Lissa

Star, That's the perfect answer!! I'm thrilled to see others working to remove the word "Only" from weight loss, too! Deana, At less than 2 weeks post-op, your body is still working hard to get rid of the gas and fluids that were pumped into you for surgery. 9 pounds lost is awesome, especially considering how much Fluid is pumped into us during surgery. You also lost a significant amount pre-op, which can slow down your initial weight loss, not that 9 pounds isn't fantastic in two weeks! It is!! One thing I've noticed is that some of us start out a little slower than others, but we're all at similar amounts of weight loss a few months out. It's like it levels off. Folks who begin with higher BMI's tend to drop big amounts of weight right out of the gate; those with lower BMI's "seem" to lose slower. But if the weight is coming off, who cares? This is a journey for each of us to a healthy weight. It's NOT a race. "Slower" losers have less loose skin, usually, which is a bonus, IMO. You just keep working your plan and you will be amazed at your weight loss! Be prepared for the 3 week stall, which is coming right up. You won't lose anything for a week, maybe more, but it is because your body is adjusting to the new, lower, amount of food you're putting in it. But, that 3 week stall usually breaks in a dramatic way. Mine lasted a couple of weeks and I walked out of a pants size during it! I've found that I lose inches during stalls. It's a great idea to take your measurements now and keep track of them. When you hit stalls, you can measure yourself and see if it's a true stall or if it's just your body reshaping you. Good luck!! You're gonna rock that sleeve!

CoolBreeze, I started out exactly where you're at! You'll be amazed at how fast your fitness level improves!

I refuse to ever return to Red Lobster because of a similar experience not long after surgery. My son (whose meal I was buying) wanted Red Lobster, so we went. The only thing on the menu that looked remotely good was the lobster mashed potatoes. It's a huge serving of mashed taters with 3 or 4 chunks of lobster and a little sauce on top. I ate mostly the lobster and a bite or two of the potato. On the menu, it was listed at $3.99, which I thought was high for a single side dish, but I was perfectly willing to pay it while my son ate his humongo meal. On the bill, that side dish cost me $6.50. Apparently, ordering it by itself rased the price over $2.50! I haven't been back, nor have I footed the bill for anyone else to eat there either.

This journey is about you...and it SHOULD be about you! You're doing this for yourself, no matter what your mental motivation pre-op. Afterwards, once you see the success you'll have (no Maybe about it), then you'll start internalizing the journey. Don't let ANYONE else rain on your parade. YOU are worth doing this for yourself. I'm actually getting positive feedback from the pre-op naysayers and some of the people who encouraged me the most pre-op have turned into green-eyed monsters. I have to be 100% on my own side because no one else understands the mental and physical changes I'm seeing and dealing with right now. YOU will lose weight, at least a bunch. The final pounds will depend on you, but this is almost a magic bullet right out of the gate. Will it take time, work, and a lot of effort on your part? You betcha it will! But, YOU will do it!!! Good luck! You got this one!

I'm definitely proof that muscle weighs a lot. I have muscle in places I never thought about it before surgery and it shows, along with all the loose skin I have. I had an appointment with a personal trainer to change up my routine recently. She came prepped with a mild, beginner's routine, but quickly found out that I needed something much more challenging. We're still refining what my routine, but it was nice to surprise her. By weight, I'm still obese. By ability, I'm not.

You should both be on an acid reducer if you're not taking one already. Acid can mimic hunger, especially this early post-op. Your tummy is still making acid for the massive stomach you had before. It will calm down once it realizes there's no need for all of that acid, but it takes awhile for it to get the message. I drank a lot of broth during my liquids stage. It soothed my tummy, gave me a little Protein and went down better than almost anything else. Good luck!!

I have no tips on handling the revision, but wanted to wish you all luck. Sept 12th is my birthday, so you guys are getting sleeved at a great time! I'm a week shy of one year out and I am loving life! Good luck!!

Most of us don't truly have a lot of restriction until we get to solid food... and then, whoa baby, do we have restriction! I could barely eat half a scrambled egg when I started soft solids, but I'd been able to drink plenty of liquid, including Protein Shakes and yogurt, before that. Greiga, it sounds like you're doing fine with your liquids. Keep up the good work.

What advice are you looking for? Do you want someone to tell you it's the best thing they've ever done? If so, HERE I AM!! Honestly, I wish I'd done this 10 years sooner. Over 100 pounds lost in less than a year and I'm back to ME. Yeah, my advice is to do it. OTOH, You should be aware there is a small chance of complications and you should know that there is a risk going into the process. The risk is low, but it's 100% if you're the one with the complication. Most of the people I've seen who have complications still say they'd do it again, if that helps at all. I'm still excited every single day to get up and see what my loss is for the day, to exercise, to enjoy living again, rather than feeling like I'm waddling along the sidelines of life. I'm a week shy of one year out from surgery and I feel like I have my life back. It's a tremendous feeling to know that I can do anything I want to do and that being fat is not holding me back!!!

High heels and shorter dresses are two of my favorite clothing items now!

I've accepted that this is how I lose for now, dropping sizes faster than pounds. I really got serious about exercise in January and my weight loss slowed down dramatically, BUT I have lost several sizes since then. I also see definition in my muscles. Truthfully, although my ticker shows that I have 50 pounds to goal, I'm pretty happy where I am except for the loose skin. I'm still working it, though. I remember being amazed when Lil Miss Diva posted her weight/size combination... I believe it was 170's and a size 0, at least back then. Now I know how that can happen. I'm in a 14/16 at 240, which blows my mind. For reference, I wore a size 12 in high school at 170...and I ran track back then! I've heard that sizes have changed some since 30 years ago, but I'm still amazed! It's disconcerting to see the scale barely move when your clothes are falling off every couple of weeks, but it definitely happens!

Nice biceps!!

I'm working on making exercise my new addiction! If there MUST be something, let it be cardio! LOL

Dexter, I hated my first sleep test...and it was because of the mask. I'm a mouth breather and they kept putting that nose mask on me, which freaked me out. The tech finally figured out that the nose mask wasn't going to work for me and gave me a full face mask to use. It made all the difference in the world for me! I DID have severe sleep apnea, so bad that I knew I wasn't breathing right and I had horrible problems staying awake during the day. Even after my official diagnosis, I had a little clausterphobia about sleeping with the mask, until a friend gave me some great pointers to get past that. Now, I can't sleep without my CPAP it seems. It sounds like you and the tech may have gotten off on the wrong foot. I've had three sleep tests so far and all of the techs I've had were very soothing, chit chatting with me while they apply the wires and leads, offering anything necessary to make me comfortable, and always speaking in soothing voices. Perhaps that's different than at other sleep centers, but I assumed it was "the way things are done". If you do have to repeat the test, ask for a different tech and ask for something to calm you down beforehand. Good luck!! I know this is one of the toughest tests to get through because of all the wires and leads, plus that mask is a tough adjustment, and you're trying to sleep in a strange place. Hopefully, you'll be able to get enough sleep time in to give them the data they need.

I think you're doing a terrific job! Keep up the good work!! Congrats on being in the Century Club already. Hopefully you'll soon be a double member of it!!

I think this should be pinned to answer the numerous posts about protein shots! Thank you for taking the time to find the research, OTR!

Make sure you aren't eating anything with milk in it. That's how I discovered that I'm lactose intolerant.

Yay!!! Welcome to the Century Club!! It is true that sometimes our bodies just need to be shocked into dropping a few pounds.

So, Fed Ex came earlier and this is what they brought me! WOO HOO!! I was on my way out the door to work out, so I get to try out my new toy today!! Check it out! It's even engraved with my name and VST!!!

Since this post popped up in my feed today, I thought I'd post that I'm LOVING the iPod Touch!! I use it every day for gym time! It's great because I can turn off my phone, go into the gym and workout without worrying about my phone ringing or sending me a text message while I'm working out. I just discovered that I can listen to audiobooks on there, which is great because my hour of cardio gets pretty boring and I can be a thousand miles away while logging cardio time!!

I take Biotin daily, and have since 2 months out. It seems to have helped, but I've also been very compliant with the Protein requirement. 5 days out from surgery you should be worrying about Water, not protein. Your restriction will ease up as you go on and you'll be better able to get the protein in.

nyxa said: (even though he seemed to be very nice.. except for the child molestation thing). lol I'm truly LOL at this. I worked in a couple of prisons while in college. The child molesters are usually the nicest, most polite guys you'll ever find.

I loved broth while I was on liquids. I drank it lukewarm and it soothed my tummy. It's got a little Protein and I did try to either make my own or buy low sodium broth, but that was my lifesaver back then. It DOES get better! Good luck!!

I started with one set a day of ten reps. As your fitness level improves, you'll add reps to keep it challenging. Good luck!!

Similar. My mom was dx schizophrenic (don't know about the hereditary aspect of that), and I put it down on my psyche evaluation. My psyche was nuts herself, though. She told me I would be an alcoholic, no options. I obviously got approval for my surgery and I'm not an alcoholic a year later, so I think you should be fine. As far as your being OCD, that's probably a good thing! That means you'll be very compliant with vitamins, exercise and meds.