Catracks

OOOOOO, I'm so jealous. I wont hit an 8 until I lose 30 or more pounds more. I'm right behind you though. Congratulations!!!!!!!

Because I was so sick, I didn't ever feel like doing ANYTHING. My work performance had also slipped considerably. On top of that, I wouldn't go to parties or any kind of get together, dinner, concert, beach, amusement park, etc. because 1. I did not have the energy or inclination for it and 2. I was terribly embarrassed about the way I looked. I LOVE hiking, kayaking, swimming, boating, motorcycle riding, horseback riding, going to amusement parks, going anywhere ... I could do any of those things. I was riding a Morgan horse who could carry my weight, but I could not ride most other horses. I couldn't fit into booths at restaurants. I couldn't fit into a lot of amusement park rides. Life was turning into pure crap. Maybe that was okay, because I was dying anyway. I had fatty liver verging on hepatitis, I developed type II diabetes and my blood pressure was through the roof. It was painful to walk on my messed up knee and the plantar fasciitis.

I eat full fat cheese too except for the Baby Bell Light and the Laughing Cow wedge. Those I like. All other cheeses are regular and I eat a huge variety of it from Wednesleydale to Havarti to sharp cheddar. The best melting cheddar is Longhorn and sometimes hard to find.

You are so much thinner that you used to be and thinner than she's use to seeing you. I'm still obese and I get the same comments about taking it too far. Counter with my surgeon who says my ideal weight in 110 which is a the extreme low end of the healthy weight range. It would make me a size 0. I'm ignoring both. I like me at around 125-130.

I'll never get to NJ. I wish every restaurant had a menu like that! He did give me the idea to put cranberries and maybe feta in the quinoa (I don't like goat cheese). YUM!!!!

Oh yes! It's funny because you are 100% right! I get compliments in slimming pants, but who compliments a girl in baggy cargo pants? I just got a picture in my head of Linus sucking his thumb and holding his blanket, No thanks LOL!

Yes, re-appropriate. Tell her if she wants them back. she has to take them off you ... I'm so sorry. i just got off a thread where they were talking about "Wangs" and "Hoo Haas." It's been a very long day.

I think I probably need plastics on the droopy .... hoo haa. Fabulously clever post. I got all of that.

Yeah, shame on you :-P I have always been a hugh donator of clothes. I think between my daughter and I we keep St. Vincent de Paul and Goodwill going. These are just a few of my favorite cargo pants with lots of cool pockets I cannot let go of. I still think I'm totally mental and should ditch them ... then again they are comfy soft cargo pants. Maybe I should take a picture of myself. they probably look silly all gathered up by a belt and are as unflattering as hell. Some catty peer pressure here please.

It's funny. I'd be in a sorry state had I not saved clothes from size 6 all the way up to 18. I had them in those vacuum bags in the garage. In fact I bought so many size 12, 14 and 16s that I had about 15 pairs of pants for each size. For me that is quite a lot. It seems that those sizes were my yo-yo area.

I just went over to My Fitness Pal from Fitday. I like Fitday's reports better, but MFP has a larger data base of foods. I have only found one thing it doesn't have and it was an special brand of salami called Alpino. I just used the calories for prosciutto, because that's what it really is: ground up Prosciutto. I just wish MFP had a few of the graphs and reports I really like, especially nutritional breakdowns of every vitamin and mineral.

GAH! Covered in a layer of greasy soot! UGH!!! That's the thing. There is little dignity it being fat. I can say that because I was, well am still obese (I won't be overweight for another 15 pounds or so). The Gilbert Grape movie just freaked me out. I thank God every day for my life back.

This is such and advertisement against banding. It also sounds like the surgeon was incompetent, but there are so many stories of the band breaking into pieces! The band to sleeve revision board here is what convinced me to go for the sleeve.

Forty pounds is a small child. You are doing better than I if your skin is still in good shape. You probably have more muscle mass than I do. There is quite a few people who are slower losers, but they push to goal anyway. Congratulations on your 6 months journey!!!

I'm almost 5 months out and still skip the bread. I even pull toppings off pizza. Carbs tend to make me stall. Always protein first.

I'd give her a chance and tell her. I'd want to know if my best friend was having surgery. You do what feels right to you. The ball will be in her court. It sounds like things will be fine. Not all women are jealous harpies This won't be the last time you go out to eat either. A sleever can eat out just fine even in the early stages. You will think Soup is nectar from heaven.

The feeling of being home is so great that I wanted to dance. I did dance :-) Make sure you have a small pillow or something to hug to yourself for the drive home. It helps a lot!

You should be on nothing but full liquids. Didn't your surgeon give you a diet? You should not be eating whatever you want even if it is soft. Try healthier things and make sure to get 60-90 grams of protein in. Make sure you get all you fluids. Make it so most of your foods are not comprised of sugar, carbs and starch. Use the shakes, 0 or 2% Greek yogurt, skim, 0 or 2% milk. etc. The sleeve is a tool and it works if you use it. Weight can fluctuate from day to day. The overall trend should be downward. Sleeves do not really stretch. The swelling will go down and eventually instead of being to eat 1/4 cup of food, by 2 YEARS out more or less you might be able to get a cup down (8 oz.). It varies, but not to greatly. It depends on your physiology, how long the stomach is, etc. It cannot physically stretch to anything like the stomach's original size.

Coffee won't damage the sleeve, but it is a diuretic. If you can get your fluids down and the stay down, then why not? but as always this is IMHO. Check with your surgeon. Sometimes they just say no as a precaution for everybody early on.

Just wow! I am so sorry. Focus on healing up. It will happen. You'll need a lot of Protein. If you want to do shakes, lean protein and veggies, did the doctor say it was okay? I would think so. You could treat this like moving ahead instead of backwards. I know how I would feel if I were you. I'm not trying to minimize your feelings. I'm just hoping you don't despair over this. Did they get all the band out, remove the mesh, fix the hernia and remove the adhesions? or do they have to go back in for some of that? We are here for you. Stay active on the boards.

That sounds like you have a case for insurance covering breast reduction surgery. Friggen OUCH!!!!! A lot of people on these forums seem to like their melons. Personally I'd be happy with a B cup. Right now I'm a C and they hang like deflated balloons.

I tell this to every newbie. I had a lot of subcutaneous trapped blood under the big incision above my navel. It gushed the night I came home and continued to leak for two weeks. It won't happen to everyone and it didn't hurt. It was just annoying. I bought those little butterfly bandages that pull cuts closed, some gauze pads, iodine and antibiotic ointment.. If you are going to be on the active side this will save you from walking around with blood on your shirt. I just don't want you to be freaked out like I was at first. Also, don't be an idiot and try to bend and twist to get a casserole dish out of a lower cupboard. Oh well. The blood had to go somewhere.

Sleeves don't really stretch. They will open up to maybe fit 8 fl. oz instead of 4 fl. oz. over time, but they do not stretch like gastric pouches. Get rid of the unhealthy carbs and overly processed snack foods and replace with Proteins. How about a slice of deli meat around a dill spear or a small piece of cheese? You can even toast it a bit. I even spread a mixture of avocado and greek yogut or horseradish and greek yogurt on a slice of roast beef and roll it up. YUM! so much better than nasty Doritos.

I walked constantly and did laps around the floor I was on. I think it contributed to my recovery. I took the morphine once in recovery, but not once after that. Being in the hospital bored me and once I got that STUPID catheter out I was starting to hatch schemes to get off the floor I was on. Once back home I felt completely normal except for the loss of hunger and the leaky main incision. Out of the hospital I was going to livestock auctions, flea markets and museums. Two weeks out I went horseback riding and then camping in the desert. I do recover fast from surgery and have a high pain threshold, but it was the walking and staying hydrated that made the difference. Walk, walk, walk! Sip, sip, sip!

Ok, MOST sleevers that I have seen here so far. The calorie load obviously is not working for the OP. I'm almost 5 months out and could not eat that much unless I was eating spoonfuls of Peanut Butter or a slider food. It just would not fit in my sleeve. I do not have room for more that 3 oz. of dense Protein at a time. 800 calories a day feels like splurging these days. Sometimes I pack more food than I can handle. 2000 calories would cause me to gain.