LindaS

I can eat anything, and I haven't vomited at all not even in the early days right after surgery. I'm 11 months out. There are some foods I avoid. I don't eat bread or crackers. I might eat half a piece of toast once every two weeks (usually when dining out). They make me feel very full -- like they swell up in my belly. I limit my intake of potatoes and tortillas. I do struggle to eat cold veggies, but it has nothing to do with my sleeve. I had braces installed just a couple of months after my sleeve, so I tend to avoid hard things that I have to bite into.

This totally depends on the doctor. My surgeon normally keeps people on a liquid diet for 8 weeks after being sleeved.

I found some at Target. I suspect other clothing stores sell them too.

I tended to be iron-deficient before surgery, so I definitely make a point to take my Iron. I also regularly take a Multivitamin and Biotin. I'm not as good at taking Calcium, but I eat a lot of cheese and other calcium-rich foods, so I'm not too worried. Still, I have started taking Calcet chews, which I find much more appetizing than regular calcium.

I always say that I can't share because I am logging my portions and need to maintain my serving sizes. I take logging my food pretty seriously, so if it is someone that has been around me any length of time, they know I log my food and portion sizes.

Yes. Actually, I felt like I smelled all over. It was partly ketosis, partly because I had a drain for a week and the rest was all Protein shakes. I still am very careful to have a mint or something handy for when I finish drinking a Protein Drink. Those things are not fresh breath friendly.

I did this for a while, but I started writing about my weight issues and the blinders came off me. My family, however, was still wearing huge blinders when it came to my size. I noticed that my husband and kids never thought I was fat even though I was morbidly obese. At my highest, I had a BMI of 40. I was fascinated that my family couldn't see it. But I am also the daughter of a large man. My dad was over 400 pounds my entire life, and I never thought of him as obese. This made the whole "mom's not fat" thinking amazing to me. It wasn't until months after my surgery when my kids were going through photos from last year that they finally SAW how heavy I had been. They couldn't believe it, but they never would have had that realization if I hadn't lost weight and given them a new perspective. Another thing I noticed was that as soon as I started losing weight, my kids had a hard time picking me out from a distance. A weight loss of just 30 pounds made them wonder who was with their sister instead of realizing it was their mom and sister that was walking towards them. I find the whole phenomenon of size perception fascinating.

A year ago, I would never have imagined I would be sharing pictures of me in a bathing suit online. Isn't it amazing what can happen in a year? I've lost over 70 pounds. These pictures are from last week. Please ignore the multiple colors of skin being exposed. I have not yet figured out how to buy bathing suits and summer clothes that have similar exposure patterns, so I am brown, red and go-blind white. The last picture shows the area I still really need to work on: my upper thighs, but things in even that area are so much better than a year ago. Linda

Thanks, everyone! My husband actually uploaded these to facebook before I'd even seen them, and I thought I'd be mortified. I was pretty pleased. I would have been ready to kill him if he'd done it a year or two ago. LOL!

The first couple of weeks, I felt like just getting 64 ounces of liquid in and monitoring it was pretty much a full time job, and I was working lots of overtime. I couldn't believe how much work it took. I didn't have room to concentrate on anything else. It gets better. It takes time.

For dinner, I really like this recipe I got from Sheila (who does post here): http://thisonebody.blogspot.com/2012/01/winner-winner-chicken-dinner.html My family likes it too, although they usually add taco shells and more toppings than I do.

I am a lot like the OP in that I want to tell people about my WLS even though I know my words wouldn't be welcome. I feel sad sometimes, and if it is a family member, I feel guilty. I don't hide my WLS, but I've realized lately that I do hide that I work out. How weird is that? When I first had WLS, my mil said she absolutely would not do it. She is now 3 months into her 6 month supervised diet thing required by her insurance. She plans to be sleeved in late September/early October. I just found out one of my younger cousins just started the process for WLS. She is one that I really wanted to talk to about, but I felt it wasn't my place. She has a new baby, and she is in her early 20s, and her movement is severely restricted by her size and health. I was happy to hear she is looking into WLS. She is having bypass. I haven't talked to her about WLS but that doesn't mean she hasn't heard things about my own experience through the family grapevine. The guilt comes in when I'm dealing with family members who need the surgery but can't get it because of insurance/money issues. My sil has some very serious issues, and I know in her mind I didn't need the surgery. I try not to talk about it with her, but she does ask me. She has also been very positive to me. I just feel guilty that I was able to do it, and she needs it so much more than I did (because of serious health issues) and can't get it.

I wanted to add that I've written an entire memoir about my issues with fat. It opens with my most embarrassing moment (at the time), which had to do with a moment of not fitting on a roller coaster. If interested, you can read it here: http://lindasherwood.com/wp/category/fat-mans-daughter/chapter-one/ It's an entire chapter, so it is much too long to post here.

I like the 10-minute video series. I bought a balance ball, and I really like working out with that. It is easier for me to do sit ups and push ups using a balance ball. These are exercises I really struggle with without a balance ball. I use small hand weights in 3 and 5 pounds. An elastic band is another great (and cheap) at-home exercise item. I started with Wii exercise games like Wii Fit and the dance games. There is also that one that does a 30-day challenge, but I can't think of the name. Wii Active? I think that's it.

I've been good about taking my Vitamins and getting my Protein in, and I still had some hair loss. I noticed it most when I brushed my hair. It lasted about 3 months, and it happened about 4 to 6 months out from surgery. From what I understand, there isn't much you can do to prevent it. The hair loss isn't just because of WLS; it can happen with other types of major surgery as well. I was proactive about my hair. I talked to my stylist early on for suggestions. I also waited 11 months to color my hair, and I waited 8 months before I had my hair layered or thinned. Normally, I have very thick hair, so layering and thinning was normal part of hair cuts for me. At 11 months out, my hair is back to normal. As for skin, I don't think that has anything to do with the type of WLS other than maybe side effects from the malabsorption issue that happen with by-pass.

The one that stands out in my mind the most isn't really mine, but it was one of the most potent inspirations for me to get my own weight under control before it became too much. My dad was over 400 pounds most of my life. In the last two years of his life, he was in and out of the hospital. Because of his weight, he put an extra burden on already overworked nurses, and they did not always respond well. Many were downright rude because of it. For instance, routine procedures required several nurses because of his size. Once when I was visiting, a nurse yelled at me because I refused to help turn him over. It was my dad, and he wasn't dressed under the blankets, and there was no way I was going to put myself in a position to see his privates. One of the most humiliating for me (and I wasn't there to see it) was in the days just before my dad died, an ambulance was called to my parents house. My dad was very ill, and the ambulance crew couldn't get him out of the house. They had to call volunteer firefighters in to help get him out of the house and in the ambulance. It took 10 people to slide my dad along on some sort of tarp out of the house and into the ambulance. My dad was nude when this happened. It hurts me to imagine someone I really respected being reduced to that kind of humiliation. It also upset me because his weight was such a huge barrier to him getting timely treatment for a life-threatening problem. I get angry sometimes because I wish my dad had done more about his weight, so he would still be here with me. He planned for his death almost my entire life because he was well aware his size would limit his lifespan. I wish he'd planned for living.

Thanks, Debby! Here's a before picture from a year ago:

I didn't have the daily vomiting that you do, and if I did, I would not have been happy. I hate to vomit. For me, the early days weren't easy. I felt like it was a full-time job just to get 64 ounces of Water in. I didn't want to drink water. I hated the way it tasted. I hated making my family worry about me. I remember they didn't like eating in front of me, and they were worried about how little I was eating. I was tired and eating was work. It got better, but the reason I am happier than I was has more to do with the negative selftalk that used to float around in my head. I had a lot of that going on when I was heavier. I wouldn't even bend down to pick something off the floor because it was uncomfortable and awkward. It would become this big discussion in my head as I battled with myself. I don't have those anymore. It went a long way towards making me happier, but it didn't happen right away.

I turn 40 in six days. I had my sleeve done 5 days ago. While I was in the hospital, my dentist's office called and asked me if I could come in. I have been working with him for a while on some teeth issues, and I was supposed to have some kind of device to wear for six months to fix a problem. There has been problems getting a lab to make the device, so it hasn't happened yet. He wanted to meet with me to talk about my options. It turns out, he had consulted about my case with an orthodontist. He found out that I can fix my concern and fix some minor spacing problems I have in about 18 months if I have braces instead. Braces. At 40. Plus massive weight loss? It is something I would have done normally. I have been working on getting this problem with my one tooth fixed for more than a year now. It's a slow process. If it wasn't for the weight loss that I expect to have, I wouldn't hesitate getting the braces. But both together? Braces and massive weight loss? It makes me feel like I'm going through a midlife crisis and focusing too much on my looks. Although, technically, my teeth aren't a deterrent in terms of my looks. The one tooth comes down too far, and it needs to go back up, but if they are doing all of that, I could actually have these other things taken care of as well. The cost for fixing the one thing is the same as the cost of fixing it all with actual braces. If financing can be figured out (I have already paid for 2 sets of braces for one of my kids and just had two more kids put into braces that I will be paying for over the next couple years), I will do it. But boy, by the time I'm 42, I'll be looking quite a bit different.

I second MyFitnessPal. It lets you add food using a barcode and your phone's camera feature. You can save meals and recipes. It is just really easy to use. I have it on my computer, Kindle Fire and my phone. I have no excuse not to log my food.

I'm a teacher too. I had my surgery August 9 last year, and I went back to work around August 20. After I went back to work, I was very tired. I was coming home and going to bed around 8:30. I couldn't stay up later because I was falling asleep sitting on the couch watching the evening news. It got better, but at first, I was exhausted. I was able to quit taking pain medication while I was still in the hospital. I stayed two nights, and I didn't take any pain meds the first night. I also had no nausea. At home, right after surgery, getting in the required 64 ounces of Water felt like a full-time job. It was HARD! I didn't cook right away. By a couple of weeks out, you can probably physically do it, but you might not be able to mentally. The smell of food didn't bother me, but I definitely didn't want to eat anything. It was weird just being able to enjoy the smell of good food and not want to actually eat it.

My mom didn't think I needed surgery, and she was very worried that I was getting it. She was vocal in her objections. My husband didn't think I needed surgery, and he was very worried that I was getting it. He wasn't vocal in his objections because he knew I wanted it. I explained to both of them why I wanted the surgery. They were still worried, which is normal. Both are my biggest supporters, and I think they both see now why it was important to me. They know I'm happier and healthier now.

I'm not sure where to put this, but I figure exercise is the closest place to put it although a mental health forum might be a close second (if we had one). Last night, I watched the plump pole dancer, and I was horrified and in awe all at the same time. She was doing things and seemed so much more confident with her body than I have ever been with mine. Plus, she was athletic. I doubt I could climb that pole now let alone when I was at my heaviest. It just made me feel like I did in gym class and couldn't climb the rope. I have never had upper arm strength. But here she is, and she is big but strong and flexible. She did drop splits! I watched the whole thing imagining myself doing that, and I would be horrified. I found myself feeling embarrassed for her, and she wasn't embarrassed. Why should I be on her behalf? Two of the judges X'd her, and I was mortified for her. I swear I was cringing from the crowds booing her. Today, I was worried about what people would be saying about her. I found this story online about her performance: http://www.baltimore...,0,608245.story And suddenly, I had to rethink what I was seeing the night before. The story put a positive spin on her performance and even claimed the audience wanted to see more of her. My impression the night before was that the the audience was against her. To figure out the truth, I watched the video, and the audience was cheering. I realized that last night as I watched her, I projected all of my negative self talk onto her. That little negative voice that was in my head for so long when I was heavy but had disappeared since I've lost weight? It was still there and going full speed. Last night, I remember being so impressed that she went out there in a bikini. I have never worn a bikini in public not even when I was a teenager and cheerleader. Her ability to go out there wearing that was amazing and something I couldn't do. Today, I also realized that she wasn't really wearing a bikini. It was a one piece that looks like a bikini with skin-colored material in between the top and bottom, but still she was wearing less than I would in public, plus she was pole dancing in front of a huge crowd. The girl has gumption and is athletic too. It made me realize that I still have that negative voice inside my head, and I need to be on guard against it. I need to make sure that I'm not talking myself out of things before I really try them. I need to develop a more positive voice -- one with confidence and guts and a "who cares?" attitude. I should call the new voice Lulu.

I had been looking into WLS on my own for more than a year. When I finally decided to go for it, it took me less than 6 weeks from the informational meeting to the time I had my surgery. A big part of that quick time frame was that I was able to get the sleeve. I don't think I would have been able to decide so quickly if the sleeve hadn't been an option for me.

I was really tired from about three to six weeks out from surgery. I was going to bed at 8 p.m., which is unheard of for me, and I was usually falling asleep before that. I think it was just part of my recovery.