minniekitty

I am 4 months post-op, and yes, I would do it again. I have lost over 50 lbs and I'm less than 30 lbs away from my goal. My only regret is that I can only safely eat yogurt, Soup, and drink Protein drinks. I can't seem to eat normal food without getting sick and throwing up a lot of the time. It does make eating rather boring, but I guess that can be a good thing. I don't care for eating anymore, and I sometimes forget to eat most of the day. Considering how before surgery I would graze all day long and have no idea what my caloric intake was, I guess this is a better alternative.

You look gorgeous! Congrats on hitting Onederland!

I feel so strange going out to eat. I'm so used to finishing an entire entree and still being hungry. Now I eat a few bites and don't even want to see/smell the food afterwards. It's so much easier to get the food "to go" so I don't have to worry about people "wondering". I'm significantly lighter than I was before surgery, but I still feel like the fat girl that people assume eats tons of food.

So, after a stall around Thanksgiving, I passed my goal. I'm officially overweight! Yay!!! SN - Kala SW - 187 CW - 172.4 GW - 174 lbs to goal - REACHED! I passed my goal by 1.6 lbs I'm so glad to no longer be obese. I will reach my ultimate goal soon enough! I'll keep updating if I lose anymore weight by Christmas. It would be nice to get to the 160's... Maybe I'll aim for that My progress to goal: 10/31/2011 - 186.3 11/05/2011 - 183.2 11/12/2011 - 181.4 11/20/2011 - 180.6 12/03/2011 - 178.0 12/11/2011 - 172.4

I'd like to report a loss of 4.5 lbs since the last time I checked in here . I'm now down to 175 and only 1 lb away from goal. I don't think I'm going to set another goal before Christmas, though. I'll just try to lose as much as I can after I reach 174 lbs. SN - Kala SW - 187 CW - 175 GW - 174 lbs to goal - 1

Oh, I felt like I was starving on my post-op liquid diet. It's the "head hunger" messing with us. The cravings do get better once you can physically eat actual food again. I was sooo happy when I could eat mushies and then real food once again. It might not just be head hunger- we're so limited on calories at first post-op that there's likely some physical hunger mixed in with that. It does get better, I promise. PPI's also seem to help many people here with their physical hunger. It's the head hunger that's the hardest to cope with. We lived our lives eating so much food, that it's difficult to reset our minds to our new eating habits.

I cheated on Thanksgiving (and the day after) too. My mom made this divine pumpkin roll, and I had to have a slice--with whipped cream! With my family, Thanksgiving is a day long even with a buffet of subs, dips, chips, and Desserts before the actual Thanksgiving feast! I can't physically eat as much as I used to be able to (like everyone else here!), but I definitely "ate around my sleeve" by grazing. I feel guilty because I know better. I know that it's easy to gain back the weight if I don't watch myself. I just completely let go. And, it showed on the scale. I stalled- didn't gain any weight (luckily), but I didn't lose either. The important thing is to stop and get back on track. It's all too easy to slip back into old habits (which is why I cheated the day after on leftovers). We indulged on a holiday, but we learned from our mistakes. We can do this :smile1:

The scale will move. You're doing everything right. Stalls happen, unfortunately. How many calories/day are you getting? Not enough calories can cause stalls too since our bodies go into starvation mode.

I didn't lose any weight this week, but I didn't gain either. I blame my semi-indulgence this Thanksgiving for the stall. I'm getting back on track!!!!

I was right- I should have waited to weigh myself in the morning. I'm down to the 170's! Well, barely at 179.5. I don't ever remember weighing in the 170's. When I was 12 I weighed 160, and the next time I weighed myself at 13 I weighed 185! This is a pretty big deal for me SN - Kala SW - 187 CW - 179.5 GW - 174 lbs to goal - 5.5

I weighed myself in the evening, so it's possible I weigh less than 180.6. I usually weigh myself in the morning. Regardless, I'm so happy to almost be in the 170's!!!! SN - Kala SW - 187 CW - 180.6 GW - 174 lbs to goal - 6.6

I was scared of the sleeve too at first, which is why I originally wanted to get the band. But, I wanted to avoid any future surgeries if possible. Pretty much everyone who has the band will have it taken out due to failure to lose weight, erosion, or slipping. I didn't want to go through weight loss surgery only to fail. The band can work, but it requires A LOT of discipline and luck. I started with a lower BMI too, and a more "invasive" surgery can seem scarier. The first month post-op was hell for me, but now I'm so much thinner and happier at 3 months post-op. Never would I think I could lose 40+ lbs in 3 months, but I did and I'm still losing :smile1:. In the end, it's your decision. This is a sleeve discussion board, so obviously we're all going to be biased towards the sleeve. You may want to ask on the Obesity Help forums and Lap-Band Talk too.

I also was told that carbonation was forbidden. I really doubt it expands the stomach. But, pre-sleeve I used to chug 5-6 cans of diet soda a day (which allowed me to eat more food). It's probably a good idea for me to NOT go back to that habit. Moderation, moderation, moderation...

These are all great suggestions! I also have wondered about what I'm going to do for Thanksgiving. In the past, I used to eat soooo much. Now it's physically impossible for me to indulge (good thing!).

During my first few weeks post-op, I HATED food commercials. I avoided TV altogether, because of those evil food commercials with the yummy food in slow motion. I had a hard time at first, too. The best thing you can do is just remember why you had the surgery, which you're doing. The first month is the hardest, but it does get better as you adapt to your new stomach and eating habits. It was also a huge shock for me. Chewing gum and eating Jello helped during the liquids phase for me. Maybe try watching DVDs instead of cable for awhile, only because those food commercials really do mess with your head. Once you get into the mushy food phase, you'll feel soooo much better.

I lost 1.8 lbs this week. Not a huge loss, but it's one step closer to my goal SN - Kala SW - 187 CW - 181.4 GW - 174 lbs to goal - 7.4

I am 3 months post-op and my hair loss has started. I was kind of hoping I'd be the lucky one to not suffer from it, because I already have very fine/thin hair. Tomorrow I'm splurging and getting a nice haircut, dye, and collagen hair treatment. It's a reward for my 42 lb weight loss and an attempt to salvage my hair. Dying my hair darker makes it appear thicker. I also hope that by cutting it shorter, it will be less likely to fall out because it will weigh less. It'll also help with volume. The collagen hair treatment also will help with my damaged hair and hopefully make it healthier (i.e. less likely to fall out). I'm taking 1000 mcg of Biotin daily. I am going to look into MSM too. Hair loss may not be preventable, but I'm still going to do all I can save it. My aunt had the sleeve two years ago, and she got bald spots from her fast weight loss. That scares me . It's grown back at least...

I started with a BMI kind of close to yours- 38, and was sleeved almost 3 months ago. I'm between 5'4" and 5'5". I weighed 221.75 lbs the day of surgery, and now weigh 183.2. That gives me a loss of 38.5 lbs post-op.

Great advice. It's all about perspective. Would you be 100 lbs less today without the hard work and time you invested pre and post surgery? That's an amazing accomplishment. You gained 3 lbs, but you don't have to gain anymore. You can change things around

I never went out and got baby silverware, but I do use smaller plates and bowls. I kind of wish I got cute little baby silverware . Sounds kind of fun lol

I use milk as a source of protein (along with meat) on a daily basis. If you're watching your carbs, though, you just have to be careful because milk has a lot of natural sugar.

During my liquids stage, I used to chew on food I wanted and then spit it out. It's gross, but it really helps take the edge away. I was close to tears my first few weeks because I missed food so much. I feel you *hug*

What a great NSV - your nephew's so cute! You're also only 6 lbs away from the century club! Congrats!

I'm watching your YouTube videos. You look amazing! Thanks for sharing your inspirational story

I'm almost 3 months post-op and I feel normal. In fact, I feel better than I did pre-op because I'm so much lighter! 40 lbs in 4 months seems reasonable to me. I've lost around 40 lbs in less than 3 months, so it's definitely doable!!!! I can eat anything I want at this point, but of course in smaller portions. I still have to be careful about eating too quickly, and I throw up at least once a week. I need to fix that :/. Desserts like brownies and cakes slide down my sleeve with ease. You'll feel fine during your vacation :smile1:.