body is doing. If you slow weight loss with any carbs at all, or start craving more and more then I would stick to as little as possible. However, if your body can handle some small portions of good carbs then add them in. Just make sure you are eating the Proteins first.

I must have written it wrong...the garlic bread was the same as the fish...the jo-jos ranged from small to super large...I picked out the 2 smallest I could find.

pumpkin 07 was spot on with the information. I am about 5 and 1/2 months out and I still have trouble getting down 1 whole egg. Nutritionists can be extremely helpful, but they are trying to cover what works for the majority. Follow their advice, but fine tune it to fit your own personal situation. Nut says 1 egg, maybe you can do 1/2. Your body is going to be your best guide to what works, and trust me it will let you know when it's not working or has gone to far. Good luck and relax some, you really are getting past the hardest part right now.

I think inches lost are just as important, if not more important than what the scale actually says. Sometimes the scale doesn't move but I know I am shrinking! Anyway awsome job on your weight loss! I am sure it will keep on going down!

Good Job! Consider the exercise your ace in the hole, it should help you start losing during the stall. I also decided that if I lose much more hair I am cutting it and wearing cute hats until it comes back in.

Don't get to excited about the Vanilla just yet. I thought they tasted like a bad vanilla pudding. Something was just off about them. I really like the chocolate though. We are downing the vanilla because we bought them, but once they are gone they are never getting bought again. As to Casein and Whey Here is a small article LINK about the pro's and con's of both. Whey seems to be the better choice overall, But Casein is digested much slower, so it probably helps with keeping you feeling fuller longer. It is also not as purified as whey is. In mixing the two in the drink they are prob trying to help the drink give a longer lasting feel in the stomach, while keeping the carbs and fat low. It might also be why the drinks taste a bit better then your average Protein drink.

I agree w/Tiff, but then again I always agree with her. I had a hard time when I was moving from liquids to mush to solids. Everything tasted wrong, and would upset my stomach. I lost 35 pounds in the first month because I got tired of trying to eat something that didn't effect me poorly. I also had doubts about the sleeve working, but they passed once I could actually handle some Tuna, and from there other more solid foods. My first 10 weeks were a roller coaster of emotions, food problems, a 3 week stall where I thought I was not going to lose another ounce. All I can tell you is that the further out you get from the surgery, the better you will feel about having it done. Your body will heal itself, and you will get to a place where the sleeve feels like the best thing going. I still have stalls, it's just the way my body works, but during those stalls I make sure to try on clothes that I know did not fit me, because I still lose in size even when I am not losing on the scale. I hate to say it, but TIME is what will make things better. Keep your chin up and try to take comfort in that 18lbs that are gone. Think about how long that would have taken you before the sleeve, and if it would have stayed away or come back to visit you over and over.

Thanks for posting your video, I really enjoyed listening to you. More people should have your attitude, including me. I get highly irritated at the scale, my body, the cats (ok maybe not the cats) when I gain a couple pounds when I know that I have been eating the way I am supposed to and have gotten some exercise in. Everything I have done should cause me to lose more weight and here I am going up a pound. I have realized that my body goes in waves with weight loss and no matter how I want it to be, my body is doing it the way it wants to and in the end I am still in a good net loss for the month. Thanks again for the video! PS You look very noticeable thinner in your video than you do in your forum picture, perhaps its time for an update to show off all your work?

Good job on taking that next step. After surgery you will be amazed at the amount of weight that starts to come off, and at all the other changes that take place as well. Good luck and congrats.

Hi Beth! First of all, consider yourself blessed to have found these boards, and second WELCOME . I appreciated you letting us know about your experiences, and I can relate to a large amount of your feelings and happenings growing up. I also had some of the concerns about this "tool" prior to getting my surgery. I have always been overweight, never able to get off any significant amount, and what I did get off would come back, bringing along some more to add to the pile. I was afraid that I would get the sleeve and still be a failure and being a self pay shelling out a large sum of money made that possible failure even more nerve wracking for me. I can tell you that all of my fears prior to the sleeve surgery have been blown out of the Water, and I have never had even one day where I regretted going through with it. Perhaps others might be of another mindset about the Insurance requirements and the 40 BMI, but my thoughts are that you need to do what is going to benefit you the best and help your health. Making sure you stay at 40 for that last month would be my choice. After your surgery you can start dropping that BMI fast. Sometimes insurance hoops can be ridiculous. They would actually save more money if the obese were no longer obese because a vast majority of comorbidities would clear themselves up. Again Welcome to the boards and the community here. You should be able to find answers to every question you have, and there is a good sense of camaraderie here.

Haha thanks for the morning laugh! I completely understand what you are saying. I still have a long way to go but I am seeing parts of my body I have not seen in 20 years, or have never seen at all w/o that 3 way mirror thing. Unfortunately, I have always had a non existent butt, and losing weight will only increase that non existence. Oh well, better no butt, than one someone could rest a dinner tray on! Good job on your loss!

It really depends on the kind of day I am having. Some days I seem to be able to eat more than others. I have also always been a slow eater, but since surgery I have turned into a snail with my eating pace. Typically meals look pretty close to this for me at 5 months out: Breakfast: 1 scrambled egg w/onion & zucchini cooked into it w/a sprinkle of cheese Lunch: 1/2 to 3/4 ounce of lean meat or fish w/some cheese Dinner: 1.5 ounces cooked chicken 1 baby carrot cooked 1 floret of steamed broccoli less than 1/4 c of baked potato Snacks: Protein drinks, Tbsp natural Peanut Butter, nuts, 1/2 apple or other small portion of a fruit, sometimes a carby treat but not often I don't know how normal or not this amount is. Sometimes I feel like I am still hardly eating, then other times I feel like have eaten like a piglet. With the exception of a 1 time week long carb binge, I do not usually feel hungry at all-the carbs in my system cranked up the hunger feeling though. Me and carbs have a very dysfunctional relationship and my body is super sensitive to them.

Feedyoureye- My household is 98% vegetarian (me being the 2% holdout on occasion). What types of foods are you eating for Proteins right now? I use the following products which are all fairly low in carb and have a good nutritional count for all the rest. Morningstar farms (the breaded chicken patties are a bit high in carbs due to the breading, but not terrible.) Quorn-love the roasts and pretty much all the rest of their products Field Roast-not to bad, a bit more carby then the other brands Worthington I use any of these for the main "meat" of a meal and then add in lots of fresh and cooked veggies, dreamfields Pasta, brown rice, or taters for the family. I usually only have a tbsp of the pasta, rice or tater. They all work really well in casseroles as well. I can take most recipes and convert them to a vegetarian one with these brands. I have found that while I might be getting a tad more carbs than I would if I was eating real meat, it is not enough to slow my weight loss, unless I start adding in bread or sugar...but that is a different story

So, the first 15 days after surgery I lost 30lbs and then wham a screeching stop. The next 10 days were nothing other then 1lb up 1lb down up down up down to infinity. 3 days ago, I thought I had broken through as I went down 3lbs, then the next day I gained a 1lb and today gained a 1lb. I am eating 600-700 calories a day with about 80g Protein and lower on the carbs. I am not cheating I am eating healthy foods. I also weigh 449lbs and because of my size it probably takes more calories for me to sit and blink all day than what I am consuming, so how I can gain weight is beyond me. Other than some walking I have not started true exercise yet, but today I put on some new jeans that 10 days ago were so tight I could not breathe let alone wear them. Today I could slip them on over my hips while they were fully buttoned and zipped and I need a belt ? HOW am I losing inches from my waist but the scale says I am actually gaining weight? I am not making any new muscle yet so its not that. I also had my friend and daughter get on the scale to make sure it wasn't broken. I expected to stall a bit at the 3 week point but this is to odd, and I am so worried that I will not lose anything more than the 30 I already lost. Anyone else have a bad relationship with the scale this early out, but still notice the clothes getting looser?

Today is 1 month since surgery. I have lost 35lbs, with 2 weeks of the past 4 weeks being no scale movement at all, however I have lost inches due to 1-my stomach is no longer pushing against the steering wheel, I can actually see my feet 2-my clothes are looser although the scale says I have not changed much recently. I have also decided that documenting these things is a good idea so I can look back on the stuff I am/will be going through so... I have started a blog. I have never "blogged" before so I am not sure what all will be posted day to day but it will probably consist of non scale victories, misc musings, food, recipes, food, and more food. No I am not obsessed. So, if you would like to check it out the address is The Bacon Goblin Thanks