bristlenose52

Lily It is possible to gain at any time. It really depends on what you're taking in. It might be a good idea to keep a food diary and check on your caloric intake. It's so easy to take in more calories than you need and reverse the weight loss. If you are taking in too many calories, one tip I have is to add some chia seeds to your drinks, they are low in calories, good for health, and make you feel more satisfied and fuller than a mere drink. Sort of turns a liquid into something thicker and more satisfying. You can also make good Desserts with them for very little caloric input. Another tip: if carbs have always been your enemy, they will still be. Don't eat rice, bread, potatoes etc in any amounts or they will definitely stall at or best or even add weight. It happened to me. Good luck Marcia

I would advise that you DO have a discussion about bougie size. I think it's not a good thing that these issues are not discussed in the surgeon's office prior to the op. I would have opted for a smaller one had I even known that there was such a possibility. Good luck with your op. I have been happy with mine, no regrets, but I still suffer from my bad habits and gain weight, but I will never be able to get back to the dizzying heights of my highest weight again. Have that discussion!

The trick to the stretches is to start off easy and gradually challenge yourself to stretch longer and deeper. Don't do it till it hurts, you don't want to do damage to yourself. But you must stretch often. When I was very bad, I was getting up every hour and stretching that leg and also changing over to the other leg for the sake of balance. I found a reasonable description here: http://www.ehow.com/how_4479663_do-lunge-stretches.html

Getinmybelly I am not suggesting that you fast for any longer than your doctor recommends, but it certainly would help if you were to fast for longer than 2.5 weeks. One woman I met in a forum was very overweight and her doctor insisted that she do months of fasting. She did it too. The fasting that I did and our surgeon recommends is the plan as suggested in the Optifast plan and it includes one meal a day where you can have steam veggies and things. I found it soooo hard the first 3 days, and then it got easier and easier. I regretted that I didn't start it sooner. I lost so much weight on it. Normally I could never stick such a diet, but knowing that you will go straight to surgery and keep that weight off is such a psychological driver...I found I could manage it without cheating because I knew it would end and things would be out of my hands once I'd had the sleeve. Other times I have tried to do these types of fasts and I haven't even lasted one day! All the best Bristlenose

Feedyoureye That's a fantastic blog. I have subscribed. Thanks for putting up that great link! Bristlenose

I support that reply too...stretching is the answer, it has helped me many times when I was at my top weight, not just once. But now I have lost alot of weight, I do not the plantar fascitis anymore

Au contraire My friend who is in the same position as I am, also has raging hunger, but she doesn't gain because she moves around alot. I accept that my gain is due to my overeating. But the question is here: what is the cause of the manic Hunger? It's not a head hunger, it feels physically real and didn't start till I was around a year out.

If you have a LOT of weight to lose, more fasting is better, because there is a limited window of opportunity to lose the majority of your weight, after which the losses slow down due to larger capacity for eating again, I would recommend Optifast for a long as you can stand it.

I'll put my hand up for also having the same condition. I tried many things with varying success but still the pain came back. Lucky for me, a podiatrist gave me the clue what worked magic for me. Just one simple exercise: Hold hands against a wall or similar or hold a rail for balance Assume a lunge style position, with your sore foot out the back, and slowly stretch it. Do this often and the pain will be gone in a few days.

The only thing I would change is that I would have done the Optifast pre-operatively for two months, not just two weeks. I lost over 22lb in those 2 weeks and, had i known the huge advantage I would have gained by fasting longer, I would have done it. Starting from a higher weight, I would say it should be a necessity, as my weight loss slowed down after the first 3 months when I began to be able to eat more. I tried exercise but couldn't stick to much more than a long walk once or twice a day, so weight loss slowed down and finally plateaued.

Hi I have been hungry for the last 5 months and have gained back more than 12lb of my original losses. I was sleeved in May 2010. I went back to my surgeon and discussed it with him. He said nothing. My friend, also sleeved on the same day by the same surgeon, has been going through the same hunger issues but she is very active and hasn't put back any weight. I wish I could find an answer too!

Do you have some medical conditions, like any type of thyroid disorder of polycystic? If not, I wouldn't be too disheartened (easy to say, I know) because in the early post-op period is when the weight WILL fall off you, no doubt. Make sure you are taking in plenty of Water each day, go for a walk if you are able, and just relax into the process. If you do not start to lose weight soon, I would be going to have some blood tests to find out if there's anything else going on, and talk to your surgeon or other members of his support team for you and make sure you have written down your intake so you can proove to them that you have followed the plan. they will sort it all out. I had my sleeve done 1 yr and 5 months ago. I did not lose all I wanted, but I have done well considering my food addiction, to lose 35kg (multiply by 2.2 to get pounds). good luck