E-girl

Hi. I am Elle. I am 39 years old. I had my surgery on February 7, 2011. I am 4'11" and I was 208lbs, which may not seem like much to some of you but its still a 40+ BMI. In addition to being obese, I suffered from a life threaten heart condition that was not improving because of my weight. I am happy to report that I have not only met my weight loss goal but I have past is by 6 lbs. My heart is much improved and I no longer have high blood pressure. It was not easy and sometimes I wish I could have done it without the sleeve but I am healthier now than I have ever been.

I went to a wedding 3 weeks ago and people noticed I wasn't eating much. It caught me off guarded and I told them that i was a special dr prescripted diet for a heart condition. Have to watch the sodium and portion sizes. They didn't buy it but at least they didn't focus on me anymore.

If u don't want anyone to know. Just call in sick. Like u have the flu and u don't want to make anyone else sick. Cause I can't fake not having a 4 oz stomach and u don't want to push it this early.

I am 9 months out and I am still burping. Sometimes 5-6 times in a row. It's the only thing that bothers me abou the procedure because it's so embarrassing. I am afraid I will always be like this.

I agress with IsB. Just tell your boss that you are trying to cut back on sugar for health reasons but thanks for the offer.

Actually, I have a really concern about losing too much weight. I have lost 94 pounds in 8 months. I am only 4'11". I have exceeded the doctors goal by 5 lbs. I am went from a size 20 to a size 0 - 00. Yes, I did type double 0. I had spoke to Nut about it. The concern I have is that they want me to eat more but I can only get in a half a cup!!! Which really messes with me because I finally got the eating right thing down to a science and now I have to add more food?!?! I am worried that I am going backwards with the eating habits, gain too much back and not be able to lose again. It really messes with your mind. Plus, I am starting to look sickly. I am still losing just slowly now...like 4 lbs a month. Don't get me wrong I am a lot healthier and extremely happier than I have been in 10 years but people at work keep making comments about my looks...it makes me uncomfortable. I have a followup in 2 weeks hopefully my Nut can rework my diet so that I can maintain where I am. At this rate, I will be 95lb by January...not so healthy.

It happens to everyone. Your body is just trying to hold on to your weight because your calories are low and it thinks your starving. It can't hold on for long. I have stalled 3 times on 6 months for 1-4 weeks. Just came off of my last 3 week stall and boom...I lost 3 lb in 3 days (this Friday, Saturday, and today). Just keep doing your diet and workouts. It will kick into gear.

I had my days where I would regret the surgery in the beginning but things really turned around after month 4. That was about the time my food addiction and head hunger kind of stopped and I started working on my new relationship with food as only a source of fuel and not comfort. Now I am 6 months out. Lost 87 lbs. I am 1 lbs from my doctor's goal. I past my personal goal a month ago. I am really happy now. Sure I miss some things about eating but now when I go out to eat with other people and I see how much they are stuffing their face with foods that are soooo not healthy for you, I get a little sick...like physically sick. I remember doing that same thing and at the time thinking "it tastes so good" and it felt good at the time but an hour later I would be crying about how fat I was or how nasty I felt from just over eating or I had to unbutton my pants just to get comfortable. Now I have a few bites and I am done. Everyone else is leaving the table feeling gross and I am thinking...ha ha...I am still a size 2, XXS and I look hot in these jeans! I still think about food but now I am worried about not getting enough Protein in or making sure I get to 1200 calories today. Just remember, those things that you miss right now…those are the things that made you unhealthy and have surgery in the first place. Everyday gets a little bit better.

I use Premier Nutrition Vanilla Shake and mix in 6 oz of 50 calorie OJ. Tastes like a cremesicle. 30 gm of protein per shake.

I am very glad I took a before pic of myself. It's actually very motivating. Let’s you see the changes that you can’t see in a mirror. I took a picture every month on the about the same day and did a Powerpoint slide with weights and sizes. My only regret is that I didn’t have my measurements.

So close yet so far. I have been on a two week stall. It’s crazy. I am really trying hard not to freak out. I have been under a lot more stress lately. About a month ago, my older brother had heart failure. It was really scary. They were not sure if he was going to make it…but he did…now he is living with me…for now. My brother is morbidly obese, drank heavily, and was not taking his high blood pressure meds. Since moving in, he has gotten the blood pressure under control, quit drinking because now he can’t or it will kill him, and he has loss 30 lbs. in 30 days! As a heart patient myself, it was easy for me to tell him what he needed to change in his diet and near death experiences can be pretty motivating. But it made me a little sad that I could not stick to my own advice 5 years ago which lead me to having WLS to begin with. Then again, as I watched his pain and fear, I realized that I made the right decision for myself 6 months ago. I will be honest with you…there was the little bit of doubt in the back of my mind up until that day…could I have done it on my own…maybe I could had…No…watching him there in the hospital bed with all the machines and the wires and the doctors…No…I could not have done this on my own. If I did not take this step, that could have been me all over again. My weight and my eating habits were slowly killing me. I did not do this to look thin. I did this because I wanted to live…and live well…and live happy and so now I am living well and happy for the first time in my life. But back to my stall, this has been the longest stall so far. I really should not complain because I am 4’ 11’ and 123 lbs with according to the BMI chart I am NORMAL!!!! I passed my personal goal of 130 about 3 weeks ago but I am 3 lbs shy of my doctor’s goal. I really wanted to be there by this Friday for my 6 month follow up. I did finally join a gym last week but I have only gone once…I feel out of place there…so many mirrors. Still not used to seeing myself. Also…tee hee…when I went to the gym several men were checking me out…tee hee. Not used to that either. I am definitely going today. I am hoping to lose at least 1 lb before I Friday.

I was sleeved on Feb 7, 2012 and I have lost 79 lbs

Its been 4 months, 2 weeks, and 1 day since my surgery and I feel great. I finally got the hang of this sleeve thing. I don't feel bad any more about not being able to eat what everyone else is eating. I am a size 4 and a S to XS shirt. I have had to buy all new clothes for the 5th time but I don't care because I really enjoy it. I still gravitate to the women sizes and I get these weird looks from the ladies there but then I find my way back to the correct area. I am really happy. I haven't been this happy about my looks since...well..ever.

My goal was set by my doctor. He asked asked me what weight I thought would be good for me and he took 10 lbs from that. Also he wanted me to have a normal BMI.

Congrats!

I think you will probablly have no problem getting to 200 before November. I followed my NUTs recommendations. I have lost 79 lbs in 5 months (21 weeks). My NUT said that things slow down a lot when after you are taken off all the diet restrictions. I slowed down at 10 weeks because I was able to eat whatever I want. I also had a hard time getting exercise in because I time. But once I got that all sorted out, my weight loss went up again. My NUT wanted me to lose 1 to 2 lbs a week as a goal. So far so good. The other thing I notice...and this is going to sound weird...but I had to increase my calories a little because my body was holding on to all my fat. I was only getting 300-500 calories in the begining but that worked against me at week 10. As soon as I was able to get 800+ calories, the weight started to come off again. Good luck.

The unflavored Unjury protein power works. If it a hot soup, you will have it let it cool to 130 degrees or it will clump. Congrats by the way on your surgery. Welcome to "soon to be skinny."

I was on WW for years...losing then gaining, losing then gaining...and gaining...and gaining... It didn't work in the first place which is why I went with WLS. WW is not designed for people whose stomach is not bigger than 1/4 to 1 cup in size. Too many carbs and not enough protein. If you want to learn...go with your NUT's advice.

If you can, buy a bed wedge pillow. You can get them at a pharmacy or online. I got mine for $19.00 at my local pharmacy. I makes it easier to get out of bed. I also bought a Magic Bullet blender. It was expensive but worth it. I use it a lot for my shakes and the mushy meal plan stage. I still use it for my shakes. Its the perfect size. I also bought a bunch of the 4 oz Zip Lock plastic containers so that I had something to put my lunch in.

My doctor told me 6 weeks. An on week 6, we all went to an indoor water park!!!! Sooooo much fun. I even went on the big water slides!!!!!