Lila21

OK, i know it's kind of silly, but I am excited to see what restriction feels like. I am on liquids right now, and I am not too restricted with this. I can drink the required 60 ounces, and I get in the required protein, so very curious to see how it feels with solids (or I guess mushies) which is the next phase....

For me, it's going to be about consistently exercising! I am going for consistency here, not quality :-).... Which isn't to say I don't want quality, but I want it to be one of those ingrained habits I don't fight myself over all the time!!! ( I know, that's a bit boring). But, I'll add Coop's as well. We all need to be our best cheerleaders and sometimes I am too hard on myself! Patience!!!

I did two weeks of a semi-liquid diet, and it was tough at first, but you settle into the routine of it. My diet was 2 shakes, and then 1 meal of about 5 oz protein & veggies. I stockpiled the veggies like it was WWII! That got me through it. Also, as Deb said to me, think about there being a problem with your liver during surgery, and that will keep you on the straight and narrow. One piece of advice, try not to plan to much social eating during this period because that can be a little tough!

I think the keys to consistency in exercise is to build up gradually , NOT beat yourself up about whatever stage you are at, and do *something* no matter how small, EVERY day. Why do I believe this works? My nearly 70 year old Mom exercises EVERY SINGLE DAY and this is her philosophy :-) and she's healthy as a horse!!!! (not intentionally comparing my mother to a horse, hee)....

Hiya Brown Bear, Why do I think you are getting your MFA ? I definitely smell a writer, anyway.... your intro is, I think very close to many of our hearts. I guess my thought is that you should be a bit scared to make this big of a decision, and we all were. It's serious and life-changing, and you have to be ready for that. However, I believe our general attitude of what we "should" be able to do gets us in a lot of trouble. Honestly, I've lost 160 lbs the "real way", I've spent countless hours counting calories, attending weight watchers, hiking 14ers, completing century rides, taking "boot camp" classes, etc. And I gained it back. This is just a tool to help you do the hard work that you are STILL going to have to do. That's all it is. A pox on your Dad's Puritan attitude. I'm sure someone has said this to you already, but would you tell someone with asthma they are a wimp because they are using their inhaler? Or tell someone with a broken leg to buck up and "handle" walking without his crutches? No. These people are using the tools available to them them to become healthier, and so should you. As to changing your relationship with food, I think someone here put it best as "telling food we can just be friends." You will still enjoy it; just less of it. Hope that helps!

Coops, that is awesome!!! If you need to touch base or nudge me for some cheering on, feel free to send me a message :-) We can do it! I always think of the adage, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step"!

I definitely got that headache! For some people being really hungry gives them a headache, I think. It passed after a couple of days. Go ahead and take some Tylenol (that should be allowed pre-op). It gets bettter!

I think that's an awesome attitude! Honestly, I think if we didn't have "Biggest Loser" workouts in our heads, we'd all be better off :-))

OMG, Coops! I love it!!!! You MUST TAKE PICS!!!

Hey guys!!! I am a former exercise junkie, and here's what I am doing to get my mojo back.... So, years ago, I lost about 160 lbs through diet and exercise, but prior to that I had gotten really stuck in a rut, and I wouldn't exercise even the most minimal amount. So, I started of slllloooowly. I literally took a single 15 minute walk every day, and I added 5 minutes per week. And if you find that's too much for you, just keep it at 15 minutes until you WANT to raise it up. This works, and I totally swear by it. Eventually, I was going to spinning classes and lifting weights, etc. I got a really good routine going. Unfortunately, I had kind of a terrible crunch in my life a few years ago (break-up, job stuff, etc), and I fell off the wagon, but I am doing this program AGAIN along with the sleeve, and it's working. The trick is not to overdo it, and really build up a habit in SMALL increments. All you want to do to start is get into the habit. And honestly, if you never do more than 15 mins of walking a day, that was 15 more than you were doing, right?!!! Anyway, if you ladies want to try this and touch base with me, I'd love some buddies. I'm a week out, and I've been taking my walk every day and it feels great to just get started..... Lemme know!!!

Hi Misty, I know what you mean... I had my surgery the day before you (on the 14th), and there are some tough aspects to this right now. I am still hungry, too, and it's tough to see food everywhere.... but I just keep thinking, THIS STAGE IS TEMPORARY!!! That helps me a lot. I know that next Christmas, I will have lost weight, and I can prepare healthy meals with my family and enjoy them and it will all be worth it! I know, it's hard to get through this stage, but I've been told time and again that the first month is the hardest, so I just focus on getting to the next day and the next.... We can do this, and it will get easier! My body is actually starting to feel much better, too, so maybe just try to focus on the fact that we are recovering incredibly rapidly from what is a major surgery! I mean, I thought I'd still be crawling up off the floor at this point, so I'm pretty thrilled that I feel this good. Hope some of that helps :-)... It's what's helping me get through!

wow, that's fascinating. Thanks for sharing!!!

Glad that helps! Feel free to message me if you have any other questions. P.S. I'm not a rep. for Healthwise :-)), it's just what my Nut. had a lot of, lol! If none of those things help, definitely try the Reglan....

I am 7 days out, and I can drink my 8 oz. protein drink over about a 30-45 minute period. 2 oz. sounds like very little to me. Can you drink water OK? Also, I do much better at fruity drinks like Nectar which are thinner. Maybe try one of those?

Yayers!!! Thanks for the inspiration, Irene! Honestly, I am excited to get under 250 at this point, lol!!!!

I am 3 days post-op and I just noticed that I have a really big bruise on my lower belly (sort of on the underside of my "apron") about the size of a fist. Did anyone else have this? I didn't see anything in the warnings that said anything about this, but I thought I'd just check... thanks guys!

Eureka-C, that's a great point about measuring. Not sure why that is, but it seems to be true that sometimes you will lose inches but not pounds.... so mysterious :-)!!

holy wow, I am going to do lots and lots of ab exercises and hope I end up where you are!!!

I'll get on board with you Coops!!! I have about 85 lbs to Onederland :-).... Just got sleeved!!

Hey there, I wish I had answers for you, but I have similar questions.... and I'm going to ask my surgeon tomorrow. I'll try to give send you a message if I find out anything!

I think if that's your mom's issue, this surgery can do a lot to help her! She'll need to work on her issues, but this can help a lot. It takes a lot of work to make the internal changes we all have to make with this surgery, but if she's ready to make the change you'll see a lot of success stories on this site!

I, too, think it's great you are trying to understand this for your mother. I think a lot of her success will depend upon her ability to make changes, but this is also a powerful tool to help her in that. Whether this will help her or not is somewhat dependent on what her particular eating issues are. For example, if her main problem is that she eats a lot of sweets, this might not be the best solution for her because restriction works best on the volumes that she is eating. So, if she has a hard time sticking to a program, I think it's best to evaluate with her why she has a hard time. Also, she should be aware that many programs require you to follow strict diets both prior to and directly after surgery. For some people, this can mean as much as month of mostly liquid diets. For me, it was 2 weeks of semi-liquid diet pre-op, and 2 weeks of liquid diet post-op. You MUST be able to follow those guidelines to a 'T' if you want to use this program because they prepare your body for surgery and maintain your stitches safely post-surgery. I don't want to be discouraging AT ALL, but you want your mother to understand that there's no "cheating" on these aspects of the surgery, so she needs to have those eating habits in control BEFORE surgery. I am not trying to be a naysayer by any means, but I want her to have a healthy dose of fear in her about breaking the rules for that month long period. It's hard, and it's life-threatening if you don't follow it closely. But, I believe once she gets past these super strict periods, her smaller stomach will make it much easier to maintain smaller portions into the future. I chose this tool because I lost a total of 160 lbs on my own but gained it back. Clearly, i can diet, but I needed a tool to help me to keep it off. I hope this helps you in supporting your mom!