LindaS

I do drink with my meals, and I don't stop drinking before I eat, and I drink even when I'm eating. I don't usually drink a whole lot after I eat, but it isn't because I was told not to do it. I usually just don't want to do it (probably because I feel too full). I do always get my Protein in, and I don't feel hungry. I've managed to lose over 80 pounds, and I am still losing. My surgery was August 2011.

1. I was sleeved August 2011, so I am about a year and a half out from surgery. I've lost 83 pounds. I don't see a fat girl in the mirror, but I am shocked to realize that skinny girl is me. I do still think like a fat person and usually think of myself as fatter than I actually am, which is weird since most of the time when I was fat I imagined myself as skinnier than I really was back then. o 2. I do not get mad that I can't eat as much. I am thankful that I can eat a little bit and be satisified. 3. I don't have mood swings, and I tend to be much happier. 4. My energy level doesn't even compare to what it used to be. I used to avoid even bending over to pick something up off the floor. Now I take the stairs willingly. I walk places. I exercise. I am a million times more energetic than I used to be.

I was told the purpose was to reduce the size of my liver to get it out of the way during surgery. That reason was important to my doctor but I didn't really see the outcome. For me, the benefit was more in that it kick-started my mental work. The pre-op diet was probably the hardest thing I ever did. It made me realize how serious my surgery was and gave me a good example of what my after-surgery diet would be. It helped me get on track mentally and prepared me for after surgery. I remember before surgery how hard it was because it was such a little amount of food. And then after surgery, I remember how hard eating was because it seemed like it was so much food -- but it was only a portion of what I was eating pre-op. This really helped me rethink my idea of "too much" or "too little" and put it all in perspective for me.

At 5'7 and 230 pounds, you niece isn't "already too big" as another poster claimed. She doesn't even have a BMI of 40, which is the minimum most insurances require without co-morbidities. Although, since she doesn't have insurance, she could do self-funded surgery. You mentioned you were worried she would just give herself permission to eat until she can afford surgery. I think a good way to prevent this is to share some of the loose skin stories with her. You can find videos on youtube, etc. The more she gains now, the more loose skin she could end up with, and it might be the visual she needs to help her maintain, if not lose, weight. I don't see how her age plays a factor in this. I think it is more about whether she is ready and willing mentally to change her behavior. She needs you to talk to her about the negatives of the mental challenges because right now she is just seeing your weight loss and not the mental work behind it. If you aren't willing to share your own mental work with her, invite her to the forums. I have a neighbor who was 16 when she had weight loss surgery (bypass). She is now planning to get plastics to remove the extra skin. She is very level headed, but she has discussed with me a little bit about how hard it is to hang out with her friends because of her diet restrictions. Maybe your niece can check out the forum for teens and 20s here to see what issues they are dealing with after being sleeved. Encouraging your niece by giving her information about diets and exercise is another option for you. You could make it a point to mention calorie content for various foods that she eats or you used to eat (like you did about the soda). Best of luck to both of you!

I am happier and healthier since surgery, and I've never regretted it. The only thing I have regretted about this entire experience was that I was that I needed surgery in the first place.

I had to start doing this as well. I was very up front initially about having surgery (and really I still am), but I have arrived at a point where I am losing weight because of lifestyle changes and not because I had surgery. By saying I had surgery discounts everything else I have done to lose weight including all of the exercising. Now I am just as likely to mention MyFitnessPal and Zumba.

That's a big difference! Stupid scale! How old is your scale? It sounds pretty new since it has weights to the tenth of an ounce. Try weighing things that you know the weight of and see if it is accurate. You can also use a level to see if your scale is placed on level flooring. I noticed on my scale that how I stand can impact my weight. If I lean forward slightly, I am about .2 pounds heavier than if I stand straight. If I lean back slightly, the same thing only lower not heavier. I'm sorry your scale was mean, but I have to say that I loved your post. You made me laugh because I could totally relate! You will be in Onderland soon!

You just started working out, so I wouldn't think you need to up your calories to offset your workouts yet. If it turns out that you are consuming negative calories for days and weeks in a row, it might be something to become concerned about, but right now you need to see what happens when you add exercise before you make any changes to your diet. Keep in mind, I am sharing what I do. I urge you to talk about these issues with a nutritionist and/or physical trainer. My concern is that you just started exercising, and your calorie burn may vary quite a bit as you lose weight. This means your figures for how many calories you burn can change quickly as you drop pounds. It becomes too easy to overestimate how many calories you are burning and then you end up overeating. Personally, I don't consider calories when exercising. There are so many factors that determine how many calories your burn that it is extremely difficult to get an accurate number. It is too easy to think I am burning more calories than I really am, so I don't figure exercise calories into my goals. For instance, I felt I had a pretty accurate calorie burn for a certain exercise but three months later, my weight had changed so much that the calorie burn wasn't accurate any more. I eat normally -- aim for 70 grams of Protein -- and exercise for at least a half hour a day. I don't have a calorie burn goal. I pay more attention to time goals. I realize that I burn more calories doing some exercises than others. I don't eat my exercise calories. I do take my Vitamins and my blood tests have all came back within normal ranges. I think it would help more to pay attention to your body. If you are getting light-headed after exercising, you might need to do something different.

One of my favorite sweet Snacks is Healthy Choice frozen greek yogurt. It is yummy and is like ice cream for me. I like the yogurts, and I found that a lot of the Protein bars are like a candy bar but with protein too. I've tried some of the Skinny Cow ice cream and candy bars. They have good taste, but I try to avoid too many foods that don't give me protein too. This is why I prefer the yogurts and Protein Bars.

I met with a personal trainer once, and she gave me a huge pile of things I can do to work out at home. She was great. One cool thing is that a consultation with her was part of my surgery costs/coverage.

To lose weight, I need to keep my calories under 900 and drink at least 64 ounces of water. If I don't do this, I don't lose.

I've used them, but I buy mostly drink products. I LOVE the Bariwise strawberry banana smoothie. Even my family likes it. It has chunks of strawberry in it. The Aloha Mango flavor is good too. I also like the Fruit drinks made by Bariwise. I've tried the Protein chips, and they are OK. They give me the crunch feel I crave when I want a salty snack. I need this. I like the hot chocolate too. Some of the Protein Bars are very yummy, but be sure to check the label. Some of them are high in sugar. I haven't tried all of the flavors, but I've liked what I tried. I also buy my Celebrate Vitamins from them. Stuff I didn't like: I don't like the Wonderslim stuff as much, but I've only tried what I have been sent as samples, and I agree that they have a bitter after taste. I hated the cream of mushroom Soup and the cream of broccoli soup. They don't taste very good, and the broccoli pieces don't reconstitute very well. The only way I've been able to eat them is to add them to normal soup. This lets me get the protein and still have them taste Okay. I do not like them by themselves.

It doesn't for me. I can up my calories by about 200 to 300 calories and gain a couple of pounds. It doesn't work the other way either. I can lower my calories by a couple hundred calories and lose a couple of pounds. The thing I need to do most to lose weight is get my water in.

Carly, I am so sorry to hear about your mother, but I am glad you were spurred on to do something about your health. I had a very similar experience, but it took me a bit longer to decide on WLS. My dad was about 450 pounds my entire life (I remember his waist was over 60 inches). He died in 2003 much sooner than he needed to after having a very limited life because of his weight. I had a lot of anger and issues to work out, and it really helped me to write about them. I had my WLS in 2011. I spent a lot of time relearning things about what I thought was normal and what is normal (things like portions). I miss my dad every day, but I am also glad that my experience helped me make the choice that will now allow me to be here for my family for decades to come.

I love the new haircut, and you look fab! Congratulations on the weight loss!

I was tired for the first few weeks. I remember week 3 was the worst for me because that was also the week I went back to work. It got better, but it took a couple of weeks. Your body needs to rest. It will get better!

You are looking great! Congratulations, and I look forward to seeing more progress pics from you!

When I decided to get WLS, my husband and my mom both tried to discourage me as well as other people in my life. Most people told me "you aren't that heavy." My husband didn't think I needed it, and he was worried about the surgery risks. My mom also felt I didn't need the surgery. Despite their doubts about it, they both still supported me. This might be partly due to my history of being stubborn and them realizing nothing was going to stop me once I decided. LOL! Today, I am 83 pounds lighter. Both my husband and my mom are thrilled with my decision. They both realize that I am so much healthier than I was, and they are both glad that I made the decision that I did. I also remember immediately after my WLS, I was in a public place with my MIL. She was going on and on how she would NEVER have WLS. I think I even ranted about it on the forums here. (I actually had a few rants involving my MIL at first.) And then my MIL went to see her heart surgeon, and he suggested she get WLS. Her sleeve surgery was last October, and she is down 50 pounds.

I would also suggest that the eating guidelines you are given aren't just to prevent a leak. They are also intended to help with the weight loss as well as to help you learn new habits. The longer you are on a liquid/mushy diet, the longer you are going to be eating lower calories and having higher losses. When you start introducing more normal food, the weight loss will most likely slow down. If you start eating that normal food too soon, you might not have had a chance to learn better eating habits. Personally, I found that my pre-op diet and my post-op diet was very bland, so I found that when I did start adding more normal foods to my diet, I tended to not like things because the taste was too strong. I was particularly sensitive to things that tasted too sugary. If my diet hadn't been so different for so long, I might not have developed this "natural" revulsion.

I struggled at first to get my 64 ounces in. It was even harder when I was drinking a Protein shake, but I just kept at it. In the beginning, it would take me about an hour or more to drink an 11 ounce Protein Drink (15 grams of protein), but it was 11 ounces of my 64 ounces. You just have to keep at it and constantly drink. I probably didn't get all of Water and protein in completely until my third or fourth week post-op, but it got better all the time. One thing that helped me was to flavor my water. I really liked the different Sobe water flavors. You can get 0 calorie versions. I also tried drinking my water at different temperatures. Another thing I did was to add a shot glass of diet cranberry juice to my water. It gave me enough flavor to be able to drink the water.

I took a picture of me all wired up. I can't believe I was able to sleep long enough to get results, but I guess I managed. I had a hard time with the light they put on my finger. Every time I swiped my hand in front of my face, the light made me wake up. Apparently, I do that a lot.

In July 2011, I was 255 pounds. Now, I am 172. Here's a side by side picture:

My dad's dead because of complications due to his weight (over 450 pounds at 5'11"). He was overweight my entire life, and because of his weight, he wasn't an ACTIVE part of my life. He didn't go to my parent teacher conferences, we didn't throw the ball in the yard, he didn't go to my concerts or games. He sat, and I was his legs. At home, he sat in his chair. Out of the home, he sat in his car. My dad missed SO much because of his weight. He had a chance at WLS when it was much riskier (about 30 years ago), and he chickened out. Before he died, my dad was very ill. He was in and out of the hospital for the last 5 years of his life. When he would be hospitalized, he was there for months at a time. We have family photos visiting him in the hospital. My kids don't remember him. I remember him, but I was SO mad at him for so long because he let his weight interfere with his health and his duties at being MY dad. So yes, the surgery is dangerous, but so is NOT having surgery. I want to be a mom to my kids, but I want to be a mom who is there and not sitting at home because I can't fit in the seats of the auditorium or walk up to the bleachers.

I am 16 months out. I don't get hungry, but I do (infrequently) get head hunger. I get the urge to eat something crunchy/salty/snacky. This is something I had before surgery as well, and it has nothing to do with actually being hungry. I tend to get this way in the evening. I have found that having healthy/smart choices helps me avoid eating something stupid.

Water really does the trick for me. I didn't lose anything from May until September, but I started upping my water in September, and I am losing again. I have 12-17 more pounds to lose. It seems to me I lose the most when I am drinking my water regardless of my exercise routine.