PdxMan

Well, 5-6% body fat is extremely low. Something I doubt I'll ever be at. This is the level of professional athletes. I would need to look deeper, but I think that may be the point where the body begins to regularly utilize muscle as an energy source as opposed to fat stores if you don't consume your minimum required calories, the number of calories consumed = number of calories burned. Starvation mode is just a title given to your body trying to protect itself. Trying to put boundaries around when this happens and comparing it to others doesn't really help us at all because everyone is so different. There is no exact amount and staying at one level will only move you to your next stall. You have to change things up. Keep your body on its toes. Keep it guessing ... keep it burning.

You can enter starvation mode, but it cannot be maintained. Even after some time, you will lose weight. It just may not be stored fat. When you say when your body is 6% for a woman, 5% for a man ... what does that mean? And, of course, I have to ask ... are you drinking with your meals? Are you exercising at all? Are you saying you have kept yourself under 900 calories daily for almost a month and have not lost a single pound?

I know your question is about Vitamins as it relates to weight loss, but I just have to add that the reason they have us on vitamins isn't for weight loss. Our intake has been drastically reduced therefore, the nutrients our body is absorbing is also reduced. Early out, you really need to be taking the vitamins your team has recommended. I know some Drs require blood tests every 3 months to ensure you are getting what you need. We're not taking vitamins for weight loss, but for health reasons.

I'm just saying there are other reasons to be cold than a funky thyroid. :chillpill:

Search the site on this topic. There are very good theories and articles unrelated to thyroid. I have had mine tested recently and I'm right in the middle of the scale.

My surgeon didn't think the size made that much of a difference. He said he used a 34 bougie for all. I said, "But I'm a guy! Don't I need a bigger stomach than a girl? My calorie requirements are greater!!" Then he explained it to me and I felt silly. I'll use math, but don't feel silly afterward because this is not straightforward by any means. As mentioned above, the number is the number of millimeters for the circumference of the tube they place in your stomach to use as a guide for the staple line. So let's break this down: To get the diameter of the tube, we have to take the size and divide it by 3.14 (pi, the ratio of the diameter to the circumference) Size 32 bougie, the smallest they use would have a diameter of 10.19108 mm. Size 40 bougie, the largest (from my research) they use would have a diameter of 12.73885 mm. A difference of 2.547771 mm. Let's translate this to inches, which I am more familiar with. 1 millimeter = 0.0393700787 inches 2.547771 x 0.0393700787 = 0.100305933 That is one tenth of 1 inch difference between the smallest and the largest. So, in my books, not really much of a difference at all to worry about. Buuuut ... he did say that it is only a guide. It is up to the surgeon's skills to sew tightly to the bougie, which, depending on experience, would could cause variance. So, the size of the bougie doesn't really matter, it is the skill of the surgeon. It may be a good question to ask your surgeon pre-op. "How tightly do you sew to the bougie?"

True, I'm always cold now and my metabolism is MUCH higher than what it was. There are many threads on this topic with lots of explanations.

My surgeon used a 34. The number is a measurement, in millimeters, of the circumference of the tube they place in your stomach to use as a guide for the staple line. So, a difference between a 34 and 36 is 2 millimeters in circumference. I believe the thickness of a dime is a bit more than 1 millimeter, so your sleeve is 2 dimes bigger than mine. But wait, that is circumference, so we actually have to divide that by pi squared to get the diameter ... well ... it isn't much of a difference ...

For the purposes of using the 3,500 calories = 1 pound and calculating calorie deficiets and overages, 1 calorie in pretty much does equal 1 calorie out. Is it perfect, no, of course not. The body has ways of protecting itself and retaining waters and salts in tissue as it sees fit, but it is accepted as a general guidline. What you have to remember, is that the 1 calorie burned may not necessarily come from reserved fat. Especially when you have a lower BMI. It can come from any store in your body. Visceral fat is even more difficult for the body to give up, as I understand it.

Pure fat vs real fat. Body fat is not just fat. Your numbers are a bit off as well. There are 453.5924 grams in a pound, which when multiplied by 9 does give you your 4,082 figure. It is also accepted that 3,500 calories = 1 pound. I found this out there in the Googleverse which does a better job of explaining it than I could ever do. http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_pound.php

At the beginning for me, it wasn't that I was aiming for 500 - 600 calories a day, it was all I could do to reach that. I had so much restriction that I could only eat 2 teaspoons of mushed tuna which would make me full for 2 hours. If I ate slider foods, I could eat more, but I felt confident I had enough reserves to supply me for awhile , so I avoided them. I am amazed that you are able to not only eat a piece of pizza less than a month out, but that it is OK with your NUT to eat a piece of pizza, thin crust or whatever. WOW! I had a slice 3 nights ago and could only eat about 3/4 of it, and I am almost 7 months out. Do you eat lean Proteins? How is your restriction when eating them? My NUT had me on pureed Soups 1 month out, but as we all know, every NUT has their own plan and there seems to be hardly any consistency. I'm guessing the info from Livestrong is for maintaining current weight, not dealing with weight loss. This is definately not a race, in my opinion. You should eat and do what works for you. My only suggestion would be to make sure you are not sabbotaging yourself by not following your team's plans for you. If they say you can drink with your meal, then fine, but know that you can probably eat more than those who don't. If they say to eat pizza, then go for it, but know that your loss may be slower than those who don't. You will still lose eating 1,200 calories a day and lose faster if you are able to exercise daily.

I was told 6 weeks for bathing and swimming. My surgeon did not use stitches on my laproscopic "ports", just the glue and steri strips. You don't want any germs settling in there, for sure!

Wow, we have a lot of passionate people here, which is good ... to a point. As I have stated many times before, an internet forum is only one place to get information. I believe your questions should be first posted to your surgical team or your PCP as they know your particular situation better than anyone. Everyone is different, for sure. I, by no means, am a veteran or an expert in the VSG world. I have had success working with my team and doing what I need to do, as you can see from my signature, but it is by no means the right plan for someone else. One of the problems, though, as I have seen many threads by folks stating that they are 12 months out and have only lost 30 pounds ... admit they eat and drink at the same time and don't always eat the right foods (slider) ... are suprised by how much they can eat ... figuring they have stretched their stomachs back to normal size again ... Assuming the surgeon had removed 85% of their stomach, how can they be back to eating large portions again? Let's throw the "stretched stomach" theory out the window, though. I will speak in absolutes about that one. I researched this topic and asked my surgeon this. He laughed. The stretchy part, the part that distends when over-eating, was removed. To stretch it out would take far longer than 12 months and take a concerted effort to do. Knowing how I eat now, I can understand that. If you really believe you can stretch your sleeve back to normal size in 12 months, I suggest you talk to your surgeon and research the topic. Sleeve, not bypass pouch. I know from my experience the one way I can eat close to 'normal' portions is to drink with my meal. How is that possible without a stretched stomach? Research pyloric valve function. I'm not going to post my research here as I will come across as a know it all, and that is not my intention in a highly energized topic. If you don't want to believe it, don't. Do your own research but don't take one internet forum and one thread as gospel. Let's support each other here, OK?

I'm just curious. Who did you have your surgery through? Does your team include a nutritionalist or dietician? Have they provided any program for you at all to follow?

Yes, the Premeir shakes are the best I've tried all around. I have been espousing their awesomeness on the board for quite some time. I'm almost 7 months out and have at least one a day. Congrats on finding what works for you.

That's just a couple blocks from me. I run on Wismer occasionally. So, if you see a guy who looks like he used to weigh 300 lbs, stop me and say Hi!

Woo Hoo!! Nice! Congrats.

For me, it took about 6 weeks before my clothes started to feel loose enough to need to change sizes. Even though I had lost a TON of weight, my size didn't really change. It was frustrating, but I knew it would happen. Common sense told me it would. Then, I dropped sizes quickly. I was in 38s (which I had kept in a box in the garage hoping one day I would be back in them) for only two weeks! Size 36s for about two months. I have been at 34s since but these are getting loose now. So, at about 8 weeks I had to unload my ENTIRE wardrobe, except for a few wool sweaters which I washed and dried on HOT to shrink them. It worked! Congrats on your re-sizing!

They say the whey protein is the best, and at this point, you don't want to short yourself too much on the carbs. That is the mainstay of where you will be getting your energy. I was at around 30-50g carbs and was listless. Upped to to around 80 and that really helped. Now that I am more active, I try to get in around 120 or so, but I don't count it that closely.

Oh, no. You can remove the strands. But I agree, to do it well makes me crazier than it's worth.

This is absolutely correct. I'm willing to bet just about anything we were all probably getting almost double the amount of protein pre-surgery. An area which we are really falling short on is liquids. Be sure to get lots of liquids in you as your intestines are removing all the liquids from the food leaving it, well ... More liquids, more ...

Just be diligent in removing the strands, and I think you'll be fine. For me, the cost/benefit analysis shows it is too much work for the amount of flavor celery provides. But my celery de-stranding skills are a bit lacking.

Brat, I heard the sirens Sunday and read the story online. I'm guessing you're the 4 adults and 2 dogs? I'm sorry this happened so close to your surgery. As pointed out, stress can add another complication to recovery, so weigh your options carefully. Let me know if there is anything I can do to assist online or locally.

That reaction is called The Slimes. For me, and from my research on the topic from here, it occurs when eating something too quickly, too large of a bite or not chewing enough. Do a search on the forum for slimes. Sorry that happened to you, but it only happened to me once, as I am sure you are not looking for a repeat. Good luck!

My NUT told me to avoid bread, rice and pastas for at least 3 months as those items, once in the stomach, actually expand. This limits the amount of space in your stomach, which should be utilized by Protein and good carbs. For me, even at 3 months bread was very uncomfortable. I have just recently, at 6 months out, been OK having a couple bites, but my tastes have changed and I really no longer crave bread like I used to. But at 3 weeks out ... wow. And that is on the NUT's diet plan ...? My NUT's plan was pureed Soups and cottage cheese. Breads and alike were 3 months out. You might want to give them a buzz and clarify.